Should I try Royal Caribbean?

[DaytonCruiser]

Partially true. CCL only has one more ship than RCI. RCI is just heavy on the European market during the summer. In the winter, they have plenty of ships here.

 

Also, they have some pretty good itineraries out of PR.

 

My point was that carnival had/has the following ships based in florida year round

 

Destiny

Imagination

Inspiration/Paradise

Valor

Dream

Fascination

Ecstasy

Legend

Sensation

Liberty

Freedom

 

Royal cant come close to matching that with a variety of itineraries out of Florida, especially when Allure and Oasis are limited in where they can go.

[Cruzaholic41]

My point was that carnival had/has the following ships based in florida year round

 

Sorry - misunderstanding. Wasn't trying to start a debate. The way your post was worded, it read as though you were saying they didn't have as many ships. Thanks for clarifying.

[Xystence]

Ya they really do have a lot here. Living in FL makes these ports so easy.

[Flyguy35]

I would certainly go back to RCL again. I found that they offer a good vacation. I only negative that I fould while on the Explorer of the Sea was the food in the MDR. We did a 12 day and I can honestly say that the food was not as good as Carnival. I also hear though that the MDR food varies from ship to ship. We became very good friends with a few of the people that we cruised with on RCL. Even they advised that we would not find the food on the Explorer to be that great. I would encourage you to read the reviews on each ship prior to choosing your cruise.

[MissDiva1]

Thay have nothing over Carnival But bigger ships

 

Then that would make Carnival having nothing over them........but?

[Tapi]

Ya maybe thats the issue. I just wish that since one of the Oasis class ships does one route, I wish the Allure did something else instead of the same thing. I want to try them really bad, the ports just bore me now.. lol

 

I agree that the itineraries on these ships are mediocre and repetitive. But I quickly learned that if there's one ship where the ship itself IS the destination, this is it!

 

When I booked this cruise, I was a bit skeptical. But once we got on the ship, we realized that we didn't care where the ship went. There's literally SO MUCH to do onboard, that one week is not enough to enjoy every little thing that these Oasis class ships have to offer.

 

We were literally off the ship for a couple of hours at each port. We found ourselves looking forward to getting back on the ship and enjoy what was being offered onboard.

[CruiserChloe]

We were literally off the ship for a couple of hours at each port. We found ourselves looking forward to getting back on the ship and enjoy what was being offered onboard.

 

That is so true. No matter what we did on land, we wanted to get back to the ship. There was a certain feeling I had getting off that ship I had on no other cruise. I really missed the ship, if that makes any sense. :o

[Xystence]

Now the ships being the destination makes so much more sense!

[myfamilyluvs2cruise]

Why would you not try it if the price and intinerary works? We sail both, and like both. Our kids favor Royal a bit more, but that is because we have 4 kids of varying ages and the diverse activities keep them ridiculously entertained. We would be happy sitting with a drink watching the waves, but one child loves the Flowrider, one loves the rock climbing wall, one loves to ice skate , one loves the Dreamworks character shows they have, etc. I agree with the other poster that you need to pick your ship carefully. The different classes are very different in terms of activities/entertainment/food venues they offer. If you like a nice quiet cruise, the mega ships are not going to be or you. But either way you look at it, why not give it a try?

[Socref124]

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!

 

I would definately give Royal a try. We did and we are glad we did. Carnival and Royal are more alike than different, unless you are into the rock wall and flow rider. We aren't, so those amenities don't interest us. We were on a smaller Royal ship but were pleased with our trip. We found that the service in the MDR was excellent and much better than on Carnival, however, the room stewards on Carnival do a much better job and are more friendly, imho. The activities, entertainment and food quality were about the same. I did really enjoy Royals cold soups though.

I have the same problem that you are facing. Trying to justify spending that much more money for the same basic product. And the ports of call that Oasis stops at aren't worth the extra $$ in my opinion, but that's just me. If you haven't tried them, bite the bullet and give them a try. I would also suggest trying NCL and Princess. You might get a better price from those two lines than Royal.

I hope this helps.

[Xystence]

I would definately give Royal a try. We did and we are glad we did. Carnival and Royal are more alike than different, unless you are into the rock wall and flow rider. We aren't, so those amenities don't interest us. We were on a smaller Royal ship but were pleased with our trip. We found that the service in the MDR was excellent and much better than on Carnival, however, the room stewards on Carnival do a much better job and are more friendly, imho. The activities, entertainment and food quality were about the same. I did really enjoy Royals cold soups though.

I have the same problem that you are facing. Trying to justify spending that much more money for the same basic product. And the ports of call that Oasis stops at aren't worth the extra $$ in my opinion, but that's just me. If you haven't tried them, bite the bullet and give them a try. I would also suggest trying NCL and Princess. You might get a better price from those two lines than Royal.

I hope this helps.

 

That all helps a lot. I am absolutely going to give them a try, its just a matter of when. Although I am torn on if I should try the Freedom Class before I move on to the Oasis class. I do not want to spoil myself by doing the best of the best first lol

[halos]

I think you should try all the cruise lines that may interest you. Why stick with one?? The each have something special to offer.

[pickler1]

When we were planning a cruise for November we were comparing the Carnival Dream to the Freedom of the Seas. They have the same itenerary. The cost of the Freedom seemed like a lot more than the Dream. Why would the Freedom of the Seas be worth more?

[Cruise Cat]

Thay have nothing over Carnival But bigger ships

 

 

As someone previously stated, you have to be careful how you judge them as it varys greatly by age of ship. Since you appear to have only tired them once (vs 23 on Carnival) this might me the case, especially with their older classes of ships such as Vision Class and Soverign Class. Voyager, Radiance, and Oasis Class ships are much different than the others.

[04cruises]

We are diamond on RCCL but the last 4 cruises were 3 on Carnival and 1 on Princess. The reason we are moving around is that we knew every joke, show, entertainers,food,etc. on RCCL. So mix it up a little bit and keep your cruising fresh.

[vermonter16]

I haven't read other's posts on this forum (because I have to go get dinner out of the oven) but I thought I'd throw in my two cents. Definitely give them a shot. We have sailed them twice....came back to Carnival and in February will be sailing Celebrity for the first time (it was a gift to us from a friend....how could say no :). I love the Serenade of the Seas in particular. We tend to enjoy Carnival's food a bit better, but I wouldn't hesitate to sail them again for the right price and right itinerary and right ship. I wasn't particularly fond of the Adventure of the Seas....but I'd still sail her again!

[BettyPC]

We have been on 2 Carnival Cruises and are trying RCCL in March - since a bunch of friends are going! Looking forward to trying AOS & seeing how they run things!

[dvond]

We move around alot as well and like RC the best. Iys a higher class of ship, service and people, all are just nicer. The MDR is like Carnival, hit or miss but all the extras are such a nice treat. A great relaxing boat

[butterfly2]

As you can see, I have tried both. We will be back on Carnival in a couple weeks. If I were you I would probably book a voyager class ship on Royal followed by a freedom class ship and then sail Oasis or Allure. Kind of like a balcony thing....... Used to be ok with and inside. Tried a balcony, now can't cruise unless we get a balcony. If you start with the biggest or best ship you may not appreciate an older ship with less ammenities. I think you will love Royal Caribbean.