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We are thinking about going on a cruise this coming August. It would be our first one and we have heard several things about the different cruise ships and am wondering which one is better and why? It would be to the Caribbean btw.
Different demographics on both ships. Carnival is the younger set, so more boisterous on board than royal caribbean. RC used to have much better food in the main dining hall, but i hear it's slipped.
check out cruisecritic.com forums - good info there
I love cruising .... but there is a cruise line for every taste and every budget. So ......
1. How long a cruise were you thinking of ?
2. What is your budget ?
3. Do you drink alcohol (will have an impact on budget) ?
4. What is your age group ?
5. What are your tastes in entertainment (like to party, night club, prefer a more romantic setting, etc.) ?
6. How do you handle crowds, standing in line, etc. ?
7. How important is the itinerary to you. ?
8. At ports of call, do you like to just wander around, do you like visiting historical monuments, do you just want to head for the beach, etc. ?
Answering these questions will help those of us who have cruised quite a lot answer questions and make suggestions.
We have gone on each, both times with our son. He was 5 and 7 during the two cruises. We liked RC much better than the Carnival cruise. We were not at all happy with Carnival's program for the kids.
The average age on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, NCL for 7 night Caribbean product... is the same.. 46.
I get the most complaints from my customers about NCL and then Royal... bad food.. small staterooms.
I can't remember the last time I received a complaint about Carnival or Princess.
Looking for the best food at sea? Try Celebrity's Solstice.
Now, if you really want a WOW factor.......then the nod would go to Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. Not my cup of tea.. but everyone should do it at least once.. just because there's nothing else like it.
Carnival and Royal are virtually the same, both marketing at the same demographic. From everything I've read over the past few years on Cruise Critic and other sites, Carnival has better food and bigger rooms while RCCL has better amenities on the ship.
Carnival gets a bogus rap as having the unclean and partying masses as their clientele. Nothing can be farther from the truth. I've seen all walks of life on every one of my cruises and there are some people I'd prefer to mingle with and some not so much. I'm sure RCCL is the same.
These two carriers are representative of budget cruising. They are both good carriers and I wouldn't be concerned to cruise on either one.
Now, if you really want a WOW factor.......then the nod would go to Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. Not my cup of tea.. but everyone should do it at least once.. just because there's nothing else like it.
Much too big for me. I was on Adventure of the Seas and that was too big. Our stateroom was lovely but the pool deck was mobbed, getting on and off the ship was a pain and involved standing in line - at St. Maarten for quite a long time - and embarkation and disembarkation was brutal. On the plus side, the food was pretty good, the ice show amazing and the staff wonderful.
As a result of that experience we now pay extra to cruise with Seabourn (also owned by Carnival). Yes, it is expensive. But, smaller (450 or 220 passengers) ships, the food is 5 star restaurant quality, all drinks are included and the only extras are for tours, the Spa and the internet. So you don't feel like you are getting nickled and dimed all the time. And no lines or difficulty in getting a sun bed. Oh ... and no tipping! It isn't suitable if you want to take children or party hard but it works for us.
I've taken Carnival a few times, but not recently. I had no complaints. This summer, I'm taking a cruise in the Baltic Sea on Royal Caribbean. It's really not comparable to a tropical cruise, but we'll see how I like the ship and cruise experience. Up there, it's more about the ports than the ship itself, and the cruise I'm taking is more a way to see varied places without having to pack up and get on a train every day or so.
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