Carnival - Grand Cayman Versus Royal Caribbean - Nassau?

Question

Hi, am trying to book a cruise in december. I am a first time cruiser. My options have been broken down to two and I have a hard time making up my mind? 1st option 4 nights with Royal Caribbean going to Nassau and Coco Cay and 2nd option 5 nights with Carnival going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel...am confused. Am 22 and my boyfriend is 25 and we want to have fun but we dont want somewhere too too noisy and busy and crowded. The ships are Carnival Inspiration and RCCL Sovereign of The seas. And we are also kinda tight on budget plus Carnival is 100 bucks more! Any hidden expenses that we should be aware of?

Answer 1

The two lines are very similar.  The Sovereign of the Seas was built in 1988 and will be leaving Royal Caribbean around October 2008 (to be replaces by the Monarch of the Seas, which is a very similar ship, but built in 1991).  The Carnival Inspiration was built in 1996.  The cabins on the Inspiration are about 50% bigger than the cabins on the Sovereign.  In addition, there is more room per passenger on the Inspiration than on the Sovereign.  And if this matters to you, the Inspiration has a water slide while the Sovereign has a rock climbing wall.

As to cost, the five night cruise is going to cost more than the four night cruise.  One advantage of the five night cruise is that the first and last days are at sea.  Days at sea are very relaxing and it gives you a chance to unpack and pack.  I have been on seven cruises, and one did not have the first day be a day at sea.  I missed that opening day at sea and was very tired by the end of the first full day.  

Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island.  I have not been to Coco Cay, but I have been to Royal Caribbean's private beach (Labadee).  Several cruise lines have their own private island and these are great, relaxing beach days.  The only people there are from your ship.

Nassau, Grand Cayman and Cozumel are all foreign islands.  Each has its advantages and disadvantages.  I have been to Grand Cayman twice (and will return again in 2008).  I have been to Cozumel twice and Nassau once.  I love swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman.  Cozumel also has a lot to offer and I look forward to going there again.  Unfortunately I went to Pearl Island when I went to Nassau.  I highly recommend that you don't go to Pearl Island in Nassau.  So the next time I go to Nassau (whenever that may be) I plan to explore the island.  

Hidden expenses.  All food and most drinks are included.  Not included are the alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, bottled water (tap water is free, taste fine and is safe to drink on board the ships) and specialty coffees (like you would find at Seattle's Best).  Tips are not included and are $10 per day per person.  Photographs are $10 to $20 each, but you don't have to buy any.  Shore excursions that you arrange through the ship are extra (and optional).  Spa treatments are extra (and expensive).  Anything you buy in the on board stores are extra.  If you want to gamble in the casino, that is extra (though if you win, you do get to keep the money).

So, if you don't buy anything on board the ship, the only extra cost will be for the tips, which are $10 per day per person.

Answer 2

Let me say you will get as many opinions as there are people on these boards. You need to find the best match for you regardless of what people say!

Most short cruises, regardless of the line, tend to attract a younger crowd and are more of a party atmoshpere. It is true that each line targets a certain market. Carnival is noted as being more of a party ship line, it does have  a younger age market share but even at that, each line has more younger people cruising the caribbean and an older median age cruising say, Alaska and longer cruises for the obvious reasons; time and money.

Take a look at each of the ships. Do they offer amenities you would be interested in using or activities you would take part in?  Have you looked at the excursions that go along with each cruise? Anything that catches your eye there??

Hidden costs: Little is hidden if you do your reseach. What is not included: personal purchases, services such as the spa service, excercise classes, excursions, gambling, alcohol, soda, if offered, specialty dining, tipping.

I personally do like Royal Caribbean over Carnival, however Nassau and Coco Cay would not be particularly high up on my list of places to go.

Though I am not a big Carnival fan, I do enjoy Cozumel - one of the best places to snorkel, dive or tour the ruins and if you've never done the Sting Ray City in the Grand Caymens, you're in for a treat! Grand Caymens is quite expesive but you don't have to shop there if you don't want to!

It all just depends on what you want out of your trip.

Answer 3

OK, it's a mixed bag.  I've taken both the 3  night RCI to Nassau and Cococay on Sovereign of the Seas, and the 5 night Carnival to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, but I've also been to Cozumel.

Grand Cayman is definitely nicer and more interesting than Nassau, but it's also way more expensive.  

Cococay is much better than Cozumel in my opinon - Cozumel has become way too crowded, tourisy and commercial for me in recent years.  Cococay is a private island and does not have to cost an extra cent.

Of the two cruise lines, I like Royal Caribbean a lot more than Carnival, but I'm significantly older than you are.  You  may find Carnival more fun.  My daughter who is your age likes Carnival a lot, my son who is your boyfriend's age prefers Royal Caribbean.

If you've never been to Nassau it can be fun - it's not as good as Grand Cayman, but there are things you can do for free, like walk around the historic parts of town, go to the beach, or visit the Cloister out on Paradise Island.  

Also Sovereign of the Seas, though older, is actually a very neat ship - it's historic.  Did you  know that Sovereign of the Seas was the very first ship to ever have a multi story atrium?  It was also the largest ship afloat when it was built, although that was 20 years ago.

All in all, if it were me, I would take the Royal Caribbean cruise.

By the way the $100 difference simply represents the extra day.

By the way hidden expenses are many on a cruise.  Make sure you allow $10 per day per person for tips - they are expected, and these folks serving you make almost nothing.  Any alcohol costs money, as do cokes.  You can get water, coffee and iced tea all day for free in the buffet restaurant.  Expresso drinks cost extra, bingo costs extra, they will try to get you to go to the casino, and they have spa services, and all kinds of things to buy.  A cruise can be very cost effective IF you are very careful about these things.

Answer 4

First of all....for this an the rest of your many questions that you may have, this is an EXCELLENT website.

http://www.cruisecritic.com

http://boards.cruisecritic.com

There are message boards (and they are really active boards) for both cruise companies and lots of knowledgeable ppl to be able to give you their opinions and experiences on both ships.

If you're a partier, Carnival is the party ship. Royal Caribbean has a good night life too but people are (or tend to be from my experience) more civilized on RC.  I've heard that Carnival standards are below par so I would suggest RC.

CocoCay is GREAT....make sure you take the cereal boxes you can get in the Windjammer with you to the island. Take the cereal into the water and you will be surrounded by hundreds of fish - it is amazing! They have good scuba and snorkelling there. Plus since it's a private island, no one is heckling you. The bbq on the beach is fantastic. It was the best part of my Bahamas cruise 2 years ago.

Check out the websites above - they really are the best!

They can give you a lot of insider information about the best places to eat on board, secret places to check out, etc etc.

For hidden costs, check out and see if Carnival includes gratuities or not in their final price. RC does not, so plan on adding $7.50 per day or so for tips.

Answer 5

Good luck with booking a cruise in December this late; may be possible, if it's not holiday weeks.

Anyway, CruiseCritic is a great site.

I would do the Coz/Cayman cruise; Nassau is not that great, Cayman is nice [do the stingrays] and Coz has Chankanaab Park [just grab a cab and go] - check their website.

Never been on RC [many on CC say the food isn't so great]; been on Carnival three times, all were nice, though the food is not as good as it used to be.