Anyone done Carnival, how is it?

[davekathy]

5 minutes ago, phd1003 said:

I'm a Redsox fan but they (like the Yankees and Dodgers are polarizing) - Cubs are safe, almost everybody like the Cubs

I became a Cubs in 1962 (still a die hard Cubs fan) long before Harry Caray and I'm from NY state. 

[Pandamonia]

2 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Meals, actually any/all meats cooked to order, in the Main Dining Room vs., the meats ordered in the Steakhouses are two completely different things.  I very rarely eat in the MDR, for a dinner meal, or on any cruise line, just because of the lack of being able to cook the steak to my desired doneness.  However, I pay a premium in a Steakhouse to get a steak done how I like it on the first try and hopefully a "prime" cut of meat, too.  

 

YMMV

 

I was talking about speciality, Not MDR. I don't eat in the MDR any more because the food is poor and I prefer restaurant environment rather than a School dinner hall MDR. 

[HollyHobbie22]

While I am a novice cruiser I have been on both. I find them very similar. I liked the Ship i was on on RC better than the ship i was on on C. But that was just a ship preference. 

 

I think the lunch is way better on C. Just more options. I sailed RC several years ago (precovid) and they had several difference drink packages to pick from. I had a beer and wine package and loved it. It was a lot cheaper than the full on bar package. C only had one but I still got my money's worth out of it. I only hit the 15 limit twice. Both sea days. 

 

I like the adult only areas on C better. I loved all the day time activities C offered but felt like RC had better night shows. 

 

I have only done 7 and 8 day cruises. I have a 4 day cruise on C booked this summer. But its a quick girls trip so I'm ok if it is a booze cruise. We will have fun. 🙂 

 

I take whatever is going where I am interested in going and for a nice deal. 

[mek]

1 hour ago, soremekun said:

I started out on Carnival but after sailing an Oasis class ship, I've been hooked on Royal.  I am going back to check out Mardi Gras and Celebration. I will never book a cruise on Carnival on anything older than Vista.

I agree that there really isn't anything like the Oasis class ships, but even they can get "old" and I like variety.

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

1 hour ago, jencruzin said:

Well, I've heard they've improved, but it's hit or miss, really. But, for us, we'll never go back (it's just that type of people...kinda like going to walmart shopping).

So you are saying that people that shop at Walmart are below you and you will not associate with them? I would say then, if you were the representative for RCL passengers, which thankfully you are not, I would avoid RCL and your "type of people". 

[silentbob007]

Have done plenty of Carnival cruises though none recently. I won’t get into demographics. I like the food options available on Carnival. What bothered me the most was hearing some of the shop team talking to each other about different ships and lines they’ve worked on and how Carnival tended to not care if crew didn’t show up to mandatory safety meetings while RCI was very strict about it. Take the gossip as you will as I’m sure it is not necessarily accurate or representative  

[Vibe]

7 minutes ago, silentbob007 said:

Have done plenty of Carnival cruises though none recently. I won’t get into demographics. I like the food options available on Carnival. What bothered me the most was hearing some of the shop team talking to each other about different ships and lines they’ve worked on and how Carnival tended to not care if crew didn’t show up to mandatory safety meetings while RCI was very strict about it. Take the gossip as you will as I’m sure it is not necessarily accurate or representative  

When I was on a Carnival cruise several years ago, someone jumped off from their balcony. When they lowered a life boat to go to rescue, the crew capsized it.  You could hear the guy yelling while in the ocean for help. Fortunately a Disney cruise ship was nearby, they went out on their lifeboat and rescued him.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Vibe

[ksadonnab]

Horrible -  for my one and only experience. 

But I've had people who say it depends on the ship.

Carnival was my 1 and done!  Just my opinion.  

[TexasRon]

We did two seven day cruises on Carnival.  They were great!

 

We have done three cruises of shorter lengths on Royal.  They were great!

 

There were differences but I found them both to be fine and a far cry from my six months as an embarked Marine on a Navy ship.  That is a low bar as far as service, facilities, and comfort.

 

I will steer away from weekend cruises on Royal and anything shorter than a week on Carnival.

[Anton]

I'm pinnacle with Royal and Carnival VIFP Platinum, so I like both cruise lines.  Carnival has a significant advantage with "free" food options that are very good quality.  Royal is pitiful in comparison.  Service is generally equal although I find the Royal bar staff to be much more fun and engaging where Carnival's bar staffs are less so.  You can find drunks and malcontents on both lines that cause problems.  Carnival's premium restaurants are better than Royal's, at least to my tastes.  The buffets and main dining rooms are more alike than they are unique, both being average at best.  I have seven Royal cruises and two Carnival cruises booked so far for this year.  I plan to have an extra large time on all nine cruises.

[PhillyFan33579]

I am Diamond on Carnival and Diamond Plus on RCI. While I like both lines, I don’t have any plans to cruise on Carnival again. Without going into details I find the environment on RCI more appealing to me these days. A lot of that is probably age related as I am now in my mid 50s. A little off topic, but I see myself cruising more often on Celebrity as I get older 

 

 

[Cherries Jubilee]

I cruise both lines. I like both and find them to be more similar than different but you have to know what you’re looking for.

 

If you want a wealth of entertainment at your fingertips Royal is going to have more to offer than Carnival. Depending on which ship class you choose you could have slides,surfing,merry go round, ice skating, laser tag, rock climbing,& zip line.

You could pick a Quantam class and still have some combination of North Star crane,faux skydiving, bumper cars, roller skating, trapeze classes, a virtual trampoline game,surfing,& rock climbing.

 

Carnival has a few ships with a cable car ride and a few ships with a roller coaster ride and most of their ships have slides and a ropes course. That obviously doesn’t compare to all the things you COULD have depending on which class of Royal ship you choose. 
 

Now if you want to compare older ships or you don’t care about all those bells and whistles, they are pretty similar. Royal ships tend to feel more closed in and more elegantly decorated. They don’t feel very tropical to me while Carnival decor ranges from gaudy casino (older ships) to nautical sun porch decor (newer ships).

 

 Carnival usually has more food options and I tend to prefer their flavors but it is possible that the actual quality of some things may be better on Royal.

 

 I personally agree that clientele can depend more on the length of the cruise than the brand. I do think Carnival is sometimes preferred by younger people so that could make a difference in crowd behavior.

 

Shows are more dynamic on Royal but both could stand to work on their stories lol.

 

The service is a little more chipper on Royal but both have nice staff.

 

Royal’s ships seem to be better taken care of at least cosmetically so if I was taking an older ship I would be tempted to go Royal.

 

 I like both and now choose based on departure port, itinerary and/or age of ship.

[Stick93]

Carnival is fun if you don’t mind a ship that is rusting around you. It’s great if you don’t mind the passengers who don’t know that there are other people around they share space with. The product is stale  but is exciting if you never did it before. I am platinum but my next 6 cruises are on Royal. 

[welshrich]

Thanks everyone, this is great and really informative.  I've done all the different classes on RCI so agree that it depends on the ship, we were on Vision a few months ago and someone on their first cruise was complaining it was boring and likely their last RCI cruise whereas if they were on Anthem maybe they would have enjoyed it more.

 

If RCI did a few different itineraries we probably would only cruise with them but we do tend to sail for the port rather than the ship.

 

It's nice to see so many have done both and no real horror stories so think we will give it a go, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

 

 

[crzndeb]

3 hours ago, welshrich said:

Thanks everyone, this is great and really informative.  I've done all the different classes on RCI so agree that it depends on the ship, we were on Vision a few months ago and someone on their first cruise was complaining it was boring and likely their last RCI cruise whereas if they were on Anthem maybe they would have enjoyed it more.

 

If RCI did a few different itineraries we probably would only cruise with them but we do tend to sail for the port rather than the ship.

 

It's nice to see so many have done both and no real horror stories so think we will give it a go, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

 

 

After hearing more friends going on the Panorama to Singapore, and having done the cruise before, I was having real FOMO. I reserved a cabin. LOL. Unless people have actually done a Journey’s cruise on Carnival, it’s really hard to compare. It’s not no 7 day Caribbean cruise. You can’t beat the price. See you onboard!

[sgmn]

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-releases-impressive-new-longer-itineraries/93550

 

Sounds interesting but a lot  of sea days

Edited March 7, 2023 by sgmn

[mek]

4 hours ago, welshrich said:

Thanks everyone, this is great and really informative.  I've done all the different classes on RCI so agree that it depends on the ship, we were on Vision a few months ago and someone on their first cruise was complaining it was boring and likely their last RCI cruise whereas if they were on Anthem maybe they would have enjoyed it more.

 

If RCI did a few different itineraries we probably would only cruise with them but we do tend to sail for the port rather than the ship.

 

It's nice to see so many have done both and no real horror stories so think we will give it a go, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

 

 

Good decision - hope you have a great cruise.

[Sigyn]

I think it depends on the type of cruise. We did a 5-day Carnival cruise out of Jacksonville back in 2013 on an older ship and that was a total party cruise and we hated it. We did it because friends begged us to go with them. It was not our style or our crowd. But then we did an 8-day Mediterranean cruise on a brand new Carnival ship (the Vista) out of Barcelona in 2016 and it was absolutely fine. I equate the people on that cruise to the group that was on our NCL cruise over the holidays, minus the kids. It was a complete different type of passenger on a European cruise for Carnival than the typical "hold my beer" type you see on a short, cheap cruise to the Bahamas or Mexico. It wasn't what I presume you'd see on the high-end cruise ships, but it was a very nice group of people who appreciated exploring Rome, Florence, Provence, etc. Not people who just wanted to get in a hot tub with a Miller Lite and leave a pile of used diapers from their kid outside their cabin door. (Yes, that just happened to my friends who took a Carnival cruise to Mexico.)

Edited March 7, 2023 by njsmom

[crzndeb]

21 minutes ago, njsmom said:

But then we did an 8-day Mediterranean cruise on a brand new Carnival ship (the Vista) out of Barcelona in 2016

Wonder if we did same cruise. I did the last 2 Med cruises (so much to see) and the TA in 2016.

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, crzndeb said:

After hearing more friends going on the Panorama to Singapore, and having done the cruise before, I was having real FOMO. I reserved a cabin. LOL. Unless people have actually done a Journey’s cruise on Carnival, it’s really hard to compare. It’s not no 7 day Caribbean cruise. You can’t beat the price. See you onboard!

I agree a journey cruise is different.  I did a carnival journey cruise to Alaska and it's my favorite cruise. A naturalist talked the night before what to see the next day. Lots of seniors all lined up in chairs on deck with binoculars hahahaha. But I loved it. 

 

I think a lot didnt see it's a journey cruise or seem to realize it's a little better.

[crewsweeper]

We've done enough Carnival cruises to be Platinum.  DW likes big boats.  We've been on the 3 Dream class and the two Vista class ships But after 2 not so great Mardi Gras cruises in a row, DW says we're sticking with Royal.  We've sailed on the  Independence, Symphony, Oasis, Harmony, Odyssey and heading for the Wonder in April (and again next January).  We're hoping to be able to book an Icon 2025 cruise while on the Wonder.

 

Best thing about Carnival was their spas and the sea day BBQ on the Dream class and the Havana Deck on the 2 Vista ships. I enjoyed the brewery on board brews, but not the InBev stuff they tried to peddle as "craft".   Would agree on the comedy shows.  But think there's much more to do on Royal.  And more specialty restaurants.

[maryann2]

7 hours ago, welshrich said:

Thanks everyone, this is great and really informative.  I've done all the different classes on RCI so agree that it depends on the ship, we were on Vision a few months ago and someone on their first cruise was complaining it was boring and likely their last RCI cruise whereas if they were on Anthem maybe they would have enjoyed it more.

 

If RCI did a few different itineraries we probably would only cruise with them but we do tend to sail for the port rather than the ship.

 

It's nice to see so many have done both and no real horror stories so think we will give it a go, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

 

 

Good choice.

Hope to meet you on board.

[maryann2]

3 hours ago, crzndeb said:

After hearing more friends going on the Panorama to Singapore, and having done the cruise before, I was having real FOMO. I reserved a cabin. LOL. Unless people have actually done a Journey’s cruise on Carnival, it’s really hard to compare. It’s not no 7 day Caribbean cruise. You can’t beat the price. See you onboard!

Great news Debbie.  Will be good to see you again.

[maryann2]

1 hour ago, crzndeb said:

Wonder if we did same cruise. I did the last 2 Med cruises (so much to see) and the TA in 2016.

I was on the last Med cruise from Athens and TA on the Vista. Just wonderful.

[Guest phd1003]

On 3/6/2023 at 12:04 PM, ibarrio said:

 

Perception only, not saying it's true

 

Royal  - passengers are old, stuffy, but have more money.

Carnival - younger, drink more/party, have less money. The shorter the cruise the bigger the party. 

I think your on the right track. Buy not the age part, there are plenty of derogatory references to age on these boards.