[Ghoulish Delight]

I've done a cruise on both Royal Caribbean and Carnival. RC was the little Baja 3 day cruise, Carnival was the 7 day Mexican Riviera. Both were excellent, I'd recommend either. There is a difference in atmosphere, though. I don't want to say the RC was more relaxed, because we had no problem relaxing on the Carnival cruise. And I hesitate to call RC "stuffier" or "older", because that sounds really bad, but that's the closest I can come to a description. It does tend a little bit more to the sit around and do nothing and don't party at all. But not really in a bad way, and there were definitely moments of partying.

Given the choice between the two, I'd go with Carnival again. It's nice to have the option of a good party atmosphere available, and there's still plenty of opportunity to veg out and relax. They really have that balance down. Plus, since RC skews more towards families while Carnival is more on the young adult side of things, there are more young kids on an RC cruise.

And keep an open mind about the shore excursions. You may find yourself a little stir crazy being on the ship for so long. Not a big deal on the 3-4 day crusies, but depending on what they offer, there may be something you'd regret not trying. And if you do, I definitely suggest going with the less popular ones, they are usually much cooler.