Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival

[DG2004]

Me and my new wife just got back from our Honeymoon on the Sovereign of the Seas on Royal Caribbean.

We are now planning a cruise next year with a group of friends and we are trying to figure out the differences between RC and Carnival.

Can anyone give me/us some insight here?

[Cruzman]

This subject has been discussed at awesome length on this board, but since this is your second post I'll hit the highlites as I see them. Cabins; RCCI very small and cramped (especially on older ships), Carnival, quite large as cruise cabins go. Interior decor; RCCI more airy and refined, lots of glass, Carnival, lots of neon and glitz, very bright and busy; food, slight edge to Carnival; entertainment, a draw. Lots of fast paced, late night entertainment on Carnival; RCCI a little more subdued. To sum it up, they are very similar in many ways, RCCI does some things better, Carnival does other things better; you really can't go wrong on either IMHO.

[Cruising89143]

The atmosphere on RCI is more subdued and a lower energy level than Carnival. The RCI ships are decorated in brass and glass and not bright lights and plastic. This link will give you an idea of what the difference is in the two lines as far as the ships are concerned. Both ships are about even in age.

 

http://www.virtualtoursusa.com/carnivalglory.htm

 

http://www.virtualtoursusa.com/navigatorseas.htm

 

Smaller cabins on RCI older ships. New ships in the Voyager, Freedom and Radiance class are not much different in size than Carnival and have a better layout. Suites on RCI are much nicer. RCI is in the process of changing over to new bedding and about half of the fleet is completed and all ships will be complete by spring of 07.

 

Food and entertainment are about even with each one doing some things better than the other. Carnival has better pizza and RCI has hot foods on their room service menu. Voyager/Freedom class ships have many entertainment options and there is currently no other ship out there that can compare with the two.

 

Service and crew is where I tell the difference between the two lines. Much more friendly crew on RCI. Seem genuine when they speak. Not forced. Cleaner and better maintained ships on Royal Caribbean. Also a much better past guest program on RCI if you are one that is planning to cruise more often.

 

Bottom line, many of us have our own opinion of which is better. I suggest that you narrow down the ships that interest you and then read some of the reviews posted on this board and others to try and get a feel of which one will suit your needs and taste.

[Cotton]

So DG - how did y'all like the Sovereign? (Congrats on your marriage.)

 

I was on the Sovereign a few months ago. I had a wonderful cruise (I always do!), but there were a few things I noticed that I missed from my Carnival cruises... One being the very small OV cabin I had on Sov, as opposed to my porthole cabins on Carnival.

 

Another thing was the food - I'm a foodie, and retired chef for restaurants in New Orleans, and I really look forward to trying new things on cruises. I thought the food on Sov was ok, some was even very good, but not presented as well or nearly as good as Carnival's food.

 

I also missed having my complimentary espresso and cappuccino in the dining room, which is offered on Carnival for all three meals each day. I had to pay for it on RCI.

 

I thought the staff, crew, and entertainment was about the same on both lines.

[caviargal]

I think cruisingator2 summed it up really well. I prefer the staff, food, ships of RCI over Carnival but that is a matter of personal preference.

[madaamt]

My .02... I have sailed on 3 rccl cruises and recently took my first carnival cruise. I loved Carnival!!! I still like rccl but DH and I both loved carnival. And, It was an old ship we went on with Carnival. If you are a someone who likes to cruise then you will have no problems.. have a wonderful vacation..

[Aquahound]

My motto is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you liked RCI, try one of the newer ships. Of course, this is only my humble opinion and I will admit I've never cruised on Carnival. But, I've toured their ships. I still think nothing compares to the Voyager Class of ships on RCI.

 

But, of course, it depends on what your priorities are. (That's always a safe answer;) )

[momofmeg]

I know a couple of weeks ago someone asked the differance between Sovereign and Sensation which does a similiar cruise- this is what was said- instead of cocoCay you get a sea day-people basially said what has already been said here to you in this thread. The stateroom is bigger on Carnival but the decor is a little loud and "Los vegas" as if Liberace was the decorator ,but otherwise, food, service, shows are all very similiar.

 

But if you choose a 7 day cruise I recommend, spirit class ships for Carnival and radience class ships for Royal Caribbean. I have been on spirit class on carnival and voyager class on Royal. I liked the spirit class ship, but not the voyager class ship.

 

I have not been on radience class-but have read many posts that this is a nicer class of ship-and I have also not been on a conquest class ship-but I have read so many negative posts here about the conquest class ships, I have no desire to go on one.

 

so far I have been on six lines-this is how I rate them in enjoyment-#1-celebrity #2 Princess, #3 Disney #4 and 5 are a tie between Carnival and Royal Caribbean and #6 is HAL.

 

Still though,I always have a good time on every cruise I have been on-some I liked better then others. I find the lines are more alike then differant over all-so just pick a cruise you can afford-you will still have a good time-yes the more expensive lines will be better- and a balcony stateroom is better then an inside stateroom-but- just like filet mignon is better then sirloin-but if your pocket book says sirloin-you can still enjoy the sirloin.

[DG2004]

I have my wife and one of my good friends saying they would try carnival, but if it sucked....they would not be happy

 

and then we have other friends that want to try Carnival becuase it is cheaper

 

I liked RC myself, but Carnival might be better and I am just trying to get all the information I can so we can make a good decision.

 

We are not looking for anything really fancy, just clean, safe and fun

[Cotton]

....... just clean, safe and fun

 

Well - Carnival's motto is "The FUN ships!":D

[Cruising89143]

I have my wife and one of my good friends saying they would try carnival, but if it sucked....they would not be happy

 

and then we have other friends that want to try Carnival becuase it is cheaper

 

I liked RC myself, but Carnival might be better and I am just trying to get all the information I can so we can make a good decision.

 

We are not looking for anything really fancy, just clean, safe and fun

 

Maybe you should give them a try so that you can see what they are all about. For me, I cruised with Carnival for many years before trying Royal Caribbean. Now there is no way I would go back on Carnival. Not saying that they are bad but it's all about what one likes and for me I get the better overall cruise experience on RCI. Good luck with your choice and enjoy your next cruise regardless of the line that you choose.

[samtig]

We've been on 5 cruises - 3 Carnival & 2 Norwegian. We had a great time on them all. We really enjoy free-style cruising on newer Norwegian ships but don't mind regular dining. There are differences in cruiselines & also ships, & older ships. We like some things better on Carnival & some on Norwegian but would cruise any of the ships again in a heartbeat. Have a Royal Caribbean scheduled. We want to cruise as many lines as we can so we can find out the differences for ourselves. So far, just put us on a cruise ship!!!

[newmexicoNita]

Why don't you also consider NCL and maybe Princess? Most of the mass marketed lines will be very similar. Like has been said, the advantage to sailing Carnival is the cabin size. They are much larger. The entertainment will be similar on all the lines as will the food. Food is very subjective, we prefer the food on Carnival to that on RCI. Others will think just the oppisite. One thing offered by NCL and Princess is the flex dining. This gives you the option of eating dinner when you want instead of seating at an assigned table with the same people each night. This concept is becoming more popular all the time: still many prefer the traditional. What is right for one isn't always right for others.

 

In a nut shell, if you don't want to check into a couple other lines I would try Carnival if you want the fun and the glitz; RCI if you like the slightly more subdued atmosphere. I like the explanation someone made: lower energy level. Either choice would be fine, when sailing with friends cruising is always great. It is great most of the time anyway but with friends even more fun. NMNita

[cruise.freak]

We have done 2 Carnival and one RCI cruise and our second RCI cruise coming in March. We much prefer RCI over Carnival however we are not into the party life. We will sail Carnival again because they are cheaper but like everything so much better on RCI. We thought the food and entertainment was so much better on RCI and the ships are so much prettier. Carnival does have the best pizza though!

[Las Vegas Non Rev]

We did B2B RCI and Carnival in June. I feel the same as most of the other posters. RC smaller room, we had no safe in the room, Pizza closed at 3am. I would lean toward RCI on quality of buffett food and style off the ship. For me i look for itinerary and price for the dates i need to travel.

[momofmeg]

I have my wife and one of my good friends saying they would try carnival, but if it sucked....they would not be happy

 

and then we have other friends that want to try Carnival becuase it is cheaper

 

I liked RC myself, but Carnival might be better and I am just trying to get all the information I can so we can make a good decision.

 

We are not looking for anything really fancy, just clean, safe and fun

 

Are you looking at 7 day cruises? Check out Princess. her pricing is very good-We had a balcony cabin on Caribbean Princess this fall for about the same price as an atruim cabin on Mariner of the Seas last fall-so a much nicer cabin-and we enjoyed Princess much more-less crowded-not near as many kids. Better quality food-overall on Princess also. To get the top quailty food on MOS you had to go to either Chops or Portofinos-on Princess the regular dinningrooms were very good. They also had the pay extra restuarants and they were good but the regualr dinningroom was just as good. Now the lido buffets were just okay on both ships-but those are never great-no matter the line. Princess did serve great pizza by the pool, my daughter said.

 

 

 

so if your friends are afraid of carnival, Princes is a nice compromise and not that high in the bucks.

[momofmeg]

We've been on 5 cruises - 3 Carnival & 2 Norwegian. We had a great time on them all. We really enjoy free-style cruising on newer Norwegian ships but don't mind regular dining. There are differences in cruiselines & also ships, & older ships. We like some things better on Carnival & some on Norwegian but would cruise any of the ships again in a heartbeat. Have a Royal Caribbean scheduled. We want to cruise as many lines as we can so we can find out the differences for ourselves. So far, just put us on a cruise ship!!!

 

You sound like me! I like going on differant lines and so far in 12 cruises I have cruised 6 lines! I would cruise Carnival again-but on a spirit class ship!

 

and I could care less about who is partying-I am in bed around midnight at the latest no matter what line I am on-and as long as I don't have people beating down my door and waking me up- I don't care. People can have their fun!