New to Carnival

[hazz24]

Just booked the Carnival Freedom for January. Dh and I are pretty loyal to royal but the entire family is book on this cruise with us. Can anyone tell me what we can expect? The differences, the hidden treasurers? Ect.

Than You

Brandy

 

I

[firefly333]

Not many differences, tips are automatically posted, you dont sign a sheet.

 

You wouldnt have any trouble making the switch.

[nonna5]

Just booked the Carnival Freedom for January. Dh and I are pretty loyal to royal but the entire family is book on this cruise with us. Can anyone tell me what we can expect? The differences, the hidden treasurers? Ect.

Than You

Brandy

 

I

 

 

Brandy - I have cruised many times with both lines. Yes there are some differences but not any that will effect your cruise if you go with an open mind and try not to compare everything.

 

Carnival does have the Punchliner Comedy Club which I really enjoy since I have been on so many cruises and the shows get a little old on all lines after you have seen them many times. They have both G rated and R rated comedy shows.

 

Make sure your family links your reservations so you will all be seated together at dinner. Carnival is much better at this than Royal in my past experiences.

 

If Ryan Fitzgerald is your cruise director I think he is one of the best in the whole fleet. He is out and about the ship talking to guests alot. He is very approachable.

 

If you have any questions ask and I will try to answer them.

 

I am sure you will have a great cruise.

 

Susan

[breenw]

You will notice differences but they aren't necessarily better or worse. Personally, we prefer Carnival over RCCL but that is just our opinion. the Carnival rooms are larger, the food is better and I truly believe the service is better. I've never felt that RCCL has good customer service on the 4 ships we have sailed on. I also think they have more entertainment options, especially on the newer ships. There are other things that you will find are very similar to what you've experienced on RCCL ships. Hope you have a great cruise!

[TheCalicoCat]

We've cruised on RCCL (our first "big" cruise line) Carnival & I did not find the differences to be that great.

Carnival does not have a rock wall or ice rink - not that I ever found the rock wall while on RCCL. (I went to the ice rink once - I did like the ice show.)

Carnival does not have the shopping mall in the middle - with rooms overlooking.

I did not care for the location of the casino on the Carnival ship that we were on...

 

Food = same

Sevice = same

shopping = same

 

There were lots of families (kids) on both - neither bugged me.

 

I prefer Carnival's Punchliner comedy club to the other entertainment options on either line.

 

As with anything else, "you" are the biggest part of making the most of the experience.

[zqvol]

Having been on both you will find that there is a big difference in the food. You will likely be disappointed in Carnival's food which is much worse than on RCCL. In addition Carnival is lacking in the entertainment department. Carnival cabins are slightly larger in the lower categories, but not as well designed as those on RCCL or NCL so you will not notice the size difference.

[Carolin]

On Carnival, you can carry on one bottle of wine per adult. You can also carry on a 12 pack of pop and water.

 

You can order bottle(s) of alcohol for your cabin from the Bon Voyage department. Definitely a savings to be had there.

 

You do not have to dine in the buffet. Go to the dining room for breakfast or lunch.

 

Have a great cruise with your family.

[hazz24]

Thank you for our responses. Food is one thing I'm not concerned about as we are easy to please and I realize that I will not ever get 5star dinning unless we go to the specialty restaurant. I am going in with an open mind and I hope to like Carnival as much as Rcl so that we have more choices.

 

How any cruises do you have to take with Carnival to start receiving some extra perks? And what are those perks? S buying the drink coupons in advance worth it? What kinds of things is there for 17 year olds to do?

[Socref124]

Just booked the Carnival Freedom for January. Dh and I are pretty loyal to royal but the entire family is book on this cruise with us. Can anyone tell me what we can expect? The differences, the hidden treasurers? Ect.

Than You

Brandy

 

I

 

Brandy, both are very similar. The one major difference, imho, is the dinning room service. Although Carnivals is good service, Royals is a notch or two better. Other than that they are very comparable.

Like others have said, try not to compare and go and have a fun time on a Funship.:D

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Thank you for our responses. Food is one thing I'm not concerned about as we are easy to please and I realize that I will not ever get 5star dinning unless we go to the specialty restaurant. I am going in with an open mind and I hope to like Carnival as much as Rcl so that we have more choices.

 

How any cruises do you have to take with Carnival to start receiving some extra perks? And what are those perks? S buying the drink coupons in advance worth it? What kinds of things is there for 17 year olds to do?

Hi Brandy enjoy your cruise! On your second cruise you become Gold and get a past guest party.And on your 10th cruise you get Platinum...lots of perks check the Carnival site.....alot complain about the perks :( I don't think buying the drink coupons is worth it. Lots of things to do for 17 year olds and like someone else already mentioned its what you make it...any cruise or vacation for that matter. Enjoy!

[cruisenanny]

Hi Brandy! Something I learned here is that cappuccino, espresso & hot chocolate are free during breakfast, lunch & dinner in the MDR.. The drink coupons save you the gratuity, about .85 per coupon.

[2 cruzen]

Hi Brandy! Something I learned here is that cappuccino, espresso & hot chocolate are free during breakfast, lunch & dinner in the MDR.. The drink coupons save you the gratuity, about .85 per coupon.

 

saves you the gratuity - but doesn't help the server who depends on those gratuities. reuse the "souvenier" glasses and you'll save more than 85 cents.

[cruisenanny]

saves you the gratuity - but doesn't help the server who depends on those gratuities.

 

Well... Carnival says that the gratuity is INCLUDED n the price of the coupon, but I wonder about that. I wouldn't feel good about handing over the coupon & no tip (and wondering if they are getting stiffed), so I decided they weren't worth it to me.

[crusinpsychRN]

Atrium not as grand, no rock climbing, skating rink, flow rider.

[Mekamax]

We cruise both. Carnival has a leg up to me on food (more spicey and flavorful where RCL has always been more bland which some prefer). Carnival has the best pizza too I think. RCL had chicken wings on room service which I liked but I did not like when RCL started charging for room service after midnight. Carnival cabins are larger. Carnival is really much cleaner ships too. I like all the entertainment being more together in one place on Carnival so people that are up at night are more centrally located than scattered all over the ship like RCL where sometimes you think you are the only ones awake. You might also like the Movie under the stars at night on Carnival. Like I said we cruise both and RCL seems more elegant and Carnival has the water slides and seems more fun. :D Debbie

[Mekamax]

The drink coupons are fine just they are worth only so much ($5.50 maybe?) and then they will charge you the extra cost if the drink is over that. Sometimes they don't charge but I just don't like having to worry about what it does cover. Also sometimes we tended to get a beer with it that would have been cheaper to just buy.....:rolleyes:

[Havingfun2010]

Carnival=Lower price, long lines, MDR food downgraded, pizza and late night food, on the low end of being edible. Lack of security taking care of kids, and kids do not have enough activities to keep busy and out of trouble. The good= cheaper, and it has all the basic stuff. For the most part, stay away from school holidays. Comedy acts are good change.

 

RCCL=better food, but not much better. Buffet better managed, and most things with a line are managed better and faster. Better crowd control. Activities galore for the kids to be busy. Much better late night food. Production shows not as good, except ice skating and comedy. Nicer common areas.

[DFritz]

No matter who you ask you will get a different answer. We too prefer RCI but still love Carnival.

 

Carnival pluses: pizza, over all cruise cost, comedy club, larger staterooms, carryon wine or pop/water.

 

RCI pluses: food, service, entertainment shows, loyalty perks, ship decorations and overall appeal with promendade, ice rink and rock wall, staff uniforms, casino.

 

Carnival negative: buffet food during lunch is sometimes weak, non-comedy club entertainment, staff uniforms, staff attitudes...they seem a little more grumpy, weak loyalty perks, unsupervised children at times, casino.

 

RCI negatives: over all cruise cost, smaller staterooms, no wine carryon.

 

Both very good lines offering wonderful cruise experiences. Go with an open mind and the expectation to have a great time and you will!

[hazz24]

I am looking forward to the change. The only downside I see is our 12day we are in a grand suite and this cruise is two weeks later in a inside because money will be tighter. But we are going with over 30 people, friends and family so I am pretty sure we will have a great time. And who knows we could be converted LOL. Thanks for the information.

[davy jones]

By now, you will have noticed that there is no consensus on food or service. In the end, they are more similar and it will come down to personal preferences. You will have a good cruise on either one.

 

One comment though, Carnival's inside cabins are larger than Royal or others. That doesn't replace the grand suite and balcony, but it might help a little.

[H82seaUgo]

Just booked the Carnival Freedom for January. Dh and I are pretty loyal to royal but the entire family is book on this cruise with us. Can anyone tell me what we can expect? The differences, the hidden treasurers? Ect.

Than You

Brandy

 

I

 

welome to what i call the new carnival express!

 

you are coming to carnival at a time that they are downgrading their product. coming from rccl, you will see pretty much the same now as you have come to expect on rccl, probably at a reduced fare, with significant crowding, smaller pools, on a less than stunning ship.

 

you may get intrigued with the fun aspect, and come away with an experience, as opposed to just a bunch of people cruising together. However, with the cutback of entertainment and entertainers, you may have to activiely seek out that fun, as opposed to it just washing over you.

 

enjoy!

[happy cruzer]

We really enjoy the carry on wine. The corkage fee is ten dollars if you get charged, many don't. If you have a large group, you might end up with enough wine for most of your dinners. The light drinkers can still carry on their bottles. :)

 

Also the wine package is a nice value. I prefer the wines offered on CCL plus they seem to consistently be a value whereas on RCCL you need a spreadsheet; some wines actually cost more in their package than by the bottle.

 

Also CCL does not charge for anything on their room service menu.

 

In general, I think the RCCL ships are prettier and have a better space ratio.

 

Since you are with a group, I'm sure you will have great time

[elcuchio24]

The ships are different, most everything else is the same.

[lymah]

There was a pretty good trip report recently that compared Royal and Carnival. "Live from the Rockwall of the Seas"

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1443650&highlight=flowrider