Carnival vs Royal Caribbean?

[cruisercathy]

I have sailed on one RCI cruise with my mid 70's age parents.......We sail together. My parents refuse to sail on another RCI ship.......they did not like the food, the entertainment..and it seemed no one was having "fun".the only plus is the adults only pool with stairs into it....so they just setlle for the adult only hot tubs on Carnival.....I have to agree with them.....but maybe someday I will sail RCI again.............With my children still of school age we can only sail in the summer and I find Carnival to have the best deals....maybe in the spring or fall you can find the deals but the timing is not right for us.

[GottaLuvCruising]

I enjoyed Royal Caribbean - have sailed them once and toured several of their ships, enjoying lunch onboard. All of the ships were beautiful - and RCI wins when it comes to decor. But all other factors are about the same with the two lines. I just happen to think Carnival is more fun. We're 50s and rarely ever see 10pm...not partiers and have no use for the atmosphere some like to attribute to Carnival. What I enjoy about Carnival is the fun, light-hearted environment and friendly guests. I did not find the same on Royal Caribbean.

[Cruising89143]

For me RCI wins hand down and this is coming from someone that cruised Carnival for many years. While I find many things such as food and entertainment about even between the two, it is the friendly crew and great service that won me over to RCI. Also RCI keeps their ships in better shape overall.

 

You can't go wrong with either line. If a person is going strictly on price then I would say go with the least expensive.

[Live_2_cruise05]

Well I would have to agree with some posters. I say a cruise is what you make of it! We have sailed both RCI and CCL and really there is no difference. You do the same stuff, you sometimes eat the same food, you lay out by the pool, you go to the same ports...its all the same. In my opinion Carnivals food is 100xs better then RCIs, but RCIs ships are 100xs easier to get around in then CCLs ships. Each cruise line has their own +s and -s. I would choose either anyday!

[HockeyMom44]

I agree.Its 6 of one and a half a dozen of the other.

I've done both and sometimes its a matter of $$, and sometimes its not. :)

[tnf]

They both are great cruise lines! Who care about the decor of the ship!!!

[Grayce]

I've done one cruise on each line and I have to say that it's pretty hard not to enjoy any cruise ;) I thought there were some things better on Carnival and some things better on Royal Carribean. I liked the food taste and variety better on Carnival, although Royal Carribean has a better room service menu. I loved the wait staff on my Carnival cruise and the Cabin steward was great on my Royal Carribean cruise. I also loved the adult pool on the Royal Carribean ship. Both cruises were great.

[neverenufcruising]

As you can see by my signature, I've done both. Personally I prefer Carnival slightly because of the "Fun" factor. I just seem to have more fun on a Carnival ship. At the same time, I do enjoy RC and it is a close second. I've never been on a bad cruise so it's all good.:D

[hfd2616]

RCI wins hands down

Can you explain why? We just got back and I was disappointed in a couple of things. Don't get me wrong..we had a great time and I would never write one of those "this was a terrible trip" reviews. I would go on Carnival again but wondered how the others compare.

[Beach4me]

I've cruised both and given the option, I would choose Carnival every time. The times I have gone RCI, I have done so strictly for the itineraries (New England, Bermuda, etc - before Carnival offered these options). While I really enjoy the Crown & Anchor lounges on the RCI ships (the lounges you see with the 360 degree view on all their ships), I find Carnival to be much more comfortable. I prefer the food on Carnival hands down. Might not be presented in an exclusive restaurant fashion but it is excellent quality and tastes great.

 

I'm sure I'll sail RCI again within the next year or so (Jewel of the Seas in Northern Europe), but with Carnival offering all the new itineraries it is, I will still stick with them 99.9% of the time.

 

There's only once cruise line I would never cruise with again. Ever. RCI and Carnival are NOT that line. ;)

 

btw - Paradise is probably one of the worst ships to judge CCL by. Not well executed at all. But, everyone makes a mistake now and then. :)

[fig414]

How about the nightlife? We are mid 40's and like to stay up late. We cruised Caribbean Princess last year and although we loved the ship and the cruise, we found the nightlife a little lacking. That is one reason we are back to Carnival in January and are planning our 1st RCCL next September.

 

So this is strictly an after 11PM comparison question.

 

Thanks

[Maxax]

We've done both CCL and RCI...both were great. But overall...we liked Carnival better...and our next cruise...will either be with Carnival...or some completely different line just to try something else. But seriously....we really did like Carnival better than RCI....it was close....but based on cost, activity options, basic ship set-up, and food....Carnival...was better....in our opinion of course!

[TRISHNBRAD]

Ive done both, my RCL cruises were back in the mid 90s. I prefer CCL for a lot of reasons, food in my opinion is better as is entertainment. However I am slightly biased as both on both RCL cruises I got horribly sick and I think it has colored my opinion of them.;)

[Stacylee]

Just took my first RCI cruise after 4 Carnivals. I chose RCI because at the time I wanted to go, they beat Carnival's prices by a significant amount. I am 43 and I took my 14 year old DS this time. I did really like RCI - and I probably won't cruise Carnival again - at least not as my choice. My cruises are typically price driven but now that I have seen many islands, they will probably be more itinerary driven. Being on Carnival is like drinking a triple espresso - everything is neon and loud - including the cruise director and assts and the waiters.

 

I was actually able to go the pool on RCI and relax instead of hearing commotion from pool games etc. I think I have mainly just mellowed a bit :p . I do think the food on Carnival was better, but it was not bad on RCI either. Also, RCI seemed to handle crowd control alot better. Only waited in a line once (during customs at Key West) and the ship was full. Baggage delivery and retrieval ... well, RCI should patent their whole process. Not a single line getting on or off - easiest ever! Carnival has a great product - I just think I am ready to move on.