I don't understand!

[cantwait2cruize]

How is their such a plrice difference? Could someone please try to compare these two cruises:

 

Mariner of the Seas RCCL

Dec 21 2008

Balcony $1,689.00

Interior $1,159.00

 

Same Itinerary

 

Carnival Glory

Dec 20 2008

Balcony $1,199.00

Interior $799.00

 

We have only sailed Rccl, so I can't compare the two ships. We would love to cruise over Christmas (Family of 5 need 2 cabins) but I nervous of the huge price difference. I don't want it to turn out to be "You get what you pay for".:confused:

[pungo3]

The Glory is a GREAT ship and you'll enjoy that cruise. Carnival provides a very good value for your money. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[dixiediva761]

We have sailed both lines and personally dont have a preference but I cant justify paying over $200 pp more. When researching for our upcoming cruise I looked at both lines and the price difference was just too much on RCCL and frankly we dont like the whole "promenade" thing. I am on a cruise ship and I want to see the ocean not the inside of a mall. I dont think you will be disappointed with Carnival unless you are looking for those extras like a promenade, skating rink and rock climbing wall. Those things dont interest us and the rest of the experience is so similar on both lines that we go with price. Have a great cruise whichever ship you pick.

[Carnival Game]

I'd like to know why the Legend is $200.00 more PP for the same date as the Triumph. Couldn't be that it's a newer ship because the Valor is even newer and is the same price as the Triumph.

[klfrodo]

One of the big differences MAY be that Carnival Corporation has around 88 ships whereas RCI only has around 33 ships throughout their entire fleets. Not Carnival and RCCL at the name brand level but at the corporate level.

Could be that Carnival can have lower prices due to the ability to spread costs among a larger inventory.

 

Could be totally off base. Just a thought

[Hurricane Girl]

I'd like to know why the Legend is $200.00 more PP for the same date as the Triumph. Couldn't be that it's a newer ship because the Valor is even newer and is the same price as the Triumph.

 

I may be wrong...someone correct me if I am. I think Carnival runs specials at different times on different ships. This could be the price difference.

 

I have been on the Glory and I love the ship!!! We had an 11 & 14 yr. old with us and they too loved it!!! :)

[dragonflymy2000]

ive never sailed NCl but have sail RCL and prefer carnival. You will have a great time and love the ship and service you receive...carnival gives you a fantastic value for your money...but remember your cruise is what you make of it, not your surroundings...have an awesome time whcihever you choose

[mom2girls]

I've sailed both lines. I have also sailed on the Glory. I would definitely go for the Glory sailing! It's definitely now worth the price difference since both lines are so similar. You will have a wonderful time!

[Mekamax]

Back in 1997 we had only sailed RCL (5 times) but the route we were looking at was MUCH cheaper on Carnival. Back then there was so much bad talk about Carnival but we decided to try them anyway because of the price difference.... Well we LOVED Carnival! We still sail both lines and NCL depending on whose price is better where we want to go. Try Carnival so you will know for yourself and when you like it you will have a lot more options next time you book a cruise... I would love to try all the lines just to know for me what I like best... Debbie

[big_duck]

Well based on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=797061 I would say one thing you are paying for on RCI is all those who have gone before.

[OhioCutie]

This is a really good thread topic! I've wondered the same thing myself as we shopped for cruises a couple of weeks ago. The cruise lines typically stay very competitive with eachother and I don't remember such a big price difference in prior years' searches.

 

We cruised on Mariner 6/06 and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. But then when I saw their recent higher prices, I started asking myself what exactly I was paying extra for. In the end, we chose the Glory for our 7-day Western cruise in January. The price difference was more than enough to cover airfare and excursions -- pretty huge deal in my book!! And that is just for two people. Multiply by five, write the number on a piece of paper and start thinking about what you could do with that kind of money!

 

After reading the reviews and spending more time in the Carnival threads, I can honestly say that I'm 100% convinced we made the right choice. Can't wait to step foot on the Glory! I always thought I'd be one of those "loyal to royal" cruisers, but it seems that I am bottom-line driven when push comes to shove. ;)

[griffina6]

I think perception plays a big part. I have sailed many times on Carnival ships. In the mid 1990's it seemed to me that they were dropping behind the competition. Going from Fantasy to RCL Sovereign and then back to Fantasy, I noticed several things not up to the RCL experience. To us it seemed like the entertainment and the food on Carnival had slipped. My wife and I had just about given up on Carnival.

 

Now fast forward to 2005. Our whole family (1o people) were wanting to cruise in the peak time mid-July because of school and work schedules and the only "affordable" thing we found in a 7 night cruise was Glory. So we booked it.

 

I definitely lowered my expectations and figured it could be the last trip on CCL. Well when we finally started our cruise it was just fantastic. We loved every single minute except waiting to get off (they drew deck orders and our was last) on the last day. I returned home telling our friends how much Carnival and especially the Glory was improved since our last trip.

 

Well last year my wife and I sneaked off for a four night cruise while the kids were at summer camp. We sailed from Tampa for the first time on Inspiration (did you catch Samantha Brown's show?). Yes we noticed the ship was showing a little age before last year's dry docking but we had a great time.

 

I just feel like there is still a negative perception about Carnival not being as good so that is why people are willing to pay extra for other lines.

 

Next up GLORY again! Just 18 days to go - very excited. :) :) And yes Carnival is just as good. One suggestion. To me it seems the newer Carnival ships are generally nicer than the older ones. That is probably true on other lines as well.

 

[halos]

How is their such a plrice difference? Could someone please try to compare these two cruises:

 

Mariner of the Seas RCCL

Dec 21 2008

Balcony $1,689.00

Interior $1,159.00

 

Same Itinerary

 

Carnival Glory

Dec 20 2008

Balcony $1,199.00

Interior $799.00

 

We have only sailed Rccl, so I can't compare the two ships. We would love to cruise over Christmas (Family of 5 need 2 cabins) but I nervous of the huge price difference. I don't want it to turn out to be "You get what you pay for".:confused:

 

The only way you'll know is to try it out.

Carnival Cruises are wonderful. The food is awesome, the service is awesome and the entertainment is awesome.

TRY it out, you won't be disappointed. :)

[cantwait2cruize]

Wow! thanks for all the quick responses. Cruise critic members bash Carnival so much thats why I was hesitate. :o

[NotAPirate]

Wow! thanks for all the quick responses. Cruise critic members bash Carnival so much thats why I was hesitate. :o

The bashing is pretty much universal. Search around in the Carnival forums and you'll see bashing on RCL and NCL. Go over to RCL and you'll see negative about CCL and NCL, then the counter in NCL. You can even go into the Princess forums and see Carnival bashing... and Princess is OWNED by Carnival (which is great fun to point out to the Princess cheerleaders when they're bashing CCL :D ).

 

As was previoulsy posted: it's all perception. The lines are so competitive now that they are nigh identical. A tweak here or there with amenities, but there's only so much you can do to a cruise ship that can't be done by another line.

 

Go on the Glory, enjoy her! You can't knock the experience for the price.

[Kurbanfan]

In our experience no 2 cruislines are the same. They are all different. You won't find that out until you sail them for yourself. We have enjoyed RCCL, Carnival and Princess so far. Yes there are price differences but you will understand what they are for once you experince it :)

Good luck!!!

[illusions_on_the_sea]

I have never been on Royal (want to one day) but I have been on the Glory. Loved it!! A beautiful ship. Enjoy your cruise:)

[dmdiver]

That's exactly why we've never cruised anything but Carnival as a family of 5. I am open to trying other cruise lines, but until it's just hubby & me, I'll take the best deal. I've had no complaints on either of my previous cruises & am soooo looking forward to the next!

[enjoyinglife]

That's exactly why we've never cruised anything but Carnival as a family of 5. I am open to trying other cruise lines, but until it's just hubby & me, I'll take the best deal. I've had no complaints on either of my previous cruises & am soooo looking forward to the next!

 

When we were planning three of our past cruises, I compared prices with RCL. On all three, they were considerably higher and therefore, we chose Carnival for the difference. I have never regretted it, and now, dont even check to see if there is a difference. The rock climbing wall, skating rink, and a few extras havent justified the difference. We can do those things locally if we want and still cheaper than the difference in the cruise fare. Try it and see for yourself. There is a huge difference in the fare you were quoted on the two ships! :)

[Kevin Hort]

I'd like to know why the Legend is $200.00 more PP for the same date as the Triumph. Couldn't be that it's a newer ship because the Valor is even newer and is the same price as the Triumph.

 

I am not positive, but I think the rate difference between the Legend and the Triumph/Valor is that the Legend actually carries quite a few less passengers than the Triumph and Valor. Thus, there are fewer guests over which to spread out the costs.

[M. St. Louis]

The differences between CCL and RC are negligible. One does X a little better, the other does Y a tiny bit better, etc. And of course, X and Y vary based on the person, what you like about a ship is different than me, and so on.

 

I certainly wouldn't pay more for RC. If the itinarary or destination is a better fit, then fine, I might pay a bit more.

 

But those price differences are ridiculous, assuming the trip length is similar.

[kjunea]

I think the difference is that Tampa is a very hot port and the itinerary that the Legend does is a favorite of many people. I know when the Miracle was sailing from Tampa, the TA told me this, because it was more than the Glory.

 

Also, for some reason, there are people who don't like the design of the Triumph (or at least I have read it here and other sites.) To me, give me the sea, pretty weather and a cold beverage on the deck and I'm happy!

[Georgiagolfer]

Sailed on the Glory 3 times (Cat.11) and Mariner of the Seas 1 time (JS). Each of these cruises we went with the lower price. RCI is normally a tad higher, but not always. Bargains can still be found. We like both lines, so maybe you should do both to have something to compare with.

[dafuser]

How is their such a plrice difference? Could someone please try to compare these two cruises:

 

Mariner of the Seas RCCL

Dec 21 2008

Balcony $1,689.00

Interior $1,159.00

 

Same Itinerary

 

Carnival Glory

Dec 20 2008

Balcony $1,199.00

Interior $799.00

 

We have only sailed Rccl, so I can't compare the two ships. We would love to cruise over Christmas (Family of 5 need 2 cabins) but I nervous of the huge price difference. I don't want it to turn out to be "You get what you pay for".:confused:

I had also noticed the RCCL cruises generally seemed to cost more then Carnival cruises and wondered what the differences would be on the more expensive RCCL cruise. Would there be something which would make paying the extra money worth the experience?

 

I booked a 7 day cruise on Voyager of the Seas out of Galveston Texas to see what would be different from Carnival and make the cruise worth the extra money over a Carnival cruise.

 

We had a great time on the cruise and enjoyed the Voyager of the Seas. It had a rock climbing wall, ice skating rink, and a roller blade track which Carnival doesn't have any of the ships we've sailed on. Since we don't rock climb, ice skate or roller blade those extras didn't mean a lot to us. We enjoyed watching the people using the climbing wall and ice skating, but didn't feel the desire to try those activities.

 

The food was very good but so is the food on Carnival. Our cabin was nice but again so were our cabins on Carnival. We thought he shows were very good. We enjoyed the whole cruise on Voyager but did not see anything that would make us pay the extra money for a RCCL cruise over a Carnival cruise.

 

If RCCL had some itinerary they offered which was not available from Carnival, then we would book with RCCL. If the same itinerary was available thru Carnival, we would always go with Carnival.

 

The one negative thing on Voyager, was they did not have the soft serve yogurt machines running 24 x 7 like they do on Carnival. Now there's a deal breaker for me :-)

[firefly333]

How is their such a plrice difference? Could someone please try to compare these two cruises:

 

Mariner of the Seas RCCL

Dec 21 2008

Balcony $1,689.00

Interior $1,159.00

 

Same Itinerary

 

Carnival Glory

Dec 20 2008

Balcony $1,199.00

Interior $799.00

 

We have only sailed Rccl, so I can't compare the two ships. We would love to cruise over Christmas (Family of 5 need 2 cabins) but I nervous of the huge price difference. I don't want it to turn out to be "You get what you pay for".:confused:

 

There was a last minute special on Voyager of the Seas (sister to Mainer) not of the E balconys, the smaller ones, but the D1 and D2 balconys. down to $869 and $879, oh how could it be, the larger balconys were cheaper than on Conquest for the same week??

 

How could this happen??

 

I went on Rhapsoday of the Seas for $349, at least $100 per person cheaper than Conquest was offering for their cheapest 7 day.

 

How could this be??

 

Pulling out one week at Christmas, when you know prices go up and down and RCL has better last minute prices and Carnival's prices are better further out seems to me to be making a mountain out of a molehill.