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I will be honest. I might be alone on this, but I've seen artist renditions of the water slides. It's obvious that RC is aiming for the 'families w kids" demo but it just strikes me as a bit on the cheesy side. Between miniature golf, water park slides, and rock climbing, the whole thing is getting a bit much. What's next, actual amusement rides ? A small roller coaster ? The aerial photos of the ships are starting to look like a floating Six Flags. I hate to be "that guy", but my kids aren't kids anymore. Those people who are totally geeked by all this cool, fun stuff, and think I'm crazy, give it a few years,, you'll understand.

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Cruise lines jumped that shark a long time ago. With the Flowrider, bumper cars, and North Star, cruises have changed forever. But that's also why there are lines like Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess.

 

I think they know the family demographic is huge. Further, if you get kids use to cruising, they'll likely be lifelong cruisers.

 

I hate to admit it, but I've had a blast on the other lines' slides and my son even commented on them when we saw the Disney Fantasy in port with us as he enjoyed them the last time we were onboard.

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No one is "wrong". I do understand the difference in clientele between Royal & Celebrity, but Royal sails out of Galveston, soooooo,,

Idunno, maybe someday I'll try Celebrity. A friend of mine is on Celebrity right now, doing a Med cruise. He's late 60's. I tease him about it and he says it's not as bad as you think. There really isn't canes and walkers all over the ship LOL

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I think Royal realizes that the family market is their biggest growth market. I also don't think it's a coincidence that they're starting with Liberty given that their primary competition is Carnival. And on the 7 day cruises, Carnival has the Magic, which has a full water park with multiple slides, a ropes course, and the like. They may have found that that one differentiator was making Carnival more appealing especially when Carnival usually undercuts on price.

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I think Royal realizes that the family market is their biggest growth market. I also don't think it's a coincidence that they're starting with Liberty given that their primary competition is Carnival. And on the 7 day cruises, Carnival has the Magic, which has a full water park with multiple slides, a ropes course, and the like. They may have found that that one differentiator was making Carnival more appealing especially when Carnival usually undercuts on price.

Interesting thesis that starting with slides on Liberty is to take a shot at Carnival... CCL has three ships based in Galveston year-round and RCCL is putting the larger Liberty here (with slides) to replace Navigator. It's definitely getting interesting here in Galveston.

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Interesting thesis that starting with slides on Liberty is to take a shot at Carnival... CCL has three ships based in Galveston year-round and RCCL is putting the larger Liberty here (with slides) to replace Navigator. It's definitely getting interesting here in Galveston.

Simply speculation, but I do believe they were the first to put a new build in Texas with the Carnival Magic. And looking at prices today, they're significantly cheaper than Royal and have a larger percentage of balcony cabins.

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As of yesterday, I could get a balcony on Carnival for what I paid on the Liberrty for an ocean view a year ago which was the lowest pricing since as I check daily. A similar balcony on Royal today would be about $1000 more for 2 adults and a child. For 2 adults, the difference may not be that great as Carnival highly discounts the third and fourth berth, which again is why I think the slides may be an attempt to make the ship even more attractive to families. Of course, the price difference could also indicate that the Libery is selling better than the Carnival Magic, which is why the pricing is so different a little more than 90 days out.

 

As far as itineraries, they're very similar. The only true advantage that Carnival has is in Honduras as they have a better port facility and private beach there.

 

While I wouldn't hesitate to sail Carnival and there are a couple of things they do really well, I prefer Royal Caribbean and the mix of passengers more. However, it also doesn't keep me from exploring my options and the Carnival Vista looks intriguing.

 

We chose the Liberty for the ship not the itinerary, so we'll see.

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Mike,

 

I just checked the Liberty for 1/3/16 and today it's about $2900 for a family of three.  A comparable cabin on Carnival is $1900 or so.  Of course, you get what you pay for and one needs to prioritize what's important to him or her.  The Carnival Magic is a great ship, though, which is exciting for those sailing from Galveston as they have two great choices between Royal and Carnival for 7 night cruises.

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