That size allows it to pack on even more restaurants, activities, and entertainment.

Size of Ships When it comes to the biggest ships, Royal Caribbean is the clear leader. But in general, you can figure that a Carnival cruise will run less than a similar one on Royal Caribbean.īottom line: When it comes to cost, Carnival is usually cheaper to sail than a similar trip on Royal Caribbean, but prices for specific trips will vary. What you pay for a cruise depends on a lot of factors, including when you sail, the specific ship you choose, and the route you take. Now keep in mind that this doesn’t mean your cruise will automatically be less expensive on Carnival or more expensive on Royal Caribbean. This ship features prices considerably higher than other ships.) (Note: Royal Caribbean’s 7-night average in our analysis includes trips aboard Icon of the Seas. That lower average pricing also held no matter the cruise length. When looking at the fares for each sailing in July 2024 (the peak of the cruise season in North America), we found that Carnival’s fares are less expensive on average.Īccording to our analysis, cruise fare for a 5-night trip aboard Carnival was about $50 cheaper per person during our search than what was seen on Royal Caribbean. Carnival and Royal Caribbean both sail from Miami, Port Canaveral, and Galveston, which gives an ability to compare prices across the lines with similar trips. We recently analyzed dozens of cruises from both cruise lines departing from three of their most popular ports. If you want to sail the more inexpensive cruise line, however, then you’re better off with Carnival according to our analysis. Want to sail affordably? Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival offer affordable vacations. To be sure, you’re bound to have fun on either company’s ships, however, if you want the real scoop on how they differ, we’ve laid out some of the major differences below. In fact, while both lines do have a lot of similarities, there are also some major differences.Īnyone that is loyal to either Carnival or Royal Caribbean would tell you as much. If you’ve never taken a cruise… or you’ve only sailed with one cruise line or the other… then you’d be forgiven for thinking that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean are exactly the same.

Carnival or Royal Caribbean? The two popular cruise lines share a lot of similarities, but there are some differences to know about. The two cruise lines are by far the most popular in the country, with millions of cruise passengers sailing on their ships each year. While there are a lot of cruise lines out there, when it comes to the United States, two main players come to mind: Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.

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