Royal Caribbean or Carnival??

C

cruisin

Guest
I've been on 3 cruises with Carnival and we weren't too impressed with the last one due to bad service and bad ports. We are wanting to go to Bermuda next year and are wondering if Royal Caribbean would be a better choice. Has anyone been on both that could give me your opinion?? We're in our 20's so we would want stuff to do on the boat.



Post Edited (09-26-03 09:30)
 
J

Jeana

Guest
Go Royal Caribbean! No doubt! Much better service, food, everything. You will notice a big difference.
 
S

serene56

Guest
I sailed on both- We sailed on the Sensation/Victory and the VOyager of the seas being our last cruise. We wanted to try different cruise lines so we would have something to compare it to. We had a blast on every single cruise we been on. But so far we prefer the Carnival. Seems there is more to do at night in the way of activities. Other then that they are about the same. Next cruise-- maybe princess?
 
S

ShipMate

Guest
it really depends on the ship. We have been on one Carnival (Victory) and two RCI ships (Vision and Adventure). RCI wins hands down, however, they were both large newer ships with lots to do. We found there more to do on the Adventure, in fact so much that we couldn't get it all done. The Carnival crowd didn't appeal to us very much.The Victory was a pretty shipthough and we had a great time, great service and food.
I am not sure what ship goes to Bermuda?
 
B

bikevegas

Guest
I have been on both and enjoyed both! Went on Enchantment of the Seas last October and on the Inspiration in July. We had a great time on each line. I don't think you could go wrong on either cruise line. :AL:USA
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
The RCCI ship that sails to Bermuda is the Nordic Empress. She is the smallest ship in the RCCI fleet at about 48,000 tons. Having said that, I prefer the smaller ships rather than the mega ships like the Voyager class. I am booked on the Nordic Empress for the western Caribbean in March and will post a review. As far as a comparison between the lines is concerned, I find them quite comparable. Some things RCCI does better, some things Carnival does better.
 
S

ShipMate

Guest
As Cruzman says, the Nordic Express is a much smaller and older ship. Just depends on your taste. Sometimes the service is better on the older lines.
 
P

pbj

Guest
Like "bikevegas" I have also been on both, and enjoyed them both. My wife and I sailed on the Inspiration when it used to port in New Orleans, and we also sailed the Triumph from Miami. On RCI we just got off the Navigator of the Seas.

RCI has the Rock Wall climbing, Inline and Ice skating, a putt-putt course, and full court basketball that also converts to a volleyball court. This is one the RCI Voyager class ships. If you are into these kind of sports RCI maybe a better choice.

On the other hand in terms of crew-run activities Carnival seems to do more than RCI. For instance Carnival had more pool games than RCI. For example, they play their on version of "Survivor", which is fun to watch. The cruise directors on Carnival were a step above the RCI one in terms of fun. Don't take me wrong the RCI cruise director was not bad it just that the Carnival ones made me laugh more.

Like I said before I just got off the Navigator of the Seas ... AWESOME SHIP!!! This is an experience that at least for the moment you cannot experience with Carnival.

I don't know if any of the Voyager class ships goes to Bermuda, but if one of them do you can't go wrong booking it. Otherwise is a toss up.
 
D

DJP

Guest
My husband and I have been on seven cruises in the past nine years (most recent last Christmas week and we'll be going again this Christmas week). We have sailed on two Carnival ships and one Royal Caribbean and I feel the service and food were superior on RCCL. We had a good time on both Carnival cruises, but there was just some finesse lacking both times. We have also been on Norwegian Cruise LInes four times and our cruise this December is on NCL again. We always liked the service and food on NCL, but this will be our first cruise with them since they instituted Freestyle Cruising, so I can't comment on either yet. I don't think you can go wrong with RCCL or Carnival.....enjoy yourself on either!
 
K

kimmy

Guest
I personally did not enjoy my sailings with Carnival (Fantasy and Inspiration) and would not sail them again.

I think RCI is way better overall.
 
C

cruise-girl

Guest
I have been on Carnival three times and are now booked on RCCL to give them a try. I have had a great time on Carnival but was a bit disappointed in the ship and service on my last cruise the Glory. I have also sailed the Fantasy and the Pride. My favorite ship is the Pride, the service, food and general moral of the crew was fantastic, it will be hard for anything to compare to that cruise, for me anyway.

My bestfriend has been on RCCL twice, Celebrity once and Carnival once.....her take is shows on Carnival are superior to RCCL and Celebrity, food is much better on Celebrity but approx. the same on RCCL. Service she says is better on RCCL but her only comparison is our cruise on the Glory and I even found the service to be below standards on the Glory. I had far superior service on the Fantasy and especially the Pride.

Nightlife....well after reading every review possible for RCCL and Carnival I would have to vote Carnival but I will make that final determination after my RCCL cruise.

I believe no matter what cruise you choose, you will have a great time. Look at me, we had the worst cruise on Carnival as far as service and food on the Glory but the Glory ended up being our best cruise ever and that is because of the people we met and hung out with!

Aslo, according to Maritime RCCL and Carnival are in the same category, Mainstream Cruises.

Good luck!
 
C

cruisin

Guest
My last Carnival experience was on the Glory also. The service was horrible! We can't decide if it has to do with tips now being charged before you even go. It's like they just aren't trying anymore.


Sept. 2003 Glory
Oct. 2001 Inspiration
1990 Fantasy
 
C

cruise-girl

Guest
I am not sure if the tips have anything to do with it because it is my understanding that RCCL and Holland America do the same thing as far as precharging for tips.

They precharged tips when we were on the Pride and the service was outstanding. I look forward to trying RCCL.
 


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