Carnival vs Royal Caribbean

[Cruisin'allovertheworld]

Hi all,

 

I am considering doing a Carnival Spirit cruise but have previously sailed Royal Carribean (Mariner and Radiance).

 

Are there any significant differences?

Why do you choose Carnival over Royal?

 

It is so tempting to stay with Royal Caribbean simply because of the rewards programme but I am not someone who prefers the same thing over and over again.

Thanks

[Jerseygirl1416]

One thing you may notice is that your sailing can be FULL of kids under 12 on Royal Caribbean because they tend to run a kids sail free sale on most sailings. Carnival has kids but not like the under 12 crowd on Royal, in my experience. I book for the ship mostly and both companies overall are similar. 

[SDPadreFan]

I would say to give them both a try and see which one fits you best. In a long term cruising life, loosing a week or three to try out different cruise companies won't hurt that much.

[SDPadreFan]

Benefits (awards) are also different. Study them side by side to see which reward program suits you best. With RCCL, the top echelon of rewards includes a couple of free drinks a day (each day). Carnival does provide free drinks in their top tiers but I believe it's only on one day during a standard cruise (8 days or less). Carnival seems to push free laundry service with it's top reward tiers vice drinks.

 

But I'm sure other more experienced cruisers will chime in with their experiences. We're lined up for our 8th cruise but have been out of the loop for about 10 years due to my mother-in-laws health issues. Sadly - her passing this March at 92 has opened up our ability to travel a bit more now. We have the 15 night Mardi Gras repositioning cruise (New York to Port Canaveral) booked for next year.

 

We loved Spirit when she was home-ported in San Diego back in the early 2000's. Did (2) 8 day cruises on her. We've also done a 12 day Med Cruise on Brilliance (Radiance class ship) and we did Mariner back when she was home-ported in Los Angeles (San Pedro)

Edited November 23, 2019 by SDPadreFan

[LakeWobegon]

Honestly, it varies so much by ship. I would check out the editor reviews of each on the Cruise Critic site for a good overview and to inform yourself. I have sailed on both lines many times and can tell you the only differences I notice are brand and vibe. This is over generalizing but Carnival has a more "fun" atmosphere with more vibrant décor. Royal is a little more laid back (I wouldn't say sophisticated or fancy) and reserved décor. Each has their pros and cons when it comes to dining, activities, itineraries, etc. But again, that varies greatly by ship. So I also recommend trying them both! Have fun whatever you do!

[crzndeb]

I sail predominately on both cruise lines, and the differences are small and vary ship to ship. I sailed the Spirit 7 times, and brought her over to Sydney in 2012. I have been on both the Mariner and Radiance, and I would say the biggest difference will be the decor. I do prefer the rewards on RCI, but I do love the Spirit class ships. I would definitely try the Spirit and decide for yourself. 

[Garf]

1 hour ago, Cruisin'allovertheworld said:

Hi all,

 

I am considering doing a Carnival Spirit cruise but have previously sailed Royal Carribean (Mariner and Radiance).

 

Are there any significant differences?

Why do you choose Carnival over Royal?

 

It is so tempting to stay with Royal Caribbean simply because of the rewards programme but I am not someone who prefers the same thing over and over again.

Thanks

I have sailed on 17 CCL, 5 RCL and 3 NCL, For me, I  like the vibes on Carnival better, it's more fun. The food and shows on NCL, to me is a litter better than CCL. RCL food to me is below par, Compared to CCL and NCL.

[Joebucks]

You will find endless opinions on the two.

 

Generally, what I have found is that people will say Carnival is more affordable and has the better vibe. Royal wins with their ships and shows.

[EmmasNana]

We have been on 25 carnival and 20 royal cruises. The past two years have been exclusively with royal. The cruise lines are very much the same, with some differences. 

In our opinion the food on carnival is much better. It could be because there are a lot more included food options. The free Happy Hour drinks on royal (once you are Diamond - after 80 points) are very nice but we are so tired of the food, we are going back to carnival. 

We have taken the not - so - little grands on both lines and they much prefer carnival, mostly for the food options. They are little foodies.

We have decided to book for itinerary at this point. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 hours ago, Cruisin'allovertheworld said:

Hi all,

 

I am considering doing a Carnival Spirit cruise but have previously sailed Royal Carribean (Mariner and Radiance).

 

Are there any significant differences?

Why do you choose Carnival over Royal?

 

It is so tempting to stay with Royal Caribbean simply because of the rewards programme but I am not someone who prefers the same thing over and over again.

Thanks

We only do buffet, no longer the dining rooms. Royal blows away Carnival for the buffet food same with the pizza.

Royal has many choices where Carnival never has. Carnival decor is more Mardi Gras (Fun) ships. Royal not so much. The pool and the slides are about the same except for the newest ships. You are correct saying that Royal has better perks most of the time. If you own the stock both offer basically the same OBC now. 7day $100.00

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

One thing you may notice is that your sailing can be FULL of kids under 12 on Royal Caribbean because they tend to run a kids sail free sale on most sailings. Carnival has kids but not like the under 12 crowd on Royal, in my experience. I book for the ship mostly and both companies overall are similar. 

 

If only this were true.

[kctwinmommy]

I wrote this up a little while ago, and just went through the pros & cons we found when we did RCI after having been on Carnival a few times. It may just give you some insight.
 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

53 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

If only this were true.

We NEVER cruise on Carnival when school is out. Personally I do not think Royal is that bad at all. Most of the time they are in the areas for them. Made a mistake of going on a spring break cruise one time. That is the worst cruise ever if you want unruly people. When school is out. its Princess or Celebrity for us.

[Raceroc]

Spirit class ships are awesome!

[Jerseygirl1416]

2 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

If only this were true.

 

Edited November 23, 2019 by Jerseygirl1416

[Oceansaway17]

perhaps you could share what region you are wanting to cruise in.

 

Caribbean or Mediterrean or Alaska?    If you go on Carnival, do the Vista class ships as they have good buffet and Guys hamburgers too.  Also, since you mentioned Radiance so now I am thinking Alaska,  I would go on Radiance of the seas.  Nice glass areas to look out and the ship goes from Vancouver.  Then again if you mean RADIANCE class, I would still go on that class as many RCI folks love that class.

[dmdiver]

I like both lines, but tend to sail with Carnival more.  I always seem to find a better deal on Carnival, price-wise.  

 

Royal has prettier ships & their adult pool area is really nice.

 

The talent in the production shows seems better on Royal.  

 

Carnival has the best comedy club, switching out comedians during the cruise.  

 

I really like Guys Burgers on Carnival, as well as 24/7 pizza & ice cream.  Didn't think the 24/7 was a big deal until one of our Royal cruises where we wanted to grab a bite before a show that was later in the evening.  Nothing was open that was free.  Only happened once, though, so it certainly did not prevent us from sailing Royal again.  

 

I find the staff to be attentive on both lines.  What I find interesting is the Carnival staff out of Galveston is friendlier than their staff out of the Florida ports.

 

Those are the major differences to me.  Be sure to check out the activities.  Royal tends to have ice skating, rock climbing & surf simulators on several ships.  Carnival does not have those, but has water slides & some ships have a ropes course.  I've not been on spirit class ships, so not sure what all they have.  You know what type of things you would like to do, so that could be a big factor for you.

 

 

[mikenbon]

We've cruised on both lines and love both, for different reasons. Carnival is more budget friendly for us , and we really like the fun vibe of the ship. The crew are friendlier, in my opinion, on Carnival, too. RCL had a better buffet selection for breakfast and lunch, but Carnival has more choices for MDR.  We enjoy the shows on both, and we found the RCL shows to be superior in quality. We've also noticed a lot more kids on Carnival - we cruise in March each year, and there seemed to be a lot more activities for children and families. 
No matter which cruiseline, we have always had a fantastic time, and can't wait gor our next side to side cruises - one on Carnival, followed by another on RCL 

[BNBR]

The significant difference is in the ships themselves.  If you are sailing similar size ships, the difference isn't significant.  Carnival, however, has nothing that can remotely compete with the largest Royal ships.  But if comparing the smaller Radiance class with a Carnival ship, you may very well prefer Carnival though they are quite similar.

[Cruisegirl6]

I am going to give you my opinion, and for those who argue with me, I will not respond.  I have been on 92 cruises so far (we are both 56), most with Carnival (because the prices allow me to take additional cruises per year, but I never would have Carnival be my only cruise for the year) as well as RC.  We have been on two Carnival ships this year, with that being said, the negatives just keep piling up for us and my other half no longer wants to travel with Carnival and we spoke about all the negatives we experience and I decided he was right and we cancelled the first sailing out of Port Canaveral on the Mardi Gras....I thought the Mardi Gras being their largest newest ship be really nice, but looking at the deck plans and the fact she holds up to 6k people she is going to feel very crowded inside the ship.  There is only a small area of main public area and that is the atrium, if you look at the size of it (yes its three levels but it is more just open air space) you see how small it is and what I mean.  

 

Our last two Carnival cruises this year we found they were even more skimpy on the bacon at the breakfast buffet, in fact, we were on long "traffic jams" at LEAST 20 minutes waiting to get through the line and the bacon is the problem and the buffets just aren't set up properly...for instance, the maple syrup is at the end as well as the jelly and such and when people have got their food they take up time using these items, which cause a longer traffic jam for those in back of that person on that line.  They really need to put the condiments at another area so that the traffic can flow better.

We found the lunch buffets to be very limited, in fact, even on the Breeze we only had a meat carving on embarkation day, there were no other meat carvings available for the remaining six days and the choices of food are very lacking...surely many will argue because there is guys burgers and such but to be honest guys burgers are full of grease and fat and the fries are so limp and greasy we can't eat that kind of food and the sandwiches, how about I ordered a turkey sandwich to have ONE SLICE of turkey and a tremendous amount of mayo and a soggy piece of lettuce as well as the tomato, sorry it was inedible!!   Food is subjective and I prefer eating healthier and having better and more variety in selection available to me and that is what RC does in their buffets...you get alot more variety/selection on RC. Carnival offers the sea day brunch and it is very good. 

 

We found the Breeze at certain points to be traffic on the promenade deck and we have been on all Carnival ships and its just not the same.  People above say the food on Carnival is better in the MDR oh my, I am not going to go there...but I have to give you an example, if you get the prime rib you find it to be totally full of fat and not much meat...where on RC you also get prime rib and it is much better and alot less fat.  Both cruise lines give enough assortment of appetizers, salads, main courses etc, but the desserts on Carnival are always much better.

 

Late at night on Carnival you only are able to get pizza (after 11pm) where on RC you know, they have sandwiches, cookies and such available as well as pizza.

 

Stateroom beddings are both equal, both very good.  If you get a balcony room, balconies are much larger on RC.

 

I totally get and understand the fact your tired of the same decor and that is one of my negatives about RC their ships all tend to look the same....we like to experience variety in decor on our ship to feel like we are on a different ship, the reason why we are booked on the Celebrity Edge for December 15th, we cancelled our October Carnival cruise and my sister/brother in law have taken the transatlantic cruise (Celebrity Edge) that just got back two weeks ago from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale, they loved it so much that they are currently again on the Edge and boarded her yesterday.  They took many photos of the food and I tell you, all I can say is WOW and AMAZING!!  Grilled steaks, chicken to order in the buffet, a tremendous amount of great food selection and variety, it blew  me away, I just can't wait to try Celebrity, so perhaps you consider that too.

 

Entertainment is always much more of a plus on RC if that is important to you.  If your into trivia RC offers it more.  Their drink package is unlimited on RC and you have a 15 maximum drink on Carnival.  Yes, RC costs more but you get what you pay for.  

Edited November 25, 2019 by Cruisegirl6

[Palmetto Pilot]

Again here is another opinion. I've cruised NCL 3 times, Royal 12 and Carnival 7.  Royal is still my favorite, but we've been sailing more frequently on Carnival lately because of the price and itinerary. We like the mid to large size ships so for us we look at the Dream class on Carnival and Freedom/Mariner sub class on Royal.  We're in our early 30's with a 4 year old boy. 

 

We've typically had better and quicker service on Royal. Carnival seems to only have a few people making or serving drinks so we end up waiting forever for drinks on Carnival compared to Royal. 

 

Kids about the same on both lines. We try to cruise off season if we can since our little guy isn't in school yet.

 

Royals balconies are so much bigger and deeper, rooms are appointed a lot nicer as well. Also Royal's suite benefits outweigh the non-existent carnival ones. 

 

Food quality is about the same. The Royal AMPed ships have lots of new free casual dining finally catching up to Carnival. The buffet on Royal is nice and there are a variety of foods. Royal's specialty restaurants  is where their food stands out. I used to give a slight edge to Carnival for casual dining with the Mongolian wok, tandoori but with the tandoori gone not so much. Selection of drinks and variety of drinks at Royal's bars are outstanding. I feel like on Carnival every bar menu is the same. 

 

Production shows or Royal are awesome, Carnivals Comedy clubs are amazing. That's a tough one. 

 

Ship layout, Carnival has the external promenade that wraps around the ship. Royal has the Royal promenade which I really like, lined with bars and stuff. 

 

We're never had a bad vacation on any cruise we've taken and we've learned to diversify our cruising portfolio. We're looking forward to trying NCL again, and Holland America for the first time. 

[jimbo5544]

....and it was going so well.😎  OP, the facts are that cruise lines have much more in common that they do differently.  Some here are outspoken o their biases, but you should choose based on what you think is important.  Whether someone thinks the steaks have to much fat on one line or the other is comical in nature.  If the ships are your wow factor, some Royal ones has a  lot to offer, if you want to have FUN on your cruise, then Carnival has a distinct advantage.  Other things come in to play on paying for food, with Royal giving you more opportunity to do so, example Johnny Rockets compared to Guys Fieri’s burger spot.  At the end of the day, it is your choice, I am sure you cannot go wrong either way.

[Theosprey247]

I surprised so many people choose to eat at the buffet.

[cmich068]

I am Diamond on RCCL, I have cruised once on Carnival in 2015 (Breeze) and am cruising Carnival again in 2020 (Panorama). They're more similar than they are different, especially comparing new ships to new ships. 

 

Royal is better at nickel and diming you, more upcharge activites/venues, drink prices are more expensive. Slight edge to Royal for MDR, but big edge for Carnival for fast casual/buffet like Guy's, Blue Iguana, etc which Royal doesn't come close to (they are trying though with the AMP'D ships)

 

Public spaces are somewhat larger and better utilized on Royal (though this rapidly changing for the worse as they cram more cabins into ships at drydocks), whereas the staterooms themselves are generally better equipped and more reasonably sized on Carnival. 

 

Royal's production shows are better, Carnival's comedy club is better but going back to my last point re venues, often the venue is too small to comfortably sit everyone who is interested - would be nice to see Carnival put comedy in a larger venue. 

 

I appreciate Carnival tends to spread pools, hot tubs, etc around the ship as opposed to Royal concentrating everything in one place, but then again Royal has pools in the Solariums while only one Carnival ship has a pool on the Serenity deck.  

 

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by cmich068

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Theosprey247 said:

I surprised so many people choose to eat at the buffet.

It is almost shocking