each ship, even in the same cruise line has its own character and features that make comparison difficult. I told myself that i wouldnt compare my recent cruise on Carnival Triumph to the one before that on the RCCL Adventure of the seas. But I cant help it, both were big ships. the pools on carnival were smaller but they had a waterslide, RCCL had better entertainment, with an ice skating rink, rock wall, ect ect. the biggest difference i noticed was the level of service was much lower on our Carnival cruise. On RCCL I learned what a crumb squeegee was in thier dining room (pretty classy) on Carnival they danced on the serving stations (whoopee)..food was slightly better on RCCL with the dessert chef definately excelling. Buffet was often cold on Carnival. Dining room fare was repeated and friday seemed like leftover night on Carnival.
So I vote for RCCL because service and food are two of the biggest standards to compare. ship features, ports, and entertainment are too varied to compare.
We are going on RCCL Empress of the seas in Dec. and it is thier smallest ship, so compared to the last cruise with them, I am expecting a different experience from the same cruise line.
Bottom line is they are all good...my goal is to compare 6 or 7 cruise lines hopefully numerous times.
Asking RCL Vs. Carnival Vs. NCL is the biggest question to plague mankind since the invention of the wheel. But seriously nobody can answer that question but you. I can tell you what I like about all three and what I dont like about all three and for you to base your opinion on that would be stupid as you may not be how you rate your cruises. I can tell this I have had great cruises on all three and I have had not so great cruises on all three. and I can also tell you my favorite cruiseline. The one thats headed out to sea with me on it. The only way you are going to be able to answer that question for yourself is to go yourself.ans the cruiselines them selves are differnt. You cant go on the Jubille, the Fantasy or the Carnvial Conquest and conpare them anymore than you can different cruiselines as the are 45,000 ton 76,000 ton and 110,000 ton but they are all carnival ships. so basically the only way you are going to get your answer is the same way many of us did. Book a fantasy class ship on Carnival. Book a 76,000 ton of the Seas ship On Royal Caribbean and book the Norwegian Sun and see for yourself.
__________________ Fantasy ~ 10/01 S/S Norway ~ 04/02 Jubilee ~ 11/02 Ecstasy ~ 04/03 Norwegian Sky ~ 09/03 Splendour of the Seas ~ 04/04 Rhapsody of the Seas ~ 10/04
My next cruise is with RCCL "Navigator Of The Seas" 1/13/2007 -- though Princess is my favorite cruise line our Red Hat Group liked this itenary better. (I did a RCCL cuise out of Galveston last year and decided it was my 2nd favorite cruise line.)
Important issue to me: Mandatory 1st and 2nd seating or a "Freestyle" dining where I can choose when I want to go to dinner. Carnival, Norweigan Cruise Line and Princess offers the "Freestyle" dining, one of the most important features to me when choosing a cruise.
Entertainment is a hit and miss. I hated the "Norway" but had the best entertainment that week I had ever seen. Loved the hypnosis. (No longer in service.)
Celebrity and Holland America are very good cruise lines, but they are two formal for us and the passengers seem to be much older. They still have 1st and 2nd seating, which I hate being told what time I have to eat. I want to eat at my convenience -- I refuse to do a buffet (I joined Overeaters Annonymous and Buffets are my enemy) and I like the sit down meal where I am served just one portion.
I am hoping eventually RCCL will get away from the 1st & 2nd seating. I let them know on the "Comment Card" last time and will tell them again in January.
When coming to choose a Cruise line it comes to ITINERARY and COST. If they are going to the same place and close in cost I will always choose Princess first, Royal Caribbean second and it is a real tosss up for third (Carnival I get to eat when I want to or Celebrity that is more formal and better food and mandatory 1st or 2nd seating.) I am close to 60 -- so the rock climbing, ice skating, etc., doesn't interest me. Which would be one of the top considerations if these activities interested me or family members traveling with me. Because of these activites my SWM34HetroNavyVet is joining useon our January 13th RCCL cruise.
Choosing a cruise line is very personal. I have talked to many cruisers who will only cruise "Carnival" because of the more informal atmosphere. They lost the reputation of being a party ship years ago. I learned that the hard way. Our son had just gotten out of the Navy (1996) and for his Christmas gift gave him a Carnival Cruise with us. Wanted him to be with a younger crowd versus the middle aged to old Princess passengers. There were very few single women on the cruise. I felt timeing early December and we visited two war risk countries -- was part of the problem.
I LOVE CRUISING. Seventeen cruises down and hope to keep doing one or more a year.
I took my first cruise on RCCL (Majesty), my second on Carnival (Fantasy) and every single cruise after was with RCCL. I agree that you have to experience each before you can make a decision on what is better; it really depends on what is most important to you. Now mind you, it has been a few years since I've cruised with Carnival but if I remember correctly, my room was bigger and it had a nice little pretend window, and there were alot of dance clubs. That's all that I remember being more impressive... oh and they had a nice little Silver Jewelry Shop. But I spend very little time in the room so that did not keep me with Carnival. Other than that... I remember it being very unorganized- I am super OCD and if it had been my first cruise, I would have gone insane! I never got the daily forms that tell you what activities are going on and disembarkation was a disaster... The ship had an awful odor from serious sea sickness in the prior days... and contrary to what people say, I still found that it was a constant drunken party boat. I'm young and can enjoy a good party, but it got a little out of hand with people so drunk they were sliding down banisters and across counters. Another deterrent for me were the colors of the ship. This is probably not important to most people, but it is for me. When I'm on vacation, I want it to be relaxing. For this same reason, I don't paint my bedroom bright red- it's not very peaceful. Carnival is based on Crayon Colors.. Red, Dark Blue, Green, Bright Yellow.. etc. RCCL is very pastel-like. It's soothing.
So.. it's obvious that I am a fan of RCCL more than Carnival, but it could just be the one ship that I was on, and it could just be the time of year, or the specific stateroom attendant I had... I have never cruised with Carnival again, but obviously there are people with great experiences, or they wouldn't be in business. I hope you try out multiple ships and get your own taste of each. Happy Sailings!
Originally posted by Missjess0112:
I took my first cruise on RCCL (Majesty), my second on Carnival (Fantasy) and every single cruise after was with RCCL. I agree that you have to experience each before you can make a decision on what is better; it really depends on what is most important to you. Now mind you, it has been a few years since I've cruised with Carnival but if I remember correctly, my room was bigger and it had a nice little pretend window, and there were alot of dance clubs. That's all that I remember being more impressive... oh and they had a nice little Silver Jewelry Shop. But I spend very little time in the room so that did not keep me with Carnival. Other than that... I remember it being very unorganized- I am super OCD and if it had been my first cruise, I would have gone insane! I never got the daily forms that tell you what activities are going on and disembarkation was a disaster... The ship had an awful odor from serious sea sickness in the prior days... and contrary to what people say, I still found that it was a constant drunken party boat. I'm young and can enjoy a good party, but it got a little out of hand with people so drunk they were sliding down banisters and across counters. Another deterrent for me were the colors of the ship. This is probably not important to most people, but it is for me. When I'm on vacation, I want it to be relaxing. For this same reason, I don't paint my bedroom bright red- it's not very peaceful. Carnival is based on Crayon Colors.. Red, Dark Blue, Green, Bright Yellow.. etc. RCCL is very pastel-like. It's soothing.
If you were on the Fantasy a few years ago, that was probably a 3 or 4 day cruise. Those are known to be more of the "party cruises". That is why it is so important to select a "ship" (and length of cruise) that is going to suit the individual.
Oddly enough, now the "big complaints" is that the Carnival Legend and Miracle (to Spirit class ships) which were designed to give a more subdued experience are to "boring". Who would have thunk that! Personally, I love the balance the Spirit class brings. It is still "fun" without being over the top.
My next challenge is to "conquer" the RCCL Voyager class ships. I think I would love that Royal Promenade...since I love to sit and "people watch".
LHP- you are right. It was a 3-day cruise. And that was most likely the reason why it was such a party boat.. It was also during Spring Break time.. probably not the best time to go if you want to avoid the college drunks. LOL!
i went on a 7 day carnival triumph sept 2nd and it was still the same. we had a balcony on lido deck and a group of 15 or so 18-20 somethings had the 7 inside cabins opposite us all the way down the hall...the first few nights we had drunks standing in the halls having verbal fights that woke us up at 3am... i made a point to find out which cabin disturbed me and knocked on thier door every morning bright and early going to and from breakfast, just to return the favor of being woke up.
Does carnival care?, do they send security if you ask them to settle the party punks down? can they throw them off the ship for being annoying? i doubt it on all three accounts. Spoiled brats are a big reason i dont cruise disney and drunk teens are not much better. Party in your cabin or in the clubs but not in the hall, some folks have no respect. Since carnival promotes the "party boat" image thats what you get.
I don't doubt they were young and that they were loud and annoying. But they have to be 21 to book a cruise. And to have someone under 21 in your cabin, you have to be a legal guardian, so they were probably older than they acted.
I agree with the security no being proactive. You could call them and complain and it would be an hour (if ever) before they would come and investigate.
__________________
================================================== ========== Carnival Cruise Lines:
Fantasy 90, Celebration 95, Victory 05, Conquest 05, Spirit 6/06, Freedom 6/08, Holiday 7/08, Victory 6/09, Valor 9/09, Dream 6/10, Splendor 8/10,Conquest 8/11,Magic 11/11,Triumph 4/12,Spirit 7/12,Freedom 11/12, Triumph 2/13 - The fire cruise
NCL Dream October 2006, RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
Annies,
What one person experiences on a specific cruise does not mean that it happens on every cruise. I would take everything you read with a grain of salt.
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