Carnival vs. Royal Caribbean: 11 Differences Between the BIG Cruise Lines

while there are a lot of cruise lines out there when it comes to united states two main players come to mind carnival and royal caribbean while both lines do have a lot of similarities there are also some major differences to be sure you're bound to have fun on either company ships however if you want the real scoop on how they differ i've laid out some of the major differences coming up win a sale affordably both royal caribbean and carnival offer affordable vacations if you want to sail the more inexpensive cruise line however then you're better off with carnival now i recently analyzed dozens of cruises from both cruise lines departing from three of their most popular ports carnival and royal caribbean both sail from miami port canaveral and galveston which gives an ability to compare prices across the lines with similar trips when looking at the fares for each sailing in july of 2022 as an example which is the peak of crew season in north america carnival's fares are less expensive on average according to my analysis cruise fair for a seven night trip aboard carnival was about two hundred dollars cheaper per person during the search than what was seen on royal caribbean that lower pricing it also held for three four and five night cruises now keep in mind that this doesn't mean your cruise will automatically be less expensive on carnival or more expensive on royal caribbean what you pay for a cruise depends on a lot of factors including when you sail the specific ship you choose and the route you take but in general you can't figure that a carnival cruise will run less than a similar one on royal caribbean while both cruise lines have ships ranging from older smaller vessels to brand new mega ships royal caribbean and carnival's vessels definitely differ royal caribbean they're well known for having the largest cruise ships in the world and while carnival ships can be a comparable length the size of royal caribbean's biggest ships is noticeably larger consider that rural caribbean symphony of the seas is nearly 1200 feet long and carries more than 5 500 passengers carnival horizon is a full 120 feet shorter and carries about 4 000 passengers when it comes to size royal caribbean ships definitely have an edge now carnival has closed the gap somewhat with this newest ship mardi gras but in general royal caribbean ships do tend to be larger of course with larger ships you can pack on a lot more onto the vessel while both cruise lines take advantage of all the space on their ship you'll see that there are major differences in activities and entertainment between the two cruise lines due partly to the ship's size you might not realize it but the vast majority of your time on a cruise is actually spent on the ship even on days in port the ship is normally docked only for about eight hours that means the activities and entertainment on the ship are important to the fun you'll have on your cruise good news both cruise lines carnival and rural caribbean offer constant entertainment in fact you'll likely find the entertainment like the evening shows or the comedians and even the onboard contests in the casino gaming they're all very similar between the two cruise lines but when it comes to activities on board i think royal caribbean carnival are very different royal caribbean they definitely seem more innovative with the things to do on the ship newer vessels include the world's tallest slide at sea bumper cars ice skating a surf simulator and even an observation pod that can take you up and out over the water on some ships carnival offers plenty of fun things to do as well but it's typically more of the classic things to do on a cruise ship like mini golf or movies to the pool and jogging tracks royal caribbean they also have these that said carnival is moving in the direction of royal caribbean for instance the new carnival mardi gras it has the first ever roller coaster at sea and the cruise line is the only one to have an imax on some of its ships while the entertainment on board may be similar in most cases the activities on rural caribbean are more innovative in my opinion one of the biggest benefits to the growth of the cruise industry as cruise lines grow their fleet they are able to add more cruises including sailing from smaller ports are you near a major cruise port like miami or galveston the good news is you have your choice of either cruise line you'll find both lines in any port with heavy cruise driving if you are close to a smaller cruise board however like mobile or jacksonville or charleston south carolina then you'll be glad to know you can still sail aboard carnival rural caribbean is catching up in this regard sailing from spots like baltimore and new orleans but what's so nice about sailing from these smaller ports like carnival does is that it means so many more people can cruise without the added expense of a flight the added cost of plane tickets on top of cruise that can be pretty burdensome for some people who would otherwise not set sail bottom line carnival offers up trips from a number of smaller ports yes trips from smaller ports are usually aboard smaller and older ships but i'm of the opinion that any cruise is better than no cruise on a cruise alcoholic drinks are big business it's not unusual to pay six or eight bucks for a beer or ten to twelve dollars for a cocktail at those prices the bar tab can quickly add up to help passengers budget cruise lines have drink packages packages they allow you to pay one set daily price and then you can get what you want without worrying about the bill at the end of the trip there are differences however between carnival and royal caribbean when it comes to these drink packages first carnival's cheers package is less expensive than what you'll usually find on royal caribbean carnival charges around 55 dollars per person per day or royal caribbean they use something that's called dynamic pricing where the price depends on your specific cruise according to its website the price varies from 63 to 89 per day as well carnival has a 15 drink limit over a 24 hour period for alcoholic beverages while royal caribbean they make no mention of any sort of limit in the fine print of their package while it's hard to explain carnival and royal caribbean just have a different feel to most passengers it's purely anecdotal but you'll hear many say that carnival has more of a laid-back party atmosphere want to have a pina colada and dance in the congo line around the pool let's just say there's a good reason that carnival is known as the fun ships in my own personal experience folks on both cruise lines love to have a great time but in general they just seem more outgoing on carnival to me royal caribbean has more of a luxury feel that's not to say it's stuffy far from it however it does feel more subdued than carnival there are still plenty of chances to party but there's simply a slightly different feel to me when sailing royal caribbean either way you're gonna have plenty of fun but the bottom line is that both ships have a fun atmosphere and are similar but the vibe on carnival is a bit more outgoing than what i found on royal caribbean in fitting with the ship's atmosphere the ship decor is also a difference between carnival and royal caribbean to us carnival's decor around the ship is often brighter and bolder with more colors and more festive real caribbean on the other hand they seem to fork focus a little bit more on elegance and style sure there's still plenty of bright chrome and colored lights however there are much more subdued colors and a lot more rich wood around the ship if carnival's style is akin to something like miami then royal caribbean feels more like a luxury new york hotel one thing i have noticed is that newer carnival ships and rural caribbean ships are more similar with a modern field you can find differences between the older ships especially in general about 25 to 30 of our cruise line's revenue it comes from what passengers spend once they are on the ship that means even once you actually pay for your cruise fare then you can plan on spending even more on your vacation the money you'll spend that includes everything from specialty restaurants to gambling to souvenirs and even drinks and much more the good news is that this spending is optional if you don't want to spend anything on the ship you don't have to there's also a difference between blue caribbean and carnival when it comes to how much the average person spends on board the vessel now i've run the numbers based on financial reports from the parent companies of the cruise lines and the average passenger spends about 52 per person per day on carnival corporation ships which includes carnival and on royal caribbean group lines which includes rural caribbean that figure is 64 per person per day or about 23 percent more while 12 per person per day may not sound like much a couple taking a week-long cruise would end up spending about 170 more on royal caribbean group cruises compared to carnival corporation based on these average figures are you a royal caribbean fan but also love to travel the world in that case you are in luck the cruise line has trip sailing everywhere from the united states to asia to europe while most trips are from the u.s there are a number of other options if you're a fan of the cruise line but want to experience somewhere new in comparison carnival they're more focused on the united states with their sailings outside of a handful of trips in europe there isn't much available that isn't based in the us the one exception is australia carnival does offer a variety of trips from brisbane and sydney for carnival fans in the southern hemisphere for years cruise lines have had private islands these islands have largely been the same with both offering some restaurants or shops but the big draw being white sand beaches with beautiful water now these spots offer snorkeling beach activities kayaking and a ton of other things to do in my opinion private islands are among the best stops because they offer stunning surroundings all catering directly to cruise passengers you can't go wrong with the private islands on either line what's changed is the recent renovation of coco k by rural caribbean the cruise line spent a staggering 250 million dollars to completely transform the place from a sleepy tropical island to a full-blown destination today coco k features a full water park including one of the tallest water slides in the world a massive freshwater pool restaurants and a ton more for now royal caribbean is the clear winner in private islands when it comes to having a lot to do and being a must-see destination that said if you prefer something more laid-back then there's nothing wrong with carnival's private islands you'll find either line has something to offer but in my opinion coco k takes the cake if you were a budgeter then one of the frustrating things you might encounter is dynamic pricing with this type of pricing there isn't a set cost for something like a specialty restaurant or a drink package on a cruise instead the price will vary based on the specific cruise you take so you could sail one cruise and see one price but a completely different price the next time you set sail royal caribbean they have dynamic pricing for many things for instance the cruise line says its onboard pricing of drink packages is the previously mentioned 63 to 89 dollars per day admission to the water park on coco k has also been higher or lower depending on the individual cruise now not having a set price can make it tougher to budget before you buy your cruise as you won't know the price of some items on the ship until you were fully booked carnival on the other hand has more traditional pricing that doesn't change from trip to trip now this is at least right now so even if you haven't booked you'll have a good idea of how much things will cost on a ship based on previous cruises now what is a cruise without food this is one area that the cruise lines differ a little bit overall i found the food quality similar between carnival and royal caribbean you won't go hungry and both offer a lot of really good options where the difference lies is your free versus paid choices in my opinion carnival has better free options one of the most popular places on the ship is guys burger joint which has a great fresh grilled burger with seasoned french fries you want to eat there it's completely free as well there's also blue iguana cantina pizzeria del capitano and a few other places where you can grab a bite without any additional charge and even some spots that charge for dinner have free lunch options royal caribbean definitely has the free places to eat and in fact the larger ships tend to have more free options but the lion seems to focus more on specially restaurants that charge extra but both lines will not leave you hungry i think it's carnivaled offers better free options that are already included in your fare so what does all this mean is one line better than the other like most preferences the decision of which cruise line to sail and which is better is subjective many people are steadfast fans of one line over another and won't hear anything else having sailed both lines multiple times i think they offer an experience it's about eighty percent the same it's that other twenty percent that may sway you one way or the other if you like big ships lots to do rural caribbean may be the cruise line for you if you like more free dining options and a more festive atmosphere you'll enjoy carnival if you have two cruises one from each cruise line that you are choosing between then that's a good problem to have to help you decide i'd suggest taking into account a few other items like the ship i think newer ships are better the cost and the ports of call the good news is that you'll have fun on either line

Channel: Cruzely.com

Views: 283,850

Rating: 4.8891892 out of 5

Keywords: cruise, travel

Id: bPK0My-GL-U

Length: 14min 43sec (883 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 21 2021