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It comes down mainly to whether there are specific features on the ship that you want to try out, or the type of demographic you want to cruise with. As a guide, a 7-night cruise on Wonder of the Seas (one of the biggest and best ships in the fleet, but not the very newest) will cost you between £100/$130 and £130/$165 per person, per night for an Inside Stateroom. Carnival has a similar demographic to Royal Caribbean, although cruise fares on some of the smaller ships can sometimes be well suited to younger families as well.
Day Southern Caribbean Cruise
The two cruise lines have some crossover with demographics, but there are a few key differences. The two cruise lines take a slightly different approach to entertainment, giving you a clear choice when deciding between them. In terms of innovative attractions, Carnival has the Skyride on some of the newer ships, which is a pedal-powered ride around the top deck that offers amazing views. And the Excel Class has Bolt, the first Roller Coaster at Sea – so if you like thrills, you’ll love this. If you like your cruises to be packed with fun activities each day, then both Royal Caribbean and Carnival are excellent choices.
Day Southern Caribbean Cruise sailing on the Carnival Horizon
Most of the Carnival fleet offers Cloud 9 Spa staterooms and suites. These rooms are themed around the spa onboard the ship, and include extra amenities related to relaxation, along with a decor that is soothing. You get a bunch of perks for booking these rooms too, including exclusive spa packages you can book and free access to the Thermal Suite onboard. Both cruise lines have well-established programs to keep your kids happy, so you can get some downtime to relax and do grown-up things.
Cruise Ship
The celebration on Curacao encompasses music, dancing, floats, and beauty pageants. We don’t have proof, but evidence suggests that the Caribbean was made for cruising. This evidence is all around you — you’ll find in the Caribbean air, the sand and the water.
MSC Cruises makes bold moves to take on Carnival, Royal Caribbean - TheStreet
MSC Cruises makes bold moves to take on Carnival, Royal Caribbean.
Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 16:38:42 GMT [source]
Instead, these rooms face inwards, with the balcony above either the Central Park or Boardwalk areas of the ship that run through the centre. On some of the newer Royal Caribbean ships, you’re able to book a Virtual Balcony Stateroom if you’re not able to afford the full price of a balcony stateroom. These are inside rooms, but on one wall there’s a digital screen that projects a live view of the view from the ship. You’ll always be able to pick from the standard types of stateroom – inside cabins if you’re on a budget, or oceanview or balcony cabins if you’re happy to pay a little more to get a view of the ocean. Both cruise lines have different perks for booking suite-level accommodation, too. Carnival's Camp Ocean program (for ages 2-11) has some activities designed to educate kids about the ocean.
Royal Caribbean Blog - Unofficial blog about Royal Caribbean cruises - Royal Caribbean Blog
Royal Caribbean Blog - Unofficial blog about Royal Caribbean cruises.
Posted: Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:45:38 GMT [source]
If you’ve never taken a cruise… or you’ve only sailed with one cruise line or the other… then you’d be forgiven for thinking that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean are exactly the same. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. But then, they would have to be – expect fares of around £20,000 per person, per week. There are several cruise companies in the world, but the two biggest are the Royal Caribbean Group and the Carnival Group.
If you are a budgeter, then one of the frustrating things you might encounter is dynamic pricing on Royal Caribbean. With this type of pricing, there isn’t a set cost for something like a specialty restaurant or drink package. Instead, the price will vary based on the specific cruise you take.
The Ultimate Guide To Every Caribbean Carnival Party
Famous for its music and pageantry, the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is celebrated annually on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, although some festivities begin right after Christmas. Carnival Monday on multicultural Trinidad starts before sunrise with J'ouvert as Carnival-goers parade through the streets covered in paint, grease, and mud and party until sunrise. Carnival on Barbados is known as the Crop Over Festival, which last for three months (June through August) and culminates in early August to mark the end of the sugar cane crop season. This uniquely Barbadian festival, which owes its roots to the island's colonial past when sugar cane was king, is known for its musical concerts, art exhibitions, calypso competitions, and revelry at Foreday Morning Jam.
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There’s the cruise fare, which is by far the biggest bulk of what you’ll spend. But then there is also the spending you’ll do on the ship including things like drinks, wi-fi, excursions, specialty restaurants, and more. Let’s just say, there’s good reason that Carnival is known as the “Fun Ships.” In our experience, folks on both cruise lines love to have a great time, but seem more outgoing on Carnival.
When booking a cruise with either Royal Caribbean or Carnival, you really aren’t short of cabin options. There are a wealth of different staterooms and suites to choose from, even on the smallest ships in the fleet. The choice of embarkation ports for Carnival is a little more limited than Royal Caribbean, although there are still plenty of options – there are 21 ports you can sail from, again mostly based in the US. The same Miami ports are popular, although Carnival also offers more cruises from Galveston. The destinations that both cruise lines sail to are very similar, with only a few minor differences. As you’d expect, the Caribbean and Bahamas are the most prominent regions for both lines, but there are plenty of options around the world for guests further afield or who want to explore other destinations.
In the week leading up to Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the French-Caribbean island of Martinique celebrates its own unique Carnival. On Fat Sunday, parades feature locals carrying fantastically dressed puppets known as bwa bwa as well as nègres-gros-sirop (revelers with bodies covered in coal tar and sugarcane syrup). One of the most popular places on the ship is Guy’s Burger Joint — a tasty fresh-grilled burger with seasoned fries. As well, there is also BlueIguana Cantina, Pizzeria del Capitano and a few other places where you can grab a bite (ChiBang!, Big Chicken, the deli) without any additional charge. And some spots that charge for dinner also have free lunch options. Carnival, on the other hand, has more traditional pricing that doesn’t change from trip to trip (at least right now).

When you sail through the Caribbean on your Carnival cruise you can expect to have lots of fun options for excursions, like zip lining through rainforests or snorkeling above coral reefs. You can also choose to simply relax on some of the world’s most acclaimed beaches. Your ship may sail to the Southern Caribbean, a more secluded set of islands with amazing natural wildlife, the Western Caribbean, which includes spots like Cozumel and Jamaica, or the classic Eastern Caribbean – known for its beauty. No matter the itinerary, we can guarantee a splendid sailing with Carnival Cruise Lines. These islands had largely been the same, offering some restaurants and shops, but the big draw being white-sand beaches with beautiful water.
Carnival’s cruises appear super-cheap when you’re browsing, but that’s because taxes and fees are only added once you’ve started the booking process. Still, they do offer good value and are typically lower prices than a Royal Caribbean cruise. The food options on both cruise lines are very similar – whatever type of cuisine you enjoy, you’ll be well catered to. Royal Caribbean has always catered well for families, but the Ultimate Family accommodation options on select Oasis-class, Quantum-class and now Icon-class ships really are something else.
If you’re adults who want more of a party cruise, especially for a weekend break, Carnival is likely to cater to you better. Royal Caribbean cruises are rarely ‘cheap’, but the price will vary greatly depending on your chosen itinerary and especially the ship. Understandably, if you want to try the biggest ships with the best features, you’ll need to pay more.
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