Carnival vs. Royal (guess who wins?)

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

Thanks for your review. I agree with many of your points.

 

I like both lines but do prefer Carnival and a big reason is the terrible beds and pillows on Royal - extremely hard, thin mattresses and flat pillows.

 

We haven't experienced a difference in dinner service though between the two lines. I give an edge to Carnival MDR, mainly because I like entrees and desserts better.

 

Overall though, we do like the Promenade (and Café Promenade) on Royal, we like their MDR food, like the service, and like that they have interior accessible cabins that easily sleep 3 which makes Royal an option when looking for a cruise. I will only book Royal thought if the price is right and if they have a Freestyle Coke Machine on board (learned that one after our Navigator cruise).

 

really I was just surprised at how SIMILIAR both lines really are, save for a few differences here and there

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

i am on the same page as you. I think her positives were a bit skewed towards rcl, but i get the feeling she preferred the energy that ccl has.

 

yes!!

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

If you had cruised on RC during peak season you probably would have seen a better cross section of age groups. Off season draws an older crowd.

 

I got the impression from your review that you enjoyed your experience on Jewel of the Seas. You may want to give RC another try on one of the larger ships.

 

good point but I usually ALWAYS sail in off season and the Jewel of the Seas crowd was probably the oldest I have ever encountered

[cruiseonthebrain]

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your observations!

[RCmommy]

Chipping in my two cents since we just got off the Allure in December (the week before Christmas week) and we booked our next cruise with Carnival again.

 

We definitely encountered lines on the Allure. Had to prebook all of our shows. People were being turned away at the comedy club. For some popular events like the karaoke there were never enough chairs and you could barely squeeze through the door to stand and watch. We had the any time dining but made reservations for every night and we were glad we did because there was a long line for stand by every night.

 

When we felt like a little snack in the evening it seemed the Cafe Promenade was the most central location and after waiting in line, many of the items were "sold out". If you are a bit peckish, let's face it, you don't want to walk the entire length of that ship to find something to snack on. We don't anyway.

 

We enjoyed the Allure. It is gorgeous. However, we will not sail that big of a ship again. For many reasons, some of which are hard to explain. My twelve year old son said to me on the last day "Mom, it would seem that there is the same amount of venues and events on this ship as any other, but a lot more people to contend with." He was right. For that amount of people I expected more activities to be going on. Our week on the Allure was not a bad experience by any means, it was a great vacation. We just left feeling underwhelmed.

 

We would definitely sail RCI again (smaller ship) - we will sail anyone if it is within the right budget, itinerary and timing! When I asked my family which cruise line they would prefer I try to book, everyone agreed Carnival.

 

So CCL it is for October!

[JimAOk1945]

good point but I usually ALWAYS sail in off season and the Jewel of the Seas crowd was probably the oldest I have ever encountered

 

If you have the opportunity to try again during peak season and on a larger ship, you will find a greater variety of entertainment.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the comparison.

[jtdlmc]

I promised you all I would update you on my thoughts of Royal vs. Carnival. So here goes...

 

Food is very similar, although if I had to choose, Royal has slightly better food and Carnival has better desserts in the MDR.

 

Royal ships are easier to navigate. You don't need to go down then up then sideways just to get where you need to be :) I love how they had small ship models/maps on display near the elevators.

 

I NEVER encountered a line on Royal. Not to board, not to debark, not for food anywhere, not for THE THEATER/COMEDY CLUB (glares at Carnival Sunshine). NEVER had a problem finding a place to sit at mealtimes (again tricky at times on Sunshine!) However chair hogs are equally universal. If this is Royal Caribbean all the time I am loving it!

 

Royal seems to make more effort and cleanliness/sanitation if you can believe it.

 

Royal's rooms and showers were smaller and beds less comfortable. As the husband said, "a large person would be in contact with the wall during the entire shower"

 

Mostly things were more the same than different, down to the same soft serve ice cream machines, wonderful gyms, general layout, photo gallery, towel animals, muster, and great service by all of the staff.

 

Overall, for someone my age, CARNIVAL WINS!! The Sunshine and the annoying cutbacks caused me to look elsewhere, but as they say, the grass is not always greener. I'd say the average age on Jewel of the Seas was 55 and I just prefer a bit of a younger, more fun crowd (not 21 year old spring breakers, but mid 30's). Carnival is just more fun, more silly, even down to their marketing, and I really missed that silliness. Royal does seem to have more interesting and varied itineraries, as well as those mega ships, so I would definitely try them again...when I am older.

 

I am just off Freedom of the Seas last week. My whole family agrees with you in that Carnival wins hands down! We do differ on other things though :)

 

There were lines everywhere on FOS, not so much at the buffet. I do prefer how they do the omelet station - they take your order and then tell you to come back in 2 minutes. Usually that was the case, but at the end of the week they had crowds gathering to wait. Very difficult to find a table in the buffet unless you went at very odd hours. Bars always lined up. At debarkation we were #10 departure and waiting in line to get off the ship and then another 40 minutes or so to get through customs! Worse than a cattle call. We found the food on the buffet on RCI to be monotonous and not much variety - there were lots of stations but they all served the same thing.

 

FOS was just as difficult to get around as the Carnival ships we've been on. There was only one deck that was completely open and able to walk all the way around.

 

The food in the MDR was about the same, not as much variety as Carnival. The dessert offerings in the buffet were very meagre, only 4 or 5 different things offered and 2 of those were usually cookies. We didn't like many of the desserts we tried in the MDR.

 

Our balcony cabin was much smaller than on Carnival. We only got 2 towel animals and very few nights did we get turn-down service. Our steward always came to the room well after we returned from dinner and by that time my son was usually in the cabin watching tv so he just put the next day's compass in the slot outside the door. He always saw us leave both for breakfast and dinner but never did our rooms while we were gone. I guess that could depend on the steward but I love how on Carnival our room was done every time we came back from breakfast or dinner.

 

We thought that Carnival ships were better maintained and cleaner in comparison to FOS. When we got our first glimpse of FOS coming by shuttle into the port we were disappointed - no "fun" look as Carnival or NCL has, just plain grungy white.

 

We range in age from mid 50's to 14 and all prefer Carnival to RCI. We all said the "fun factor" just wasn't there. One other thing I have to mention is that I saw so many drunks on FOS (even vomiting in the hallway and 3 really obnoxious late 50-60 year olds during muster), whereas I really can't say that during my two Carnival cruises, I saw anyone downright drunk. Just had to add that since so many Carnival haters say that Carnival is just a party ship with obnoxious drunks.