Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival Cruise Lines. Party Atmosphere? Which is better?

I agree with other respondants.Carnival is the poor mans cruise line,RC is a little more upmarket.It dont matter which line you go with,if you want party time then you want short cruises,with the longer cruise you tend to get more old farts like me & little in the late night party atmosphere.Enjoy whatever cruise you decide on.

Iv'e been on both and if you want a classier experience, definitely go with royal caribbean.

Not sure were you are getting your info about Carnival, but my family has done 20+ Carnival cruises and have never been disappointed. We have also been on 3 RC cruises and likewise have not been disappointed. I prefer the Carnival state rooms over those on RC. The Carnival cabins are a little roomier but there is very little difference in the food, entertainment and other amenities. The idea that Carnival ships have a high number of intoxicated passengers is nonsense. It is just my opinion, but if I am a 20-something who likes to party, then I'm on Carnival. Actually I would probably go with the one that has the lowest total fares. Which is usually Carnival. No matter which one you choose, pay attention to the time of year you go. During the Summer and school holidays, there are a lot of kids on board and on days at sea they can make the main pool area almost intolerable. Tours, shore excursions and other land based activities are nearly exactly the same. On two of the RC cruises we stopped off the coast of Haiti and visited RC's private beach on Labadee. Carnival's private beach is in the Bahamas on Half Moon Cay. Again, very similar experiences.

You are going to get the "party atmosphere" on the shorter, weekend - type cruises. This is pretty much any line. I've been to college. I did college at full gear. It is nothing like that. Not even close.

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