Royal Fan Does Carnival

We liked the food and comedy on Carnival better too, much of the service and amenities are the same, but Royal does shine better with decor and attractions. I would prefer to sail Jan/Feb, April/May, and Sept/Oct/Nov to limit kids on either line. ;)

Thanks for the review, what rccl ship can you compare it to, in size, etc. Voyager class, Radiance class, etc - thanks

Thanks for the review. Nice variety of port stops! :)

Yes, I hate it when they move ships. The Carnival Liberty, Freedom of the Seas, and Enchantment are all moving out of PC :-(

When is Freedom of the Seas moving?

When is Freedom of the Seas moving?

Winter 2016 is what I read. She will be replaced by Oasis.

I've also been on some nice cruises with Carnival. I'm not crazy about their buffet lay out, but I really like the additional food stations around the pools. Carnival Dream has a very good Indian Tandoor station near the aft pool. Never a line, except for ship's officers.

As far as decorating, I've never let that affect our cruise.

And they have some nice itineraries, too. I've been interested in trying that 8-day on Liberty for years.

Very interesting thread. It gives me some things to think about.

We did 2 CCL cruises, Glory, 7 nt and Miracle, 8 nt eastern Carib.

 

These were a few years ago but agree that Steak Houses on Carnival

were a little better than Royal's. We loved the Miracle cruise to

East Carib as far as St Lucia......so what did Carnival do.... moved

the Miracle and quit going that far east out of PE.

 

Anyway, I would cruise with them again to some interesting new

ports, or even just for a good steak or Guy Burger.

 

Carnival is not solo friendly so never consider them for my

solo trips.

 

We love Liberty of the Seas out of PE.... so what is Royal doing....

moving her to NJ and Texas.

 

I see many NCL and maybe a Carnival cruise or two in the future.

 

:cool:

I haven't done a solo cruise but I would be interested to know what makes Carnival not solo friendly.

We also are RC fans that tried carnival but because we were worried that we would not like it we tried ships with the 2.0 upgrades, Breeze and Sunshine.

And we loved it :D

Still prefer RC, maybe because have the best of both worlds, but for us everything is similar.

Carnival seemed to us that have more fun details everywhere and more parties.Loved (loved!!!!) the Guys burguers, pizza and Mexican food...the best that we had in our 11 cruises and loved the party athmosphere during all cruise. The adult area in Sunshine was huge!!!

The decor was perfect for us because we were in the new ships (not the "vegas" old ones), with more classy and modern decor (we were in NCL Epic for instance-Norweigian cruise Lines- and in our opinion the decor was so-so...specially the pool area).

Conclusion: For us (I repeat, for us): :D

Food seems the same (exception for pizza, mexican an guys burguer which are perfect), the shows are much better in RC, the parties are funnier in Carnival, the athmosphere is similar but seems more casual and funny in carnival, more classy in RC.

but, we were warned that the Breeze is not the Carnival standard, so we had lucky with the ship we chose ;)

Thanks for the review! Im considering Carnival again in the future. My only Carnival experience was my very first cruise on an old ship. It was GREAT!

 

Carnival does a lot of things BETTER than Royal Caribbean IMHO. Guys burgers being included in the fare and their steakhouse serving USDA PRIME cuts included in the 35.00 pp charge is two I can think of right off the bat.

 

Plus, I have yet to hear anyone that sails both lines say they like Royals food better. Yeah, thats very subjective but it seems really common that Carnival just serves better food. Period

You would love the Breeze!

:eek:Thanks for this review.

First, to all who complain about critics--- its cruise CRITIC.

Not cruise cheerleaders.... I want to know about problems before I invest my hard-earned money.

If RCI doesn't read ways to improve it will never or do so slowly.

The BOGO pricing is too confusing/misleading -- the advertised pricing is almost always non-existent. if most things are similar; I'm going to try Carnival again.

Thanks for posting this! We have only done RCCL and Celebrity and have always had reservations about trying Carnival basically because of what has been said. That being said, I have taken the plunge and booked the new Vista for 2017 based on the Itinerary, first and foremost, and the new Havana Cabana area. I know on the Vista thread there are many of us loyal to Royal that have been intrigued by this new ship and now you've made it all worry free! Thanks so much!!!!!!! :)

this is exactly the type of thread I have been looking for and I think you'll find there are a lot of us on here!

We are booked for the Allure for next February and I know we will have a great time but it just seems time to try something new as everything has pretty much stayed the same with Royal and getting to do the itinerary to the Southern Islands sailing out of Miami instead of flying to San Juan is the best thing I have ever saw! For us in the Midwest where flying always comes at a premium. :)

Hope your weekend is fabulous!

Robin :)

You would love the Breeze!

I have absolutely NO doubt I would love Breeze :) Ive been interested since I watched Guys Family Cruise. I sure wish she sailed out of Port Canaveral :) Or even Port Everglades!

We are actually looking at the Breeze for this October with two other couples.

We we're on Breeze in May of 2014. It was really nice , so many comfortable public spaces to hang, Very few kids and it neve felt crowded.

We enjoyed Ocean Plaza and the trivia. The best part is it was a free cabin from Carnival . They gave random past gusset a free cabin on pretty much the cruise of their choice. We upgrade to and extended AFT for a small amount. The one thing is I would stick to mid ship or even a balcony on lido if I go again.

Many thanks for your review. We too are 'loyal Royals' (11 years and counting) and are trying our first Carnival due to price, itinerary and dates in just 42 days! We were booked on Carnival Liberty out of Port Canaveral but it was swapped with Valor, which I know is the same class, although doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades so no Blue Iguana nor Guy's burgers for us. Anyway, can't wait.

Be sure to go to Alcheamey Bar a few times. It's like the bar Cheers as far as how quickly you get to know the workers and other guests. We would go a hour before dinner and it was the same bartenders and passengers and just a great time.

I haven't done a solo cruise but I would be interested to know what makes Carnival not solo friendly.

I was wondering the same thing. My sister cruises solo and she pays double on both RCI and Carnival. So I would like to know what is solo friendly about RCI.

I was not impressed with my 1 Carnival cruise, but that was 30 years ago, so that should not count. I like the idea of the comedy club, is there a evening dress code??

:eek:Thanks for this review.

 

First, to all who complain about critics--- its cruise CRITIC.

Not cruise cheerleaders.... I want to know about problems before I invest my hard-earned money.

 

If RCI doesn't read ways to improve it will never or do so slowly.

 

The BOGO pricing is too confusing/misleading -- the advertised pricing is almost always non-existent. if most things are similar; I'm going to try Carnival again.

Can you imagine Disney or Warner Brothers Fans going to a site called "Movie CRITIC", and telling other bloggers not to judge a film from their favorite studio? Good grief, some of the "wrong" reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are the most entertaining! "Let's all agree to be positive about the changes to Terminator 5." "Well if you didn't like it, walk out of the theater, more seats for us." :eek:

I was not impressed with my 1 Carnival cruise, but that was 30 years ago, so that should not count. I like the idea of the comedy club, is there a evening dress code??

The "dress code" is similar to RCI but probably more relaxed even. Here's a link to the FAQ on CCL dress code:

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx#q-544446

I'm sure if you visit the Carnival board here on CC, you'll find lots of evidence that CCL isn't terribly strict in enforcement (except perhaps for the sleeveless shirts, flip flops and swim suits in the MDR). I've seen men wear jeans (albeit relatively nice, black jeans) in the MDR on elegant nights.

I did 7 or so solo cruises on carnival and loved it. However, I am pretty outgoing and that helps. Some other groups will embrace you, some will not. I think that would be true on any cruise line travelling solo.

Carnival and RCL are both pretty easy on dress, which personally suits.

I was wondering the same thing. My sister cruises solo and she pays double on both RCI and Carnival. So I would like to know what is solo friendly about RCI.

X3. My friend booked solo on my upcoming Freedom cruise in the same Promenade category Im in. The ONLY difference in price between his reservation and mine is the second passenger port charges.

I thought it was pretty much SOP for all mass market lines to charge double for solos on most their sailings.

I have seen some 125% and 150% solo rates in the Crown and Anchor sales before.

We also are RC fans that tried carnival but because we were worried that we would not like it we tried ships with the 2.0 upgrades, Breeze and Sunshine.

We sailed Sunshine before it was Sunshine and I can't imagine doing it again. It was already awkwardly crowded and they added so many cabins without any new public areas. That said, we were parked next to the Breeze last cruise and DW thought it looked pretty nice. That was a big step for her since our last Carnival cruise. We may give them another go.

Just like on most lines there's ships or sailings that aren't good. It really can differ from sailing to sailing I think. Sunshine is one of Carnivals ships I wouldn't book on , I've heard some not so good thing about the ship way to many times.

I think the RC ship I've heard such great thing about is Explorer....I'm referring to the typical cruise ship , not Allur or Oasis and would like to cruise her some day.

RC and Carnival are more alike then diffrent.

X3. My friend booked solo on my upcoming Freedom cruise in the same Promenade category Im in. The ONLY difference in price between his reservation and mine is the second passenger port charges.

 

I thought it was pretty much SOP for all mass market lines to charge double for solos on most their sailings.

 

I have seen some 125% and 150% solo rates in the Crown and Anchor sales before.

Those sales must be few and far between. I wish we could come across one. In 5 or 6 cruises my sister has paid double every time. It would be nice for her to get a break once in a while.

Thanks for the review. We have been considering Carnival Breeze for our next cruise. Mostly due to RCCL’s current pricing. But I was very concerned about the quality of Carnival and nightly entertainment.

It’s nice to hear how they compare. It’s been hard to compare for the most part since either people sail only Carnival or only RCCL. But it appears a lot of RCCL “loyal” are looking now.

Does Carnival have shows or just comedians?