Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival Cruise

#26
#26
chatt-townVOL said:
5 days cruise. Departing from Ft. Louderdale. Stops in Jamaica and Haiti.
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Nice! Have you seen the Dragons zipline at labadee? At 2600 ft in distance it is the longest in the world over water. Plenty of youtube vids showing it.

If you and your wife enjoy the ocean you might want to take some of those water shoes to protect your feet. When we stopped in Princess Cays the coral rocks was everwhere in the water and sharp as a razorblade!

Have fun and report back after the trip.
 
#27
#27
I'm considering using Rum Runners for a cruise in Feb. Anybody use them?

The opinions of them run the full spectrum...from people that love them to people that are aghast that you would do such a thing on a cruise ship. We're plenty past our party days and still buy several drinks on the ship, but I like fixing a drink in the evening while winding down and reading. What we carried on during our first cruise (you can always plead ignorance once) made it though fine, but I know that's not always the case. The wives will have their wine, but I'd really like my Dickel for my night caps...
 
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#28
#28
We went on our 1st cruise last year, carnival Dream. The ship was HUGE!!! Drinks are expensive. We did the bottle service, a liter of Crown Royal & Sky in our room before leaving port. We mixed drinks in our room but also bought them at the pool & comedy clubs etc. We debated the Cheers program. You get 15 drinks a day but both adults in the same room MUST buy the package. It was $50 a day, per person. So around $700 for both of us. While the 2 bottles were $150 then whatever else we wanted to drink. We saved some $$ but not much. Some what of a hassle too because we were always going back to the room to mix drinks.

I prefer the All inclusive resorts. Less stress, no schedules, no counting drinks!!!
 
#29
#29
The wife and I had our honeymoon on a Royal Caribbean cruise and we absolutely loved it. They rob you on drinks but that's to be somewhat expected. Service was outstanding.
 
#30
#30
I have been on the facination twice in the last 5 years, if its your first cruise and its just the two of you DEFINITELY go Royal Caribbean. THAT IS NOTHING AGAINST CARNIVAL or the facination. It is just that ship is smaller and a more cheaper cruise. Also on the cheaper cruises you will have a lot of kids on it and if you want to just kick it by the pool you can forget about it... it will be over run by kids on the cheaper ones due to families that can't afford that extra money your talking about having to spend.and one more thing the coke card is 20 bucks usually per person for the duration. CRUISE CRITIC IS A GREAT SITE TO CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT SHIPS.
 
#32
#32
Orange_Vol1321 said:
Yankee I think the Epic is a Norwegian cruise line ship.


Chatt, Carnival is cheaper but so is the qaulity of the food, their help, ect. If your going with RC I would look at Princess Cruises as the prices are close. Got engaged in 2010 in front

of 3000 people during the Champagne Waterfall on formal night on the Emerald Princess. Since then I have been on Carnival and RC and will never cruise on anything but Princess!

This all depends on what port your going out of as princess only operates out of a few ports. Happy cruising! This your alls first cruise?
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The Epic is a Norwegian Cruise ship. I'll blame it to being tired from traveling
 
#33
#33
nc vol fan said:
I have been on the facination twice in the last 5 years, if its your first cruise and its just the two of you DEFINITELY go Royal Caribbean. THAT IS NOTHING AGAINST CARNIVAL or the facination. It is just that ship is smaller and a more cheaper cruise. Also on the cheaper cruises you will have a lot of kids on it and if you want to just kick it by the pool you can forget about it... it will be over run by kids on the cheaper ones due to families that can't afford that extra money your talking about having to spend.and one more thing the coke card is 20 bucks usually per person for the duration. CRUISE CRITIC IS A GREAT SITE TO CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT SHIPS.
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Yeah the royal Caribbean (princess of the seas IIRC) had a smaller, adults only pool.
 
#34
#34
I have gone Norwegian and Carnival.

Free dining is huge to me. I don't want to sit at a table with people I don't know, and have to listen to their life story on my vacation. I also like being able to choose when I eat and not base activities around food.

I just like it more all around...but then again I hate Carnival
 
#35
#35
We're paying off the Royal Caribbean tomorrow. Thank you everyone for your input. I feel pretty good about our decision.
 
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#40
#40
WallyBalls said:
I've had very good experiences with them...but I'm assuming you have not.

I've used Carnival, Royal, (and Norwegian once). I didn't mind Carnival at all.
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I was more referring to the ship that lost power in the ocean.

My experience with them wasn't great, but I would have still gone on vacation.
 
#42
#42
Just returned from our Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas cruise yesterday. I can honestly say that was the best vacation I've ever had.

First off the ship is breathtaking. That thing is massive. RC ships also seem to have a very "grand scale" feel about them. The detail and the size and the look of everything makes you feel like you are on a $1,000 per night vacation. They do that very well.

The shows were fantastic. We saw 2 comedians, both of which were hilarious, a show called "In the Air" which was great, and also watched Gravity in 3D and watched The Hunger Games: Catching Fire out by the pool on the giant outdoor TV one night.

All in all we will pretty much always sail Royal Caribbean from here on out. We sat at our dinner table with a girl who had been on 28 cruises (several different lines) and she said after trying them all she only does RC. She also said since our first cruise was Liberty that Carnival will pretty much never be an option for us, as it just doesn't live up to the standards of RC. Based on Youtube videos of Carnival ships I'm inclined to agree.

Anyways a few other notable things:

-Beds were very very comfortable. Better than any hotel bed we've ever stayed in.

-Food was incredible.

-24 hour coffee shop with snacks and sandwiches

-Pizza buffet open till 2 AM

-5 hot tubs

-Cruise director was hilarious and made everything fun

Anyways thanks the everyone who gave their feedback on this thread. This thread lead us to choose RC which resulted in truly the best vacation we've ever been on.
 
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#43
#43
Lot of hate for Carnival in here, don't really get that. I think alot of it is inexperienced cruisers. Like the one complaining about having to sit with others and not being able to dine when you want. You can request your own table and you can get any time dining on Carnival. Ive been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, just booked another cruise for later this year with Carnival.
 
#44
#44
Is there any place that one could het a last min deal on a cruise? Like 3-4 days notice? Preferably out of Cape Canaveral.
 
#45
#45
InVOLuntary said:
Is there any place that one could het a last min deal on a cruise? Like 3-4 days notice? Preferably out of Cape Canaveral.
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Those are the BEST rates! Just google cruises and find which ship is sailing from there. Then check their website.
 
#48
#48
chatt-townVOL said:
Well I know with Royal you have to have it paid off 60 days in advance. So I'm not sure how that would work.
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When you book ahead you do. They want to fill every cabin they can, so the rates are really good. You don't have a lot of choices with cabins, etc. But it can be worth it.

Glad you had such a good time!
 
#50
#50
Well I waited too late it appears. The only cruise we could dcwork in was booked and airfare was over $1000 each so the cruise is out. Guess we'll do a drive somewhere trip. Any suggestions. Wife, two kids (19, 14). Live in Ktown.
 
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