Carnival Cruiser Transitioning to Royal Caribbean - Information Wanted

[larrymeador]

Hey guys and gals, I'm a Platinum cruise with Carnival with 18 cruises under my belt and another 14 day Panama trip scheduled in January. However, the wife and I decided to take the plunge on a different cruise line. We have booked the Liberty of the Seas for this next May and have a Panoramic Ocean View room.

 

I would like to know what differences to expect between Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Please don't flame Carnival, as I love their cruises and will continue cruising with them. However, I do want honest opinions (the good, the bad, and the indifferent) regarding what I should expect.

 

I appreciate everyone's time.

[Clarea]

Last month's thread on the subject:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2625641

[BillOh]

When you get back, I and others would likely enjoy hearing your perspective.

[vaka08]

Everything depends on the ship you are on. Trying to generalize we find Royal has more “active activities” like flow rider, ice skating... carnival has more dining options without additional cost... carnival trivia prizes are soas Royal is cheap merchandise... carnival has more branding for activities Royal has more live music at events.... pretty similar cruise lines again depending on ship, itinerary. Also depends on what you choose to do on the cruise- sit at a pool or attend activities or something else altogether

 

 

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[Rogueperson]

Everything depends on the ship you are on. Trying to generalize we find Royal has more “active activities” like flow rider, ice skating... carnival has more dining options without additional cost... carnival trivia prizes are soas Royal is cheap merchandise... carnival has more branding for activities Royal has more live music at events.... pretty similar cruise lines again depending on ship, itinerary. Also depends on what you choose to do on the cruise- sit at a pool or attend activities or something else altogether

 

 

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My impression is that in general, Carnival has better Cruise Directors than Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean depends more on their wow factor to stand out by themselves. Carnival's Cruise director's do a better job getting the passenger base involved and connected. Royal tries, but doesn't push it as much. From one perspective, you can say that its a more relaxing cruise, but others may find it "boring".

 

Service-wise, I find Carnival gives consistently good service, but does not excel to the super high levels like Royal Caribbean can. However, in that same vein, I find there are more incidents of lower than normal service. This leads me to believe that Royal Caribbean has more leeway, and therefore allows the extraordinary crew excel, while doesn't dissuade less than excellent service.

[AAA75]

Liberty was my first ship. It is a nice "starter" ship. :) Even though we no longer cruise Carnival, i felt it was geared for younger crowds. More fun stuff, not to say RC doesn't have fun things. RC has lots to do, just checkout the Compass for a list of stuff. Someone here has a current one. RC i think is more relaxed. i just say go in with an open mind.

[gfountain1]

Carnival feels like a summer camp in some aspects. I can't tell you who any of my past cruise directors have been on Royal but clearly remember "Rev. Dr. E" on Carnival and a few others. Most activities on Carnival focus around the lido deck while the bigger Royal ships distribute passengers around the ship via their multiple neighborhoods. Both have their goods and bads. We are taking a break from Carnival for a couple years but would gladly book another Carnival ship if the right deal presented itself.

 

I've had just as much fun on Carnival as Ive had on RCI, but the Oasis class ships do feel more "refined" in the details.

[klfrodo]

I've got 11 with Carnival and 3 with Royal

 

Carnival has a much more emphasis on "Fun". This starts with the sail away party on Carnival vs. Royal.

Royal is fun but more laid back. Carnival has the piano bar where everyone sings along. Royal has the Schooner bar that has a piano player but it's hit and miss as to whether the player is just entertainment or the guest get involved in the entertainment.

Cabins, MDR, Bars, etc. almost all the same from Royal to Carnival. Flow rider, rock wall, etc are great places. Carnival missing these

 

Great people on each cruise line. I will say that on my 3 cruises with Royal, I have run across more people with an uppity self important attitude on Royal than I ever did on Carnival. Then again, Royal encourages this by having the separation they have from Suites, and other loyalty levels from just the regular Joe guests.

[gfountain1]

If the ship was sinking, I would definitely expect a royal passenger to ask if the lifeboats will be crowded vs carnival :P

[Artemus]

I’m also Platinum with Carnival with about 18 cruises and have been on about 6 Royal cruises. I agree that Carnival definitely wins the Fun factor. The service is about equal as is the food quality. Carnival has the better dining room breakfast which I especially enjoy. I find the bartenders on Carnival to be more personable especially on the lido deck. Just a few things off the top of my head.

[WestTexasBySea]

We took a Carnival Cruise on the Breeze last Thanksgiving sandwiched between two Allure cruises. I have also cruised Carnival other times before I discovered Royal. In my experience the food service was much more pleasant on Royal. The buffet islands are much better than the cafeteria style lines which made me want to scream. I also couldn't understand why there ever were more than 10 people in line at the Pizza Pirate, just make pizza, it will be eaten.

 

Royal is much more giving with Bacon as well. If you want a pound of bacon they will make it happen. Carnival was very stingy, to the point they dedicated one person to distribute bacon two strips at a time.

 

I well say Carnival has more trivia and game activities. It seems like in the afternoons Carnival had a trivia or game every 30 minutes. We liked that.

 

Royal has the Wow factor with their ships! Hands down just more to offer, but I always wondered how the Oasis and Allure got out of the yard without water slides. I guess they were a little before the time of water slides on every ship.

 

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