Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival

[Auntbridge]

I have only sailed Carnival. My husband has never been on a cruise. I was thinking to change things up a bit for me and thought we might try RC. He has also requested anything other than Carnival. Can anyone give me the pros and cons for RC versus Carnival. I want him to have a good experience and love cruising as much as I do. TIA.

[OCruisers]

They're about the same. Go for the itinerary that you like best. ;)

[stickyshocker]

He has also requested anything other than Carnival.

 

 

What's up with Carnival?..Once i tried booking a 4 nighter as a wedding gift but then they found out and politely declined. [emoji848]

 

 

 

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[akcruz]

I think it depends on the ships you are comparing. There is a big difference in entertainment, amenities and food options. Go with what is most important, the above plus itinerary and cost to help in making a decision.

 

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[DaisyL]

Having cruised on both, they each have pro's/con's and we like both. It also matters which ships you are looking into. An older ship on either may not compare with a newer ship.

 

My Opinions only: I think the meal quality is comparable, service comparable, entertainment comparable, like the buffet choices and quality better on Carnival, balcony staterooms comparable, loud pool areas on both.

 

I think RC is more organized than any other line we have cruised with. Most of our cruises are out of the NY area so the passengers are the same. I have heard that Carnival is more of a party atmosphere, but not on our cruises. We have seen cutbacks on all cruise lines so no difference there.

 

These are my opinions, and we choose our cruises by price, itinerary, ship, which port we want to cruise out of and whether it's a just my husband and I, or a small group or a large group.

 

If you have any specific questions, just ask.

 

You really can't go wrong with either. We haven't been on a cruise we didn't love.

[lor74]

Depends on the ships. IMO, RCCL gives you a higher level of service, and in most cases better food.

 

 

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[BNBR]

They are much more similar than they are different.

 

Royal will have larger, better ships with better entertainment. Carnival may have a better itinerary and be less expensive.

 

Food, service, drinks, etc. etc. etc. For every person that says Royal is better, someone else says Carnival is better. They are almost identical in this respect.

 

It really should come down to whether you want to go with a massive/new Royal Caribbean ship or a less expensive Carnival that may have a better itinerary. You'll love either one.

 

When I took my wife on her first cruise, along with her parents - booking an Oasis class was a no brainer and I don't regret it for a moment. It's spectacular. On our cruise in October, we are going with Carnival on a much smaller ship - but we liked the itinerary better and better kids program for our age group.

 

For what it's worth, I know quite a few who will "only sail on Oasis class" and know not a single person who says that about anything Carnival has.

Edited September 13, 2016 by BNBR

[easyboy]

I think it depends on the ships you are comparing. There is a big difference in entertainment, amenities and food options. Go with what is most important, the above plus itinerary and cost to help in making a decision.

I agree. May be important for others but not for your DH.

[mrobstad]

I think it depends on the ships you are comparing. There is a big difference in entertainment, amenities and food options. Go with what is most important, the above plus itinerary and cost to help in making a decision.

 

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For me, its all about the ship....newer ships have lots of amenities! Look at Freedom class on RCL....love the solariums!

 

 

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[stlouistravelers]

I have been on several lines, mostly those that serve primarily Americans. It seems that the clientele is the biggest difference. The only exception is that I felt that Princess treated me the best (IMHO). I don't find that there is significant differences between lines themselves. My worst cruise was awesome.

[KG1924]

I agree w/ previous posters...completely depends on what ship class you are looking at. I've been on the largest/newest class of both...and while Carnivals Dream class (I think that's the class....I could be wrong) is much better than the Miracle in my opinion, there is really just no other comparison to the Oasis class on Royal. That being said, the Oasis class is not for everyone. Here's the difference that I personally notice but remember, what matters to me may have no affect on your preferences.

 

Pros for Royal:

-Drink packages just work better for us...we don't like the 15 drink minimum on Carnival (we would be considered "drinkers" :o)

-Ship layouts just make more sense and seem to handle crowds better

-entertainment, especially the Oasis class

-decor but only ever so slightly when you compare newest on both lines

-more activities-again, on newer/larger classes (think flowrider, rock climbing, etc. While you may not use them, they give the crowds places to disperse)

-Pools seem bigger/more plentiful

-Freedom class Solarium is the best we've experienced

 

Pros for Carnival:

-generally less expensive cruise fare, more so w/ 3rd/4th passengers. They're always pretty similar in cost for us since it's just the 2 of us.

-itineraries can be better/different

-food options during the day (Guys burgers and mexican)

-comedy show are more plentiful and even though we hate the bottleneck line up to get in, we really enjoyed the shows

 

Other than that, the service and regular food seems pretty much the same to us. Again, I can't really comment on the smaller ships on either line nor the shorter cruises.

Edited September 14, 2016 by KG1924

[KG1924]

If you are a blackout drinker, I suggest carnival

 

 

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Actually, since Carnival has a 15 drink limit, I would strongly encourage a blackout drinker to go on Royal as they have no said limit :p

 

I've never ever experienced any more/less drunk/annoying passengers on Carnival vs. Royal and I've been on a few of both. All have been 7 -8 day cruises, but we've also sailed during spring break on Carnival....it was by far the most boring/tame cruise we've been on. So I completely disagree with your statement based on my experience. Shorter cruises will most likely be a very different story on both lines.

 

Disclaimer: I would never actually encourage anyone to be a blackout drinker ;)

Edited September 14, 2016 by KG1924

[JimAOk1945]

And now back to the OP's question...

 

Auntbridge,

 

I noticed that you live in Texas. Royal Caribbean has a ship in Galveston year round. We have cruised on RC and Carnival out of Galveston a few times. There are similarities between the two, but in our opinion, RC is a step above Carnival.

 

As you can see by the links below in my signature, we enjoy Royal Caribbean and have been on different itineraries with different "classes" of Royal Caribbean ships, which are the ones ending with "of the Seas" in their names. We have had fantastic experiences on all of them.

 

I'm inserting a link below that will take you to the Royal Caribbean website where you can see information about the ship that is in Galveston year round now. It's called Liberty of the Seas.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipClassCode=FR&shipCode=LB&br=R

 

Happy cruising!

Edited September 14, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[VASOXFANN]

Carnival tends to have better food, but food is subjective. I like RC's older ships better. They tend to be more elegant. Carnival's ships are OK and have large staterooms, but they have loud decor. I haven't sailed on RC's newer, huge ships which I liken to a mall or amusement park which I don't consider relaxing.

 

I prefer RC's drink package to Carnival's, as it may be used on private islands, there is no requirement that everyone in the stateroom get it, and there is no drink limit!

 

Carnival's prices are usually cheaper, but lately I've found great bargains on RC.

 

Carnival passengers tend to be louder, rowdier and more laid back. RC passengers are nice, but a bit less rowdy.

 

Like someone above posted, choose the line that offers the best itinerary. You'll have a good time no matter which you choose.

Edited September 14, 2016 by VASOXFANN

[VASOXFANN]

What's up with Carnival?..Once i tried booking a 4 nighter as a wedding gift but then they found out and politely declined. [emoji848]

 

 

 

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I'll take it :D

[jamesr3939]

Overall I haven't found much difference. The food on both is good. The specialty restaurants on both are outstanding. Cabins and service about the same.

 

The last two we have done and our upcoming RCCL were/are on Oasis class and our two prior to that were on CCL on Dream and Magic.

 

I will say if you are going for the ship then CCL can't compare with Oasis class. Oasis class is a destination in itself.

 

All things considered I would look at itinerary first if there is someplace you really want to go.

 

If there are no ports that jump out on your "bucket list" then I would go for the ship, which the Oasis class is hands down better than anything CCL can offer.

Edited September 15, 2016 by jamesr3939

[Dori Saltzman]

Here are two articles that might help:

Carnival Cruise Line vs. Royal Caribbean International

Who Does Free Cruise Dining Best? Royal Caribbean, Carnival or Norwegian

[Jimnbigd]

IMO RCI has better and more live music than Carnival, including a 4 piece pool band and 9 piece ship's orchestra. (I think it is 11 pieces on Oasis-class). I think Carnival uses a DJ at the pool, and the ship's band is only 5 pieces. And decor on RCI for me is classier -- RCI has chandeliers while Carnival has neon lights. In some ways Carnival has better food, but overall I prefer RCI.

[BillOh]

I have only sailed Carnival. My husband has never been on a cruise. I was thinking to change things up a bit for me and thought we might try RC. He has also requested anything other than Carnival. Can anyone give me the pros and cons for RC versus Carnival. I want him to have a good experience and love cruising as much as I do. TIA.

 

Seeing you are in Texas are you considering sailing out of Galveston? If so, Liberty sails from there and is one of my favorite classes of ship.

[songbird1329]

We've done two cruises with Carnival and we're cruising on RCL next month. I'm looking forward to seeing the differences.

[amandam32]

In my opinion, RCL is the way to go! We are on Liberty of the Seas right now. We sailed the Carnival Dream last November. The only pro I can find with Carnival is that they have self service laundry rooms. This trip confirmed for us no more Carnival. The people on this ship are so much nicer, better food and drinks, rooms, more to do...

 

 

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[WhyIsTheRumGone23]

We are just off Royal's Empress of the Seas after multiple Carnival cruises. We wanted to see the differences ourselves. We were actually disappointed. We have always heard that the food and service are better on RCCL and we found it to be opposite. The food quality in the MDR is comparable but the buffet and daytime food options are much better with Carnival. The employees on Royal were less friendly and the service was lacking. On a 4 night cruise we did not meet our room steward once! :confused:

 

Entertainment is another personal choice. We enjoyed the main theater shows better on Royal but really missed the comedians and the music on Carnival. The pool side daytime entertainment suits us better on Carnival as well.

 

Drink packages are very similar between the two. We are cruise drinkers and have never maxed out on Carnival so the limit isn't an issue for us. The wine options in the MDR had more "by the glass" options on Carnival.

 

Staterooms and decor vary from ship to ship and cruise line to cruise line so there I think you have to compare the ships you are looking at specifically.

 

As others have said, compare itineraries and the specific ships to really get a good perspective. just my 2 cents.

 

Hope you find what you are looking for and enjoy your cruise!

[vmt514]

We may not cruise quite as much as other, but we have been on both over the last several years, including Oasis and Breeze.

 

In the end we book based on schedule, itinerary and port. Living in Florida, I had to fly to a port to take a cruise.

 

So, I totally agree that each has good and bad. But within any one ship you can find good and bad. We traveled this summer with my sister and their cabin was in a different part of the ship. They had a GREAT room steward, we never saw ours. First time I didn't tip my steward, he didn't even come by the last day looking for a tip.

 

This is the first time we are going on a second cruise in one year. Wish we could do more. So basically - just enjoy!