Opinions on differences between Carnival and RC

[nator555]

We are RC newbies. In your opinion what is the main difference between the 2?

 

 

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[akcruz]

It really depends on which ships you are comparing. The lines are very similar with pros and cons to each. If you can let us know what ships you have been on and which you are looking at you will get much better responses.

 

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[BNBR]

The 2 cruise lines are more similar than they are different. For Caribbean type sailings, the main difference will probably be that Royal has bigger, better ships available and Carnival has better itineraries available. But you can also sail a boring itinerary on Carnival and an older smaller ship on Royal :)

 

I guess one other major difference would be that Royal is known for better quality entertainment. I found the general attitude and friendliness of the Carnival staff a little better. But at that point, probably nitpicking. Again, they are much more similar than they are different.

 

When we booked our October cruise and were considering Vista vs Harmony - even with a great itinerary on Vista, we decided Harmony. I think the Royal ships are just spectacular and make the cruise that much better. We may give Carnival another shot next year though.

 

And one other difference is that Carnival has kids clubs starting at 2 years old, Royals starts at 3.

[cb at sea]

Generally, the "standard" cabins on Carnival are larger than RCI's D orE categories. RCI has better "suite perks" than Carnival, but no one beats NCL's suite perks.

 

RCI's ships have better "flow"....but aside from the aforementioned things, more alike than different!

[nator555]

It really depends on which ships you are comparing. The lines are very similar with pros and cons to each. If you can let us know what ships you have been on and which you are looking at you will get much better responses.

 

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We have never been on a brand new Carnival ship. We have been on Glory, Liberty, Sensation, Fantasy to name a few. We are scheduled to go on the Adventure of the Seas in May.

 

 

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[BNBR]

We have never been on a brand new Carnival ship. We have been on Glory, Liberty, Sensation, Fantasy to name a few. We are scheduled to go on the Adventure of the Seas in May.

 

 

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I did Glory last year. You should try and go on an Oasis class ship at some point.... it's almost unreal in comparison. But don't get me wrong, I really like Glory and we would sail her again. She's getting some nice upgrades during dry dock this month, too.

[nator555]

I did Glory last year. You should try and go on an Oasis class ship at some point.... it's almost unreal in comparison. But don't get me wrong, I really like Glory and we would sail her again. She's getting some nice upgrades during dry dock this month, too.

 

 

So far the Glory was my favorite. I love the patriotic decor very much[emoji631]

 

 

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[Skippy]

We were on the Carnival Splendor last year. This year we wanted to try Royal. Our first choice was the oasis class ship, but with the cost and then airfare it was out of our budget. We're going on Liberty and can drive to the port.

I found on carnival there wasn't much to do on board and the entertainment during the day wasn't very good. How many trivia shows can one sit through. The kids loved the camp though and it gave us a nice break. Camp even took them to dinner at the buffet which they opted to do for the bulk of the trip.

[racerxspeedy]

We have sailed many RC ships and enjoyed Carnival Glory's sister ship (Valor). Both Carnival and RC's larger ships will seem crowded at times, but found the pool size on Carnival Breeze unacceptable. They pack in 1000+ more people on Breeze with the same pool space as Valor.

 

The following is an older comparison another CC member created and I edited. Subject to change

 

Pros for Carnival Valor

1. Beverages

a.Less expensive alcoholic beverages and wine packages

b. 5% gratuity on beverages. Royal 18%

c. Sodas / mixers from cans, Royal usesfountain gun

d. Sufficient bar servers, no waiting in line to be served.

e. More beverage staff serving in Main Dining Room and pool areas.

f. Self serve Ice/Water/Lemonade stationsat the pool – Royal none

2. Amenities

a.Bathrobes provided even for 1st time cruisers.

b. Larger bathroom and shower

c. Shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste, shaving mirror. Nothing on Royal

e. Notepad and pen provided. No more orRoyal

f. Towel animals provided every evening. Less often on Royal

g. 3 banks of elevators – royal has no aft elevators or stairs

3. Food Availability

a.Soft serve ice cream available 24 hours with 4 stations. Royal limited hours with 2 stations

b. Pizza available 24 hours, several options available and cooked to order. Royal: Hours limited & pizza subpar

c. Coffee, Tea and juices available 24 hours.

d. Freshly cooked burgers available for 6 hours daily. Royal: No burger or stir fry stations

e.Snacks available until 1 am.

f. Deli open until 11pm.

4. Food buffet (subjective view) - Carnival has Multiple Entry locations –Royal only has one to control flow

a.Burgers / Hot Dogs / Pizza far superior, freshly prepared.

b. Fresh Eggs / Omelettes readily available from several stations. Stay away from scrambled eggs on Royal

c. Desserts larger variety and much better. Royal desserts have very little flavor

d. Greater range of options catering for a wide range of tastes.

e. Multiple free beverage stations with wide range of options.

f. Coffee far better quality. China mugs forbeverages not plastic & stained as in Windjammer

5. Laundry - a. Ironing rooms available. b. Washing machines and dryers available. NONE on Royal

6. Main restaurant Sea Day Brunch available from 8:30 – 1pm on every seaday.

7. Cleanliness

a.Public bathrooms have high speed hand dryers. ROYAL Promotes hand sanitizer use at Buffet

b. Tissue dispensers to be used to open doors with bins outside for deposit ofused tissues.

8. Entertainment

a.Several pool parties which are well attended with staff encouraginginvolvement.

b. Wide choice of movies on outdoor screen, normally at least 2 daily with freepopcorn provided.

Cons against Carnival Valor

1. Ship Design - No comparison –Royal is much nicer

a.Ship décor not subtle and quite loud.

b. Passenger flow - not as easy to get from location to location.

c. Pool areas appear more crowded on sea days.

d. Adults only area has little shade and no pool and often closed due to windas a result of its location on deck 12.

e. No ‘digital way finders’ to help navigate the ship.

2. Guest Services

a.Few guest service agents, with a priority line for some guests.

b. No updates by captain on weather conditions despite being rocky and windyfor 3 days.

3. Venues around the ship

a.Casino extremely smoked filled which drifts onto ‘promenade’.

b. Promenade cluttered with photographers nightly.

c. Limited offerings in the shops.

d. Only 1 quiet bar venue.

e. Many private functions which restricts access to a number of ‘open’ venues.

4. Dining

a.Dinner interrupted by staff performing which not only delays dinner service butis humiliating for the staff IMHO.

b. Only one speciality restaurant.

5. Entertainment / Recreation

a.Live entertainment extremely loud in the lobby, promenade and pool areas (andsingers not very good too).

b. Live entertainment / production shows not as good as Royal Caribbean.

c. Not as many ‘sporting’ activities available (rock climbing, ice skating, zipline etc.).

6. Beverage options

a.Only 1 alcoholic beverage package offered with a 15 drink limit per day and hasto be purchased by all adults in a stateroom.

b. Only 5 bottle wine package available on 8 day sailings.

7. Cleanliness

a.Few obvious hand sanitizers located throughout the ship with no staffencouraging guests to use them.

8. Entertainment – Royal has more options

[lazydayz]

OP, I loved both the Carnival Glory and Adventure of the Seas. The AOS has a great interior promenade with fun entertainment and parties. Think parades and disco parades.

 

We sailed on the Adventure during a hurricane in the Southern Caribbean. Royal moved all of the activities inside to the Promenade. It was one of our favorite cruises, even though it rained on six of the seven days.

 

It helped to have the SC itinerary. Loved Aruba and Curaçao. Don't worry. I think you will love the Adventure.

[mconthehighseas]

racerzxspeedy did an excellent job outlining many of the differences. I only have one thing to add.

If you are bringing children, you will be much happier on a Royal Caribbean ship. The children's programs are more organized, they have areas dedicated to children that are very kid-friendly, and you don't have to take them past noisy bars or the casino to get to places you want to take them.

 

Some things aren't as important to some people as other things, so the pros and cons can help you decide what's important to you. For me, the pools on Carnival seems much smaller, and the buffet area (Lido/Windjammer) seems much more narrow (and for me, claustrophobic) on Carnival. With the way the atrium is set up on Carnival, it seemed like a much noisier ship. But the price is better, and I think the food is too. So I cruise with my family on Royal Caribbean, and on Carnival with my friends

[racerxspeedy]

One other thing that was interesting last month on Harmony. RC has revised the room service menu and is now charging for most items. There are (very) limited free selections. This was not an issue with us, but I thought it was worth noting.

[Clarea]

One other thing that was interesting last month on Harmony. RC has revised the room service menu and is now charging for most items. There are (very) limited free selections. This was not an issue with us, but I thought it was worth noting.

Just like Quantum class, it seems to be the way of their new ships.

[jticarruthers]

As noted generally more similar than different, I would say that Carnival has generally an older more seasoned fleet but I loved Vista and would match it up against anything in RCL's fleet as a solid alternative.

[Skippy]

Who has better food? I really wasn't impressed with the food on carnival last year, but 15 years ago when we sailed the food was a lot better.

[BNBR]

One other thing that was interesting last month on Harmony. RC has revised the room service menu and is now charging for most items. There are (very) limited free selections. This was not an issue with us, but I thought it was worth noting.

 

I thought the room service was a joke on Royal, atrocious actually. I couldn't imagine them justifying a charge for this.

[BNBR]

As noted generally more similar than different, I would say that Carnival has generally an older more seasoned fleet but I loved Vista and would match it up against anything in RCL's fleet as a solid alternative.

 

Vista has had a ton of questionable reviews. Part of the reason we decided on Harmony instead this year. I do have a CC buddy doing Vista next month so I'm very curious to see what she has to say - she's super excited a total Carnival fanatic. So it'll be a fun chat when she gets back.

[F27TW]

Same kinda experience .... different colors on the funnel ... that's about it.

[2ferfun]

One other thing that was interesting last month on Harmony. RC has revised the room service menu and is now charging for most items. There are (very) limited free selections. This was not an issue with us, but I thought it was worth noting.

 

 

I didn't know RC charged for room service other than the after midnight delivery fee. Is this true on all of their ships?

[mrsbreezer]

I've been on both Royal and Carnival...they're both the same to me but I find that Carnival crew members are super friendly and enjoy their jobs while Royals crew is just "there."

 

 

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[nator555]

You guys are the best! I am truly grateful for such helpful folks!

 

 

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[marygal]

You guys are the best! I am truly grateful for such helpful folks!

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I truely enjoyed reading this after 17 Carnival cruises I am doing the Anthem in March.. am excited to see what the differences are.. Was just on the Vista in August so it will be interesting to see another line..

[racerxspeedy]

I didn't know RC charged for room service other than the after midnight delivery fee. Is this true on all of their ships?

 

 

Room service is not free on the newest ships at this point in time (Anthem, Harmony), but I think it is safe to say that this will be rolled out across the line if it is considered a "success".

[dwayneb236]

I enjoy Carnival but feel that the entertainment and just stuff to do is much better on Royal. Love the ships and their layout. For me they seemed to make more sense and much easier to get to places. Sometimes on Carnival you have to go from one floor to another floor then to another floor to get somewhere specific. My wife likes to eat healthy and absolutely loved the selections in the Windjammer compared to Carnival. Works for me. Now she wants to cruise more.

 

Very surprised at the limited room service menu on the Harmony. Hardly anything on it unless you want to pay for something. I don't. Seems like Carnival had more choices.

[TxStacey]

I have been on numerous Carnival and RCCL cruises. We started out on Carnival because it was the only cruise line going out of Galveston...a port that we can drive to. Once we sailed all of the Western Itineraries out of Galveston, we tried The Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral and loved it! I would say the biggest difference of the two lines is the ships. RCCL's ships are just so much nicer IMO. We thoroughly enjoy the Royal Promenade. One feature that I like better on Carnival is more outside seating and being able to see the water from more areas. You can sometimes forget you are on the water on Royal's ships. We have decided to more or less switch to RCCL from here on out because after 17 cruises, we should be Diamond status or above...but our cruises are split between 3 different cruise lines (only 1 on NCL). Overall we just like the RCCL experience better.