First timer! Carnival 5 nt vs RCI 4 nt same price: Wwyd?

[cheerky]

Trying to decide on booking FIRST cruise. Carnival 5 nt out of Tampa to Cozumel/ Grand Cayman or 4 nt Royal Carribbean out of Canaveral to Coco Cay/ Nassau. Price is almost the same for ocean view cabin. Cruise would be in January for two 40 something's and our 15 year old dd. Thoughts???

 

[cjnix29]

Which ships?

 

[laurafergie]

I would take the Carnival one because it goes to two ports instead of one, has an extra day and The Bahamas are expensive!

My DH and I tend to travel by the seat of our pants when we cruise. It makes discovering things in a new country so much fun. Be aware of your environment at all times and don't flash cash and it is no worse than walking in a big city in the U.S.

You can definitely go to Cozumel without booking an excursion. The first time we went we took a taxi to San Miguel, went to their small city museum (totally worth it), shopped and had lunch. The second time we rented a car and wandered around and looked at the other side of the island and took ourselves to the Mayan ruins, and bought a blanket from a local lady on the side of the road! Third time we shopped again and asked some locals where the best food was and ended up in some back alley, hole in the wall place that was awesome. I don't even think it was a real restaurant.

Though I think if I went back to Grand Cayman, I would book an excursion, especially swimming with the stingrays...but when we went, we got on the city bus (which is like a minivan) and the driver ended up being like a tour guide as he told us what everything was as we passed it. Then we had conch fritters, went to their city museum and shopped a bit. I didn't feel there was as much to do on your own in Grand Cayman.

 

[cheerky]

Carnival Paradise vs. Royal Enchantment of the Seas. We really want to see if we enjoy the ship experience more so than port of call.

 

[dpswift]

From what you have said I would probubly go the extra day with Carnival. If RCI is Enchantment she is a beautiful ship We sailed her out of Ft Lauderdale a few years back, If the Carnival ship is bigger that would be your better bet. While on Enchantment I met a 19 year old who missed Carnival. She loved the kids club there. She was too old for Enchantments.

From the itinerary I would go Carnival for sure.

 

[dpswift]

I looked at Paridise it seems to offer about the same amenities. I would consider the ships to be equal.

I would go for the extra day. Longer vacation.

 

[cheerky]

How would you compare food/ service? RCI seems to have better dining, menu and less buffets (which appeals to us). If we do the shorter cruise, we may add 2 nts at Universal to the tail end of the trip...

 

[Alexle2007]

Given that you are looking at Jan, the water in Nassau may be a bit chilly, I would go with RCL for warmer weather and water.

 

[ronandannette]

How would you compare food/ service? RCI seems to have better dining, menu and less buffets (which appeals to us). If we do the shorter cruise, we may add 2 nts at Universal to the tail end of the trip...

This isn't correct. Both ships will have breakfast and dinner served in the main dining room and lunch available there on sea days only (not on days the ship is in port). Both ships will also offer breakfast, lunch and dinner at the buffet if you prefer, but you don't have to ever eat there if you don't want to. On the days when the MDR is not serving lunch you could eat at the pizza/burger station or order room service (all of these options are available on both ships). While everybody will have a different opinion about which line has better menus or food quality overall, the venues/availability is practically identical on both lines.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Go over to Cruisecritic.com and look under each line and check out trip reports. You can do a search for all kinds of things.

 

[dpswift]

How would you compare food/ service? RCI seems to have better dining, menu and less buffets (which appeals to us). If we do the shorter cruise, we may add 2 nts at Universal to the tail end of the trip...

The service was overall about the same. The food was good on both however the hamburgers on Carnival are better by far.

Tacking on Universal days makes the four night more tempting. I still prefer the itinerary on the longer cruise.

 

[LovesTimone]

We have cruised with Disney & Carnival

If you are more interested in what the ship has to offer, then I suggest really looking at show ~vs~ show, pool areas - Do they offer adults only area with an adult only pool or just a couple of hot tubs, or just a bar area, also would the teenage enjoy slides or other water activities ~vs ~ only slides and such for the little kiddos. Do they offer movies, and what do they have going on during the day to enjoy as a family. If you have a rain or something if there something to keep you busy.

Dinning with Carnival I found the buffet to be just okay at times, it reminded me of Golden Corral / Sweet Tomatoes, not that there is anything wrong with either just my thoughts. I will say the pizza shop did have some really great pizza and other offerings. Carnival offers assigned dinner times or anytime dinning which you choose ahead of time when booking. We haven't done anytime dinning but will be doing it in Sept. When we are going with some friends to celebrate with them. I am planning to do a trip review after here on the DIS. As far as the food in the main dinning room, our last cruise with them was really hit or miss, with service and food quality. Overall we did not go hungry and did have some really good food.

As far as excursions go. We went in December of last year, and did the passion island inclusive which included lunch and adult beverages, or tea. The water was a bit cool, and quite a bit of sea weed. We had a really good time, food good and service was amazing, the beach and activities were fun. but get ready to tip, make sure to have some 5's on hand as getting change for a larger bills is not going to happen.

 

[JenzyHP]

I would think the Bahamas would be kind of chilly at the time frame. It was still cooler than I'd have liked when I went early March one year.

 

[brazzledazzler]

I have been on multiple cruises on RCI & Carnival. In my opinion, if you are looking for a "deal" than Carnival is the best for that. If you are looking for a finer experience, RCI can't be beat. Their ships, service & food just seem a bit more upscale than Carnival imho. If you are looking to check out the ship experience, RCI is the better choice.

 

[HM]

One thing to remember is that there will be more expenses with the longer cruise, if that makes a difference....more tips, more parking fees (if you have a car and the lot has a charge), etc.

 

[Darcy03231]

We cruise a lot (2-3x year). I've sailed on both lines and find them to be pretty comparable to food and service. Rooms on Carnival tend to be a bit larger. Décor on Carnival tends to Las Vegasy while RCCL feels more upscale. Shows/entertainment tend to be about the same.

I'd do the 5 day. We've done this exact same itinerary with Carnival several times and like it much better than Coco Cay/Nassau. If you want to do an inexpensive, but fun, excursion in Grand Cayman get off the ship and take a right and head down the waterfront to Eden Rock diving center. You can snorkel right from the shore. Last time we were there is was $14/pp to rent snorkel equipment. Some of the best snorkeling we've done was right there.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I would go with the Carnival itinerary - I like the ports better, plus you get an extra day. We have cruised several times with Carnival and Royal (and Disney and Holland America). I think Carnival has better food than Royal (especially desserts), while I like the style of Royal's ships better (a PP was absolutely right that Carnival has more Vegas-style décor). Neither ship that you have mentioned is among the biggest, newest or most innovative for each line, so the ship experience will probably be comparable.

Royal does offer the Universal Land and Sea, so if you want to go to Universal, you might check to see if the Land and Sea package is a good deal.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I don't know either ship but Grand Cayman is amazing! It wouldn't be a choice between the two itineraries for me.

 

[cheerky]

Thanks everyone! Did a lot of research and decided to go with Royal Caribbean. We agree that the Bahamas itinerary is not that desirable but think the RCI ship experience may fit us better. If we love cruising, I've got my eye on a longer cruise with better ports of call.

 

[Twende]

I love Grand Cayman and would go back there in a second. We did our own thing and used the little public mini buses to get around. We walked the 7 mile beach and went to a place called Sunshine Suites for lunch. http://www.sunshinesuites.com/ It was the best hamburger I have ever eaten in my life! Incredible!
On Cozumel we did a ship excursion where we spent the day at a private home and beach. We had a cook, bartender, servers, guides and even a masseuse (for a bit extra$). The location was lovely. It was all the food and drink you wanted. There was a private pool, beach side loungers, beds, hammocks,and snorkel equipment. Excellent excursion from Tripping Cool from Carnival. Also on Cozumel we went to a locals dive for a dinner. It was great food for a cheap price. We walked back to the ship and never felt unsafe.