We are a loyal cruiser family - and I have been on several Carnival cruises - going back to the early 90's with the Carnival Tropicale. Our honeymoon was spent on the Carnival Destiny (now Sunshine) with a Southern Caribbean cruise - getting married in Aruba. Anyway, as a family we wanted to see what RCCL was all about - as we heard it was more family oriented. We were blown away.

From the time we got on the ship. we noticed the layout was great. We were in cabin 1852, located on deck 12 in the very front of the ship. Our floor-to-ceiling window was smack dab in the front-middle of the ship, directly below the bridge. What a view! This made the whole trip - we were spoiled. MUCH better than a balcony. The size of the room was about the same as Carnival - but as we all say - you don't spend a lot of time in the room. The bath seemed smaller tho.

The big difference that we noticed where Carnival has an advantage was food. We were spoiled on Carnival with Guy's Burgers, the Taco place by the pool and their BBQ place. RCCL's food was average. The buffet on deck 11 was ok. Not bad - just ok. On Carnival, being able to quickly grab a bite from Guy's or the Taco place was a convenient treat. RCCL does have a very tasty ice cream machine poolside called Sprinkles. Definite must--try for those cruising. Read more