Royal Caribbean question

[Bsw0619]

Hello,

I was considering Royal Caribbean after taking the last two cruises on Carnival. One of the big reasons for considering Royal Caribbean is their longer Canada/New England Cruises lasting 9 + days. I've always heard from others that Royal Caribbean could be considered a bit boring compared to Carnival, esp for children and teens. Other big issues I've heard from people with Royal Caribbean is that the food is not as good and the ship is too crowded, making activities near impossible. Can anyone speak to this? I wanted to get some info on how it differs from Carnival. I really like Royal Caribbean's itineraries on different cruises they offer. What is the plus and negative to Royal Caribbean ?Thanks for your feedback!

[kctwinmommy]

Probably better asking on the RCI board. We're taking our first RCI cruise this summer, they have a nice Europe one that we chose. So I can't speak to the differences yet, but I'll be sure to give a review when we get back!

[Bsw0619]

Sorry. I'm actually sending this from my work computer with lag and having computer issues. I wish there were a way to delete your posts. I continue to accidently post this to the wrong thread/forum.

[lgdick54]

Only have one experience with RCI. Ship common areas slightly nicer, but found them more crowded as events would take place in walkways creating choke points. Things like the skating shows booked up very quickly and service was not as good/friendly and dining room more crowded. We use Princess as an alternate based on itineraries but overall prefer Carnival to RCI. For me, there was nothing that RCI had over Carnival. Ship we were on was the Navigator of the Seas out of Galveston.

 

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[maryred]

To compare Royal to Carnival is hard without knowing which ships you want to sail on from RCI and what ships you have sailed on from CCL.

Both companies have over 20 ships each, some brand new with lots of bells and whistles, and older ones that may have very few options that are part of what the company advertises to draw people in.

Just like not all Carnival ships have Guy's Burgers or the rope course not all Royal ships have the flo-rider or dive-in theater.

Beyond features available on the ship I have found that food though prepared differently is of the same quality. The same with personal services such as how the stewards care for your cabin. Nightly entertainment differs though between both companies in so much as Carnival offers more choices each night like having both a variety production show and comedians while Royal has fewer offerings usually only 1 or the other each night but except for the comedians (which are the same ones used by CCL, HAL, Princess, and -X-) the productions shows are of a slightly higher quality. Both companies offer lots of a la carte options to enhance your cruising experience for an extra fee.

[NavarreCruiser]

You are likely to get more positive feedback on the RCCL forum, but since I have more than 80 Carnival cruises and over 30 with Royal I can give you my opinions.

 

As you have probably already determined RCCL tends to be more expensive than Carnival. Most of their ships have a better space to passenger ratio than Carnival's so feeling crowded is usually not a factor. Although RCCL claims to have the same passenger demographics as Carnival, It seems to skew older (and snobbier) on many ships. Many veteran RCCL cruisers really look down on Carnival.

 

The RCCL ships (especially the newer ones) have very nice decor with tasteful low-key furnishings. Their drink prices are higher than Carnival's. My younger daughter who has a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old will only cruise on Royal because of all the things her kids can do on those ships.

 

The bottom line to me is if you enjoyed your Carnival cruises you should be fine on Royal.

[cruzeluver]

Which Royal ship are you considering? As far as boring for teens, kids or anyone who wants a lot of on board activities, no Carnival ships can hold a candle to Royal's Voyager, Freedom, Oasis and Quantum class of ships. In general I feel when comparing these two lines specifically it is better to compare ships vs. the entire fleet.

 

Overall we found food and service similar between the two lines.

[crusinpsychRN]

Depending on the ship there are all kinds of things for kids to do that CCL doesn't have.

[nhsails]

Another multi cruiser here. My kids and now grandkids much prefer Royal. As with all mass market lines, pricing varies and with research and some leg work you can get deals on all of them. I much prefer Royal's food, entertainment and cabins. I think Carnival's crew are trained to interact more directly with guests than the other lines. Will strongly disagree with"snobby" comment. The rudest people I've ever met anywhere on this planet were on a Carnival Cruise. For me, I look itinerary first, then find ship within my budget for time I want to go. We've done iver 12 different lines, some I adore some I'll never sail again, but you'll never know unless you try. Bottom line, try it.

[katiel53]

I have sailed many cruises on Carnival and on Royal Caribbean as well as other lines. I guess it depends upon what you think of as fun if one line is better than the other. I believe the ships of Royal are far more sedate in decor than Carnival. I believe the majority of people on Royal dress far nicer than those on Carnival. I haven't seen the tee shirts with the gross comments on them like I have on Carnival.

 

Although there are some who don't follow the dress code on Royal, the numbers are far fewer than on Carnival which, to me, really has no dress code at all. I haven't seen any baseball hats at dinner on Royal where on Carnival it's an every day occurrence.

 

To me fun is not making sure I get my 15 drinks because I paid for them and darn it, I will get them. Sharing of drink packages, even though not condoned by either, is far more common on Carnival as more schemers/scammers are on there.

 

I think food is about the same and the Steak House on Carnival is better than those on Royal. On the other hand, the large ships of Royal have more specialty restaurants than Carnival. That could be a positive or negative depending on your point of view.

 

I will continue to sail both depending on the itinerary or the ship and it's amenities as I enjoy both. I don't find Royal boring, but then again, drinking until 2 or 3 AM isn't my thing. I also believe it depends what one finds interesting or boring. To me, karaoke is one of the most boring things onboard any ship and it seems to be nightly entertainment on Carnival and more of fill in kind of thing on Royal as they have far more professional entertainment than Carnival.

 

I do have to say that my opinions may be jaded in that I no longer sail on the old ships of either line, such as Sensation on Carnival or Majesty on Royal. I like the newer ships such as Dream class on Carnival and Oasis class on Royal. I can't imagine being bored on an Oasis class ship or to a lesser degree on a Dream class ship.

 

We all have differences of opinion and different things that are important to our enjoyment, but trying other lines is a good way to find out what's best for you. Enjoy whichever you choose.