Carnival Conquest or Rhapsody of the Seas

[genxian]

Hello everyone,

 

We are planning a 7 day cruise for our honeymoon. Sailing June 25th 2006. We have it narrowed down to the Conquest or the Rhapsody of the Seas. Thanks to everyone in a previous thread for helping us narrow down.

 

Conquest - New Orleans, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica

Rhapsody - Galveston, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica

 

They are the same price. We just sailed on the Valor so we have seen the Conquest class ships. Haven't sailed RCCL for a long time.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks so much everyone.

 

Brandon

[*CruiseFan*]

These are the two cruises I have taken!

 

CONQUEST. The Rhapsody is older and the Conquest is SOOOO much fun! Go for the Conquest. Plus, New Orleans is a heck of a lot more interesting than Galveston (trust me on this, I'm a native Houstonian). When my boyfriend and I went on the Conquest we had to go out of Gulfport, Mississippi which wasn't bad at all. We had an AWESOME time.

 

Have fun on the Conquest (because I know that's what you'll choose ;))

 

Plus, y'all are young - the Rhapsody closes up shop early wheras the Conquest is a party until the wee hours type of ship :)

[helicopter]

Just shows how differently people feel about ships and places. We have cruised out of New Orleans CCL and didn't care for the layout of the ship at all. confussing to get around on, and when we sailed nothing was open on the ship until you were out of the Mississippi River (and that was a long and boring trip, shops and pool didn't open until next day).

 

Rhapsody is a beautiful ship and Galveston offers a lot to do (be sure to go to the strand). Four couples we know have sailed both and all prefer Rhapsody (better food, entertainment - especially poolside, and overall much better ship layout).

[yuyi64]

Ashkarita and Helicopter both makes good points! A lot depends on how old you and your bride-to-be are and what you're looking for in a cruise. If you're under forty and prefer and active nightlife ( and you plan on partying very LATE!), I'd go for the Conquest. The Conquest offered much more varety in nightly entertainment and the passengers stayed out much later. On the other hand, the Rhapsody is a much more classy and elegant ship in terms of decor and would be my choice for couples in their 40's or older. If you want a musical analogy, let's just say the Conquest is "Top 40" and the Rhapsody is Easy Listening".

[*CruiseFan*]

Wow Helicopter, I totally don't see Galveston the same way you do, haha, and we're both Texans! But yep, if you're in your twenties I would go for Carnival :) I was 22 when we sailed two years ago and my boyfriend was 24 - we had a great time!

 

It definitely shows different strokes for different folks. I don't care for the Rhapsody layout (and I've cruised it twice since it's convenient), however I LOVED the layout of the Conquest. I like how there is a nice large walkway through the casino with seating and a band. You can listen to the band, dance, have a drink at the bar, gamble and/or listen to the slot machines all in one spot :)

 

And nice "Top 40" and "Easy listening" analogy. That's a perfect way to describe it :)

[genxian]

We are both in our early 20's. We don't drink however so that changes what we like to do a bit. We were just on the Valor (same layout as Conquest) and it was a nice ship, but I had a few gripes about it. The Valor was really shakey, is the Conquest shakey (by shakey I don't mean rocky, I mean it just shakes left and right). It was incredibly smokey in some areas, and had a lack of non-drinking related activities.

 

I really enjoy gourmet cuisine (CCL or RCCL for better food?) sitting in the hottub, watching the nightly shows, I would love to have some first run movies to watch on a big screen in a lounge, the excursions, and things of that nature.

 

My fiance and I don't really enjoy the nightclub/disco, would rather listen to the lounge bands or piano bars.

 

Thats so more info from me, still trying to decide which cruise will be better.

 

Thanks so much everyone.

 

Brandon

[Ronath]

We've been on both the Conquest and Rhapsody. Although we like them both we do prefer the Conquest.

[*CruiseFan*]

If you're not partiers (you don't have to drink to be a partier IMHO because drinking isn't necessary to have a good time), and just enjoy lounge/piano music, go for the Rhapsody :) The Conquest wasn't shakey from what I remember, and we had rain every single day :)

 

But yeah, even though you're young if you're not up for being out all night then go for Rhapsody - it will better suit you I believe :)

[yuyi64]

Based on the additional info you provided about your entertainment preferences, I would recommend the Rhapsody Genxian. Yes, the Conquest is "shakey" (left-right vibration). This side to side movement seems to be noticeable on all the Conquest-class ships so it must be a design flaw. The Vision-class ships (of which Rhapsody is one) are much smoother and stable, even in rough seas.

[venusjems]

Going up and down the Mississippi River on the Conquest can be a bit shaky if there is a storm. (IMHO)

 

(Not as bad as the Inspiration though, we were coming back up the Mississippi on the Inspiration and walking down the hallway to our room I kept slamming into the walls)

[waterbound]

We were on Conquest in March and Rhapsody in April.. My preference is Conquest.. Both ships are beautiful and the ports on both cruises were nice but we preferred the atmosphere on Conquest. On Rhapsody we enjoyed Key West because it was at nighttime and that was nice.. We have cruised carnival 5 times and found a great deal on RCCL and decided to give it a try.. Personally I'm sticking with Carnival.. We actually already have another cruise booked for next year on Conquest..

[Randy & Carmen]

We were on Conquest in March and Rhapsody in April.. My preference is Conquest.. Both ships are beautiful and the ports on both cruises were nice but we preferred the atmosphere on Conquest. On Rhapsody we enjoyed Key West because it was at nighttime and that was nice.. We have cruised carnival 5 times and found a great deal on RCCL and decided to give it a try.. Personally I'm sticking with Carnival.. We actually already have another cruise booked for next year on Conquest..

 

I'll be trying out Rhapsody this August and Key West at night is one of the big reasons///////Never got to be there after sunset for all the fun on other cruises......BUT......I'm such a Conquest Class fan that I would venture to say I won't be swayed.:D