Looking to go out of Galveston for me and wife in either august or october....what are the preferences on royal vs carnival?

I like both. I find RC a slight step up, but also everything is more expensive (drink package, wifi, etc). Food was similar, slight edge to RC. I would have no issues cruising either again.

Happy to help if needed, email is in my profile.

Ditto what JMac said. Give the edge to Royal (but you're also likely paying a higher price).

kinda like American vs Spirit

How long was your cruise?

The short one down to cozumel and back. Was a last minute decision that we won't do again.

Did a four day carnival that did costa maya and Cozumel. First cruise and I would say it was a fun experience but crowded and a little bit like Milwaukee said. My intention was to do RC next time. But our group decided to do a carnival out of Miami. I'll see if that's any diff than Galveston

The seven-day Carnival cruises are fine. I've been on several.

More cruise ship for you. I'm out on cruising for a while.

Unless somebody else is paying.

Sailed both. Royal and Carnival out of Galveston and Royal out of Port Canaveral. I like Carnival a bit better because the Royal guest just seem a bit more snooty. Royal ships have a better layout. Sailing on the Jubilee in June so we'll see if the XL class ships have improved. Entertainment also better on Royal. Food, activities, and excursions were better on Carnival IMO. However, you won't go wrong with either. The biggest disappointment is the lack of itineraries if you sail out of Galveston, but it is the most convenient if you live in Texas.

It's the same kind of crowd out of Miami. Just comes with the territory for those cruise lines.

Hell...we did an RC out of Barcelona, and it was a bunch of broke dick Asians that were all wearing matching windbreakers the whole time. Judging by their odd fascination with the Wind Jammer, I think many of these folks had never left their hometown.

Doesn't bug me though. I find the people watching to be top-notch on cruises.

I've cruised both, started with Carnival for 3 cruises and now have done 2 RC cruises. The 2 RC cruises I have done were on their "Freedom Class" of ships and I really didn't see much difference between them and Carnival as far as ships go, I did enjoy the Guy Fieri burgers and bbq on the Carnival cruises though. RC did seem a little bit less of a "party" crowd and more family crowd (July 2023 and over Christmas break 2023), I'm scheduled to do Wonder of the Seas (Oasis Class) this summer so I'm expecting to see a big difference between even between the 2 previous RC cruises I have done.

Me too. I enjoy watching the idiots and minding my own business.

RC and it's not close. Carnival is the Wal-Mart of cruising.

Do the Thanksgiving Mexico/Grand Cayman Disney cruise out of Galveston. Will be way more than carnival, but they're great.

Word of advice, travel insurance. Hurricane season is a real threat.

I've done both Carnival and RC and prefer RC. However, I believe NCL and Princess are both sailing out of Galveston now. I've never done either, so I'm not sure how they compare.

reedsterg said:

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I've done both Carnival and RC and prefer RC. However, I believe NCL and Princess are both sailing out of Galveston now. I've never done either, so I'm not sure how they compare.

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Princess will definitely be more quiet. NCL would be a good option. They aren't cruising year around though. I think they leave in March. But drink package wise they are the best option.

NCL is my favorite, I sailed Prima last February and loved it.

They don't call the short trips on CCL "booze cruises" for nothing.

7 day cruises have less of the party crowd, but it is still there. Avoid the buffet and eat in the dining room for every meal, we found that a better experience, and you don't over eat.

We usually try to get a balcony room and spend a lot of time just sitting and reading, we catch the stage shows after dinner, but have never hit up the dance clubs. If you want to relax, spend more money on the room, if you want to party save your money on the room since you won't be there much anyway.

I prefer Royal Caribbean as well... Carnival just has the worst customer service from a travel advisors perspective and during the pandemic was even worse.

We sailed on Voyager over Christmas to Cozumel and back and it was good overall. Our beach excursion was cancelled in Cozumel and that was pretty much the entire reason we went on the cruise so that was a big bummer. The ship was nice and food was good.

I sailed on Allure last year and it's definitely a step up from the Voyager class ships. I would highly recommend Harmony out of Galveston or another Oasis Class ship but with those will also come the cost.

JMac booked us on our June cruise with RC. Can any seasoned cruisers tell me if "The Key" is worth investing in?
This is Mrs/Also and my first cruise so any advice or tips would be sincerely appreciated.

The Key looks like a bunch of BS from what I can tell.

Never done this so not sure if there's any benefit to the "designated arrival time" when arriving to board and the "priority ship-to-shore departure" for excursions, etc?
Also interesting is the "dedicated seating section at shows" benefit. Is all this necessary or just another potential money grab?

It's an unnecessary money grab for what you receive.

For comparison, Holland America's Club Orange is the same price and the benefits are much better. The upgrade and smaller dining room are worth the price alone.

Once you look at both, you'll see what a waste the Key is.

Q
What are the benefits of The Key program?
A

The Key Guests will enjoy the following exclusive benefits during their cruise vacation:

• Priority access during The Key designated arrival time (to be communicated via email). Other benefits may apply at specific ports.*

• Carry-on bag drop off with delivery to your stateroom. **

• Exclusive welcome lunch in the Main Dining Room featuring The Key signature menu.***

• Access to the fast lane at onboard activities (activities vary by ship)and private time at the Flowrider*.

• Priority departure at tender ports of call from ship-to-shore.

• Dedicated seating at shows in the Main Theater, Aqua Theater, Studio B, and Two70.****

• VOOM Surf & Stream 1 of Device high speed internet per person who purchases the package.

• On debarkation day, enjoy an exclusive la carte breakfast and choice departure.

When you receive your SeaPass card, it will have an icon confirming your purchase of The Key. If you don't see it, ask your Stateroom Attendant or go to Guest Services to apply the icon.





CLUB ORANGE BENEFITS

PRIORITY ACCESS

• Priority check-in
• Priority line at the Guest Services desk
• Priority access to specialty restaurant reservations
• Priority line at the shore excursions desk
• Priority access to tenders ashore in select ports
• Priority disembarkation

SPECIAL AMENITIES

• Complimentary stateroom upgrade*
• Dedicated Concierge Hotline access
• Welcome glass of sparkling wine at dinner on embarkation day
• Premium bathrobes
• Club Orange Key Card
• Exclusive Club Orange Tote Bag (one per stateroom)

DINING

• Premium in-room breakfast menu
• Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam: private venue with expanded menu
• All other ships: priority seating in the dining room with expanded menu

Thanks for the input. I don't have a problem paying a little premium for tangible benefits.
The questions are really - do we need any of the things in the upgrade?
Priority boarding, debarking. Guaranteed seating at the shows.
Is this much different than the rank and file experience for anything listed as a benefit?

Besides the internet, I would be surprised if you used many of those perks.

I've been on quite a few RC cruises and haven't ever felt like I was missing out on those benefits.

Maybe some people care about arriving really early for their departure. I'm not one of them.

There are a few good RC blogs out there that cover every topic imaginable.

Cool, thanks for the insight.

Denton82TAMU86 said:

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JMac booked us on our June cruise with RC. Can any seasoned cruisers tell me if "The Key" is worth investing in?
This is Mrs/Also and my first cruise so any advice or tips would be sincerely appreciated.

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While I didn't use it for my trip, I just didn't see the value in it. The only port it took us awhile to get off at was Costa Maya, and that was maybe a 20 minute wait in line. I don't remember the cost, but it does inclue internet - so I would take that into consideration.

And thanks for the shoutout!

Does Carnival have a thing where you can be first to get off when you arrive back at home port? I don't care about the destinations but last time waiting for your letter group to be called to disembark was brutal.

lazuras_dc said:

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Does Carnival have a thing where you can be first to get off when you arrive back at home port? I don't care about the destinations but last time waiting for your letter group to be called to disembark was brutal.

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We have never waited on any cruise line to disembark. Now granted, I've only done Carnival once, and it was during the end of the pandemic and so they weren't busy. But essentially we just hauled our luggage down the stairs and got in line to walk off.

Generally, if you carry your own luggage off, you can get off when you want. But I will tell you the elevators are a nightmare. Both times we waited like 15 minutes for the elevators, and finally said effort, and walked down all the stairs. My last RC cruise once I got down the stairs I was off the ship in 20 minutes.

lazuras_dc said:

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Does Carnival have a thing where you can be first to get off when you arrive back at home port? I don't care about the destinations but last time waiting for your letter group to be called to disembark was brutal.

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Yes, but it's based on member level. They have 5 member level tiers, in order of perks: Blue, Red, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. The last two are the ones that get priority debarkation.