For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Carnival or Royal Caribbean?

I don't care about price, which was a better experience??

Tell me about your cruises! thanks girls!

(trying to decide which we should go with) everyone gives me mixed reviews about both.

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

i have been on both and had a great experience with both of them. our first cruise we did the carnival triumph, this was at the time their newest and largest ship out there. we did western caribbean and had an amazing time. then i did a cruise on royal caribbean's explorer of the seas, to eastern caribbean, it was soooo amazing. IMO RCCL is the best way to cruise. we did another rccl cruise on their navigator of the seas ship back to western caribbean and it was even better than the one before. the ship was perfect, clean, huge, the staff was great, the food amazing etc. etc. etc. Like i said, i did have a great time on carnival, but have heard not so great things since then, maybe it was because it was such a new ship? I will only go on royal caribbean from here on out because to me, their ships are top notch... HTH

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

thank you! I really do think Royal will be better for us, but the cruise I want to go on leaves the very next day after the wedding, and we wanted a break before we left. We have to fly down to miami...

We're probably going to end up leaving the next day anyway. Carnival offers more cruises leaving during the week.

Royal has a new ship launching June 06 called 'freedom of the seas' it's going to be awesome, and the departure port is Miami. (7 night western caribbean) sounds wonderful!!!

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

I have been on the Carnival Desnity and RCCl's Adventure of the Sea

RCCL- was much better- food, service, decor, entertainment.. all around, much better

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Someone FM'ed me a while back re: my experience on RCCL Adventure of the Seas. Im going to attach my review. She said it helped her.. I hope it helps everyone else looking to take a cruise!



First off, I just want to say that my cruise on the Adventure of the Seas was my 2nd cruise.. my 1st cruise was a few years ago out of NY to Bermuda on what I thought then was a HUGE cruise ship.

I went with my fioncee Anthony friend Michelle, her boyfriend, and my friend Lena & her husband. The 6 of us are very close friends, so you could only imagine that we had the best company. It was our 2nd cruise and all 4 of our friends 1st cruise so it would be an 'adventure' for all of us.

So where do I start???
Okay The ship itself is MUCH larger then the image you have in your head right now. I cant even tell you how huge this thing is!! This ship has EVERY activity you can imagine.. Rock climbing, ice skating, nightclubs, casino, lounges on top of lounges, shopping, theater, bars, Full court basketball, Portofino restaurant, spa, pools, arcade.. mini golfing, ping pong... everything!! They even have a Johnny Rockets on board (And I know Im leaving a whole lot out!!! The main dining room is unbelievable and the food is nothing less then excellent. With all the things to do on board, you would wonder where to find the time to stop at the islands!!!
A few tips for you re: the ship itself.

1. Loose 10 lbs before you go. Food is available 24 hours a day and believe me when I tell you.. its NON-stop eating ALL THE TIME.

2. DO NOT miss the Love & Marriage Game show & the Quest scavenger hunt.. all I can say is that I never laughed so hard in my life.

3. Request 2nd seating (8:30pm) for dinner. 1st seating is at 6:30.. You dont want to have to rush back from the islands to make it for dinner. Plus at that time you will find alot of the older guests & familes with young kiddies. (Im sure you dont want too much of that on your honeymoon)

4. DO NOT miss a sunset. They are unlike any other you can imagine.

5. There are two formal nights.. and yes they are very formal. Suit & ties for the guys, evening gowns for the ladies. Lobster & Fillet Mignone for dinner.. yum.

Wear some sun protection. Auruba is part of the tradewinds belt in the carribbeanm so there is a constant 20 mile per hour wind, so you really dont feel like your skin is burning in the sun. I COMPLETELY fried. (And I have that sicilian olive complexion & hardley EVER wear sun protection & never burn)

Now for the islands:

Aruba: Perfect weather. Beautiful beaches & the people are about the friendliest you will find in all of the carribbean. Fun things to do in Oranjestad (where the ship is docked)
1. Definately visit the natural bridge, the Lighthouse & Baby beach.. Oh yeah... for a great time go to Senor Frogs. There you will find half of the people on your cruise ship drinking & having a blast. My friends & I did the Banana boat thing on the beach. (not sure if you know what it is, but.. it was prob the most memorable beach experience we all will EVER HAVE.

Curacao: Nothing much on that island to see. We spent a few hours shopping. My FI made out with a nice gift for himself at one of the jewelry stores there. I wish I can tell you more about this island, but we only stayed for a few hours.

St, Maarten: Beaches... GORGEOUS!! Shopping.. ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE. I cant say any more. If your into jewelry.. You will be in heaven. One thing about the carribbean.. You will never find even half the stuff they have in the US.. My FI bought me a pink sapphire pendant from GEMS (store) and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!


St. Thomas: Just when I thought the cruise couldn't get any better.... Our last port was St. Thomas.. which was by far, my favorite.
The island is tropical, the beaches are beautiful and the scenery is breathtaking. Do NOT MISS MEAGANS BAY!!!

Bring tons & tons of film. There is a rediculous amount of photo opportunitys the entire week.

Dont forget to relax.. There are just so many things to do , you are going to want to get it all done... IMPOSSIBLE.

Theres prob so many more things to tell you about this ship.. I feel like Im leaving so much out!!!

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Great!!! Yep, I have heard a lot better things about Royal...That is actually what I am thinking of doing for our honeymoon....A Caribean cruise either Royal or Norwegian!! Keep me posted on what you find....There is really nothing for Nov 06 yet!! good luck

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

I've only been on one cruise, so I'm far from an afficionato but whichever company you choose, go for their biggest and newest ship and I'm sure you'll have a great time. FH and I were very sad that the trip we went on was on RC's Grandeur and not the Adventure of the Seas - we had a great time, but we do feel like we missed out on quite a bit. That's the only advice I can give you - good luck!

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Ive loved both lines.. but I have to say there were ALOT more kids on the carnival cruise I was on

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

i have heard that Norgwegian and Celebrity are great lines... i have on been on Norwegian so i cant help much...

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Rccl is better, I have been on Three of them.
I have been on CCL once and really did not like it unless you want to take a whole bunch of kids with you.

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

I would use RC. I've been on both and the carnival had a more fun/family/party atmosphere. I found the RC cruise to be classier and more laid back. It depends on the atmospher you are looking for.

You will have fun on either one.

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

it depends how new the ship is. the new carnivals are really nice. There are lots of kids on carnival too.

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

I was on Royal, Carnival, and Princess
ALl three were great BUT Royal was the best

Royal- Rhapsody-top notch food, great service, fun activities, less children, more people in the middle age group

carnival (triumph) i thought the food wasnt as good- had a SUPER great time it was new years cruise... BUT there were children all over the place...

princess (dawn princess)- i was younger- FOOD was out of this world- BUT it wan an older crowd, fun but not as much fun as the others,

id go for royal- you wont regret it

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

thank you everyone for your input!!

that review was great

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Royal Carribean was AWESOME!!!! From the service to the food to the entairtment it was GREAT!!! The boats are amazing also!!! Keep us posted with ur final decision!!

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

B/c of my experience on Carnival for a 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise, I would never use them again. I highly recommend going with Royal Caribbean - i think it is definitely a better choice.

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

i didn't like carnival.. so i would vote for Royal Carib...

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

Royal rocked. Celebrity is also very good.

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

I've been on carnival three times and I've never had a problem. Everything was great. I can't speak for Royal Carribean, but I've heard great things about them. The only possible down side to Carnival is that there are a lot of families around. Something to consider. Good Luck!

Re: For those who have been on a cruise VOTE

royal was a bit classier I found - it had an older crowd.

carnival was more for a younger crowd


they both have the same good food, great service and the ports would probably be similar