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Royal Caribbean vs Carnival


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With RCI being hit and miss in the future with cruise ships out of Galveston, I like to know some pros and cons between the two lines.

 

Carnival Conquest vs RCI Voyager of the Seas,

 

Carnival Ecstasy vs RCI what ever they come with.

 

I know, as you can see, I've been on Ecstasy as well as Rhapsody but I'm looking for others opinions.

 

Thanks

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I have been on 3 Carnival and just took my first RCCL, granted I have not been on the ships you list but have been on Voyagers sister ship Explorer and I will say that RCCL is a much better experience all around, from food, service, entertainment,etc. Unless Carnival offers a intinerary totally different or exceptional from RCCL I will not be sailing them again.

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With RCI being hit and miss in the future with cruise ships out of Galveston, I like to know some pros and cons between the two lines.

 

Carnival Conquest vs RCI Voyager of the Seas,

 

Carnival Ecstasy vs RCI what ever they come with.

 

I know, as you can see, I've been on Ecstasy as well as Rhapsody but I'm looking for others opinions.

 

Thanks

Carnival doesn't have anything in the current fleet to compare to a Voyager Class Ship. It's like comparing the Holiday Inn to the Hyatt Regency. I've been on Voyager twice and am going on Mariner in December. The Ice Show on this class ship is spectacular. So is the Royal Promenade with the shops and bars.The 3 story dining room is eye popping. Different strokes for different folks though. If a longneck and dip is more your style with a party hard desire stick with Carnival. If you are looking for a more sophisticated experience try RCCL.

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I have been on the Carnival Victory and RCCL Freedom of the Seas and I have to say there is no comparison between these two ships. Not even close. It's like comparing a Lexus and a Hyundai. RCCL ships have the wow factor that Carnival can't match: Promenade, Ice Skating Rink, h2o zone, rock climbing wall, flow rider. I still had a great time on the Victory but the quality of the RCCL product is very evident. I would still sail Carnival if the opportunity arose, but my first choice now is RCCL.

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Our son and new bride took the one week Carnival Ship out of Galveston for the honeymoon.

 

He, having trained for multiple years at partying at Texas Tech, came home with one overview of the Carnival experience:

 

"Dad, I have never seen so many people drunk for so long in one place, it was a puke-fest"

 

And this comment comes from a true college paraty animal.

 

Flame away with contrary views, as I said, it was one person's opinion.

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I have been on Conquest and Adventure (Voyagers sister). Long story short, I am on the Voyager in Jan...not the Valor (Conquest sister). I will never sail carnival again. Just does not compare and is not worth losing an RCI cruise credit to save a couple bucks.

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I wouldn't sail Carnival again if it were free. Service pales in comparison to RCCL. The Voyager-ships are so large and have so much public space that it never seems crowded. On Carnival Miracle we were packed in like sardines - not enough space for the amount of people onboard. The ship is dark, smoky and the layout is very awkward. I could go on and on.

 

There is one area I'd give an edge to Carnival and that is in the quality of the buffet food.

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I guess I am going to be the lone voice in my opinion. :o I haven't done the larger RCI ships but for the cruises I have done so far, I would say that both lines are comparable. I have not seen Carnival to be a "puke fest" any more than RCI. I have also not seen that Carnival offers better food, more amenities than RCI. Personally, I would put them in the same category - great cruises and good value for the $$. Both are great for families and are affordable cruising choices. If you want to step up the quality then you start to look at Celebrity, etc.

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Ectasy and RCCL Majesty, Monarch, Sovereign are all similar. They only have one dining room and one buffet for meals. I will only sail those ships on 3-4 night cruises because I like more variety of dining on 7+ night cruises.

 

When you sail out of Miami on those 3-4 night cruises to the Bahamas or Cozumel, it is a party ship no matter which cruiseline. Majesty of the Seas gives you one more port (CocoCay-private island) v. Carnival. Generally, Carnival has more sea days. They make more money that way.

Carnival's cabins are much larger, including bathroom. RCCL's cabins have nicer decor. RCCL ships have a much richer warmer decor with lots of wood and brass. Carnival ships tend to have too much red and black for my taste--more like Vegas.

 

We sailed Carnival Triumph last winter and realized we prefer RCCL, NCL, and Princess over Carnival on any cruises more than 5 nights. Carnival Triumph only had one dining room and one buffet with no alternative dining available. We enjoy lots of restaurants. We don't like the decor on most Carnival ships--but do like the great prices on their 4 night cruises. However, I do feel if given the choice between Carnival Ectasy or Fascination v. Majesty of the Seas for the same cruise, I'd take Majesty hands down. I like the private island in the Bahamas on RCCL.

 

Carnival has great food in their dining room, but their buffet is a joke--like a school cafeteria. We were going to try Carnival Triumph's dinner buffet, but were disappointed in limited food choices--it had only one dessert choice. RCCL's dinner buffets are outstanding. Jewel of the Seas had a station where you could have steak, chicken, or fish cooked just the way you like right in front of you. Great idea! It was as popular as an omelet station in the morning.

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This question gets brought up at least twice a month on this board. If you ask on the RCI board the folks over here will say RCI and vice versa over on the Carnival board. For most on the Carnival board you will see the words "price, value, money" as their determining factor most times for choosing one over the other.

 

For me I do choose RCI over Carnival for several reasons. One, ships are cleaner and kept up much better than Carnival. Next, RCI has a much better past guest program where the benefits kick in after five cruises, not on your tenth cruise like on Carnival. It took Carnival over thirty years to put into place a past guest program. Too late for me.

 

As far as entertainment and food which is totally subjective, I find them to be about even when all things are considered. Each one does something a little better than the other in places. To me where they are not even is in the friendly service and crew. Just did not find it that great on Carnival. Especially with my last five or so cruises.

 

As far as price, RCI is not alway more expensive but even if it were I would pay the extra. To me it is worth it. Carnival does not have a ship in their fleet that can compare with the Voyager or Freedom class ship and while I really like the Spirit class ship of Carnival my bet is the Radiance class will blow that one out of the water but I will see for myself in a short time.

 

We can all sit here all night and debate which cruise line is better than the other and there will be no clear cut winner as we all will never agree on this. Research and find which line or ship meets your needs and go with it and keep in mind that everything you read here is just opinions and just like something else, we all have one!!!!:)

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This year, after a 4 year pause, we have taken 3 Carnival cruises and enjoyed each one, especially the cruise on Elation in Sept. to Grand Turk. Whenever I see the bathrooms on Carnival I think "what a waste of space"; but that's just me. We prefer the Voyager class ships because they are so unique with the ice rink and the Promenade and we very much enjoyed our one night on the Freedom...give it an interesting itinerary and we'll be back. The only place I noticed Carnival tended to be higher than other lines is in Alaska; unfortunate for us because Carnival has the exact itinerary we want and no other line provides it in 7 nights. So choosing between the two is really more a matter of interests and preferences at any given time. And then there are the Carnival bashers who, outside of cruise critic members, have never been on a Carnival ship!

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We have sailed on RCCL many times. Last Spring we tried the Carnival Valor. We had a great time, everyone seemed just fine for a "party boat" as everyone calls it. We never saw anyone acting bad or "drunk", just everyone having a nice time. We did do a May trip and not at spring break, that might be a different animal.

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Our first cruise was on RCCL then we went to 2 CCL... while they were good experiences we went back to RCCL. We have two more RCCL booked. We find the biggest dif. is in staff.... on Carnival it is a job to be done.... on RCCL the staff really enjoys their jobs and goes out of their way to make sure you are happy. I am not saying I wouldn't go back to Carnival but it would hard. After Voyager class and Freedom class there isn't much to compare.

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Let me think

Already completed

 

Nordic Prince 4/5/87...

Sovereign 3/26/88..10/3/02..1/19/03..1/12/04...7/15/05..9/23/05..

10/14/05..4/7/06..8/25/06

Star Princess 10/89...

Grandeur 10/23/99...11/9/01...11/20/01..1/5/06 (2)..3/2/06..

Splendour 3/31/00..1/8/05..

Radiance 3/26/01..11/16/03 (2)..11/13/05...5/7/06 (2) Hawaii

Enchantment 1/27/02...

Infinity 6/7/02 Alaska…

Monarch 9/7/02...

Explorer 11/30/02...

Nordic Empress 3/1/03 Mardi Gras…

Majesty 4/4/03..9/19/03...

Voyager 10/26/03..

Mariner 9/5/04..9/11/05..9/3/06 (2)

Jewel 11/6/04...

 

Yes, I see how you can exactly make the comparison. :rolleyes:

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I like both, I know I have only been on 1 RC but have two scheduled and my parents have traveled on RC quite a bit. Even as an avid RC supporter, her support is waning. We have both missed ports on RC and was given nothing in return, on Carnival if you miss a port you at least get an OBC of some kind - even if they have switched a port on on us they have given us $50 OBC. It is good customer service and yes they do make more money keeping you on the boat. Also I don't like how lately when trying to book all the guarantee cabins are N/A on RC, and the two trips we have planned no discounts for people over 55 (for my parents). The main reason we are doing the next two on RC is for a change and because we want one last hurrah on the Rhapsody and to check the Voyager out. I really think they are too close to call. I like the shows, food and solarium on RC better and I like the desserts, room size, water slides and customer service better on Carnival. Even if you try a different ship those could change.......so good luck trying to figure it out. Either way, make the best of it. After all vacation is better than being at work!

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Have sailed both and liked both for different reasons. We did a 4 nighter out of Miami on the Imagination - we really had a nice time - yes there were a few 18 year olds in Cozumel that partied but I didn't see too many fall down drunks. We went the weekend after Memorial Day and there were alot of families on it. The Pizza was very very good.

We sailed the Mariner in January. So we went from very small to huge. We actually felt like the service people on the Imagination were better (just our thougths) The pizza - not so good. There is a ton more things to do - expecially with the kids along.

We would book either again and have - RCCL in November, we had Carnival booked but had to change due to family commitments. I am sure who ever you chose you will like it. good luck

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Yes, I see how you can exactly make the comparison. :rolleyes:

 

ROFLMAO Checkmate

 

I've sailed Conquest 2x from NOLA and just returned from Serenade to Hawaii.

All in all I found the 2 ships to be very comparable quality wise. There is a definite difference in decor but that's just window dressing. The only clear, hands down advantage RCCL had was in the ease of embarkation. RCCL staff were probably a shade better. Conquest cabins and food were unquestionably superior IMHO. There were no more drunks on Conquest than Serenade. In fact, the only time I saw a truly trashed person on either was a guy drinking vodka tonics at the 3 card poker table on Serenade. Stood up and promptly fell down. Had to go to his room in a wheel chair and was back 3 hours later. This time he fell and split his head open. Surprised he didn't fall overboard.

I could sail either again and be equally happy.

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Let me think

pizza

RCI CLASS

pizza

RCI Class

pizza

RCI Class

 

For me RCI Class wins hands down

 

I made this same point when I sailed on Carnival Paradise (my 2nd cruise). I wrote a letter to Carnival (never heard from them) about all the issues I had especially when comparing to my RCI experience. In that letter I said if the best food on the Carnival ship is the Pizza that says something (and I agree that the pizza on Carinval is better than RCI but I don't sail for pizza).

 

That one bad experience (plus hearing from other folks first hand as well) means I will never sail on Carnival again. They may have improved their product but it isn't worth the risk to me.

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