Carnival vs royal?

[asylum575]

We were on back to back Rccl/ Ccl cruises last month.

We took Empress of the Seas on 8/16 out of Tampa to Key West, Havana and Cozumel. We returned 8/21, drove up to Jacksonville for a cruise on Elation to the Bahamas.

Hands down Rccl was the better cruise. However, it wouldn't be fair to compare.

 

The Empress cruise had a much better itinerary and that shouldn't be held against Carnival.

 

Empress was also just redone for this itinerary to Cuba and was beautiful. Elation was due for a drydock one cruise after ours. She really needs a makeover.

 

We found Elation very dark with alot of red decor. Just not my taste.

 

I did feel the Elation service staff was not as friendly and the cruise staff had a different vibe. Maybe I'm just getting old. There was limited dinnerware at the place settings in the MDR and linen only elegant night.

 

Overall, the two itineraries were very different and attracted very different people.

[skiingj]

After a dozen Carnival cruises and only two Royal its Royal with a better product and much better loyalty program. The Vista was disappointing. Carnival has had so many cutbacks we decided to try Royal and found Royal much better, Carnival has better Pizza, Burgers and Steakhouse. Royal has an overall much better and classier product.

[sunshine002]

I have sailed both

 

MDR Carnival

Shows Royal

Music around ship -Carnival

Cabin Size Carnival

Decor Royal

Staff Cruise Director Carnival

Cabin Stewart Carnival

Casino Carnival (love the comped drinks once you get the drinks on us card)

Didn't care for the Oasis on Royal guess I prefer smaller ships

Public space and pools Royal

 

Love Guys burgers and the deli on Carnival, opps my clothing keeps shrinking on cruises

Buffet at dinner Royal

 

Overall Carnival both I still sail both

[elcuchio24]

We've cruised both quite a bit. Ships are nicer/cooler with RCL, I like the entertainment better. The food is very similar, although I like the venues and flexibility better on CCL. I prefer the CCL staff, in general. All in all its kind of a wash for us, so we sail the itin and then pick the best prices, and 3/4 times its CCL.

[jtdlmc]

We prefer Carnival to RCL. They really are more alike than different but we found the food much better on Carnival along with more options on both the buffet and MDR. My time dining is not really my time dining on RCL - we had to make reservations online before sailing and could not change them once we were onboard. We could eat in the MDR after 9 p.m. but no earlier we were told so we only ate in the MDR if there was something we really wanted because we had the first seating at 5 pm or something like that - too early on a cruise. No difference in cabins. Vibe on RCL was too laid back. We aren't big partiers or anything but it just didn't feel "fun" on Royal. We have only been on one RCL cruise which was on Freedom of the Seas. As for service, can't really say one was better than the other - some bartenders were rude on FOS as were some buffet staff and dining room staff. I can't remember any employee being rude on Carnival but there might have been, I think it all depends on the type of day the person is having, not the particular cruise line. I don't really pay much attention to the décor on the ships and didn't notice anything outstanding about any of them. One thing I loved about FOS is the promenade - absolutely loved the little cafes, pubs, etc., on the promenade and would sail on RCL again just for that, but then again I absolutely love Guys and the Blue Iguana on Carnival! Honestly, I just book the cruise by the itinerary and price. We are trying out NCL next year.

[asylum575]

In the past, I always felt the food was similar on both lines.

However, after our back to back last month my opinion has changed.

The Rccl Empress food was very good to excellent. Our servers were so good, I would give the whole experience an excellent.

The Carnival food was fair to good with the service bringing the overall grade down. In fact, we never go the the buffet for dinner, but chose to eat there on the last night. We experienced the rubbery chicken that has been mentioned in the past. The selection was not as bountiful as in past cruises.

I had read many mediocre reviews about Elation, but the overall experience was fair to good.