Carnival vs royal Caribbean

[eggroll]

Just wondering

 

What has royal Caribbean done that carnival did not in this mess of a situation?

 

I know, and im sure most everyone here know, which is a better cruise line.

 

There are many people praising royal right now, but I'm not too sure how royal handled this differently. Am I missing something?

 

The way I see it, a busted ship is a busted ship. I'm glad no one was hurt and all are alive.

 

I'm not trying to start a shoot out, but why is royal Caribbean getting so many high fives this early? We don't know what caused this yet do we?

[time4u2go]

I think if nothing else, the circumstances of the fire will make this incident look not as bad as what happened to the Triumph. This fire does not appear to have affected any of the critical areas that the Triumph fire did, so in this incident, the ship was still able to power itself, and "life support" systems (for lack of a better term :rolleyes:) were not affected, at least not nearly to the same extent. So to ask what did RCI do that Carnival did not do really might not be a fair question.

 

And from what was said immediately after the Triumph incident, the crew were amazing, as they have been reported to be for this incident.

[KuffMUp]

Our first two cruises were aboard CCL. We were share holders, We quickly found that the RCCL ships were a better fit to us. Doesn't mean there is anything wrong with CCL. While both are mainstream cruises, I think RCCL is a better product. It fits us better. Both have something to desire. We just found RCCL filled our preferences better.

[mcatmcat]

I'm a royal can but I have to admit that they are super arrogant, you don't find that in carnival

[ehfl]

The main things they did right were to immediately get everyone to muster, and to ready the life boats for boarding. I don't think people were immediately mustered in either the Concordia or Carnival Fires (not sure).

[swim13]

I'm a royal can but I have to admit that they are super arrogant, you don't find that in carnival

 

Super arrogant? :p

 

Just the fact that the staff worked fast and awesome, how they were trained and also the fact that the CEO and a care team personally flew down and spoke with passengers, etc. And they had another ship on standby in case they needed to get passengers off the ship. They are offering a full refund and future cruise certificate, not sure CCL gave a full cruise certificate...I thought they only gave 50% off a future cruise.

[RSLeesburg]

I think that the high fives are getting handed out because upon viewing the pictures, people realize that this was a major fire that was contained. The crew deserves all the kudus that they are getting for that. Also, the captain seemed to have everything ready for evacuation in case the fire could not be contained. Finally, it appears that the RCI execs moved quickly to get on-site and take charge, so to peak. All in all, as someone who is scheduled to sail on the Grandeur in Sep for my first cruise ever, I feel safer now knowing how well this captain and crew reacted in an emergency situation.

 

In terms of Carnival, I cannot comment as to what they did or did not do, as I was not following that story as closely - but, I think they had some crappy luck because of where the fire was, what systems it damaged, and the conditions it caused for the passengers. These conditions opened the door for the media to just rake them over the coals.

[Cindy]

I think Royal Caribbean probably learned an important lesson from watching what happened to Carnival in the media and in the court of public opinion in the days following the Triumph fire. The biggest difference I see is Royal Caribbean has used social media to communicate and get news out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. I actually knew about the fire right after I got up, and before I got on Cruise Critic because it was posted on RC's Facebook page. Carnival didn't do that with the Triumph fire and I remember there was a lot of worry from family members waiting for word of their loved ones as well as rampant speculation in the media about conditions on board the ship.

Aside from the communication differences, the circumstances surrounding the two fires are so different it's hard to draw parallels. Fortunately for the Grandeur, she was reasonably close to a port and was able to reach safety under her own power in just a few hours with most of her hotel functions operational. The Triumph was days away from a port with no propulsion and very little operational hotel capacity. Once the word "feces" made it out to the media, it was all over. With Carnival not putting out a ton of information, the media latched onto the conditions on the ship and the public execution of Carnival was underway.

[kybluecruiser]

I'm a Carnival cruiser, my only royal cruise ironically enough was on the Grandeur of the seas. I stated on the carnival boards today that Royal's PR deserves credit for what they did today. However there are many differences. One I think Royal saw the way the media attacked Carnival even false reporting. I believe this is why Royal was out front as to minimize the media reporting in the way Triumph was covered. Imho if there had not been the Triumph incident this would have not been a news story and no need in the all day tweets from Royal. Second the location of the fire. Triump's fire was in the engine room that caused it to loose power. Grandeur's fire was in an area where it didn't effect hotel functions or propulsion. Now somebody mention about the CEO showing up. Carnivals CEO Gerry Cahill did show up once the triumph was in mobile. There was no way he could board the ship any earlier. He was in constant communication with the ship via the bridges satellite phone. There is a youtube video that confirms this. Refunds are about equal with both lines with the exception that Triumph pax got $500 dollars in addition to the fre cruise and refunded cruise. Carnivals downfall was they turned silent with the media. They were always working behind the scenes. Being out front with the media is what all the lines learned from the triumph incident. So again kudos to royal pr. And thank The Lord nobody was hurt today.

[buckirj1]

The huge difference is that no power was lost during the RCI incident. If it had, reactions would have been much more on a par with the Carnival incident. I thought both lines did a fantastic job. I also agree with the poster above that all cruise lines learned from Carnival the importance of PR, especially via social media like twitter.

[mcatmcat]

Super arrogant? :p

 

.

 

CEO Richard Fain stating that he’d rather RCI sail with empty cabins than discount the prices.

[Mikew0805]

CEO Richard Fain stating that he’d rather RCI sail with empty cabins than discount the prices.

 

Yep.. that qualifies for arrogant.

[BillB48]

Yep.. that qualifies for arrogant.

 

I believe you are focusing a bit too narrowly on Fain's comment and perhaps out of context. That reply had more to do with not setting up a fire sale culture (maybe that is not the best metaphor right about now;) but I'll go with it:D) that people will wait anticipating deep discounts as the sail date nears. Their business model is to keep the price variances in a closer range and really does not stem from arrogance.

[TEXASMUNK]

Probably it came down to communication. Royal initiated communications immediately with the passengers, with the news media and via social networking. The Triumph situation, information was much slower.

 

We sail both Carnival and Royal. So do not have a dog in this childish "my cruiseline is better than your cruiseline" banter.

 

Folks defend their favorite cruiseline primarily because they are actually defending their own buying decision.

 

RCI was very quick with information, very quick with updates and it would appear very quick with accomodating the passengers.

[oneputt18]

Probably it came down to communication. Royal initiated communications immediately with the passengers, with the news media and via social networking. The Triumph situation, information was much slower."

 

Royal tweeted info 36 times in 11 hours.

 

]

[alfaeric]

IMHO, there were a lot of circumstances that made it a little more straight forward for RCI to respond.

 

While people have bashed Carnival (and I don't sail with them), what more could they have actually done? The president showed up as soon as the ship made it to shore, just like RCI; they made sure the passengers were as safe as possible, just like RCI; the crew were reported as being top notch, just like RCI.

 

Funny that people demand information- as far as I read, Carnival supplied it- they had an engine fire that forced them to run on as little power as possible. What more do you need? People asked if the ship can be evacuated- the reply was basically "no, while incredibly uncomfortable, staying on the ship was a lot safer". The lack of info was the lack of NEW info, which there wasn't any- the crew was working as best they could to make it better, but the ship needed to be towed regardless.

 

On the other hand, for this emergency- the ship never lost power, and was pretty close to the Bahamas so that they were in shore well within 24 hours, and now a day later, arragements are being made to move the passengers home. The fact that the president was there within a day is misleading, since it was available SO fast.

 

Had Carnival been able to communicate normally, maybe we would have seen more, but it was limping. RCI could since it was in shore, never lost power.

 

So, IMHO, circumstance makes it appear that RCI is better reacting, when I think Carnival did what they could. I may not sail on a Carnival ship, but I certainly don't fault their reactions.

[irishlizz]

IIn terms of Carnival, I cannot comment as to what they did or did not do, as I was not following that story as closely - but, I think they had some crappy luck because of where the fire was, what systems it damaged, and the conditions it caused for the passengers. These conditions opened the door for the media to just rake them over the coals.

 

Exactly... and the media still wants to drag the Triumph into articles about Royal.

[BeachChik]

Carnivals downfall was they turned silent with the media. They were always working behind the scenes. Being out front with the media is what all the lines learned from the triumph incident. So again kudos to royal pr. And thank The Lord nobody was hurt today.

 

^^ this.

 

I definitely think it was a lesson learner. Hence why royal immediately began putting information on twitter, Facebook etc. as well as photos. I think their communication really had an impact and I think had carnival done the same thing maybe the bad press wouldn't have been so bad.

 

I do think safety wise that carnival did everything they could in the circumstances they had.

[BeachChik]

 

Folks defend their favorite cruiseline primarily because they are actually defending their own buying decision.

 

 

That is the best way I have seen it phrased and so true.

[WetToes]

I also sail both lines, ... and more, so obviously not loyal to any.

It seems Royal has handled this very well, but seriously, ... shouldn't they have?

Seems they may have learned from some of Carnival's mistakes.

[Winnigirl]

Folks defend their favorite cruiseline primarily because they are actually defending their own buying decision..

 

 

I think that's true to a point....I wouldn't say that we have great "loyalty" to any one line. We've sailed, RC, Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess, Disney, HAL, and Carnival and the only one I would never consider again is Carnival. I was willing to give it a try. We went with an open mind but it just wasn't a good fit for my husband and myself. I felt out-of-place and uncomfortable. Before we left I kept voicing my concern about it being a "party" ship and everyone I know assured me it wasn't - but I didn't have to get further than embarkation to realise that - for us - it was exactly that. I've never felt that vibe on any other line. If it's what you're looking for - great. If that's not for you - not so great.

[Vitality08]

We'll never know what the response would have been had this happened before the Triumph incident but I think all the cruise lines (including Carnival) learned a great lesson on how to handle these situations and now a standard has been set, as it should be.

 

All passengers will be better treated in the future because no cruise line wants to be the odd company out that strictly adhere's to the cruise contract and does nothing or close to nothing.

[RSLeesburg]

Exactly... and the media still wants to drag the Triumph into articles about Royal.

 

Yes. I have noticed that - I guess there was not enough pain or misery on Grandeur because it got to port so quickly. It is a sad and depressing thing that our press has turned into.

 

This morning my wife saw the story on the Grandeur on the morning news, and the reporter stated, and I quote, "wow, another fire on a cruise ship. Seems like we are talking about this issue every week." REALLY!? What a moron. Sorry, it is just that statements like that from a newscaster just drive me crazy.

 

I am also inpartial in this RCI/Carnival feud, but I must say that I have been shocked by some of the comments made by both camps. The Carnival camp seems almost giddy that RCI had a fire - and the RCI camp took every opportunity to take a jab at the Carnival incidents. I can only say WOW. I am relatively new to this site, but the bitterness and immaturity in both camps is just staggering. It's like one of those reality shows - it is painful to watch, but you can't turn away. Thankfully, the majority of posters are normal, sane, and helpful people.

[The BarCarres]

We just returned from a cruise and had a first time cruiser with us. She is not the nervous type but had to ask the questions after what had been going on with Carnival and the Concordia. I assured her that these incidents only help tighten up what is already tight regulations. We can't be worried every time we step on board a ship or we would go no where (same as flying - stuff "happens").

 

One time we did tell her to be alert and careful was during the muster drill. We are constantly amazed at the arrogance of some people that think they don't have to attend muster drill -- we are left standing there waiting for them to join us. On our last cruise the crew member that was in charge of our muster station took his job extremely seriously and I commented to some of my fellow passengers that I appreciated in case of emergency he would be taking care of us.

 

I don't care what cruise line these things happen to, each time the industry learns and makes it better for any future travel and we expect to do many many more cruises in the future.

[KansasK]

I got an e-mail about the Grandeur and what steps RCI was taking or the passengers in the daylight morning after it happened and I have no Grandeur cruise scheduled. I do have an Independence of the Seas cruise scheduled and this may be why they tried to keep me informed.

 

As others have said, RCI made an effort to keep people informed. That the press is letting them get off easier than Carnival is more because the ship was not dead in the water after the fire and sordid conditions did not ensue.

 

On any report on "how safe are cruise ships?, both Carnival and RCI will take a hit. This was a serious fire that took several hours to put out. It had the best possible outcome - they put out the fire, the ship was able to maintain power and hotel amenities and there were no serious injuries.

 

I don't plan to cancel my November cruise.