Carnival cruiser thinking about trying Royal...what info do I need to know?

[lovin'fl]

We did our 1st cruise in 2007 on the Disney Magic. We loved it but it was rather costly...so we hopped over and tried out Carnival. We liked that just fine and have since done 7 CCL cruises. We had booked another for New Year's 2014 but it was rather expensive (for some reason...I guess because it's over NYE) and my 3 teens have been complaining about vacationing with us, so we cancelled that instead of wasting all that money on the kids who would complain the entire time.

I am now considering a 5 day Royal cruise that ends on Thanksgiving day...on the Brilliance. If we took the ungrateful teens and got 2 cabins it would be more than half the cost of the Carnival cruise (that was a 7 day VS a 5 day though). And if just DH and I go....lots cheaper. Anyway, can you all let me in on all the things Royal does differently? How does dining work? Can you get to port early...when? Can you bring bottle of wine onto the ship? What cabins on the Brilliance would be in a quiet area? What are the pay extra dining venues? Is there a soda card? Booze card? Anything else? TIA!!!

 

[Summerl30]

We did our 1st cruise in 2007 on the Disney Magic. We loved it but it was rather costly...so we hopped over and tried out Carnival. We liked that just fine and have since done 7 CCL cruises. We had booked another for New Year's 2014 but it was rather expensive (for some reason...I guess because it's over NYE) and my 3 teens have been complaining about vacationing with us, so we cancelled that instead of wasting all that money on the kids who would complain the entire time. I am now considering a 5 day Royal cruise that ends on Thanksgiving day...on the Brilliance. If we took the ungrateful teens and got 2 cabins it would be more than half the cost of the Carnival cruise (that was a 7 day VS a 5 day though). And if just DH and I go....lots cheaper. Anyway, can you all let me in on all the things Royal does differently? How does dining work? Can you get to port early...when? Can you bring bottle of wine onto the ship? What cabins on the Brilliance would be in a quiet area? What are the pay extra dining venues? Is there a soda card? Booze card? Anything else? TIA!!!

Here is the booze policy:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custo...3&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Policies&faqType=faq

There is a soda card. I think it's 50$ for a week so less for 5 days. I know they were offering alcohol packages when I was onboard in sept 2012 in the med, but not sure if they are still offering it. At the time I think it was a trial.

Dining options are the buffet, early dining in the mdr, late dining in the mdr, or my time dining in the mdr. We prefer my time dining, but many prefer a set time to eat each day. We try to be flexible and it's easy to get to sit just the two of us if we are flexible. If you do go with my time, make reservations ahead of time.

I've never been on that particular ship.

 

[lovin'fl]

Here is the booze policy:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custo...3&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Policies&faqType=faq

There is a soda card. I think it's 50$ for a week so less for 5 days. I know they were offering alcohol packages when I was onboard in sept 2012 in the med, but not sure if they are still offering it. At the time I think it was a trial.

Dining options are the buffet, early dining in the mdr, late dining in the mdr, or my time dining in the mdr. We prefer my time dining, but many prefer a set time to eat each day. We try to be flexible and it's easy to get to sit just the two of us if we are flexible. If you do go with my time, make reservations ahead of time.

I've never been on that particular ship.

Ooohh...thank you for the info. So the my time dining is like on Carnival...we like it too (unless we're with a large group). On Carnival we don't make resies...it's just walk in. So, on royal we can make resies? For each day...how far in advance? Thanks so much!

 

[Summerl30]

Ooohh...thank you for the info. So the my time dining is like on Carnival...we like it too (unless we're with a large group). On Carnival we don't make resies...it's just walk in. So, on royal we can make resies? For each day...how far in advance? Thanks so much!

You don't have to, but if you do, you shouldn't have to wait. I think you can make them before the cruise. We didn't, but will next time (last cruise was our first time using my time). We just made them the night before or the early the day of whenever reservations were open (I don't remember the exact hours, plus it might be different on different ships).

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Ooohh...thank you for the info. So the my time dining is like on Carnival...we like it too (unless we're with a large group). On Carnival we don't make resies...it's just walk in. So, on royal we can make resies? For each day...how far in advance? Thanks so much!

You can log into the online system before your cruise to make reservations for each night if you like.

You can also carry on 2 bottles of wine per stateroom.

I'd say that the main difference I found between Royal and Carnival is that Royal has less planned activities throughout the day - though on many of their ships the big stuff (flowrider, rock wall, ice skating rink) can make up for the reduced trivias, towel folding classes, pool games, etc.

I liked the food better in the MDR on Carnival but most of what Royal serves is good (I find it below Carnival but above DCL). The buffet on Royal (Windjammer) is a true buffet so I do give Carnival the nod on this one as many of their ships have additional stations at the buffet (burrito, pasta, deli, pizza, etc).

Royal has hot food on their room service menu for both breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Service is about the same on each line - though you probably won't get towel animals every night on Royal.

I find the big shows and the headliners a step up on Royal over Carnival (i.e. the headliners are people you may have heard of). But I love the various evening activities of Carnival (superstar kareoke, comedy club, big show, etc).

On Royal, I personally love the Promenade with the shops and Cafe and Pub.

I think the Royal ships are more classy looking but I'll freely admit that I find the Carnival ships with their neon and funky colours much more my style.

I think as long as you go in with an open mind, you'll enjoy Royal. It's kind of the same (as I find most mass market cruises at their very base) but a little different. And sometimes, different is good.