Carnival Pride or RCI Vision of the Seas

Looking for some opinions from people who have sailed both/either the Carnival Pride or RCI Vision of the Seas. Which did you prefer? DH and I are starting to plan our cruise for next winter and it has come down to these two ships. Both are 7 nights out of Tampa, they have the same itinerary, and the price is about the same.

I have been on 3 Carnival cruises - Liberty, Inspiration and Sensation - and am looking to mix it up a bit. We were originally planning on trying RCI, but then came across a review of the Pride and really liked it - especially the rooms with the french doors!

I would love to hear other peoples views of each ship.

Thanks!

I have been on Pride twice and Vision class ships three times (Enchantment twice; Grandeur once). What things are most important to you?

I have been on Pride twice and Vision class ships three times (Enchantment twice; Grandeur once). What things are most important to you?

Our last two cruises were on Fantasy class ships, and we are looking for a ship that is bigger and with more amenities. I definitely want to try RCI at some point, but worry that the Vision class might not be the best to get the whole experience, as it is one of the smaller ships.

We enjoy lounging by the pool during sea days, playing trivia and other games, and going to the casino and dance club at night.

With what you mentioned in mind, I prefer Pride. Enchantment was great, but it has the stretch design change that Vision does not have. I felt rather confined on Grandeur. The Pride layout is nice. Rooms were bigger on Pride. I preferred MDR evening dining on Pride better, but the menus might be changed before you would sail her. Plenty of trivia opportunities. I did find that Lido dining, especially breakfast, was better on Vision class. Vision will have more traditional evening entertainment. My wife liked the Pride casino more than Grandeur's. If we were going out of Tampa, we would go Pride.

To get the expanded RCI experience, you would probably have to sail Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis class RCI ships. We have sailed Freedom and Explorer and enjoyed those way more than Pride.

To get the expanded RCI experience, you would probably have to sail Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis class RCI ships. We have sailed Freedom and Explorer and enjoyed those way more than Pride.

I second this. If you want to try RCI the really try them -- one of their larger ships that better reflects the full scope of their offerings. In your situation I'd probably lean towards the Pride, but it's a pretty close call.

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Double post

Yikes triple post, sorry, seems my app is a little glitchy today!

With what you mentioned in mind, I prefer Pride. Enchantment was great, but it has the stretch design change that Vision does not have. I felt rather confined on Grandeur. The Pride layout is nice. Rooms were bigger on Pride. I preferred MDR evening dining on Pride better, but the menus might be changed before you would sail her. Plenty of trivia opportunities. I did find that Lido dining, especially breakfast, was better on Vision class. Vision will have more traditional evening entertainment. My wife liked the Pride casino more than Grandeur's. If we were going out of Tampa, we would go Pride.

 

To get the expanded RCI experience, you would probably have to sail Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis class RCI ships. We have sailed Freedom and Explorer and enjoyed those way more than Pride.

Thanks for the info! We are leaning towards the Pride, but it is nice to get some comparisons of the two.

Which of the adult only areas did you like better? Serenity or the Solarium (I think that is the correct name, but could be wrong). From what I have seen, the Serenity looks wonderful on the Pride.

I have read on CC that the Vision class doesn't give the full RCI experience, but it was the only ship that was comparable in price to Carnival. Hopefully in the future we will be able to get on the Freedom class. And, sailing an Oasis class ship is on my cruise bucket list!

I second this. If you want to try RCI the really try them -- one of their larger ships that better reflects the full scope of their offerings. In your situation I'd probably lean towards the Pride, but it's a pretty close call.

 

 

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Thanks! I agree with this also, which is why I was hesitant to try the Vision class first. Hopefully in a few years we can really try RCI!

Any Royal ship over any carnival ship. They just do it better.

The Pride will be somewhat fresh out of drydock by the time you would cruise. They're going to revamp many areas of the ship and adding a Red Frog Pub and the Green Thunder waterslide.

Thanks for the info! We are leaning towards the Pride, but it is nice to get some comparisons of the two.

 

Which of the adult only areas did you like better? Serenity or the Solarium (I think that is the correct name, but could be wrong). From what I have seen, the Serenity looks wonderful on the Pride.

 

I have read on CC that the Vision class doesn't give the full RCI experience, but it was the only ship that was comparable in price to Carnival. Hopefully in the future we will be able to get on the Freedom class. And, sailing an Oasis class ship is on my cruise bucket list!

Their adult areas are very different. Pride Serenity is aft and more "open air" Caribbean appropriate. The hammock areas, to me, are a waste. More chairs are what is needed in those spaces. Pool and hot tub are small. Better suited for warm water cruising than Vision. It was very pleasant there when we stayed on the ship on Freeport port day. It was too busy to find space on sea days without getting up early. It would open up again late afternoon.

Vision Solarium is bigger - pool, hot tubs, and seating. I think the roof is retractable; I have only cruised that class with it closed so I'm not sure. Even if open (if it can), its location on the ship will give it more of an indoor feel. On our cruises out of Baltimore, it was an older folks magnet during the day. Though I am in that category, we didn't use it! Very nice in the later evening.

I preferred the layout of Pride. However, Grandeur/Enchantment had the more elegant/classic cruise ship look. Pride had the signature insane clown posse meets Raphaelite Renaissance faux art. But for us as for most, we barely noticed the bare nipples on the elevators and elsewhere! I'm not sure what will change in dry dock and when Pride's drydock will be.

If it matters, the Grandeur fitness center was redesigned during its update. It was extremely small and cramped. Pride fitness center was way better and has a big hot tub/spa.

Maybe the best insight I can give follows. We can very reasonably drive to Baltimore or Cape Liberty to cruise. I would cruise Explorer twice a year, but unfortunately it is being replaced by Quantum, a design that does not interest me. I would have cruised Enchantment yearly if it had remained. I have cruise Pride twice out of Baltimore and am looking to cruise her again in March or May 2015.

I cruised Grandeur a month ago. It's going to take a real bargain to get me back on her again.

Once again, all my other cruises have had better evening entertainment choices and more live music than Pride.

And for the thought that any RCI ship is better than any Carnival ship every time, I would have said yes until I cruised Grandeur. It felt too confined. And it has had its upgrades. It wasn't a bad cruise, but it was at the bottom of our list of eleven over the years.

Any Royal ship over any carnival ship. They just do it better.

Could you be more specific? What part of the cruise do you feel Royal do better? Thanks!

Our last two cruises were on Fantasy class ships, and we are looking for a ship that is bigger and with more amenities. I definitely want to try RCI at some point, but worry that the Vision class might not be the best to get the whole experience, as it is one of the smaller ships.

 

We enjoy lounging by the pool during sea days, playing trivia and other games, and going to the casino and dance club at night.

I've done Pride many times, and Grandeur (Vision class) once. If I were in your situation, I would try Vision.

• lounging by the pool during sea days - RCI still has live Caribbean bands on the Pool Deck, instead of the loud DJs that Carnival has switched to
  
• playing trivia and other games - I noticed a lot more trivia, throughout each day's Cruise Compass on our Grandeur cruise than on any of our Pride cruises. There was trivia on Pride, just more on Grandeur. But this may not be a fleetwide thing - it probably depends on the CD / AD.
  
• going to the casino - the casino on Pride does seem a little larger, but the table games staff on Grandeur seemed so much friendlier. I'm not much of a casino person, though, so I can't offer much on that.
  
• dance club at night - Both Pride and Grandeur (and also Vision) have dance clubs. The 'vibe' of each will depend heavily on the demographic of passengers onboard and the DJ in the club. Some Pride cruises, "Beauties" was a hoppin' place with tons of energy and a real fun vibe. Other cruises, pretty dead. On our Grandeur cruise, there weren't a lot of under-40s onboard (10-day long cruise out of a cold port in the winter), so the dance club in Viking Crown Lounge was not really lively most nights. The DJ was still decent and the environment was conducive to a good time, but the younger crowds that give a disco life just weren't there.