1st time on Royal - Is there anything different than Carnival?

[sharon&family]

I agree with the music by the pool.  I also prefer it to be quieter and I usually dont like the music they play on carnival  I am in my mid 50's and I love 70s music or just Carribbean music would be great.  We dont party or stay out past 10 or 11 so Royal might be a better fit for us but they are more expensive than Carnival.  How is the kid/teen program for my 11 and 17 year olds?

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I miss tacos on carnival too. I want crispy shells or they are just soft whatever's.  Not tacos. 

 

My liberty in dec had tacos unlike my 3 prior carnival sailings. Point to what you want and they make them. Rcl wins for free tacos.

 

Newer ships have wipe out cafe with free tacos and hot dogs and pizza. 

 

No tacos on carnival. Just soft tacos.   Or burritos.. I never found any. 

 

What ships other than Allure have Wipe Out Cafe?  Harmony has Mini Bites.  The other newer ships have El Loco Fresh.  Even Oasis got El Loco Fresh with its amp.

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

What ships other than Allure have Wipe Out Cafe?  Harmony has Mini Bites.  The other newer ships have El Loco Fresh.  Even Oasis got El Loco Fresh with its amp.

Ok I had them twice on oasis but have allure booked. Didnt keep up with amps.

 

But I had tacos offered several times on liberty in the buffet both for lunch and dinner. 

 

Vs no crunchy tacos on carnival. Just was saying carnival never had what I call tacos. If you like burritos then carnival wins. Not for tacos. They dont have them. 

 

Actually I didnt like wipe out cafe, never ate there once. Looked at the food and said no thanks and walked out. So glad to know they got rid of it on oasis. Thanks.

Edited January 24, 2022 by firefly333

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Ok I had them twice on oasis but have allure booked. Didnt keep up with amps.

 

But I had tacos offered several times on liberty in the buffet both for lunch and dinner. 

 

Vs no crunchy tacos on carnival. Just was saying carnival never had what I call tacos. If you like burritos then carnival wins. Not for tacos. They dont have them. 

 

I don't understand what you are saying.  Only Oasis had El Loco Fresh added with the amp.  None of the other ships ever had Wipe Out Cafe.  What other ships are you saying have Wipe Out Cafe?

[SF Cfan]

The Windjammer Cafe (Lido Buffet) has defined hours of operation versus the Lido Buffet on Carnival which is open all day.  However, that does not put a damper on grabbing a snack or Pizza (deck 5) between lunch and dinner.  There are multiple casual dining spots usually open elsewhere.

[reallyitsmema]

8 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Ok I had them twice on oasis but have allure booked. Didnt keep up with amps.

 

But I had tacos offered several times on liberty in the buffet both for lunch and dinner. 

 

Vs no crunchy tacos on carnival. Just was saying carnival never had what I call tacos. If you like burritos then carnival wins. Not for tacos. They dont have them. 

 

Actually I didnt like wipe out cafe, never ate there once. Looked at the food and said no thanks and walked out. So glad to know they got rid of it on oasis. Thanks.

 

Now I don't understand at all, you had them twice and now you say you never ate there??????

[firefly333]

11 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

I don't understand what you are saying.  Only Oasis had El Loco Fresh added with the amp.  None of the other ships ever had Wipe Out Cafe.  What other ships are you saying have Wipe Out Cafe?

I said i did oasis twice, not recently. I thought that was clearly said. I dont follow ships much except out of Galveston.  Allure is booked so I follow that. Oasis is booked and I did it twice pre amp. I cruised on oasis twice. I walked in and out of wipe out cafe. I dont eat hot dogs and the food didnt look appetizing. Why make  big deal over this? 

 

Because of bellas cruise I'm booked out of florida. Maybe looking at 11 day explorer for b2b. 

 

Oasis and allure. Clear enough. To me they are both newer ships vs what I book out of Galveston. I said thanks for the info on oasis that they got rid of it....good news. I'll be back on liberty sunday which I feel looked dated, not a newer ship. All things are relative. Showing my age. Liberty had bad elevator shakes and just faded, .. most say comfortable and love her. I'll be glad to get allure. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by firefly333

[reallyitsmema]

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I said i did oasis twice, not recently. I thought that was clearly said. I dont follow ships much except out of Galveston.  Allure is booked so I follow that. Oasis is booked and I did it twice pre amp. I cruised on oasis twice. I walked in and out of wipe out cafe. I dont eat hot dogs and the food didnt look appetizing. Why make  big deal over this? 

 

Because of bellas cruise I'm booked out of florida. Maybe looking at 11 day explorer for b2b. 

 

Oasis and allure. Clear enough. To me they are both newer ships vs what I book out of Galveston. I said thanks for the info on oasis that they got rid of it....good news. I'll be back on liberty sunday which I feel looked dated, not a newer ship. All things are relative. Showing my age. Liberty had bad elevator shakes and just faded, .. most say comfortable and love her. I'll be glad to get allure. 

 

You said "I had them twice on Oasis" which would imply that you had tacos twice on Oasis as that was the discussion.  I asked you what other ships have Wipe Out Cafe as you said other new ships have it.  I am not aware of any other ship that has Wipe Out Cafe, so I was asking you which do as we enjoyed Wipe Out for breakfast as they had made to order omelets.  Seeing as you said other ships had Wipe Out, I figured you would know which ships you were referring to in your statement.  I am not making a big deal over this, I was asking you to share the information you had so I didn't have to go looking up the deck plans on all the ships I haven't sailed, looking for Wipe Out Cafe.

[HBE4]

Wipeout Cafe was great to grab something hot, really quick. Never a line and you could be in and out in a few minutes. Granted, the selection was very limited, definitely geared towards kids and teens but sometime you just want a little something to tide you over & don't feel like trudging off to WJ or Cafe Promenade. 

 

It does seem that the Wipeout Cafe is being phased out with each ship remodel. Too bad, one less free food option. Even though Liberty hasn't been  Amp'ed yet, it lost its Wipeout Cafe when they added the trio of water slides back in 2015/2016.  I guess Allure is the last hold out, thanks to the pandemic.

 

I think a few Oasis-class ships still have The Wipeout Bar but that's drinks only.

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

Wipeout Cafe was great to grab something hot, really quick. Never a line and you could be in and out in a few minutes. Granted, the selection was very limited, definitely geared towards kids and teens but sometime you just want a little something to tide you over & don't feel like trudging off to WJ or Cafe Promenade. 

 

It does seem that the Wipeout Cafe is being phased out with each ship remodel. Too bad, one less free food option. Even though Liberty hasn't been  Amp'ed yet, it lost its Wipeout Cafe when they added the trio of water slides back in 2015/2016.  I guess Allure is the last hold out, thanks to the pandemic.

 

I think a few Oasis-class ships still have The Wipeout Bar but that's drinks only.

 

Thanks, we liked it for exactly the same reasons.  We would go there for an omelet in the morning an watch the zip line and basketball court while we were eating.  Just didn't know if it was still on any other ship.

[cpa09]

5 hours ago, sharon&family said:

Thanks for all the information.  I will definitely love the large shows!!  I am not a fan of all Carnivals trivias and music shows.  The ship looks amazing.  We are going on the harmony in an extended ocean view balcony.  One thing I do not like about the room is that it has a double sofa bed and not a seperate bunk.  My 11 year old and 17 year old do not get along and will refuse to sleep together.  I am sure one of them will be on the floor.  I'm hoping they can just make a place for her to sleep on the floor when we get there.

Sometimes booking two rooms can be about the same price or slightly more than booking one room for four people.  Then you can separate the bed to two twin beds and have two bathrooms.  We have two children and have always booked two rooms.  Peace of mind and extra space goes a long way.  

[DrSea]

2 hours ago, asalligo said:

In some ways Royal made me appreciate Carnival more. I used to lament the hard party atmosphere, but then found I did miss it a bit on Royal. So later when I cruised Carnival on some four day cruise at a ridiculous price and the party is just wild, I realize that is what Carnival is good at and I try to appreciate it. 

Just curious...what do you mean by ridiculous price?

[acpalmer]

2 hours ago, HBE4 said:

Wipeout Cafe was great to grab something hot, really quick. Never a line and you could be in and out in a few minutes. Granted, the selection was very limited, definitely geared towards kids and teens but sometime you just want a little something to tide you over & don't feel like trudging off to WJ or Cafe Promenade. 

 

It does seem that the Wipeout Cafe is being phased out with each ship remodel. Too bad, one less free food option. Even though Liberty hasn't been  Amp'ed yet, it lost its Wipeout Cafe when they added the trio of water slides back in 2015/2016.  I guess Allure is the last hold out, thanks to the pandemic.

 

I think a few Oasis-class ships still have The Wipeout Bar but that's drinks only.

On Oasis, Wipeout Cafe was replaced with El Loco Fresh, so it's the same amount of included food options--just a different type of food.  We really enjoyed El Loco Fresh and found it to be very fast.

[asalligo]

2 hours ago, DrSea said:

Just curious...what do you mean by ridiculous price?

Super low price that makes me not care about which line it is on. Living close to the port we used to see them all the time and just on a ship last minute. I hope that ability returns one day. 

[asalligo]

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I miss tacos on carnival too. I want crispy shells or they are just soft whatever's.  Not tacos. 

 

My liberty in dec had tacos unlike my 3 prior carnival sailings. Point to what you want and they make them. Rcl wins for free tacos.

 

Newer ships have wipe out cafe with free tacos and hot dogs and pizza. 

 

No tacos on carnival. Just soft tacos.   Or burritos.. I never found any. 

 

You got me there. I make no distinction. I really just meant Mexican food. 

 

 

 

[HBE4]

54 minutes ago, acpalmer said:

On Oasis, Wipeout Cafe was replaced with El Loco Fresh, so it's the same amount of included food options--just a different type of food.  We really enjoyed El Loco Fresh and found it to be very fast.

 

Thanks! For some reason, I thought El Loco charged for food.  Good to know I was wrong.

[AstoriaPreppy]

One major difference is that Royal places a higher emphasis on the buffet. The selection and quality in Royal's Windjammer buffet tends to exceed Carnival's Lido Marketplace almost to a fault. Also, as someone noted, the Windjammer gets locked up when it's not meal time on Royal, compared to Carnival where you can chill out in AC all day. 

 

That said, Carnival far exceeds Royal in their non-buffet lido options. Guy's Burgers are spectacularly good, as are the Blue Iguana breakfast burritos, arepas and tacos at lunch. Many Royal ships don't even *have* complimentary poolside burgers and fries, which is frankly ridiculous. 

 

Also, Sorrento's pizza on Royal is pretty awful (please don't flame me) compared to Carnival's pizza. I know some people like it, but by any objective measure both the dough and sauce are horrendous compared to Carnival's pizza. It's fine after a drunken night out, but it's not something I'd suggest anyone regularly consume, v. Carnival pizza which is actually pretty good. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by AstoriaPreppy

[DrSea]

4 hours ago, asalligo said:

Super low price that makes me not care about which line it is on. Living close to the port we used to see them all the time and just on a ship last minute. I hope that ability returns one day. 

Same here. I got SUCH RIDICUOUSLY low prices on carnival. It's a trade off. I don't get exactly what I want, but for the the price I cannot complain. 

[Coralc]

18 hours ago, sharon&family said:

  I am sure one of them will be on the floor.  I'm hoping they can just make a place for her to sleep on the floor when we get there.

Bring an air mattress. 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Coralc