Carnival Cruisers First Royal Caribbean Experience

[letscruisegd]

Out of the 17 cruises I’ve been on 15 of those were with Carnival. After so many Carnival cruises I decided it was time to try other lines. I cruised Princess for the first time last year and I’ll be taking my first Celebrity cruise next year. My best friend loves Royal Caribbean and thought I might enjoy them as well. She organized a girls cruise on the Explorer and I must say I loved it. The cruise director Jimmy Rhodes was one of the best cruise directors I’ve seen.

 

I’ve read many posts on the Carnival boards stating RCCL Promenade has a shopping mall feel as well as comments asking who needs an ice skating rink and rock climbing wall on a ship. In spite of many comments that can be taken as not so positive, I chose to go on the ship with an open mind about the things on RCCL that are not on Carnival. From my experience it wasn’t a shopping mall feel. I thought the Promenade was a wonderful place to have a drink and people watch. The parades on the Promenade were quite entertaining.

 

I made a point to see the rock climbing wall but had absolutely no desire to try it. Although I didn’t want to attempt ice skating I must admit the ice show was very good. Especially considering the amount of space the skaters have to work with.

 

Base on my observations there are more similarities than differences among the 2 lines. For example, Carnival has the hairy chest contest; RCCL has a sexiest man contest. Although I’ve read negative comments on the RCCL boards about Carnivals pool activities, in my opinion these two activities are basically the same. RCCL also had a belly flop contest which was hilarious.

 

I’ve always had great service on Carnival and I also had great service on RCCL. The dining room meals were equally good on both lines however I enjoyed the buffet on RCCL more than Carnival mainly due to the layout of the buffet area. Even when we went at peak times there was very little to no wait at all. The layout of the multiple food stations makes getting through the lines much quicker than on Carnival.

 

To RCCL’s advantage they offer hot items on the room service menu. It was nice to have a hot breakfast on our balcony as well as hot items for a mid afternoon snack a couple of times.

 

One of the obvious differences between Carnival and RCCL is the décor. The Explorer is prettier than any of the Carnival ships I’ve been on. I’m not one who cares much about décor though. As long as the ship is clean décor doesn’t really matter to me. It’s just something that’s easily noticeable.

 

Bottom line…I enjoyed my RCCL cruise very much and I’m sure I’ll cruise RCCL again. I absolutely will continue to cruise Carnival and Princess as well. I hope to be able to say I’ll cruise Celebrity again after I experience that cruise line next year. I’ll go on Celebrity the same way I went on the Explorer; with an open mind and expectations of having a great cruise.

[firefly333]

I think thats why so much animosity between Carnival and RCL .. its because they are the most alike.

[LadyTenorJD]

I've only been on Royal Caribbean once; I sail on Carnival in December. So far, it seems as if Carnival is more budget friendly. I intended on Royal Caribbean again in December, but the prices were not right for me.

 

When I do Carnival, I'll see if I like them as much as I liked Royal Caribbean.

[maxxedout2]

>>>>>>Bottom line…I enjoyed my RCCL cruise very much and I’m sure I’ll cruise RCCL again. I absolutely will continue to cruise Carnival and Princess as well.<<<<<

 

Agree with those three!

:cool:

 

[Cushing985]

Traitor!!:eek: Just kidding...I'm also planning on taking a RCCL soon just to check them out. I agree the interior of the Royal ships seem to be more classy but like you, just want a clean ship and Carnival ships always seem clean. When the Oasis and the Allure came out I really didn't think I would ever want to go on either of those ships just because of the sheer size of them. But after I read a few photo reviews I think either one would be fun. I would have to think of the ship as being more of a resort instead of a ship though.

[cruise_girl2002]

I sailed RCCL once after many carnival cruises. my friend and her hubby went for their anniversary and were nice enough to invite myself (she felt bad about me cruising alone,)so i also invited my mom. first of all the ship with out a doubt was beautiful and clean. i just found more fun on carnival. we heard the same 5 songs out by the pool over and over again, became really annoying. the food wasn't as good, but was ok. the rooms were nice but the closet space was a joke (worked for 2 people, but for 4 would become a joke). the balcony for the room was outstanding. i have to give it to RCL for that. SO much space on a standard balcony. the promanade was a nice place to people watch but when they had a "taste of the nation" type thing, it was impossible to walk around, so my mom and i left. they always did the parades either during the early dining time (which is what i had) or extremly late at night, which then we heard from our room. We had a good time. i just found my style is with carnival. glad i tried with royal. but next time i'll spend my $2700 on a 7 day cruise with a suite on carnival and not a regular (cheapest rate) balcony room on rcl. just my opinion

[halos]

. The Explorer is prettier than any of the Carnival ships I’ve been on.

 

That is one PRETTY ship isn't it??? Just gorgeous!!

 

Thanks for your comments!!!! :)

[rocking-m-cruiser]

Haven't tried RCCL yet. Heard it was nice. When compared to price I always go for more bang for the buck.

[cruisenanny]

We LOVE Explorer, glad you did too! We also think Celebrity is pretty great, and if you take the price factor out of the equation, it is our favorite line overall. Having said that, I think Carnival is the best VALUE out there, I believe what you get exceeds what you pay, especially when compared to other lines. Enjoy all your cruises:D

[rocking-m-cruiser]

We will try RCCL sometime. Heard it was nice.

[PittsburghGirlee]

My very first cruise was on RCCL, Majesty of the Seas in 1994. It was our honeymoon.;)

It was awesome....... I was blown away:D. I talked about it for many months afterwards.

[lszu]

I'm glad you liked them. My DH and I have almost always cruised RCCL. Our first Carnival cruise is coming up later this month and we're looking forward to it!

[TaraLynne]

My first cruise was on Royal Caribbean and the cruise itself - service and food especially - were honestly amazing. However, I've cruised Carnival twice since then (and will be sailing Carnival again in May) because the prices are more reasonable and I like the port itineraries better. Personally I was least pleased with my Princess and Disney cruises...I guess for the price and the fact that they talk up their quality so much I expected better service and food than I received. But I never let any of that ruin my vacations :) I still had a great time!

[readytotravel44]

I love the review! I'm always amazed at the "Carnival people" and the "RCCL people" battling over which is the best! I appreciate an honest, open minded review. I was wondering how the food was in the MDR. In addition, could you comment on the other shows?

[Tapi]

After an absolutely amazing experience on RC's Allure of the Seas a few months ago, I was a bit worried that it would be hard to go back to Carnival. The Allure truly wowed me in a way that no Carnival ship has ever wowed me before.

 

We just returned from the Carnival Dream (this morning :D) and I'm pleased to say that we had a wonderful time. I will write a more detailed review later, but I have to say that I DON'T believe that Carnival and Royal Caribbean are more alike than not.

 

Having sailed back to back on these two lines' respective largest and newest class of ships, I believe that each one shines for very different reasons and offerings. The ships, activities, decoration, food offerings and overall feel are FAR from being alike.

[Irishlinny]

Glo, so glad you had a good cruise, and thanks for the comparative review! We will probably try RCCL at some point, but for now we're enjoying the value of Carnival and are still able to go to new ports. After a while we will have to change it up, I imagine. Now that I have a few minutes, I am finally going to go look at your pics in the link you emailed me! Miss you...hope we get to sail again together soon...twice was not enough!;):)

[obnancy]

Thanks for the nice RCC review on this board. It still amazes me when I read it, usually only for a couple of weeks before or after I crusie, how much cheerleading their is for Carnival. And god forbid you say anything negative, then you are just a troll.

 

Obviously, I like Carnival for their bang for the buck. Just completed my 8th Carnival cruise. My first cruise was on RCC and I loved it. Didn't have anything to compare it to at the time, but it was a great cruise.

 

I agree about the decor. I know Carnival goes for the "fun" factor in their decorations, but seriously some of it so over the top awful it literally makes me ill. On our last cruise on the Spirit, my husband asked why I was using the stairs all the time but five months earlier on the Splendor, I insisted on using the elevators. I told him, all those darn pink zebra striped polka dots in the stairwells gave me vertigo on the Splendor. The Spirit was more subdued so I could actually walk in the stairways. Celebrity had the most elegant decor that I appreciated.

[mechcc]

One of the things I like about cruising is different experiences between the different lines. I have found that if we have cruised the same line twice in a row, the thought of doing a third in a row on the same line isn't what we want. Variety is the spice of life.

[iTouch]

I totally agree with you op. And I did not feel the mall thing at all on the Mariner either.....RCCL ships rock!

[tiggerman101]

Glad to see someone else has realized it can be a good thing to branch out. I cruise a lot these days and would be getting tired of it if I didn't mix it up some.

 

I want to sail every line.

[sjn911]

Glad to see someone else has realized it can be a good thing to branch out. I cruise a lot these days and would be getting tired of it if I didn't mix it up some.

 

I want to sail every line.

Me too...also think it would be fun to try every class of ship in a line..LOL..lots of cruises to do!!

[Socref124]

Out of the 17 cruises I’ve been on 15 of those were with Carnival. After so many Carnival cruises I decided it was time to try other lines. I cruised Princess for the first time last year and I’ll be taking my first Celebrity cruise next year. My best friend loves Royal Caribbean and thought I might enjoy them as well. She organized a girls cruise on the Explorer and I must say I loved it. The cruise director Jimmy Rhodes was one of the best cruise directors I’ve seen.

 

I’ve read many posts on the Carnival boards stating RCCL Promenade has a shopping mall feel as well as comments asking who needs an ice skating rink and rock climbing wall on a ship. In spite of many comments that can be taken as not so positive, I chose to go on the ship with an open mind about the things on RCCL that are not on Carnival. From my experience it wasn’t a shopping mall feel. I thought the Promenade was a wonderful place to have a drink and people watch. The parades on the Promenade were quite entertaining.

 

I made a point to see the rock climbing wall but had absolutely no desire to try it. Although I didn’t want to attempt ice skating I must admit the ice show was very good. Especially considering the amount of space the skaters have to work with.

 

Base on my observations there are more similarities than differences among the 2 lines. For example, Carnival has the hairy chest contest; RCCL has a sexiest man contest. Although I’ve read negative comments on the RCCL boards about Carnivals pool activities, in my opinion these two activities are basically the same. RCCL also had a belly flop contest which was hilarious.

 

I’ve always had great service on Carnival and I also had great service on RCCL. The dining room meals were equally good on both lines however I enjoyed the buffet on RCCL more than Carnival mainly due to the layout of the buffet area. Even when we went at peak times there was very little to no wait at all. The layout of the multiple food stations makes getting through the lines much quicker than on Carnival.

 

To RCCL’s advantage they offer hot items on the room service menu. It was nice to have a hot breakfast on our balcony as well as hot items for a mid afternoon snack a couple of times.

 

One of the obvious differences between Carnival and RCCL is the décor. The Explorer is prettier than any of the Carnival ships I’ve been on. I’m not one who cares much about décor though. As long as the ship is clean décor doesn’t really matter to me. It’s just something that’s easily noticeable.

 

Bottom line…I enjoyed my RCCL cruise very much and I’m sure I’ll cruise RCCL again. I absolutely will continue to cruise Carnival and Princess as well. I hope to be able to say I’ll cruise Celebrity again after I experience that cruise line next year. I’ll go on Celebrity the same way I went on the Explorer; with an open mind and expectations of having a great cruise.

 

That is the way I felt when we took our RCL cruise. What did you think of the dinning room service. I thought Royal was superb in this area, much better than Carnival.

[gone_cruisin]

Glad to see someone else has realized it can be a good thing to branch out. I cruise a lot these days and would be getting tired of it if I didn't mix it up some.

 

I want to sail every line.

 

You sure do! Where do you get all that vacation time? I only get 3 weeks a year and I'll take an additional week without pay.

[H82seaUgo]

I think thats why so much animosity between Carnival and RCL .. its because they are the most alike.

 

i don't agree.

 

i still read it as the royals trying to justify paying more on rccl, saying you get more.

 

my first rccl cruise had me looking for that "more", and never finding it. it was just another line that knew whay they were doing, well, but charged more for it.

 

the op hit the head squarely. the only thing i would add is the lack of crowds. on such a big ship, there are less people crammed into it.

 

and while some people still knock the rock wall, the ice rink, the in line skating, the full basketball court, and maybe even the golf "course" (none of which interest me, except the 19th hole), it drws those that do to those areas, further thinning out the crowds for the things i enjoy.

 

yesn each line does some things a little different, and excel in some areas over the other, they are more the same than different, but opens up that many more ships and destinations to choose from.

 

trying a different line always makes cruising feel fresh again.

[hubofhockey]

After an absolutely amazing experience on RC's Allure of the Seas a few months ago, I was a bit worried that it would be hard to go back to Carnival. The Allure truly wowed me in a way that no Carnival ship has ever wowed me before.

 

We just returned from the Carnival Dream (this morning :D) and I'm pleased to say that we had a wonderful time. I will write a more detailed review later, but I have to say that I DON'T believe that Carnival and Royal Caribbean are more alike than not.

 

Having sailed back to back on these two lines' respective largest and newest class of ships, I believe that each one shines for very different reasons and offerings. The ships, activities, decoration, food offerings and overall feel are FAR from being alike.

 

I would hope that nobody would try to make a case that Carnival offers anything similar in terms of a vacation to what you find on the Oasis class of ships on Royal Caribbean. You could argue that the lines started being more different than similar when RCI rolled out their Freedom class.