Cruise Vacations

[Kims Robot]

We have been on two cruises... Carnival (4 nights to the Bahamas) and Royal Carribean (7 nights to the Southern Carribean). We had a great time on both, but both cruises were very different.

Here are my takes on the two lines:

Carnival:
Less expensive, more all inclusive, cool little things like a free sushi bar, a younger crowd(but more children), more casual atmosphere, great shore excursions, cheaper onboard extras (spa, etc), more fun evening activities

Royal Carribean:
More expensive, much more elaborate ship, more sports onboard, less all-inclusive (we had to pay for soda, extra food places, etc), more couple/40-something crowd (fewer families), more elegant atmosphere, great shore excursions, more expensive onboard extras (spa, etc).

Those are my two takes. If you enjoy staying on the boat more, and dont mind spending the cash, Royal Carribean has nicer ships, but if you want a more fun atmosphere and better evening entertainment, go for Carnival. Personally I think my next cruise would be Carnival. Its a hard comparison, but after wandering around for 7 nights on the RC boat trying to find a place to go dancing, or some good entertainment, we were a bit disappointed.