Royal vs Carnival: an honest opinion

[swsf99a]

Just curious, has anyone compared the loyalty programs each cruise line offers? Lots of nice benefits once you are Diamond on Royal and similar benefits on Celebrity. If prices are equal on whatever two lines you are comparing, what do other cruise lines offer me for my loyalty?

[lenquixote66]

In 1994 we did our first and last Carnival cruise .Our first RCI cruise was in 2012 and we have been on several since .

[topnole]

Just curious, has anyone compared the loyalty programs each cruise line offers? Lots of nice benefits once you are Diamond on Royal and similar benefits on Celebrity. If prices are equal on whatever two lines you are comparing, what do other cruise lines offer me for my loyalty?

 

I would say if you drink alcohol than Royal has a vastly superior loyalty program once you hit diamond and above. The 3 potential hours of free drinks plus the three vouchers a night puts that benefit at a solid $20-30 in value a day (certainly much more for some and less for others). Celebrity has something similar. But Carnival and the others don't. That probably keeps many loyal to Royal although most probably wouldn't admit it since they all seem to say they only like the diamond lounge to meet other frequent cruises and not for all the free booze. Also, things like a free picture each trip, some free internet, etc. also have a lot of value. The balcony discounts matter little lately it seems given all the promos don't let you use it. All told, I think RCI keeps people loyal with the better perks.

[mjmiller]

Thank you very much for sharing your opinion with us. I really enjoyed your comparison, as I will be sailing Royal for the first time this coming Jan. At that point, I will have 24 Carnival cruises completed. So I will be in the tough position of knowing the good and bad of Carnival quite well, and Royal will be compared to that good AND bad. All the comparisons you've made are what I have deduced from reading Carnival and Royal reviews on cc. There was no surprise at all from my viewpoint.

 

I've wanted to cruise on one of the mega-ships for years now, and we finally bit the bullet, which is hard to do, as one week on the Allure is the same price as our two weeks in Dec on Carnival Glory, which we know and enjoy. I'm looking forward to trying another new-to-us cruiseline! I have to say - one of my critiques already is that to make sure we get into the shows, AND to get into my time dining at a desired time, we should make reservations before boarding. So not cool. But since I don't want to miss anything - I'm scheduling our cruise activities ahead of time. ;)

[carolslc]

Thanks for the review! We just booked our first cruise on Royal. We've cruised both Celebrity and Carnival before so I was interested in your comparison of Carnival to Royal.

 

We always do at least 7 day cruises, when kids are in school. We sailed on the Carnival Magic, after two Celebrity cruises, and had a great time! The ship was beautiful, the balcony cabin was big, and we had the best service ever from our room steward and bartenders.

 

Our next two are on Celebrity and Royal, but if the price and itinerary were right, I'd choose Carnival again definitely. I agree with another poster that they do the "basics" quite well, at least on the Magic.

[ajmj]

Our biggest problem with Carnival (granted we said her ships nearly exclusively for a number of years) was for the very reason we sailed Carnival.

 

It was our go-to ship with very young kids and easier on our raising-family budget.

 

After boarding Carnival's Freedom on a wonderful Southern ABC itinerary, we found that all the inside cabins across the hall from our balcony cabin were jammed packed with very loud, multiple families all traveling together and congregated in hallway. We had no relief -- seemed as though this experience was ship-wide. And the loud, rowdy, obnoxious passengers took over the rest of ship too.

 

Basically the other passengers ruined our Carnival experiences. That was a few years ago and I do not know if the same pricing exists for the inside cabins on the newer ships.... But we are not willing to gamble to find out.

[Big_G]

Coming from the school of experiences may vary from line to line, ship to ship, and itinerary to itinerary, I think when people have limited experience with a cruise line, it may be better served if they just write a review of that ship instead of stacking one line against another based on one ship. While the OP was pretty fair, the scoring of the lines was somewhat annoying. Just my honest opinion.

[bigeagle12]

Coming from the school of experiences may vary from line to line, ship to ship, and itinerary to itinerary, I think when people have limited experience with a cruise line, it may be better served if they just write a review of that ship instead of stacking one line against another based on one ship. While the OP was pretty fair, the scoring of the lines was somewhat annoying. Just my honest opinion.

 

 

I do not find it annoying .. in fact I might even give Carnival one more point than OP. Now granted, I will not cruise Carnivals older ships or cruise during summer months or print break.

 

 

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Edited June 8, 2016 by bigeagle12

[Flamencacha]

Our biggest problem with Carnival (granted we said her ships nearly exclusively for a number of years) was for the very reason we sailed Carnival.

 

 

 

It was our go-to ship with very young kids and easier on our raising-family budget.

 

 

 

After boarding Carnival's Freedom on a wonderful Southern ABC itinerary, we found that all the inside cabins across the hall from our balcony cabin were jammed packed with very loud, multiple families all traveling together and congregated in hallway. We had no relief -- seemed as though this experience was ship-wide. And the loud, rowdy, obnoxious passengers took over the rest of ship too.

 

 

 

Basically the other passengers ruined our Carnival experiences. That was a few years ago and I do not know if the same pricing exists for the inside cabins on the newer ships.... But we are not willing to gamble to find out.

 

 

 

Some people don't know how to travel, it really isn't the cruise lines fault. I have seen some behaviors on X that would make my blood curl.

 

It's a shame that the bad experience turned you off, but I get it. Hope you enjoy your future cruises.

 

 

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[Jim40]

Haven't been on Carnival in a few years , but loved the fresh made deli sandwiches do they still have the delis

[ryano]

Haven't been on Carnival in a few years , but loved the fresh made deli sandwiches do they still have the delis

 

They did on Magic. The Reuben was wonderful!

[FLSteve11]

Some people don't know how to travel, it really isn't the cruise lines fault. I have seen some behaviors on X that would make my blood curl.

 

It's a shame that the bad experience turned you off, but I get it. Hope you enjoy your future cruises.

 

 

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I have to say, the "loud, annoying people in the hall" issue is something we have had on Carnival more than other lines as well. I don't think it's the lines fault per se, but it might be that line tends to get more of that clientele then others (since it gets a lot more first time cruisers looking for bargain pricing and haven't traveled much).

[Ocean Dancer]

I have to say, the "loud, annoying people in the hall" issue is something we have had on Carnival more than other lines as well. I don't think it's the lines fault per se, but it might be that line tends to get more of that clientele then others (since it gets a lot more first time cruisers looking for bargain pricing and haven't traveled much).

 

Some people don't know how to travel, it really isn't the cruise lines fault. I have seen some behaviors on X that would make my blood curl.

 

It's a shame that the bad experience turned you off, but I get it. Hope you enjoy your future cruises.

 

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It IS the cruiselines or ships fault if you have complained to Guest Services.

[Paul65]

It IS the cruiselines or ships fault if you have complained to Guest Services.

 

Do you really go to Guest Services every time you encounter someone being loud and/or annoying?

[Ocean Dancer]

Do you really go to Guest Services every time you encounter someone being loud and/or annoying?

 

Of course not, I've never encountered this problem, but if I did, and it continued I would politely talk to the "guests" and if not resolved, then go to or call GS. Wouldn't you?

[Paul65]

Of course not, I've never encountered this problem, but if I did, and it continued I would politely talk to the "guests" and if not resolved, then go to or call GS. Wouldn't you?

 

Probably not, unless is was a severe issue. If it's just people being more loud and boisterous than I would prefer, I would most likely come to a similar conclusion to others here and decide to go back to a cruise line where I saw less of that behavior.

 

I tend to avoid Guest Services most of the time. I'll go, when I need to, but complaining about fellow passengers is not a reason I've ever been there.

[bigeagle12]

They did on Magic. The Reuben was wonderful!

 

 

Love the freshly carved roasted turkey sandwiches too [emoji3]

 

 

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[Ocean Dancer]

Probably not, unless is was a severe issue. If it's just people being more loud and boisterous than I would prefer, I would most likely come to a similar conclusion to others here and decide to go back to a cruise line where I saw less of that behavior.

 

I tend to avoid Guest Services most of the time. I'll go, when I need to, but complaining about fellow passengers is not a reason I've ever been there.

 

If the situation was that horrid, and you did not complain, then in my opinion, you are part of the problem. Changing ships or even lines is not the answer. The following cruise in the same cabin will be totally different. We are NOT tattletales, but if excess noise is going on night after night at 3 am, yes, I will say something. And you probably would too.

[bigeagle12]

I have to say, the "loud, annoying people in the hall" issue is something we have had on Carnival more than other lines as well. I don't think it's the lines fault per se, but it might be that line tends to get more of that clientele then others (since it gets a lot more first time cruisers looking for bargain pricing and haven't traveled much).

 

 

Have experienced the kids in hallways and stairwells on Princess, Royal, and Carnival .. more a factor of number of kids onboard and not the "clientele". Our New Year's Eve cruise this year on Freedom was the worst ever. I will say on several Royal ships I have seen Security really crack down on this .. but not this past cruise.

 

 

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[Paul65]

If the situation was that horrid, and you did not complain, then in my opinion, you are part of the problem. Changing ships or even lines is not the answer. The following cruise in the same cabin will be totally different. We are NOT tattletales, but if excess noise is going on night after night at 3 am, yes, I will say something. And you probably would too.

 

Well...I did say I wouldn't go to Guest Services about it "unless it was severe." I'm not sure what you're talking about with "that horrid" and "night after night at 3 am."

[Ocean Dancer]

Well...I did say I wouldn't go to Guest Services about it "unless it was severe." I'm not sure what you're talking about with "that horrid" and "night after night at 3 am."

 

We have had tablemates and or friends that have experienced this.

 

Then we agree;)

Edited June 8, 2016 by Ocean Dancer

[topnole]

Coming from the school of experiences may vary from line to line, ship to ship, and itinerary to itinerary, I think when people have limited experience with a cruise line, it may be better served if they just write a review of that ship instead of stacking one line against another based on one ship. While the OP was pretty fair, the scoring of the lines was somewhat annoying. Just my honest opinion.

 

I agree in general although I didn't find it annoying so much as incomplete. Perhaps the title of the thread should just use the ship names and then it would be accurate. One wouldn't want to judge all of Germany if they only visited Munich or all the US if they only visited Boston.

[Paul65]

We have had tablemates and or friends that have experienced this.

 

Then we agree;)

 

Well...I'm not sure we agree, other than on the fact that if behavior is "horrid" enough, we would likely take it up with Guest Services.

 

But I certainly wouldn't go to Guest Services for every instance of loud or rude behavior, and enough of those more minor annoyances could turn me against a particular ship and/or cruise line, even if it wasn't bad enough to report to G.S.

[Big_G]

I do not find it annoying .. in fact I might even give Carnival one more point than OP. Now granted, I will not cruise Carnivals older ships or cruise during summer months or print break.

 

 

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You just made my point.

 

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[Artemus]

Love the freshly carved roasted turkey sandwiches too [emoji3]

 

 

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I love also love those fresh deli sandwiches on Carnival. They're are definitely better than RCCL as is the Carnival pizza better than RCCL.

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