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Carnival vs RCCL

wpas

By wpas,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted
Here is a comparison that I did after our cruise last year.

 

Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean

 

First let me give you some background on our cruising history. We (DW 38, DD 12, and me 41) have just completed our 4th cruise. Our previous 3 cruises have all been on Carnival and our most recent on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas. In 2005 we were on the Carnival Triumph, 2006 on the Carnival Liberty, and 2007 on the Carnival Legend. We loved all of our Carnival Cruises but were also anxious to try Royal Caribbean (RCI). The following is “our” feelings on both the positive and the negatives of both lines. I’m sure there will be many who disagree with our thoughts but they are exactly that – “our” thoughts.

 

Food (Background): We eat all of our dinners in the dining room and eat both lunch and breakfast at the buffets.

 

Dinners - Dining Room – This one was very close. We all gave a very slight edge to Carnival but again it was very close.

 

Lunch - Buffet – We all greatly preferred Carnival’s lunch buffet. Carnival offered many more alternates with several different “stations” in comparison to Royal Caribbean. The 9 day cruise on RCI had very little variety but we all felt that the lines were definitely shorter on RCI than on Carnival.

 

Breakfast – Buffet – They were almost identical in all ways. A tie from all of us.

 

One other note on the RCI buffet - While we didn’t eat dinner in the Windjammer (the name of their buffet restaurant on RCI) after dinner one evening we did go look at their buffet. Their dinner buffet looked much better than Carnival’s. The night we went everything that was on the dining room menu was also on the buffet and they also offered a pasta station, sushi, and create your own pizza. That was not the case from what I saw on Carnival.

 

Rooms – We have had balcony rooms on all of our cruises. We also did a cabin crawl with our Cruise Critic group on RCI so we had a great opportunity to see several rooms. We loved our specific room (1388) on RCI but in general we would rate the rooms as a tie.

 

Housekeeping Services – Excellent on all cruises.

 

Friendliness of Staff – Also excellent on both lines.

 

Dining Room Wait Service – This is really unfair to rate. This is so determined based on the specific staff you are assigned. While one table may get the best wait staff ever, the table next to them may have the worst. The only thing we can compare are the wait staffs that WE had. Fortunately we have never had bad staff on either line. On 2 of the 3 cruises with Carnival we had incredible wait service. The service on our RCI cruise was very good and would rate that the same as the lowest of 3 Carnival Cruises. Our waiters were extremely friendly but the service was just not as good as those other two. Again, this could have been entirely different if we would have had other wait staff on any of these cruises.

 

Overall décor – While the Explorer is showing her age we would rate RCI better here. In general, just a much nicer feel.

 

Cleanliness – We all felt that both lines do a great job keeping everything looking and feeling very clean.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation – I know a lot of people complain about going out of Bayonne but I thought RCI did a very good job getting you in and out of this “awkward” situation that requires shuttle buses. No complaints on either line.

 

Shows – This is an area that is totally based on personal preferences. Our family goes to almost all of the shows and usually enjoys most of them. We all greatly preferred Carnival’s entertainment. There was more variety to Carnival’s shows which often included Comedians, Magicians, Hypnotist, etc. RCI was clearly more “Production/Headliner” shows than Carnival. If you prefer these shows you would pick RCI in this category. We all really enjoyed the Ice Show on RCI.

 

Passenger age – Again all I can rate on were the cruises that we were on. The Carnival cruises were either a 7 or 8 day cruise and the RCI was a 9 day. The average age on RCI was considerably older than the 3 Carnival cruises we were on. There were also very few kids on this cruise which I am sure was based on the timing and the length. All four cruises were taken during the same week of each year. One thing that this definitely leads to is better dressed formal nights. Many more tuxes on RCI and nobody pushing the “formal” limit like you find on Carnival.

 

Activities – The biggest difference by far in our opinion. We all vote for Carnival here. We did like the Rock Climbing wall, mini golf, inline skating, and ice skating that RCI offers over the Carnival ships we were on. BUT, there were much less activities on RCI than on Carnival. Carnival usually had several good activities poolside each day. RCI had very few and to be honest they were very weak. Carnival also offered a lot of art type activities that my DW and DD did where RCI also had very few of these.

 

TV Channels – Our vote goes to Carnival. Carnival offers network TV where RCI does not have any network channels (sorry the old sitcoms on the “pretend” CBS channel doesn’t count). Carnival also shows a lot of cruise highlights on one of their channels where RCI kept showing the Love & Marriage game for almost the entire time.

 

Kids activities – sorry but we really can’t compare. My DD switched to the higher group since she is now 12 so we can’t fairly compare.

 

Here are a few specifics likes & dislikes on each line:

 

Areas we liked better on RCI:

Royal Promenade (very nice feature)

Table service in the Windjammer (Great friendly staff)

Ice skating, rock climbing, miniature golf (Not offered on Carnival ships we were on)

Everything starts exactly when they say it will

Shower doors vs. curtain

Balcony doors (Sliding doors on RCI)

Combination safe (Carnival is swipe card)

Alcohol prices seem cheaper (sorry if I’m wrong but it seemed that way)

 

Areas we liked better on Carnival:

Could always get drinks (Ice Tea/Punch) easily since buffet area is always open

Layout of buffet area (Always open on Carnival)

Waterslide

Poolside activities

More elevators

Double odds craps on Carnival vs. single odds craps on RCI

Soap dispenser in shower

Waiters performed almost every night (RCI only 2nd half of cruise)

More soft ice cream stations (RCI often had none open)

 

 

I know that many of you will not agree with many of the areas I had listed and I will probably get flamed but again these are “OUR” feelings. By reading this most of you are probably thinking we did not like Royal Caribbean which is not at all true. We had wonderful cruise on RCI but all things being equal we will pick Carnival for our next cruise.

I've been on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean several times. I would have to say you did an excellent job.

 

However, those round Royal Caribbean showers are too small. I cannot bend down or bring my leg up. The Carnival showers are bigger and I know how to keep the shower curtain off of me. So I give the shower edge to Carnival.

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Casino Player

Casino Player

Posted
Posted
What makes Carnival better than RCCL? I've only cruised RCCL and would like to know.

 

 

My wife and I have been on both lines. Once was enough on RCCL. We continue to cruise on Carnival. What an endorsement. What makes Carnival better?

Staterooms- Carnival is known througout the cruise industry for having the largest staterooms for each category. Ask your travel agent.

Food- Carnival has food that tastes better. On Carnival in the buffett all food in marked what it is. On RCCL it isn't and RCCL employee's aren't able to tell you what most of it is. That says something. Carnival has 24-hour pizza. I didn't find that on RCCL. On Carnival 24-hour soft serve ice cream or yogurt. I didn't find that on RCCL. On Carnival Cappicinno with no extra service charge served in the dining room. Not on RCCL.

Service- Service has been better on Carnival. Do you know it took five cruises until I got a room service meal that came outside the promised time that room service gave me. On RCCL everytime I ordered room service it came outside the promised time it would be there by room service. On RCCL, I was dying of thirst while waiting for my drink as the waiter walked by without having my drink. I ended up going to the buffett to get it. This has never happened on Carnival. The service in the Johnny Rockets resturant was pathetic. My wife was finished with her meal before I got mine. At least I didn't have to pay the surcharge due to the bad service.

Casino- The Casino's on Carnival are larger and well lit. On my one RCCL cruise, it was a ship that could hold 3,000 passengers, the Casino was smaller and was not well lit.

Pursar's Desk- Those that work at the Pursar's Desk have no idea about trouble shooting and making people satisfied for sailing with RCCL. On Carnival I've had a differnet experience and most times I've been satisfied when I left the Pursar's Desk.

By and large the employee's on Carnival are better prepared to give consumers of their service a better time than on RCCL.

By the way, I've sailed on Celebrity Cruise Line. It is owned by RCCL. My experience on Celebrity Cruise Line has been much better than on RCCL.

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Cruzaholic41

Cruzaholic41

Posted
Posted
My wife and I have been on both lines. Once was enough on RCCL. We continue to cruise on Carnival. What an endorsement. What makes Carnival better?

 

Staterooms- Carnival is known througout the cruise industry for having the largest staterooms for each category. Ask your travel agent.

 

Food- Carnival has food that tastes better. On Carnival in the buffett all food in marked what it is. On RCCL it isn't and RCCL employee's aren't able to tell you what most of it is. That says something. Carnival has 24-hour pizza. I didn't find that on RCCL. On Carnival 24-hour soft serve ice cream or yogurt. I didn't find that on RCCL. On Carnival Cappicinno with no extra service charge served in the dining room. Not on RCCL.

 

Service- Service has been better on Carnival. Do you know it took five cruises until I got a room service meal that came outside the promised time that room service gave me. On RCCL everytime I ordered room service it came outside the promised time it would be there by room service. On RCCL, I was dying of thirst while waiting for my drink as the waiter walked by without having my drink. I ended up going to the buffett to get it. This has never happened on Carnival. The service in the Johnny Rockets resturant was pathetic. My wife was finished with her meal before I got mine. At least I didn't have to pay the surcharge due to the bad service.

 

Casino- The Casino's on Carnival are larger and well lit. On my one RCCL cruise, it was a ship that could hold 3,000 passengers, the Casino was smaller and was not well lit.

 

Pursar's Desk- Those that work at the Pursar's Desk have no idea about trouble shooting and making people satisfied for sailing with RCCL. On Carnival I've had a differnet experience and most times I've been satisfied when I left the Pursar's Desk.

 

By and large the employee's on Carnival are better prepared to give consumers of their service a better time than on RCCL.

 

By the way, I've sailed on Celebrity Cruise Line. It is owned by RCCL. My experience on Celebrity Cruise Line has been much better than on RCCL.

 

I'm really thrown by this post. What you reported hasn't happened on any of my several RC cruises. I had a similar experience on Carnival once (Destiny), but was wise enough to know it wasn't a fleet-wide problem, but just a management problem on one particular ship. Sounds like you just had a single bad experience on one ship. You can't judge a whole line on one cruise. But if you must, than so be it.

 

And by the way, fleet wide, Carnival no longer has larger staterooms. RC's newer classes of ships (Freedom, Voyager, Radiance), on average, have larger rooms than comparable Carnival ships and the comparable stateroom categories. On average, Carnival usually is only bigger in the interior category. Everything else is about the same, with RC slightly larger.

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Kurbanfan

Kurbanfan

Posted
Posted
I'm really thrown by this post. What you reported hasn't happened on any of my several RC cruises. I had a similar experience on Carnival once, but was wise enough to know it wasn't a fleet-wide problem, but just a management problem on one particular ship. Sounds like you just had a single bad experience on one ship. You can't judge a whole line on one cruise. But if you must, than so be it.

 

And by the way, fleet wide, Carnival no longer has larger staterooms. RC's newer classes of ships (Freedom, Voyager, Radiance), on average, have larger rooms than comparable Carnival ships and the comparable stateroom categories. On average, Carnival usually is only bigger in the interior category. Everything else is about the same, with RC slightly larger.

 

 

LOL! His knowledge comes by sailing on one Royal Caribbean cruise.........

What a joke!

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pawsue521

pawsue521

Posted
Posted

Again, you people are all awesome! Can't believe how willing everyone is to offer information and help to others. I'm so glad my husband found this site. As my original post stated, we were trying to decide between RCCL and Carnival and were seeking advice from those that had experience with each. One thing we've certainly learned, if you can be patient, take several days (weeks, months----whatever you have prior to your cruise) to read all the posts, you'll end up with mountains of information and helpful suggestions.

 

By the way, if any of you are interested, we opted for Carnival again. This will be our 5th Carnival cruise...our first on Destiny this May. :)

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Cruzaholic41

Cruzaholic41

Posted
Posted
OK, got it now, sorry it looked like you were referring to Cruzaholic. My Mistake.

 

Thanks for looking out Ted. Yea, I read it like he meant it. I believe Kurbanfan agrees that experience on one ship is no basis for a whole cruise line generalization.

 

Even after several on both lines, I find it very difficult to compare Carnival with Royal Caribbean because both are usually great cruises. It's much easier to compare specific ships.

 

As for the Op, you chose the one Carnival ship I did not enjoy (the ship itself, not the whole cruise). Hopefully things have gotten better since I cruised her 4 years ago, but I've read a lot of negative reviews. Even if you do not enjoy it, do not let it ruin your opinion of Carnival. Next time, try the Spirit Class. They are my favorite of Carnival ships.

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Sugar*Magnolia

Sugar*Magnolia

Posted
Posted

We're just off our first CCL cruise. We're loyal fans of RCCL and we were happily surprised. Here is a link to my review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=898081&page=2

 

DS reminded me that left out of my review is...RCI definitely has a much

better jewelry selection of unique peices, CCL didnt have anything that caught my attention. My kids decided they like RCI much better than CCL. The crew were great on CCL but they are much 'friendlier' on Royal. Right time of year, price and length, DH and I would sail Carnival again for sure.

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leonardjan

leonardjan

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

We've done 1 Disney - quite a few Carnival and quite a few Royal Caribbean. It really depends on the age of your kids and what the like. My youngest (11) would give anything up to have 24 hour ice cream and GOOD pizza which is only available on Carnival. My oldest loves the teen hangout with Royal Caribbean. My kids only prefer Royal Caribbean if you go on their biggest ships with the Rock Climbing wall, ice sckating rink, roller blading etc. Otherwsie, they prefer the Carnival slide. The food is definitely better on Carnival. You can get an inexpensive dinner wine package with Royal Caribbean - that I don't think you can get with Carnival.

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elaineb

elaineb

Posted
Posted
Next time, try the Spirit Class. They are my favorite of Carnival ships.

 

Funny, I didn't like the Spirit Class! So to each his own.....I agree with all the above posters. Sailed both RCCL & Carnival. The only things I like better on RCCL are the decor and the organization - getting people on and off the ship, etc. For food, rooms, price (my DH gets military pricing), but more importantly fun, Carnival definitely has the edge.

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Cruzaholic41

Cruzaholic41

Posted
Posted
My youngest (11) would give anything up to have 24 hour ice cream and GOOD pizza which is only available on Carnival.

 

I've seen this comment a few times now. On RC, there is 24 hr pizza in Cafe Promenade, or Sorrentos on all the Voyager and Freedom Class ships.

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fruitbat

fruitbat

Posted
Posted

Carnival.

We are pretty faithful Carnival customers (will have our 5th Carnival cruise in March), but did do a RC cruise 2 years ago (have also sailed Disney and Norwegian). I broke my leg on the RCCI cruise, so spent a lot of time on the ship. (It was very good for accessibility in a wheelchair-- I literally could get everywhere on the ship, even the mini golf!)

 

We like the food on Carnival better, the rooms are bigger and better laid out. Our experiences with embarking and debarking have been better (debarking on RC with a broken leg was a nightmare!) We agree that there are more (and more interesting) activities on Carnival. Entertainment is about the same. We're not big drinkers or gamblers, so can't comment there. Our son is 13 and has cruised with us since he was 3, and he has enjoyed the children's programs on both lines. Carnival just seems to be a much better value for us.

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cathyoo

cathyoo

Posted
Posted
Here is a comparison that I did after our cruise last year.

 

 

Excellent job Steve8. Having one cruise on RCI and 4 on Carnival I agree with you. RCI was my first and hooked me on cruising so I will always have a soft spot for that cruiseline.

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missaud

missaud

Posted
Posted

I think the advice of "Alegeeter" is great! If you want to have a good time just go and don't compare. They are two different cruiselines, but both are really good. We just got back from a Carnival cruise. We are RCCL cruisers for the most part. We knew that Carnival wasn't RCCL (in our minds) and that was okay. WE HAD A GREAT TIME!!!! Would we do another Carnival cruise? Yep, we would, The only difference would be that instead of a side balcony, we would go for the aft!!

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