Carnival or Royal Caribbean and why

[carlissaandisaacsmommy]

We have always cruised with Carnival (Dream, Legend, and Breeze) but thinking about changing things up a bit for our upcoming trip and trying RC. We are looking at Allure of The Seas or Freedom of the Seas. If you've been on both, what are your thoughts? Things that are important to us:

- great children's program (ages 5&10)

- good food and service

- little motion felt on ship

- fun water features

- plenty of variety with the free restaurants

 

 

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[NavyCruiser]

We've been on the Allure (& newest sister ship Harmony), so can make a quick comparison.

 

- great children's program (ages 5&10), Carnival

- good food and service, Equal

- little motion felt on ship, Equal, we've mostly cruise carib & med, so not much motion anyways, but Allure & Harmony being much larger, will probably less likely to roll in heavy weather

- fun water features, Carnival, but Harmony has a great dry slide

- plenty of variety with the free restaurants, Equal

 

We're Platinum on both lines, but Carnival's Platinum is a higher level.

So it comes down to pricing & locations.

Our kids, now grown adults, did like Carnival's kids clubs better when they were younger...

[brookie848]

Since water features are something you want, have you considered NCL? Most of their ships have water slides (the newer ships have multiple slides). I don't think most Royal ships have water slides (but some have the Flow Riders).

 

While I haven't been on either Royal or Carnival (yet), from what I've read, I would think that Carnival's free food options are more abundant than Royal's. And they are more interesting to me, at least after reading some recent reviews.

[crewsweeper]

We're trying out the Oasis of the Seas next year. DW has been on the Independence and liked it. However, she had a special deal/status which we won't have. As I understand, the On board entertainment on RCL is better and they have an ice rink with ice shows plus a large review along the broadway, or whatever it is called. I also hear that he food in their pay restaurants isn't as good as some of the freebie stuff on Carnival and certainly not quite as good as the pay venues on Carnival. Plus as I have read, there are LESS free dining options on RCL and you have to make reservations for dining in the MDR. That said, there are other amenities like a small lap pool, not open to kids, and rock climbing, etc.

 

The other plus for RCL, if all you've cruised is on Carnival, different ports. Some are their own private islands but nevertheless different from Carnival.

[serene56]

We have always cruised with Carnival (Dream, Legend, and Breeze) but thinking about changing things up a bit for our upcoming trip and trying RC. We are looking at Allure of The Seas or Freedom of the Seas. If you've been on both, what are your thoughts? Things that are important to us:

- great children's program (ages 5&10)

- good food and service

- little motion felt on ship

- fun water features

- plenty of variety with the free restaurants

 

 

Have sailed the Breeze and Legend. freedom of the seas- was recently.

We go with what is cheaper at the time we want to sail.

 

Motion-- that will depend on the ocean- if you hit rough waters you will feel the motion.

Food service etc is about the same as Carnival.

 

On the freedom of the seas I felt nickled and dime and have never felt that way before on a cruise. the first night we were looking for a drink about 10pm (like carnival the buffet closed at 9:30) so there was nothing there (unlike carnival where you have iced tea and lemonade available 24 hours.)

was told to go to the promanade-- our options were water. and more water.) felt that we needed to buy a soda card in order to get something to drink.

 

Would sail the freedom again. Not the allure as that ship is too big for us with too many options that i am sure something will have to be let go in order to do something else

[meatloafsfan]

You'll find the basics more similar than dissimilar.

 

If you're curious about the Royal Caribbean style, why not try it once? You may find it a good fit, find that you prefer Carnival, or find that you're good to go back and forth based on price/itinerary/ship.

[mrpayroll]

You'll find the basics more similar than dissimilar.

 

If you're curious about the Royal Caribbean style, why not try it once? You may find it a good fit, find that you prefer Carnival, or find that you're good to go back and forth based on price/itinerary/ship.

 

Great advice. We tried RCCL and now we cruise on Carnival and RCCL. Enjoy both.

[Jamericannn]

We have always cruised with Carnival (Dream, Legend, and Breeze) but thinking about changing things up a bit for our upcoming trip and trying RC. We are looking at Allure of The Seas or Freedom of the Seas. If you've been on both, what are your thoughts? Things that are important to us:

- great children's program (ages 5&10)

- good food and service

- little motion felt on ship

- fun water features

- plenty of variety with the free restaurants

 

 

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I heard that Allure of the Seas is the best cruise ship around. I want to go on her one day.

[soccermommie]

We've been on 31 cruises, almost evenly split between Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Until recently, our preference leaned heavily toward Royal Caribbean; however, the cutbacks, the constant hawking of 'extras' (additional cost dining venues, spa, etc) and a generalized lack of service (and especially service with a smile) we experienced on our last two Royal cruises have pushed us decidedly toward Carnival for future cruises. The only area where I would say we still prefer Royal over Carnival is in their ship design, layout and decor.

 

We have not sailed on an Oasis class, but we have sailed on Freedom, Voyager, Radiance and Vision class ships on Royal. We have sailed Magic, Dream, Valor, Elation, Conquest, Freedom and Jubilee on Carnival. These ships range from about 48,000 to 160,000 gross tonnage. We've had cabins in all locations (forward, mid, aft) and from low to high decks, and only in particularly rough seas have we noticed any significant (i.e. nausea-inducing) movement on any of the ships. We aren't prone to seasickness, however.

 

To address your other specific interests:

 

Kids' program - all of our 4 children preferred the Carnival program over Royal Caribbean, and they experienced all the age groups of the kids' program.

 

Great food and service - We're not big foodies, but we've always felt that Carnival's food exceeded Royal's. In fact, we gave up on Royal's main dining room in favor of their buffet 3 cruises ago due to lack of service and food quality. To us, the food selections simply no longer justify the time of the long dinners and effort (packing extra clothes and changing for dinner, planning around evening activities, etc) involved in eating in Royal's dining room. Carnival's buffet has more selections and more variety at breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the week than Royal's. Royal wins in dinnertime ambiance in the buffet; they dim the lights, and it feels much more intimate and romantic.

 

We also feel that Carnival wins in the availability of free dining venues. We really enjoy Guy's, Pasta Bella, Pizza Pirate and the Blue Iguana Cantina on Carnival. For snacking and quick eats, Carnival's burgers and pizza win hands-down over Royal's. Royal's Cafe Promenade offers small sandwiches (ham and cheese on croissant, etc), cookies and some sweets (macaroons, pound cake, etc), but we find them to be hit or miss in taste and variety is lacking - it's the same thing every day. Also, Carnival has soft-serve available 24/7 and has more machines while Royal Caribbean only offers it during limited hours and may only have 1 or two machines operational during those times. Royal does have scoop ice cream with a small selection of toppings in the buffet in the evening. We have not been particularly impressed with room service on either cruise line, but Royal Caribbean does have some 'hot' items on the breakfast menu.

 

Fun water features - All the newer (and most recently refurbished older) ships have fun water areas for kids. Be aware that there are height restrictions on Royal's flowrider which may preclude your children from participating (52" to bodyboard and 58" to use the stand up flowboard). The slides and Flowrider on Royal seemed to have more limited times they were open than on Carnival; however, our kids aren't big into water activities, so we don't pay particularly close attention to that. We (parents) much prefer Royal's Solarium pool area over Carnival's Serenity or adult-only pools.

[poz222]

I have just recently went on the Allure and was impressed! The kids club was good (our friends had a 7 and 12 yr old) they loved the Dreamworks characters. For water features, the flow rider for older kids is great. They have a splash area for little ones, but the slides on CCL are much better.

 

Free food options are better in CCL and. MDR on CCL is a bit better but the Pay restaurants are great on RCCL.

 

Entertainment on RCCL is much better, the shows, aqua theater and dreamworks parades and characters are fun and the neighborhoods on the Allure are really nice (the boardwalk is a fun area for kids with a carousel and kids stuff). I found the Allure to feel less crowded and it really is an overall impressive vessel!

 

I still love CCL and will cruise them too, but loved the Allure. So I say give it a try. There is a lot of similarities between the two lines, but for a unique experience, I say give the Allure a try. I am more loyal to price now than cruiselines since they are generally similar.

[KPfromCT]

We normally only cruise on Carnival, but this year we decided to try one of the "BIG" girls. We did our first RCCL cruise in June, on Oasis.

 

What an experience. You need to try it just ONCE!!!

 

I cannot answer to the kids club, as DD is 17 and likes to just hang with Mom and Dad.

The food is more similar than different, but I will say, I think Carnival has more "free" options, ie; Guys, Blue Iguana, Cucina for lunch.

Also, Carnival's steakhouse is MUCH better than Chops and cheaper.:D:D

We felt ZERO motion on the ship, and we actually missed it. That's one thing with the HUGE ships, unless you are sitting on your balcony, you really don't even know you are on a cruise.

 

Anyway, at the end of the trip, while we had a great time and are happy we tried it, we missed Carnival.

 

So, going on the Magic in June, and we cannot wait.

 

Let us know what you decide!! Happy sailings!:D

[abisha]

I think it depends on what is important to you when it comes to selecting.

 

As far as entertainment. You cannot compare other ships to the Allure.. the Aqua theater, the full scale broadway shows, and their grand scale theaters with special staging and effects are fabulous.

 

Allure is enormous, but I did find that it lacked a lot of "charm" and decor was somewhat blah. Yes, I know it has a uniqueness to its blue print, but I found it was no different than walking through a shopping mall, not to mention it lacked views of the sea from many public areas that were not on the upper decks.

 

The entire ambiance on the Royal ships are very subdued. The crew works hard and they do their job very well, but they do not really interact with passengers in the same way they do on Carnival.

 

There's definitely more specialty restaurants on Allure vs. what Carnival offers. Royal has more buffet offerings, but not to my own personal liking (and I find Carnival just doesn't have enough selection).

 

I found main dining room food very similar.

 

I think it would be nice to mix things up a bit and try Royal to get a comparison. It's nice to experience the large mega ship.

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

I think both lines offer their pluses and minuses. Having a two year old and a baby, we have been favoring royal because they offer reasonable daycare while carnival does not. However, when it's just my wife and I, we prefer carnival thanks to its laid back atmosphere and great included food options. We are going on the Indy in march and then the carnival pride in August for a family reunion because we thought all the young kids would prefer carnival

 

 

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[cjknox]

It has been my experience that both Carnival and Royal are more alike than most people would admit. However, everyone should try all cruise lines at least once because they do differ in other ways; ship decor, ambiance being two. Besides, it never hurts to become a well versed traveler.;) Usually its the subtler differences that endear people to a particular line.

[lazydayz]

I would pick the Allure. If you are thinking about a suite, RC has many perks. Also the entertainment is better. As for the kids program, again more alike than different. And Royal ships are beautiful. Why not give Royal a try?

 

We have cruised Carnival 24 times and Royal 20 and like features of both lines.

[carlissaandisaacsmommy]

Thanks for everyone's help!!! In the end, it's a cruise and we will be happy either way!

 

 

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[Aquahound]

We did our first RCCL cruise in June, on Oasis.

 

What an experience. You need to try it just ONCE!!!

 

I totally agree with this. I've cruised many ships across several lines and by far, my most amazing ship experiences have been my Oasis Class cruises. I'll cruise just about anything with anyone, but no other ships have made me say "wow" like those.

[rjrpar]

We sail many lines and prefer the Voyager and Freedom class ships to any we've been on. Royal is usually more expensive than Carnival but you get what you pay for.

 

 

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[dacsmom]

I go back and forth between both lines and I have been on both the Freedom and Allure. If you have never been on an Oasis class ship before definitely give it a try, it really is something special. The parades are very nice on the Allure, kids of all ages enjoy them. The carousel if also fun for all. The aqua theater shows are spectacular, the food is subjective but I have not had a bad meal yet on either line. Did not feel motion on the Allure at all. I really liked the freedom, but it felt more crowded. The Allure really has coordination down, it never felt crowded unless the main theater was letting out. Then there was a wait for elevators.