Carnival vs NCL vs RCCL

[Fincherson]

Hi all, sorry for the lame title but I'm going crazy trying to plan this trip and need some opinions. I've found everyone on CC, no matter which sub forum I'm on, to be very helpful and mostly unbiased. We had a trip planned in June for just my husband and myself on the NCL Bliss to Alaska but our friends backed out so we've decided it's a good opportunity to take our four kids (14, 12, 10 and 😎 8 (it won't let me delete that stupid emoji) on their first cruise. 

 

I'm looking at the Carnival Horizon and NCL Breakaway, and also any of Rccl's ships except for the Oasis class as I'm finding them to be much more expensive (though I wish we could!) I've never sailed RCCL and don't know if any of the non-oasis ships are worth considering. Anyway, this trip will be for may/June 2018 and I guess I'm mostly curious if anyone has insight or opinions on any of these options. 

 

Thank you!! 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2018 by Fincherson

[tallnthensome]

These comparisons have been done many times but where are you sailing to or where do you want to go? The Horizon/Vista and the NCL Escape and Bliss will be some great bets for kids. We have 9 and 11 year old daughters and they loved the Vista Class Ships and the NCl Escape .... We sail in March on the Bliss with them for 15 days. All of these ships exceed expectations with kids in tow. We have sailed RCCL with them but find their pricing high for what you get. 

[cruisemom67]

We have sailed all three lines. They are all very similar. Most of us like Carnival best. One likes NCL best. RCI is good, but I also feel they charge more for the same product.

each ship in the line is different. Base what you want on itinerary and what is important to you.

[SNJCruisers]

First of all, I assume your dates are May/June of 2019.  The Breakaway is doing 7 day while the Horizon is doing 6 and 8.  The May 18 8 day Southern Caribbean would be my choice if the kids are out of school. If you do a search on CC, many experienced cruisers prefer the Southern route over the western or eastern.  The Horizon is Carnivals newest, I sailed on her out of NYC in August and will be back on her again in August doing the Southern route.  Best of luck with your decision.

[mredandchis]

13 hours ago, Fincherson said:

Hi all, sorry for the lame title but I'm going crazy trying to plan this trip and need some opinions. I've found everyone on CC, no matter which sub forum I'm on, to be very helpful and mostly unbiased. We had a trip planned in June for just my husband and myself on the NCL Bliss to Alaska but our friends backed out so we've decided it's a good opportunity to take our four kids (14, 12, 10 and 😎 8 (it won't let me delete that stupid emoji) on their first cruise. 

 

I'm looking at the Carnival Horizon and NCL Breakaway, and also any of Rccl's ships except for the Oasis class as I'm finding them to be much more expensive (though I wish we could!) I've never sailed RCCL and don't know if any of the non-oasis ships are worth considering. Anyway, this trip will be for may/June 2018 and I guess I'm mostly curious if anyone has insight or opinions on any of these options. 

 

Thank you!! 

 

 

they are all similar and yet have slight differences .  And it is all based on personal likes and dislikes.  RC i think of service above and beyond but pricey ,  NCL i think of waiting and waiting,  Carnival I think of more bang for the buck.  It all depends on you.  I dont know the age of the kids but my little grandchildren love the camp and wont go to any other cruise line.  

[sparks1093]

We've found CCL and NCL to be more similar than different but we haven't sailed on NCL in a while so can't speak to the current product. Our experience seems similar to many others who don't have a strong preference one way or another. I expect we'll find the same thing on Anthem (which I stumbled upon with an unbeatable price just at the right time). 

[beerman2]

First cruise for kids? Probably won't make much difference. They will be amazed by most things.

 Have done all 3 and we prefer NCL (perks) now.

 

NCL Bliss has a go-cart track and Laser tag (extra fee).

Carnival does a great job with "Movies under the stars" Lido deck at night with popcorn 

RCI 's parade through Prominade Area is really entertaining.

 

Food is so subjective so it's hard to say. I will say we've always found something to our liking.

 

Buffets are quite similar. 

 

NCL has a 24 hour sit down Restaurant.

RCI  Prominade has Pizza Place and coffee shop with finger sandwiches.

Carnival on Lido has Guy's Burgers, Blue Iquana ((Mexican), Pizza and Seafood Shack (extra fee on seafood). Plus Pigs and Anchor (BBQ) on deck 5 or 6.

 

[BNBR]

I would take Royal Oasis in a heartbeat.  I'm surprised it would be more expensive than Carnival Horizon, actually.  But those summer sailings can get a bit whacky with pricing!

 

I would also check out Freedom class from Royal.  Like Liberty of the Seas.  The ships you picked from Carnival and NCL will be way more similar than different.  Carnival's ship is newer with more bells and whistles so I'd probably go with that one considering the kids.  Both ships will feel more, much more, crowded than Royals Freedom or Oasis class.

 

But really, all things equal, you are picking newer, larger ships and either choice will be fine.  I thought Oasis class was pricey in June next year, too, and we decided on Carnival Magic which we got a great rate on.  Many on the Carnival forum prefer the Dream-class (Magic) over the Vista class (Horizon).  So I wouldn't discount that as an option either.  We got an 8 day southern on Magic for a really great price.

[Manatee Mom]

We stopped sailing Royal a while ago, so I can't compare there. I will tell you my boys love Carnival. What they did not like about NCL camp is once you check in you have to stay for 2 hours (carnival does not have this rule) so if you want to go for a certain activity but not the next one you can leave. They also found the activities on carnival more fun, scavenger hunts around the ship, dodge ball, etc... not just sitting in a room playing xbox. NCL's 24 hours restaurant is not really 24 hours (I hit it while they were closed twice) between meals they close and there wasn't anywhere on the ship except pay restaurants during that time to get food. I don't know how the bliss is going to be but the Escape pool/deck were way to small for how many people were on the ship. We did love NCL's buffet better then Carnival, but love Carnival's MDR better. Hope this helps

[rukkian]

I am sure most are more alike than different.  Some of it comes down to what you want.  On the bigger ships of Royal (oasis class, and some of the freedom class), they do broadway shows (mama mia, cats etc).  We really liked Mama Mia on Allure.  Royal also has flowriders, which your kids may absolutely love.

 

NCL has a go cart on some of theirs.  Haven't sailed them yet.

 

Carnival has some appeal as well (have our first booked on Carnival in many years), and is usually a bit cheaper overall, especially with some of the addins being cheaper, and better policies around bringing on drinks and buying bottled water.

 

If you are doing a smaller ship than freedom class, I would probably not go with RCI, and stick to carnival myself.   Freedom to a small extent, and Oasis class to a much larger extent really up the game when it comes to things to do on board in my opinion.  We did Jewel of the seas (radiance class) with Royal and while it was a great cruise, I think the teenagers would be bored, which was why we took them on Allure (oasis class).

[mexicobob]

My opinion is when you go to Alaska you need to pick the ship that has the itinerary you want.  You go to Alaska for the beauty and nature.   Everything else is  completely irrelevant.  If you are looking for bells and whistles you are really wasting your money going to Alaska.  You can go to the Caribbean for half the price.    

[SNJCruisers]

3 hours ago, mexicobob said:

My opinion is when you go to Alaska you need to pick the ship that has the itinerary you want.  You go to Alaska for the beauty and nature.   Everything else is  completely irrelevant.  If you are looking for bells and whistles you are really wasting your money going to Alaska.  You can go to the Caribbean for half the price.    

The OP said she was interested in the Horizon or Breakaway or a comparable ship from RCI.  The Caribbean would be in the mix, not Alaska.  But, if you do go to Alaska, Princess does it best and they will have 8 ships there in 2020.

[Fincherson]

18 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The OP said she was interested in the Horizon or Breakaway or a comparable ship from RCI.  The Caribbean would be in the mix, not Alaska.  But, if you do go to Alaska, Princess does it best and they will have 8 ships there in 2020.

 

Correct, we're ditching Alaska since our friends bailed, we'll take our kids to the Caribbean instead. 

 

I'm so appreciative of everyone's advice... We keep going back and forth but are probably going to pull the trigger on Horizon. I'm sorry for not giving enough information in my OP but I believe we will be looking at November instead of the original June, to give myself more time to get my head around a trip with seven people. 😅

 

Thank you everyone! 

[S.S.Oceanlover]

16 minutes ago, Fincherson said:

 

Correct, we're ditching Alaska since our friends bailed, we'll take our kids to the Caribbean instead. 

 

I'm so appreciative of everyone's advice... We keep going back and forth but are probably going to pull the trigger on Horizon. I'm sorry for not giving enough information in my OP but I believe we will be looking at November instead of the original June, to give myself more time to get my head around a trip with seven people. 😅

 

Thank you everyone! 

if you have changed your plans to November keep an eye on the Oasis class ships offering kids sail free.

 

They offer it a few times during the year and might be available on the dates you are looking at making it cheaper than the other lines.

 

Bill

[SNJCruisers]

Thanksgiving in Aruba sounds great if you're leaning towards the 8 day leaving on the 16th.  You'll have to jump on airfare as soon as it opens up though because that is the worst time to travel, especially on the Sunday you would get back to Miami.  At least you have Fort Lauderdale as another option to fly out of.  Good luck.

[soccer2010]

For a bigger ship with great shows, consider MSC Seaside … right now they have 'Drinks on Us' for many of their sailings which is a low end drink package but its included.  As another poster said, Southern Caribbean is the best, especially ABC islands.

Edited November 18, 2018 by soccer2010

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, soccer2010 said:

For a bigger ship with great shows, consider MSC Seaside … right now they have 'Drinks on Us' for many of their sailings which is a low end drink package but its included.  As another poster said, Southern Caribbean is the best, especially ABC islands.

MSC just changed their drinks packages this week to give different options, three alcoholic and two non alcoholic.  And their shows are skewed towards a European clientele big time.  Also no piano bar and no stand up comedy, which are two mainstays on Carnival.

[soccer2010]

On MSC, the entertainment was different but 1st class and wonderful.  The ship was somewhat more European but not that different.  I did miss the Comedy but overall loved the ship and cruise.  The food was very good and they went to 3 MDR times so the service by necessity was timely.

[Fincherson]

On 11/16/2018 at 7:10 AM, BNBR said:

I would take Royal Oasis in a heartbeat.  I'm surprised it would be more expensive than Carnival Horizon, actually.  But those summer sailings can get a bit whacky with pricing!

 

I would also check out Freedom class from Royal.  Like Liberty of the Seas.  The ships you picked from Carnival and NCL will be way more similar than different.  Carnival's ship is newer with more bells and whistles so I'd probably go with that one considering the kids.  Both ships will feel more, much more, crowded than Royals Freedom or Oasis class.

 

But really, all things equal, you are picking newer, larger ships and either choice will be fine.  I thought Oasis class was pricey in June next year, too, and we decided on Carnival Magic which we got a great rate on.  Many on the Carnival forum prefer the Dream-class (Magic) over the Vista class (Horizon).  So I wouldn't discount that as an option either.  We got an 8 day southern on Magic for a really great price.

 

I've been searching, i swear, but can't find any concrete info as to why people prefer dream class over Vista class. Thank you for so much info to mull over!

[BNBR]

5 minutes ago, Fincherson said:

 

I've been searching, i swear, but can't find any concrete info as to why people prefer dream class over Vista class. Thank you for so much info to mull over!

 

Just seems that way based on a lot of comments on this forum.  Start a thread comparing them, you'll get a ton of great info.  

 

If you can get a much cheaper sailing on Breeze, for example, it may be a great option and you wouldnt be missing much. 

[katiegirl1264]

Great info to help make your decision. Good luck!

[Fincherson]

15 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

Just seems that way based on a lot of comments on this forum.  Start a thread comparing them, you'll get a ton of great info.  

 

If you can get a much cheaper sailing on Breeze, for example, it may be a great option and you wouldnt be missing much. 

 

I didn't see it coming but after days of straight research we ended up booking Vista. I wanted Magic but it wasn't panning out date wise. I hope we enjoy it as we're very positive and open minded. Still a bit uneasy about the negative reviews but I needed to decide so I could stop obsessing. 😅

 

Thanks again!! 

[allison0523]

We have been on all 3 with our son who is 10 now and started cruising as a toddler.  Personally, we like NCL and Carnival.  While we did like the Allure, we think RCL is overpriced for what you get.  We are looking at doing the 8 day Horizon S. Caribbean the beginning of June.  We have been on new and old ships and have never had a bad cruise.  So, I think it comes down to expense, must haves and itinerary.   

[mredandchis]

16 hours ago, Fincherson said:

 

I've been searching, i swear, but can't find any concrete info as to why people prefer dream class over Vista class. Thank you for so much info to mull over!

dream class is a little more open feeling  to me.  It is just the layout over all and i would think it is all just a matter of preference

 

[KmomChicago]

I think you made a great choice with Vista!  I would not worry about negative reviews.  There are so many factors that get under people's skins and I have found the vast majority are not even noticeable for my family. Vista is on our wish list as one of the brand-newist ships on the seas and there are plenty of very complimentary, rave reviews of the ship along with the naysayers, which, by the way, I promise you could find for any ship.  Your kids are very likely to have the time of their lives. Enjoy!!!