princevaliantus Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Below article copied, very interesting : Carnival Cruise Line dominated the USA Today10Best Readers’ Choice awards, taking top honors in the Best Ocean Cruise Line and Best Cruise Line For Families categories while Carnival Vista was named Best Cruise Ship for Entertainment. The awards were based on nominations from a team of cruise industry experts and the winners were determined by an online vote of USA Today readers. Carnival Cruise Line enjoyed a successful and memorable 2017 highlighted by the cruise line’s first-ever voyages to Cuba aboard Carnival Paradise as well as the continued rollout of new culinary offerings such as the New England-inspired Seafood Shack and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri. Carnival also continues to invest in its product with seven ships undergoing extensive dry docks that added a wide variety of food, beverage and entertainment concepts with some ships receiving new staterooms and suites and expansive water parks. The line’s 26th ship, Carnival Horizon, is set to debut in Europe April 2, 2018. Carnival’s award-winning family programming includes Seuss at Sea, an exclusive partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises featuring youth, dining and entertainment experiences inspired by the amazing world and words of Dr. Seuss, as well as Hasbro, The Game Show, with larger-than-life adaptations of the company’s iconic games and Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea offering children of all ages an opportunity to make their own cuddly bear that can be customized with a variety of outfits and accessories. Carnival ships also boast some of the largest and most elaborate water parks at sea and offer complimentary children’s programming in three age groups – Camp Ocean (2-11), Circle “C” (12-14) and Club O2 (15-17) – with spacious areas and dedicated counselors for each group. Carnival Vista was named Best Cruise Ship for Entertainment for its wide variety of captivating entertainment options. These include the high-tech Playlist Productions shows where performers seamlessly interact with massive LED screens, the Punchliner Comedy Club offering both adults-only and family-friendly performances, and Lip Sync Battle Carnival, an authentic shipboard recreation of the hit SpikeTV series. Engaging and talented live bands, solo acts in lounges and along the promenade, lively DJs, and legendary deck events and late-night parties are also featured throughout the ship. Carnival Vista also placed second in the Best Cruise Ship for Dining category for its delicious culinary choices, including Ji Ji Asian Kitchen with a diverse menu of Far East favorites, Cucina del Capitano family-style Italian restaurant and Fahrenheit 555, a classic American steakhouse. Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, gave the following statement: “Earning so many accolades across a broad range of categories is a testament to our ongoing efforts at creating fun, memorable experiences at a great value and speaks volumes to our amazing team of employees both on board and ashore who continually go above and beyond in serving our guests.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Just like Royal bought some awards, so has Carnival. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/12/18/royal-caribbean-wins-five-awards-2017-travel-weekly-readers-choice-awards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted January 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Royal still falls short in the Domestic arena, which I'm not surprised as thier concentration is more in the Caribbean arena. Maybe they'll start expanding to newer domestic horizons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Royal Caribbean is my go-to cruise line. They have the best loyalty program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Obviously all those who would have voted for RC were at the time of vote on a cruise enjoying themselves unlike the carnival voters :) Sweety and coneyraven 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS8VN Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Awarded by online voting, huh? That's a good balanced way to do things. Hopefully Carnival uses that to also name their next boat so we can finally get the Carnival Boaty McBoatface. Madelyn D, whenismynextcruise, Orange Crush and 3 others 1 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted January 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 USA Today was the sponsor of the awards and the readers were the one's that voted. Lets keep it impartial and not a tit-for-tat. We all have different likes and dislikes. Lets not knock others choices and just welcome opinions as an opportunity to see what others think. Thats the way I look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Just to put things in perspective, the MSC Seaside was named best new ship before it was even launched. How can a ship that has never sailed be best at anything? Money. Madelyn D and rjac 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted January 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Good point !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arebee Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Sorry, but Carnival has more to offer than Royal. Those who are stuck on Royal need to see and quit thinking Royal is the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 14 minutes ago, arebee said: Sorry, but Carnival has more to offer than Royal. Those who are stuck on Royal need to see and quit thinking Royal is the best. I find there more to do on Royal. When I look back at my cruises with Carnival it is a fun ship if you like to party and drink. Live bands are comparable, entertainment much better on RC for my tastes. Best is in the eye of beholder. In my eye Carnival is not best and far from it. They are inexpensive though. To each their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Everyone has their opinions, and they're all correct opinions for the bearer of them. You think Royal is the best? Awesome! Carnival? Great. Think they both stink? No problem. The issue with awards things in many industries (including travel) is that not only are these things very subjective, but there is almost always a business component to them. Yes guys, that means when Royal gets those awards they're largely as rigged as every other award (as mentioned, MSC got "best new ship" for a ship not yet ready). The good news? None of the awards matter, and as rigged as they are I'm confident they wouldn't promote or prop up a line which wasn't already beloved by many. Just like individual reviews, pay attention to the things people like and dislike and why they like or dislike them, and then determine how much those things matter to you. ellcee, Steve L, RestingBird and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS8VN Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 4 hours ago, princevaliantus said: Lets keep it impartial The forum name is "Royal Caribbean Blog". The hottest thread today is about being addicted to Royal Caribbean. I'm pretty sure partiality is baked in here. To paraphrase the words of Penn Jillette, "We are biased. We always try to be fair, but we are biased as heck." ellcee and monorailmedic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 I openly question the value these awards have to actual cruisers. I know the marketing departments of various cruise lines enjoy the awards, but does anyone actually book a cruise because of an award? Does it influence anyone at all? As a fan, I love to see RC get all the accolades it can get, but I really doubt it does much to influence bookings. monorailmedic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 Personally, I think these awards are all a bunch of B.S. Money talks. I rely more on what people say on tripadvisor than what some what some "online voters" say. Online voters are synonymous with the "undisclosed sources" you hear about in the news media. coneyraven and joost 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 I regularly use the USA Today app and in particular two sections. "Fights" and "Cruises". I never saw any vote being held. USA Today has an article on the 9 most amazing giant cruise ships and the lead picture is from a Carnival ship that isn't even one of the top 10 largest ships. It's the 28th largest ship. Voyager class is bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Crush Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 Well, having just sailed on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean in the past couple months, I have them both pretty fresh in my mind and can say without question that I strongly preferred my cruise on Royal Caribbean. There were pluses and minuses to both, some areas Carnival is a clear winner on and there are some areas where Royal clearly won. People weigh aspects of the experience differently, so I can totally understand how someone with different preferences would like Carnival better. The Carnival Liberty is a much newer and bigger ship than the Majesty of the Seas, but they both run similar 3-4 day itineraries out of Port Canaveral and pricing is about the same, ignoring balconies. The Liberty has regular balconies, the Majesty only has a handful of Junior Suites which are much more expensive. Carnival wins on: Staterooms. They're bigger, there's more of them, there's more variety, and you can get a regular-priced balcony. Drink package: Royal doesn't have an official drink limit, Carnival limits it to 15 in a 24 hour period, but Carnival doesn't charge extra for top shelf with a per drink maximum of like $50. Royal caps at $12 and charges extra for anything more, which is less than a lot of their featured drinks of the day and premium cocktails. Bugers & Pizza: Guys Burgers and the Brick Oven Pizza are neither the best nor worst burgers and pizzas I've had, but they're serviceable and don't cost extra. Royal's Pizza is literally the worst I've ever had and their comparable non-buffet Burgers come with a surcharge. Notable mention: I liked that the onboard app let me check the daily agenda & my folio account balance and transaction at any time while on the cruise and didn't require a wifi package. Royal wins on: Service. The staff was always very friendly and made it clear they would go to great lengths to make us happy. They seemed sincere and eager to help. Carnival's staff did not. A couple people stood out as nicer than the rest, but the vast majority was pretty surly, terse, or just seemed put upon most of the time. Primary Food. Majesty's Main Dining Room was a slight step above Liberty's (and Majesty's service was miles better). Windjammer beat the pants off the Lido deck buffet except for pizza and burgers. Deli: The Majesty's Compass Deli was much nicer than whatever they called that quick-order window on the Liberty. Entertainment: Royal had more theatrical shows, Carnival seemed to lean more on questionable stand-up comedians. Notable mention: Wifi. Despite being stuck in the late 90s in nearly every way technologically imaginable, the wifi connection was substantially faster, better, and better priced than Carnival's. There are a lot of other differences that don't matter much to me that might be important to somebody else--kid's club, for instance, I have no children so can't comment on either line's approach there. The Majesty also had a much smaller Casino compared to the Liberty. If you drink top-shelf liquor and gamble a lot, Carnival's probably your boat. I'd rather see a show, have a nice dinner and watch the piano player in the Schooner bar with a glass of wine. rjac, Traveler and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 With the differences between ships within a line I have always found saying one line is better than another to be a pile of crap. I would take any Royal ship over one of the older generation Carnival ships, no questions asked. At the same time though I would take the latest generation Vista and Horizon over any Royal ship (and putting my money where my mouth is, have done (last year) and will do (this year)). The more I try other lines the more I think the "big" differences have more to do with the service level you receive than anything else, and that even that service level can vary on the same ship, on the exact same cruise from one person to the next, so to try and chalk it up to Royal vs Carnival vs Norwegian is somewhat pointless. BCarney and I both were on Adventure Thanksgiving 2016 for example ... to paraphrase our experiences he had some concerns but was generally happy ... I seriously considered never sailing Royal again and had 2/3 of the group we were with say that out loud (and so far not book a Royal cruise following it so sticking to their guns I guess). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 hours ago, Orange Crush said: I'd rather see a show, have a nice dinner and watch the piano player in the Schooner bar with a glass of wine. The above comment is my wife and I, so I prefer Royal, I have 2 sets of friends that prefer/love Carnival, I probably will never cruise Carnival and I can't convince them to try Royal, so we may never cruise together even though we are really good friends. Each of us has our own idea of what good is and that is why we make the decisions we make, we let our wallet do our voting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted January 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 15 minutes ago, tiny260 said: The above comment is my wife and I, so I prefer Royal, I have 2 sets of friends that prefer/love Carnival, I probably will never cruise Carnival and I can't convince them to try Royal, so we may never cruise together even though we are really good friends. Each of us has our own idea of what good is and that is why we make the decisions we make, we let our wallet do our voting. Then compromise and chose Celebrity???? Right down the middle!! tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 15 minutes ago, tiny260 said: The above comment is my wife and I, so I prefer Royal, I have 2 sets of friends that prefer/love Carnival, I probably will never cruise Carnival and I can't convince them to try Royal, so we may never cruise together even though we are really good friends. I think it also boils down to comfort level. @tiny260 love and are comfortable with Royal, your friends love are comfortable with Carnival. Both past cruises (and your first I guess) paved the way to not want to change. I too have friends who won't sail in USA/Caribbean, they only do Viking River (no it's not apples to apples) but that's what they've been doing for years. So like you, our great friends will probably never sail with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 I started on Norwegian, went to Royal, tried Princess (Panama Canal), went back to Royal, tired Disney, went back to Royal. So yes, I agree with the statement that our cruises have shaped us and mark our decisions, not to mention I'm Diamond now, so that helps me. Boston Babe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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