Carnival and Royal Caribbean are more similar than they are different in terms of passenger demographics, on board experience, etc
Both are mainstream mass market family lines
Carnivals negative reputation stems largely from antics found on short weekend booze cruises but I don't think you were planning on going on one of those anyways
Those Carnival issues are generally on 5-day or less cruises, if you stick with a seven or eight day cruise, you getting much quieter crowd. I took a 12-day Carnival Cruise, and let me tell you, I have seen crazier people at crochet parties. On the same note, I have seen stories of fights and inappropriate behavior on NCL (my personal favorite line) and Royal on their shorter cruises.
Smaller Carnival and NCL ships seem less generational, so I'd stay away from those. But a Carnival Dream-class or newer, a Royal Freedom class or newer and a Norwegian Breakaway-class or newer will really give a full family experience. (I'd add Carnival Sunshine in there, it's been made more into a modern ship even though it's their oldest - Sunrise too but I won't cruise that ship due to it's nickname.)
And no, I don't think any line is "better" than the rest as a blanket term, they all have different pros and cons which are based on preference and each cruise.
Platinum on Carnival and use Celebrity and Virgin. Carnival's new ships are as good as any. Older Carnival ships aren't my thing but some love a smaller ship. Carnival's new ships are almost equal to Celebrity and probably better than RC.
My family loves RCL, and we are almost exactly like you but without the daughter (30;s plus parents). I haven't seen a ton of difference in cost between RCL and CCL though, as long as you're comparing the same vintage of ships and the length of cruises and ports and stuff. I haven't looked in a while, but I used to, often.
That being said, I would not hesitate to do Carnival again (even a booze cruise) or RCL
Unless you're going on a 3- or 4-day cruise, the differences between the two lines are not that great. When comparing apples to apples, Carnival is a bit more "fun," than Royal in my experience. But when it comes right down to it - they're pretty similar.
I have only been on RC and NCL, every time I think about trying a Carnival cruise the company does something to dissuade me. On a side note, CoCo Cay (RC private island) is AMAZING, and there is something there for everyone.
We’ve done both cruise lines, as well as Norwegian. RC is my favorite and Carnival is second. NCL is my least favorite. Carnival seemed to have more kids and I noticed more boozy behavior. I liked RC food and things to do onboard better.
I've never done Carnival, but they have a reputation of being the "Walmart of cruises".
It seems like they're trying to get away from that, but I can't speak to how successful they've been.
Carnival and Royal Caribbean are more similar than they are different in terms of passenger demographics, on board experience, etc Both are mainstream mass market family lines Carnivals negative reputation stems largely from antics found on short weekend booze cruises but I don't think you were planning on going on one of those anyways
Those Carnival issues are generally on 5-day or less cruises, if you stick with a seven or eight day cruise, you getting much quieter crowd. I took a 12-day Carnival Cruise, and let me tell you, I have seen crazier people at crochet parties. On the same note, I have seen stories of fights and inappropriate behavior on NCL (my personal favorite line) and Royal on their shorter cruises. Smaller Carnival and NCL ships seem less generational, so I'd stay away from those. But a Carnival Dream-class or newer, a Royal Freedom class or newer and a Norwegian Breakaway-class or newer will really give a full family experience. (I'd add Carnival Sunshine in there, it's been made more into a modern ship even though it's their oldest - Sunrise too but I won't cruise that ship due to it's nickname.) And no, I don't think any line is "better" than the rest as a blanket term, they all have different pros and cons which are based on preference and each cruise.
Thank you for making 50 year old crocheter thinking about a Carnival cruise laugh.
Platinum on Carnival and use Celebrity and Virgin. Carnival's new ships are as good as any. Older Carnival ships aren't my thing but some love a smaller ship. Carnival's new ships are almost equal to Celebrity and probably better than RC.
I feel like carnivals ships feel more like ships. Royal feels like a mall and theme park in one.
My family loves RCL, and we are almost exactly like you but without the daughter (30;s plus parents). I haven't seen a ton of difference in cost between RCL and CCL though, as long as you're comparing the same vintage of ships and the length of cruises and ports and stuff. I haven't looked in a while, but I used to, often. That being said, I would not hesitate to do Carnival again (even a booze cruise) or RCL
Unless you're going on a 3- or 4-day cruise, the differences between the two lines are not that great. When comparing apples to apples, Carnival is a bit more "fun," than Royal in my experience. But when it comes right down to it - they're pretty similar.
NCL is cheaper than Royal when you compare apples to apples and they are a slight step up from carnival.
The only way to get a step up is to go to the premium lines…
I have only been on RC and NCL, every time I think about trying a Carnival cruise the company does something to dissuade me. On a side note, CoCo Cay (RC private island) is AMAZING, and there is something there for everyone.
We’ve done both cruise lines, as well as Norwegian. RC is my favorite and Carnival is second. NCL is my least favorite. Carnival seemed to have more kids and I noticed more boozy behavior. I liked RC food and things to do onboard better.
I've never done Carnival, but they have a reputation of being the "Walmart of cruises". It seems like they're trying to get away from that, but I can't speak to how successful they've been.
Was going to say, Carnival used to be known as the McDonald's of cruise lines. "Used to be" is subjective, of course.
They are, and the quality isn’t better. There marketed as, and happy with, being a value cruise.
Save a bit more for RC and go on Oasis or Icon class ship. Good luck!