Advice needed - Carnival or Royal Caribbean

[WouldBeCruiser]

We cruised for the first time ever last month ( to Alaska with Holland America) had a wonderful time, and now we want to book another cruise. This would be just a short 5 day cruise to the Bahamas, in January or February 2010. We would leave from Florida, and my sister and her husband would fly from England to join us on the cruise.

I see that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean offer basically the same cruises, but I heard that the Carnival cruises are usually full of young folk having a good time, but doing a lot of drinking. Nothing wrong with that - in fact I might have enjoyed that in my youth too, but maybe that's not our ideal fellow cruiser .

We are all aged between 55 and 65. My question to all you "super experienced" cruisers is, which cruise line do you think would suit us best?

[cb at sea]

Unless it's a 3 or 4 nighter, you will fine the same "mix" of passengers on both lines...they are truly more alike than not. Even on RCI, the short cruises will have folks who are trying to cram a weeks worth of fun into a couple of days.

 

You will have a huge range of ages and "partiers" on either ship. You'll fit right in on either.

[springfire]

RCI would be much better cruise for you. Carnival will be cheaper! If money is an issue go with Carnival, if it is not, RCI is much better.

[absb308]

I have cruised 5 times with Carnival and once with Royal Carribbean. Honestly, we found we few differences, other than the attractions onboard with Royal. We have also cruised with a lady who is 65 years old on both lines, and she likes both as well. So don't think that Carnival is not meant for older people.

 

As for which I think you should cruise, choose the line with the better ship. I think the ship should be the deciding factor.

 

 

Hope that helps :)

[eandj]

I agree look at the ship. Personally I don't like the decorating/ color schemes I've seen in pictures on Carnival ships. I've cruised on 3 RCCl a few years ago, and thought the atmosphere was more "me". Would always choose RCCL over Carnival.

 

If the itineraries are the same, yes, look at the ship and what your money can buy. I think either for a short cruise in the winter would be okay. Since you aren't going during spring or winter break, at least you won't get the college students who would definitely be there for partying!

[AzCruiseGurl]

CARNIVAL

DH Just turn 50 and I in my upper 40 :eek:

We LOVE Carnival and always cruise Carnival.

We are not partiers.....

Plus from my experience I think they are both pretty comparable...

[Falcons07]

carnival

dh just turn 50 and i in my upper 40 :eek:

we love carnival and always cruise carnival.

we are not partiers.....

plus from my experience i think they are both pretty comparable...

 

ditto

[DoggieDash84]

I've only been on Carnival once, for a 7-nighter, and it definitely seemed more like a party ship to me compared to the other RCI cruises I've been on. There were younger people, louder gatherings, more drunk people, and crazier antics lol. I LOVED the decor of the ship compared to RCI. Then again, I've only been on RCI's Grandeur and Freedom, so far. Grandeur's decor is very boring to me, but I've been told that I have eccentric tastes. RCI also seems to have less people in their 20s and younger, and more in their 40s+.

 

All in all, it sounds like (given my limited experience) you'd like RCI better because of the more conservative decor and compatible age group.

[Aquahound]

I think you need to compare the specific ships. By 5 days, did you mean 4 nights? If so, you would be comparing an RCI Sovereign Class ship to a CCL Fantasy Class.

 

You are likely to get a similar crowd on either ship. The biggest differences I see in these two ships are cabin sizes and decor.

 

RCI wins in decor and classiness of the ship. The Majesty and Monarch are so much nicer on the eyes than CCL's Fantasy Class.

 

CCL wins in room size. RCI's Sovereign Class categories under the deck 9 SO category are very small.

 

What really puts RCI over CCL for me is Coco Cay. This is one of RCI's private islands and it is beautiful.

[Cruzman]

The best 5 day out of south Florida IMHO, is the Destiny from Miami to Nassau, Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay.

[mmwichla]

Having sailed both Carnival and RC, my vote is RC. Carnival is the "party" ship and caters more to the younger cruisers. Royal Caribbean caters more to the older cruisers (no insult intended). You'll find an age mix on both lines. Just depends on whether you are a "night owl" or "early bird". I think the service on RC is better than Carnival. But remember, you are going to get a lot of personal opinions. You said you'd sailed previously on Holland America, RC is a little less formal than HA.

[Traveler353]

You see a lot of over 50 types on Carnival, at least on the Holiday and Fantasy. Most seem to be having a pretty good time. Never sailed on RC, so no opinion there.

[April-in-NC]

I've sailed on both lines, but they were very different cruises (length and destination). Carnival does some things better and RCI does some things better, it really does depend on what your "must haves" are as to which line would be better.

 

Overall, the lines are more alike than different, so you should be fine either way.

 

Coco Cay (RCI's private island) is wonderful!!! I haven't been to any other private islands to compare, but I loved our day on Coco Cay! (wow, that rhymes. LOL)

[dna1990]

I would pick based on newer ship, versus cruiseline. And/or price. As already said, there is more the same between the two than there is different. Esp on shorter runs.

 

That being said, any specific sailing has a chance of being quite different from the next, based on the group dynamics.

[rednose83]

I haven't cruised on RC yet. I did cruise on Carnival (over Spring Break nonetheless) and I didn't think the partying was "over the top." I'm not a drinker either. The only place it was really evident was in the Karaoke lounge- which made for some interesting karaoke. The shows, dining rooms, casino and the rest of the areas were not filled with screaming/drunk people. I think you'd be fine on either.

[karen&roy]

We cruised for the first time ever last month ( to Alaska with Holland America) had a wonderful time, and now we want to book another cruise. This would be just a short 5 day cruise to the Bahamas, in January or February 2010. We would leave from Florida, and my sister and her husband would fly from England to join us on the cruise.

I see that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean offer basically the same cruises, but I heard that the Carnival cruises are usually full of young folk having a good time, but doing a lot of drinking. Nothing wrong with that - in fact I might have enjoyed that in my youth too, but maybe that's not our ideal fellow cruiser .

We are all aged between 55 and 65. My question to all you "super experienced" cruisers is, which cruise line do you think would suit us best?

 

I am in your age group and love both lines BUT prefer Royal Caribbean and more people my age on RC. have fun!!

[kgm0612]

I have sailed Carnival (4x), RC (1), & NCL (1) and found all 3 to be very similar. I can honestly say I never walked off the ship thinking one was geared more to a specific age group.

 

I base my cruises on itinerary and price. Whichever cruise line is offering the best deal is the one I book with. No matter which one it ends up being, I always have a great time!

 

Karen