Carnival vs RCI

[keysjohnson]

Just did my first Royal Caribbean cruise, the Majesty. I've done several Carnival's and several NCL's and always wanted to try RCI. Got a great price on the 3-night out of Miami and decided to give it a try. Here's my opinion of the differences:

 

RCI has much smaller rooms, although they were still adequate for 2 people and the storage space was plentiful. Bathrooms much smaller also, but adequate, although I did miss the medicine cabinet.

 

The ship was put in service in 1992 but is still in remarkably good condition. I saw no evidence of neglect.

 

Customer service is hands down better than Carnival. We were treated well in every venue. Our names were remembered after the first drink. And our preferences as well. The crew seems to be enjoying themselves and they enjoy talking with passengers.

 

Food. The desserts are way better than Carnival. Excellent in fact. The food was about the same. We didn't have anything terrible but I think Carnival wins food overall. Not that we went hungry, the food was good. But Carnival a bit better.

 

Casual dining...here's where RCI EXCELS!!! Breakfast and lunch, the same as every cruise ship. But for dinner, what a transformation! The menu is the same as in the dining rooms so we went to the Windjammer, which is the casual dining room. You are seated by a host and someone else comes and puts your napkin on your lap and takes your drink order. And that drink ordered is remembered every time you go in there! It's a buffet, but a very nice one. Prime rib, leg of lamb, whatever is in the dining room. It was wonderful. Loads of desserts, including a chafing dish with hot cobblers and ice cream in a dish of ice. It's wonderful. Carnival and NCL treat casual dining rooms terribly, like you're 2nd class citizens if you use those dining venues, and they could take a lesson from RCI.

 

Casino, same. Still lost money. HA.

 

Embarkation was a breeze. We were on the ship by 11:30. Debarkation also a breeze. Off the ship before 8 AM. One line and your in the ship. On the Triumph in May, it was several lines before actually boarding. Took over an hour.

 

We didn't see any entertainment so I can't comment on that. We weren't able to make the Nassau port because of hurricane Jeanne so we went to Key West instead and then had a day at sea. We were given a generous room credit because of our "inconveinence". I'm sure Carnival would have done the same thing, as would NCL.

 

So that's my comparisons. I believe there is no such thing as a bad cruise line. I'm willing to try them all...and would love to as a matter of fact! I loved RCL, love Carnival, and love NCL.

 

Just wanted to give you all my opinion in case you were debating on trying something else.

 

Thanks for listening.

[SevenVII]

Thanks a lot for the post....good info :D

[Stircrzy]

Thanks for posting.

[stlrboo]

Interesting comparisons! Currently booked on Miracle for April 2005, and am considering Caribbean Princess or Jewel of the Seas for April 2006. I, too, want to try something different, but lean a little toward Princess as it's owned by Carnival, and they have 'never let me down'.

Alternative dining on RCL sounds really interesting.. thanks for the post! :D

[judyf]

I'm the same way. I love them all and god willing I will try as many as I can!

[BottledRed]

I'm happy to hear about the casual dining, too! I'll be traveling on RCI with my mother, and she prefers a casual dining experience rather than the main room so I'm happy to hear more about it.

[kristikae]

 

Casual dining...here's where RCI EXCELS!!! Breakfast and lunch, the same as every cruise ship. But for dinner, what a transformation! The menu is the same as in the dining rooms so we went to the Windjammer, which is the casual dining room. You are seated by a host and someone else comes and puts your napkin on your lap and takes your drink order. And that drink ordered is remembered every time you go in there! It's a buffet, but a very nice one. Prime rib, leg of lamb, whatever is in the dining room. It was wonderful. Loads of desserts, including a chafing dish with hot cobblers and ice cream in a dish of ice. It's wonderful. Carnival and NCL treat casual dining rooms terribly, like you're 2nd class citizens if you use those dining venues, and they could take a lesson from RCI.

I just returned from the Mariner and the Windjammer on this ship wasn't the way you explained. It was just your usual buffet, rolls of silverware and no one putting napkins in our lap. We seated ourselves and got our beverages from the beverage station. There were a few items that were on the dining room menu but not the entire menu.

 

Maybe this is just on the smaller ships?