Carnival or RCCL???

[jjgarv]

HAving only cruised with DCL, and having high standards, which of these two cruise lines would you suggest I sail with? We are going on a cruise with family and are looking for other lines other than DCL. Who has sailed these two and which do you prefer? I come to the best for advice!

 

[DisneyGator01]

Go with RCCL Voyager or Vision class...

 

[3timecruiser]

Carnival is not enjoyable at all if you're used to Disney. It tends to be full of singles, college kids and has a much more "adult" environment. Like going on spring break which is not what I want at this age or with my children. It is also the cheapest of the majors and thus doesn't have much class at all. Just a big party ship with drinking, dating and gambling the major themes. RCCL is classy but the clientel seems to be older-much older. A great cruise for grandparents. Not a lot of fun on board. Sophistication is more the theme. We will only cruise Disney now. It has everything we want and is without the things we don't want.

 

[kajohn]

I would have to disagree about the ages of RCCL passengers. I have sailed RCCL twice, on the Voyager of the Seas to the Carribean and the Radiance of the Seas to Alaska and I found there to be quite a range of ages on the ship. my husband and I are in our 30's and we found plenty of people our age, even in Alaska where the average age of cruise ship passengers are older.

To the original poster, I would have to say that RCCL is my favorite having sailed both CCL and RCCL. I sailed CCL in 1990 on an older ship, and then didn't sail again until 2000, so I'm sure much has changed on CCL, but I would still recommend RCCL. The Voyager class and Radiance class ships are amazing, so much to do, so much fun, very elegant dining rooms, etc. etc. I could go on and on about how much I love these ships!

 

[jgalecpa]

We have sailed RCCL. Last time sat at a table of 8 (4 couples) three of four were in there 30's.

Loads of people in the same age group.

My Rec:

age 20 - 30 Carnival

30 + RCCL

 

[HumphreytheBear]

I have to disagree with the age thing too Hubby and I are in our 20's and find RCCL to be wonderful We had sailed Disney 5 times when we decided we wanted to venture out so we decided on RCCL also very hesitant because of high standards and knowing what Disney provided. We choose the Voyager as our first RCCL experience, since then we have sailed RCCL 4 times(with a 5th booked) and I have also been on Carnival 3 times (prior to Disney). I agree after Disney, Carnival will be a culture shock... the ships are fun, but they are in no way classy... As for RCCL you should look at Voyager class (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator or Mariner), Radiance Class (Radiance, Brilliance, Serenade or Jewel) or Vision Class (Vision, Granduer or Enchantment).

We have sailed on Voyager, Brilliance, Sovereign (don't do it...worst cruise ever) and Enchantment and we have Serenade booked for next year. The Voyager class ships are the BIG ones with the ice skating rink, rock climbing, mini golf, roller bladding etc... if you are looking for a lot of action they are the way to go. The Radiance class are a scaled down classier version of the Voyager, they are a little smaller and a lot more elegant (you lose the ice skating, but still have the other stuff)...Vision class is smaller yet (about the size of DCL) the ships are beautiful, the sercvice is great but there was not as much to do on the Enchantment as there was on the Voyager and Brilliance (even though I have to say the Enchantment was one of the most relaxing crusies I have been on and would do it again in a heartbeat.)

 

[jjgarv]

Humphrey.....what was it you disliked about the sovreign, the ship or the cruise, it is one we are lookng at. The other is the Majesty, any feedback?

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

JJ, I've sailed on the Sovereign 3 times. I've had a great time each sailing. You just need to remember that the Sovereign is an older ship. It's about the size of DCL. The food was pretty good and this last trip (9/28/03) the service in the dining room was as good as we've had on Disney.

If your looking into a 3-4 day cruise and budget is an issue, I can recommend the Sovereign.

 

[DisneyGator01]

I've been on Sov. of the Seas.. The previous poster is correct, she's a much older ship.. shows her age (not as much as CCL's Fantasy, IMO). Staterooms were smaller as well. I didn't think the food was as good as DCL either, but again, just my opinion. Also, I didn't think there was a lot to do on the ship besides gamble, and I am not a gambler at all.

Pools are saltwater.. I love the fresh-water pools on DCL, that's a big plus.

It's cheaper, so that is a plus. But it is just older, not as classy as DCL. I like walking in and seeing polished floors--teak glowing in the sun. I won't go back on her again, but I wouldn't mind checking out one of RCCL's newer and larger classes.

Besides, Sov. of The Seas just goes to the Bahamas.. blah.. If I am going to the Bahamas, I better at least be on the Wonder!

I'd reccommend checking out some of the RCCL ships sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale. They have better iterneraries.

Still if you have an open mind, and take it for what it is, I am sure you would have an enjoyable cruise. It's ust not Disney

 

[LisaGoeke]

RCCL!!!!!!!!

 

[Bev J]

You will be very happy with RCCL, we have cruised with them 5 times, the last being last week on the Rhapsody of the Seas out of Galveston, TX. RCCL has ships leaving out of many ports all over the country. This month the Mariner of the Seas will start sailing out of Port Canaveral. You may be surprised at their prices compared to DCL.
On the larger voyager class ships there is just so much to do, iceskating, inline skating, rock climbing, mini golf and the kids programs are just as great as DCL. We have not sailed on SOS so I can't comment on that ship.
We are taking our kids next October on Mariner or Navigator of the Seas and just can't wait to have a great time with them.

 

[SandraLee]

HumphreytheBear . . .

Can you talk about the kids program a bit? I am considering an RCCL this spring, but don't know if I will like it. I have done the Magic 2 times and my kids LOVE it. Will they like the Radiance or Vision class ships? I don't want to do a Voyager class -- too big for me.

I have DS8 and DD5. I read they only give pagers to the 3 -4 age group. Is that right?

Also, the rooms are much smaller? And, I have a hard time figuring out the different pricing choices -- seems they have MUCH more price points. I want a balcony and after that, I don't really care.

Thanks

Sandra

 

[kajohn]

SandraLee,

If you want information on cabins check out http://www.cruisestateroom.com . You can do a ship comparison and compare staterooms from DCL to another ship, i.e. explorer of the seas etc.

When comparing stateroom size, remember that DCL includes the balcony in there square footage and RCCL does not. On the Voyager class ships a cat. D1, D9 etc. are all the same size, the number represents the floor that they are on D1 are on deck 10, D9 are deck 9 etc. They have a full size sofa. The DB and DA cabins are slightly smaller with only a loveseat. That is the only real difference.

As for the cabins being smaller on Voyager class ships than DCL, I really didn't find there was much difference with the exception of taking out the second bathroom.

The cabin in Cat. 5-7 on DCL are 214 Sq ft (without the balcony). The D9 cabins etc. on RCCL voyager class are listed at 183 sq ft. When you take into account the amount of square feet used up for two bathrooms on DCL the actual living area of the cabin is about the same as RCCL Voyager class cabins.

On cruisestaterooms.com they show the bathrooms on RCCL as being pretty big, but in actuality they are only big enough for one person, not much bigger at all than one of the split baths on DCL.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jison]

We have been on the Wonder and the Magic....2000 and 2001 and had a nice time.

We were on RCCL Voyager spring of 2002 and it was wonderful....the kids did not want to do Disney again. Their ages at the time were 15, 13, 12 and 9.

We did RCCL Explorer spring of 2003 and it was wonderful again.

We are dping RCCL. the Mariner of the Seas this spring.

 

[Jison]

I wanted to reply about the room size....I think they are a bit smaller on RCCL and I DID miss the split bathroom but they are layed out better. More storage and places to stash stuff....IMHO.

 

[purplebelle]

RCCL! Much classier and elegant than Carnival. You can tell even by the names... haha


Monarch of the Seas
Enchantment of the Seas

 

[godisneyboat]

We had started to book a CCL on the Glory in June, I was shocked
when I asked for a non smoking cabin and was told that CCL makes all of their state rooms available for smoking. Could not handle that. They do have one ship that is smoke free, but all other ships I understand smoking is rampant except for dining rooms.

 

[LibertyBelle]

Originally posted by jjgarv
Humphrey.....what was it you disliked about the sovreign, the ship or the cruise, it is one we are lookng at. The other is the Majesty, any feedback?

Sovereigns not a bad ship, it is just not up to Disney standards, if that is what you are looking for. We sailed on Sovereign and did not enjoy it. We had poor service every where except the dining room (loved the servers). The room steward yelled at us about not having the DND sign out when we were in the room, the purser's desk charged the credit cards incorrectly, swore that they fixed it, but never did, again went down talked to supervisor, swore again that it was taken care of, got home, it wasn't (had an on going battle over that for months). And the staff would not let my fiance (at the time...hubby now) back on the ship in Nassau because he was 20 at the time and they said he needed to be escorted by his guardian (which I guess was me...and I had already boarded ahead of him). Not to mention the rooms on SOS are really small comparitivly (but it is an older ship). I honestly feel like our issues where isolated, as everyone seems to talk highly of the ship on other boards, but I would not sail it again (Voyager, Vision and Radiance class for me).

As for the question about the child care facilities on the ships, they are not the Oceaneer's Club/Lab by any means, but they are REALLY good and I have never read a bad post about what RCCL offers for the kids. The Radiance class ships would have better facilites than the Vision class (just because they are newer) but either are very much up to par with the younger cruisers.

 

[TexasGirl]

We've never NOT enjoyed a cruise. We have been on Carnival once, and RCCL 3 times, and DCL just once. We have done Sover of the Seas on RCCL and agree, it is older and a different atmosphere but still a lot of fun. We also have sailed out of California. No complaints on any.

My mother just returned from Carnival out of Galveston, TX and had nothing but good things to say. Loved the service, food and said it was a good variety of ages.

The rooms on both Carnival and RCCL were smaller than Disney and not as nice. However, you don't spend much time in your room anyway.

 

[aprilgail2]

I have never sailed RCCL but I have sailed on Carnival and I wouldn't ever do it again....young people acting stupid, WAY to many people drinking way to much, to much smoke (they didn't have the smoke free ship when I sailed) and I just didn't like the whole atmosphere.