Switching to Carnival - RCCL pricing is crazy.

[thehogsters]

To be fair you really cannot compare the Oasis to any other ship..........

 

 

Unless Oasis has free all you can drink top shelf drinks and free Chops then it is not worth the price IMHO.

[firefly333]

Unless Oasis has free all you can drink top shelf drinks and free Chops then it is not worth the price IMHO.

 

There must be a lot of demand for the Oasis, since everyone uses it as their yardstick when they are wishing and dreaming, but saying well I can cruise on Carnival a lot cheaper, what should I do. Tells me that the Oasis prices are going to remain high for a while. Hey, Id go on Oasis too at the right price .... but cant justify paying double what I can go on Voyager for out of my back yard and not have to pay for a flight too.

[Kurbanfan]

Unless Oasis has free all you can drink top shelf drinks and free Chops then it is not worth the price IMHO.

 

Truthfully know one will know until it sails;) I will just wait until they lower the price before I book......

[ColoradoMom!!]

I too am just dying to pull the trigger and book Carnival. We are looking at the Valor over Thanksgiving. Much better price than I can get on RCI. What's keeping me from doing it? Fear of all the reviews I've heard - not about food, not about service, not about cabins, it's the smoke! No offense to anyone, and I am not a picky person - but I really can't handle the smoke. I can avoid the casino, but I hear it is bad in every public room.

[claud1]

I haven't found that to be true at all and I'm always the first one to notice the smell of smoke.

[spleenstomper]

I never noticed any smoke smell and I can smell smoke on anyone or anything.

[ColoradoMom!!]

Thanks for replying - that's good to hear! :)

[megnsamsgracie]

I did it.... I LOVE RCI but my last Majesty cruise left A LOT to be desired :( We are platinum cruisers with them but I just booked my first Carnival cruise. My husband was the main reason after hearing about my disappointing Majesty cruise he wanted to try Carnival. Also, I paid $539pp for an inside GTY and the RCI cruise I was looking at was $999pp :( For $460pp, thats a LOT of spending moeny. Now, if I dont like it, I will look at RCI again but I am willing to give Carnival a try!

[madaamt]

Well congrats to you... I tried Carnival and haven't been back:D. My kids just love, love, love Carnival.

[royd1968]

I too am just dying to pull the trigger and book Carnival. We are looking at the Valor over Thanksgiving. Much better price than I can get on RCI. What's keeping me from doing it? Fear of all the reviews I've heard - not about food, not about service, not about cabins, it's the smoke! No offense to anyone, and I am not a picky person - but I really can't handle the smoke. I can avoid the casino, but I hear it is bad in every public room.

 

 

the only place it got real bad that I noticed, was the piano bar.. that was on the splendor

[firefly333]

I did it.... I LOVE RCI but my last Majesty cruise left A LOT to be desired :( We are platinum cruisers with them but I just booked my first Carnival cruise. My husband was the main reason after hearing about my disappointing Majesty cruise he wanted to try Carnival. Also, I paid $539pp for an inside GTY and the RCI cruise I was looking at was $999pp :( For $460pp, thats a LOT of spending moeny. Now, if I dont like it, I will look at RCI again but I am willing to give Carnival a try!

 

Almost anything has to be better than Majesty to me. I hate those small cabins. I wouldnt go back myself. Thankfully Majesty will be retired soon.

 

One of these times pay for a nicer, newer RCL ship, it makes all the difference.

 

You will think Carnival cabins are wonderful after Majesty.

[megnsamsgracie]

I am okay spending $1200 for 7n in the Caribbean with my DH :) So I figure I have nothing to lose.. and anyone can make the most out of any cruise, IMHO

[Casino Player]

Me and the fiance did a great western 7 day in April on RCCL's Liberty of the Seas. We both had a great time and loves all that was offered on the huge ship.

 

I have been looking at prices for June 2010 to for us and the 2 girls. This is a break down of what I have found. These are all for the lowest priced inside room.

LINE SHIP NIGHTS PORT STOPS PRICE

Carnival Freedom 6 Mia 3 $2204

Carnival Valor 7 Mia 4 $2645

Carnival Dream 7 Canav. 4 $3188

RCCL Liberty 7 Mia 3 $3747

RCCL Freedom 7 Canav. 4 $4449

RCCL Oasis 7 Ft. Laud. 3 $5347

 

 

First of all Royal only has one ship with 4 ports. We hate sea days so the extra port is very important to us. That being said why in Gods green Earth would I pay $1807 more for the Freedom O.S over the Valor? :confused:

From all my reading the 2 lines are very simalar and most say Carnival's food is better.

 

You finally saw the light. First, I've been on both lines. Carnival has larger staterooms, better food, better service. 24-hour pizza, calzones, and salad in addition to room service with no surcharge at any time of the day or night. RCCL has a surcharge on room service after a certain hour. RCCL has a surcharge for steaks in the dining room. Carnival does not. Carnival has complimentary Latte, and Cappiccino served in the dining room, RCCL does not.

The two lines are not similar. If they were they would be the same. The two lines appeal to different types of people.

[firefly333]

You finally saw the light. First, I've been on both lines. Carnival has larger staterooms, better food, better service. 24-hour pizza, calzones, and salad in addition to room service with no surcharge at any time of the day or night. RCCL has a surcharge on room service after a certain hour. RCCL has a surcharge for steaks in the dining room. Carnival does not. Carnival has complimentary Latte, and Cappiccino served in the dining room, RCCL does not.

 

The two lines are not similar. If they were they would be the same. The two lines appeal to different types of people.

 

If a $3.95 charge for room service after midnight, which includes the tip, is that big of a deal, you dont need to be cruising.

 

Lines are more similar than not in most ways. I also disagree that the two lines appeal to two types of people. I cruise on both, so both lines must have some appeal to me, even if I prefer RCL because Iv had better service on RCL and the ships are prettier.

[Silverscreencruiser]

If a $3.95 charge for room service after midnight, which includes the tip, is that big of a deal, you dont need to be cruising.

 

A $3.95 charge for room service is one thing. A $3.95 charge on top of paying hundreds of dollars more for a cabin is another.

[halos]

A $3.95 charge for room service is one thing. A $3.95 charge on top of paying hundreds of dollars more for a cabin is another.

 

 

I never thought of the $3.95 surcharge that way, and always thought like firelfy, but you have a valid point.

I don't mind paying extra for things on a ship. I thoroughly enjoy the specialty restaurants and don't balk at the extra charges...they are a choice. But I am usually paying quite a bit less for my cruises than what Royal charges.

[gone_cruisin]

The fact that cruise prices on Carnival are still under RCL prices, doesnt make me feel better about paying more than Iv ever had to pay for a Carnival cruise on Ecstasy since 2006. I know people will say, well 10 years ago I paid the same amount or 20 years ago, but compared to a year or two ago, I personally would have to pay more out of Galveston. I dont follow Florida where prices might very well be down.

 

I just can't justify spending twice as much just to cruise out of Galveston. It would be nice to only have 5 hour drive versus our (now proposed) 20 hour drive. But there is just no way I'm going to do it. I love Miami, just hate the drive.

 

As far as RCCL - I doubt I will ever cruise with them. Not that I am cheap, but being a single parent, I do have to watch my budget. A cruise is a huge luxury for me. I have seen RCCL's last minute rates, and even those are too far out there. $1450 for a cabin? No way! I scour the internet for the very best deal and if it's not within my budget, I'm just not going!

 

I do envy those who are able to take mulitple cruises a year.

[thehogsters]

I'm not going to lie the service we had on Liberty of the Seas was outstanding. The cabin was small but had lots of storage and we loved the firm bed with foam topper and the flat screen tv. The Promenade and other little extras are very nice.

 

To us the ports and food is more important than all that other crap. I just think we would have just as good a time on Carnical as we did on RCCL and at 20 - 50% savings. We could do a a BTB on Valor & Freedom and still save $498 compared to Oasis.

[tw67]

The plan for us was to do RCCL every other August, and we seemed to do Carnival for last minute cruises. So when Aug 2010 came out, we looked at RCCL. I found the itineraries on the ships for RCCL were not places I wanted to go. I liked them, but I wanted something different. I guess the new larger ships can not get into all the ports yet. I also found them to be so much more expensive than Carnival. So for Aug 2010 we booked Carnival. It would have cost so much on RCCL. With the economy the way it is this year, no pay raises in the future and bonuses maybe a thing of the past, I couldn' spend more money on something that wasn't giving me so much more.

 

So Valor here we go!! We also brought another RCCL family with us!! Who knows, maybe I will just do some last minute cruises with RCCL now!!

 

Terry

[cruiseeveryday]

Carnival is a great choice for the money - the food and service are ok - the entertainment is ok - the ships are poorly layed out and the interior design has something to be desired

Royal Caribbean has much nicer ships and the entertainment is much better - the food is not what it used to be - rooms are nicer

If your taking kids I would go Carnival

If you want a nice cruise for 2 use Celebrity Crusie Lines - the food is wonderful and everything in general is just a pleasure

I believe Royal Caribbean is trying to get to Carnivals level but still charge more just because of the ships

[Georgiagolfer]

Carnival is a great choice for the money - the food and service are ok - the entertainment is ok - the ships are poorly layed out and the interior design has something to be desired

Royal Caribbean has much nicer ships and the entertainment is much better - the food is not what it used to be - rooms are nicer

If your taking kids I would go Carnival

If you want a nice cruise for 2 use Celebrity Crusie Lines - the food is wonderful and everything in general is just a pleasure

I believe Royal Caribbean is trying to get to Carnivals level but still charge more just because of the ships

Not sure what you mean that RCI is trying to get to CCL's level?:confused:

[Kurbanfan]

A $3.95 charge for room service is one thing. A $3.95 charge on top of paying hundreds of dollars more for a cabin is another.

 

So if you generally give a $2.00 tip for room service.......it is an extra what........95 cents......and a choice on top of that:p

 

I can see all cruiselines eventually charging for room service down the road......I can imagine all the people that probably don't tip for this service........

[megnsamsgracie]

Almost anything has to be better than Majesty to me. I hate those small cabins. I wouldnt go back myself. Thankfully Majesty will be retired soon.

 

One of these times pay for a nicer, newer RCL ship, it makes all the difference.

 

You will think Carnival cabins are wonderful after Majesty.

 

We did.. we went on Liberty last year and LOVED It! It wasnt just the small cabins on Majesty (expected them after Enchantment) it was the lack of service! On the pool deck, many people brought the buffet food out... when done, it would sit for hours with many staff walking right by it! That is gross! The staff wasnt very friendly either :(

[Kurbanfan]

So if you generally give a $2.00 tip for room service.......it is an extra what........95 cents......and a choice on top of that:p

 

I can see all cruiselines eventually charging for room service down the road......I can imagine all the people that probably don't tip for this service........

 

Edit to say an extra $1.95.......need more coffee:p

[dan40]

So if you generally give a $2.00 tip for room service.......it is an extra what........95 cents......and a choice on top of that:p

 

I can see all cruiselines eventually charging for room service down the road......I can imagine all the people that probably don't tip for this service........

 

You could say its only a $1.95 difference or you could say it is a 197.5 percent increase!