My Expectations are Equal To Carnival

[orville99]

I would disagree.

Carnival has more free food options, their buffets are open longer, and later.Not in our experience

Carnival cruises are almost always less expensive then a similar RCL cruise.You get what you pay for

Carnival's business strategy is different then RCL's, RCL has gone the route of the 'ship is the destination' with larger ships and fewer port stops, where Carnival focuses more on ports by building new ports for their ships to stop at!Only true if you are comparing RCL's mega ships (Oasis, Allure). Other than those two the ratio of port stops (and the ports they stop at)to sea days across lines is about the same

Comparing all the other costs such as excursions, drinks, ect. Carnival is less expensive then RCL.Carnival's cruise insurance is twice the cost of RCL's even though they both use the same carrier and have identical coverage limits; excursions are negotiated contracts with shoreside tour operators, and the delta between lines is negligible at best; and the difference in drink prices only matters if you want to spend your cruise in a stupor

The one area RCL has excelled is the higher levels of their loyalty club get more benes. then Carnivals.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what bennies we actually get with our Carnival loyalty status - so far I haven't found anything of value:confused:

[nbsjcruiser]

We've been on 18 cruises on 4 different lines and I can tell you this - they all nickel and dime you to death. Maybe some might be worse than others but from my experience, you only get the nickel and dime treatment if you allow it. We could go on a cruise and spend next to nothing and in fact we have. We did a last minute 4 day on the Majesty with a $100 on board credit from RCI. We spent that $100 and nothing else. We've also done 8 day cruises and spent over $1500. Yes, things can be expensive but its the same everywhere and nobody holds a gun to your head to spend.

[TheTruthCanHurt]

I have to agree with Big G. It seems like you already have decided you won't like it as much. You stated you were not impressed with Royal Caribbean, so likely you won't be impressed. I've done 4 Carnival, 1 NCL, 1 Princess and 20 Royal Caribbean. All I can say is there is a reason for that. Truth be told there are plusses and minuses to each line. But the plusses of Royal Caribbean for me, out weigh the plusses of other lines. In my opinion only, there is a reason why Carnival tends to be a cheaper cruise line.

There is no way anyone here can convince you to like Royal Caribbean. We can tell you all about the nicer appointed cabins, the beautiful decor, the ease of transversing the ship from bow to stern, etc. And can say what I don't like about Carnival is how chopped up the ship seems to me, how the decor seems more "glitzy" less sophisticated, how the balconies are smaller, etc. But those are subjective "likes" and may mean nothing to you. So I would suggest that you go on Royal Caribbean with the attitude that you are going love it and see the positive differences, not the negative differences. Otherwise you will again "not be impressed" and might as well cancel the cruise.

 

 

While I agree with most of this. As I have said time and time again. Until you get into a ship with a royal promenade, ALL the ships are hard to navigate.. You always go up to go down, etc... I definitely prefer RCCl but you will see very little difference between the class you booked and the carnival ships you have sailed..... ( at least in terms of the overall ships design) ... but... as the previous post suggested. ( if you go on the cruise with the attitude that you will have a bad time and be dissapointed , you definitely will) I cant tell you how tired I am of hearing people complaining about the most petty stuff on cruises blathering on about ( on carnival it was like this, or on princess it was like that). I think you should either adjust your expectations, or adjust your booking.

[Desert Cruizers]

You mentioned you have only sailed the Sovereign & Monarch, those are the two smaller ships of the RCCL fleet, I certainly would judge the entire cruise line from those two ships. There will be a huge difference in my opinion with the Radiance Class and higher. Radiance Class offers you an open feeling with all the glass and easy to navigate, Voyager and larger give you the Royal Promenade, more variety. Each Class has their good and bad points so I judge them individually not as a whole.

[orville99]

While I agree with most of this. As I have said time and time again. Until you get into a ship with a royal promenade, ALL the ships are hard to navigate.. You always go up to go down, etc... I definitely prefer RCCl but you will see very little difference between the class you booked and the carnival ships you have sailed..... ( at least in terms of the overall ships design) ... but... as the previous post suggested. ( if you go on the cruise with the attitude that you will have a bad time and be dissapointed , you definitely will) I cant tell you how tired I am of hearing people complaining about the most petty stuff on cruises blathering on about ( on carnival it was like this, or on princess it was like that). I think you should either adjust your expectations, or adjust your booking.

 

Other than Sovereign class (with their weird "tween" deck, and Oasis class, we have yet to be on any RCL ship (and we've sailed on every class but Oasis and Quantum) where you ever have to "go up to go down"

 

Also, your statement about ship's design is utterly laughable;)

Edited August 10, 2015 by orville99

[bigque]

Other than Sovereign class (with their weird "tween" deck, and Oasis class, we have yet to be on any RCL ship (and we've sailed on every class but Oasis and Quantum) where you ever have to "go up to go down"

 

Also, your statement about ship's design is utterly laughable;)

 

Neither have we! :cool:

[Aquahound]

As I have said time and time again. Until you get into a ship with a royal promenade, ALL the ships are hard to navigate.. You always go up to go down, etc...

 

No matter how many times you say it, I still won't agree with it. Other than one ship (Majesty), all RCI ships are very easy to navigate. Unlike other lines who tend to put a dining room or the galley midship, RCI puts theirs all the way aft, so you can walk all the way fore to aft on the main decks without having to go up or down a deck.

[ryano]

I dont see how anyone could even possibly make blanket statements about ships they have never been on. It reminds me of those who make the claim that Oasis class ships are way too crowded yet they have never even set foot on before. It appears the OP has only been on ONE RC ship that didnt have a Promenade. Personally I found that Radiance is no harder to navigate throughout without a Promenade than Freedom is with one and I was navigating from a wheelchair. Thats one thing I love about the RC ships Ive been on.

Edited August 10, 2015 by ryano

[TheTruthCanHurt]

Other than Sovereign class (with their weird "tween" deck, and Oasis class, we have yet to be on any RCL ship (and we've sailed on every class but Oasis and Quantum) where you ever have to "go up to go down"

 

Also, your statement about ship's design is utterly laughable;)

 

well,

of course we can all disagree ( and remember I actually prefer Royal).. However, based on sailing many other cruise lines. As it relates to the smaller ships.. it is my opinion based on MY EXPERIENCE that all small ships are very similar. But thanks for calling me laughable. I always love it when someone gets offended when you dont agree with them. LOL :)

[orville99]

I dont see how anyone could even possibly make blanket statements about ships they have never been on. It reminds me of those who make the claim that Oasis class ships are way too crowded yet they have never even set foot on before. It appears the OP has only been on ONE RC ship that didnt have a Promenade. Personally I found that Radiance is no harder to navigate throughout without a Promenade than Freedom is with one and I was navigating from a wheelchair. Thats one thing I love about the RC ships Ive been on.

 

Ah, but have you ever done it in a drunken stupor from drinking cheap beer all day?:D

[Havingfun2010]

For starters, about the only ships in Carnival's fleet that compare to either sovereign or monarch are probably ones like sensation. Brilliance is our favorite ship, and head and shoulders architecturally and decor above than anything we've sailed on Carnival. Balconies (not the room, but the veranda itself) are easily 2x the size of anything on carnival As for nickels and dimes, everything that's free on Carnival is free on RCL, and everything you pay extra for on Carnival, you pay the same amount for on RCL

 

That's not entirely true. RCCL drink packages are either "cheaper" or "more" depending on which one, but the packages include much more than on Carnival, which makes it a better prices. Plus on Carnival, it cost $60.00 to get on the ship, and get a special line at the desk, and on RCCL you get on faster based on your loyalty level, and usually the lines on the ship, are small. Since I prepay everything, my last end of cruise invoice was $45.00. Wouldn't exactly call that nickel and dimed.

[orville99]

That's not entirely true. RCCL drink packages are either "cheaper" or "more" depending on which one, but the packages include much more than on Carnival, which makes it a better prices. Plus on Carnival, it cost $60.00 to get on the ship, and get a special line at the desk, and on RCCL you get on faster based on your loyalty level, and usually the lines on the ship, are small. Since I prepay everything, my last end of cruise invoice was $45.00. Wouldn't exactly call that nickel and dimed.

 

True. I always try and use averages whenever this type of discussion comes up, and on average, the prices of drink packages are comparable. The one big difference, however, is that Carnival's packages have a daily limit, while RCL's don't.

[Cindy]

Until you get into a ship with a royal promenade, ALL the ships are hard to navigate.. You always go up to go down, etc.

 

I don't agree with that statement at all. I've been on "smaller" RCI ships from the Vision class and the Radiance class, and I've never encountered the go up to go down problem. It is, however, an issue on every Carnival ship I've been on (several different classes) and the Princess Grand class ships. I see similar design traits in all those ships as well as HAL's Vista class ships, and all were built by Fincantieri...perhaps working off the same basic structure, then personalized for the cruise line?:confused:

 

In contrast, the RCI ships make sense to me. I never struggle to navigate the ship because the design is well thought-out for passenger flow in public spaces.

[JulieRose]

I agree! Why would a person book a cruise that they have "NEVER" ben impressed with??! :cool:

 

 

I actually have an answer to this. We were on XoS a few years ago and were unimpressed. After careful consideration we were able to figure out what elements made the experience fall short in our opinions.

 

We determined that it was in part that we simply didn't really know what to expect from RCI. Now we know what activities onboard to join and which we would rather avoid. We also know to ask A LOT of questions about any excursions we're booking through the ship.

 

We are trying RCI again on some newer, bigger ships and shorter itineraries which we hope will alleviate the other issues we had. If not, well, we'll just have to find another line we like better.

Edited August 10, 2015 by JulieRose

[yj2cute]

I was a novice cruiser when I first went on CCL. Did 3 of them I think.

The first thing I noticed was the difference in ships on RCL. Carnival just

doesn't "get it" in terms of the interior of their ships. Wish I could

remember the name of the "then" newer CCL ship I cruised on with a

group. In the dining room there were large pink plastic (think pepto

bismol) discs throughout...at about ceiling height. Not at all the

sophisticated decor or RC dining rooms...just to mention one feature.

 

Sounds like Carnival Splendor. And I agree, until I sailed on the Breeze, nothing about Carnival's decor impressed me. And I will concede that Carnival's complimentary venues may be a bit better, such as Guy's Burgers. But other than that, nothing about Carnival even touches RCCL, IMO.

[orville99]

Sounds like Carnival Splendor. And I agree, until I sailed on the Breeze, nothing about Carnival's decor impressed me. And I will concede that Carnival's complimentary venues may be a bit better, such as Guy's Burgers. But other than that, nothing about Carnival even touches RCCL, IMO.

 

 

If only Guy's was avalable on more ships it might be a substantive point, but it's only on a few. It would be analogous to avoiding RCL because you don't like Johnny Rockets.

[Cruisegoer]

Book the cruise, try the line, you decide which you prefer. People's opinions and reactions on here to others tastes are rabid. Every line has pluses and minuses. I've been sailing RCL since the days of the Nordic Prince and they have completely changed their model around. I prefer the value of CCL and relish the sophistication of Celebrity. RCL has lovely ships, the crowding on Liberty OTS and the mediocrity of the food left me questioning a future return. Even still any day at sea is better than a day at work.

[M. St. Louis]

Carnival and Royal are two sides of the same coin. Same offerings, different coats of paint. But because people innately love to look down on something, I find that a significant number of Royal aficionados sneer and look down their nose and disparage Carnival. Presumably Carnival fans do the same thing to some other line, probably Royal.

 

I've cruised on both, and found the differences minuscule and irrelevant. Carnival had slightly better food and service, but service is a varying thing from ship to ship and cruise to cruise anyway. It's been some years since I sailed Carnival, so I suspect the food has trended downward there as it has on Royal.

 

Really, the only tangible difference between the two lines is the loyalty program, and that is the only reason I'm "Loyal to Royal".

[letscruisegd]

Carnival and Royal are two sides of the same coin. Same offerings, different coats of paint. But because people innately love to look down on something, I find that a significant number of Royal aficionados sneer and look down their nose and disparage Carnival. Presumably Carnival fans do the same thing to some other line, probably Royal.

 

I've cruised on both, and found the differences minuscule and irrelevant...

I've cruised both and I agree with this. There isn't much difference in my overall experience on both lines. For me the obvious difference is the décor. Royal's ships are much more appealing to the eye than Carnival, although Carnival is improving in this area (Breeze, Vista). Another plus for Royal is they have much more live music than Carnival and I'm a huge fan of live music. I've enjoyed each of my cruises on both lines and will continue to cruise both lines.

[wendychloecruiser]

On rare occasion it's even OK to eat at McDonald's.

[csnarpy]

On rare occasion it's even OK to eat at McDonald's.

 

 

No, no it's not....

 

:p

[davy jones]

True. I always try and use averages whenever this type of discussion comes up, and on average, the prices of drink packages are comparable. The one big difference, however, is that Carnival's packages have a daily limit, while RCL's don't.

 

If a drink package that allows over 15 drinks a day is a deal breaker, you're not going to remember anything about the ship.

[Justmekaren918]

Brilliance is so far my favorite and can't wait to be back on next March! Brilliance is a awesome ship! Not a massive mall ship and plenty of fun and things to do!

 

Water Elevators

 

Forward deck 7 balconies

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[American Bear]

Carnival and Royal are two sides of the same coin. Same offerings, different coats of paint. But because people innately love to look down on something, I find that a significant number of Royal aficionados sneer and look down their nose and disparage Carnival. Presumably Carnival fans do the same thing to some other line, probably Royal.

 

I've cruised on both, and found the differences minuscule and irrelevant. Carnival had slightly better food and service, but service is a varying thing from ship to ship and cruise to cruise anyway. It's been some years since I sailed Carnival, so I suspect the food has trended downward there as it has on Royal.

 

Really, the only tangible difference between the two lines is the loyalty program, and that is the only reason I'm "Loyal to Royal".

 

 

Agree with you, 'RCL's loyalty program is better', and food quality is subjective, but on average, there are more differences between the 2 cruise lines, such as,,,,

Cruises are usually less expensive on Carnival.

More free food options on Carnival.

Drink prices are less on Carnival.

You can order booze(hard liquor/beer) for your cabin on Carnival.

Cabins are usually larger on Carnival across the fleet.

Carnival=usually more Port stops, RCL=larger ships(ships are the destination)

[bigque]

Agree with you, 'RCL's loyalty program is better', and food quality is subjective, but on average, there are more differences between the 2 cruise lines, such as,,,,

Cruises are usually less expensive on Carnival.

More free food options on Carnival.

Drink prices are less on Carnival.

You can order booze(hard liquor/beer) for your cabin on Carnival.

Cabins are usually larger on Carnival across the fleet.

Carnival=usually more Port stops, RCL=larger ships(ships are the destination)

 

People should stop adding this to their post because the only ships that are really limited is Oasis Class!