Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean: a comparison

[Laurin612]

I have to agree. One night on the Enchantment, the show was SO bad that my wife and I just busted out laughing uncontrollably with tears in our eyes. The couple next to us must've thought the same thing because they busted out laughing too.

 

My husband and I actually walked out on the show of an "entertainer" who did impressions, sang and told jokes. Prior to walking out, our eyes were hurting from all the eye rolling! The CD really talked this guy up, said he had performed on 14 RC ships and has a running show in Las Vegas. He was SOOOOO bad! Seriously, impressions of Ed Sullivan and Bob Dylan. Putting on a beard and wig and singing the names of Italian dishes to the tune of a pseudo-opera song and saying it was an impression of Luciano Pavarotti. He was a decent singer, but his impressions and (fart) jokes were really bad! We (and a bunch of other people) walked out when they dimmed the lights after the Pavarotti "impression."

 

We viewed this cruise as a cruise for the ports (Southern Caribbean, 5 ports in 7 days), which is why we didn't care about the ship (or the entertainment on the ship) so much. If we were to go on a ship like the Allure or Oasis, we would be going on the ship mostly for the experience of the ship itself--which is why they pull out all the stops with their best entertainment and most food options on the mega ships.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Laurin612

[Cruiseathoning]

One huge thing Royal does better is to make sure that the venues are adequate for the demand.

 

Carnival fails spectacularly at this.

[Laurin612]

One huge thing Royal does better is to make sure that the venues are adequate for the demand.

 

Carnival fails spectacularly at this.

 

Totally agree with you on this! This was a glaring issue on the Sunshine, in particular--the comedy club was poorly designed and crammed in a too small area. Indeed, about 1/3 of the audience was relegated to watching the comedian on TV screens because they could not see him or her from their seats! And you had to get there at least 45 minutes early to get a seat. Same thing with the Liquid Lounge (main showroom) on the Sunshine. Way too small for the number of people on board. Again, you had to arrive at least 30 mins early for a seat.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Laurin612

[sjn911]

Thank you for balanced review. We recently cruised on RC for the first time and I expected to be blown off my feet. I enjoyed by cruise but over all I didn't feel that there was enough different to make me not go back to Carnival.

 

I agree that the design of the ship and the solarium area was beautiful but all seemed to lack the fun attitude of Carnival. Maybe I'm just a 20 year at heart yet.

 

We are trying a cruise to Alaska on HAL this summer and I'm a little anxious that we will be totally out of place.

 

 

I hope you will not be in Alaska...I think more all ages do Alaska..lots of families and it is such a beautiful...(from photos and living in NW only knowledge) beautiful place. The thing about Alaska with my parents 2 cruises and photos and second one being the last quality week of my mom's life...is the immense awe of sitting on deck or balcony...(both times folks had ov only) and absorbing the vast feeling and the beauty. Holland America and then Princess are the two top lines for Alaska due to history...now siblings to Carnival. Have shirt tail relatives who did a recent multi generational in Alaska on new Westerdam and three thumbs up from all ages...but it is a different kind of cruise...and most want to soak in the beauty...even on Disney..LOL..my folks last trip due to taking their last grand baby...on her 12 year old trip.

 

Now almost three years later I hope dad is together enough to make us all photos if that trip for the photo of my mother gazing out at the rail of the ship says it all....it is VAST beauty...and her face makes me know she is still good in heaven,,,

have a great trip.

 

I'm enjoying this thread all...thanks..love decent comparison threads...and personally getting ready to want Alaska...just too much cold here and always want warmer for vacation...

 

My folks first Alaskan cruise was Holland America's old Noordam or N. Amsterdam with mother of this grandbaby..my sis number three and number 4. I met them in Seattle after cruise for the 4th when I lived in Oregon full time...they just do so much to narrate the beauty...

 

My dad worked there in the 50's as a geologist .....now that was seeing Alaska..LOL..I really want to see the old movies of that again...Sarah

Edited April 20, 2015 by sjn911

[Tapi]

The CD really talked this guy up, said he had performed on 14 RC ships and has a running show in Las Vegas. He was SOOOOO bad.

 

 

I hate it when the CD overhypes an entertainer. It just sets the whole thing up for failure. Your story reminds me of our sailing on the Westerdam two summers ago. The CD kept talking about this extremely talented and famous "master magician" straight from Vegas. He kept hyping the crowd for the "one time" show later in the week and saying things like "get ready to be mesmerized!". You would've thought that David Copperfield himself would be showing up to make the entire cruise ship disappear into thin air!

 

The day of the show finally arrived, and the theater was packed with people standing along the walls and sitting on steps. The show started and this guy opened his performance with.....coin tricks! Followed by.....card tricks! And the grand finale was the girl in a box cut in half! The audience actually booed at the end. I felt so bad for the guy! But come on! Even my 3 year old knew how he did the girl in a box trick!

[jimbo5544]

On Voyager class and above I have seen the Texas Tenors and Micky Dolenz, (Freedom class). One of the major mistakes Carnival made was reserving their concerts for booze cruises, and then charging on top of that.

 

Price the cruise where you have to price it and let the chips fall where they may. Fooling people once keeps them from sailing you twice.

 

Micky Dolenze (even if he could bring the other three - and that would be a chore for Davey) would not entice me to sail any line. Carnival Live is doing just fine.

[Laurin612]

Micky Dolenze (even if he could bring the other three - and that would be a chore for Davey) would not entice me to sail any line. Carnival Live is doing just fine.

 

Right?! No offense to Mickey Dolenz, but considering that he and the other Monkees (minus Mike Nesmith) played a local "fall fest" carnival in my smallish hometown about 15 years ago I wouldn't consider them a big name draw!

[sjn911]

For anyone reading this-comparing a Carnival production to a Royal production is like comparing Taco Bell to Cantina Laredo.

 

It is not even close-Royal uses a full staff, brings in NAMED entertainers, and uses live music. Can't believe such statements are made with a straight face.

 

All I know is I have to try Cantina Laredo...hopefully with a little Patsy Cline singing in the background...????

[sjn911]

One thing I didn't mention was that while RCI supposedly had more entertainment on Allure, you needed to book online. I did, but nothing saved evidently, so when we were on the cruise we were stand by for shows, not fun.

 

I hate having to do this kind of pre planning on a cruise vacation, but have not been on Mega Carnival ships or NCL ship, or RCCL ship..but I would hate to miss the shows..bad or good..it is a novel enough treat to someone in severe country ville.

 

I loved shows on Star Princess when new...shorter, but real real Broadway musical type..about 45 minutes to hour and real music in all bars..I really want that again..floating and listening to real music.

Edited April 20, 2015 by sjn911

[jimbo5544]

I hate having to do this kind of pre planning on a cruise vacation, but have not been on Mega Carnival ships or NCL ship, or RCCL ship..but I would hate to miss the shows..bad or good..

Therein lies the rub, the RCCL and NCL p[lan calls for a lot of pre cuise planning and conjecture, like wednesay night, do we want to go the show and give up dinner, or can everyone decide now for 8 months from today what they want to do for these two choices etc.? Put's a lot of disneyesque planning that many, will not want to do.

[sjn911]

Therein lies the rub, the RCCL and NCL p[lan calls for a lot of pre cuise planning and conjecture, like wednesay night, do we want to go the show and give up dinner, or can everyone decide now for 8 months from today what they want to do for these two choices etc.? Put's a lot of disneyesque planning that many, will not want to do.

 

I do agree there...I will have to do it when I want it..and then cancel...but..I like freedom...LOL....8 months from now...well put.

 

It did serve taking 19 and 20 year old group on the Breakaway, just a couple planned things they had and then main dining...my nephew's spring break this spring...I will be forever in debt to the adults that gave these kids freedom...but kept an eye out...they had time of their lives with all age groups on that ship..you just have to match the current ship reports...what is required...with one's mood..on each line.

 

It is not one size fits all an any one line..let alone line to line.

 

Thanks for conversation.

Edited April 20, 2015 by sjn911

[EMBFlyer]

Therein lies the rub, the RCCL and NCL p[lan calls for a lot of pre cuise planning and conjecture, like wednesay night, do we want to go the show and give up dinner, or can everyone decide now for 8 months from today what they want to do for these two choices etc.? Put's a lot of disneyesque planning that many, will not want to do.

 

I absolutely hated that on my last cruise on the Allure. You felt like you HAD to go to what ever you booked months in advance because if you missed it, you probably wouldn't be able to see it again. I know this was true for the "comedy" club they had. I like to plan stuff, but I also like to have the ability to change my mind. This last cruise it was hard because we had a big group, but not everyone was on the same schedule for shows/events.

[jimbo5544]

I do agree there...I will have to do it when I want it..and then cancel...but..I like freedom...LOL....8 months from now...well put.

 

It did serve taking 19 and 20 year old group on the Breakaway, just a couple planned things they had and then main dining...my nephew's spring break this spring...I will be forever in debt to the adults that gave these kids freedom...but kept an eye out...they had time of their lives with all age groups on that ship..you just have to match the current ship reports...what is required...with one's mood..on each line.

 

It is not one size fits all an any one line..let alone line to line.

 

Thanks for conversation.

 

 

It is a big cruising world out there, my pleasure on the conversation. We just completed a cruise on the Breeze where we had a group of families (for the most part) of graduating seniors (ours are well past that). 35 cabins and 105 total people. All very well behaved (for the vast majority).

 

There are a lot of choices out there and I feel cruising is evolving fairly fast. We shall see where it all goes.

[pamrose228]

Going on the Independence after an almost 10 year absence from RCI. Was not impressed with the Enchantment but curious to try one of their larger ships. Is the MDR opened for lunch everyday or only sea days. Hated the food last time hope it's better.

[jimbo5544]

I absolutely hated that on my last cruise on the Allure. You felt like you HAD to go to what ever you booked months in advance because if you missed it, you probably wouldn't be able to see it again. I know this was true for the "comedy" club they had. I like to plan stuff, but I also like to have the ability to change my mind. This last cruise it was hard because we had a big group, but not everyone was on the same schedule for shows/events.

 

 

I felt some of the same for our cruise on oasis. It is a beautiful ship and has many pluses. I did a review of our sailing and posted on both this board as well as royals. You might enjoy the read.

[EMBFlyer]

I felt some of the same for our cruise on oasis. It is a beautiful ship and has many pluses. I did a review of our sailing and posted on both this board as well as royals. You might enjoy the read.

 

We went in March. I agree, the ship was amazing. However, I thought the cruise sucked. The food was bad. The service was horrible. I've never heard the word "No" so many times in my life from a crew member as I did in the 7 days we were on that ship. It's sad when the most memorable crew member you had was the Guest Services Associate who listened to your complaints. I encountered many stuck up people...not just the fellow passengers, but crew as well. Many just did't care and didn't feel like doing their jobs. Getting a bar waiter was next to impossible on deck. I watched one bar waitress lean against the towel hut for an hour one day. She told the guy working the towel hut, "I'm just going to stand here because no one wants drinks." During that hour, we went back and forth to the bar ourselves several times to get drinks. We were flat-out lied to by our head waiter in the dining room a few different nights.

 

I don't necessarily blame the particular crew members for their actions or behavior. I think it's a leadership issue. It took me almost the entire cruise, but I think it traced it back to the Hotel Director on that ship. He came across as very arrogant and pretty much a jerk (I have a better description, but it's not appropriate for this forum). If you weren't encountering a crew member who just didn't care anymore, you were finding them downright terrified. Our poor Assistant Waitress almost burst into tears at our table one night because she dropped a fork.

 

I just didn't like the atmosphere on the Allure and I'm starting to not like what Royal Caribbean is becoming. If you're not Diamond Plus, Pinnacle or in a Suite, you aren't crap to them. Their "sales" are a joke. Let's promise you huge discounts and then jack up the price to make up for it. We're excited about coming back to Carnival for our cruise in June. We miss the good food, the laid-back atmosphere, the general happiness of a Carnival ship and the fun. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Carnival still keeps their prices reasonable. I think it's a great value for what you get!

Edited April 20, 2015 by EMBFlyer

[jimbo5544]

We went in March. I agree, the ship was amazing. However, I thought the cruise sucked. The food was bad. The service was horrible. I've never heard the word "No" so many times in my life from a crew member as I did in the 7 days we were on that ship. It's sad when the most memorable crew member you had was the Guest Services Associate who listened to your complaints. I encountered many stuck up people...not just the fellow passengers, but crew as well. Many just did't care and didn't feel like doing their jobs. Getting a bar waiter was next to impossible on deck. I watched one bar waitress lean against the towel hut for an hour one day. She told the guy working the towel hut, "I'm just going to stand here because no one wants drinks." During that hour, we went back and forth to the bar ourselves several times to get drinks. We were flat-out lied to by our head waiter in the dining room a few different nights.

 

I don't necessarily blame the particular crew members for their actions or behavior. I think it's a leadership issue. It took me almost the entire cruise, but I think it traced it back to the Hotel Director on that ship. He came across as very arrogant and pretty much a jerk (I have a better description, but it's not appropriate for this forum). If you weren't encountering a crew member who just didn't care anymore, you were finding them downright terrified. Our poor Assistant Waitress almost burst into tears at our table one night because she dropped a fork.

 

I just didn't like the atmosphere on the Allure and I'm starting to not like what Royal Caribbean is becoming. If you're not Diamond Plus, Pinnacle or in a Suite, you aren't crap to them. Their "sales" are a joke. Let's promise you huge discounts and then jack up the price to make up for it. We're excited about coming back to Carnival for our cruise in June. We miss the good food, the laid-back atmosphere, the general happiness of a Carnival ship and the fun. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Carnival still keeps their prices reasonable. I think it's a great value for what you get!

Price does play a part, that is for sure. Here is a link to my review, for your reading pleasure......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2013755

[sjn911]

It is a big cruising world out there, my pleasure on the conversation. We just completed a cruise on the Breeze where we had a group of families (for the most part) of graduating seniors (ours are well past that). 35 cabins and 105 total people. All very well behaved (for the vast majority).

 

There are a lot of choices out there and I feel cruising is evolving fairly fast. We shall see where it all goes.

 

That is just great....Sarah

[jimbo5544]

That is just great....Sarah

 

It was a lot of fun. Also had a real heart jerk moment of one lad who could not go (without getting into the details) and ended up going....so excited and had a great time. Loved watching him experience it!

[sjn911]

It was a lot of fun. Also had a real heart jerk moment of one lad who could not go (without getting into the details) and ended up going....so excited and had a great time. Loved watching him experience it!

That is terrific....I am soooo happy for you and them and for my nephew with also a lot of details and worries that were handled well and that being the week after major youth issues on the seas. I wish I could post the cool moped stare, lol...but you know...giving the privacy that is so rare these days with all the posting.

 

The chaperones and the kids let me know in so many sweet ways all was good along the trip...freedom with wisdom. The youth minister that took these kids knew and went to school with one of the well paid music people on the ship and he was a big part of helping out too...so they got some inside scoop..LOL...how great for you all...Sarah

Edited April 20, 2015 by sjn911

[jimbo5544]

That is terrific....I am soooo happy for you and them and for my nephew with also a lot of details and worries that were handled well and that being the week after major youth issues on the seas. I wish I could post the cool moped stare, lol...but you know...giving the privacy that is so rare these days with all the posting.

 

The chaperones and the kids let me know in so many sweet ways all was good along the trip...freedom with wisdom. The youth minister that took these kids knew and went to school with one of the well paid music people on the ship and he was a big part of helping out too...so they got some inside scoop..LOL...how great for you all...Sarah

 

 

Sounds like a really nice time. I agree on the privacy comment as well.