No real difference between RCL and Carnival?

[exarolf]

I would echo what many have said.

 

Alcohol policy: Hands down better on Carnival - we brought bottles of wine, booze etc. They have a corkage fee of like $12 (I have no problem with corkage). Also you don't have to smuggle booze in Rumrunner flasks :cool:

 

Service

• The service (room) was pretty identical on both Carnival Pride and Freedom
  
• I might give the towel monkey edge to Carnival - but it's really too close to call...
  
• General - RCL had a MUCH better setup for purser/customer service - hands down better
  
• Bars: similar setup - they both seemed to have crowds, but I always ended up with something cold :)
  
• Dining room was much better on Carnival - I think this is only because we were on MyTime Dining - otherwise I'd guess they are the same...

Food

• I actually liked the day-day food better on Carnival - both in the dining room, and in their version of Windjammer.
  
• Carnival also has a "grill" - but that is one thing that is way overrated. It is no better than Windjammer - funny - it's a grill, but you typically get a burger that was cooked long ago, and warmed - nothing medium rare here - and not very tasty to boot...
  
• French Fries (this gets its own category) - MUCH better on RCL - they stay crispy even after they sit a while
  
• Chops/Portofino / Carnival's version: Food was similar (top notch) at both I *might* give the edge to Carnival due to location - large Windows, top deck larger room - it was very nice
  
• Food extras: RCL has MUCH better Pizza, Sorentos is way better. The RCL coffee shop (forgot its name) had OK Cookies etc too...

Rooms

• I liked Freedom better than Carnival Pride - both were in good shape, but Freedom was better laid out
  
• As someone pointed out, you had a regular door on the Carnival balcony - not that big a deal if you came equipped for this - also you need a magnet to disable the Air conditioner disabler on the doors.

Passengers

• Very similar crowds (we sailed Spring break 7 day Puerto Vallarta etc)
  
• Far less tuxedos on Carnival for formal night (we stood out more)
  
• Carnival had a much more fun nightlife. People were singing in the Piano bar from 6 to very late.... They hire good personalities for the bar which helps... In general the bars (inside) seemed somewhat dead on the Freedom...
  
• The only rowdy behavior we saw was on Carnival - there were some bands of kids who would ride the elevators, and occasionally push all the buttons - also more empty drinks left in elevators...

Ship Layout

• Freedom had a MUCH better promenade etc
  
• Freedom was easier to get deck chairs on
  
• Freedom has rock climbing, and waveflow...
  
• We were docked next to Carnival Valor that looked very fun - big screen TV, and water slide
  
• Overall better layout on RCL
  
• Carnival has a little known adult only topless deck :cool:

Ride: My personal pet peeve from another thread - it seems RCL does not use stabilizers like they used to. The Pride was much more flat and comfortable (2007) - the Freedom rocked and rolled (2008)...

 

Overall impression:

Both lines are VERY similar in service, and all the basics. I think RCL has a better boat - but I am comparing Freedom to Pride (not the new larger series). If both boats were side by side, I would book Pride/Valor based on the ride - and nothing more... If I knew Freedom would be flat, I'd take it - but when we rode it was not stable...

 

Bottom line: There's very little difference...

 

End note: I did not like either RCL or Carnival for the 3 day Mexico thing (out of So Cal) - boats were old, and you couldn't find a place in either stateroom where some type of fluid had not spilled :cool:

[Cruising89143]

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.

 

The reason that I asked, Carnival used to use a island just off of Nassau with several other cruise lines. The island had several names like Blue Lagoon and Salt Cay. The tender ride was 45 minutes each way. The island itself was very nice. It is now closed and used I believe for dolphin encounters. :)

[ruskatab]

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!

 

Our first cruise was on Splendour of the Seas. Not only did we get the crumbs brushed off the table every night, we got Bananas foster and Cherried jubilee made in the dining room by the maitr d and served to us by him. And this was out of Galveston Texas. We couldnt believe the service. But our next cruise on RC was far from the what we experienced on Splendour and it went down each cruise after that until we decided to try Carnival. They are very comparable, food better on Carnival, entertainment better on RC. All the rumors about the class of people being lower on Carnival is a lie, infact we saw more white trash acting people on Mariner than on any Carnival cruise weve been on.

[ruskatab]

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?

 

Half Moon Cay is located on 2,400-acre Little San Salvador Island, Bahamas. The island, purchased by Holland America Line in January 1997.

 

Carnival Corp owns Holland America so yes they do own a private island. Alot of cruises on Carnival stop there.

[Cruising89143]

Half Moon Cay is located on 2,400-acre Little San Salvador Island, Bahamas. The island, purchased by Holland America Line in January 1997.

 

Carnival Corp owns Holland America so yes they do own a private island. Alot of cruises on Carnival stop there.

 

The island was purchased by HAL and was recently started being used by Carnivore. I know all about Half Moon Cay which is why I mentioned it in my post above. I also know that HAL is owned by Carnivore.:rolleyes:

[ruskatab]

The island was purchased by HAL and was recently started being used by Carnivore. I know all about Half Moon Cay which is why I mentioned it in my post above. I also know that HAL is owned by Carnivore.:rolleyes:

 

Actually Carnival owns 2 private Islands, they also own Princess Cays.

[Cruising89143]

Actually Carnival owns 2 private Islands, they also own Princess Cays.

 

No, Carnival Corporation owns two private islands. Carnivore the cruise line does not have a dedicated private island. Uncle Bob was too cheap too put out the dough to purchase one.:rolleyes:

[petesweet]

The reason that I asked, Carnival used to use a island just off of Nassau with several other cruise lines. The island had several names like Blue Lagoon and Salt Cay. The tender ride was 45 minutes each way. The island itself was very nice. It is now closed and used I believe for dolphin encounters. :)

 

I'll bet that was it. Now that I think of it, I believe they did share it. Didn't know about the dolphins, but they did have a couple of stingrays. Not a very exciting encounter, though. We didn't see anything of the island except the snorkling. It was really not memorable in a good sort of way like RCCL's private island.

[Cruising89143]

I'll bet that was it. Now that I think of it, I believe they did share it. Didn't know about the dolphins, but they did have a couple of stingrays. Not a very exciting encounter, though. We didn't see anything of the island except the snorkling. It was really not memorable in a good sort of way like RCCL's private island.

 

The dolphins have not been at the island for that long. It was a nice island before one of the hurricanes hit that area. Did quite a bit of damage. Took many of the large coconut trees down along with a lot of the sand from the island. At one time Disney, Carnival, Premier and several other cruise lines used it for a private beach excursion.:)

[hoop4321]

have been on one carnival one RCL. The Carnival party atmosphere was alive and well there, but I have no complaints as it was a college spring break trip, and we were part of the partying.;) Fast forward 15 years and we wanted to take our 12 year old on a cruise. Was fearful of the partying on Spring break (been there, done that), so we asked around. One of our close friends returned from a cruise with Carnival, had the worst time, described my spring break cruise without me in it. We booked with RCL. This was a spring break cruise, everyone was well behaved. The food was OK, for 3000+ people, Portofino was awesome! Have booked another spring break cruise on the Freedom. That being said the only line I think I would never step foot on would be NCL. In Grand Cayman, We were stuck on a bus with these rude, obnoxious people. I was embarrassed to be an American, embarrassed to be breathing the same air. They were horrible to the driver. When we returned to the port the NCL line to tender back to the ship was huge, and not moving. As we continued to move down their line in the opposite direction we kept hearing "i wish this line would move, it is so hot" The people were frying out on the pavement. The carnival and RCL lines however, were not long and very easy to hop on the tender. We were looking at a summer cruise to hawaii next year, and was looking at pride of the americas. We will do a land based visit if that is the only ship we have to choose from in the summer there.

[karen s]

After 3 cruises in the past 2 years on RCI - my teenage daughters, mother, and I are going for our first Carnival sailing. I was very apprehensive after all the negative comments regarding CCL that I've heard over the years, mainly from RCI passengers. But given my active duty USAF leave limitations, CCL offered the only doable dates/embarkation port for us. Sooooo, I'm real curious to see what our experience will be. We tended to be a bit bored on at sea days on RCI (unless you're into bridge and ballroom dancing) so I'm hoping a "fun ship" theme will keep us more entertained.

 

We're not foodies, know now how to best schedule excursions, and don't really care about art/decor, so those differences won't be a factor (I'll even bring my own crumb scraper :D ). We've always stayed in suites on RCI and have suite on CCL, and although the CCL suite we have (cat 12 on Ectasy) will never compare to what we had on RCI - we realize the Ectasy is a smaller and older ship. But I will go in with an open mind, and heck, we're on vacation so we'll have fun no matter what!!! And having just been on RCI in the last 2 years, it'll be good to be able to experience some differenct activities.

 

Who knows, we'll either go running back as quick as we can to RCI no matter what or consider CCL again in the future....but for the constricted dates I'm under, I'm willing to give CCL a try.

 

Happy cruising all!!

[ruskatab]

No, Carnival Corporation owns two private islands. Carnivore the cruise line does not have a dedicated private island. Uncle Bob was too cheap too put out the dough to purchase one.:rolleyes:

 

You just never pass up a chance to dog Carnival do you?

[Cruising89143]

You just never pass up a chance to dog Carnival do you?

 

 

Now that you ask, No!!!!!!;)

[GoodAsGold]

Be prepared. As you said, it's older and smaller. Not the best representation of how a Carnival ship built more recently looks. HOWEVER, their dining room and service was great. We had some wonderful entertainers, too. But as I said, this ship will be nothing like the Voyager, nor like my Princess cruises. We only sailed on the Ecstasy because our family wanted to take a 4 day cruise and this one worked well for everyone's schedule and budget.

 

Two months earlier I had sailed on the brand new Star Princess for a week. Wow! No comparison. In fact, I think my husband was tired of hearing me compare the two ships! :rolleyes:

 

I just hope that if you decide the Ecstasy isn't your cup of tea...try to keep an open mind about much newer and larger Carnival ships. I've heard they're much nicer. (Well, their designer, Joe Farcus is a WEE bit over the top:) :eek: But, I hear the variety of foods is very nice. Entertainment, too.

 

After 3 cruises in the past 2 years on RCI - my teenage daughters, mother, and I are going for our first Carnival sailing. I was very apprehensive after all the negative comments regarding CCL that I've heard over the years, mainly from RCI passengers. But given my active duty USAF leave limitations, CCL offered the only doable dates/embarkation port for us. Sooooo, I'm real curious to see what our experience will be. We tended to be a bit bored on at sea days on RCI (unless you're into bridge and ballroom dancing) so I'm hoping a "fun ship" theme will keep us more entertained.

 

We're not foodies, know now how to best schedule excursions, and don't really care about art/decor, so those differences won't be a factor (I'll even bring my own crumb scraper :D ). We've always stayed in suites on RCI and have suite on CCL, and although the CCL suite we have (cat 12 on Ectasy) will never compare to what we had on RCI - we realize the Ectasy is a smaller and older ship. But I will go in with an open mind, and heck, we're on vacation so we'll have fun no matter what!!! And having just been on RCI in the last 2 years, it'll be good to be able to experience some differenct activities.

 

Who knows, we'll either go running back as quick as we can to RCI no matter what or consider CCL again in the future....but for the constricted dates I'm under, I'm willing to give CCL a try.

 

Happy cruising all!!

[elaineb]

Wow. This is one of the first balanced comparison thread I've seen on this board. Usually people just bash Carnival who have never been on the line.

To the OP - I think you were right in chosing RCCL. For $100, the ship itself warrants that. But when the price starts to be $300 more per person - which RCCL frequently is, then I have to start thinking I can do more with the $300 extra dollars and book Carnival. Why? I don't rock climb, I don't need an ice skating rink, etc. Went on the AOS - absolutely loved it and the S. Carib itinerary. But I don't think it would be worth it for your typical Eastern or Western cruise unless you have a family of teens. I think RCCL does a better job of entertaining them.

 

Been on both new and old ships on both lines, this is my comparison:

Food - better on Carnival in the dining room; buffet better on RCCL

 

Entertainment - Carnival does better at the scheduled games, etc. However, there is no beating Quest on RCCL. Carnival better with comedy shows - especially the midnight ones!

 

Ship - RCCL is more brass, glass; Carnival more kitchy. I prefer RCCL decor and nothing beats the adult only solarium. I do prefer a formal atrium as on Carnival than a promenade. I don't need a mall on a ship.

 

Service - I'd say equal on this.

 

Rooms - larger on Carnival. Though I hate that orange!!!

 

Clientele - I have read studies on this, and believe me whether RCCL people chose to believe this or not, both cruiselines have the same demographics!!! That being said, we have had equal experiences of fellow passengers on both ships. We cruised once on school vacation week on Carnival - never again on ANY line.

 

I am cruising Carnival this summer - why? We are saving for a Med cruise and can only do a 5 nighter. We loved the itinerary of the Imagination - Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. All islands we haven't been to. So that's why we're booking Carnival. Couldn't find anything comparable on RCCL.

So do your homework and don't believe everything that people tell you. You have to decide what is important to you - itinerary, price, ship....

OP - You have done a great job of this!

[momofmeg]

No, Carnival Corporation owns two private islands. Carnivore the cruise line does not have a dedicated private island. Uncle Bob was too cheap too put out the dough to purchase one.:rolleyes:

 

Coco Cay AND Labadee ,that is TWO private islands for RCI/Celebrity.

 

Also, I do believe Carnival Corporation aquired Princess Cays when they bought Princess. They did not buy Princess Cays themselves.

Princess cays is similiar to Labadee in that it is a private area of an inhabited island. To go to the inhabited part-you have to go though "custums"-it is gated with officers to that part- so you have to have your passport with you.

 

I noticed a few on our Princess cruise doing that, but I had no desire, I knew nothing about the other part of the island but I figured if it was like Nassau and Freeport why go?

 

Half Moon Cay was about a 10 minute tender. Now Belize took 45 minutes to tender and Grand Cayman has at times when the water was rough but no private island that I have been to had 45 minute tenders.

 

Personally I like Princess Cays better then Half Moon cay. Only Princess ships go to Princess cays. Carnival and occassionialy Cunard to goes to Half Moon Cay.