The Best Little Cruise Ship In Texas?

[donnajo]

Any of the above except the NCL Sea.

That ship is tired and small and we thought the food was pitiful.

 

Good Luck!

 

Donna

 

PS the Grand Princess is very nice with lots to do and a very good Pizza bar at the pool.

[robtx100]

Been on Celebration twice and liked it better than the Sea. Will try Ecstasy in Jan. I'll vote between the 3 after that.

[M. St. Louis]

I gave Celebration my vote, because the dear old lady deserves it. :)

[springtxbill]

Rhapsody gets my vote and is ahead on a Carnival board. :D

[lisacas1]

Not the Celebration.... outdated and OLD!

[Txcruisers04]

i vote the elation!..but i have never been on Royal caribbean..so..i still vote elation!

[lucyjohnz]

We did the Rhapsody first and 18 months later did the Jubilee. We really liked the Rhapsody much better - thought the food in the dining room for dinner was comparable but other food on Jubilee wasn't very good. And, we thought the service was better on Rhapsody, especially in the staterooms. The room stewards on Jubilee did a good job but seem harassed and over-worked. Also, I find the decor on RCL ships is much less garish than the Carnival ships.

 

I've also cruised on Galaxy out of San Juan, PR (Southern Caribbean) and while we enjoyed the cruise, it was too laid-back for us - not a lot of activities and a very sedate crowd. We just cruised the Mercury in Alaska this past summer (July) and still found it a little too sedate for our tastes. The food was good (not fantastic, but good) and we actually liked the food better on our Royal Caribbean cruises. However, where Celebrity excels is their service and their ships are far less crowded than either RCL's or Carnival's.

 

Our very first cruise was NCL Sea back in 2000 and we found the ship to be way too small for a 7-day cruise. Also, our cabin was tiny (165sf for 3 of us) and they were pretty stingy on their food - it was good but they served tiny portions and they wouldn't bring me a 2nd portion of lobster - said they had to make sure they had enough for late seating. In 8 cruises since, I've never had that happen again. It was a good 1st cruise but I wasn't overly impressed with the ship or NCL.

[cruzinsteve]

Having sailed the Rhapsody, Celebration, Jubilee and Elation we will vote for the Elation and in 17 days we'll sail the Estacy and be able to comment on her. 23 cruises down and hundreds to go.

[bh2359]

We did back to back cruises on Elation and Rhapsody last year.

 

Rhapsody gets my vote. Service was better, ship is laid out much better, space didn't seem to be at a premium.

 

Elation, on the other hand, had the best food overall, a nice atrium, and probably the best buffet restaurant of any ship we've been on (12). Rude service was a big negative. The ship is hard to find your way around inside, signage was terrible, elevator lights detailing what was on each deck were not working for the most part.

 

I reviewed both under "BH2359" in the review section.

[corina27]

Is there anyone else wondering how this old post and poll was brought back to life??????

[Stircrzy]

I'm glad it did, since I'm dithering between a Rhapsody and an Elation cruise for July right now.

[Cruisin Dave]

Been on the Elation twice and never had rude service. The staff was always polite and professional in all matters. We had the best wait staff both times and the best room steward. Funny thing we had the same staff on the second cruise that we had on the first.

[Tinabrn]

Rhapsody without a doubt....beautiful ship and beautiful service.

[Boston6]

Don't know about the best but there can't be much worse than the Sea.

[Decali]

My wife and I have been on Jubilee, Rhapsody, Norwegian Sea, Elation and Grand out of Galveston/Houston and they all have all been great. Each has areas where they excel. A lot depends on the individual with regard to big ship/small ship, food quality/food variety/scheduled dining times, large cabin/small cabin, ease of embarkation/disembarkation, entertainment preferences, itinerary, etc. but each has something to offer that the others don't.

 

The people who market these things aren't stupid. They know how to find a niche and cater to their client base. It's more a matter of what you as a customer likes (which is highly subjective).

 

I personally would do any of the Galveston cruises again if the price is right.

[Tinabrn]

How is the Rhapsody better than the Elation??Like what thing makes it better??

Thanks

Rhapsody is "classier" and service is better@@!!

[Linkslady]

I vote Rhapsody! We've sailed on Rhapsody twice and Princess twice... We also sailed Splendour of the Seas out of Galveston last April and LOVED that ship also.. but it wasn't on the poll?? I agree with a previous poster that Carnival needs to "update" their choices with a newer ship!!

 

I prefer the size of Rhapsody over the Grand Princess...

[rsjc]

I would say the Grand Princess for know because it is the only ship I have sailed out of Galvestion. Do look forward to many future cruises out of Galveston.

[vickiw0318]

I am lucky to have been on three of the ships mentioned - the Galaxy, the Rhapsody and the Elation. My daughter and I had a wonderful Alaskan cruise in May of 2000 on the Galaxy in an outside cabin with a small sitting area. My new husband and I honeymooned in a Junior Suite (8026) on the Rhaposody in February of 2004. In September of 2004, we went with a group of friends on the Elation (Cabin category 6D).

 

I am a quiet, suburban type and preferred the Galaxy and the Rhapsody over the Elation. I liked the elegant feel of the first two. Although comparable in cabin class, the one on the Galaxy had much more to offer than the cabin on the Elation. The latter had the two beds and a single straight chair. Everything seemed much more crowded on the Elation. For example, the arrangement of the stores didn't seem to allow for good traffic flow. I couldn't get close enough to the gold/silver by the inch display to really check out the merchandise. We (my whole gang - not all of which were old fogies) did escape the crowd and noise around the main pool by going to the aft one. The strangest thing that happened to us was that even when there still many sunbathers at around four in the afternoon, the Carnival crew started cleaning up the area and stacking the pool chairs. Just made you feel kinda odd and unwelcome when there were still hours of sunlight left.

 

I wasn't always a quiet, suburban type - I have rowdied on down:( and no longer drink. The Galaxy and the Rhapsody both had special non-alcholic drinks of the day that let me enjoy my "boat drinks." I asked a couple of Carnival bartenders for a virgin strawberry daquiri to no avail. (Yes, I probably wasn't persistent enough.)

 

The food on all three was good. We got great cabin service on all three. I enjoyed the excursions on all three. The boarding process was easier on the Rhapsody but that was because of the Junior Suite and the priority boarding we lucked into. The departure process on all had elements of chaos - all of which just comes with the territory.

 

No more Carnival for this girl (er, woman). The other two lines made me feel special. Since I raised two teenagers by myself, that's a feeling I relish. We're booked on the Rhapsody again in October. Hopefully, there's another trip on the Galaxy somewhere in my future.

[crazidude1400]

I have been on the NCL Sea (seaward) and I didn't like it...I prefer a fantasy class ship...