So, We Tried RCI…

[cruizin4sho]

1 hour ago, bmc alabama said:

Sorrento's?  On the Oasis?  We were on in January and it wasn't good at all.  

 

If you want good cruise ship pizza, you need to cruise a Princess ship with an Alfredo's...

Yes!  Sorrento's hands down was the best pizza I've ever had on a cruise ship and it's not even close.  I was on Carnival Panorama in December and Carnival Ecstasy a few weeks ago and the pizza was barely edible.

 

If the price is right, I'll definitely give Princess a try.

[cruizin4sho]

31 minutes ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

 

6. I have also sailed NCL. I didn’t love the food but the vibe was nice and I appreciated the 24 hour restaurant.

 

This.  Something about the vibe of NCL is what attracts me to it.  The look, the feel, just totally different from both Royal and Carnival.  Then again I had the drink package each time so that might have had something to do with my opinion.🥴

[SNJCruisers]

On 3/29/2022 at 12:50 AM, canyoncam said:

I enjoy the drink package better on RCI.

How?  Cheers is a set price no matter which ship or time of year you sail.  RCI's Dynamic Pricing policy fluctuates depending upon the ship you're on and the time of year you sail.  If you sail on one of their newer or larger ships, it's impossible to meet the price of Cheers, even if you stumble across a deep discount on Black Friday.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, cruizin4sho said:

 

If the price is right, I'll definitely give Princess a try.

For 40 bucks a day you get gratuities, wifi and drink package with the Princess Plus package. After factoring out tips, that's 25.50 for wifi and drinks.

[Lane Hog]

5 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

I think people who expect Royal to be significantly better are probably going to be disappointed. It’s not really a step up, it’s just a little different.
 

1.I found the food comparable but prefer Carnival’s hours of availability. They have a lot of the same things available but because Carnival does so many of their offerings in separate locations instead of throwing them in with the buffet, Carnival is often offering a fresher product. For example, Royal has free burgers at the buffet but they will be sitting there. 
 

2. The Royal shows are better but the ships go to sleep too early in my opinion. 

 

3.  Carnival also seems to have more entertainment in the daytime.

 

5. I felt like Royal’s clientele is a little more subdued. I am rather laid back but I still prefer the slightly more upbeat people on Carnival.

 

Those points sum up my view of RCL vs CCL perfectly.

[firefly333]

I'm on rcl right now. (Heard I missed another 50% off sale, darn)

 

Booked grand Cayman, jamaica and cozumel,  port frees 137.

 

Changed to costa maya Belize and cozumel. 119 port fees. 

 

Carnival has always refunded the difference during the cruise as obc. This is twice for this change and no obc. Today we missed costa maya and still no obc for the missed port charges. Front desk said it was weather related, sorry no port fees refunded. I am writing but dont know I'll have any success. I've seen people here complain about the piddly amt they got back.. better than $0.

 

Lol and they must have had a rush to buy a day of wifi and raised that price. Great way to treat folks who missed a port. 

 

As far as food, I've had issues on both lines. Last week I had a brand new waiter, struggling. Short 300 hospitality staff, no one wants to hire on to clean cabins. Ran out of a few foods. Some good and bad on both lines food wise during my cruises. ..anyway, be glad if you miss a port at least carnival gives you the port fees back. That's a plus in my book. We had high winds, 6 ft waves, couldn't dock.  

[sparks1093]

8 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

I think people who expect Royal to be significantly better are probably going to be disappointed. It’s not really a step up, it’s just a little different.
 

 

Those who are fiercely loyal to Royal are partly responsible for the disparity in how the cruise line is viewed (not only on this board but also in real life). They truly believe that Royal is "all that" and that is the message they portray to anyone who will listen. We think that Anthem itself was a little better overall, but we also keep in mind she was the newest ship we've sailed on and until we've 1) sailed on a Carnival newer ship or 2) sailed on an older Royal ship that we won't have a true comparison, but really don't expect that much of a difference. Certainly not so much of a difference that we would be willing to part with $1000 more of our money.

[jimbo5544]

6 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

For 40 bucks a day you get gratuities, wifi and drink package with the Princess Plus package. After factoring out tips, that's 25.50 for wifi and drinks.

If that does not talk to a different clientele than I do not know what does.  I wonder how many take this option on Princess.

[sparks1093]

7 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

If that does not talk to a different clientele than I do not know what does.  I wonder how many take this option on Princess.

When we add Cheers, wifi and gratuities into what we pay for a Carnival cruise then we get into the area where Princess becomes a viable option and now that we will be flying to the port instead of driving we'll be on the lookout (but since we're already booked for 2023 and are planning a group cruise on Carnival for 2024 it will need to wait a bit).

[SNJCruisers]

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

If that does not talk to a different clientele than I do not know what does.  I wonder how many take this option on Princess.

It speaks value big time.  Even if you only use wifi sparingly, you can't get a drinks package anywhere for 25.50 a day.  NCL charges you 20 a day for tips and more than 5.50 a day increase over their bare bones rate that is difficult to get as is. And it includes bottled water and espresso based drinks which NCL doesn't include.

We have our first bookings on Princess on the brand new Discovery from 4/10-4/24. Will then have first hand experience with it.

[firefly333]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Certainly not so much of a difference that we would be willing to part with $1000 more of our money.

That's my issue. A inside bottom deck on jubilee costs the same as a inside view balcony on harmony ots. I cant justify the price difference carnival is charging.  Plus the 5 free drinks and 2 days of wifi I get on rcl.

 

I now do see 2 days reduced on jubilee ... too close to booked harmony. If they will extend some better jubilee pricing into 2024. .. I'm in. Also my ta giving me group pricing on rcl so my deposits are refundable. Not the case with carnival. Carnival is pricing themselves too high imo and then doing select sales. I wish I'd been online earlier this week when this latest round  started. Now what's left doesnt work for me or I'd book carnival. 

 

You cant blame me for not wanting to pay more for carnival who gives me fewer freebies for the same price. 

 

If there was a 8 day dream this summer out of Galveston..for a cheap price. I'd take that too .. after I get home from may grandeur. I'd like a change to carnivals private island.

 

Rcl came out with radiance last tuesday for 9 and 10 days with some better ports from here. Pricing from 588 pp on the 10 day. People here onboard jumped on b2b 9 and 10 days. 

 

Ruby princess is posting price for Galveston april 7th. Just nov and dec this year. I dont understand this fierce loyalty to carnival no matter how much extra it costs. .. maybe if I got casino prices I'd understand. 

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I don't understand this fierce loyalty to carnival no matter how much extra it costs. 

You're looking at it through your booking preference of cruising out of Galveston and traveling solo.  Carnival is usually cheaper than Royal on the majority of comparable sailings, especially if you're looking to embark out of FLA.  Loyal Royals will pay the extra because Diamonds get 4 drinks, Diamond Plus get 5 drinks and Pinnacles get their 6 drinks per day.  That adds a ton of value.

If you do a comparison between the Mardi Gras and the Wonder of the Seas, which are currently the newest ships in each line and next year will both be going out of Port Canaveral, the prices are not close at all.  The Mardi Gras is about 200 bucks cheaper for a basic inside in February and March and on some sailings in April and May is 400-550 cheaper and this is per person.

[bmc alabama]

13 hours ago, cruizin4sho said:

Yes!  Sorrento's hands down was the best pizza I've ever had on a cruise ship and it's not even close.  I was on Carnival Panorama in December and Carnival Ecstasy a few weeks ago and the pizza was barely edible.

 

If the price is right, I'll definitely give Princess a try.

Maybe we were on an "off week" for it.  We didn't care for Sorrento's at all.  Felt the pizza on Mardi Gras was better.  But, at least Oasis had a Sorrento's, when we did Serenade of the Seas, the Pizza was in the buffet under regular buffet heating lamps and was our worst Pizza experience...

 

As to Princess, all ships have Pizza on the deck (usually called "Slice") and it is pretty good.  However, more than half of the Princess ships have an included restaurant called "Alfredo's" (on a couple of the newer ships it's called "Gigi's") that hands-down has to me the best pizza.

 

 

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

You're looking at it through your booking preference of cruising out of Galveston and traveling solo.  Carnival is usually cheaper than Royal on the majority of comparable sailings, especially if you're looking to embark out of FLA.  Loyal Royals will pay the extra because Diamonds get 4 drinks, Diamond Plus get 5 drinks and Pinnacles get their 6 drinks per day.  That adds a ton of value.

If you do a comparison between the Mardi Gras and the Wonder of the Seas, which are currently the newest ships in each line and next year will both be going out of Port Canaveral, the prices are not close at all.  The Mardi Gras is about 200 bucks cheaper for a basic inside in February and March and on some sailings in April and May is 400-550 cheaper and this is per person.

Well of course I'm looking at my pricing out of Galveston.. dont care what some other port is. I didnt actually want harmony b2b2b. First 2 were really well priced and then my favorite cruise friends can only do the 3rd leg I added as only a inside. Only about $30 less than balcony prices for other 2 days. Group pricing so I can cancel ... but I might do all 3, idk. 

 

Though oasis next spring break is priced stupid crazy high out of miami beach but so far I guess I'll do it. Waiting for flight prices out of dfw. If you hear me shrieking prices went up again. About another month and airfare can be booked for that stupid priced cruise. 

 

If they would do away with testing before, I'd add jubilee right before, sat to sat, stay a night and board harmony .. not cross booking lines until they do away with testing. .. jubilee in nov has better pricing. Nov 25 best. Balcony on jubilee little more only than inside. I'd do that .. I see some I'd like.

 

So far only 14 days dream jan 2024. I've wanted that cruise forever ..and yes out of Galveston.  Why fly with so many good choices? 6 more days ruby princess prices out of Galveston come out.

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

 Diamonds get 4 drinks, Diamond Plus get 5 drinks and Pinnacles get their 6 drinks per day.  That adds a ton of value.

I'd be lying to not admit 2 free days of wifi isnt nice. I'll miss it on dream. Last week I did Wednesday and Saturday.  This week started at midnight last night until I disembark Sunday. Couples share and get 4 free days and spread them out. It's a toss up. I'm really enjoying fresh squeezed oj in the morning. Had 2 glasses yesterday.  Then diamond lounge for the free specialty coffee machine which doesnt count against my vouchers. 

 

...I'd still like to do jubilee. Waiting on the right price and date. 

[RollingMeadows]

I love Royal. It's a very nice change from Carnival. We're trying Celebrity for the first time in December. It's good to branch out, but to each his own. We currently have 35 cruising days booked with Carnival, so it's not like we don't come back.

 

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

That's my issue. A inside bottom deck on jubilee costs the same as a inside view balcony on harmony ots. I cant justify the price difference carnival is charging.  Plus the 5 free drinks and 2 days of wifi I get on rcl.

 

I now do see 2 days reduced on jubilee ... too close to booked harmony. If they will extend some better jubilee pricing into 2024. .. I'm in. Also my ta giving me group pricing on rcl so my deposits are refundable. Not the case with carnival. Carnival is pricing themselves too high imo and then doing select sales. I wish I'd been online earlier this week when this latest round  started. Now what's left doesnt work for me or I'd book carnival. 

 

You cant blame me for not wanting to pay more for carnival who gives me fewer freebies for the same price. 

 

If there was a 8 day dream this summer out of Galveston..for a cheap price. I'd take that too .. after I get home from may grandeur. I'd like a change to carnivals private island.

 

Rcl came out with radiance last tuesday for 9 and 10 days with some better ports from here. Pricing from 588 pp on the 10 day. People here onboard jumped on b2b 9 and 10 days. 

 

Ruby princess is posting price for Galveston april 7th. Just nov and dec this year. I dont understand this fierce loyalty to carnival no matter how much extra it costs. .. maybe if I got casino prices I'd understand. 

I am loyal only to my wallet and I don't blame you for your choices at all. Every time we've priced a cruise (except one) Carnival has always been significantly less than Royal and the one time Royal was less we had no issues at all sailing with them. I don't see that paradigm changing- we decide what port we want to cruise out of and what itinerary, then we look to see who has the best deal. Now that we will be flying to the port I expect it will open up many alternatives.

[Oceansaway17]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:14 PM, JT1962 said:

Thanks for the review. We have been on 20 cruises on multiple lines, primarily Carnival & Royal Caribbean. We have found much more similarities than differences. We generally prefer the food & entertainment on Royal Caribbean, but love the comedy clubs on Carnival. We would gladly book either again and primarily book for itinerary & price rather than cruise line.

love your answer as mine would be the exact same.

[Indytraveler83]

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I dont understand this fierce loyalty to carnival no matter how much extra it costs. .. maybe if I got casino prices I'd understand. 

 

This is exactly how I feel about most cruise lines.  We've been extremely loyal to Carnival, but I usually book the extreme sales and RCI/NCL hasn't been able to beat those for us yet.

 

I was a moment away from booking RCI for Alaska, then got a crazy deal on Carnival that RCI can't beat.  One of these days I really so want to try the Oasis class, but much like you, won't pay a premium for any ship or line.

[jimbo5544]

8 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

It speaks value big time.  Even if you only use wifi sparingly, you can't get a drinks package anywhere for 25.50 a day.  NCL charges you 20 a day for tips and more than 5.50 a day increase over their bare bones rate that is difficult to get as is. And it includes bottled water and espresso based drinks which NCL doesn't include.

We have our first bookings on Princess on the brand new Discovery from 4/10-4/24. Will then have first hand experience with it.

Let us know how it goes

[crzndeb]

I sail both Carnival and Royal, but as a solo cruiser, Royal fits more my needs right now. I’m as high as I can go on Carnival, so unless they have some unique longer cruises, I won’t be sailing them in the near future.

I think we all find cruise lines that meet our needs, so it’s hard for some to switch. But basing a whole cruise line on one cruise really doesn’t seem fair. Had I done that on my first Carnival cruise, I would have never come back.

And speaking on price, Carnival Legend has a 14 night to Greenland in Aug/2023. Royal Jewel has a 14 day Greenland in Sept/2023 at 1/2 the price, so Carnival isn’t always a deal. 

[SDPadreFan]

Our take is a little different. We've been on 2 RCCL ships and 2 Carnival ships (but multiple times), and 1 Celebrity. Food has always been just fine on both lines, entertainment has also been pretty much equal. At least for us, the real difference has been in the passengers. We try not to cruise when the ships will be overrun with louts (and or kids). So we pretty much avoid the major holidays, summertime, Spring Break, Christmas Break, etc. That still leaves plenty of time to cruise. What we experienced is that the people in our age group 50 and older (we're now 66/67) were fairly reserved on the RCCL cruises we took. More like a convention of accountants, undertaker's and actuaries (apologies to those professions). The people of our age group that we meet on Carnival ships love life and are lots of fun to be around. Celebrity has great ships and great food, but I might as well go to a public library for vacation. I don't think we are quite old enough for HAL yet, maybe in another decade.

 

My sister & her husband love RCCL and they are super double diamond/emerald/platinum or whatever. They do RCCL (and a lot of Disney ships for their grandson). I would go on most cruise lines, depending on itinerary and price. After 24 years in the Navy (retired in 1998), I've had plenty of days at sea and been all over the world. But the Navy never had Chocolate Melting Cake.

Edited April 2, 2022 by SDPadreFan

[jimbo5544]

15 minutes ago, SDPadreFan said:

Our take is a little different. We've been on 2 RCCL ships and 2 Carnival ships (but multiple times), and 1 Celebrity. Food has always been just fine on both lines, entertainment has also been pretty much equal. At least for us, the real difference has been in the passengers. We try not to cruise when the ships will be overrun with louts (and or kids). So we pretty much avoid the major holidays, summertime, Spring Break, Christmas Break, etc. That still leaves plenty of time to cruise. What we experienced is that the people in our age group 50 and older (we're now 66/67) were fairly reserved on the RCCL cruises we took. More like a convention of accountants, undertaker's and actuaries (apologies to those professions). The people of our age group that we meet on Carnival ships love life and are lots of fun to be around. Celebrity has great ships and great food, but I might as well go to a public library for vacation. I don't think we are quite old enough for HAL yet, maybe in another decade.

 

My sister & her husband love RCCL and they are super double diamond/emerald/platinum or whatever. They do RCCL (and a lot of Disney ships for their grandson). I would go on most cruise lines, depending on itinerary and price. After 24 years in the Navy (retired in 1998), I've had plenty of days at sea and been all over the world. But the Navy never had Chocolate Melting Cake.

Nice post and understand all the comments.  All that said, it is a pretty good problem to have.

[canyoncam]

23 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

How?  Cheers is a set price no matter which ship or time of year you sail.  RCI's Dynamic Pricing policy fluctuates depending upon the ship you're on and the time of year you sail.  If you sail on one of their newer or larger ships, it's impossible to meet the price of Cheers, even if you stumble across a deep discount on Black Friday.

Reasons I prefer Royals drink package:

1) It is unlimited.
2) It includes fresh squeezed juice-can’t beat that in my morning mimosas.

3) I get 40% off a bottle of wine when I want to treat my table mates. 
4) I’m a sucker for the Coke freestyle machines. 
 

If you don’t care about any of those then yes, pricing does beat out on Carnival 

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

won't pay a premium for any ship or line.

Then for the most part you're relegated to Carnival and MSC.  The others will have sales occasionally on the older ships in their respective lines, but cheap fares on their newer ships are few and far between.