Moving over from Royal Caribbean!

[LemurCat]

In the words of my grandmother, the people who throw the term "class" around the most are usually those who have the least of it. Or teachers.

[Casino Player]

I've cruised Royal Carribean, Carnival, HAL and NCL. I keep coming back to Carnival. I just have more fun for some reason and I think the food is better. :)

 

I've sailed on RCCL, Carnival, NCL, and Celebrity. I will only sail on Carnival and Celebrity. RCCL and NCL just don't provide a good product.

There is a reason why Carnival gets 50% of the cruise market, RCCL gets 30%, NCL gets only 10%.

[halos]

I did enjoy RCCL, but it's some of their loyal fans that turn me off from sailing on their ships.

 

I, unfortunately found that attitude on Celebrity. I could seriously understand if someone were sailing with Crystal or Regent to have a reason to possibly 'look down' upon those who sail any main stream lines, but for people on one main stream line to feel superior to people who sail another is just ridiculous. The Cunard people really crack me up.....

In all honesty, when I did take my one Royal Caribbean cruise (which wasn't

'better' in any way, shape or form than any of my CCL cruises) I did not run into any snobs, in fact, I spoke with MANY RCI passengers who had tried Carnival and were surprised how much they enjoyed it. All of them saying they'd book another with no hesitation.

 

I enjoyed my Royal Cruise very much. I find RCCL ships to be stunning....BUT there is no way I'd pay thousands more to sail them because they aren't worth thousands of dollars more to cruise. In fact, on that one RCCL cruise I took, the service was the worst I have ever had (in the dining room), I never met my cabin steward...which was a first for me, and the food was mediocre at best.

WHY would I pay more for that?

[summer08bride]

We have been on RC Liberty of the Seas and Carnival Sensation. Totally different class of ships but here are the pros and cons from my family.

 

1 - You get what you pay for

2 - RC seems to have a higher class people

3 - Carnival offers more food but the food on RC is healthier. If the cooks on Carnival could understand you then you could have a healthy meal on Carnival. My problem was I can't get anything made without 14 tablespoons of oil or light mayonnaise on Carnival because the cooks simply don't understand.

4 - Suites on RC ships are better but more expensive

5 - If you don't drink your going to be bored out of your mind on Carnival

6 - Much more to do on RC class ships

7 - RC seems WAY more professional we felt like royalty on RC.

8 - Carnival is cheaper and seems to have lots of drunks and lower class people. Not trying to judge here just being honest.

9 - Wireless Internet in cabin is HORRIBLE on Carinval

10 - Check in and check out was VERY easy on Carnival and a pain in the bum on RC.

11 - Carnival likes to turn off the stabilizers on the ship, our ship was rocking 15 feet up and 15 feet down and got a ton of people sick. I could never feel the RC ship moving.

12 - We will never sail on Carnival again we simply didn't like it.

 

So to summarize...... if you want a cheap cruise that is still fun go Carnival. If you want to be treated like royalty and have an awesome time go with RC. Either one is fun it just depends on how much cash you spend and who you want to be around.

 

I snickered while reading this list. As a disclaimer, I have only cruised once and it was on Carnival. However, I didn't have the same experience as you whatsoever.

 

I really enjoyed the food on Carnival - the taste, quality and variety. I'm not a big fan of fried foods so I didn't eat them, but I enjoyed the steaks, the soups, the deli station, loved the chilled cucumber soup at dinner, etc. My husband loved the lobster, seafood, etc. I've read on here that RC charges extra for steak? As a semi-picky eater, I would have racked up quite a bill on our last cruise if that was the case on Carnival!

 

We had plenty to do on our last cruise as well - we're not really into the poolside games or game shows, but we went to the adult comedy show every night (maybe that's too low-class for you? we enjoyed it) and some other shows and events and had plenty to do. The casino was fun as well :)

 

Checkin and checkout was a breeze for us, and we got onto the ship and into our room just after noon on departure day.

 

My husband and I are in our mid-20s and would rather be on a cruise with other young/fun/friendly people, rather than pompous crotchety guests who think they are superior to everyone else. While there does seem to be an average age gap between the cruise lines, there were people of all ages on our cruise as I'm sure there are on all cruises. Maybe it's a different mindset? In that case, I'll stick with Carnival :p

 

FWIW, my husband and I are both professionals (me - law, him - engineering) with advanced degrees -- doesn't make us any better than anyone else.

[ColoradoMom!!]

I would like to try Carnival, and have looked at the web site briefly. We loved our two cruises, and there is no snob like a Disney snob. :D We liked our Mariner cruise better.

 

Don't need a climbing wall or ice rink, but the boys do love their basketball. Do any Carnival ships have a promenade type area?

 

Please advise on a warm 7 night cruise as to which ship you might suggest.

[A&Jfamily]

I would like to try Carnival, and have looked at the web site briefly. We loved our two cruises, and there is no snob like a Disney snob. :D We liked our Mariner cruise better.

 

Don't need a climbing wall or ice rink, but the boys do love their basketball. Do any Carnival ships have a promenade type area?

 

Please advise on a warm 7 night cruise as to which ship you might suggest.

 

Go to CCL website and look at the list of funships...Spirit Class, Conquest Class, Splendor and Dream are going to be what you are probably most interested is as they are the bigger ships CCL has to offer, with Spirit being the smallest of these (but our favorite because we like the more intimate feel of the lido deck as compared to the Conquest Class - haven't done Spelendor or Dream (obviously as it is not sailing until Sept.))

 

You can check out the deck plans for the Promenade deck...if you are looking for a strip of cafe's and shops like on the mega ships, I am not aware that CCL has that. They do have a specialty coffee area that is usually along their promenade deck...which also has clubs and sitting areas.

[MrPete]

We have been on RC Liberty of the Seas and Carnival Sensation. Totally different class of ships but here are the pros and cons from my family.

 

1 - You get what you pay for

2 - RC seems to have a higher class people

3 - Carnival offers more food but the food on RC is healthier. If the cooks on Carnival could understand you then you could have a healthy meal on Carnival. My problem was I can't get anything made without 14 tablespoons of oil or light mayonnaise on Carnival because the cooks simply don't understand.

4 - Suites on RC ships are better but more expensive

5 - If you don't drink your going to be bored out of your mind on Carnival

6 - Much more to do on RC class ships

7 - RC seems WAY more professional we felt like royalty on RC.

8 - Carnival is cheaper and seems to have lots of drunks and lower class people. Not trying to judge here just being honest.

9 - Wireless Internet in cabin is HORRIBLE on Carinval

10 - Check in and check out was VERY easy on Carnival and a pain in the bum on RC.

11 - Carnival likes to turn off the stabilizers on the ship, our ship was rocking 15 feet up and 15 feet down and got a ton of people sick. I could never feel the RC ship moving.

12 - We will never sail on Carnival again we simply didn't like it.

 

This was a fun read. Any facts to support any of this fantasy?

[PA Dutchman]

Apples and Oranges for the ships used.

[WeBeCruisin']

This was a fun read. Any facts to support any of this fantasy?

 

I agree with Pete. I've been on RCCL 7 times and Carnival 4 times, and I disagree with just about every statement made in Hamlettm's post.

[WeBeCruisin']

I, unfortunately found that attitude on Celebrity.

 

I've sailed on Celebrity three times (Constellation, Summit and Horizon) and didn't find a snobbish attitude at all. The Celebrity message board is another matter entirely. I finally quit reading it because a handful of snobs were making me sick at my stomach.

 

As for prices, I found that if you shop around, you can find prices for some of the Celebrity and RCCL cruises that are equal to or less than the equivalent Carnival cruise.

 

They're all good, and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on any ship on any cruiseline.

 

The only example I've seen of true snobbery was on Seadream I (the former Seabourn Sea Goddess I) on a Mediterranean/Canary Islands/Gibraltar cruise. There, I heard people putting other people down for having logos on their t-shirts and for wearing baseball caps. Fortunately, there were only 52 people on board.:)

[dclark]

Apples and Oranges for the ships used.

I don't buy that for a minute. I went on the Explorer of the Seas and had poor quality food and service. A few months later, I went on the ancient CCL Ecstacy for a four day cruise.Was the Explorer better? No way! Ecstacy had way better food and service. Got a real lobster tail, not one of those langostino thingies like RCL served, steaks were thick and tender, lots of good sea food.

See, RCL is inferior. RCL cheer leaders can't accept that so post up things that are subjective, like "RC has higher class people". I found the thing about RCL food being healthier pretty funny and maybe partially true. Compare two shrimp dishes, CCL panko shrimp and RCL shrimp (don't remember if it was with garlic).

CCL used jumbo shrimp and fried them on skewers, RCL used cheap, miniscule boiled shrimp, butterfly cut them to give the illusion that they were bigger, and served them with a huge dollop of white rice. The whole meal probably cost a $.50 in materials. Which was healthier? Probably the RCL. With steak meals, CCL served good, thick steaks. The steaks on RCL were inedible, like rubber, so we didn't finish them. Since we ate less red meat, that RCL was less fattening than the filet on CCL (which we got 2nds!).

Now that i think about it, RCL is much healthier. They usually keep the soft serve machines turned off so that you don't have to worry about getting unneeded sugar, they don't run pizza 24 hours so you won't have problems being tempted with late night fatty foods. Gee, RCL really cares, don't they? On four day cruises, they car even more! They don't serve scallops or lobsters because they don't want to endanger those with a shellfish allergy. It is not because they are cheap, they do this because they care, right? I am still waiting for the day where RCL serves up Spam in the MDR and RCL cheerleaders rave about how wonderful the 'porc pate" is!

[Kurbanfan]

I don't buy that for a minute. I went on the Explorer of the Seas and had poor quality food and service. A few months later, I went on the ancient CCL Ecstacy for a four day cruise.Was the Explorer better? No way! Ecstacy had way better food and service. Got a real lobster tail, not one of those langostino thingies like RCL served, steaks were thick and tender, lots of good sea food.

See, RCL is inferior. RCL cheer leaders can't accept that so post up things that are subjective, like "RC has higher class people". I found the thing about RCL food being healthier pretty funny and maybe partially true. Compare two shrimp dishes, CCL panko shrimp and RCL shrimp (don't remember if it was with garlic).

CCL used jumbo shrimp and fried them on skewers, RCL used cheap, miniscule boiled shrimp, butterfly cut them to give the illusion that they were bigger, and served them with a huge dollop of white rice. The whole meal probably cost a $.50 in materials. Which was healthier? Probably the RCL. With steak meals, CCL served good, thick steaks. The steaks on RCL were inedible, like rubber, so we didn't finish them. Since we ate less red meat, that RCL was less fattening than the filet on CCL (which we got 2nds!).

Now that i think about it, RCL is much healthier. They usually keep the soft serve machines turned off so that you don't have to worry about getting unneeded sugar, they don't run pizza 24 hours so you won't have problems being tempted with late night fatty foods. Gee, RCL really cares, don't they? On four day cruises, they car even more! They don't serve scallops or lobsters because they don't want to endanger those with a shellfish allergy. It is not because they are cheap, they do this because they care, right? I am still waiting for the day where RCL serves up Spam in the MDR and RCL cheerleaders rave about how wonderful the 'porc pate" is!

 

 

Wow! Is it time for lunch:rolleyes:

[halos]

I've sailed on Celebrity three times (Constellation' date=' Summit and Horizon) and didn't find a snobbish attitude at all. The Celebrity message board is another matter entirely. I finally quit reading it because a handful of snobs were making me sick at my stomach.

 

As for prices, I found that if you shop around, you can find prices for some of the Celebrity and RCCL cruises that are equal to or less than the equivalent Carnival cruise.

 

They're all good, and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on any ship on any cruiseline.

 

The only example I've seen of true snobbery was on Seadream I (the former Seabourn Sea Goddess I) on a Mediterranean/Canary Islands/Gibraltar cruise. There, I heard people putting other people down for having logos on their t-shirts and for wearing baseball caps. Fortunately, there were only 52 people on board.:)

 

I totally agree with that. :) My bad experience with the passengers on that ship wouldn't deter me from sailing on X again. I would never write off a line after one bad cruise, and the cruise I had wasn't bad anyway...just a bit too laid back for my taste. You are right in that the X boards can make you sick to your stomach...the most memorable of the snobs I had issues with were the CC members on my roll call, unfortunately. :rolleyes:

As far as passengers on any ship on any line, it's luck of the draw in most cases.

 

I just love to cruise. Find me a good deal and book me. I'm not too fussy about which line. Although some have been more memorable than others, I have yet to have a bad cruise.

[hunahpu]

I'm afraid that there is some truth to the stereotypes. On our Carnival cruise, there were some very obnoxious drunks. Unfortunately, as a stroke of bad luck would have it, we were seated with them at dinner. After one night, when one of them repeatedly tried to buy us all rounds of Jagermeister, even though we simply wanted to quietly enjoy our wine, and then proceeded to try and to stick his tongue is my wife's ear, we requested to be moved.

 

Now, is that to say that everyone on the cruise was an obnoxious drunk? Absolutely not. However, there was a higher incidence of it on our Carnival cruise.

 

To be fair, there were some obnoxious drunks on our Royal Caribbean cruise as well, just not as many, and not quite as obnoxious.

[LemurCat]

To be fair, there were some obnoxious drunks on our Royal Caribbean cruise as well, just not as many, and not quite as obnoxious.

 

Would there seemed to be as many or as obnoxious if you shared a dinner table with them? :D

 

This whole topic cracks me up. You folks wanna here something crazy? You'll run into rowdy drunks everywhere. It goes hand-in-hand with vacation. Jersey Shore? Rowdy Drunks. Cape Cod? Rowdy Drunks. Outer Banks? Rowdy Drunks. Florida Keys? Rowdy Drunks. 5-Star AI Resort on Saint Barth's? Rowdy Drunks. Disney World? Rowdy Drunks. They are there. Sometimes you notice them, sometimes you don't. You wanna know why? Because people on vacation suffer from a sudden drop in IQ points.

[Cruzaholic41]

See, RCL is inferior. RCL cheer leaders can't accept that so post up things that are subjective, like "RC has higher class people".

 

Hmmmmm.

 

If they are RCI cheerleaders, then wouldn't they disagree with you and see Carnival as inferior? To each his/her own. Newsflash...not everyone agrees with you!

 

Same with NCL cheerleaders, Princess cheerleaders, Celebrity cheerleaders, etc, etc.

[dclark]

Hmmmmm.

 

If they are RCI cheerleaders, then wouldn't they disagree with you and see Carnival as inferior? To each his/her own. Newsflash...not everyone agrees with you!

 

Same with NCL cheerleaders, Princess cheerleaders, Celebrity cheerleaders, etc, etc.

 

Difference between me and them is I say things that are objective, not subjective. Food quality is pretty simple, you can observe type of food and its size. For example, the difference between 16-20 count shrimp and 60-80 count shrimp is pretty obvious and there is a big cost difference between the two. The appearance or non appearance of other things (like lobster tail) is even more obvious. However, passenger make up would be more tricky to label. To do this, you would need to make up a rubric and take sample of of the passengers that is representative of the ship and put down their charactoristics, then do the same on another ship and compare. No one has or ever will do this and if they did, the results would still be unreliable. For example, if you were to cruise a 3 day CCL ship during spring break, then compare it to a 10 RCL, you have too many variables to even allow a comparison. So, I disagree with anyone who says the people on one line are classier than on another.

[Kurbanfan]

For example, if you were to cruise a 3 day CCL ship during spring break, then compare it to a 10 RCL, you have too many variables to even allow a comparison. So, I disagree with anyone who says the people on one line are classier than on another.

 

Fair enough.......now compare a 3 day CCL ship during spring break and 3 day RCCL ship during spring break.

I have done them both:D

[Arayasky]

I am looking foward to seeing the reviews from the first timers trying carnival. Even if you decide Carnival isn't for you please post reviews, I would be curious to know why...I, having 2 adventurous kids always wanted to try RC, but if i pay the extra prices for rock wall and stuff shore excursions are going to be cheap cheap cheap. We have had such a blast exploring new ports together I think they would seriously miss it...So I plead again, Please all of you that are trying carnival for the first time or again....POST REVIEWS....Thank you in advance...

[kickbutt10]

Well, I have not even left for my Carnival cruise yet and I am ready to switch back to RCI. I have cruised on Carnival once before and thought it was ok. We have just booked a cruise on Carnival as past guests on Sunday and the price dropped Tuesday. They have a 110% price guarantee that is worthless! They refuse to give me the promised difference even though I notified them within the slated 48 hours. They now have changed the terminology from "time booked" to "time reserved". Carnival's own customer service dept was not even aware they had this new price guarantee. Horrible way to treat a return customer or any customer!!!

[MrPete]

Get a CS supervisor to help you for clarity.

[Cindy]

I am looking foward to seeing the reviews from the first timers trying carnival. Even if you decide Carnival isn't for you please post reviews, I would be curious to know why...I, having 2 adventurous kids always wanted to try RC, but if i pay the extra prices for rock wall and stuff shore excursions are going to be cheap cheap cheap. We have had such a blast exploring new ports together I think they would seriously miss it...So I plead again, Please all of you that are trying carnival for the first time or again....POST REVIEWS....Thank you in advance...

 

I plan to write a review/comparison after we return from our Splendor cruise in July. Since I was just on the Voyager in March, everything should still be fairly fresh in my mind and current.

We're looking forward to trying something new and different!

[jebl]

I am sailing on Dream in Oct. Will be happy to write a review after the cruise.

 

I have been a loyal Royal until they took away benefits I worked hard to get.

[carzyboutcarnival]

. You will have pizza and ice cream/frozen yogurt 24/7,

 

 

 

Frozen yougurt 24/7 where can i get that! :eek:

 

 

cbc