We are just off the Vista yesterday sailing from Galveston and had a wonderful time! This was our 5th Carnival cruise and we have sailed RCCL 4 times (including Oasis 3 years ago and Harmony last Christmas break). Although I love them both here are my observances:
1. Food: great on both ships - we typically eat main dining room at night and both serve great food in there. Carnival has WAY better burgers (Guy's burger bar) which are free (and poolside) and they also have a taco/burrito bar poolside. I hate having to get dressed fully to go eat inside at the buffet when I'm lounging by the pool. On Royal I pain the uncharge for Johnny Rockets which was a good burger (but Guy's was better and free!) Buffet food is just okay to me (on either line) but Carnival does powdered eggs for scrambled eggs (Royal does real eggs). I stick with eggs Benedict on the buffet on either line to make sure I get good eggs! Vista had an uncharge Seafood Shack which we tried and it was good for lunch one day. I didn't try any other uncharge restaurants on Vista but we loved Wonderland and Chef's Table on the Harmony and thought they were worth the money. Best Bacon Mac and Cheese EVER on the Vista (main dining room). Not much selection for vegetarians/vegans on either line but RCCL had more options. Carnival had the same vegetarian meal every night with an occasional extra option. Desserts were superb on both.
2. Cabins: Generally bigger on Carnival but we had a Junior Suite on the Harmony which was huge! I preferred the cabin decor on Harmony but that's a personal preference.
3. Loyalty programs: better on RCCL - you don't get much on Carnival but may get free drinks or bottle of wine on RCCL depending on tiers.
4. Suite amenities: I have only done a Junior suite on Liberty and Harmony and Crown Loft Suite on RCCL (haven't tried one on Carnival) but RCCL knows how to spoil you. Full suites get free drinks in the suite lounge every night so no need to get a drink package in my opinion if traveling in a suite on RCCL. Also you earn double cruise points on RCCL in a Junior suite and up so it's easier to move up tiers faster. I've looked into a suite on Carnival but couldn't find much advantage other than a larger room (as opposed to a full butler that ironed my clothes each night on RCCL in a full suite). Maybe those of you in suites on Carnival can correct my if I'm wrong?
5. Slides: Both have great water slides and kids splash pads but Harmony has the large dry slide which was AWESOME and dropped 10 floors.
6. Pools: Harmony had several more pools so they seemed less crowded. Vista had one main pool but it was salt water (not like my backyard pool that is a saltwater pool....we're talking OCEAN WATER salty), causing my 11 year old son to actually start crying because water ran from his hair into his eyes). Carnival has lifeguards but they don't seem to be "policing the pool" like they do on RCCL. They won't drag your child over to the height measure and kick them off the kids slide if slightly too big or too small like they do on RCCL. They also allow drinks in the pool as long as they aren't in a glass container. You can't even sit around the edge of the RCCL pools on the benches there with a drink.
7. Ahem....Clientele: LOTS of smokers on Carnival Vista and lots of gamblers. The very large casino was PACKED most of the day or night. Very smoky to have to walk through (and you have to walk through there on that floor - main thoroughfare goes through there). Advantage: Less people at the pool or other areas that I want to be! Main dining room was dead most nights so we got a lot of attention from waiters on Vista which we loved. The Carnival crowd was very friendly for the most part, though but I've found cruises from Galveston have a much friendlier crowd than those from Florida. All in all, people were there to have fun and this was more of a blue collar crowd (but those people are great and strike up a conversation with you easily when sitting near you in the pool or bar).
8. Movies: Loved the Imax theater on Vista which was an uncharge but they showed brand new movies (Predator, Venom, House with the Clock in Its Walls) for $10/kids; $13/adults. They also showed documentaries for $5-6 each. Vista also has a thrill theater (similar to the Star Wars ride at Disney World but not quite as good - still made me a bit motion sick on the level 2 (they have 3 levels). They also had nighttime movies for free on the pool deck (saw Ocean's 8, Solo, and Incredibles 2). Movies in the rooms on Vista weren't good (TBS/TNT only). In room TV is better on RCCL with better kids shows/movies but they did have cartoon network on the Vista. Harmony showed a few movies on the Aqua theater screen but it seemed much more crowded
9. Stage Shows: much better on RCCL but Carnival has improved quite a bit in the last 10 years. I don't usually go to Carnival shows due to poor previous experiences but we tried one this time and it wasn't too bad. RCCL has shows that are GREAT though! We did LOVE our cruise director "Chris the Flying Scotsman" and his daily kilts on the Vista. DUDE was funny!
10. Comedy Shows: MUCH BETTER on Carnival. If comedy is your thing try Carnival - this must be where they are spending money on performers. 4 shows every night - 2 were PG and 2 were 18+/rated R on Vista. And they were FUNNY! Comedy shows are hard to get into on RCCL ships due to a smaller venue and just don't have the same quality of comedians.
11. Alcoholic drinks: Carnival wins on this one! Best drinks on the seas and their Alchemy Bar can't be beat for cocktails - everything we tried was wonderful there. Bar service can be hit or miss on any ship but we had great bar service including pool service on the Vista.
12. Cost: both reasonable but slightly better on Carnival. We cruise based on ship, price, and itinerary and have no particular brand loyalty. We are trying DCL for the first time next fall but it will cost double what we paid for our Vista cruise ($4400 more for my family of 5). Per my husbands logic, we can buy Tag watches or diamond rings on EVERY cruise with RCCL or Carnival and spend the same. Still agonizing about the cost of DCL....
1. Food: great on both ships - we typically eat main dining room at night and both serve great food in there. Carnival has WAY better burgers (Guy's burger bar) which are free (and poolside) and they also have a taco/burrito bar poolside. I hate having to get dressed fully to go eat inside at the buffet when I'm lounging by the pool. On Royal I pain the uncharge for Johnny Rockets which was a good burger (but Guy's was better and free!) Buffet food is just okay to me (on either line) but Carnival does powdered eggs for scrambled eggs (Royal does real eggs). I stick with eggs Benedict on the buffet on either line to make sure I get good eggs! Vista had an uncharge Seafood Shack which we tried and it was good for lunch one day. I didn't try any other uncharge restaurants on Vista but we loved Wonderland and Chef's Table on the Harmony and thought they were worth the money. Best Bacon Mac and Cheese EVER on the Vista (main dining room). Not much selection for vegetarians/vegans on either line but RCCL had more options. Carnival had the same vegetarian meal every night with an occasional extra option. Desserts were superb on both.
2. Cabins: Generally bigger on Carnival but we had a Junior Suite on the Harmony which was huge! I preferred the cabin decor on Harmony but that's a personal preference.
3. Loyalty programs: better on RCCL - you don't get much on Carnival but may get free drinks or bottle of wine on RCCL depending on tiers.
4. Suite amenities: I have only done a Junior suite on Liberty and Harmony and Crown Loft Suite on RCCL (haven't tried one on Carnival) but RCCL knows how to spoil you. Full suites get free drinks in the suite lounge every night so no need to get a drink package in my opinion if traveling in a suite on RCCL. Also you earn double cruise points on RCCL in a Junior suite and up so it's easier to move up tiers faster. I've looked into a suite on Carnival but couldn't find much advantage other than a larger room (as opposed to a full butler that ironed my clothes each night on RCCL in a full suite). Maybe those of you in suites on Carnival can correct my if I'm wrong?
5. Slides: Both have great water slides and kids splash pads but Harmony has the large dry slide which was AWESOME and dropped 10 floors.
6. Pools: Harmony had several more pools so they seemed less crowded. Vista had one main pool but it was salt water (not like my backyard pool that is a saltwater pool....we're talking OCEAN WATER salty), causing my 11 year old son to actually start crying because water ran from his hair into his eyes). Carnival has lifeguards but they don't seem to be "policing the pool" like they do on RCCL. They won't drag your child over to the height measure and kick them off the kids slide if slightly too big or too small like they do on RCCL. They also allow drinks in the pool as long as they aren't in a glass container. You can't even sit around the edge of the RCCL pools on the benches there with a drink.
7. Ahem....Clientele: LOTS of smokers on Carnival Vista and lots of gamblers. The very large casino was PACKED most of the day or night. Very smoky to have to walk through (and you have to walk through there on that floor - main thoroughfare goes through there). Advantage: Less people at the pool or other areas that I want to be! Main dining room was dead most nights so we got a lot of attention from waiters on Vista which we loved. The Carnival crowd was very friendly for the most part, though but I've found cruises from Galveston have a much friendlier crowd than those from Florida. All in all, people were there to have fun and this was more of a blue collar crowd (but those people are great and strike up a conversation with you easily when sitting near you in the pool or bar).
8. Movies: Loved the Imax theater on Vista which was an uncharge but they showed brand new movies (Predator, Venom, House with the Clock in Its Walls) for $10/kids; $13/adults. They also showed documentaries for $5-6 each. Vista also has a thrill theater (similar to the Star Wars ride at Disney World but not quite as good - still made me a bit motion sick on the level 2 (they have 3 levels). They also had nighttime movies for free on the pool deck (saw Ocean's 8, Solo, and Incredibles 2). Movies in the rooms on Vista weren't good (TBS/TNT only). In room TV is better on RCCL with better kids shows/movies but they did have cartoon network on the Vista. Harmony showed a few movies on the Aqua theater screen but it seemed much more crowded
9. Stage Shows: much better on RCCL but Carnival has improved quite a bit in the last 10 years. I don't usually go to Carnival shows due to poor previous experiences but we tried one this time and it wasn't too bad. RCCL has shows that are GREAT though! We did LOVE our cruise director "Chris the Flying Scotsman" and his daily kilts on the Vista. DUDE was funny!
10. Comedy Shows: MUCH BETTER on Carnival. If comedy is your thing try Carnival - this must be where they are spending money on performers. 4 shows every night - 2 were PG and 2 were 18+/rated R on Vista. And they were FUNNY! Comedy shows are hard to get into on RCCL ships due to a smaller venue and just don't have the same quality of comedians.
11. Alcoholic drinks: Carnival wins on this one! Best drinks on the seas and their Alchemy Bar can't be beat for cocktails - everything we tried was wonderful there. Bar service can be hit or miss on any ship but we had great bar service including pool service on the Vista.
12. Cost: both reasonable but slightly better on Carnival. We cruise based on ship, price, and itinerary and have no particular brand loyalty. We are trying DCL for the first time next fall but it will cost double what we paid for our Vista cruise ($4400 more for my family of 5). Per my husbands logic, we can buy Tag watches or diamond rings on EVERY cruise with RCCL or Carnival and spend the same. Still agonizing about the cost of DCL....
