No real difference between RCL and Carnival?

[Esmerelda]

I'm sorry....but my first 3 cruises were on Carnival. Until then, I had nothing to compare too and quite frankly was happy with CCL. UNTIL I sailed on Royal Carribean last summer....oh my gosh....

 

this was like comparing a Chevette...to a BMW.....they were on opposite sides of the spectrum.

 

I'm sorry...but we will never sail on Carnival again.....its RCCL for us all the way...even if I have to scrimp and save all year for us to go.

 

Sailing both of them was the best thing I ever did....

 

 

just my 2 cents...

[GoodAsGold]

I've heard the food is actually BETTER on Carnival than RCI. (in most areas of the ships, I was told.) BUT, that won't stop me from giving RCI a try--namely the Mariner of the Seas. :) I just won't go with huge expectations re; food. I'm sure I won't starve. :D

 

 

Here's my dilemma:

 

Me and my wife are looking at some eastern/western caribbean cruises on the Carnival Glory/Legend.

 

My in-laws swear up and down that we should avoid Carnival at all costs and go RCL instead. The in-laws claim Carnival's food is lousy vs. Royal Caribbean. They also claim Carnival gets a more "low class" clientele than RCL. Not sure where they're getting their information on the food--I've read good and bad about the food on both cruise lines.

 

I don't care about the "low class" clientele thing, unless it means that Carnival cruisers, on average, are a lot less well behaved (how can anyone generalize like this?), on average, than RCL cruisers.

 

If the "low class" designation means the dress code on Carnival isn't as well enforced as on RCL, then there's no issue for me. Frankly, I'm on vacation. It's not going to ruin my vacation if people wear shorts in the dining rooms. I'd prefer to wear shorts myself, but tend to stick to whatever dress code is recommended.

 

If "low class" means Carnival cruises tend to contain more loud and obnoxious people than cruisers on RCL, then yeah, that would bother me. "Class" doesn't bother me (I'm not a doctor / lawyer / prude / etc). Behavior does.

 

For example, at Disney World, there are value, moderate. and deluxe resorts. I have definitely noticed a difference in behavior between guests who stay at value resorts vs. the moderate resorts; e.g. the value resorts tended, pretty consistently, to contain more guests who would do annoying stuff (to me, personally) like hang out in front of their doors, like hanging out on a stoop, and clog public hallways. And the value resorts attracted more annoying groups of people like kids sports teams, where the chaperones would let the kids run wild. It's obviously a cost issue--moderates cost more than the value resorts, so these kid groups tend to stay at the values.

 

The interior quality of the rooms is about the same between Disney value and moderate rooms, although the moderate rooms are larger and the pool facilities are better at moderate resorts (not an issue if you don't care about pools).

 

If the food on Carnival is, somehow, much worse, on average, than RCL, then that's one reason I might prefer RCL. But then I don't expect 5 star dining on a cruise, given the number of people to be fed daily.

 

A co-worker of my wife has been on a number of cruise lines and claims there's no significant difference between Carnival and RCL. She says the real difference comes between Carnival/RCL and higher tiers of cruise lines like Princess/Celebrity. *That* I can believe.

 

Finally, I wonder--of the people who hate Carnival, did they:

 

-- Take a cruise in peak season? (I tend *never* to travel in high season for any type of vacation travel; it's always a worse / more crowded experience by definition; some people just don't get that there will probably be more loud, obnoxious people--or more of them--cruising during peak season). I'd also guess--and it's just a guess--that during peak season, cruise personnel, including kitchen staff, would be more stressed than in the off-season; and that may directly impact the end result on the plate; though it wouldn't make a difference if the ingredients were poor quality to begin with.

 

-- Take a cruise on an older ship (e.g. 10-15 years old); I tend to look for the largest, newest ships as a hedge; although I don't know that this would get me better food.

 

Finally, yeah, I admit it. I'm not a "partier." I enjoy a few good beers / mixed drinks as much as the next person, but I don't cruise to drink myself into oblivion. So if I'm around a lot of crazy drinkers, I'm going to be less happy on a cruise than without them. But that's my personal preference.

 

I don't judge people who do like to whoop it up; but they can do that in clubs/bars; I'd prefer not to be near them.

 

By Carnival saying they are "the fun ships" or whatever the slogan is, do they really mean "the party ships"? Somehow, I like to think there's room for both family cruisers / cruisers who like it more peaceful and club/bar-goers.

 

And can cruise critic ratings even be trusted? For an eastern caribbean cruise I'm thinking of taking, the Carnival ship got higher overall ratings than the corresponding RCL ship for that same itinerary.

 

Mike

[Cruising89143]

I've heard the food is actually BETTER on Carnival than RCI. (in most areas of the ships, I was told.) BUT, that won't stop me from giving RCI a try--namely the Mariner of the Seas. :) I just won't go with huge expectations re; food. I'm sure I won't starve. :D

 

When it comes to discussing food, it is highly subjetive. You and I could sit down at the same table, at the same time and order the same exact food and come away with two totally different conclusions as to the overall taste of the food. I have cruised both and it all tastes like mass produced banquet food. Nothing more or less unless you are dining in one of the specialty dining rooms. I have never gone hungry on a cruise. Also you will find when cruising on lines such as Carnival and RCI that due to their size, the food can vary from ship to ship within the same cruise line. Depends a lot on the Executive Chef on board.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Ask this question over here and the majority will tell you RCI. Ask the question on the Carnival board and the results will be just the opposite. For the ones that have never cruised on Carnival and knock it, you will find just as many on the Carnival board that have never cruised RCI and knock it.

 

I cruised Carnival 16 times over 11 years. You can look at my sig line and see where my next cruises are going to be. There is a difference IMHO. One is better but again that is me. Try them both for yourself and make your own decision.

 

I agree with Gordon! No one can honestly answer this for you, all they can provide is their opinion. Sometimes the ship/crew/passengers have a bad week.

 

I say look at the itineraries and make you own decision :D

 

###

[Powriv]

My total cruises is 1 and that was on Carnival Freedom last Dec to the Eastern Caribbean and I have to say it was a great experience in spite of the group I was with. The ship itself while not my color scheme was interesting if not a little outlandish, but the same could be said for some hotels in Las Vegas.

 

Seems to me that anyone could find fault or bad times if they go looking for it on cruises. The staff work very hard for little pay and occasional abuse from passengers that figure they paid their money they can treat staff any way they want. It is not up to them to make your vacation a pleasurable experience, it is up to you, the crew will help in any way they can

 

The food was good, service was excellent, activities were plentiful and entertainment was excellent.

 

I will give my comparison as I am sailing on the Radiance this June 13 from Alaska to Vancouver.

[OregonGirlie]

Well I've only cruised Carnival (once) but I never will again. DH & I both *hated* Carnival. The food was ok, nothing amazing, but not horrible. Pizza and buffet were gross. Dining room was like eating at chain restaurant. We did not choose this cruise, it was a family reunion, so we were just 'there'.

 

We're not big 'class' status type people, but I don't care to hang out with rowdy, drunken, rude people. This seemed to be the case with so many folks on board. The guys behind us in line were already drinking (smelled like heck), talking about drinking, and swearing like sailors (in front of our kids...). Joy. I"m NOT a prude, but seriously, a teeny bit of tact, class, respect - whatever - could be had here.

 

We sailed in mid January - so not peak. We went to Mexico. I don't think the ship was full. Not many kids (thankfully, cause my kids get very overstimulated by rowdy play groups and I was nervous of this). We were on the Pride, a newer (supposedly one of the nicest?!) ship. It was like floating vegas. Tacky, gaudy decor. I could care less about the naked art, didn't bother me. What did was the same art everywhere, instead of tastefully chosen pieces, it was just repeats. Everything was just glitzy, shiny, uck.

 

The ship smelled to heaven like smoke. Stale smoke. Add this to my asthma and having young kids and it bothered me. Lining up in a smoky area right before dining room dinner sucked too. Seemed like all there was to do on board was gamble which got really boring for me cause I only do the slots and am not up for losing lots of money at the tables since I KNOW I would LOL. The piano bar was ok, but boring everywhere else. The shows were lame, cheesy. The activities like 'hairiest chest' were so poor taste. I felt like we were in red neck heaven. :(

 

Again, like I said, I'm not some elite fancy girl, but man I do have some class. I'm 26, DH is 31. We have 3 young kids under 6. I'm a SAHM and DH owns an internet hosting company. We are both college educated and love to travel. We're not fussy, we like to relax, have fun, enjoy quiet at the right times and party at the right times.

 

Carnival to us was just awful. We're leaving in 20 days for a Caribbean RCI cruise, so hopefully it's more our taste. Honestly I'd love to do Princess, but since we booked 1 month before the cruise we had limited options LOL. I can't say what RCI is like, but I do agree - stay away from Carnival unless you enjoy obnoxious and poor taste. Oh, the melting chocolate dessert in the dining room on Carnival WAS good though! Only thing I liked enough to eat twice LOL. And the midnight buffet looked amazing, but no way I'm eating food that's been sitting out there for hours while people walk around spreading lord knows what. We got norovirus anyways though, I should've just ate from the buffet LOL.

[GoodAsGold]

I've enjoyed my three Princess cruises. They were all to the Mexican Riviera during Spring break. A lot of families and kids during that time. But Princess does put a cap on how many children in each age category can be on board. I found that there were just as many "fun-seeking" folks on Princess as there were on Carnival. I love the Island night deck parties when we're in Puerto Vallarta. Princess throws a GREAT party complete with leis, noisemakers, LOTS of live music, dancing, games, etc. I've never even seen anything like it on Carnival. And, Princess' ships have a nicer decor.

 

 

I'm a little curious about the big difference being between Princess/Celebrity and RC and Carnival. I know Celebrity is considered a slight cut above, but Princess? I'm trying to decided right now between Princess and Royal Caribbean so I've been doing some research and RC seems to be coming out on top......

 

Jenn

[calval]

Even though we have come to like RCCL better, we recently were on Princess and had a nice time. I was warned quite a bit about Carnival and when we went everything was fine. I do believe as other posters have said above, the ships are brighter colors and more glitzy.

 

It is like flying or anything else. Some flights are fine and others are so so. You run a certain chance you will get a higher percentage of a certain type of passenger at times and it will affect things.

 

We too paid more to take Celebrity Galaxy and that was definitely the worst cruise of ours. We definitely had much less customer service. Room attendants were curt and sometimes rude. Dining room waiters were grumpy. So higher price and class does not mean better.

 

So go with a open mind and you'll have a good time on anything. Go with high expectations of certain things and you could be disappointed. I would chose the itinerary, and price, and then chose if you like the glitzy type or the more elegant type ships.

 

I went with high expectations on Celebrity and never should have expected more as I was disappointed. If I had thought of the itinerary and how much better it was than doing things at home myself, I would have enjoyed it more!!!!

[lady cruise alot]

I too have been on both CCL and RCCL many times. I feel that the RC ships are just a tad cleaner than CC. The food is better, or should I say just a bit tastier. If it is a short cruise I would go with the best itinierary but if it is 7 days or more...my choice would be RCCL. I also feel the crew on RC is a little friendlier. Just my honest opinion...

[nseagirl]

I understand that the past cruiser benefits can be great on whichever line you choose. BUT, many of us will never see diamond status. So, I'm going to cruise, on the rare occasions that I can, on whatever line gives me the most for my money. The cruise will be what I make of it. I will have a great time on any line.

[ubdkjrb]

...why the used car lot down the street is offering a free Carnival cruise with the purchase of any used car! The idea of being next door to Joe SixPack or putting up with silly string being shot all over the dining room reinforces my dedication to RCCL. My sister was recently on the Glory and was getting so little sleep because of their neighbors she purchased an on-board upgrade at full price just so she could sleep. Carnival wouldn't even give her a discount; much less a free upgrade.

 

Peter

[Inshape]

I have been on Voyager and Freedom class ships on RCI and as the other poster did correct me, you do have to go up to go down in one area...but it is easy. On CCL it is up up up to do down. And where it is affects you all the time when moving about the ship.

With that said, I like RCI layouts more, the traffic patterns more, the decor of the ships more, the friendlier service more. All in all, the ship common areas are not as loud.

[Cruising89143]

I have been on Voyager and Freedom class ships on RCI and as the other poster did correct me, you do have to go up to go down in one area...but it is easy. On CCL it is up up up to do down. And where it is affects you all the time when moving about the ship.

With that said, I like RCI layouts more, the traffic patterns more, the decor of the ships more, the friendlier service more. All in all, the ship common areas are not as loud.

 

I agree with you. There are more complaints about the Destiny/Conquest class and their design over any other ship. Also let's face it, Carnival does not have a ship that can compare with the Radiance, Voyager or Freedom class. One reason companies like the Travel Channel come to RCI to produce those great shows that we see. The ships are interesting and far ahead of what the others offer.

[cruzin76]

I think a lot of what you mentioned has more to do with the individual ships than the cruise line. As far as the ship layouts go, we have not been on Carnival, but we are going on the Explorer next year and you can not cross from foreward to aft on either the 2nd or the 3rd floor and that can be a pain. I believe the 4th floor is the casino, so we will have to cut through there, or go all the way up to 5 and back down to go certain places.

 

We were on the Sovereign of the Seas last year and the seats in the theater were love seats, at least in some areas and I was annoyed by waiters walking in front of me with drinks after the lights went out. I'm sure each cruise and ship is a little different. We also had waiters singing to us two nights on a 4 day cruise (I don't really care one way or the other) and I haven't had any waiter other than on Disney clean the crumbs off for me between courses.

 

There is also a huge difference in cabin layout and size depending on the ship you chose.

 

I did really enjoy our Sovereign cruise. I have been leary of Carnival because of their party reputation. I was on the Carnival area of CC when we were planning our Alaska cruise and I didn't think the personalities on the boards would be a good match for our family. Maybe someday I will give them a fair try.

You had me laughing lol. Your crumb comment brought back fun memories on Radiance Dec 2006. First time I had experienced anyone scrapping my crumbs. They had a little tool to scrape. I eat alot of bread so it was sort of embarassing but my DW,DS, and DBIL had a great time ribbing me. My Sister sent me one for Christmas so I will make sure I bring it on the Sovereign in October. PS. Our waiter on the Jewel of the Seas Dec 2007 did it every night too!

[truthsayer]

RCCL ships have libraries. You'll never find a library on a CCL ship.

 

Enough said.

[Cruising89143]

RCCL ships have libraries. You'll never find a library on a CCL ship.

 

Enough said.

 

I have been on quiet a few Carnival ships and yes they have libraries. They may not be stocked as well as other cruise lines but they had them.

[pepsicruiser]

RCCL ships have libraries. You'll never find a library on a CCL ship.

 

Enough said.

 

There are libraries on the Miracle, Destiny, Freedom and Legend and I'm sure on other Carnival Ships also. Enough said lol:)

[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?

 

I've posted this to the Carnival forum as well, where there's an alternate discussion on the same topic. Figured input from both camps would be best.

[Deaf Dude]

You had me laughing lol. Your crumb comment brought back fun memories on Radiance Dec 2006. First time I had experienced anyone scrapping my crumbs. They had a little tool to scrape. I eat alot of bread so it was sort of embarassing but my DW,DS, and DBIL had a great time ribbing me. My Sister sent me one for Christmas so I will make sure I bring it on the Sovereign in October. PS. Our waiter on the Jewel of the Seas Dec 2007 did it every night too!

 

We wasked our waiter on the CCL Fantasy why they scraped the crumbs up and he said they re-use the crumbs for breaded pork chops ! :D

[trvlgrl422]

You've got to be kidding me! Do you really believe that? Either you're naive or I am.

[SDPadreFan]

RCCL ships have libraries. You'll never find a library on a CCL ship.

 

Enough said.

 

Well spoken by a person who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about.

[momofmeg]

RCCL ships have libraries. You'll never find a library on a CCL ship.

 

Enough said.

 

Carnival ships have libraries. At least the ones I have been on have had them.

[petesweet]

I wasn't going to comment, but I kept remembering two bad experiences on Carnival--one for each of the two cruises we took.

 

Cruise #1 was actually during spring break (had a teacher in our group so had to go then), and it was not bad at all. My complaint there was that we signed up for snorkling with the stingrays on their private island. It was a L-O-N-G tender ride to get to the island, and the tender was blaring very loud music the entire way. The stingray experience was a joke. More glaring music on the way back. And then their formal night was held that same night, and two of us had 15 minutes to shower and dress.

 

Cruise #2 was over Christmas. Crowded boat, but again, our fault. My memory of that was again the blaring music. This time it was in the cafeteria. It was actually painful. We asked if they could turn down the noise, and the server said they had to wait until the supervisor came because they did not know how to do it. That took about 30 minutes.

 

For a good price, I would go Carnival again, but I would (1) choose my ship very carefully, (2) not take any private island excursions, and (3) stay out of the cafeteria.

 

To help you put this in perspective, I should tell you that we are senior citizens!!

[Cruising89143]

I wasn't going to comment, but I kept remembering two bad experiences on Carnival--one for each of the two cruises we took.

 

Cruise #1 was actually during spring break (had a teacher in our group so had to go then), and it was not bad at all. My complaint there was that we signed up for snorkling with the stingrays on their private island. It was a L-O-N-G tender ride to get to the island, and the tender was blaring very loud music the entire way. The stingray experience was a joke. More glaring music on the way back. And then their formal night was held that same night, and two of us had 15 minutes to shower and dress.

 

Cruise #2 was over Christmas. Crowded boat, but again, our fault. My memory of that was again the blaring music. This time it was in the cafeteria. It was actually painful. We asked if they could turn down the noise, and the server said they had to wait until the supervisor came because they did not know how to do it. That took about 30 minutes.

 

For a good price, I would go Carnival again, but I would (1) choose my ship very carefully, (2) not take any private island excursions, and (3) stay out of the cafeteria.

 

To help you put this in perspective, I should tell you that we are senior citizens!!

 

Private Island? Carnival does not have a private island. They only started using Half Moon Cay a few years back. You mention a "long tender" ride. Was this in Nassau?

[petesweet]

Private Island? Carnival does not have a private island. They only started using Half Moon Cay a few years back. You mention a "long tender" ride. Was this in Nassau?

 

I frankly can't remember where it was. I thought it was a private island. Whatever it was, it was PAINFUL getting there and getting back. Once there, there was quite a long walk to get to where the activities were. No problem for us, but I have a friend who would not have been able to make it.

 

Don't think it was Nassau, but can't be more specific.