Carnival, Royal, Disney Review

[desperatelyseekingtony]

Here is my breakdown one star being the lowest and five stars the highest.

 

Food:

Carnival****

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Service:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Entertainment:

Carnival*

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Detail and Visuals:

Carnival*

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Comedy Club:

Carnival*****

Royal***

Disney*

 

Pools:

Carnival**

Royal*****

Disney***

 

Dinning Room:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Nightlife:

Carnival****

Royal***

Disney**

 

Crowd:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

Staterooms:

Carnival****

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Bars:

Carnival***

Royal****

Disney**

 

Quality:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

Organization:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Piano Bar:

Carnival****

Royal***

Disney*

 

Casino:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney N/A

 

Room Service

Carnival**

Royal*

Disney****

 

Interaction

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Overall:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

 

 

Material Boy 305

[topnole]

18 categories

 

56 pts for Royal and 51 for carnival if my math is right. So royal is 3.1 and 2.8 for carnival for overall avg of your ratings assuming equal weighting which is not a great assumption.

 

How many cruises on each have you done to make your judgements?

[tinkertwo]

I'll add a category, haven't been on Carnival so its just Royal and Disney....

 

Adult only Area

Royal*****

Disney***

 

Also, understanding that food is subjective, that is the one category I would disagree with. I felt Royal and Disney were pretty equal in that department. I do love your post though, great reference for anyone looking to choose other lines.

[Merion_Mom]

Here is my breakdown one star being the lowest and five stars the highest.

 

Food:

Carnival****

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Service:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Entertainment:

Carnival*

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Detail and Visuals:

Carnival*

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Comedy Club:

Carnival*****

Royal***

Disney*

 

Pools:

Carnival**

Royal*****

Disney***

 

Dinning Room:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Nightlife:

Carnival****

Royal***

Disney**

 

Crowd:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

Staterooms:

Carnival****

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Bars:

Carnival***

Royal****

Disney**

 

Quality:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

Organization:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Piano Bar:

Carnival****

Royal***

Disney*

 

Casino:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney N/A

 

Room Service

Carnival**

Royal*

Disney****

 

Interaction

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Overall:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

 

 

Material Boy 305

What ships are you comparing? It matters.

[desperatelyseekingtony]

18 categories

 

56 pts for Royal and 51 for carnival if my math is right. So royal is 3.1 and 2.8 for carnival for overall avg of your ratings assuming equal weighting which is not a great assumption.

 

How many cruises on each have you done to make your judgements?

8 Carnival 4 Disney 3 Royal....my overall expirence was Disney Wins.

 

Material Boy 305

[desperatelyseekingtony]

I'll add a category, haven't been on Carnival so its just Royal and Disney....

 

Adult only Area

Royal*****

Disney***

 

Also, understanding that food is subjective, that is the one category I would disagree with. I felt Royal and Disney were pretty equal in that department. I do love your post though, great reference for anyone looking to choose other lines.

Thank you. I did not like Royals main dinning yet specialty resturants I did. And they have a nuce Solerium yet saw lots of young kids in it and the staff did nothing yet its beautiful :)

 

Material Boy 305

[desperatelyseekingtony]

What ships are you comparing? It matters.

Carnival: Vista, Paradise, Glory, Fantasy, Breeze.

 

Royal: Harmony, Allure, Enchantment

 

Disney: magic, wonder, dream, fantasy

 

Material Boy 305

[Clarea]

Thank you. I did not like Royals main dinning yet specialty resturants I did. And they have a nuce Solerium yet saw lots of young kids in it and the staff did nothing yet its beautiful :)

 

Material Boy 305

Still curious about which Royal ship(s). Also, are you saying that kids under 16 were in the Solarium pool and crewmembers did nothing to kick them out?

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Still curious about which Royal ship(s). Also, are you saying that kids under 16 were in the Solarium pool and crewmembers did nothing to kick them out?

I was told they do NOT enforce the no one under 16 in the solarium anymore...they just keep the signs...:rolleyes:

[Clarea]

I was told they do NOT enforce the no one under 16 in the solarium anymore...they just keep the signs...:rolleyes:

That's not been our experience on Brilliance and Vision. I've seen crewmembers ask children to leave the pool area. There have been exceptions, clearly noted in the Compass, when the whether was so cold outside that they allowed children inside the Solarium for a few hours.

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you for your time in posting this but I have been on all those same ships (excluding Disney as you never see me ever go on a Disney cruise), and I have to say Carnivals Paradise, Glory and Fantasy lunch buffets cannot compare to even the smallest ship on RC lunch buffet! I also been on the other sister ships of Carnivals and have to say most of the lunch buffets are inedible! I never had an inedible buffet on RC and the selection on the Carnivals Fantasy ships are very limited unlike RC older ships. The only food on Carnival that you can get past 10:30pm is Pizza or room service, RC has Cafe Promenade available as well as Sorrento's so I have to totally disagree when it comes to the food issue.

 

Another thing I disagree is the Casino, you rated Carnival over RC, that is all wrong in my book, because my other half and myself get complimentary balcony cabins and Junior Suites on RC where Carnival only offers complimentary interior cabins but you can upgrade to balcony for a fee but it costs us more, and RC casino Royale program blows Carnivals casino program away.

 

I do have to admit your OVERALL rating is spot on when it comes to RC vs Carnival.

[nmstevens]

Here is my breakdown one star being the lowest and five stars the highest.

 

Food:

Carnival****

Royal**

Disney*****

Service:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Entertainment:

Carnival*

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Detail and Visuals:

Carnival*

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Comedy Club:

Carnival*****

Royal***

Disney*

 

Pools:

Carnival**

Royal*****

Disney***

 

Dinning Room:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Nightlife:

Carnival****

Royal***

Disney**

 

Crowd:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

Staterooms:

Carnival****

Royal*****

Disney****

 

Bars:

Carnival***

Royal****

Disney**

 

Quality:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

Organization:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Piano Bar:

Carnival****

Royal***

Disney*

 

Casino:

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney N/A

 

Room Service

Carnival**

Royal*

Disney****

 

Interaction

Carnival***

Royal**

Disney*****

 

Overall:

Carnival**

Royal****

Disney*****

 

 

 

Material Boy 305

Disney Cruise ships are in a class of their own. Royal and Carnival couldn't come close to that standard.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing. I share some of your same thoughts on ratings except the bars. I have had more friendly servers on Carnival but maybe that will change with my next Royal cruise.

Someone mentioned the adult only area, I thought Disney was the best in this area but I was on the Fantasy, so maybe other ships are not as nice.

[Joebucks]

I agreed with pretty much everything you said, until you got to the end.

 

You had Carnival winning: Food, service, comedy club, dining room, night life, organization, piano bar, casino, room service, interaction

 

You had Royal winning: Entertainment, details & visuals, pools, crowd, staterooms, bars, quality

 

So you feel those categories Royal won put it at a 4 star and Carnival a 2 star?

[topnole]

What ships are you comparing? It matters.

 

Exactly. Impossible to compare carnival fantasy class ship from the 1990s to oasis class. On the same note you can’t comare and older rcl ship to the newest carnival ship. If you were only on and old rcl ship and a new carnival ship you might think carnival blows the doors off of royal.

 

And clearly the price is very different on newer vs older ships on royal and carnival.

 

Disney’s fleet is way smaller so maybe their product is a bit more comparable ship to ship but still there are differences I assume.

[topnole]

Disney Cruise ships are in a class of their own. Royal and Carnival couldn't come close to that standard.

 

Not sure your basis for this? Not doubting you but just not sure why you say that?

 

For me I have no desire to have Disney stuff in my face all week while in the Caribbean. And that is coming from a annual passholder. I like disney but I doubt I will ever do a disney cruise unless it was free.

[Grandma Dazzles]

As a general rule, not including special "deals" and sales, I also find Disney much more expensive than RC and Carnival. You are not comparing apples to apples!

[actuarian]

Thank you for this post. I mostly agree with your ratings in the individual categories and I have been on 18 Disney cruises and 36 Royal Caribbean Cruises, although I have only been on Carnival twice. However, you left out a very important category: value for the price. A Disney cruise usually costs about twice as much as a cruise in the same room category on Royal or Carnival. So, my choice is usually between two Royal Caribbean cruises vs. one Disney cruise. That is why my wife and I have been on twice as many Royal Caribbean cruises as Disney cruises, although we love Disney and are Disney annual pass holders and Disney Vacation Club members. Disney has largely priced itself out of the mainstream market and it would really be more appropriate to compare Disney to other more expensive cruise lines than to Royal Caribbean or Carnival.

[tOSUSteve]

Not sure your basis for this? Not doubting you but just not sure why you say that?

 

For me I have no desire to have Disney stuff in my face all week while in the Caribbean. And that is coming from a annual passholder. I like disney but I doubt I will ever do a disney cruise unless it was free.

 

It has been a long time since I have done a Disney cruise. They just seem to do things better/more efficient. They may no longer do this, but when you boarded the ship they announced "The Smith family", its a small thing but they seemed to really welcome you.

 

Sailway party was very energetic & people were engaged. Have not seen anything close to that on Royal.

 

Food & service are top-notch.

 

I would like to do another DCL trip to compare them better since we have done RCL cruises. The cost of DCL is just crazy, but maybe if you catch a deal it would be worthwhile.

[Cruisegirl6]

My girlfriend is 64 and her and her husband only go on Disney Cruises, their last two they said they are changing to RC, Disney is not the same as it used to be, as for me, if a free Disney cruise was giving to me, I would just give it to a family with kids, you won't be getting me on a ship with tons of kids and I don't want to see Disney characters and I most certainly never want to hear that stupid Disney song when those ships blow the horns, so childish!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Comparing different cruiselines is far more complicated than people who attempt to do so realize.

 

To fairly apply comparisons, you have to consider:

 

Ships - size, features, etc.

Cruise fare - same cabin sizes & features in comparison

Amenities included - base and optional

Destinations/ports served

 

I have yet to see that kind of appropriate comparison with all of those elements done concurrently. As long as folks continue their apples-to-watermelon comparisons...those posts/threads have highly-limited value, especially as guidance to novice cruise passenger candidates.

 

All that being said, it is fair to say that various cruise lines have their own "cultures".

 

Carnival prides themselves on being a low-cost provider in general, and frequently earns the reputation as the "party-boat cruiseline" from their passengers.

Disney has experienced many years of positive reputation as a family/child-friendly cruiseline, but at a much higher pricepoint than many of the other cruise-lines.

Royal Caribbean rests somewhere in the middle, with a more diverse inventory of ships/features, and pricing more than Carnival but less than Disney for comparable ship sizes and cabins.

Norwegian has a reputation of well-maintained ships and better-than-average meals. - prices being near the same as Royal Caribbean for similar-size ships and cabins.

 

Happy sailing, regardless of which cruise line people choose.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

18 categories

 

56 pts for Royal and 51 for carnival if my math is right. So royal is 3.1 and 2.8 for carnival for overall avg of your ratings assuming equal weighting which is not a great assumption.

 

How many cruises on each have you done to make your judgements?

Of course others would disagree with some of those values based on their own experience, and more important...the various categories carry different "weights" to the overall ratings.

[desperatelyseekingtony]

It has been a long time since I have done a Disney cruise. They just seem to do things better/more efficient. They may no longer do this, but when you boarded the ship they announced "The Smith family", its a small thing but they seemed to really welcome you.

 

Sailway party was very energetic & people were engaged. Have not seen anything close to that on Royal.

 

Food & service are top-notch.

 

I would like to do another DCL trip to compare them better since we have done RCL cruises. The cost of DCL is just crazy, but maybe if you catch a deal it would be worthwhile.

 

They still do that. Im pleased with Royal but it just isnt Disney Quality.

 

Material Boy 305

[desperatelyseekingtony]

My girlfriend is 64 and her and her husband only go on Disney Cruises, their last two they said they are changing to RC, Disney is not the same as it used to be, as for me, if a free Disney cruise was giving to me, I would just give it to a family with kids, you won't be getting me on a ship with tons of kids and I don't want to see Disney characters and I most certainly never want to hear that stupid Disney song when those ships blow the horns, so childish!

Surprisingly Disney had wayyyy less kids walking around the ship then RC. Disney did a great job keeping kids entertained in the activity room and no kids at all in adults area.

 

Material Boy 305

[time4u2go]

Not sure your basis for this? Not doubting you but just not sure why you say that?

 

For me I have no desire to have Disney stuff in my face all week while in the Caribbean. And that is coming from a annual passholder. I like disney but I doubt I will ever do a disney cruise unless it was free.

I think you'd be surprised at how untrue this is if you ever did a Disney cruise.