This was my fourth cruise, first on Carnival (Legend) and the rest with Royal Caribbean. The night life was completely DEAD on Carnival, except for the first night. The ship was a ghost town after about 10pm. The food was okay in the dining room, but nothing to be excited about- same with the buffet. The wait staff was awesome though! The nightly showtimes got old after the second day. The breakfast menu was the same every day and was tired of it after the second day. Royal Caribbean has a ton of activities throughout the day and night time, but Karaoke on Carnival EVERY NIGHT wasn't cutting it! The photographic backgrounds and props were much better on Carnival, but most catered to little kids (sitting in a shell, laying on a dock, etc). On Royal Caribbean if you get a suite, you have access to a special lounge with free drinks, personal computers, and get VIP treatment where Carnival gives you NOTHING! The balcony doors on Carnival open up instead of sliding, which caused problems when we were at sea. I couldn't even get the door open! I NEVER ordered room service from Royal Caribbean, but tried it on Carnival since we had sick people in our group who just wanted soup. Carnival couldn't provide any- extremely LIMITED selection! The room service did arrive fast though. We went with a group (10 total) and 3 are extremely ill (1 pregnant)- started getting sick on the boat! High fever, chills, throat swelling, extreme coughing. Come to find out after talking with other people, they had the same symptoms- the last days of the cruise were RUINED due to sickness!