A Royal Loyal Does Carnival – A Review

[JohnSpo]

On 8/2/2019 at 12:31 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Interesting that you would choose Carnival when it sounds like you were loyal to RCCL for a long time.  Do you ever think you should have tried a Carnival ship earlier?  I have been on 29 cruises so far, everyone on Carnival. Once in awhile my wife and I talk about going on a different cruise line, especially when we see a ship in port like Celebrity Edge. However, we always fall back to sticking with Carnival since we know we will have a good time. I am sure one day we will try another cruise line, I just don’t know when that day will be here. 

I also only cruised on Carnival,14 times.  I took a RCL cruise this past March after getting a great deal on Anthem of the Seas out of Bayonne, NJ.  I had a great time on RCL.  Great food, service, and shows and the ship was clean.  I also feel Carnival has great food, service, shows and has  clean ships as well.  Both lines are great with some differences I like on both:  Carnival has a great steakhouse along with really good specialty food options like Bonsai Shushi, Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, and great pizza.  I like Carnival's production shows,  game shows and the Comedy Club.  Even though RCL's shows are great and much bigger productions, I enjoy the smaller/simpler productions that Carnival offers.  The late night Disco/Piano Bar/Karaoke entertainment is also a lot of fun on Carnival.  All the food I had on RCL was great, especially their salads and an awesome Roast Beef slider that I had almost everyday.  But Carnival seemed to have the edge with really good specialty type offerings that are included in the fare.   I thought Anthem of the Seas may be too big of a ship to cruise on but it actually is not too big and it is a beautiful ship to cruise on.  RCL has done an amazing job on the Anthem's layout because it never felt crowded with no lines anywhere.  Even the buffet area and embarkation and debarkation never much of any lines to speak of.  I agree the Anthem has more of a hotel feel than a cruise ship which I prefer on Carnival but it was fun to experience another cruise line ship and layout.  

 

I think RCL is a great cruise line and I will certainly book them in the future when I am offered a great deal.

 

I am glad I opened up to trying RCL so now I will choose from both RCL and Carnival but Carnival will be my first choice.😎

Edited August 18, 2019 by JohnSpo

[havanadaydreaming]

after only sailing Carnival my first 3 cruises we wandered to NCL and MSC past few years, quite simply they were better bangs for the buck.  

 

I must admit I'm most fond of NCL but really enjoyed MSC too.  

 

that said we are coming back to Carnival for 1, maybe 2 cruises this year.  

 

there are differences between the three lines but I'll never understand those that don't like a particular line.  ive had wonderful experiences on every ship, big or small. 

[Moz]

We were loyal to Carnival and then tried NCL and MSC both were less expensive than Carnival considering we purchased the cheers package.  The food and service were similar to Carnival but the biggest difference we noticed besides the entertainment were the clientele.  Major difference.