kelsey

I am torn between Carnival's Spirit and Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Plan on an Alaskan cruise June 04.

travelagent

Y'all are going to get sick of me saying this, but RCL all the way! Carnival is a GREAT cruise line to work with, but their ships could not be tackier if they tried. Actually saw the interior designer one time and wondered why I did not do the world a favour by tying him up!

Royal Caribbean is a much nicer cruise line in my opinion. The Spirit is so glitzy it made an agent in our office dizzy. Either one has great food and service and entertainment. But I really thought RCL was a step up.

It does come down to the difference in price, but for me, I would pick RCL without EVEN thinking about it. Carnival is great for three day cruises. Anything other than that, RCL any day.

triathlete

I think you'd have a great time on either ship. I've never been unhappy with Carnival decor (that said, I also like Las Vegas, but on 4 Carnival trips I have yet to see anyone jump overboard because of the decor!).

I'd recommend that you base your decision on prices, cabin sizes, and itineraries. All things being equal, no reason not to go with RCL--but you're likely to find you get more cabin for the money on CCL.

Anyway, it's good to have decisions where you can't go wrong either way, right?

Happy sailing!

BudgetQueen

My opinion only , but I would not choose either. Neither has good front deck viewing- annoying blue wind screens on the Vision and not enough deck space on the Spirit, (very limited front viewing). Strongly consider the route and I would never consider any one way sailing without College Fjords. I have sailed 4 different lines to Alaska including 3 on the Carnival Jubilee (9-12-01 Spirit trip was canceled), RCI would be my last choice.

beachdreams

Well call me tacky but I find Carnival's decor amusing and fun. YES I have been on many different lines; RCL, Carnival, Princess, NCL, Celebrity and HAL. Each has its great points (NCL excepted in my opinion only) and each has its down points. None have made me want to jump ship due to the decor. I happen to prefer the size of Carnival's rooms to RCL and the price is usually cheaper (not always). That being said, we went on Spirit a few months after its first sail and really enjoyed it. It is a wonderful ship. Either choice should make you happy.

davison

RCL is fancier, but Carnival has much larger rooms and better food in my opinion.

PumpkinEater

As Carnival is known as having the "fun ships", you might find more party animals on Carnival than RCCL. I know my sister will never cruise with them again because of that. Who wants to take a chance that one of those types will be your cabin neighbor? You read horror stories about that on most of these cruise boards. Are they long odds? - maybe, but why take the chance? RCCL is a great cruise line with great ships and personnel.

Peter

triathlete

The "party animals" aren't in their cabins--they're out partying! You can also be kept up at night by a coughing octagenarian or a crying baby just as easily as you can be a loud drunk--of course, the drunk is probably easier to quiet than either one.

At any rate, I always travel with some cheap disposable foam earplugs--they've come in handy in hotels and on airplanes--but I can't recall having had an occaision to use them on any of the 4 Carnival trips I've been on.

Kelsey, there are plenty of reasons to choose lines other than Carnival, but fear of "party animals" in the next room isn't one of them.

gotribe

I second that. We went on the Carnival Paradise. We heard no noise from the rooms and weren't bothered by any party animals anywhere for that matter.

A few years ago we went on the Premier Sea Breeze, which had a lot of OLD people. The noise that bothered us was the room next door, where 6-8 teenagers had gathered to practice for the talent show. They would sing for hours on end.

So you never know.