No real difference between Carnival and RCL?

[lcpagejr]

Yes..Pasta is available every night. I often request the entree pasta as a starter on nights I want to try another entree. As far as Cherries Jubilee...Had it a few years back but not on recent cruises...But have always had Baked Alaska.

 

 

Also, you can order pasta every night...A simple request to your waiter and you will have it. I don't recall if it's shown on the everynight choices (i.e NY Sirloin, Caesar salad, etc)...but with children always on board there are always requests for Pasta (lol).

 

The waiters are there to please you and meet your needs...If you don't ask..you don't receive,

[flpab]

The rooms on RCCL are so small and you hear everything from your neighbors and hall. We had over one hundred FSU students on our deck and they tee peed the halls, were very loud and wild. The food was not that great, ate the first night in the dining room and my husband got a steak that night so did the buffet from then on. We are old (in our early 50's) but think we were some of the last ones up. It was dead on the ship after 11 pm.

 

The carnival cruise we have been on had more to do for sea days, great food you could get FREE when you were hungry. The biggest plus because we do travel light was that you have laundry on each deck so that you can do your own and press those dress clothes.

I loved the size of Carnivals rooms and the king size beds.

[debster11]

I have cruised on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I prefer Carnival. I think there are pros and cons to each cruiseline and basically a cruise is what you make it. One bad experience can ruin a persons feelings forever towards a cruiseline. I prefer the room size of Carnival and the prices are so much more reasonable. The ships are beautiful and the food has been hit or miss on both lines. As for lower class on Carnival I don't think that is a fair statement. I think you will get more young people on the shorter trips but I wouldn't say lower class. On the longer trips there is a large variety of people young and old. Don't let someone talk you out of trying Carnival because of their opinions. I think you would have a great time on Carnival.:)

[halos]

RCI costs more because there are more frills and extras. They have egg crate pads to add to your bed if you want it. CCL can add comforters.:confused:

 

OOOhh, one thing I should make clear. CCL beds need no egg foam crates. CCL beds are like heaven.

[Cruiseforfun1]

I'be been on Royal Carribbean once, Celebrity once and Carnival 6 times now. Yes there are differences but overall very slight. celebrity goes out of their way to make you feel a bit more pampered,(we were handed a glass on champagne on boarding and escorted to our "cheap seat" inside cabin. Also their souvenier glasses were reall glass. I think they had the best food, but not by much. RCCL was great. They served free Rum Punch in the Atrium on baording, and other then that the food and amenities were pretty much the same as Carnival. I mostly cruise Carnival because the price is super and I have always had a fantastic time. I have yet to go on a cruise I sould not repeat. Same ship, same itinerary, I don't care they have all been great (could forego Nassau though :p. I am not a Carnival Cheerleader, but I am a Cruise Cheerleader. They are all great IMO

[bakechef]

OOOhh, one thing I should make clear. CCL beds need no egg foam crates. CCL beds are like heaven.

 

AMEN sister!

 

MAC

[Drew B]

You need to re-look at those menus. Pasta is on the Carnival menu, fleetwide, every single dinner. And it is ALWAYS available as a side or an entree. Pasta, spaghetti, penne, linguini, fettuccini, something, ALWAYS.

 

Dan

 

 

Here is what the "Unofficial Carnival Wiki" lists for pastas:

 

All pasta dishes are also available as a starter

Farfalle with Artichokes and Arugula

• 
  
• Bow Tie Pasta Tossed in Tomato Concassee, Garlic, Artichoke and Arugula

Farfalle with Roast Turkey Breast and Green Peas

• 
  
• Italian Bow Tie Pasta Tossed in a Cream Sauce

Fettuccine with Sauteed Shrimps and Salmon

• 
  
• Tossed in Mascarpone and Tomato Cream

Grilled Chicken Breast over Fettuccine

• 
  
• Tossed in a Mushroom Cream Sauce

Linguini Primavera

• 
  
• Tossed with Sauce of Assorted Green Spring Vegetables and Cream
  
• Topped with Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Penne Mariscos

• 
  
• Pasta Cooked Al Dente, Tossed with Shrimp and Scallops in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Penne Siciliana

• 
  
• Durum Wheat Pasta, Tossed with a Sauce of Eggplant, Zucchini, Plum Tomato, Cream, Pecorino Cheese and Italian Herbs

Penne, Tossed in a Tomato Cream with Vodka

• 
  
• Freshly Created Parmesan Cheese

Ziti with Italian Sausage, Assorted Bell Peppers and Fresh Mushrooms

• 
  
• Freshly Created Parmesan Cheese

 

 

 

I think there is one offered per meal, either as an entree or an appetizer. More than half of those are NOT VEGETARIAN, though. Most times, if something on the menu contains meat (even a salad with bacon bits), you cannot get it without... Perhaps that was his complaint.

[suzeqlts2]

We have been on rccl Mariner-eastern carib( feb2006) and carnival spirit mexican riviera(march 2008) weloved them both!! I think though that we preferred carnival. the food was much better and I had beef almost evey night and it was perfect every night.WE did have cherries jubilee one night for dessert because it was the only one i didn't really care for. We also had baked alaska . We loved the crew and we also liked the entertainment better on the spirit-except for the ice show on mariner nothing beats that! we thought the people on board were pretty similar. I am one person who just didn't notice much difference in cabin size-we had balconies on both ships - but there sure was a difference in price! that said we would use either line again depending on where it is we want to go .

[misguidedangel]

IMHO it is how the cruise lines market themsleves to the public. RCI seems to have shows on travel channel, Discovery chanel, and so on like builindg Freedom of the Seas and the Dirty Job Crew Cruise. Carnival is big enough they do not have to seek publicity to get a show to feature their ships.

 

I wouldn't go on RCI for one reason--I am not sports minded, I want to have FUN!!!! I have seen the promenade picutes and to me it doesn't appeal to me. The price of RCI is more and chances are for the same price you can get something better on Carnival!!!!!

 

Class of people. Don't tell that man who bought his wife a $4000 ring in the jewellery store onboard the Triumph that Carnival attracts a different class of passengers..No, you get everyone from every walk of life rich, middle class, old, young, fat, skinny, tall, short, ignorant, polite....and so on...

 

As for food/entertainment--it goes both ways. I have read good, bad, and horrible reviews from both lines. I judge for myself.....

[shiloh25]

Both are great cruise lines and have more similarities than differences.

 

For whatever reason, the pizza on Carnival is much, much better than on RCCL. Did I mention it was much better on Carnival?!

 

I also agree with an earlier poster that the buffet food on RCCL is better. However, Carnival's food selection late at night is overall much better.

 

I have been on 4 cruises with RCCL and 7 with Carnival, so I think I can make a fair comparison.

[Travelitis]

OOOhh, one thing I should make clear. CCL beds need no egg foam crates. CCL beds are like heaven.

 

ROFL! My dh said of our bed on the Triumph, "My rack on the USS Boone was more comfortable" and, "A bed of nails would be softer". Guess we were in CCL's perdition.

[mikeerdas]

Thanks to all for the great responses. My wife and I appreciate the help.

 

We ultimately chose a 7 night eastern caribbean on RCI's Mariner of the Seas, but it was a close decision between the Mariner and Carnival's Glory. We would consider a Carnival cruise in the future.

 

Some decision points for us were:

* The RCI cruise was only ~$100 more expensive than a similar cruise on the Carnival Glory (after $100 shipboard credit promotion)

* The in-laws may go with us after all

* The Mariner is a larger ship than the Glory and we love large ships; and it has a few more amenities that seemed interesting

* Size of Inside Stateroom is smaller on the Mariner (~158 sq ft) than the Glory (~185 sq ft), but we decided that's not an issue (we've both lived in tiny dorm rooms, and had a fine time on NCL's Pride of Hawaii (even smaller at 132 sq ft).

* People seem to feel the food is better on Carnival, but we liked the sound of some of the speciality restaurants, as well as the wine bar, on the RCI Mariner. Feeding ~3,000 guests seems unlikely to result in high end food anywhere you go.

* Ports: Didn't care for the short Nassau stop on the Glory (2pm)--that bugged me--so we thought trying out Coco Cay (RCI's private island) might be interesting.

* Entertainment: doesn't much matter to us; a third option we seriously considered was a 4 nighter on the Disney Wonder--the quality of the Disney productions probably trumps most others (of course you've got to love Disney stuff, and we do).

* Decor: sounds like the RCI ships are in general more elegant than Carnival ships. Not a make-or-break for us, but it couldn't hurt for the ship to look nicer (subjective).

 

Bottom line: As others have suggested, I'm sure we'd enjoy ourselves on either line. Whether or not we run into loud, obnoxious drunks is impossible to predict. I will admit to one snobbery if you can call it that--reading that Carnival hosts a "Hairiest Chest" contest was a real turn-off. A holdover from Carnival's wilder days?

[Drew B]

I will admit to one snobbery if you can call it that--reading that Carnival hosts a "Hairiest Chest" contest was a real turn-off. A holdover from Carnival's wilder days?

 

Are you sure that RCCL doesn't have any degrading events? I've heard that "Quest" is in questionable taste... :p

 

I'm sure you would be happy with either choice, and the good thing about cruising is that if there is something you don't want to experience, there are always plenty of other things to do instead...

[MTcruiser]

Hahaha!! I loved he quest game....we had a blast. We even got my mom to spit out her false teeth....it was freakn hilarious....

[firefly333]

I will admit to one snobbery if you can call it that--reading that Carnival hosts a "Hairiest Chest" contest was a real turn-off. A holdover from Carnival's wilder days?

 

RCL had a hairy legs contest. What's the difference between a man showing off his hairy legs or his hairy chest?

 

I have some pics of Quest to the next poster, with men wearing their underwear and a women's bra and carrying a handbag that are pretty funny.

[halos]

Thanks to all for the great responses. My wife and I appreciate the help.

 

We ultimately chose a 7 night eastern caribbean on RCI's Mariner of the Seas, but it was a close decision between the Mariner and Carnival's Glory. We would consider a Carnival cruise in the future.

 

 

I hope you have a great cruise!!

Cruising is great no matter what line it's on. I'm sure you're going to enjoy every minute!! :)

 

Hahaha!! I loved he quest game....we had a blast. We even got my mom to spit out her false teeth....it was freakn hilarious....

 

It's amazing what you find yourself doing when playing Quest. :eek:

[wonderfullife]

I hate to tell you but Royal also has a hairiest chest contest, unless that has been discontinued in the past couple of years. Also, watch out for the Men's Legs contest as that resulted in an unfortunate show of full nudity from an elderly contestant. It was a bit shocking with all the kids watching and it was on Royal!

 

You will LOVE Coca Cay if you actually stop. I have never had an issue but if it is too windy/ choppy seas, they will bypass that one. It is wonderful there. Be sure to walk toward the back where the hammocks are. It is sooooo relaxing.

 

Oh, and beware the large iguanas on the island. There were some "tough" young men who were trying to have fun with them but the iguanas won and I never saw people that age retreat so fast!! It was funny to watch.

 

Enjoy yourself.

 

Aleece

 

 

 

* Ports: Didn't care for the short Nassau stop on the Glory (2pm)--that bugged me--so we thought trying out Coco Cay (RCI's private island) might be interesting.

 

Bottom line: As others have suggested, I'm sure we'd enjoy ourselves on either line. Whether or not we run into loud, obnoxious drunks is impossible to predict. I will admit to one snobbery if you can call it that--reading that Carnival hosts a "Hairiest Chest" contest was a real turn-off. A holdover from Carnival's wilder days?

[rolltideroll]

Hi all,

 

Just wanted to post some thoughts for others with the same dilemma.

Have been on RCI (May 2007), Disney (May 2005), and Carnival (June 1999).

Food was about the same on all the ships. Entertainment great on all ships but very different too.

 

Disney-Magic

-does a great job with nightly productions, but they are all Disney themed of course

-The food is about the same as the others, but the rotating schedule of dinning rooms is really nice to keep things changing (your waiters are the still same the whole week). I was surprised how many children participate in formal night-they were so cute!

-Had more things to keep the adults entertained during the day such as wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, movies, etc. which was surprising. They definitely do more entertaining than the other lines and have the most variety of things going on on board at any one time.

-The ship was modeled on a turn of the century ocean liner and didn't scream Disney--over all best ship decor of the three lines.

-Characters are not walking around all day, they make scheduled appearances.

-Standard inside rooms are huge compared to others.

-loved Castaway Cay

-friendly staff

 

RCI

-Not sure about RCI since we were on the Liberty of the Seas and we were on the second sailing, first on eastern itinerary, but some classic cruise things were missing. The dinning room didn't do the classic baked alaska, parade of nations thing. The midnight buffet was only one night and a bit disappointing.

-The activities during the day were lacking compared to Disney and Carnival (mainly Bingo).

-Difficult to find lounge chairs anywhere.

-Daytime entertainment seemed to rely on the rock wall, surfing, ice rink, royal promenade, etc. (mainly the boat v. activities)

-The ship decor was a bit more upscale than I remembered on Carnival.

-Passengers kept commenting on how much better RCI was than Carnival (RCI repeat passengers really love the company I guess!).

-The boat was a bit hard to navigate for the first few days.

-There seemed to be too much reliance on "extra" things to purchase (Johnny Rockets, Ben and Jerry's, specialty coffee shop, etc.) which may be hard to fight the temptation and start adding up on your ship board account. -The nightly shows were amazing! The ice show, Rain, and the show where people fly through the air (forget name!) especially.

-Our ship had a noro outbreak which seemed to be handled well at first (they made an announcement after the first case was reported) but they cleaned the ship with bleach and left it sitting everywhere so the ship had a film all over it and people were walking around with bleached clothes where the leaned against a wall of railings and didn't realize it. This also caused many areas of the ship to get closed down during the cruise

-didn't really like Labadee

-staff not as friendly as the others

-Chops is amazing!

 

Carnival

(We went on the Celebration, so not really comparing apples to apples here)

-great food

-great entertainment, but more old-school Vegas style

-lots of daytime entertainment

-ship decor was the least attractive-very bright!

-very friendly staff

 

Overall, I think all three are pretty interchangable. I organized a family trip for this summer and used these comparisons in figuring out which line to use. Some were skeptical of the party image, but I decided to go with Carnival because of price, variety of activities, great food, and great entertainment which appeal to all ages and incomes. While the others may be great too, I don't think the price difference equals better quality. One thing to note though, our RCI experience may not quite be indicative of the overall level of quality because it was only the second sailing and the noro outbreak.

 

I would rank them:

1. Disney

2. Carnival

3. Royal Caribbean

based on what you get for the money, however, I would definitely go on any again!

 

Hope this helps anyone else who is debating which line to go on!

[flowerchild]

I've been on the three mainstream lines, RCCL, CCL and NCL.

 

Carnival seems to come up least expensive whenever I do a price comparison. Large fleet, but I stry to stick to only new ships of which they have many. I did have the most fun at the daily activities on my Carnival sailings. Food was fine. Cabins were of average size.

 

NCL in most cases, comes up 2nd least expensive. Very young fleet. Food was fine, and freestyle is awesome. Cabins seemed larger than most. More of a quiet crowd, but not overly so.

 

RCCL always comes up more expesive by far. I guess they have to pay for all those super fancy ships with the wave machine and the ice skating rinks. Cabins were the smallest. Food was hit or miss. Definitely a more upscale type of service, but with nothing to back it up, like the food. Good service, but the food was really sub par. I was really surprised. I saw the same amount of drinking on both the CCL sailings as the RCCL sailings.

 

I am always so grateful to be healthy and able to sail that I could care less what line I cruise on, as long as I am able to continue cruising. It always baffles me when I hear comments like "We only cruise such and such line, the other lines do not cater as well to our needs." with thier noses in the air. I know someone who was a RCCL fan and would say such nonsense when told we were sailing other lines. She ended up on a Carnival cruise and said the food was much better on Carnival and that otherwise, the experience was almost the same.

 

If Carnival offers you a better price than RCCL, go for it!

[Socref124]

The one I know of said the food was "sub par" on the Fantasy,

I'm guessing NCL is in the same class as RCL and Carnival. But of course the Pride of Hawaii had only been 6 months or so old when I cruised. I figured "how bad could it be", being a new ship?

 

Mike,

Carnival just hired on a new chef, therefore, the food will change. I was reading on a Carnival Freedom post that says the new Carnival Chef is on their cruise implementing a new menu.

Also, I was on NCL Star five years ago. The food was better on the Star, however, the service has been much better on Carnival.

We haven't been on RCI so I can't comment on them.

Good Luck,