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New to RCCL, looking to compare against Carnival


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If you decide you do, indeed, like Royal, their loyalty benefits put all other lines to shame. When you get to diamond, which does take a while, you have some free internet, and some other benefits, but the biggie is the diamond lounge: free drinks from an hour before early dining seating until 8:00 to 8:30. In addition, there are 3 free drinks loaded on your sea pass for each day and you can use those in the various bars around the ship. I don't think any other lines have anything like that as a bonus for loyalty. If I were starting over again with cruising, I'd build my status with Royal; I'd cruise more often in junior suites rather than balconies (when the price was right) and get double points, and I'd have made diamond earlier than I did. Another nice benefit is your status (up to diamond, but not beyond) transfers to Celebrity and Azamara, and they, too, have nice benefits for that level.

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The RCI cabin stewards are pretty much "no nonsense" and just get on with their work. I think we saw our steward twice the entire week. When we did see him, he made no effort to talk to us or even greet us on day 1. However, our cabin was taken care of, so no complaints.

/quote]

 

 

We have only experienced this once in all our RCCL cruises where we hardly saw our cabin steward. However, we feel they are very friendly and always know our names and honor our requests with a smile.

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I've done a little research and we would be sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas which is one of the older ships and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the larger ships do. I tend to prefer the smaller ships as I have found over the years that the service seems to be better and they are not as crowded.

 

There have been some great comparisons shared so far. Is there anything else we should be aware of difference wise between the two so we aren't surprised (pleasantly or unfortunately)?

 

 

  • I haven't encountered singing waiters on Royal in the dining room. This is a good thing for me.
  • I haven't encountered the cruise director getting on the PA system hawking bingo games on a Royal cruise.
  • There seem to be more deck parties on board Carnival than Royal. That's not to say you can't find drinking and dancing opportunities, they're just in different venues.
  • I haven't run into a chocolate buffet, midnight buffet or afternoon tea on Royal.

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Short story is we began cruising just as we reached our late 40's. We have been on 4 Carnival cruises in the past 5 years. Looking to try something new now, we chose RCCL, and will be leaving out of Galveston on March 5th to Cozumel.

 

 

 

What are the main differences between the two? I am definitely not looking to bash anything. We just wonder what we will find, and what to should we be expecting with RCCL? In brief terms, how do the two lines compare? I understand RCCL is a bit quieter than Carnival, for example. Do RCCL cruisers dress a bit more better than whats typically seen on Carnival? Anything else to know? Thanks.

 

 

Which ships are we comparing? Big differences in the two RC ships in Galveston.

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My wife and I have cruised on Carnival and Royal Caribbean out of Galveston several times. Our most recent was on the Liberty of the Seas in December 2016.

 

We prefer RC for all the reasons previously given. Seeing pictures might help you understand the differences. My wife takes pictures on all of our cruises and makes them into slide shows for her website and YouTube channel.

 

I have links below in my signature of our various cruises, but I'll insert a link here that will take you directly to the Travel Section of her website where you can see the Royal Caribbean cruises. The pictures include scenes around the ships we were on as well as our room and shore excursions.

 

Nancy's Oasis Cruise Travel Slide Shows

 

Cruising is a fantastic way to travel!

Edited by JimAOk1945
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I've found the lines very similar, but we've mostly chosen ships for the itinerary, not the cruise line. The only thing I've missed from Carnival was the free cappuccino in the MDR. We would have one every night after dinner, often with the molten lava cake!

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Great info all -- keep 'em coming if there is more to share. We are in our mid 50's now, but we have a young mindset, so the party animals on Carnival do not bother us. Although we are pretty quite ourselves, "people watching" the Carnival party animals do their thing can be pretty amusing, LOL.

 

The real reason we booked this 4 day RC cruise is to do a "trial run" to get acquainted with RCCL before we choose an extended cruise in the next year or so. Our experience in March will help us choose which line is best for our big trip. We are pretty easy to please so I think either one would probably be fine, but this cruise will help us decide between the lines. Thank you all!

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I have been on both Carnival and RCCL and have never had any itinerary "slipped under the door"...

 

Oddly (at least to me) there were a number of complaints to Carnival about the twice a day room service (morning and turn down). Carnival then went to a system where you can choose morning, evening or both service. If one were to choose just morning service, my assumption would be that the schedule would be simply slipped under the door in the evenings. We always choose to have service both times so our schedule is always on our bed when we get in from dinner.

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I've been wanting to try Carnival, but every sailing I've checked out of Port Canaveral (very convenient for me) was more expensive than Royal. I looked into the Breeze vs Oasis later this year, and OV cabin on the Breeze was more expensive, as well as the drink package. I think combined it would have been about $500 more for Carnival, and the itinerary were similar. So I stuck with Royal.

 

When the price is right, I will do Carnival.

 

One thing I've learned on this message board is that a lot of Royal cruisers have negative things to say about Carnival. Most of those people have either a) never even sailed Carnival b) sailed once on a 20 year old ship 3-day booze cruise or c) just had a bad experience and therefore equate that with the brand as a whole.

 

The reality is that you'll never truly be able to know what the differences are between the two until you do them yourself. Otherwise, there will always be bias in just about everything you read on this message board.

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Here’s my thoughts:

 

 

Royal:

 

Nicer ships ( Carnival doesn’t have anything like the promenade)

Flowrider (reason we cruise Royal)

Better loyalty program

 

Carnival:

 

Way better spa

Better food, Royal completely fails at off dining time food.

 

The clientele is exactly the same between the two cruise lines. You’ll find a ton of people on CC who try to act like there’s a huge difference between the types of people who cruise each line but there’s not. You cruise short cruises during busy times like spring break, you’ll find a bunch of rowdy partiers. You go longer cruises off peak, it’ll be more subdued.

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We enjoyed the solarium on RCCL more than on Carnival due the large hot tubs that were actually hot. We also found the decor on RCCL more subdued. We especially liked the promenade..

 

Really, when I compare my experiences on the two lines, they're more alike than different. But the one place I spend the most time in is the adults only pool area, and the Solarium beats the Serenity deck. Carnival tends to put its Serenity deck up top on the front of the ship and it's a tough place to be when it's windy. While not every Solarium is enclosed, there are enough windows on the ships I've been on to make it more pleasant on a windy day. Factor in the better hot tub experience, and we'll end up hitting Platinum on RCCL after our next cruise. I might return to the Carnival Magic for the right ports and price, but right now, other than the Royal cruises we've booked, the only others I'm interested in trying are NCL, Princess, and maybe X.

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My DH and I are actually considering trying out RCI in 2019. We have been sailing exclusively with Carnival for a number of years now and the itineraries and ships are getting a little repetitive. My husband mentioned that we should look for a Bermuda cruise to change things up and RCI was actually the best option.

 

I've done a little research and we would be sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas which is one of the older ships and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the larger ships do. I tend to prefer the smaller ships as I have found over the years that the service seems to be better and they are not as crowded.

 

There have been some great comparisons shared so far. Is there anything else we should be aware of difference wise between the two so we aren't surprised (pleasantly or unfortunately)?

 

Carnival has better beds and bedding. I can't say that I've had a good night's sleep on a bed on a Royal Caribbean ship without taking some kind of sleeping aid.

 

Carnival has a greater variety of daytime and late night food -

 

  • they have more "made for you" options instead of food sitting in warmer trays or a fridge (on Carnival they have made for you pizza, deli, burgers, tacos/burritos, pasta and wok - all or some depending on your ship).
  • Carnival's brunch food in the MDR is also better than Royal's MDR Breakfast/lunch.
  • Carnival offers Tea Time on Sea days.
  • Pizza and Ice cream are 24 hours on Carnival - which is great if you're out late and want more than a cold, premade sandwich.
     
    Oddly (at least to me) there were a number of complaints to Carnival about the twice a day room service (morning and turn down). Carnival then went to a system where you can choose morning, evening or both service. If one were to choose just morning service, my assumption would be that the schedule would be simply slipped under the door in the evenings. We always choose to have service both times so our schedule is always on our bed when we get in from dinner.

Nope, at worst if you have only once a day service on Carnival, your Fun Times is left in your mailbox. Most of the time though, even if you only get service in the morning, the room steward will still put the fun times on your bed in the evening.

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Really, when I compare my experiences on the two lines, they're more alike than different. But the one place I spend the most time in is the adults only pool area, and the Solarium beats the Serenity deck. Carnival tends to put its Serenity deck up top on the front of the ship and it's a tough place to be when it's windy. While not every Solarium is enclosed, there are enough windows on the ships I've been on to make it more pleasant on a windy day. Factor in the better hot tub experience, and we'll end up hitting Platinum on RCCL after our next cruise. I might return to the Carnival Magic for the right ports and price, but right now, other than the Royal cruises we've booked, the only others I'm interested in trying are NCL, Princess, and maybe X.

 

My favourite things about Royal's Solariums are that the pool has steps in (not just ladders) and the possibility of shade because of the coverage.

 

Of course, Royal is the only line where the chlorine from the hot tub destroyed the colour in my clothes.

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My favourite things about Royal's Solariums are that the pool has steps in (not just ladders) and the possibility of shade because of the coverage.

 

Of course, Royal is the only line where the chlorine from the hot tub destroyed the colour in my clothes.

 

You can never have too much chlorine in a cruise ship hot tub ;p

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But the one place I spend the most time in is the adults only pool area, and the Solarium beats the Serenity deck.

 

This. It doesn't seem like this is that important to people but it would make me choose Royal every time over Carnival. The Solarium deck has a pool and Carnival's Serenity (on most ships) does not. That and the food on our Royal cruise was much better than our Carnival cruise (although to be fair, that ship now has the upgrades and did not on our sailing). Oh and the chocolate cake on Royal was the best dessert I've had on any cruise, YUM!

 

We are trying Carnival again when the Vista comes to Galveston and we will be in the Havana. So I'm excited for that and looking forward to giving Carnival another try. But I liked Royal better overall (based on my limited experience).

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I've been wanting to try Carnival, but every sailing I've checked out of Port Canaveral (very convenient for me) was more expensive than Royal. I looked into the Breeze vs Oasis later this year, and OV cabin on the Breeze was more expensive, as well as the drink package. I think combined it would have been about $500 more for Carnival, and the itinerary were similar. So I stuck with Royal.

 

When the price is right, I will do Carnival.

 

One thing I've learned on this message board is that a lot of Royal cruisers have negative things to say about Carnival. Most of those people have either a) never even sailed Carnival b) sailed once on a 20 year old ship 3-day booze cruise or c) just had a bad experience and therefore equate that with the brand as a whole.

 

The reality is that you'll never truly be able to know what the differences are between the two until you do them yourself. Otherwise, there will always be bias in just about everything you read on this message board.

 

We had a great time on Carnival (Glory). But in no way does it compare to Oasis, in no way at all. If I were looking at one of the smaller Royal ships, I think it would just be a toss up between Carnival and Royal and I may even prefer Carnival. The major benefit to Carnival is that it's often substantially cheaper. For the same price or more, there is simply no reason at all to sail with Carnival over a larger Royal ship unless you really like the itinerary since Carnival has some great stops that Royal doesn't go to.

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The one thing that stands out for Royal Caribbean that Carnival doesn't quite do. Royal Caribbean has escargot every night of the cruise at the MDR. Seems like Celebrity does too (ask me how much escargot i consumed on my 15 nights with them ;p)

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The major benefit to Carnival is that it's often substantially cheaper.

 

I have not found that to be the case out of the Florida ports. Recently everything I checked that was comparable had Carnival priced the same or higher, which is why I did not try Breeze. Maybe the Florida ports are an exception to the general "Carnival is cheaper" consensus? Or maybe it's really not cheaper at all?

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I have not found that to be the case out of the Florida ports. Recently everything I checked that was comparable had Carnival priced the same or higher, which is why I did not try Breeze. Maybe the Florida ports are an exception to the general "Carnival is cheaper" consensus? Or maybe it's really not cheaper at all?

 

When we were checking a year ago, for example, Magic was 25% cheaper than Allure. When we checked for our late year cruise this year, Allure was cheaper than Glory. Maybe Carnival is capitalizing on people still thinking it's cheaper without it actually being cheaper? Or maybe Royal has lowered their prices? I'm not sure as I don't follow pricing that closely.

 

I would like to check out Breeze, a lot of people swear it's a great ship. But I really do prefer Oasis class and with 4 of them so close, I just haven't had a reason to switch to anything else. Though we are sailing Escape in the Haven, I think we'll generally stick to Oasis class in the future.

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When we were checking a year ago, for example, Magic was 25% cheaper than Allure. When we checked for our late year cruise this year, Allure was cheaper than Glory. Maybe Carnival is capitalizing on people still thinking it's cheaper without it actually being cheaper? Or maybe Royal has lowered their prices? I'm not sure as I don't follow pricing that closely.

 

I would like to check out Breeze, a lot of people swear it's a great ship. But I really do prefer Oasis class and with 4 of them so close, I just haven't had a reason to switch to anything else. Though we are sailing Escape in the Haven, I think we'll generally stick to Oasis class in the future.

 

My best "educated guess" and this is based on what I've read on CC and what I've heard from people firsthand is that Royal was once better, in general. But now that is no longer the case. What I've heard on Royal ships and read on CC is that Carnival is kicking butt when it comes to food. Royal kicks butt when it comes to entertainment. Carnival has larger staterooms.

 

The other categories seem to be up to personal preference.

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We have sailed on Carnival at least 3 times and RCCL close to 12. When comparing cruise lines, you need to look at the size of the ship, when it was first put into service and the length of the cruise. The shorter the cruise, most likely the ship will be older and have less to do. It does not surprise me that the Allure was higher priced a few years ago as it was a newer ship. Now the Carnival ship is the newest and they both lines charge more for the newer ships.

On our last two RCCL cruises they were making announcements at the first nights dinner what the dress attire was to be. We even had one person sent back to his room to change as he was in shorts. I don't remember that with Carnival. I did not like how carnival had their dining room laid out. We were next to a glass wall with the main walkway on the other side. Not very private.

I liked the shows better or at least the venues on RCCL. The food quality on RCCL has been going down so I think Carnival is better. The service is hit or miss with both. I was on the Liberty of the Seas 7 weeks apart and the waiters were totally different. The first sailing it was not good, the second great.

The carnival ships to me are not laid out very well, they are harder to get around. They need a promenade to make things flow better. I thought RCCL had more to do, rock wall, ice skating, flow rider to name a few.

But it comes down to who you like and the status with the cruise line. Both have their pros and cons.

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