Hawaii.....Please Help Me Decide!

[kgrassel]

Okay,CC friends, here is the dilemma....

 

Back in March I booked the Rhapsody Hawaii cruise for our 25th anniversary. We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and have been planning this cruise for several years. Since we booked, the price for our D1 aft balcony has gone up nearly $700 p/p, so I think any future price reductions will be unlikely to come back down below what we already have.

 

Because it is so pricey, just for fun I checked out Carnival's offerings for a similar trip. I was surprised to see that I liked their itin. better (plus it is 2 days longer), and I could save about $1100 by switching to the Carnival Spirit.

 

I would be giving up my first aft balcony, and some VISA obc, probably about $200.

 

We became Diamond on our last cruise, and also experienced our first visit to the Concierge Club because the Upgrade Fairy visited us and blessed us with a GS (we had booked Deluxe Guarantee).

 

But, since the Diamond perks have been downgraded, I don't know if I'd really be missing out on much more than the cruise credit by switching to Carnival for this trip.

 

It just feels strange to book something other than Royal, but $1100 is a lot of money. Since Royal's appreciation of Diamond members has been downgraded, I don't feel quite the loyalty I used to feel when I was on a quest to make Diamond. I could even save an additional $800 by switching my date 2 weeks earlier, which is not a problem for me to do.

 

What do you guys think? I don't want to end up in the middle of the Pacific thinking I made a mistake! And my husband doesn't want to listen to me whine about it for 12 days, either, lol! Would we be taking a big gamble, or will there not be that much of a difference?

[madforcruising]

It´s always a good idea to try something new to find out if it´s for you or if you are better off returning to what you are used to. I´m loyal to RCI, but try something else once in a while and usually find that I like it as well.

 

I can´t help you with Carnival as I´ve never sailed with them and I´m not planning to. It´s one of the few lines where just from looking at their ships, pics from the interior etc. I´m feeling I won´t like it. This might be wrong, but it´s how I feel.

 

I don´t know if you would whine all cruise or enjoy it. But maybe give it a try.

[kgrassel]

LOL, I wouldn't REALLY whine, but I'm sure I would notice the differences, both good and bad. How can you have a bad time when you are going to Hawaii!!?? I have sailed Carnival in the past, but just for a short, cheap getaway. From what I have seen in pictures, the Spirit's decor is not as gaudy as some (most?) of their other ships.

 

One other concern I have, though, is SMOKING! I hate smoke. Period. And I don't apologize for it. I get physically ill (eyes burn, throat closes up) from it, so I avoid it as much as possible. I know RCCL well in that regard. I know which lounges I can enjoy and which ones I must avoid. ...Carnival, not so much. I have no idea what to expect. So that is a concern....

[kc320]

For a savings of nearly $2,000..plus a longer cruise? I'd switch in a heartbeat!! I've been on Carnival's Spirit class & they are nice.. more subdued than some of the older ships..A few years back we sailed Carninval Glory & truthfully I thought the service was very comparable to RCL..

 

As far as the smoking issue..maybe spend some time on the CCL board & see what lounges & bar's seem to be the best for non-smokers..

 

Which ever you go with, congrats on your 25th Wedding anniversary!

[Tim,n,Sue]

We have been on the Rhapsody (JS AFT 8094) and loved it. BUT for $1100 I would x-fer to Carnival in a heartbeat. Don't let your loyalty cost you big $$$. Loyalty is a 2 way street.

[vantec]

Okay,CC friends, here is the dilemma....

 

Back in March I booked the Rhapsody Hawaii cruise for our 25th anniversary. We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and have been planning this cruise for several years. Since we booked, the price for our D1 aft balcony has gone up nearly $700 p/p, so I think any future price reductions will be unlikely to come back down below what we already have.

 

Because it is so pricey, just for fun I checked out Carnival's offerings for a similar trip. I was surprised to see that I liked their itin. better (plus it is 2 days longer), and I could save about $1100 by switching to the Carnival Spirit.

 

I would be giving up my first aft balcony, and some VISA obc, probably about $200.

 

We became Diamond on our last cruise, and also experienced our first visit to the Concierge Club because the Upgrade Fairy visited us and blessed us with a GS (we had booked Deluxe Guarantee).

 

But, since the Diamond perks have been downgraded, I don't know if I'd really be missing out on much more than the cruise credit by switching to Carnival for this trip.

 

It just feels strange to book something other than Royal, but $1100 is a lot of money. Since Royal's appreciation of Diamond members has been downgraded, I don't feel quite the loyalty I used to feel when I was on a quest to make Diamond. I could even save an additional $800 by switching my date 2 weeks earlier, which is not a problem for me to do.

 

What do you guys think? I don't want to end up in the middle of the Pacific thinking I made a mistake! And my husband doesn't want to listen to me whine about it for 12 days, either, lol! Would we be taking a big gamble, or will there not be that much of a difference?

 

We have sailed on the Spirit and thought it was a very nice ship, would not hesitate to book another cruise on her. The nice thing about Carnival is they do have self-serve laundry (saving even more money!) and you can bring a bottle of wine on when you board. I'd make the change with no second thoughts.

[green eyed lady]

We've been on Royal, NCL and Carnival. Although Royal is our favorite, we're going on the Carnival Pride for New Years...we got a great price and we would never have been willing to spend the $$ RCCL wants for a holiday cruise. :eek: We've been on Miracle...sister to Spirit and Pride...to save $1100 and get 2 extra days...I'd switch in a minute. Now if you were talking about switching to NCL, that would be a totally different answer ;)

[scopewest]

The Spirit is a very nice ship. To save $$ plus two more days plus self-service laundry, I'd go with Carnival. But whatever you choose, have great time!

[relaxation]

Hi! We took this cruise in spring of 2008. It was wonderful! I, too, looked at RCCL vs Carnival and thought the same thing..cheaper..longer on the islands..better value for the money. We had a great time! Good food, staff and very nice balcony room with robes! :) As with any longer cruise it was an older crowd and not many children. I thought it was wonderful and since I'd never been to Hawaii before it was a great way to get a taste of the different islands. Personally I don't mind cruising Carnival. They just don't have many of the longer 10 day or more cruises I like. Have fun whichever you decide!

[sea-cruise]

I thought I would hate Carnival, but booked the Miracle NYC to Caribbean, and we really enjoyed it.

I've cruised to Hawaii a couple of times over the years onboard different lines, and was pleased both times.

Cast my vote for saving the money and trying something different for a change.

[boulders]

We've cruised several RCCL ships and one Carnival - the Glory. The one thing that I especially did not like about the Glory was the smoking. It seemed like to get anywhere on the ship, we had to walk through a smoking area. The casino was smack dab in the middle of the ship in the main thoroughfare. Always smokey. The internet cafe was also only accessible through a smoking bar. OP, if you hate smoke , I would stay away from Carnival.

[dolfandude]

We've cruised several RCCL ships and one Carnival - the Glory. The one thing that I especially did not like about the Glory was the smoking. It seemed like to get anywhere on the ship, we had to walk through a smoking area. The casino was smack dab in the middle of the ship in the main thoroughfare. Always smokey. The internet cafe was also only accessible through a smoking bar. OP, if you hate smoke , I would stay away from Carnival.

We just sailed on the Carnival Glory in July and I disagree with you! The thoroughfare was not thru the casino but off to the starboard side and not the least bit smokey! And you could easily get to the internet cafe by walking down the outside deck to the outside door of the cafe! No smoke!

I really didn't notice a difference with smoking on RCL, NCL or Carnival. All the same to me! None worse than others. Don't let this decide what ship to take!

[aloha of the seas]

Just a thought. I know it is not much money, but you mentioned that you received an OBC. If that was from RCI it would probably be cheaper to take the Diamond discount which is $300 than the OBC. I booked a Hawaii cruise later in the year and made that choice and have also seen my price increase what I booked at. Fortunately I am locked at the booking price, but it still would be nice to see a sale. Hope it all works out for you and you get back to paradise. Good Sailing, Murf

[kgrassel]

Just a quick update...We made the (difficult) decision and booked the Carnival trip! The true deciding factor was the two extra days / better itinerary for less money.

 

Booked it, deposited it (non-refundable deposit ;( ) and, drumroll please.....actually canceled the Royal reservation. That was hard. Honestly, if the deposit on Carnival wasn't non refundable, I might have held both for a while to see what happened with pricing.

 

So I guess I will have to start lurking on the Carnival boards to see what I have to look forward too. I'll be sure to give you a comparison-type review after the trip!

 

Thanks to all of you for your advice...I love that I can come here and get that when needed!

 

Kathy