CCL vs Royal Caribbean

[traderneal]

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

 

I am currently booked on the Explorer out of Bayonne in August. However, for a lot less money, I can get a better cabin on Carnival wit ha slightly better itenary. Travelling will be my wife, myself, and my two daughters age 4, and 8. Now my question is, what line is better in terms of things to do for the kids.

 

Previously, we have travelled on Disney and Princess and my kids loved both cruises. They love the camps. I read only good things about RCL, and have read a few more negative things about CCL then I was expecting. (In terms of the kids camps.)

 

I have heard that the food is better on CCL, the service is the same on both, the entertainment slightly betteron RCL, and the demographics skew higher on RCL. Is this all true?

 

We are looking for a Carribbean cruise in late August, if anyone can reccomend a specific ship, I would appreciate it.

 

thx

 

Neal

[ShadoWdrummer]

In my experience I have been on both carnival and royal carribean. Yes, carnival is always cheaper and i think as far as the buffet goes its better food. However being 19 years old I found that royal carribean was more fun or at least on the boat i went on(Voyager of the seas). I love playing basketball so the full basketball court was always fun, also the putt putt golf was enjoyable after dinner to kind of relax and get some fresh air.

[oldmedic]

we have been on Carnival multiple times, and on the Rhapsody once. Both ships are fun, and both offer lots to do for the kids. We don't have kids that young, but in my opinion, either the Conquest or Rhapsody are AWAYS a good choice. btw, we just booked our second cruise on the Rhapsody, leaving out of Galveston in December. I guess the deciding factors for you,in my opinion, would be itenerary and price. personally I don't think you could go wrong on either ship.

[jckvpa0]

I think for your children ages I would pick Carnival. I have never used Camp Carnival but have read many great things about it here. However, when your children become teens you might want to look into RCCL. I believe there are more activities for the older children on RCCL.

[Nliedel]

You want the HONEST truth? here it is. I never win friends or influence people when I say this but I have sailed both and...

 

THEY ARE DEAD EVEN! Yes DEAD EVEN!

 

RCI gets points for entertainment and Adventure Ocean. It's the best and fairly well agreed upon. My kids adore AO. ADORE It. They could do no wrong.

 

CCL gets points for food and the passengers are a fun loving bunch. No pretention at all.

 

If it's just ports then go for the ports. They are too close to call. I know loyalists on both sides that will tout one line over the other but seriously it's a draw, really.

[oldmedic]

i found this information over at the RCCL String- it might help!!

Royal Caribbean has a youth program called "Adventure Ocean".

 

Here is a breakdown for the program.

 

* For all kids aged 3-17 years of age. Kids must be potty trained-no diapers or pull ups.

 

Program Age Groups

Aquanauts - 3-5 Years

Explorers - 6-8 Years

Voyagers - 9-11 Years

Navigators - 12-14 Years

Guests - 15-17 Years

 

All childrens activities are supervised by both male and female youth staff, professionally certified in education, recreation and/or pre-school or having qualified experience in working with children ages 3-17 years of age.

 

For a complete breakdown of the program please visit the following link from Royal Caribbean.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/conten...Fact_Sheet.pdf

__________________

[Bluecat25]

I have been on 6 cruises now and a variety of lines. Last year, we went on RC for the first time. We sailed out of New Orleans. I was very disappointed with the entertainment and condition of the ship. My kids loved thier kids program though. I have now reached the conclusion that the line isn't nearly as important as the ship itself. There are several Carn. ships that do not have dedicated kids rooms. The kids meet in bars that are closed, and my kids did not enjoy those programs at all. The ones that have dedicated kids rooms are great. So, research the ships and itineraries. Not all ships are created equal!

[biffman]

I've been on the RCCL Voyager of the Seas and the CCL Legend. I stated this in a previous post, but here are my thoughts:

 

1. The food in the dining rooms is pretty much the same on both ships, but I liked the RCCL buffet better. I also liked that the Voyager had Johnny Rockets. That was pretty cool.

 

2. The Voyager ship is incredible, with the rock climbing wall, the skating rink, golf, etc.

 

3. The nightlife was better on the Legend. My wife and I like to party late night and it was much better on the Legend.

 

4. I thought the activities were better on the Legend. There was always something going on.

 

5. The service was great on both ships.

 

Either way, you can't go wrong, IMO.

[WJBonds]

We did Jewel of the Sea last summer and just came off the Glory.

 

Advantages Carnival: a better layout of entertainment areas - better shows, nightlife, and casino. Also, a better price.

 

Advantage RCCL: food both in and out of the dining room - service in all areas - a cleaner, better maintained ship - much more a feeling of luxury.

[cruzn4life]

I have heard that the food is better on CCL, the service is the same on both, the entertainment slightly betteron RCL, and the demographics skew higher on RCL. Is this all true?

 

Just returned off of the Glory and my experience there was almost completely opposite of what I had heard (in comparison of the two lines)...

 

Food was better on RCCL (dining rooms were close, but the buffet on Glory was no comparison to RCCL). Also, room service had MUCH more variety on RCCL.

 

Shows were MUCH better on Glory than on any RCCL cruise we have taken (although RCCL wasn't bad).

 

This was by far our oldest cruise (demographically speaking), but I don't think that is usually the case...just a fluke on the week we went.

 

I have heard good things about kids programs on both lines, but have not yet taken the kids with us.

 

I agree with the other posters...both lines have advantages and disadvantages - we took Carnival this time because the price was right and would not hesitate to cruise with either line in the future. Do your homework on which ship you are selecting as I think that will influence some things more than which line does...

[Nliedel]

See, it's a crap shoot! Go on either line, go for the ports!

[TravelWorks]

I have been on 6 cruises now and a variety of lines. Last year, we went on RC for the first time. We sailed out of New Orleans. I was very disappointed with the entertainment and condition of the ship. My kids loved thier kids program though. I have now reached the conclusion that the line isn't nearly as important as the ship itself. There are several Carn. ships that do not have dedicated kids rooms. The kids meet in bars that are closed, and my kids did not enjoy those programs at all. The ones that have dedicated kids rooms are great. So, research the ships and itineraries. Not all ships are created equal!

 

I don't know what ship this person was on....but it must have been very old....all of the knew carnival ships have designated kids rooms....and the ones on the conquest class ships(Conquest, Glory,Valor, and the newest "the Liberty"(which has the outdoor movie screen like Caribbean Princess) ) are huge!!! Conquest class also has teen clubs and teen discos too for older kids...

 

We have also done the spirit class ships...and my kids had fun there too...(Legend, Miracle)

 

I have done both RCCL as well as Princess too....(Carnival owns Princess)...I like them all for different reasons.

 

*My kids prefer Carnival!

....I perfer to cruise~ period! No matter what line I am on.

 

I always go for Newer boats...w/ best itenerary for the price...no matter what line I am on...

 

And by the way the room cabins are bigger on Carnival than RCCL! Our Ocean View rooms on Caribbean Princess and Carnival's ships were bigger and more comfortable than the rooms we had on RCCL"s Voyager of the Seas...

 

 

Have fun!

[bgmtrans]

I am probably going to get flamed here but here it goes....

 

 

We have been on NCL, Princess, Carnival and RCCL with kids..and hands down RCCL was the favorite for our kids.We were on the Voyager (sister ship to Explorer) and our kids were 7 & 18 ..They both had the times of thier lives but the 7 y.o had so much fun that we nearly had to drag him off the cruise..The staff at the kids club were superb! The Pirate Parade is fantastic!!

 

We like the food in the dining room, the entertainment , the feel of the Promenade deck , Johnny Rockets and kids programs better on RCCL.

 

That said , we are giving Carnival another try this December but we chose to do that because our youngest is 13 now and we thought Carnival programs might suit him better because of their teen programs and because we have been on RCCL the last few times.Not to mention we wanted to go to Belize.

 

Either way I am sure you will be happy but for your kids ages , I would say Explorer..

[jkfreeman33]

Have sailed on several cruises (15 total) with Carnival & RCCL. We were on the Marnier of the Seas in 9/05 and I remembered why I like RCCL so much. The ship is a little classier, more brass & glass as to bright bold colors. The bar waiters remember your name & drink order after one stop at their bar. Just sharper. I think RCCL treats every passenger like they are the most important person on board. YOu are not just one of 3,000 paying passengers on board. They have been waiting for YOU.

The pool area isn't as crowded as Carnival.

Carnival is fun, bold & wild & go get yourself another drink from whats his name at the bar. If you don't care if you are one of 3,000 people and they couldn't care less what your name is or if you are even there, it's OK.

I like the Fish & Chips on the Conquest, Valor & Glory. I like their breakfast buffet up on desk better than RCCL.

We don't have any kids so I can't comment on which is better.

I have fun on both!!!

[twofit]

We had the same choice to make, also for this coming August. We also came down to the same dilemma. The Explorer is a great ship - we took our kids on it 4 years ago when they were 9 & 6. They LOVED Adventure Ocean. However, you're right that the itinerary is not great, and neither is the price. After much review of options, we booked the Carnival Miracle for August 20 out of Tampa. We got a balcony room with air on Delta for LESS than the cheapest rate available on RCCL. All the reviews for the Miracle are exceptional, and the kids' program is highly rated. It's true the Miracle does not have a dedicated kids's area, but I've read many threads that say the kids still have a great time. Mine are older now (13 & 10) so I'm not as concerned about the rooms where activities are held. You have to think about what your family would use, how you would spend your time, etc. and then go with what fits.

[jckvpa0]

I really think your talking apples & oranges here, ( except with the beds & bedding, Carnival wins hands down!),unless your kids are older, I would go with the cruise you want!

[Johnny Cruiser]

It's true the Miracle does not have a dedicated kids's area, but I've read many threads that say the kids still have a great time.

 

I believe you're mistaken. Pinnochios kids area is right by the arcade up front.

[Bluecat25]

Referring to my earlier post, we have been on the Carnival Paradise and RCCL Grandeur of the Seas. The Paradise was 4 or 5 years ago. It is a smaller ship and at the time was smoke free. They did have a kids room, but it was one room for all ages. Maybe they have updated the kids rooms. At the time, the Paradise did a 7 day cruise. I'm not sure it does anymore.

[TravelWorks]

I believe you're mistaken. Pinnochios kids area is right by the arcade up front.

 

 

 

Yes kids area is upfront on the spirit class ships!