Celebrity / Royal Caribbean VS Carnival

[Funcouple]

We're avid cruisers who've barely tried a Carnival Cruise. We're also the type of cruisers who don't let little things ruin our cruise (ever notice some of the comments people write about how terrible their cruise was because the waiter brought them the wrong entree one night?)

 

Anyway, we've recently done Celebrity (very classy and tasteful) and we've done many Royal Caribbean (clean, upscale, fun). What kind of differences will we see when we try out Carnival?

 

I have another post going asking the top 3 Carnival ships. I guess the better question is what will I see different on a Carnival ship?

[serene56]

Having sailed a few times on Carnival and only once on Royal caribbean the cruise itself is basically the same. The food and service was par with each other. The royal ships are more classier compared to the carnival ships But the Spirit class ships are classy too. The reason we sail carnival is because of their night time activities..

 

ALso price is a lot cheaper on Carnival compared to Royal-- I gotta go where my pocketbook takes me

[LHP]

Each cruiseline has a special product. I believe it is wise to stick with the product that makes you happy....regardless of price. And thank goodness, they all offer something different. It would be such a boring world if they were all the same.

 

I probably would not be happy with any Carnival 3 day cruise, because statistics have shown it to be more of a "party til you puke atmosphere" and that is not a product I am interested in....no matter how cheap it is.

 

I love to be pampered as much as the next person, but I will probably never do a Celebrity cruise until they offer karaoke. I am a lady over 50, cost is not a hinderance; but I love to sing karaoke. Sadly, where I live there are not any safe (smoke free) places to enjoy my hobby. Carnival offers me this!

 

I can tell you that when you step onto a Carnival cruise:

 

1) you will not be handed a free glass of champagne and escorted to your room. I don't do champagne and I can find my own room...so this is not an issue to me.

 

2. you will not be greeted and given a cool towel, as you board the ship from your excursion. This is also something I can live without.

 

3. if you select the correct Carnival ship, you will hear some of the best instrumentalist trios I have ever heard and have high tea.

 

4. the food is going to be better on Celebrity (or at least it had better be for the difference in price you pay). But the food on Carnival has always been fine. Food is a personal preference. If don't getting Celebrity quality food on a Carnival cruise is going to ruin it for you, don't go.

 

I could continue the list, but the bottom line is that the biggest difference you are going to find (IMHO) are the passengers themselves.

 

You will not see jeans in the formal dining room on Celebrity. You will on Carnival, even on formal night. (regardless of what Carnival ship you select)

Since Carnival is the least expensive, you have more children then you will on Celebrity or even RCCL. You will have more college age folks. And sadly, you will have more "bubbas" that don't know how to act. (Now I can say that because I am married to a bubba and I am raising 2 little bubbas...but my bubbas know how to act.)

 

And each of these brings their own set of possible problems that you won't have on Celebrity.

 

I am not in any way being disrespectful of Carnival. We have sailed with them exclusively since 1982. Hubby is coming up on his 23rd cruise and we are coming up on our 14th as a family of four. So we clearly love Carnival.

 

Just because we love Carnival and it is the product that suits our needs at this time, does not mean it is for everyone. I believe we have the responsibility to tell it like it is. It does not mean that people who cruise other lines are better than we are. It simply means that Carnival is meeting our needs at this time.

[CruiseFever]

LHP pretty much nailed it, heres a few more to add to the list:

 

• No 24 hour Pizza/Ice Cream on RCL, Carnival invented it
  
• Best sailaway party ever on RCL, you'll miss that
  
• No Funvision, nothing even close on RCL, Carnival leads the pack again
  
• Rock wall kinda cool but not used much. Water slide kinda cool, used a lot
  
• Food better on Carnival, especially with new Jaques Pepin look-alike head chef. Service better on RCL, but not by much
  
• Bar service WAY better on RCL, they had an army of waiters on deck, it was scary. Bob knows wine though.
  
• 18-21's can drink on RCL - this was a non-issue, no big deal. Disappointing, was looking forward to legally drunken teens making fools of themselves People watching points: 0 Personal opinion? If they wanna drink they're gonna drink, take a pill and a nap Mom, they'll survive.
  
• Pretty much NO casino hosts on RCL, I know them by name by second night on Carnival, Not sure if that is a good thing though.
  
• Dining room main focus of foodservice on RCL. Carnival explodes focus all over the place, very well run
  
• Smallest shower ever on RCL. Think phone booth. Smaller than that. Smaller than Princess even. Had to think "Do I really need to shower this week?"
  
• Not so many Maitre D's on our RCL sailings but lots of headwaiters that were all over the place- they actually did something
  
• RCL Embarkation about like Princess: Slick. Onboard in 10 minutes Carnival: Bring a book
  
• RCL Tipping- best system- YOU decide if you want auto tips or envelopes Carnival: Autotips- and don't be a cheapskate by taking them off and NOT tipping on your own
  
• RCL Disembarkation about like everyone else: get off ship, surf ocean of luggage- You'll think you're in the same place
  
• Limited towel animals on RCL. CCL now using towel animals to cheer up hospital patients.
  
• REALLY strong drinks on RCL. Bartenders free pour like its their job.
  
• Shows: I think one person directs the shows on all cruise lines, they all look the same to me. Good though on both. I guess. I never go.
  
• Late night: Probably not typical of RCL but our ships rolled up the decks and shut down early. CCL= the Fun Ships. 'nuf said.

[Funcouple]

 

I love to be pampered as much as the next person, but I will probably never do a Celebrity cruise until they offer karaoke. I am a lady over 50, cost is not a hinderance; but I love to sing karaoke. Sadly, where I live there are not any safe (smoke free) places to enjoy my hobby. Carnival offers me this!.

 

 

Thanks for all of your comments. All excellent in helping me determine if Carnival will be in our cruising future.

 

BTW, I just go off of the Celebrity Constellation and they offered a wonderful Karoake program. Lots of participation and lots of great talent - some clowns too! It was good fun.