Jumping ship from Royal to Carnival

[HB Cruiser]

We have cruised several times with "the other guys" ;) and are thinking of changing to another line to get a different experience. We have been very loyal to RCCL for a variety of reasons but just thinking we might change.

 

Can any of you offer advice a ship and category we might be interested in? We will only cruise with a balcony (wife has clostrophobia (sp) and has to have one) and are only interested in the newer ships. We were interested in I think the Freedom/Independence, not sure which one she is, out of Ft. Lauderdale for Memoral Day 2010 but it is only a six day and want a 7 day or longer.

 

I am sure you all have been asked this several times but would like some honest answers.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Tim

[crookedhalo]

While I can't speak specifically to the larger ships, I can speak about the differences I've noticed between the two lines:) First and foremost, Carnival is a "younger crowd" (mentally) line - there are usually more bars and lounges on a Carnival ship than a RC ship, so it's a bit rowdier;) Honestly, on some of the RC trips I've been on, you'd think they'd rolled the sidewalks in at 11, it gets so quiet:eek: I also think Carnival has RC on shows (the quality of the production is usually higher on Carnival, IMHO). Food is a toss-up - can go either way depending on ship and itinerary. I am not loyal to any one line, because I enjoy the cruise and like to get the best deal I can (yes, I'm a cruise ho:p). Since a lot of the lines are eliminating or seriously curtailing their loyalty programs, it seems to me that the line that gives me the best deal on the trip I want is the line to sail with. I consider both lines to be about par with each other. HTH

[Karter]

I have cruised both lines being Diamond on RCCL (For whatever that is worth now) and Platinum on Carnival (Equivalent to Diamond) and after looking at your cruising history I would recommend the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral. It will be the closest ship Carnival has to the Voyager and Freedom class ships. It will not have the Royal Promenade, flow rider, or ice rink but it will have water slides and an outdoor theater (Big Screen). Also it will be the newest Carnival ship with an all new design - sort of. Having cruised both lines at least 2 per year here are my thoughts.

 

Carnival - Better service, more usable features for my age, more friendly passengers, more activities, and better food in both the dinning rooms and buffets.

 

RCCL - More spectacular ships (newer ones), Nicer dinning rooms, Grand promenade, and Crown room (Ooops not any more).

 

If you give Carnival a fair shake I think you will have a great cruise and find the two lines are very similar.

[mom2girls]

We have cruised several times with "the other guys" ;) and are thinking of changing to another line to get a different experience. We have been very loyal to RCCL for a variety of reasons but just thinking we might change.

 

Can any of you offer advice a ship and category we might be interested in? We will only cruise with a balcony (wife has clostrophobia (sp) and has to have one) and are only interested in the newer ships. We were interested in I think the Freedom/Independence, not sure which one she is, out of Ft. Lauderdale for Memoral Day 2010 but it is only a six day and want a 7 day or longer.

 

I am sure you all have been asked this several times but would like some honest answers.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Tim

I see that you've done Majesty and Sovereign several times. Those would compare with Carnival's Fantasy class ships. For example, Fantasy, Inspirations, Sensations, Imagination, Ecstasy. (Not sure if I named them all.)

 

I've never been on a Voyager class ship, so I wouldn't know what to compare that to. I have been on RCCL's freedom class ship. Yes, they're beautiful, but I would be just as happy on a Spirit or Conquest class in Carnival (if not happier).

[justus4recks]

Our group is having the same dilemma. We are booked on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas to Mexico. Right now we can book a balcony on the Carnival Splendor for about $700 less. We have been on the Mariner before and loved it and our friends have sailed the Carnival Conquest and enjoyed it as well. I am having a hard time finding alot of information on the Splendor right now though. What to do what to do:confused::confused:

[mom2girls]

Our group is having the same dilemma. We are booked on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas to Mexico. Right now we can book a balcony on the Carnival Splendor for about $700 less. We have been on the Mariner before and loved it and our friends have sailed the Carnival Conquest and enjoyed it as well. I am having a hard time finding alot of information on the Splendor right now though. What to do what to do:confused::confused:

I'd do the Splendor in a heartbeat! It's newer than Mariner, and $700 cheaper! :)

[spencercoop]

You should try the Carnival Dream like others said. It is going to be the most comparable ship to the Freedom/Liberty/Independece.

[Karter]

Since you have already been on the Mariner of the Seas why not try something different. I have been on the Mariner 4 times because that was the only 7 night RCCL ship out of Port Canaveral and after the 4th time is started getting old. I would definetly try the Splendor it is a brand new ship and you should have a fun time.

[hotpinkpanther]

RCCL does have Carnival beat on the ship designs and decor but honestly I enjoy the Carnival ships more. I love the wacky designs and think it just adds to the excitement!

 

I have found the 7 night RCCL cruises to be dead after 10pm, I love that Carnival has more night life. But I never found Carnival to be "wild" like some people perceive it to be.

 

We like the food better on C, but RC does get a thumbs up for room service menu and the way the buffets are set up.

 

Give Carnival a go...you will be pleasantly surprised.

[justus4recks]

You all are so nice thanks so much for the replies :D I am so glad to have found people that have been on the Mariner before! I think that we (and our kids) will enjoy Carnival just as much. I know that there are pros and cons to every ship and I like the idea of trying something new. The price is a perk as well. I have heard that Carnival and RCCL are very similar and heck any cruise is a good cruise in my book.

[SCUBADOO414]

Try The Dream... we are!!! :)

[dallen10]

We too are considering Carnival for next summer and this thread provides some great information.

[ginak1112]

I just got off the freedom.. We did RCCL Liberty, Explorer and Voyager previously. Besides the promenade, we enjoyed CCL so much more. Quite honestly, my kids (teens) never did the flowrider, rock climbing, ice skating, etc. The food last year on the liberty was basically inedible ( we wound up in chops and portofino 3 nights)! The food, shows and entertainment was excellent on the freedom. The room was nice and the bed was veryyy comfortable. I am sticking with carnival!

[HB Cruiser]

Since you have already been on the Mariner of the Seas why not try something different. I have been on the Mariner 4 times because that was the only 7 night RCCL ship out of Port Canaveral and after the 4th time is started getting old. I would definetly try the Splendor it is a brand new ship and you should have a fun time.

 

As you will see below, we also have been on Mariner four times due to friends and ease in/out of Port Canaveral area. All our cruising friends cruise from there since they can drive, we are limited on time so the distance requires us to fly no matter where we cruise from. We are not cruising Freedom with them this year due to $$$$. We had the same cabin booked on Freedom that we now have on Liberty for $250 pp less! We still paid too much compared to what we can cruise Carnival for, this is one of the reasons we are contemplaing the change.

 

Thanks for all the help and please keep the advice comming.

 

Tim

[Karter]

From an earlier post concerning our experience on Liberty of the Seas.

 

This was our 8th cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship and 25th overall so we are some what experienced cruisers. While I know this post will aggravate quit a few people this is just my opinion of how the larger size ships are affecting the cruise experience. For the past several years we have been taking 2 -3 cruises a year and have noticed significant changes in all the cruise lines we frequent (RCCL, Carnival & Princess). So take this for what its worth - one persons opinion.

 

First off I was really looking forward to the liberty of the Seas since I had always enjoyed our experiences on the Voyager and Radiance class ships (Mariner(2), Navigator(2), Explorer(1), Radiance(2)) and expected an even better time on a Freedom class ship. Since I like the summary format here are my notes from our trip on Liberty of the Seas October 25, 2008.

 

1. Embarkation – Since we are platinum we were supposed to get priority boarding but be because of an inexperienced person directing everybody we were told to get in the regular line. The good news was that it really wasn’t any longer than the priority line so no problem. But it still shows they have some work to do training their personnel and handling larger crowds.

2. Welcome aboard buffet in Windjammer – Since were on the ship about 45 minutes before they opened up the rooms we went to the Windjammer to get a quick snack. This is where an indication of a problem that would persist all week started. After we went through the relatively short lines to get our food there was no place to sit. All tables were full and they were making announcements for people to please leave if they had finished their meals. But nobody was leaving and they appeared to be waiting in the Windjammer for the rooms to open up. We wandered around with our trays of food for about 10 minutes until two people left and we ended up sharing a table. Once the rooms opened up about a third of the Windjammer emptied out. Not a good omen for finding seats for the rest of the week.

3. Windjammer issues – The trying to find a place to sit continued to be a major problem all week along with some additional issues. The food selection was not the best we have experienced. Either many popular items were empty with no sign of being replenished or the items that were available were not very appetizing. We are not very particular when we eat at the buffets since we know what can reasonably be expected but this was far below our expectations. I actually had a hard time finding enough good items to fill half a plate. If you want a ham & cheese omelet for example they are pre cooked and pretty dried out. I know most people on this board do not care for Carnival but they do have great hamburgers and pizza. The second issue was the slowness of service. Many times we would end up sitting at a table that had not been cleared (because that was the only table that was available) and then it took forever to get the old service items removed. We really did not look forward to eating in the Windjammer because of the poor selection of food and the no seating issue. By the way we usually do not get off the ship in port so we thought great it will be easy to find a table on port days – nope they close half the Windjammer on port days so same problems.

4. Main dinning room – Since we really didn’t like the Windjammer we decided to try the dining room for breakfast. Evidently Eggs Benedict is a difficult item to prepare. The entire table ordered at the same time and was served at the same time except for me with my Eggs Benedict. The server said he would get them to me in a minute since the galley was backed up. Well after everybody finished their breakfasts and still no Eggs Benedict we gave up and went to the overcrowded Windjammer. Also for the evening meal this was the first time I saw 6 out of 8 people at our table send food back because it was unacceptable. On each night there was at least one selection sent back because of the quality.

5. Shows – The ice show as usual was excellent along with a circ du sol le type show but the two main shows left a lot to be desired. Our table mates left about half way through both shows.

6. Ship – The ship with the Grand Promenade is still very impressive but there are just too many people crowding the available space. Plus they set up large sale tables in the middle further crowding the available space. We usually ended up cutting thru the casino to avoid the Grand Promenade.

7. Sports bar – They made a big deal in the morning show that we would be able to watch the world series in the sports bar but when we went there they didn’t know how to get the world series on their TVs. Given the number of people from Florida is seems they should have been able to figure it out. Customer service was no help at all.

8. Misc. – Constant bingo announcements even at 9:45 in the room hallways, hawking of all kinds of products including $3.95 for a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, drinks were pretty weak, jogging track is useless as they use the jogging track to push their beer carts up and down the ship plus it is the main walkway, holding trivia in the Hoof and Claw where they allow smoking.

 

I still enjoy RCCL cruises and have another one booked for December on the smaller Voyager class ship. The purpose of this post is to question if bigger is really better. Based on my Liberty of the Seas experience I don’t think so. Also it seems to me the passenger to staff ratio (3,940 passengers to 1,284 staff) may be too low to provide adequate service. In the future I will stick to the Radiance and Voyager class ships when I cruise RCCL.

 

Since this post I have cruised both lines several more times and still belive Carnival offers a great value and I am having a difficult time justifing the added cost of a RCCL cruise. Especially given the recent reductions in service and perks.

[KimberleyFL]

I see that you've done Majesty and Sovereign several times. Those would compare with Carnival's Fantasy class ships. For example, Fantasy, Inspirations, Sensations, Imagination, Ecstasy. (Not sure if I named them all.)

 

I've never been on a Voyager class ship, so I wouldn't know what to compare that to. I have been on RCCL's freedom class ship. Yes, they're beautiful, but I would be just as happy on a Spirit or Conquest class in Carnival (if not happier).

 

I doesn't seem that the Fantasy class ships are much of a match for the OP because they prefer newer ships and balconly cabins. Sounds like the Glory (or other Conquest class) or Splendor or Dream would suit them better. I've been on Sovereign a couple of times and I think even Carnival's Spirit class ships would be similar but they are not new ships.

[mom2girls]

I doesn't seem that the Fantasy class ships are much of a match for the OP because they prefer newer ships and balconly cabins. Sounds like the Glory (or other Conquest class) or Splendor or Dream would suit them better. I've been on Sovereign a couple of times and I think even Carnival's Spirit class ships would be similar but they are not new ships.

I was just looking at the OP signature, and noticed that they had been on the Soverign class many times.

[KimberleyFL]

I was just looking at the OP signature, and noticed that they had been on the Soverign class many times.

 

Sorry. My intent wasn't to pick on your post.

 

The Sovereign of the seas was my first cruise. The ship is beautiful and the cruise was great even though it is an older ship. I was on her two more times after that. I've been on the Fantasy class ships three times. They are more glitzy than classy (but had a great time). I think the Spirit class and newer classes are a closer fit to the RCI ships (this opinion is based on pictures only - I've only been on the Fantasy class ships so far but I'm impressed with the pictures I've seen of the Legend and Glory).

[Cindy]

Our group is having the same dilemma. We are booked on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas to Mexico. Right now we can book a balcony on the Carnival Splendor for about $700 less. We have been on the Mariner before and loved it and our friends have sailed the Carnival Conquest and enjoyed it as well. I am having a hard time finding alot of information on the Splendor right now though. What to do what to do:confused::confused:

 

My extended family group (11 of us) switched from the Mariner to the Splendor in July because the price difference was several thousand dollars for all of us. We're excited about being on a new ship and trying different things.

 

 

We did RCCL Liberty, Explorer and Voyager previously. Besides the promenade, we enjoyed CCL so much more. Quite honestly, my kids (teens) never did the flowrider, rock climbing, ice skating, etc.

 

My sister's kids adored their one Carnival cruise primarily because of the waterslide, the pizza, and the self-serve ice cream!:eek: They had fun on RCCL too, but didn't use the rock wall or skating rink anywhere near as much as they did the waterslide on their one Carnival cruise.

[halos]

I know everyone enjoys different things...so if you're in favor of really large ships, I can't help you because I haven't sailed CCL's largest ships (yet ;)) But, I do want to say that CCL's Spirit Class ships offer a fabulous cruise experience.

 

I only have sailed Royal one time (so far) and although I think RCCL offers the prettiest, best laid out ships I had ever been on, Carnival outweighs everything else about the cruise experience.

I'm glad you are giving Carnival a try....so many Royal Cruisers seem to be opening themselves up to try other lines all of a sudden. I think it's good. Nobody should limit themselves to just one line. It's boring.

 

Have fun on whichever CCL ship you choose :)

 

(I know many people are recommending the Dream, but personally, I never sail a new ship until I know the 'bugs' have been worked out ;)

[Kurbanfan]

We have cruised several times with "the other guys" ;) and are thinking of changing to another line to get a different experience. We have been very loyal to RCCL for a variety of reasons but just thinking we might change.

 

Can any of you offer advice a ship and category we might be interested in? We will only cruise with a balcony (wife has clostrophobia (sp) and has to have one) and are only interested in the newer ships. We were interested in I think the Freedom/Independence, not sure which one she is, out of Ft. Lauderdale for Memoral Day 2010 but it is only a six day and want a 7 day or longer.

 

I am sure you all have been asked this several times but would like some honest answers.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Tim

 

Yes that would be the 6 day Freedom out of Fort Lauderdale. The Freedom also has a 8 day on May 22 2010 with a great itinerary....I would

recommend that one.......As for category...the regular balcony cabins are great........

The newest ship is the Splendor which sails out of Calif. The next ship will be the Dream that will debut the end of this year.

It is nice to switch cruise lines (not because one is better then the other, because so far I have found that to be untrue) but to keep things different and not so sam-o sam-o......we are platinum on Carnival and have sailed on RCCL and Princess. Actually we are sailing on the Mariner in a few weeks. And we will be trying NCL next time......

Good luck in your choice!

[VABeach]

Welcome to the "Fun Ship"! :)

 

I have cruised both also. You will enjoy them both.

[justus4recks]

Well we did it. We booked three rooms on Spa deck 11 on the Splendor and saved $500.00 by switching from the Mariner. I am so anxious to hear if this is a good deck and cabin choice. There are only 16 cabins on this floor and apparently we don't have to pay for all of the extras like a special pool and a thermal suite?? New to all of this but hopefully someone can give me some insight on it! Thanks for everyone's help. As I have said before we do still like RCCL but am excited to try a new line !

[nbsjcruiser]

From an earlier post concerning our experience on Liberty of the Seas.

 

8. Misc. – Constant bingo announcements even at 9:45 in the room hallways, hawking of all kinds of products including $3.95 for a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, drinks were pretty weak, jogging track is useless as they use the jogging track to push their beer carts up and down the ship plus it is the main walkway, holding trivia in the Hoof and Claw where they allow smoking.

 

I still enjoy RCCL cruises and have another one booked for December on the smaller Voyager class ship. The purpose of this post is to question if bigger is really better. Based on my Liberty of the Seas experience I don’t think so. Also it seems to me the passenger to staff ratio (3,940 passengers to 1,284 staff) may be too low to provide adequate service. In the future I will stick to the Radiance and Voyager class ships when I cruise RCCL.

 

.

I think you summed it up well on a couple of items for me. I really enjoy the Radiance and I believe it is the best sized ship. Bigger is not better contrary to RCI. Bigger means longer lines, bigger crowds and more frustration. Smaller means a more intimate experience with better service. RCI really has become the Nation of Nickels and Dimes. They have become excellent at it. Orange juice should be freely available not 4 bucks a glass. That's ridiculous. The first time we went on the Explorer we had a ball. The CD and staff were excellent and they kept people enertained all week. When we went on the Navigator the only thing they seemed to know how to do was yell "Its Bingo time" non-stop. They make a killing off that crap and if people would realize how little they actually pay out on bingo for the week they'd be sick.

[HB Cruiser]

Again thanks for the replys. We are considering Carnival for May 2010 for a 7 day cruise. We can go either Sat May 29 or Sun May 30. I have went to the Carnival site and not sure if it my ignorance or what but have trouble finding cruises that weekend.

 

Any suggestions? We are only interested a newer ship, does not need to be the newest, just the most modern. Not interested in all the things such as rock wall & ice rink as RCCL just the newer ships.

 

Thanks again in advance.

 

Tim