Should I try Royal Caribbean?

[Xystence]

I am looking for a Carnival fans point of view mostly here. I have sailed on over 10 Carnival Cruises and occasionally I get the sense of feeling a lot of the same. Although I feel like the difference in money between these two lines is just not worth the difference and I just need to change up things I am doing with Carnival.

 

I am looking for opinions on those who have tried both lines and have any information to share. I posted a similar post to this on the Royal forums but I got so many posts about how awesome royal is and so on. I am looking for just an honest answer on whether the additional money (Which seems like a lot to me) is worth it.

 

I also noticed that Carnival's ports seem much more varied, and most of Royal's all go to the same place.

 

Thanks for anyones opinions!

[cruisinfanatic]

I am looking for a Carnival fans point of view mostly here. I have sailed on over 10 Carnival Cruises and occasionally I get the sense of feeling a lot of the same. Although I feel like the difference in money between these two lines is just not worth the difference and I just need to change up things I am doing with Carnival.

 

I am looking for opinions on those who have tried both lines and have any information to share. I posted a similar post to this on the Royal forums but I got so many posts about how awesome royal is and so on. I am looking for just an honest answer on whether the additional money (Which seems like a lot to me) is worth it.

 

I also noticed that Carnival's ports seem much more varied, and most of Royal's all go to the same place.

 

Thanks for anyones opinions!

Yes, definitely try RCL. Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis class. They have the best looking and easiest to get around ships in the business

[oakleys]

Sure why not, but i see it more expensive for not alot more bang for buck though.

[firefly333]

I find a lot of good deals on RCL, and agree that carnival's cookie cutter approach can get a little boring. I need a change up at times if I do Carnival too many times in a row.

 

RCL's ships are more varied, cabins vary in size and design from one ship to another, just more to see. Even within the same class of ships things can vary from one ship to another.

[allener58]

No, You're platinum now on Carnival:p

[Xystence]

LOL Yes I am. Me and my girlfriend typically do not go to the shows or anything. Just comedy here or there because we treat the cruise as pure relaxation and just do not get into the vegas show stuff.

 

It seems like the extra price for Royal just give us much larger ships, with more entertainment that we may or may not even attend.

 

I am so up in the air here.

[Flip2cruise]

You should try them again, I see you sailed Grandeur back in 98.

 

The price difference might not be worth it if you are the type that just sits on the balcony or just by the pool. The extra cost is great if you plan to actually use all the bells and whistles. So it really depends on what type of cruise experience you want.

[kbmeow]

my answer is sure. I know there are good prices out there too so shop around and try it. You may love it or hate it. It does not hurt to try.

[ilionite65]

Sure why not, but i see it more expensive for not alot more bang for buck though.

 

Have you ever sailed Royal to actually know what the bang for the buck is?

[iTouch]

Have you ever sailed Royal to actually know what the bang for the buck is?

 

And that if you shop around you can actually cruise for less? shocking I know

[MissDiva1]

No need to ask just do it. Shop around you will be surprised what you can find....

[oakleys]

Not yet, so thats why i wonder about the prices i see. And i know how to shop around!

[firefly333]

LOL Yes I am. Me and my girlfriend typically do not go to the shows or anything. Just comedy here or there because we treat the cruise as pure relaxation and just do not get into the vegas show stuff.

 

It seems like the extra price for Royal just give us much larger ships, with more entertainment that we may or may not even attend.

 

I am so up in the air here.

 

I was wow'd by Voyager, it was that much more beautiful than Carnival. The dining room is so grand and gorgeous and the little touches.

 

If you dont care if you are on a more interesting, more gorgeous ship, then it probably doesnt make a difference. I like beautiful ships.

 

And like I said feel I get just as good of prices on RCL as I find on Carnival .. or I dont book, but I always seem to turn up deals on both lines. Not suggesting you pay more, unless its only a small difference. shop around.

 

It would be easy for someone to look at the price on Marainer now at $800ish pp and say ...wow RCL is too much more expensive, but if you booked it at the right time prices were $479, minus C&A discounts. Prices are the same on both, you need to track them and jump when they are right.

[elcuchio24]

No reason not give them a try. Sometimes RCI has really good shorty cruise deals. We're planning on trying out Oasis in the next year or so. We also cruise NCL from time to time. They are all fun, and more similar to each other then they are different.

[cutrat]

I like them both. I like the food better on RCL (the have Corned Beef Hash :homerdrool:), I like the layout of the ship better along with the decor. I want to try all the different cruise lines along with some freighters.

[SkyMaster]

Sure, why not? We're MileStone on Carnival, and Diamond on RCI, but we've been doing Carnival most of the time lately. I personally, prefer the older, smaller RCI ships to the big "glitzy" new ships, and you can absolutely find good deals on those. In any case, give 'em a try, and see what you think.

 

"SKY"

[jakesnana]

LOL Yes I am. Me and my girlfriend typically do not go to the shows or anything. Just comedy here or there because we treat the cruise as pure relaxation and just do not get into the vegas show stuff.

 

It seems like the extra price for Royal just give us much larger ships, with more entertainment that we may or may not even attend.

 

I am so up in the air here.

 

DH are in the same position you are. DH can't drink, and I drink very little. We don't go to many shows and would NEVER use the rock climbing wall or surf pool. We like to go to the casino at night. With all of that in mind, we just don't want to spend the extra money on RCCL, although we have been on 4 RCCL cruises (Vision, Freedom, Advernturer and Sovereign).

 

To change things up a bit, we have gone on NCL and Princess in the last few years, but we'll always return to Carnival. We are Platinum, after all.

[KruznKel]

I like them both. I like the food better on RCL (the have Corned Beef Hash :homerdrool:), I like the layout of the ship better along with the decor. I want to try all the different cruise lines along with some freighters.

 

I was on the Valor last Sept and they had corned beef hash.. as I ate lots of it:p:p:p

[AdrenalineRush]

.

 

It would be easy for someone to look at the price on Marainer now at $800ish pp and say ...wow RCL is too much more expensive, but if you booked it at the right time prices were $479, minus C&A discounts. Prices are the same on both, you need to track them and jump when they are right.

 

Thats the issue for most people, they dont qualify for many of the discounts that can make RCL cheaper.

 

If the typical first time cruiser or Carnival cruise checks prices on 7 day cruises a year plus out and is willing to do ES, Carnival will almost always come out cheaper.

 

RCL does have awesome repo cruise rates

[CruisersNC]

Our first 5 cruises were with Carnival and we enjoyed them very much...but in 2007 we found a decent price and tried a 7 day cruise on the Mariner of the Seas. Beautiful ship to be sure. We enjoyed the cruise for the most part.....it was surprisingly similar to the Carnival cruises as far as the shows and games aboard (except it did have the ice shows which were fun!).....I think the buffet was very good...the MDR maybe not quite as good as the Carnival cruises....we tried chops one night and really didn't feel that it was worth the extra $$....the service was very good. The biggest downer for us was that our son didn't have as good a time as he had had on the carnival cruises....he wasn't able to connect with any kids his age and so he spent most of the cruise with us....which of course we enjoyed.....him not so much, lol. So last month we again went on a Carnival cruise (dream) and let him bring along 2 friends and it was an absolutely great cruise in all aspects. Our son is about to leave the nest though :( so in the future, since its just the 2 of us now, we may very well cruise on Royal Caribbean or maybe Princess or HAL or whatever.....variety is the spice of life! I would have to find a really good deal to book those lines though...because Carnival has always provided us with everything we desire from a cruise and more at a great price. But it would be fun to sail on some of these beautiful ships the other cruise lines offer...so we'll see.

[H82seaUgo]

I am looking for a Carnival fans point of view mostly here. I have sailed on over 10 Carnival Cruises and occasionally I get the sense of feeling a lot of the same. Although I feel like the difference in money between these two lines is just not worth the difference and I just need to change up things I am doing with Carnival.

 

I am looking for opinions on those who have tried both lines and have any information to share. I posted a similar post to this on the Royal forums but I got so many posts about how awesome royal is and so on. I am looking for just an honest answer on whether the additional money (Which seems like a lot to me) is worth it.

 

I also noticed that Carnival's ports seem much more varied, and most of Royal's all go to the same place.

 

Thanks for anyones opinions!

 

we could recite the menus and jokes when we decided to try rccl.

 

it was like everything was fresh again. i mistakingly thought at the time i stepping up to something better, and found that was non existent.

 

we found most things were the same, but different. we loved the bigger pools, and the expansive pool areas and the extremely large buffet area.

 

rooms, entertainment, service was on par. food, which i led led to believe was absolutely horrid on rccl, was pretty good, and again, different.

 

all things being equal though, if the rates were a lot different, i would go with the cheaper of the two fares. yes, the ships of rccl are nicer, but one can onl walk though once and go "wow" before settling in.

[Cruise Cat]

Definitely!!! You will find RCCL has better food in the MDR and much better ambiance. The room service has much better selection and the windjammer Buffet is more like a restaurant than Carnivals dinner buffet. You will also find some better entertainment on RCCl than Carnival as they still employ full bands. The pool atmosphere is better on Carnival And they have food out by the pool.

 

As for the ports, that depends on the port you are leaving from more than the line.

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

Definitely!!! You will find RCCL has better food in the MDR and much better ambiance. The room service has much better selection and the windjammer Buffet is more like a restaurant than Carnivals dinner buffet. You will also find some better entertainment on RCCl than Carnival as they still employ full bands. The pool atmosphere is better on Carnival And they have food out by the pool.

 

As for the ports, that depends on the port you are leaving from more than the line.

 

lol you really like food huh..its so subjective

[Cruise Cat]

The thing my wife and I notice about the difference in the ships is that the ships on RCCL are different, between their ships of different classes. Give us blindfolds an Carnival ships and we would always be able to find our way around any ship. Not a Joe Fargus thing, I love his creativity; it's the people who do the layout.

 

 

 

 

we could recite the menus and jokes when we decided to try rccl.

 

it was like everything was fresh again. i mistakingly thought at the time i stepping up to something better, and found that was non existent.

 

we found most things were the same, but different. we loved the bigger pools, and the expansive pool areas and the extremely large buffet area.

 

rooms, entertainment, service was on par. food, which i led led to believe was absolutely horrid on rccl, was pretty good, and again, different.

 

all things being equal though, if the rates were a lot different, i would go with the cheaper of the two fares. yes, the ships of rccl are nicer, but one can onl walk though once and go "wow" before settling in.

[Tapi]

Sure why not, but i see it more expensive for not alot more bang for buck though.

 

Not quite. You do get A LOT more bang for your buck, specially when sailing on one of their newer ships, like the Oasis or Freedom class ships.

 

-0-

 

To the OP, we are Platinum on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. There's no denying that Carnival delivers a great product for the money they charge, but Royal Caribbean takes the cruise experience a few notches higher.

 

We returned from the Allure of the Seas a few months ago after sailing on 9 consecutive Carnival cruises. While we've had wonderful cruises on Carnival, this cruise was an AMAZING, once in life time kind of experience. The ship was beautiful, the options were endless, the design of the ship was wonderful, the overall ambiance was very enjoyable, and the entertainment was like nothing I've ever seen on any other cruise.

 

I was a bit skeptical about saling on such a large ship, thinking that I wouldn't care about all the extra stuff not found on Carnival. I can tell you that I was wrong. We enjoy all the extras A LOT.

 

I would definitely try one of Royal Caribbean's largest ships at least once. They are worth it. I wouldn't necessarily go with one of their older, smaller ships (like the Monarch and the Majesty of the Seas), as those are truly not representative of what Royal Caribbean truly has to offer.

 

If you care to read in more detail. I have a link on my signature for our cruise on the Allure of the Seas. I tried to be as objective as possible (from the eyes of a Carnival Platinum cruiser) with my comparison.

 

Enjoy!