Royal Fan Does Carnival

Background:

 

We are in our late 50’s and cruise mainly to unplug and relax. We are very active and enjoy rising early and going to bed late. We can take or leave most ports and enjoy staying on a quiet ship.

 

This was our 12th cruise and our first cruise on Carnival. We chose the Liberty based on the ship and the itinerary. We were so convinced we would enjoy the ship we booked a back to back cruise (8 day southern itinerary followed by 7 day eastern itinerary). Ports were Aruba, Bonaire, Grand Turk, Nassau, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas.

 

The Good:

 

Bonaire – our first visit to this island .. it was gorgeous

Food – quality – of RCI, Princess, Celebrity, HAL, and Carnival – we felt the quality of the food was 2nd only to HAL.

Food - variety – Guy’s Burgers (best burgers at sea), Blue Iguana (Mexican – excellent shrimp tacos), Mongolian Wok, Buffet, Deli, 24 hr Pizza (2nd only to Princess), and Fish and Chips (including fried oysters) - the best variety of any ship we have been on and it was all free except for the Steakhouse ($35 pp)

Aft Pool – love the aft pools on Princess, HAL, and Carnival

Comedy Club – rotated different comedians each week performing 4 shows each – 2 family/2 adult – loved 4 of the 5 comedians we heard

On turnaround day (66 of us were B2B) had small reception, drinks, free picture of group, and a bottle of champagne and fruit basket delivered to our cabin

 

The Same:

 

Chair hogs

Waiters and room stewards were excellent

Entertainment – production shows were good

Ship - like all cruise ships at sea 365 days a year it showed some signs of rust in various places

 

The Bad:

 

Casino lounge –live music and entertainment nightly – my wife could not stand the smoke – so we missed a bunch of good entertainment

Ship layout – typical Princess, HAL, Carnival – Dining rooms and galley prevent walking all the way through the ship on decks 3 and 4

Piano Bar – entertainer was bad – only second time we encountered a bad vocalist

Casino – took my money

 

Summary:

 

Great cruise, great ship, great staff, great food. Will definitely cruise with Carnival again.

 

Any questions, ask away.

Great post! Sounds intriguing. How about the demographic of fellow Carnival passengers vs. your past RCCL cruises?

Great post! Sounds intriguing. How about the demographic of fellow Carnival passengers vs. your past RCCL cruises?

 

 

Found it very comparable .. of course this was Jan/Feb which is when we prefer to cruise with very few kids.

Thank you for posting what looks like a fair and honest assessment. We've been considering Carnival for our next cruise after Oasis later this year.

 

From the photos I've seen, Carnival's décor seems a little more .... flamboyant perhaps. I've also noticed that the seating in the staterooms - at least in the pics I've seen - look like vinyl vs. cloth, which seems like it would be easier to clean, but less comfortable to sit and relax.

 

Could you give your perspective on the staterooms (size, comforts, storage, bathrooms) and overall ship décor as compared to Royal ships?

Thank you for the review and comparisons. We've been mostly on Carnival and only one RCI (another coming up soon) and one HAL and found more similarities than differences between RCI and Carnival, as it appears you did too. Glad you enjoyed it and will consider CCL again. :)

Edited March 26, 2015 by joepeka

I agree. Our last 2 were on the Carnival Dream as we do like big ships, and it's fairly new. The first time on the Dream our expectations honestly were low. But then we had a great cruise and I would definitely rate the food as better than RCCL. We liked it so much we went again the next year. The only thing I can say we didn't like was the décor of the ship, but we got used to it and was no deal breaker by no means. I also found the demographics to be the same as RCCL and entertainment was cruise line quality as well.

 

We booked Oasis this year because it's our all time favorite :)

 

Glad you enjoyed it

__________________

Thank you for your honest assessment. After seeing a couple of videos, I took a second look at Carnival. I haven't booked yet, but may definitely try them in the future.

Thank you for posting what looks like a fair and honest assessment. We've been considering Carnival for our next cruise after Oasis later this year.

 

 

 

From the photos I've seen, Carnival's décor seems a little more .... flamboyant perhaps. I've also noticed that the seating in the staterooms - at least in the pics I've seen - look like vinyl vs. cloth, which seems like it would be easier to clean, but less comfortable to sit and relax.

 

 

 

Could you give your perspective on the staterooms (size, comforts, storage, bathrooms) and overall ship décor as compared to Royal ships?

 

 

We too were concerned about the decor although Liberty has a somewhat milder decor than most Carnival ships. We actually ended up liking the decor and found it sort of Greco Roman.

 

We had an inside .. plenty of room .. but like Princess no love seat or couch with the insides. Lots of storage .. 3 closets .. which was good since we were on for 15 days. Shower and bathroom were a little larger .. could actually bend over to pick up so :-)

I agree with you. We are diamond on RCCL and gold on Carnival. They are very much alike. I believe the food is better on Carnival but the larger RCCL ships have more to do. We would sail either depending on price and itinerary.

This site needs a LIKE button :)

I love the Liberty. Did you check out Alcheamey Bar?

Funny how her sister shop Freedom was my least favorite but Liberty was wonderful. If you have the chance give Breeze a try....really nice ship!

This is complicating things! Royal doesn't have something we like for next spring break, so I'd thought we'd settled on NCL Escape. Now I'll have to rethink the Breeze.

 

Thanks for this info. It's great to have this comparison.

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

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

 

 

Hey Ryan .. fellow Georgian .. I still owe you a drink if we ever cruise together.

We see many similarities between Carnival and Royal. Royal does have nice benefits for our D Plus level. Carnival does treat Diamonds pretty well, too. There are extras that are not advertised, depending on the ship and officers. Carnival's steakhouses are far better than Royal's. Cabin space and layout, we find, superior on Carnival.

Deciding factor for us, of late, has been pricing. The BOGOmess is leading us to sit on several Next Cruise certificates (old style) and wait. The website has kept us from even browsing with Royal. Maybe we'll come back around later. Meanwhile, Carnival is keeping us happy and booked. The Carnival Live concerts have been great entertainment, as well! :)

I love the Liberty. Did you check out Alcheamey Bar?

 

Funny how her sister shop Freedom was my least favorite but Liberty was wonderful. If you have the chance give Breeze a try....really nice ship!

 

 

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

I love my perks on RCI (diamond plus) but I really like cruising on Carnival. The showers are so much better than on RCI. You really can take a shower without the curtain getting involved. And the beds are so much better, very comfortable.

 

I love the Comedy Club. I love the adult area which is in the aft of the ship. Hot tub, pool and bar back there.

 

And the food is so much better than RCI.

 

I don't care about the décor of the ship. It is very different from RCI but I am more concerned about the overall experience.

 

So I will continue to cruise both lines.

Background:

 

We are in our late 50’s and cruise mainly to unplug and relax. We are very active and enjoy rising early and going to bed late. We can take or leave most ports and enjoy staying on a quiet ship.

 

This was our 12th cruise and our first cruise on Carnival. We chose the Liberty based on the ship and the itinerary. We were so convinced we would enjoy the ship we booked a back to back cruise (8 day southern itinerary followed by 7 day eastern itinerary). Ports were Aruba, Bonaire, Grand Turk, Nassau, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas.

 

The Good:

 

Bonaire – our first visit to this island .. it was gorgeous

Food – quality – of RCI, Princess, Celebrity, HAL, and Carnival – we felt the quality of the food was 2nd only to HAL.

Food - variety – Guy’s Burgers (best burgers at sea), Blue Iguana (Mexican – excellent shrimp tacos), Mongolian Wok, Buffet, Deli, 24 hr Pizza (2nd only to Princess), and Fish and Chips (including fried oysters) - the best variety of any ship we have been on and it was all free except for the Steakhouse ($35 pp)

Aft Pool – love the aft pools on Princess, HAL, and Carnival

Comedy Club – rotated different comedians each week performing 4 shows each – 2 family/2 adult – loved 4 of the 5 comedians we heard

On turnaround day (66 of us were B2B) had small reception, drinks, free picture of group, and a bottle of champagne and fruit basket delivered to our cabin

 

The Same:

 

Chair hogs

Waiters and room stewards were excellent

Entertainment – production shows were good

Ship - like all cruise ships at sea 365 days a year it showed some signs of rust in various places

 

The Bad:

 

Casino lounge –live music and entertainment nightly – my wife could not stand the smoke – so we missed a bunch of good entertainment

Ship layout – typical Princess, HAL, Carnival – Dining rooms and galley prevent walking all the way through the ship on decks 3 and 4

Piano Bar – entertainer was bad – only second time we encountered a bad vocalist

Casino – took my money

 

Summary:

 

Great cruise, great ship, great staff, great food. Will definitely cruise with Carnival again.

 

Any questions, ask away.

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.

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:

Edited March 26, 2015 by rocketsurgery
sp

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:

 

 

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

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

 

If you liked the Liberty, you will LOVE the Breeze.....a newer more understated decor. It is a really pretty ship, and if you sail when school is in session (as we do), you don't encounter many children at all!! And the food, we agree with you hands down, Carnival has the best food of all the main stream lines in our opinion.

If you liked the Liberty, you will LOVE the Breeze.....a newer more understated decor. It is a really pretty ship, and if you sail when school is in session (as we do), you don't encounter many children at all!! And the food, we agree with you hands down, Carnival has the best food of all the main stream lines in our opinion.

 

 

Trying to sell our "loyal to Royal" friends on the Breeze .. think I about have hem convinced.

I have cruised over 20 times on Carnival, 10 or so on RCL, and 7 or so on Celebrity. I see them as virtually the same, except:

 

The Oasis and Allure are just amazing! A step above.

As a Diamond I get some free drinks on RCL.

 

Carnival is usually the most affordable. A big plus!

 

Celebrity sometimes has really interesting guest lecturers.

 

Food is virtually the same on all three.

 

Crews are all helpful and friendly on all three.

 

The only complaint I have is they all make me get off at the end of the week!

the only complaint i have is they all make me get off at the end of the week!

 

 

I prefer RCI (14x) to Carnival(2x). I think the food is much better, especially the buffet. I HATED my cruise on the dream. It was horrid from the start. Ultimately it was cost that made me cruise a second time on Carnival. It was only 300 bucks for a 4 nighter as a solo cruiser. I had a much better experience on the inspiration. They have a weird casino though, it's the only one ive seen where they don't want your money.