Carnival to RC, what should I know?

[lazydayz]

Thank you for this thread. I am booked on my first RCCL cruise after 7 Carnival cruises and always looking for info. I often see people talking about cruise planner, but nothing seems to be available for me in cruise planner yet. When I click on Dining, beverage packages or even activities, I get the same message. Sorry, this is not available right now, please try again once on the ship. Is this because my cruise is too far out at 252 days?

 

Yes. Usually about 90 days out for shows. Earlier for dining packages, drink packages etc. Our Allure cruise is five months away and everything is up but the entertainment.

[askfrog]

RCCL doesn't have the warm chocolate melting cake! Which I really missed.

[Floating Lanai]

How are the dive in Movies set up on the Anthem? The main pool area looks small.

Does RCCL do elegant nights and lobster in the MDR?

Is turndown service once or twice a day?

Can I pre-purchase alcohol to be waiting for me in my room?

[Clarea]

How are the dive in Movies set up on the Anthem? The main pool area looks small.

Does RCCL do elegant nights and lobster in the MDR?

Is turndown service once or twice a day?

Can I pre-purchase alcohol to be waiting for me in my room?

RC still does formal nights, usually 2 per 7-night cruise.

The stateroom attendant still services the stateroom twice a day.

Check your Cruise Planner for in stateroom alcohol options. They don't exist for every cruise.

[Laurin612]

Hi there! Here is a link to a comparison I did about three years ago based on my first cruise on RC in a number of years:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2191052

 

However, it should be noted that the comparisons I made refer to my experiences on the smaller RC ships (and Adventure of the Seas, most recently). Entertainment on the small ships is just OK, while I have heard that entertainment on the mega ships is amazing (and you need reservations for them.)

 

Since you are cruising on Anthem, I would imagine that it would probably be a far better experience than you've experienced on Carnival.

 

I like the Refreshment drink package on RC. It includes sodas, specialty coffees, bottled water, fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast and non-alcoholic drinks (like virgin Pina Coladas.) It's been a few years since I've cruised on Carnival, but they didn't have anything like that before. It was just their soda package and the Deluxe package (and we never got that because it required all adults in the cabin to purchase the Deluxe package.) RC didn't used to require that, but now they do. (Although in situations where there are medical reasons, etc. why someone would not need the Deluxe package, they have been known to allow that person to purchase a Refreshment package instead.)

[ObstructedView2]

RCCL doesn't have the warm chocolate melting cake! Which I really missed.

 

Oh my..... That dessert reminded me of something a child would have prepared in an Easy Bake Oven. Yuck! Nasty! Ewwwww!:eek:

 

;p

[Jenny in TX]

We just got off of the Liberty of the Seas on Sunday. We have always cruised Carnival before. These are opinions after sailing Carnival many times. We will definitely sail RCCL again, but will still sail Carnival also. We are hoping to do one of Royal's mega ships in the next couple of years.

 

We thought Carnival's rooms were bigger and had much more storage. The shower on Royal is tiny and my husband and I are both small people. We did like that they had an actual shower door instead of the shower curtain that Carnival has. The balcony on Royal is bigger and we liked that.

 

My husband loves going to the shows at night and we both thought Carnival's shows were better. The shows we say on Liberty of the Seas were good, but nothing blew us away like several of the last shows we have seen on Carnival like Flick and Epic Rock.

 

We are easy to please as far as food goes and we have never had a problem with Carnival's food. I would give the edge to RCCL on this one. We missed Guy's burgers though. RCCL has Johnny Rockets but you pay for it and we still thought Guy's burgers were better.

 

We never get the drink package on Carnival because I am not a big drinker. RCCL had a sail on Cyber Monday that made the deluxe drink package $600 so we bought it. I loved that I could walk up and grab bottles of water anytime I wanted. We had mimosa's for breakfast and spent lots of time at the bar having drinks which we enjoyed. When we cruise RCCL again we will probably buy it.

 

We like all the sail away deck parties that Carnival has by the pool. RCCL does their parties on the Royal Promenade which we did not care for. We felt like we were in a mall. There are no windows to sea the water and the vibe is just different.

 

If you have small kids RCCL wins with the kids water area. It is huge and there are plenty of chairs around for parents to relax while their kids play.

 

The casino was so smoky on RCCL and you have to walk straight through the casino to get to one of the venues unless you go down a floor and then come back up. Carnival has a walkway beside the casino that although you can still smell the smoke you aren't walking right beside people blowing smoke in your face which happened to me twice. I don't think they did it on purpose. I think I just happened to walk by as they were turning their head to blow out their smoke.

 

Liberty of the Seas was very clean and well taken care of and there were always people cleaning anywhere we went.

 

We had anytime dining and were in a group of 10. We loved our waiters on the first night and had a table right by a huge window so on the first night after we ate we went out and made reservations for that same table each night. Our waiters took such good care of us and we really enjoyed getting to know them.

 

There were obviously differences between the two, but a cruise is all about what you make of it and we had a great time despite missing Roatan because the MSC ran over the dock the day before. We only stopped in Costa Maya and Cozumel and had 4 days at sea. Any day on vacation is better than a day at work!!

 

We will definitely be back on RCCL!

[crazyfrazee]

I used to cruise Carnival. I have been on ten with them and will never return. We went on the Oasis last January and loved it so much we booked it again for next January. As far as water, I took 1 1/2 cases and they didn't say anything. I think food may be a little better on Carnival but everything else on RC is better. The 24 hour pizza is fine although I see bad reviews about it. All cruiselines schedule the comedians in the small clubs for some reason so those were the only shows we noticed that filled up early.

[carnival03]

How formal are formal nights? I remember when we went on our first two Carnival cruises, we dressed per the dress code. However, others did not adhere, so it appeared not to be taken seriously on Carnival (which is fine with us because it's vacation, you should be able to dress casual). On the other hand, I do not want to dress casual if formal nights are taken seriously on RC... If they are, what are the expectations for men/women?

[Clarea]

How formal are formal nights? I remember when we went on our first two Carnival cruises, we dressed per the dress code. However, others did not adhere, so it appeared not to be taken seriously on Carnival (which is fine with us because it's vacation, you should be able to dress casual). On the other hand, I do not want to dress casual if formal nights are taken seriously on RC... If they are, what are the expectations for men/women?

RC does not enforce dress suggestions, so you will see some in shorts and some in tuxedos. Wear whatever you like.

[carnival03]

RC does not enforce dress suggestions, so you will see some in shorts and some in tuxedos. Wear whatever you like.

 

That's good to hear... Do I recall hearing something about a Captain's celebration on formal night where everyone gets champagne? Does this still take place?

[Clarea]

That's good to hear... Do I recall hearing something about a Captain's celebration on formal night where everyone gets champagne? Does this still take place?

Yes, the Captain usually has the reception on the first formal night.

[pajazz28]

Hello!

 

My family and I are considering a cruise next May aboard the Anthem OTS visiting Bermuda, St. Maarten, San Juan, and Labadee. We've never cruised with RC, and it's been a while since we've even cruised with Carnival. Also, this will be our first time on a somewhat newer, fancier, larger ship.

 

What's everyone's opinions, advice, etc... for someone transition from Carnival to RC? What should I know? How does anytime dining work? What are the beverage (bar) prices like? Do we have to schedule our entertainment and activities? Any and all information is helpful!! :cool:

 

My DW and I have sail 4 on Carnival and 4 on Royal and honestly we have enjoyed all of them (a day at sea is better than a day on land). I am sure the Anthem will be a great ship.We have cruised on Oasis and Allure and we will be on Harmony in July and there new ships are full of new and exciting activities and venues. If it state on Anthem that entertainment reservation can be made you should go ahead and make them ( they should be available 90 day prior to sailing). Of course we are 80 days out of our trip on Harmony and the entertainment still has not been released yet but I check everyday. I would say Royal is a bit more upscale that carnival and that the newer ship have more entertainment and activities but we go on the cruises to relax and eat and they are both pretty close in those areas. We feel the most important thing is to have an open mind and not allow yourself to let any little problem with the staff or food choice make you upset. If you run into a staff that is having a bad day move on and find another staff that can help, we find that most staff are happy to be there and happy to help. The food on all ship especially in the dinning room has dropped off in quality and choices in all cruise lines since specialty dinning arrived on scene.but my DW and I usually do 3 nights of specialty dinning and the rest of our dinner in the main dinning room. Regardless you are on a ship with many dinning option if you do not like what order ask the waiter to bring you something different or after dinner find another place to eat. Anytime dinning works pretty much for both Carnival and Royal you can make reservation or just show up I do not remember ever having to wait more than 5 minutes for a table. Bar drink are similar in pricing. Have great cruise.

[carnival03]

I know RC promotes their check-in. How does check-in (at the pier and online) differ from other cruise lines? If we're leaving out of Bayonne, do we have a certain time slot to check in, or arrive as early as we want?

 

Also, I noticed some passengers wearing smart bands of some sort, do all passengers where those? I thought I saw someone using their Apple Watch for the same purpose, is that possible?

[asalligo]

Oh my..... That dessert reminded me of something a child would have prepared in an Easy Bake Oven. Yuck! Nasty! Ewwwww!:eek:

 

;p

I love Carnival's warm chocolate melting cake, it is my favorite dessert anywhere, but my wife jokes that I like brownie soup. Anything Chocolate should still be gooey and not done in the middle for me.

[Rogueperson]

I am not sure if Carnival does this with their newer ships, but the Anthem has a system where you have to put your card (or something) in a slot next to the door for the lights and AC to work in your room. Please don't be like me who got drunk, had his wife put me to bed, had her leave, taking the card with her leaving me half drunk, in the dark, with no way to turn the lights on and not able to find the restroom, because it was all the way on the other side of the room. Yeah, that was fun...

[griffy116]

I love Carnival's warm chocolate melting cake, it is my favorite dessert anywhere, but my wife jokes that I like brownie soup. Anything Chocolate should still be gooey and not done in the middle for me.

There is a dessert RC has, where the waiter pours this chocolate from a little pitcher into the center of a chocolate cake after they break it open that both of my adult daughters absolutely LOVE. They order it on every cruise. It's very googy and they can't get enough of it. I don't usually order it so it must be they have another dessert that appeals to me more but they swear by it. Wish I could remember the name of it. Maybe someone else can come up with the name of it. Sorry.

[griffy116]

More on Desserts: I hear people on RC boards that always order the banana split from the kid's menu. Sorry but I haven't tried this either. I love their creme brulee and cobblers. My Grandson swears by the Royal Chocolate Cake.

[griffy116]

They have a 70's or 80's party (depends on which ship for which decade) that is a lot of fun. They have the Quest, which is a must see and for adults only. Held one night during the cruise around 10:30 p.m. Can't explain it to you, but you have to go experience it.

[Countrygurl]

I am not sure if Carnival does this with their newer ships, but the Anthem has a system where you have to put your card (or something) in a slot next to the door for the lights and AC to work in your room. Please don't be like me who got drunk, had his wife put me to bed, had her leave, taking the card with her leaving me half drunk, in the dark, with no way to turn the lights on and not able to find the restroom, because it was all the way on the other side of the room. Yeah, that was fun...[/quote

We had to use the stateroom attendant's "business" card in the slot for the lights last fall on our Carnival Vista cruise.

[MandyMooToo]

I am not sure if Carnival does this with their newer ships, but the Anthem has a system where you have to put your card (or something) in a slot next to the door for the lights and AC to work in your room. Please don't be like me who got drunk, had his wife put me to bed, had her leave, taking the card with her leaving me half drunk, in the dark, with no way to turn the lights on and not able to find the restroom, because it was all the way on the other side of the room. Yeah, that was fun...[/quote

 

We had to use the stateroom attendant's "business" card in the slot for the lights last fall on our Carnival Vista cruise.

 

 

 

We had been warned about this so we brought an old gift card. I can’t even remember which cruise it was that we had to use it on now, but glad we knew about it ahead of time!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Pellaz]

I know RC promotes their check-in. How does check-in (at the pier and online) differ from other cruise lines? If we're leaving out of Bayonne, do we have a certain time slot to check in, or arrive as early as we want?

 

Royal doesn't have check-in times like Carnival does, so you can arrive as early or late as you want. Carnival has been switching to a system where your Sign-and-Sail cards are left at your room in the in-box and you use your boarding pass for onboard purchases until then -- it's made the check-in process incredibly efficient.

I don't think Royal does that yet; they gave us our SeaPasses at a check-in kiosk. They also didn't take cash at check-in for onboard cash accounts like Carnival does; for that, you have to stand in line onboard at Guest Services.

(I honestly don't remember having to go to a check-in kiosk at all on our last Carnival cruise.)

 

Also regarding check-in, Royal does not have an equivalent to Carnival's FTTF program.

[saltshell]

2 bottles of wine per stateroom Cruising solo; can I bring 2 bottles? Does the casino offer free drinks after you spend a certain amount?

[Clarea]

2 bottles of wine per stateroom Cruising solo; can I bring 2 bottles? Does the casino offer free drinks after you spend a certain amount?

Two bottles of wine per stateroom no matter how many guests in the stateroom.

[arfi87a]

2 bottles of wine per stateroom Cruising solo; can I bring 2 bottles? Does the casino offer free drinks after you spend a certain amount?

 

 

 

Yes, you get a VIP sticker for your card that gives you free drinks at the casino bar.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums