New to RCL

[kloudamy]

July will my first time cruising with RCL. I have been on 10 cruises all with carnival. I would love to get veteran RCL cruisers tips and what to expect with this cruise line vs carnival. Thanks in advance.

 

 

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[BNBR]

Which ship?

[Clarea]

Some similar RC vs Carnival threads:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2460900

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2461102

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2414224

[kloudamy]

Empress of the seas. To key west and Cuba!!!

 

 

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[matj2000]

Some similar RC vs Carnival threads:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2460900

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2461102

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2414224

 

Those are just a few.

Just go to the search function.

Type in "Carnival".

It will pull up the last 10,000 already ongoing threads on the subject....

[cb at sea]

You will find both lines more similar than different. One difference...RCI doesn't require both parties in a cabin to buy the drink package....if only 1 is drinking, only 1 needs to buy.

[BNBR]

Empress of the seas. To key west and Cuba!!!

 

 

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That's a very old ship, but will still be plenty nice. In which case, cb at sea is right on the money. You'll find the service/food/etc. probably about on par. What sets Royal apart is their better ships, but you aren't sailing on the newer ones. You will have a great time and won't notice much of a difference between Carnival and Royal, to be frank.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

Yes, Carnival & RCI are pretty much on par but the real difference comes once you make diamond on RCI's Crown & Anchor Society. You get access to the Diamond Lounge (and later, with diamond plus & pinnacle -- the Concierge lounge) with nice continental breakfast, happy hour drinks and munchies, and the nifty DYI cappuccino machine. Lounges are a great way to relax among friends, read your kindle, knit/crochet, and just get away from the 'madding crowd'.

RCI's Crown & Anchor is, by far, the best loyalty program on the high seas -- for this price range. Of course, if you book a suite (not junior suite), you get to use these nifty lounges (on some ships, the suites get their own lounges).

[funship freddy]

Sailed Empress a few weeks ago. They offered 10 drink cards if you don't want to buy an unlimited package. You can share the drink cards. Chops is the only specialty restaurant. They aggressively offered 20% off at Chops every night. Food in the MDR was good. They did offer lobster one night in the MDR. The $7.95 room service was a fail both times we tried it. Very slow and wrong items.

 

 

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[kloudamy]

Thank you for the responses and links. Y'all have been super helpful.

 

 

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[Tatka]

Also unlike Carnival you still get cabin service twice a day.

[Havingfun2010]

July will my first time cruising with RCL. I have been on 10 cruises all with carnival. I would love to get veteran RCL cruisers tips and what to expect with this cruise line vs carnival. Thanks in advance.

 

 

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I'm going on this ship also, but would love to hear some confirmations. This ship is not the "normal" RCCL. It is smaller, and dedicated for Cuba. The entertainment areas are some "old style" like the main stage.

 

The differences I heard:

1. MDR menu is not the same. It is unique to only this ship.

2. No formal night on this ship

3. No smoking in the casino (YAY!!!!)

4. The staterooms are the old style - very small.

5. Well, I heard everything is tiny on the ship, but quaint.

 

I'm looking forward to it, and the above differences don't bother me, because it will be different. Just want a confirmation that it is.

 

For the poster, you will most likely find this ship to be unique, and enjoyable, but not much difference. It was a retired ship, brought back because of the small size. It would be hard to even compare this ship to the many other RCCL ships in the fleet because of it's uniqueness!