Carnival vs Royal Caribbean?

[Scootch]

My family is sailing w/ Royal Caribbean for the first time. We have sailed w/ Carnival for our past 4 cruises. Carnival offers an attractive military discount on all sailing date, but we wanted to try something different as well as the bigger ships.

 

For those of you who haved sailed both cruise lines, can you give us an idea of what some of the differences are. i.e. prices, service, food, etc.....

 

Thanks for your help.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

cheaper larger rooms late stough to do better piano bar to name a few

[sassy12]

We've done 13 or so RCCL cruises and two Carnival. After the first Carnival in 9-02 I said I'd never go again- it was the Triumph out of New York for the New England cruise. Service was horrible, ship workers were very disrespectful, there wasn't that much to do onboard, they lied to us about a shore excursion, and, even though it certainly wasn't the ship's fault, we sat for 28 hours in the middle of Hurricane Gustaf (I actually found that rather exciting!).

 

We did go on the Carnival Liberty the year it came out and had a wonderful time. Not one complaint whatsoever.

 

We've always had good luck on RCCL so that's why we keep returning. I really can't remember a crew member that didn't smile or who was not helpful. Sometimes I think the food used to be better but after so many cruises it's bound to start tasting the same a lot of the time. When we asked for two lobster tails the waiter looked at us like we had two heads or something and said he'd have to ask the Headwaiter. We got them but it wasn't with a smile, that's for sure!

 

We also didn't like the configuration of the Triumph. There was something about it that always confused us.

 

Good luck!

[silentbob007]

Let me just give a piece of advice: you will probalby enjoy your cruise much more if you don't go and try to compare everything as it is happening. Instead, go and have fun as there is time for reflection later. There are some things I like better on Carnival, some I like more on Royal, and a lot of other stuff that is about even.

[Happy ks]

We've been on 7 different lines and have to say, pretty much the same things are on all cruise ships.

 

We've been on nine RCI cruises and one Carnival cruise. My family won't go on another Carnival cruise. But....since there are so many Carnival ships that are sailing year round they must be doing something right for a lot of other folks.

 

The size of the cabin was larger on Carnival than RCI, but we didn't care for it more than any other feature of the ship. The food, entertainment, games, embarkation/disembarkation were all pretty much the same overall. The service wasn't up to par on our Carnival cruise, but that is a personal thing, I'm sure there are nicer people than we had working on Carnival ships.

 

On the West Coast, the price for RCI when Monarch sailed here was a lot less than the comparative Carnival ship, Paradise. So we lucked out for a few years, we had our line of choice at a greater value.

 

All in all, every cruise can be different, some great, some not so great.

[Scootch]

Let me just give a piece of advice: you will probalby enjoy your cruise much more if you don't go and try to compare everything as it is happening. Instead, go and have fun as there is time for reflection later. There are some things I like better on Carnival, some I like more on Royal, and a lot of other stuff that is about even.

 

That's how we are trying to approach it. Thanks for the advise

[TravlGrl]

Let me just give a piece of advice: you will probalby enjoy your cruise much more if you don't go and try to compare everything as it is happening. Instead, go and have fun as there is time for reflection later. There are some things I like better on Carnival, some I like more on Royal, and a lot of other stuff that is about even.

 

Good advice! My husband and I tend to find ourselves comparing WHILE we're on the cruise and we must remind each other just to stop and enjoy the time, and reflect later. It's really easy to be on a cruise and say, "On <blank> line, the food was better." Or, "On our <blank> cruise, there were always pool chairs available." We find ourselves doing that, then have to pinch ourselves to just take it for what it is. :)

[momofmeg]

Here are two main differences. Most Royal Caribbean ships have more things for teens and people who like to stay active. Carnival usually has better food, although on one cruise I was on, the food was no better, so that is not always true.

 

Actually there is a lot more to it than that-you also have to look at ships within the line. I am not a big fan of either line-but for me-it is because I hate crowds-I would pick a spirit class on Carnival or the radiance class on RCI.

 

Another thing I feel that Carnival does, that makes many perceive them to be a "Walmart" line, is they have a lot of older ships that have seen better days on which they offer mini cruises. I feel these louzy ships give Carnival a "bad rap." I suppose though, Carnival keeps these in service because there is a market for these cheap cruises. I say if you only pay $249 a person for a 4 day cheapie cruise, than you should not expect it to be much.

 

Bottom line, I have been on really nice ships and I have been on some garbage ships both. I have been on 7 different cruise lines. I have done more cruises on Carnival and RCI than I have on other lines, SO FAR, 4 on Carnival and 3 on RCI, but as time goes by, I am sure that will change, as I have found other lines that I prefer to either of these.

 

But you know, I am yet to be on a cruise that I actually hated completely. You will have fun, and chances are, as the years go by, you will venture out and try other different lines. Have fun!

[silentbob007]

I say if you only pay $249 a person for a 4 day cheapie cruise, than you should not expect it to be much.

 

I'm paying that much for Navigator next month ... but I still have high expectations. ;)

[Happy ks]

I think it is a bit silly to compare food on cruise ships. #1 cruise ship food is just that, cruise ship food. #2 it all depends on what you order, if you order chicken on Carnival and hate it, the steak or fish may have been much better that night, you would have to order everything on the menu to really compare.

 

I do have to say the food on our one Carnival cruise was better than we expected, but we didn't expect much. The sub-standard service and seating (barracks style) was more than enough to make our experience not so great regardless of the food. We've been on other lines that some nights we had a wonderful dinner, other nights not so good.

 

One line, Cunard, on QM2, we were a bit surprised the food was no better than any other line, although the service was outstanding. Celebrity the same, the food was no better or worse than any other line we've been on. I suspect it is the way it is all pre-prepared and held in steamers until served, nothing is cooked to order. That would be impossible while serving such large numbers, so to us it's just all like banquet food.

 

The best cruise food we've ever had was on the very old American Hawaiian Independence. Local produce and fish, small ship with under 1000 pax, more personable staff overall. It would be lovely to cruise smaller ships. I'd have to say that the luxury lines and smaller main stream ships such as Azamara and Oceania have a higher probability of better food than these gargantuan ships could ever hope to do.

 

Bottom line, try different lines to compare :)

[momofmeg]

I found Celebrity food much better (and everything else about Celebrity), for ex. I was on the Zenith a few months after Mariner of the Seas and the formal night steak I had, I think it was a porterhouse (no lobster tails for me-I hate seafood) was as good as the fillet Mignon I had had at Chops on MOS and that was very good-I enjoyed Chops very much. As far as the rest of the food, there was just no comparison to the MOS food and the Zenith food. The Zenith won hands down. Of course the Zenith only had 1200 PAX and the MOS cruise I was on had 3700 PAX. I am sure that had alot to do with quality. I know the quality must go down with the more meals that are prepared at the same time. I also found the Constellation had very good food-and although we did eat at Oceanliners-I felt the regular dinning room food was very good-it just did not have the ambiance of Oceanliners. But I have only been on Celebrity these two times.

 

I have also found HAL to have very good food. However, food is not the most important thing to me, it can't be, as I have to watch what I eat ALL the time, even on vacation, unfortunately. I only mentioned the food being better (but not always-it was not that good on the Inspiration) because the OP wanted to know the differences in the 2 lines.

 

Would I cruise Carnival again? Yes, I would go on the Legend or her sister ships. Would I choose RCI again? Yes, I would go on a radiance class and I would certainly pick Monarch of the Seas over Carnival Sensation (prices similar) if I was sailing out of Pt. Can. But I won't say I will never ever do a Carnival cheapie cruise again-because the way the economy is going-who knows? I may be glad that I could afford to get on one of them next year-in order to take a cruise. But right now-no I would not take one of those cheap 4 day cruises as I can still afford better.

 

To the OP, I can understand that you like that Carnival gives you a military discount. That is a nice perk and I am surprised the other lines do not do this. However I still think you will enjoy trying another line.

[Scootch]

My family is sailing w/ Royal Caribbean for the first time. We have sailed w/ Carnival for our past 4 cruises. Carnival offers an attractive military discount on all sailing date, but we wanted to try something different as well as the bigger ships.

 

For those of you who haved sailed both cruise lines, can you give us an idea of what some of the differences are. i.e. prices, service, food, etc.....

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Thanks to all for the great answers!! I agree we have to approach our new adventure w/ an open mind.

 

My son is 16 years old and I do believe that RCL will have some extras for him to explore. Here's hoping and praying that he socializes w/ the teens and doesn't torture us for 7 days!!! I've signed up for Meet and Mingle and we're hoping that he can meet some other teens. :)

[momofmeg]

Thanks to all for the great answers!! I agree we have to approach our new adventure w/ an open mind.

 

My son is 16 years old and I do believe that RCL will have some extras for him to explore. Here's hoping and praying that he socializes w/ the teens and doesn't torture us for 7 days!!! I've signed up for Meet and Mingle and we're hoping that he can meet some other teens. :)

 

The voyager and freedom class ships seem to be made for teens. He will love it.

[Aquahound]

My family is sailing w/ Royal Caribbean for the first time. We have sailed w/ Carnival for our past 4 cruises. Carnival offers an attractive military discount on all sailing date, but we wanted to try something different as well as the bigger ships.

 

RC tends to apply military discounts, locality discounts, etc, closer to sail time. If you keep up with your reservation by checking prices closer to your cruise date, RC will honor price drops and discounts.

 

cheaper larger rooms late stough to do better piano bar to name a few

 

I'm not sure what this post means because it makes no sense, but the average room size on Liberty of the Seas is equal to or larger than Carnival staterooms.

[dyjack]

Thanks to all for the great answers!! I agree we have to approach our new adventure w/ an open mind.

 

My son is 16 years old and I do believe that RCL will have some extras for him to explore. Here's hoping and praying that he socializes w/ the teens and doesn't torture us for 7 days!!! I've signed up for Meet and Mingle and we're hoping that he can meet some other teens. :)

 

My 16 yo has never found a problem socializing with other teens. In fact by the 2nd night they usually have plans for the entire cruise and typically bail on us for one night at dinner even... You may find the exact opposite... Good luck and have fun!