Royal Caribbean (first impression) vs Carnival

I just wanted to get my opinion out there. I've been on several carnival cruises and loved every single one. Now just recently I decided to give royal Caribbean a try just to see how both match up. I usually always travel with family to have fun and of course relax.

Just recently took a cruise on board the RC majesty of the seas on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. It is an older ship but still looking for that wow factor from RC. They always mentioned nice things about royal.

**** Customer Services - both royal and carnival are pretty even here. From the reception to check in to the room services and dinning room. Both have their ups and downs. For the most part they do provide pretty good service all around with the exception of a few who don't even care to even look at you. I rate Royal a 4.

*** Food - starting with the buffet areas. Royal has a pretty good selection of food and good quality in the main buffet areas like the windjammer. They really mix things up and good selections and deserts. In comparison carnival ranks pretty low here. The food is ok and poor selection. The main dining for Royal is where the big disappointment was. The food is really poor quality and they upcharge for a better selection. There were was a good variety of choices but the meals were so bad quality I just wanted to get up and leave. In comparison the main dining is where carnival cruise shines. Now the selection is not as great as Royal but the quality of food is really good. I give royal 3 stars overall.

** Photography - this section is really important to our family as we take an annual cruise to also get professional photographs taken. The pictures came out ok but not with that professional quality. The choices of backgrounds were really poor. They had a total of 5 using the same ones everyday! Royal truly needs a new to hire new photographers. The pictures were not that good and the photographers barely showed any type of interest. Stay away if your planning on pictures. As for carnival, the pictures have always came out nice and professional. Never had a complaint. I rate royal 2 stars.

**** Showtime - royal Caribbean shows were really nice and modern. Modern meaning new songs and took advantage of the set they had to make it a great experience. Now not all shows were nice. They also had comedian performers which were really poor for the main shows. I think that's more of a poor selection on royals part. Overall pretty nice performers and good to see multi racial personnel on the shows. I say this because Carnival is really focused of two things, old music era and white performers with really short skirts. Carnival falls really short in this category. Same boring 60s era performance with dated props. I rate 4 stars for Royal.

* Extra Activities and Shows - Royal falls very low here. Really boring activities and shows. For the most part I was looking to see what to do. We even started playing hide and go seek just go get the time to pass by. Really really bad. As for the side shows, there were barely none. There was the usual pool party and meet the captain, battle of the sexes, hairy chest, and marriage show. So so bad I wanted to just off the boat... Into the pool. Carnival here really beats Royal. Carnival always has something going on other than the usual mentioned above. They also have the punchliner comedy club every day with several different showings which is really great. Rate a 1 star for Royal.

* Amenities - pretty poor here again. Upcharge for everything. No ironing washing room! Sucks for those who want to iron their clothes and take picture... They charge for laundry and ironing services. They also charge for after hours room services. Also didn't like the idea of soliciting in the windjammer. Everyday we had a crew person come up to use to try to buy into going to a restaurant to try Mexican food. Really annoying. Also didn't like the idea of having a Johnny Rockets in the cruise ship. I saw now one in there as they charge for their food and services. Compared to carnival, it's really the opposite. One thing I do see similar is the same bothering crew selling bar drinks but not a big deal as both cruise lines did the same. One star here.

Majesty of the seas was not a really fun cruise ship or relaxing at that. There wasn't really anywhere to relax and sit back like carnival serenity areas. The ship did show its age with really old decorations and rust showing in rooms and around the ship. I guess since it's going to be sold soon they don't care to upgrade. I think Royal has really great potential and would love to cruise again with them but just not an older ship. This is something carnival does a little better where even the older ships has that same feel and amenities and services just like the other ships. I didn't rate the stops since one was even cancelled because of high winds. Cococai. Seems like they been having lots of problems with stopping in that island for a while. We'll hopefully this is helpful to anyone traveling in Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas.

I, like the OP, sailed RCCL (FOS), this past summer after 11 Carnival cruises and came away with the same feelings.

After all the vocal Royal Loyals, and local friends who just raved about their Royal experiences,,, I had to try the WOW factor. Unfortunately, I never came close to seeing or experiencing a WOW factor. Maybe the WOW factor is the lack of WOW. I'll be heading back to Carnival.. I missed the "Fun".

Then again,,,,,,

Maybe the WOW factor is for those who have never cruised before. Or maybe it's the second cruise. No matter the cruise line,,, like sex,,,, the first time is either going to blow your mind,,,,,, or you're going to say,,, what the hell was that?

I wouldn't judge a cruise line by a four day cruise on one of their oldest ships. I wouldn't sail on a Carnival cruise if it was given to me. Probably not on RCCL either. Carnival is good for you, RCCL is good for others. I do agree about the extra charge restaurants. In order to make them enticing they had to cut back the quality in the MDR.

Very interesting observations. As long time frequent cruisers (with many cruise lines including both Carnival and RCI) we think the OP has quickly stumbled onto many of the problems with RCI. It is one thing to base a business plan on "maximizing onboard revenue" but it is another thing to allow the deterioration of many items in order to further foster "maximizing onboard revenue." Cutting back on the quality (and selection) of free food in the MDR is a great strategy if you want to "encourage" passengers to spend extra money for food upsells or alternative restaurants. or....rather then encouraging folks to participate in free activites (say Duplicate Bridge) why not promote "Bingo" or the "Casino" where the cruise line derives a profit. And turning beautiful ship atriums into "shopping malls" and even encouraging some areas of congestion (if you have to slow down squeezing through an area it almost forces you to browse) is also a tried and true retail strategy. Unfortunately, this is not just about RCI but more a reflection on what has happened to nearly all the mass-market cruise lines. The only complete escape is to go on the smaller ship ultra-luxury lines where they make their profit on the cost of the cruise and have a minimum interest in "selling things" onboard.

Hank

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Really appreciate your taking the time to make the comparisons of both cruise lines.

You cannot compare Majesty of the seas to most of the RCCL fleet, all ships built in last 12 years are twice the size with some great features, such as ice skating ring etc. I think I sailed Majesty of the seas about 25 years ago

Larger RC ships have a lot more to offer. So far we have cruised on two different classes of RC ships, the Radiance class and the Voyager class.

I was very impressed with the Mariner of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas, while my wife loved the much smaller Radiance of the Seas even though it didn't have the Promenade down the middle of the ship or the ice skating production shows. In December, we will be on the Liberty of the Seas which is larger still.

We have cruised on Carnival as you can see in my signature. For overall enjoyment, we much prefer RC.

There are so many available cruise lines and ships with wonderful itineraries. It's great to have choices!

This review should be Carnival vs. Majesty of the Seas, not Royal Caribbean. MOS isn't even remotely close to every single other ship in RCI's fleet.

If MOS was my one shot at RCI after cruising CCL for years, I'd probably be disappointed too. However, it was Voyager of the Seas that nearly permanently changed my preference from CCL to RCI. That and I got tired of the Joe Farcus interior designs. Truth is, CCL has nothing in their fleet comparable to Oasis Class or Quantum Class. You want wow, book a ship that actually advertises it, not MOS.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Really appreciate your taking the time to make the comparisons of both cruise lines.

Agree whole heartedly.

OP: I would be really curious as to which Carnival ships you have sailed on. I think it is much more even and fair to compare specific ships as opposed to cruise lines in this instance. The experience on Carnival and Royal can vary widely depending on the ship as both lines have everything from ships 20+ years old carrying around 2,000 passengers with to nearly new mega-ships carrying 4,000+ passengers with a lot more options of things to do and venues.

You cannot compare Majesty of the seas to most of the RCCL fleet, all ships built in last 12 years are twice the size with some great features, such as ice skating ring etc. I think I sailed Majesty of the seas about 25 years ago

Larger RC ships have a lot more to offer. So far we have cruised on two different classes of RC ships, the Radiance class and the Voyager class.

 

I was very impressed with the Mariner of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas, while my wife loved the much smaller Radiance of the Seas even though it didn't have the Promenade down the middle of the ship or the ice skating production shows. In December, we will be on the Liberty of the Seas which is larger still.

 

We have cruised on Carnival as you can see in my signature. For overall enjoyment, we much prefer RC.

 

There are so many available cruise lines and ships with wonderful itineraries. It's great to have choices!

While the points you make are valid, the bottom line is, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Further more, your points are only valid when looking at the activities and amenities. For food, photography, customer service and shows, the age and size of the ship makes no difference.

For food, photography, customer service and shows, the age and size of the ship makes no difference.

I respectfully disagree. The customer service in relation to food, photography, and shows we have experienced on smaller ships vs larger ships varied considerably. Oddly enough, our overall better experiences were on the larger RC, Carnival, and Princess ships.

This is my opinion based on our experiences.

I respectfully disagree. The customer service in relation to food, photography, and shows we have experienced on smaller ships vs larger ships varied considerably. Oddly enough, our overall better experiences were on the larger RC, Carnival, and Princess ships.

 

This is my opinion based on our experiences.

How would the size of the ship effect customer service? Yes, there are more passengers, but then again, there are more staff. The age of the ship has nothing to do with customer service.

How would the size of the ship effect the food? Once again, yes, there are more passengers, but then again there are more cooks and more or bigger kitchens. As to the age of the appliances in the kitchen, they must be kept in working order no matter how old something is. If newer and better equipment is available, it can be added to the ship during dry dock.

How would the size or age of the ship affect the cameras, the backdrops or the skill of the photographer?

How would the size or age of the ship affect the shows. The shows are designed to work on the stage that is available.

Bigger and newer does not always equal better. The cruise ship that has been named the the best cruise ship in the world by Ward-Ranking and Berlitz for several years running is now sixteen years old, is less than 30,000 tons and holds only 408 passengers.

Further more, your points are only valid when looking at the activities and amenities. For food, photography, customer service and shows, the age and size of the ship makes no difference.

I get your point with food and customer service, but not photography and shows - especially not the shows.

The shows on Majesty are nowhere near the quality of the Broadway productions on Oasis Class, Quantum Class and 2 of the Freedom Class ships, nor are they anywhere near the quality of the ice shows on all of Voyager, Freedom and Oasis Class ships. Then there's the comedy club and Aqua Theater on Oasis, and Two70 on Quantum.

Photography - The natural backgrounds are leaps and bounds better on the larger ships than they are on Majesty, as is the service in Focus and the ability to find your photos without having to scan a wall of everyone else's pictures.

I get your point with food and customer service, but not photography and shows - especially not the shows.

 

The shows on Majesty are nowhere near the quality of the Broadway productions on Oasis Class, Quantum Class and 2 of the Freedom Class ships, nor are they anywhere near the quality of the ice shows on all of Voyager, Freedom and Oasis Class ships. Then there's the comedy club and Aqua Theater on Oasis, and Two70 on Quantum.

 

Photography - The natural backgrounds are leaps and bounds better on the larger ships than they are on Majesty, as is the service in Focus and the ability to find your photos without having to scan a wall of everyone else's pictures.

The quality of the shows is dependent on the performers and directors, not the size or age of the ship. The quality of the comedy club is solely dependent on the comedian. Take a look at the OP's review again. The OP gave the shows in Majesty's main show lounge a good rating. It was the comedians that the OP didn't care for. Putting those same comedians on the Allure would not make them any better.

The Majesty does not have an ice rink or an Aqua Theater. I've already conceded that the Majesty does not have the breath of activities or amenities that the newer ships have. Of course, none of the Carnival Ships have an ice rink or Aqua Theater either. In fact, most (over 90%) of Royal Caribbean's ships do not have an Aqua Theater.

As to the posting of the photographs, the newer ships use technology that could easily be added to the Majesty. The size and age of the ship is not the limiting factor here. Nonetheless, that is not what earned Royal Caribbean's negative review. Read the review again.

The backgrounds are backgrounds. The newer backgrounds can be put up in the Majesty just as easily as they can on the other ships. Again the size and age of the ship has nothing to do with the quality of the backgrounds.

Granted, comparing the limited activities and amenities that the Majesty offers was unfair because Majesty does not represent a majority of Royal Caribbean's fleet activity or amenities wise. But the rest of the issues, the size and age of the Majesty is not the limiting factor. There is no reason the size or age of the Majesty should limit its ability to put on a quality show, serve quality food, produce quality photographs or affect customer service.

On customer service, in my experience Royal Caribbean comes out a little ahead. The OP rated them equal. So the size and age of the ship had nothing to do with the quality of the customer service.

On food the OP rated Royal Caribbean's buffet better than Carnival's, but rated the MDR less than Carnival's. It does not appear that the size or age of the Majesty had anything to do with the quality of the food.

The OP noted the poor quality of Royal Caribbean's photographs. Not the poor quality of the photographs' display. The OP noted the poor quality of Royal Caribbean's backgrounds. Since the backgrounds on the newer ships would work just as well on the Majesty and the backgrounds on the Majesty would work just as well, or just as poorly, on the newer ships, the size and age of the ship had nothing to do with the backgrounds.

Do I agree with everything the OP said? No, but that does not mean the OP is wrong, and with the exception of the activities and amenities, the size and age of the ship had nothing to do with the reasons the OP made the comments in post number one.

How would the size of the ship effect customer service? Yes, there are more passengers, but then again, there are more staff. The age of the ship has nothing to do with customer service.

 

How would the size of the ship effect the food? Once again, yes, there are more passengers, but then again there are more cooks and more or bigger kitchens. As to the age of the appliances in the kitchen, they must be kept in working order no matter how old something is. If newer and better equipment is available, it can be added to the ship during dry dock.

 

How would the size or age of the ship affect the cameras, the backdrops or the skill of the photographer?

 

How would the size or age of the ship affect the shows. The shows are designed to work on the stage that is available.

 

Bigger and newer does not always equal better. The cruise ship that has been named the the best cruise ship in the world by Ward-Ranking and Berlitz for several years running is now sixteen years old, is less than 30,000 tons and holds only 408 passengers.

As I said previously "The customer service in relation to food, photography, and shows we have experienced on smaller ships vs larger ships varied considerably. Oddly enough, our overall better experiences were on the larger RC, Carnival, and Princess ships.

This is my opinion based on our experiences."

The quality of the shows is dependent on the performers and directors, not the size or age of the ship.

I disagree. The standard cruise ship singers and dancers shows aren't even in the same ballpark as the 90 minute productions on the bigger ships, regardless of who is in the performance. The actors are casted though the production's contract on the Broadway productions.

The quality of the comedy club is solely dependent on the comedian. Take a look at the OP's review again. The OP gave the shows in Majesty's main show lounge a good rating. It was the comedians that the OP didn't care for. Putting those same comedians on the Allure would not make them any better.

I understand your point, but still disagree. The Comedy Club is a more intimate setting and the comedians engage the crowd more.

As to the posting of the photographs, the newer ships use technology that could easily be added to the Majesty. The size and age of the ship is not the limiting factor here. Nonetheless, that is not what earned Royal Caribbean's negative review. Read the review again.

I get that. but the point is, it's not on the Majesty, therefore not as good of service.

The backgrounds are backgrounds. The newer backgrounds can be put up in the Majesty just as easily as they can on the other ships. Again the size and age of the ship has nothing to do with the quality of the backgrounds.

No, they are not. Go back and read what I said. I said natural backgrounds. That means, not the roll down backgrounds. The Royal Promenade, the car on the RP, the glass bridge, the glass stairs - the larger ships have much nicer backgrounds.

The OP noted the poor quality of Royal Caribbean's photographs. Not the poor quality of the photographs' display. The OP noted the poor quality of Royal Caribbean's backgrounds. Since the backgrounds on the newer ships would work just as well on the Majesty and the backgrounds on the Majesty would work just as well, or just as poorly, on the newer ships, the size and age of the ship had nothing to do with the backgrounds.

See my last statement.

Do I agree with everything the OP said? No, but that does not mean the OP is wrong, and with the exception of the activities and amenities, the size and age of the ship had nothing to do with the reasons the OP made the comments in post number one.

Who said the op was wrong? I certainly didn't. All I said was you cannot cruise the Majesty of the Seas and have it be the overall impression of RCI.

I disagree. The standard cruise ship singers and dancers shows aren't even in the same ballpark as the 90 minute productions on the bigger ships, regardless of who is in the performance. The actors are casted though the production's contract on the Broadway productions.

 

That still has nothing to do with the size or age of the ship. Royal Caribbean has simply decided not to so the same thing with the Majesty, or the Vision class, or the Radiance class, or the Voyager class or Freedom class. In fact, out of the entire fleet, only three ships do what you are referring to. Thus, the Majesty more closely resembles the majority of the fleet then the Oasis, Allure and Quantum.

 

I understand your point, but still disagree. The Comedy Club is a more intimate setting and the comedians engage the crowd more.

 

The room does not make the comedian. A good comedian will engage the crowd on any of the ships.

 

I get that. but the point is, it's not on the Majesty, therefore not as good of service.

 

What you are referring to is only one three ships, Oasis, Allure and Quantum. On all the other ships the photos are posted on the displays set up for that purpose. Thus the Majesty more closely resembles the majority of the fleet then the Oasis, Allure and Quantum.

 

No, they are not. Go back and read what I said. I said natural backgrounds. That means, not the roll down backgrounds. The Royal Promenade, the car on the RP, the glass bridge, the glass stairs - the larger ships have much nicer backgrounds.

 

Apparently your definition of "natural" and mine differ. Only the Oasis and Allure have what I call "natural" settings. If you are saying that the eleven Voyager, Freedom, Oasis and Quantum ships are more impressive than the Majesty, then I agree. However, that is only half the fleet. Thus Majesty is still representative of half the fleet.

 

See my last statement.

 

Again, I don't consider plastic and steel as "natural". What you refer to is part of the ship. However, that is half the fleet and Majesty is representative of the other half of the fleet.

 

Who said the op was wrong? I certainly didn't. All I said was you cannot cruise the Majesty of the Seas and have it be the overall impression of RCI.

If the OP is not wrong, then why are you saying it is unfair to judge Royal Caribbean based on the only experience the OP has had with Royal Caribbean. The fact is, Royal Caribbean only has one chance to make a first impression and based that, Royal Caribbean fell short.

Having cruised on Carnival ten times (I'm platinum) and on Royal Caribbean eleven times (I'm D+), I don't agree with everything the OP said, nonetheless, I do believe it was a fair comparison. Most of what you want the OP to base an impression on exists on three out of 22 ships. Meanwhile, the Majesty is similar to half the fleet. Thus the Majesty is more representative of the Royal Caribbean fleet than the Oasis, Allure and Quantum.

Now, if you want to argue that Royal Caribbean as other ships that provide more of the "Wow" experience, that is fine. However, ice rinks are on only half the fleet, so half the fleet does not have ice rinks. The Flowrider exists on less than half the fleet, so most of the fleet, including the Majesty do not have a Flowrider. The H2O Zone exists on less than half the fleet. So more than half the fleet, including the Majesty does not have a Flowrider. The Royal Promenade exists on only half the fleet. The ninety minute Broadway shoes exist on less than half the fleet. The Majesty does not have a ninety minute Broadway show, thus the Majesty represents more than half the fleet in this regard. Only four of the ships have self leveling pool tables. None of Royal Caribbean's new builds built in the last ten years have self leveling pool tables. The list goes on and on.

We have gone on many cruises on RC but didn't choose the older, smaller ships. We needed a quick get away, and decided to go on a smaller ship because it fit our schedule. I have to say, it was not the same and while we were able to do what we intended...rest and relax, had we been looking for a WOW factor, this wouldn't have qualified. You just can't compare an older ship on the line to the newest ships. I think it affects overall attitude, including how you feel about the photos, customer service, etc. You feel UNDERwhelmed. Back to the bigger, newer ships.

Cuizer2 - It's hard to quote your posts, so I'll just answer without quoting.

First, you're wrong about the ships with 90 minute productions. It isn't only 3 ships. As I said earlier, there are 2 Freedom Class ships - Liberty with Saturday Night Fever, and Freedom with Hairspray. That makes 5 ships - 6 if you include Anthem that is already taking bookings.

No, Oasis Class and Quantum are not the only ships with the new photography service. It's been added to Navigator and Voyager, and will be on all the other Voyager Class ships after the next dry dock.

Natural Backgrounds - I'm not here to debate the definition. I explained clearly what I meant, and I stand by it. To be clear, the larger ships have more photography spots that do not have the fake, roll down backgrounds.

One more time - I never said the op was wrong, so please stop putting words in my mouth. You're taking what I said totally out of context.

Ref your last paragraph about what's on "half the fleet" and whatnot, again, you're missing the point. You named off a bunch of amenities that combined, represent every single ship class but the older Vision Class and Majesty. The entire point from the very beginning was none of those amenities are on Majesty. That's the point.

Now I'm sure we can debate this until the end of time, but since I'm not getting paid by RCI to advertise their larger ships, I'll say no more on this topic.

We have gone on many cruises on RC but didn't choose the older, smaller ships. We needed a quick get away, and decided to go on a smaller ship because it fit our schedule. I have to say, it was not the same and while we were able to do what we intended...rest and relax, had we been looking for a WOW factor, this wouldn't have qualified. You just can't compare an older ship on the line to the newest ships. I think it affects overall attitude, including how you feel about the photos, customer service, etc. You feel UNDERwhelmed. Back to the bigger, newer ships.

I agree with you and the others (Cruzaholic41, JimAOK1945, cruzelover, George C and bar_20), and that's what first stood out to me in the review. Majesty of the Seas is RCI's 3/4 night booze cruise and has none of the bells and whistles associated with modern day RCI. It's not a "wow" ship at all, and is in no way shape or form comparable to everything RCI has built in the last 15 years.

I also agree you can't compare one cruise line's oldest ship against several cruises on another cruise line....at least, not judging an entire line from that one old ship.

To the op, if you are looking for that "wow" factor, take a look at the new RCI ships. I think you'd be blown away by what's on board. The entertainment is unparalled.

Wow factor definitely with the Newer ships.

But our Adventure of the Seas was our least fav cruise (still good!) BUT our Allure of the Seas was our most fav cruise!

Food can vary from ship to ship...honestly Princess & RCL both had very good MDR food (we didn't eat MDR on Allure or Celebrity). RCL had better desserts.

We felt there were far more daily activities to choose from on Princess compared to the AOS...

Photographers are hit & miss, that is for sure.

No "WOW" factor on Freedom of the Seas.

Is it a fine ship? Yes

Will you have a good time ? Yes

Will it blow your socks off? Maybe if it's your first or second cruise ever. No, if you've ever sailed before on any other cruise line

We will be on AOS for our first ever cruise. From the videos and photos we've seen it will be more than cool enough for us.