Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival, What Should I Know

[Kurbanfan]

However, having been a Carnival cruiser, I do understand that feeling of being nicked and dimed. If you're used to a cruise line that doesn't offer much in the way of pay-extra options, you assume everything is included and feel a little put out when it's not. Once you know how things work, you realize that those options are to your benefit. Those who do pay extra are increasing the cruise line's revenue, making it possible for them to offer lower fares.

 

I ate at Johnny Rockets once, but only because I had a coupon. When I didn't, I had a burger at the Windjammer. Call me cheap (I guess I am, sort of), but it's how I afford to cruise once a year!!!

 

Well I am platinum with Carnival and have sailed Princess and twice with RCCL the last being last August on the Mariner.......never once did I feel I was being nickeled and dimed........we always book balcony cabins and we paid less for a balcony on the Mariner then the Splendor and my bill at the end of the cruise was the cheapest I have had in years.....and I bought for 4 people at Johnny Rockets;) I did notice the price of beer was cheaper then Carnival though.......

Passengers are exactly the same as Carnival......attire is the same.......RCCL's ships are prettier.......food is subjective but I did notice that Carnival offers more options on their menu........and I have to say I was not at all pleased with the Mariners anytime dining........

They are both good lines.......

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

That's very true. When I book, I don't count on a price drop, although I do HOPE for one...or two...or...

 

Let me know what you think after your RCL cruise. When is it??

 

Mariner is May 9th and I'm looking forward to trying RC. I've seen pictures and been reading a lot. I am going with all my Arizona Cruiser friends so I know we'll have a blast. Room will be a little smaller than my Carnival ships but I'm sure it will be fine. I'm trying a PR room. Can't afford anything better right now since I have a Carnival cruise October 2010 and a Hawaii cruise on NCL in 2011 to pay for.

[coxswain]

An interesting fact Carnival and Royal Caribbean carried approximately 49% and 24% of all global cruise passengers in 2008, respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

jj....

[browneyes7]

:confused::confused: Other than being wet and therefore creating a slippery condition, what difference does it make if you are half naked by the pool or 6 feet away in the eating area? I am not in the slightest bothered by what others wear, depending on the location and beach what they don't wear.

 

 

Side note: I had the dicussion about appropriate clothings with my 14 years old son. I said what if a lady showed up in church wearing a swim suit. He hurried replied, Hallelujah, the Lord won't mind, why should we:) For a moment I was proud knowing he got something from me about not judging people by the way they dress. Yes, he had to change his shirt becasue he had to look good for mama. He knew the Lord understood that:D

 

I don't think I am judging people here. I do think people should follow instructions and be considerate of the other people in the restaurant who are eating. It takes two seconds to put on a cover-up.

[Aquahound]

An interesting fact Carnival and Royal Caribbean carried approximately 49% and 24% of all global cruise passengers in 2008, respectively.

 

The cruise lines, themselves, or the parent corporations? :confused:

[printingchick]

The cruise lines, themselves, or the parent corporations? :confused:

 

I was thinking the same thing. Carnival owns more cruise lines than Royal does. Counting all their baby brands, they are much larger than RCL.

[Sailfish]

Our first cruise back in the early 90's was on Carnival; we sailed with them a few times, then tried Royal Caribbean. We liked the ships more on Royal Caribbean, and sailed them a few times before trying Princess and Celebrity.

 

While the kids were really little, Carnival and Royal Caribbean were our choices. Now that the kids are older, it's just the two of us who cruise and land vacations for "the family". So, given my needs have changed, we have moved onto a more "adult" focused cruise experience and for that, I think Princess and Celebrity do a much better job.

 

I have found with kids, Royal Caribbean has more activities and social stuff happening than does Carnival. While the kids were really small, Carnival was great, but Royal Caribbean ships have so much more. Now that we cruise without kids, we tend to want to do things less on the ship and more in the ports of call. Time spent on the ship for us is really together time - when we can sleep in, read a good book out on the deck, go to the spa, and play cards.

 

We have not cruised with Royal Caribbean lately, but we are looking forward to our cruise on the Radiance next week. I will be curious to see how much things have changed since we cruised with them last!

 

Good Luck!

[lovetocruise444]

I've been on close to 30 cruises (RCI, Carnival, HAL, NCL, Princess). I've found that each cruiseline does at least one thing better than the others. The majority of my cruises have been with Carnival but my 4 last cruises were with RCI. I'll be diamond after my next cruise. I travel with a Diamond Plus member and usually cruise in a suite so I can say that the perks that RCI offers are much better than the other cruiselines. I love the reserved seating by the pool and use it daily.

 

In my opinion RCI's ships blow the others out of the water. I love the Voyager class. I love the pool areas. In the newer Carnival ships the pool bars don't face the pool? On RCI you can sit at the bar and watch the pool activities.

 

I prefer the food on Carnival though. On my last cruise we only ate in the dining room a couple of times and didn't enjoy those times we did. Luckily skipping a meal isn't going to kill me! Food is subjective though. I just found RCI's food to be flavorless and uncreative. The quality of their beef is horrible in my opinion. I do like Portifinos but haven't found Chops to be that great.

 

Carnival bedding definately beats RCI's any day in my opinion. The beds are so much more comfortable. The larger cabins are great too.

 

As far as drinks, I've found a good tip gets you stronger drinks from Carnival but a good tip gets you free drinks on RCI.

 

I don't do ships excursions so I can't comment on that.

 

As far as attire and class of passengers, from what I've seen it's the same on both lines. I've seen all kinds of inapproiate dress, uncouth behavior etc on both. I don't let that affect my cruise though. I only get to go on 3-4 cruises a year so I'm not going to waste any part of it worrying about others! ;)

[Mack2]

You know?

 

People go around saying that Carnival is Vegas, and RCI isn't when it comes to decor.

 

I think both are kind've like Vegas...

Carnival is old Vegas... Freemont Street... y'know with the Cowboy and the Golden Nugget Hotel.

 

RCI is like the new strip... Bellagio, the Venetian...

 

 

Other than that, the cruise experience on both is relatively similar.

- Aboard the Carnival Legend, they had gourmet pastries for an extra charge in one area... right next to the gourmet coffee for an extra charge.

- Aboard the Liberty of the Seas, they had gourmet coffee, Ben & Jerry's, and Johnny Rocket's for an extra charge.

 

On BOTH ships, the upstairs buffet had coffee, juice, and soft-serve at no extra cost.

 

Really, not much of a difference.

 

In fact, I was reading a trolling post in the Carnival forum where someone was complaining that it cost him $2.50 for a glass of orange juice.

SURE! it DOES cost $2.50... but it's for a glass of freshly squeezed OJ... at the kiosk near the Lido buffet area. He could have easily gotten himself a gallon of juice (from concentrate) for the entire day if he stuck a cooler under the spigot.

[kooljamming]

I don't think I am judging people here. I do think people should follow instructions and be considerate of the other people in the restaurant who are eating. It takes two seconds to put on a cover-up.

 

The consideration I wish to get from others has nothing to do with their clothing. I am sure I have seen it but it means so little it didn't register as a bother, not to mention a pet peeve. The only thing that can affect my appitite is the food on the plate, not flabby arms or even bathrobes:p

 

I can't recall a sign about needing a cover-up (not to say it's not there)

I assume many first time cruisers/vacationers may not relaize it's an issue. I did not know at my first resort, may moons ago. I learnded and now have a nice selection.

[jonbgd]

.

 

In fact, I was reading a trolling post in the Carnival forum where someone was complaining that it cost him $2.50 for a glass of orange juice.

SURE! it DOES cost $2.50... but it's for a glass of freshly squeezed OJ... at the kiosk near the Lido buffet area. He could have easily gotten himself a gallon of juice (from concentrate) for the entire day if he stuck a cooler under the spigot.

Same thing with RCCL they have a guy offering fresh squeezed juice every morning but you can get concentrate for free

[tiyana4]

I have seen the sign requiring cover-ups on RCCL and another line (possibly Princess:confused:) as well. For me, it has nothing to do with being scantily clad, although a slip and fall can be dangerous. But aside from leaving dining chairs damp and clammy, I would be more concerned with the hygiene aspect.

 

I don't swim in the pool or hot tubs on any ship. With recent talks of Legionnaires disease, I certainly won't be in the future either. However, there are many people that do and I think it is simply courteous for people to cover-up in the dining areas after being in these public pools. I actually saw this rule enforced on RCCL. The wait staff pointed it out to a gang of teenagers in the buffet who reluctantly left and ate elsewhere rather than cover-up.

[lovetocruise444]

That reminded me of something I saw on the Majesty. There was a guy around 20. He went to the deli and didn't have his shirt on but thrown over one shoulder. The employee pointed out to him that he couldn't serve him without a shirt on. The guy just stood there and stared at the employee. The employee nicely asked him again to put his shirt on but he refused and left. Then when we came out I saw that he had gotten pizza and was sitting there with his shirt on. Apparently the pizza employee made the same request. Kudos to RCI for enforcing the rules!

[katiel53]

We have sailed on many cruises on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The Carnival cheerleaders will tell you the cabins are larger. That is true for insides and outsides, but those with a balcony are probably smaller. Carnival has a standard for most cabins of 185 sq ft (I think and someone will definitely correct me if wrong) and if on a balcony that is included.

 

Carnival has ships that look like a bad day in Vegas. I guess that doesn't bother me or the people I travel with in that we go to Vegas often.

 

The poster who talked about flabby arms or whatever he/she called them is very young. God help you kid when you get older and have that problem. Maybe you won't cruise because it ruins someone else's meal.

 

Carnival has a steakhouse and it is more expensive than Royal Caribbean. I would go to Portofino on Royal Caribbean sooner than the steak house on Carnival. The food is absolutely wonderful there.

 

Carnival allows a passenger to bring on a bottle of wine. Royal Caribbean is afraid to allow that and God forbid, a passengers orders a bottle of wine from Royal Caribbean or a TA sends a bottle of wine, and makes the mistake of not having it delivered to the dining room, a corkage fee of $12 is charged. Carnival does charge a corkage fee for wine brought to the dining room, but not for those ordered from Carnival.

 

Food in the MDR is better on Carnival than on Royal Caribbean. The buffet is far better on Royal Caribbean. Carnival has a lot of different no fee venues for lunch as an example. Royal Caribbean doesn't have as many and other than the main buffet, Carnival beats Royal by a mile.

 

The Promenade on Royal is absolutely beautiful. I love the cookies, pastries and mini-sandwiches. I am not sure who has better pizza, as I don't usually have pizza on a cruise.

 

Service on Royal Caribbean is far better, in my opinion, than it is on Carnival. I feel the cabin stewards, the waiter, assistant waiter in the dining room on Carnival are spread too thin.

 

Royal Caribbean has many more things to do than Carnival. I am talking rock wall, surfing etc. To some, that is paying for things we don't use.

 

Carnival allows shorts at dinner. Royal Caribbean says no shorts, but won't stop someone wearing shorts into the dining room. I have to say both lines don't do anything to enforce their guidelines. I think both are afraid that they will upset someone,( then no tips), so if the suggested dress code is not enforced, do away with it. Carnival has done that to an extent. I haven't seen anyone removed on either line when wearing ball caps on backwards (or forwards for that matter) or tee shirts with who knows what on them, or bathrobes as I have seen on both lines.

 

Wow, I have said a lot more than I intended, but OP I hope I gave you some insight into both lines. We will continue to sail both, as you can see from my signature.

 

I do want to say that we are Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean and Platinum on Carnival. I mention that so you can realize we are not cruisers that have only taken a cruise or two. I know that our opinion status with the cruise lines doesn't make a lot of difference to some, but it does to us. Enjoy!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Thank you Katie. An unbiased true comparison of both cruiselines from a person that has sailed on at least 10 cruises on each line. That gives a true comparison because you can't judge one cruiseline by one cruise/one ship/one time.

[ddcoons]

I've only cruised on the Carnival Fantasy and Disney Wonder. We're heading out on the Liberty on sunday and I exect it to be dramatically better than the Fantasy.

 

My impression of the Carnival cruise was that the name "Carnival" suited it well. I thought the ship was old and dated. The shows were really not worthwhile. My wife won a trivia competition and won a "ship on a stick" but it wasn't even the ship we were sailing on.

 

I didn't notice any passengers dressed poorly or wearing robes in the restaurant. My top criticism would be the dive trip we signed up for. They sent us out along with snorkelers and we ended up "diving" in 20 feet of water with defective gear. It was absolutely incredible that such a poor quality activity would be booked through the cruise line. For all of you interested in diving on a cruise....ask if there will be any snorkelers on the boat. If the answer is "yes" then avoid at all costs. Snorkeling and diving are not compatible. Snorkeling is for shallow water.

 

Overall, we were not impressed and will not cruise on Carnival again.

 

Disney was great! But that was when the kids were younger. Now the youngest is 17, so Disney is no longer an option.

[tiyana4]

We have sailed on many cruises on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The Carnival cheerleaders will tell you the cabins are larger. That is true for insides and outsides, but those with a balcony are probably smaller. Carnival has a standard for most cabins of 185 sq ft (I think and someone will definitely correct me if wrong) and if on a balcony that is included.

 

I found your assessment of RCCL and CCL very fair and informative, and it is always good to hear from experienced cruisers. We certainly aren't cheerleaders of any line (we like variety), and have yet to have a bad cruise. But independent research and websites like cruisedeckplans dot com offer a wealth of information as well. No matter how much information is available on CC or other sites, people will still form their own opinions as most things are subjective.

 

But I always thought that the balcony's square footage was in addition to the actual cabin space. :confused: It appears to be broken out separately according to the info on cruisedeckplans. This was the description I found for balcony cabins on the Oasis OTS:

 

Avg sq ft cabin: 182 Balcony: 50

Some balconies up to 80 square feet. Handicap cabin size is 272 square feet plus 80 square foot balcony

[luckyprincess]

Wow flabby arms, eating in bathrobes, like shopping at k-mart. Watch it some people may think only snobs cruise RCCL. Robes are worn on the lido buffett by the pools maybe to cover up the flabby arms as u put it. But in the dinning room u won't find that on any carnival ship so bring that nose down and shop every once in a while at k-mart. Sometimes they have great deals. Besides not all little towns have a neiman marcus or a macy's. I am sure u are an adult let's act like one before I have to put baby in a corner in a time out. 8-) peace!

I agree with what you said but believe me, the people that make remarks about other peoples body types are usually not very far from what they are making fun of (projecting, I think) and I can assure you they don't shop at neiman marcus - they just hope people think they do by trying to put others down. People that 'have' really don't flaunt it or make a huge show (in person or on anonymous boards) about how disgusting passengers are on x cruise line what with their large arms and bargain shopping habits:rolleyes:, you know? And you don't show you have class by making nasty remarks normally.

It's very transparent, in my opinion. And also very sad.

I'm not talking about anyone specifically, by the way - just so the mods don't think I'm attacking any innocent person...

[MrPete]

Carnival has a standard for most cabins of 185 sq ft (I think and someone will definitely correct me if wrong) and if on a balcony that is included.

 

Carnival has a steakhouse and it is more expensive than Royal Caribbean. I would go to Portofino on Royal Caribbean sooner than the steak house on Carnival. The food is absolutely wonderful there.

 

 

The buffet is far better on Royal Caribbean.

 

One correction. The 185 sq ft does not include the balcony.

 

Also, Carnival's steakhouse is $5 more, but that includes USDA PRIME cuts of meat.

 

Last, I liked the buffet, selections, and assortment on our first 2 RCCL cruises, but on our last time out, it had gone WAY downhill. It was the same stuff everyday, and the assortment was VERY poor. We are hoping it was a one off, and hope it has since been corrected.

[katiel53]

I found your assessment of RCCL and CCL very fair and informative, and it is always good to hear from experienced cruisers. We certainly aren't cheerleaders of any line (we like variety), and have yet to have a bad cruise. But independent research and websites like cruisedeckplans dot com offer a wealth of information as well. No matter how much information is available on CC or other sites, people will still form their own opinions as most things are subjective.

 

But I always thought that the balcony's square footage was in addition to the actual cabin space. :confused: It appears to be broken out separately according to the info on cruisedeckplans. This was the description I found for balcony cabins on the Oasis OTS:

 

Avg sq ft cabin: 182 Balcony: 50

Some balconies up to 80 square feet. Handicap cabin size is 272 square feet plus 80 square foot balcony

 

I posted the wrong size for the Carnival cabins. Most of the cabins, ie outside and balcony cabins total about 220 square feet. What happens is that Carnival takes the balcony out of the 220 and makes the cabin smaller, 185 sq ft and the rest is used for a balcony. Royal Caribbean figures their differently. Not all cabins start off the same size and subtract space for the balcony. The example you give of Oasis is correct. I hope what I am saying is making sense.

[pickytraveler4]

My DH and I have cruised both RCI (EOS) and Carnival. My frank list of differences and experiences between the 2 cruise lines include the following:

 

1. Carnival rooms were larger.

2. Carnival food in the MDR was better. Lava cake to die for.

3. Carnival guests consisted of more 'blue collar, salt-of-the earth' guests that were considerably less judgemental and less inclined to feelings of entitlement than RCI guests.

4. Carnival bedding better quality and more comfortable (comparing Carnival exterior to RCI GS even).

 

4. RCI ships better designed.

5. RCI ships offered more and better entertainment options (although most are later in the evening).

6. RCI found many more opportunities to charge for extras - less inclusive.

7. RCI more upscale.

 

Of course many factors need to be taken into consideration relative to month of cruise and destination relative to the experience.

 

Hope this helps.

[sheri18]

thinking of trying RCL...we have only done carnival in the past....12 cruises...

my only problem is .....is it really worth almost double the money.....

we are not hicks, nor have ever eaten in our bathrobes......

i just hope whichever we choose, i will be openminded...some pretty rude comments here.

really would love to try ...i will keep reading all posts...thanks for all the advise...

as one has said it is a personal choice....so we should try to be considerate of others..

[kooljamming]

thinking of trying RCL...we have only done carnival in the past....12 cruises...

my only problem is .....is it really worth almost double the money.....

we are not hicks, nor have ever eaten in our bathrobes......

i just hope whichever we choose, i will be openminded...some pretty rude comments here.

really would love to try ...i will keep reading all posts...thanks for all the advise...

as one has said it is a personal choice....so we should try to be considerate of others..

 

No, not at all!

 

There are things I love about RCCL. For the same price or slightly more I would book them. I love cruising and it's sad to read how much pleasure some take in belittling a valid, wonderful choice for so many. With my younger kids, I think Carnival water slide would be better than the flow rider or rock wall. Keep an eye out for deals on RCCL. Also they offer price reduction or OBC after booking and up to the point of sailing. I waited 3 years and did 4 others cruises (2x Carnival, 2x Princess) before catching a great deal on RCCL Mariner of the Seas.