Cruise Experts..RC or Carnival?

[chewbacca]

My DH and I are wanting to take my in-laws and our 2 boys (ages 3 & 6) on a cruise. We have been on both Royal Caribbean and Carnival and are trying to decide which one would be better for the kids and in-laws first cruise. My Dh wants RC b/c of the bigger ships and kids water play areas but I want Carnival for the movie screen on deck, self-serve laundromats and having slightly bigger rooms (oceanview). I also think that Carnival has more to offer in their kids play areas.

Which do you think?

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I think there is also a "style" for each cruise line that you need to take into consideration. Carnival tends to be a younger crowd and with it, some of the generalized things that happen. Royal Carribbean is slightly better in terms of crowd mix. Personally I wouldn't take a Carnival Cruise.

 

[shortbun]

Carnival is a little more casual-hence the laundramat and rep for bawdy/boozy behavior. RC tends to be a hair more sedate but I love those huge ships with all the activities. In general, I would rate RC food a few steps above Carnival but that can differ with ships and chefs. For me, it's the ship and the itinerary that always made my decision. I pick my itinerary and then the best ship OR I pick the style of ship and then the best itinerary sailing it. If you're a young family and your parents are not high brows/would not be offended by a wet tee shirt contest choose Carnival. Last- are the prices the same. I might compare the three things: ship/itinerary/price and see which ship offers the best all round opportunity.

 

[a1tinkfans]

RCCL IMHO, there is no comparison in atmosphere/clients/amenities.
I have never heard anyone say they had a bad/iffy trip on rccl, can't say same about carnival though...Rccl is class all the way

 

[LargoLori]

I have only taken Disney and Carnival a had a great time on both. I would suggest you check out cruisecritic for some good info.

 

[MM27]

I've only taken RCCL and NCL cruises and I prefer RCCL. Stay away from the shorter cruises and you usually eliminate a lot of the rowdiness.

 

[HeatherC]

We've done a couple cruise lines...Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Out of all of them, Royal Caribbean is our favorite.

Their voyager class or larger ships just cannot be compared to other ships. There is just simply so much to do that you can't possibly do it all. Their ships also have a WOW factor that isn't matched. (I know...it's just my opinion.

My kids have cruised twice on RCCL and once on Carnival. While they had fun on Carnival, Royal Caribbean was their favorite.

That being said, I don't think you can go wrong on any of them.

Princess' Caribbean Princess was also a beautiful ship that I'd recommend.

You can actually do a virtual tour of Royal Caribbean's ships on their website.

And...definitely head to cruisecritic.com. It's the DIS for cruising!

Have a great time planning!

 

[NCRedding]

We've done 6 DCL cruises, 2 NCl cruises and 1 each on Carnival and RCCL. Perhaps our RCCL cruise was an anomaly, but it was my least favorite of all my cruises. I think I went in expecting more, so I was disappointed.

I had very low expectations for our Carnival cruise, but had a wonderful time. I thought the food was excellent, and loved all the entertainment venues and activities. I saw no out of control behavior, etc. The kids in the clubs seemed to be having a great time (we travelled without children). I must preferred the entertainment on Carnival to RCCL.

 

[DMRick]

It really depends on the ship size, not just the brand. We were surprised at how much we liked Carnival..we've been on two. We have had great cruises on Holland America and Celebrity (although I don't really suggest them for kids). We also like Norwegin. At the bottom of our list is RCCL, but it was a small, older ship, so we'll give them another try. Our daughter and her family love them..lots to do for the kids. Unless we got a really good deal, we prob won't do Disney again, even though we loved the food and service (service as in wait staff, not the desk service). It was just a little too much Disney for us, not worth the extra cost, and while many people had their kids in the kids programs, there are still a lot of kids. For you, the kids/kids program would prob be a plus.
But my point is, it really depends on what you are looking for. The lower the star rating, IMO, the worse the ship, so I would stay away from anything lower than a 4.5. If you want good kid programs, then go for a ship that offers that. If you want more adult stuff (like HAL's) wonderful cooking classes and seminars, go for those. If you want really good Broadway shows, then Carnival might be what you want.

 

[DrCavin]

RCCL IMHO, there is no comparison in atmosphere/clients/amenities.
I have never heard anyone say they had a bad/iffy trip on rccl, can't say same about carnival though...Rccl is class all the way

Never read posts on cruisecritic.com?

I would compare prices/itineraries & pick the one that fits you best. Carnival has improved its ships & is not the party ship that it used to be. They really are marketing to families like many cruise lines.

 

[DMickey28]

I have only been on RCCL and Princess, however I am pretty strong against ever going on Carnival Cruise. Just my personal opinion gathered from research.

So I'd lean towards RCCL with the family. I can't wait until my two boys are old enough that we can do a whole family cruise again. DH and I went back in October 2008 and it was great but too long away from DS. I don't think I can do another 7 day without the kids!

 

[crz4mm2]

I had always heard "bad" things about Carnival. 3 years ago I sent DS and DDIL on a cruise for their honeymoon(their wedding present from us).
I asked WHERE they would like to go and based on that, the least expensive option was a Carnival cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale.
They had an absolutely MARVELOUS time. So great in fact, that the following year, I took DD on a cruise for her birthday and we went with Carnival. It was WONDERFUL.
Fast forward another year and the whole family went on another cruise for our 30th anniversary and guess which line we chose? You got it It was just as fantastic as the others.
I had only sailed on NCL before and while they were awesome, treated me like royalty etc, I had more fun on the Carnival ships.
Yes, there were some young people who got out of control. Yes, there were some OLDER people who got out of control. sure didn't affect us though
I would not hesitate to choose Carnival again.
I second going to Cruise Critic.
Have a GREAT cruise whichever line you choose.