Review from a long time Carnival cruiser

[Jj343434jj]

2 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

Carnival has a product that is below Royal overall.  But they usually have a price that reflects this.  It becomes a question of value.

I can definitely agree with that. I don’t mind paying more for Royal because I’m a big believer in “you get what you pay for”.

[BNBR]

Just now, Jj343434jj said:

I can definitely agree with that. I don’t mind paying more for Royal because I’m a big believer in “you get what you pay for”.

 

I'll pay more for Royal.  But for example, this summer, Royal was about double the cost.  So we sailed Carnival.  We ended up having a nice time, but we thought the product was still bad enough that we would maybe skip cruising next summer and just use our RV more if Royal is much more expensive again.

[Jj343434jj]

2 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

I'll pay more for Royal.  But for example, this summer, Royal was about double the cost.  So we sailed Carnival.  We ended up having a nice time, but we thought the product was still bad enough that we would maybe skip cruising next summer and just use our RV more if Royal is much more expensive again.

Have you ever tried Norwegian? It’s cheaper than Royal, although not as cheap as Carnival. I thought Norwegian had great ships and comparable shows. I still think Royal had better staff and food though. 

[HBE4]

It seems like you had a good cruise but your own unfortunate personal situation/physical condition precluded it from being a great cruise.  But I'm glad you are keeping an open mind and will try Royal again. Too bad you didn't go for the foot massage earlier in the cruise, it might have made a difference to the overall experience.

 

As for food, I've never sailed Carnival but my experience is that the food will vary from cruise to cruise even on the same ship (I'm talking cruises a few months apart, not B2B). The food is usually mostly average/pretty good, sometime great, once in a while not so good.   Having said that, I feel there are more unbiased people saying the food on Carnival is better rather than the other way around.

[loman]

Last 4 cruises were oasis class , and I guess it's only me and one other poster that actually like main dining room food.

Might of had one or two things I didn't like , but for the most part it was very good , for me anyway, and looking around other people in the dining room werent exactly pushing their plates away .

[SandiLynn]

11 hours ago, Jj343434jj said:

I can definitely agree with that. I don’t mind paying more for Royal because I’m a big believer in “you get what you pay for”.

I am getting worried about my RC cruise on Majesty out Nola. The price was a round $700 less than same week on Carnival. We cruised 20 years ago on Sovereign and loved it. Life happened and we did not cruise again until 2016 on Carnival. 7 last cruise on Carnival, Elation, Triumph,  Dream, Glory. Always had a great time.

Edited December 6, 2019 by SandiLynn

[BNBR]

11 hours ago, Jj343434jj said:

Have you ever tried Norwegian? It’s cheaper than Royal, although not as cheap as Carnival. I thought Norwegian had great ships and comparable shows. I still think Royal had better staff and food though. 

 

Yeah.  NCL is ok.  Their ships are quite cramped though.  Nicer than Carnival ships for sure.  We enjoyed Escape and would consider it again for the right price.  Their shows are nowhere near the same level as Royals Oasis class.

[BNBR]

12 minutes ago, SandiLynn said:

I am getting worried about my RC cruise on Majesty out Nola. The price was a round $700 less than same week on Carnival. We cruised 20 years ago on Sovereign and loved it. Life happened and we did not cruise again until 2016 on Carnival. 7 last cruise on Carnival, Elation, Triumph,  Dream, Glory. Always had a great time.

 

Obviously "you get what you pay for" in this context is the bigger Royal ships.  But you sailed Sovereign so you know what to expect.  I haven't been on Majesty in 20 years!  Wonder if I'd like it today.

[Vitesacd]

I agree that Royal may be on a decline on the food as opposed to 10 or so years ago, but I think it is still FAR better than most of Carnival's food. I have been on both lines and was only impressed with guy's burger as most food in the MDR on carnival was inedible and bland. Royal seems to have more options in the MDR and still produces a better quality product overall.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Vitesacd

[time4u2go]

23 hours ago, Jj343434jj said:

I personally haven’t been on Carnival, but with all the reviews as well as people I’ve talked to agreeing, my wife and I may never try Carnival. Even cruise critic, as well as other websites that “grade” cruise lines, usually have Royal at the top of the list. Of course, reviews can be bias, but when my wife and I cruise, we make a point to ask people about their experience with other cruise lines. You do have some that like Carnival or another cruise line, but the overwhelming majority that have done multiple cruise lines, say the Royal is the best in many ways, including food.

Lol OK then.  I wouldn't render an opinion on something I hadn't ever done, but maybe that's just me. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by time4u2go

[Oakman]

On 12/4/2019 at 9:05 PM, time4u2go said:

Have you actually been on Carnival?  Many feel that their food is far better than Royal's.

As Platinum on Carnival and Diamond Plus on Royal, I agree with Carnival having better food. They also have a far superior selection of free choices such as Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. The Carnival Steakhouses cost less than their competitors, and offer better food. Food is such a personal preference. Royal has come a long way since we first started sailing. Their food used to be commonly referred to as "bland and boring". 

[MommaBear55]

On 12/1/2019 at 9:52 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Their strategy is working perfectly.  Making mediocre food was the start, now they are accelerating the move to all pay meals by making the MTD times very inconvenient, and/or long MTD wait times.

We do a mixture of the dining packages and the WJ as the Windjammer good at night is much better than the MDR.

 

And to the OP, thanks for the review. I always wonder how Royal Caribbean stacks up.

[NateUpNorth]

1 hour ago, Oakman said:

As Platinum on Carnival and Diamond Plus on Royal, I agree with Carnival having better food. They also have a far superior selection of free choices such as Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. The Carnival Steakhouses cost less than their competitors, and offer better food. Food is such a personal preference. Royal has come a long way since we first started sailing. Their food used to be commonly referred to as "bland and boring". 

 

Question if I may. as the Diamond Plus level makes it appear as though you're partial to RCL over Carnival, (assuming you're closer to the 75 point platinum qualifier end)

What keeps you booking RCL over Carnival? 

My brother/SIL consistently book Carnival for the reasons you mentioned, whereas thus far we are RCL only.

 

We had hoped Portside BBQ would have been the RCL answer to Guys, however they decided to go with the extra cost option on top of Johnny Rockets already incurring a fee.

Edited December 6, 2019 by NateUpNorth

[jakeil7]

On 12/2/2019 at 10:22 AM, molsonschooner said:

OP, you mentioned the long walk from the elevators. If you were to book on an Oasis class ship you need to study the deck plans carefully. We always try to book a cabin close to the elevators.  

Or, if you are doing suites again, get one on the top deck.  At most you are a minute with normal mobility from the main restaurant and lounge. The suites on the lower decks tend to have very long walks. 

[Clarea]

32 minutes ago, MommaBear55 said:

We do a mixture of the dining packages and the WJ as the Windjammer good at night is much better than the MDR. ...

 

We have also transitioned to WJ for most dinners.  Food in the MDR is not significantly better enough to make us want to endure the high sound level and frantic service in the MDR.  I feel like they just don't have enough crewmembers to handle the crowds anymore and each crewmember is working incredibly hard.

[Oakman]

4 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

We have also transitioned to WJ for most dinners.  Food in the MDR is not significantly better enough to make us want to endure the high sound level and frantic service in the MDR.  I feel like they just don't have enough crewmembers to handle the crowds anymore and each crewmember is working incredibly hard.

Same for us. Started WJ dinners several years back and have never regretted it.

 

[time4u2go]

12 hours ago, Oakman said:

As Platinum on Carnival and Diamond Plus on Royal, I agree with Carnival having better food. They also have a far superior selection of free choices such as Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. The Carnival Steakhouses cost less than their competitors, and offer better food. Food is such a personal preference. Royal has come a long way since we first started sailing. Their food used to be commonly referred to as "bland and boring". 

Many others have said the same things.  

[Oakman]

On 12/6/2019 at 10:31 AM, NateUpNorth said:

 

Question if I may. as the Diamond Plus level makes it appear as though you're partial to RCL over Carnival, (assuming you're closer to the 75 point platinum qualifier end)

What keeps you booking RCL over Carnival? 

My brother/SIL consistently book Carnival for the reasons you mentioned, whereas thus far we are RCL only.

 

We had hoped Portside BBQ would have been the RCL answer to Guys, however they decided to go with the extra cost option on top of Johnny Rockets already incurring a fee.

Although we prefer the food on Carnival, over the last few years we have been sailing RCL due to the new Oasis Class ships which we love, and the entertainment which is outstanding. Excellent evening entertainment is one of the most important aspects of the cruise experience to us. We also enjoy the many perks RCL provides for past passengers including balcony cabin discounts, 3 free drinks per night per person, reduced internet rates and most recently the new advanced  boarding and disembarkation using facial recognition.  On our recent cruise on Symphony of the Seas, we were literally  in the garage to park, offloaded luggage (in the garage), checked in , through Security and on the ship in 22 minutes. Doing self debarkation with facial recognition we were off the ship and in our car leaving in 9 minutes. RCL wins hands down for organization and crowd control in our opinion.

[katiel53]

Sorry,  what I posted is posted twice.

Edited December 7, 2019 by katiel53
Duplicate Post

[katiel53]

On 12/1/2019 at 8:52 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Their strategy is working perfectly.  Making mediocre food was the start, now they are accelerating the move to all pay meals by making the MTD times very inconvenient, and/or long MTD wait times.

If your theory is correct, how would they feed all 6,000 people in the specialty restaurants?  The venues are small and there is no way they would be able to serve everyone if all felt the food was so poor they needed to pay extra for the specialty restaurants.

 

We don't eat in the MDR because the food lacks seasoning and I believe that is because there are so many people with different tastes that they cater to the median,  which is an unknown to me group.  We prefer the specialty restaurants because when we have a reservation, that means we can dine at that time and at a table for just our family.

 

It is also far less noisy in the specialty restaurants.  I don't like all the noise in the MDR.  I also enjoy having a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and when we have eaten in the dining room the last few times,  ordering a glass of wine when seated meant it was delivered just before dessert.  There was no way to get a second glass, even when asking for 2 at the beginning because we were told with the beverage package we could only get 1 drink at a time.

 

We don't necessarily think the food is so much better in the specialty restaurants.  There are also things in the dining room we prefer that aren't served in the specialties.  We like prime rib, creme brûlée, the onion tart and the savory bites.  To me especially, it is a trade off and the specialty restaurants win every time.

[go fish 44]

We cruise a lot with both Royal  (350 days) and Carnival  186 days and to us Carnival has the best food hands down.

Between Guy's burgers and sandwiches  available in Buffet and the food in  MDR they win hands down. 

What Carnival does not do is exciting ports, like Asia, Middle East, etc  so if you want to see the world you have to change cruise lines.  

 

We also book a spa cabin on Carnival and that cabin comes with free entrance to the heated pool, the heated lounge chairs in the spa and steam rooms.  Also Carnival has a adult only sun deck and they have staff to keep out anyone who is under 18 years of age.  lots of neat loungers on this deck.

 

Yes, we also travel with NCL and Princess and MSC and Holland,  (we are lucky enough to cruise 90 days per year)  but we think for the money and really Caribbean cruise you cannot beat Carnival but all our cruises have been 7 days or longer

 

Lots of families enjoy Carnival as it is much more affordable for 3 or 4 generations of families to have a holiday together.

 

Sue

[sellwingri]

I’m Diamond plus so obviously I’m loyal to RCI.  We almost always eat dinner in the MDR and with a couple of exceptions, have enjoyed the food.  We did take one Carnival Cruise because of the itinerary and price and learned our lesson never to sail with them again.  The food in the MDR was inedible so after 2 nights, we ended up eating in the steakhouse.  I know this was only one cruise but we won’t take a chance again.

 

In all fairness to Royal newbies, had our first RCI cruise had horrible food, I’d probably not be sailing them anymore.  

[mcgore83]

On 12/7/2019 at 4:23 PM, Oakman said:

Although we prefer the food on Carnival, over the last few years we have been sailing RCL due to the new Oasis Class ships which we love, and the entertainment which is outstanding. Excellent evening entertainment is one of the most important aspects of the cruise experience to us. We also enjoy the many perks RCL provides for past passengers including balcony cabin discounts, 3 free drinks per night per person, reduced internet rates and most recently the new advanced  boarding and disembarkation using facial recognition.  On our recent cruise on Symphony of the Seas, we were literally  in the garage to park, offloaded luggage (in the garage), checked in , through Security and on the ship in 22 minutes. Doing self debarkation with facial recognition we were off the ship and in our car leaving in 9 minutes. RCL wins hands down for organization and crowd control in our opinion.

Agree with this statement!  

[pcur]

On 12/3/2019 at 2:54 AM, Jj343434jj said:

In all honesty, your opinion on the food blows me away. The food and entertainment are usually the things I look forward to the most on my cruises with Royal. Almost every person I've talked to says Royal has the best food in the MDR, with maybe the exception of MSC.  

I'm puzzled, too.  I was on the Jewel and the Adventure in 2019 for a total of 76 days.  In all that time I think I had about 3 -4 dinners I didn't enjoy.