Rccl pulling out of Galveston anyone else jumping ship over to the Conquest?

[petel]

No thanks........I'd rather fly to another port:)

 

Me too.....

[MortgageChick]

We have cruisesd 17 times and 4 on Carnival.

2 cruises were wonderful, 2 were less than wonderful. The staff and shows were fantastic, the food was very good and the service was more than satisfactory. The 2 carnival cruises that were wonderful were our 15 N Transatlantic on Legend in its Inaugral year and a 10 Night on the Paradise in 2001, before they sent her to the west coast for short cruises and allowed people to smoke on her.

 

 

The other 2 were on Victory last June and Destiny in 1999. When I try to define what made these 2 different I unfortunately(flame me) have to say our fellow passengers. On the VIctory,5 day out of NYC last summer, they were from all demographics, but we barely met a soul who had cruised before. I will just say it made for a very different atmosphere. The ship was also sold out and many families 3 and 4 to a stateroom. The ship was filled to capacity with passengers who were not clear on what to wear to the dining room or any other cruising etiquette

At least 30% of the passengers were young children , who were allowed to stuff there faces with Pizza and ice cream during a port day while 100km plus winds buffeted the ship while at dock. Now imagine the parents(first time cruisers) surprise that when we headed out to sea at 6pm and the ship was sailing in 20 foot swells and there little angels were puking all over the ship , in hallways, in the dining room , stair wells...... I am not sure what they expected from the ship in near hurricane force winds, but a bit of common sense would have been in order.

 

Anyway enough. A short Carnival cruise is definitely not something we will entertain ever again.... the price was right ...but next time we will pass.

[time4u2go]

At least 30% of the passengers were young children , who were allowed to stuff there faces with Pizza and ice cream during a port day while 100km plus winds buffeted the ship while at dock. Now imagine the parents(first time cruisers) surprise that when we headed out to sea at 6pm and the ship was sailing in 20 foot swells and there little angels were puking all over the ship , in hallways, in the dining room , stair wells...... I am not sure what they expected from the ship in near hurricane force winds, but a bit of common sense would have been in order.

I'm just curious...do you think parents on RCI would not have allowed their children to do this?

[vickiw0318]

Here's another "no".

[CARIBBEANBLUESKY]

Of course parents on RCI would and have allowed their children to do the same thing. That is my point exactly. Royalists try to make it seem as if Royal Caribbean is such an upscale line, and it simply is not. It is a fabulous line, to be sure, and so is Carnival, and I will enjoy my Carnival Liberty cruise in August and I am planning on sailing on Royal in the fall. I love both lines. Both are fabulous. Neither is upscale. Both have passengers from all walks of life.

[bankonus]

Both have passengers from all walks of life.

 

 

Well said! And isn't this what it's really all about? When you have all kinds, you get both the good and bad no matter who you sail with. ;)

[helicopter]

The one thing that keeps me from choosing Carnival over another line is the layout of the new ships (Conquest). As someone stated above the pool areas are very chopped up and small, you have to go thru the buffet to get to the back of the ship to the other pool area. I personally just prefer the more open areas on the other ships. Carnival has nice rooms, decent food and entertainment - but the layout of the lido deck is just not for me or for that matter any members of my family. Two years ago one of them just had to try a Carnival ship, so we took the Valor. After that cruise she said never again on Carnival (and the simple truth was she just hated the layout of the ship.) I know there are many things to enjoy on the ship and in the ports, but if I am that unhappy with the ship it just puts a damper on the other things. However, I will say that the teen areas (arcade, meeting areas, etc) were handsdown better than any other ship we've been on.

[Firefighterhoop]

I was on the Conquest Last april. It was a nice ship, but the passenger to crew ratio was a lot more crowded than RCCL ships!, and it shows!

 

The entertainment and cruise director were awesome (However that cruise director is on the Carnival Liberty now, so can't really comment about now)

 

The big thing I dont like about Carnival, well actually 2 things. 1) The buffet choices are very limited. Large salad bar, but a little hot food selection compared to RCCL

Also the Pool area is just white and wood, no real colors on the ground, or anything, its just PLAIN, which just looks cheap.

 

But speaking of cheap, so are the prices, so I guess you get what you pay for. If you haven't tried carnival yet, and are thinking about it, you should do it! I tried it, and it's ok, I still like RCCL better, but if you want a ship year round in Galveston, you may have to to prove a point that your buisness will stay in Galveston, and if they don't return they will lose customers!

 

Scott

[firefly333]

The big thing I dont like about Carnival, well actually 2 things. 1) The buffet choices are very limited.

 

Funny, I was just on Rhapsody and the one thing I complained about compared to Princess and Carnival was the lack of variety. I wrote it in my comments to be posted by VTG, so Im not just saying this, I really thought RCI has NO variety. They had the exact same menu for lunch every single day in the dining room?? crazy. Same with breakfast. And up in the buffet they had the exact same foods for breakfast with no change from day to day.

 

Princess had tons more variety, the cruise line that I have done the most.

 

The one feedback I even put on the comment slip my room steward asked me to fill out was great cruise, except the lack of variety for breakfast and lunch.

 

Just goes to what folks like, I got tired of RCI never changing the breakfast and lunch but thought the ship friendly and loved the cruise otherwise. RCI had the worse food and stuff at dinner I didnt really like. I had trouble picking.

[brn2crz]

Lets see,eggs, sausage,bacon,variety of potatoes,pancakes,biscuits,muffins,bagels,donuts,cereals,lox,ham,waffles,gravy,omelets

fruits of all kinds,danish and I am sure there are somethings I have missed,but I just really don't see what else you could have available at a breakfast buffet:)

 

Lunch...pretty much the same sort of choices...Its a lunch...Not a formal dinner...So they have lunch type items...Tons of different salads,potatoes,meats,fruits different breads,soups,ready made sandwichs,Hamburgers and HotDogs,lots of veggie choices...

 

Now,maybe none of the tons of choices suited you...But really...A limited variety????

 

All I will say on food is in my book,until RCI matches Princess Seafood Buffet,which is only available on some sailings....Princess wins that one...But for overall variety...RCI is right up at the top.

 

And no,I will not be switching over to the Conquest.

(ok,never say never,but as someone who has had a free sailing ever year on the Celebration/Ecstasy for the past 4 years...Once a year is enough for me..)

 

And lastly...This is the RCI board,and a question was posed,pertaining to RCI happy Galveston sailing people,if more of us would try the Conquest due to the period of no RCI ship....There is really no need for all of the defense by the Carnival loyal,as that was not the topic of this question..

 

Not a flame,just an observation !!

[firefly333]

I think you missed my point. Its the exact same thing on the menu every day. On other ships when you go into the dining room for lunch they have different choices every day same as at dinner.

 

Thats what I meant by no vaiety. They have the same menu every day. My point was not what the choices were.

 

As far as what the choices were, almost every day the cookie at lunch was coconut which Im allergic to. Why cant they have two cookies or change the cookie more often. I loved having cookies for lunch on Princess. I love oatmeal raisen, but others are fine anything but coconut which was the ONLY cookie other than the sugar free choice.

 

I know its just me and my tastes, just it was not stuff I was crazy about. What I saw as the lack of vaiety, the exact same menu in the dining room every single day for both breakfast and lunch was all I meant though, nothing about what the choices were.

 

We all have food preferences and RCI didnt hit mine is all, didnt mean I didnt have a fun cruise. I loved it. Will be back on RCI. You'all are so defensive if someone didnt like something.

[firefly333]

All I will say on food is in my book,until RCI matches Princess Seafood Buffet,which is only available on some sailings....Princess wins that one...But for overall variety...RCI is right up at the top.

 

Yep, had the seafood buffet on Caribbean Princess. I love lobster night on every cruise line. Princess so far wins for food in my book, but I dont go on a cruise just for food, it is a small thing. Sorry. Its just how I feel. I have another RCI cruise booked so obviously I was not that unhappy. Just my own personal feeling RCI lacks variety having the same darn menu for lunch in the dining room every single day.

[Lightsluvr]

I think you missed my point. Its the exact same thing on the menu every day. On other ships when you go into the dining room for lunch they have different choices every day same as at dinner.

 

Thats what I meant by no vaiety. They have the same menu every day. My point was not what the choices were.

 

As far as what the choices were, almost every day the cookie at lunch was coconut which Im allergic to. Why cant they have two cookies or change the cookie more often. I loved having cookies for lunch on Princess. I love oatmeal raisen, but others are fine anything but coconut which was the ONLY cookie other than the sugar free choice.

 

I know its just me and my tastes, just it was not stuff I was crazy about. What I saw as the lack of vaiety, the exact same menu in the dining room every single day for both breakfast and lunch was all I meant though, nothing about what the choices were.

 

We all have food preferences and RCI didnt hit mine is all, didnt mean I didnt have a fun cruise. I loved it. Will be back on RCI. You'all are so defensive if someone didnt like something.

 

I guess I missed your point, too. I was about to respond, but brn2crz beat me to it...

 

Last time I checked, my local restaurants don't change their menus everyday either. Nor do I eat everything on the menu in one sitting. Thus I can return to the same buffet, dining room or restaurant for day after day and enjoy something different. But that's just me.

 

With respect to the cookies...gee I wish I had been on your ship. I love coconut cookies. All we ever saw was oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles and chocolate chip. How boring. :cool:

 

LL

[Chigirlcruzin]

Why is this an issue? Some people do not like carnival. I dont. I wont say I am an RC fanatic but I will cruise less or fly to avoid cruising Carnival. It is all personal choice. I dont understand why people have to get so ugly about it when someone says they dont want to go on Carnival or they would opt to cruise less. I dont like a lot of things but that does not make it wrong. It is good we all dont like the same things, makes life more interesting, provides more choices.

 

I love Walmart but I have a friend of mine that REFUSES to shop there, she has never even been in a Walmart and will not go into one for anything. She almost stopped shopping at Walgreens because someone told her they were owned by Walmart, which is not true.

 

I am going on Princess next year, yes they are owned by Carnival corp, that is okay with me. Celebrity is owned by RC but I have no desire to cruise on them, nothing wrong with them, just not for me. Like Carnival is not my thing.

 

It is great you like Carnival but dont knock those of us who dont and who did not have a great experience on them or who choose to go elsewhere.

 

You are right on. I get irritated when somebody says Carnival is "disgusting" when they've never set foot on a Carnival ship, or when people say they'll never go on Carnival because their boss's daughter's best friend's boyfriend's mom sailed Carnival in 1982 and said it was a floating frat party! You sailed Carnival and prefer RCCL; absolutely nothing wrong with that. For me, I'd like to try other lines, but darn it, Carnival has the best prices out there (generally). I looked at X, NCL, and RCCL for my October cruise (I'm going on the Carnival Valor), but Carnival was $250 pp cheaper! With 5 people sailing, that's a lot of money!

[firefly333]

I guess I missed your point, too. I was about to respond, but brn2crz beat me to it...

 

Last time I checked, my local restaurants don't change their menus everyday either. Nor do I eat everything on the menu in one sitting. Thus I can return to the same buffet, dining room or restaurant for day after day and enjoy something different. But that's just me.

 

With respect to the cookies...gee I wish I had been on your ship. I love coconut cookies. All we ever saw was oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles and chocolate chip. How boring. :cool:

 

LL

 

I would not eat at the same local restaurant 7 days in a row. I would go and change it up with different menus at different restaurants.

 

Food is a personal thing, and as I said it was one small little thing, I loved my RCI cruise otherwise. I was just surprised that RCI would have the same fewer than 10 items for lunch in the dining room every single day. What's the big deal that I feel this way? lol. Sorry to laugh.

 

I also was quite surprised that nothing food wise was open after 11 pm my last night on Rhapsody a couple of weeks ago. I'm thinking because of the wind they might have closed the spa grill down early, because other nights it had been open until 2 a.m. so I was dissapointed to go looking for food after the show and everything was closed down except the bars. Yes, I know I could call room service. Im just saying food was the one item that I found dissapointing compared to other cruise lines. It is my opinion.

 

Folks sure get defensive if someone says the least little bit critical that they think RCI could improve on.

 

I also thought RCI was the friendliest ship I had been on and had no other complaints other than I didnt care for lots of the food choices. Everyone has one or more things they like better on one ship over another. Its just an area I think RCI could improve on. I agree Carnival ships are ugly but their food was better to me. I hate that red fin sticking up on Carnival ships, it looks cheap and RCI has much prettier ships you are proud to sail on.

 

I think RCI ships were easier to get around and everything was very convenient to get to, more than other cruiselines. I love RCI, just think they could improve by changing the lunch menu in the dining room daily. No biggie, believe me I will be on RCI again.

[Cruise Passenger]

Can we please have a moment of silence for the poor poor Rc diehards having to travel Carnival? Puh-lease, Carnival is great - plain and simple. They have never disappointed me. My mom is even sold on them now after our Sept. Ecstasy cruise and she is an RC fanatic. I can't believe some people would choose to cruise less just to avoid Carnival......that is just crazy talk. :confused:

 

Couldn't agree more. I have been on Carnival and NCL and loved them both. They were different experiences but both were fantastic. Going to try RCL next month and figure I won't be disappointed with them either. To me, any cruise is a good cruise.As long as they don't run out of food and entertainment I'm o.k.

[tkportersat]

Thanks :) My prior responses were supposed to be sarcastic, but apparently ruffled some feathers......I am just happy to have the means to cruise and I like the variety. If NCL comes back to Houston, I would like to give them a try as well. After 7 cruises I am not as set on making the dining room for dinner anymore and might like the anytime set up. I will continue to switch it up, keeps things interesting! Happy sailing to you :)

 

 

Couldn't agree more. I have been on Carnival and NCL and loved them both. They were different experiences but both were fantastic. Going to try RCL next month and figure I won't be disappointed with them either. To me, any cruise is a good cruise.As long as they don't run out of food and entertainment I'm o.k.

[zantedeschia]

Rhapsody has 9 full-length decks. Five of those are passenger cabins, the remaining 4 are public areas, including the sun deck. Conquest has 7 1/3 decks devoted to cabins (1/3 of the pool deck was staterooms!) and 2 2/3 decks mapped out for public areas.

Boy I was having a blonde moment when I did this. My count was totally off.

 

Conquest has 3 full-length public decks: Lobby, Atlantic and Promenade.

 

She has 5 full-length cabin decks: Riviera, Main, Upper, Empress and Veranda.

 

She has one deck that's 1/3 cabins and 2/3 public area: Lido (the pool deck).

 

That makes 9 full length decks like Rhapsody. In addition the partial deck above the Lido has about 1/4 of the deck devoted to cabins.

 

So that's 3 2/3 public decks and 5 7/12 decks with staterooms.

 

For whoever said that it was an unfair comparison because Conquest is a larger ship, I was looking at the ratio. Yeah I know people use tonnage to do that but I can't visualize people per gross ton percentage very well. I'm still looking at Carnival deck plans. I was just a bit amazed at how many places Conquest managed to squeeze in passenger cabins.

[futaba951]

Boy I was having a blonde moment when I did this. My count was totally off.

 

Conquest has 3 full-length public decks: Lobby, Atlantic and Promenade.

 

She has 5 full-length cabin decks: Riviera, Main, Upper, Empress and Veranda.

 

She has one deck that's 1/3 cabins and 2/3 public area: Lido (the pool deck).

 

That makes 9 full length decks like Rhapsody. In addition the partial deck above the Lido has about 1/4 of the deck devoted to cabins.

 

So that's 3 2/3 public decks and 5 7/12 decks with staterooms.

 

For whoever said that it was an unfair comparison because Conquest is a larger ship, I was looking at the ratio. Yeah I know people use tonnage to do that but I can't visualize people per gross ton percentage very well. I'm still looking at Carnival deck plans. I was just a bit amazed at how many places Conquest managed to squeeze in passenger cabins.

 

Speaking of a gross ton; it only takes about 15 people to make one. :)

[Tatka]

Couldn't agree more. I have been on Carnival and NCL and loved them both. They were different experiences but both were fantastic. Going to try RCL next month and figure I won't be disappointed with them either. To me, any cruise is a good cruise.As long as they don't run out of food and entertainment I'm o.k.

 

That what we thought until we sailed on CCL Liberty. Well, I read these boards enough, but pretened I didn't believe anything I read. I was wrong.

 

Btw we loved RCCL (except for food, but I'd rather have worse food, than experiance we got on CCL ) and my DH & DS enjoyed NCL.

[Dave85]

I enjoyed the Conquest but I do prefer the Voyager class ships. There are areas on the Destiny and Conquest Class ships that get crowded at certain times of day.......... but its the same time that certain areas on Voyager Class ships get crowded: right before and right after each dinner seating, right when a show lets out, etc.

 

I look forward to sailing Carnival again some day. For now, can't wait the 3rd cruise of Liberty OTS!