I am probably the only one...

[J9sling]

I can understand the OP's opinion on the things they mentioned. I think those are definitely areas that RCI could improve upon: better food quality in Windjammer, better pizza, better ice cream, more drink stations and photo kiosks that actually work! The one thing that I forgot about that was annoying were the RCI-TV movies in every language but English...I didn't get that!

 

Fortunately there are so many things on the Mariner that we thought they did VERY well that the other things became minor to us. However, a nice letter to RCI about those few things that they could change would be a good idea. They seem to be pretty common complaints about RCI (on the CC boards) that, I think, could be easily rectified.

[schnell]

Sorry you were disappointed but would like to point out that coffee, tea, and lemonade are available 24/7 right outside the Windjammer when the WJ is closed.

 

Not sure if you are talking about the Mariner, but those stations were not there. We asked a bunch of employees and everytime we were referred back to the windjammer itself, not right outside it. Besides it looked as if there was not any room outside the windjammer for a drink spot? Only temp like things were watch sales tables, inch of gold, that kind of stuff.

[cot427]

My mom did the same thing to Carnival. She is loyal to RCI, and tried Carnival a couple of yeara back. She kept comparing Carnival to RCI and never went back. I guess when you used to something you like, then you shouldn't change. I'm afraid I will do the same thing to Carnival if i try them.

[jerick]

We've cruised twice with Carnival and twice with RCI (including once on the Mariner), and loved every cruise. Every cruise has had features we liked better than any of the other cruises, and we don't sweat the items that aren't quite as good as the previous cruises.

 

There is so much to experience on every cruise that I can't imagine letting a few minor inconveniences have a noticeable effect. We're booked on two cruises over the next year - one on Carnival and one on RCI.

 

Jeff

[nrdsb4]

I agree with those who feel that Carnival and RCI are quite similar in many ways. I found the food on both cruiselines to be very mediocre, but I certainly was able to find enough suitable food to eat.

 

To the OP, the only comment I must make vs. your review is that Norovirus is not limited to Royal Caribbean. Many Carnival cruisers have written about their unfortunate experiences with noro on Carnival ships. It's a problem that is very common on land, but we certainly feel the sting worse when it happens during our much anticipated vacations. I hope you are feeling better now, though, and thanks for your review.

[schnell]

I agree with those who feel that Carnival and RCI are quite similar in many ways. I found the food on both cruiselines to be very mediocre, but I certainly was able to find enough suitable food to eat.

 

To the OP, the only comment I must make vs. your review is that Norovirus is not limited to Royal Caribbean. Many Carnival cruisers have written about their unfortunate experiences with noro on Carnival ships. It's a problem that is very common on land, but we certainly feel the sting worse when it happens during our much anticipated vacations. I hope you are feeling better now, though, and thanks for your review.

 

I know the noro is not limited to just RCI ships, thats nuts to even think that! I never said it was limited to RCI. I even think I said that I cannot blame that on the cruise line. It was a passenger that brought it on, not the cruise ship doing anything wrong, whatever cruise line it maybe. It was just the fact that after 5 days of all these little things I then come down with noro or whatever it was. It was done and gone within 36 hours. Thank goodness since it would have been a long ride home with all the stops I would have had to make ;)

[dc-snoopy]

I am particularly amused by the OP's perspective since it is an inverse of my own. We sailed RCI twice and loved both trips. Both were almost magical and we had lovely vacations. This year, we were celebrating my parents 50th anniversary and my sister wanted to go on the Southern Caribbean tour and specifically St Lucia. She convinced my brother's GF and the two of them decided that was where we were going. The Destiny was the only ship that went there the week of my parents 50th, so off we went, decision made for us. I decided not to start a family squabble and figured, it would be good to sail CCL and compare.

 

While we did have a lovely cruise, it was based on the fantastic itinerary (we loved all 5 ports) and having our family together to share this special celebration together. Feel free to check out my review (link in my sig). However, that was in spite of Carnival. We found so many problems from ship layout/design, horrible customer service, problems with the Internet cafe (it was a part of the Onyx lounge and hence was frequently smoke-filled since the bar staff used the end of the bar next to the Internet cafe for their smoking station; and frequently loud as there was live jazz playing about 30 feet from the cafe), horrible logjams in the poorly designed Lido Buffet and on and on.

 

From our perspective, CCL wasn't so far behind RCI that we came off the ship thinking "Never again!" However, thanks to the boards, I have found out that the Carnival Destiny has a "reputation" and is regarded by many as significantly below par for CCL. Knowing that, if the circumstances were right, (mainly if I was participating in another group vacation and the itinerary were good) then I would sail CCL again. But for the meantime, I think we'll happily go back to RCI.

 

As everyone says, the great thing about the competitive market is that there is a niche and in this case cruise line for everyone. Hopefully we'll each enjoy out next cruise a little more going back to what we're used to.

[schnell]

I agree with you on the Destiny. We did not have a very good experience, but at the time that was my girlfriends (now wife) family's decision for a cruise. I did not have much of a say-so in that decision. When we went a couple years ago we went by ourselves on the Glory and that ship is above and beyond the Destiny.

 

I think next time we cruise we are going to try Princess. Being as it is owned by CCL and a bit toned down, so to speak, I think it might be a good fit. Thats a year away though so no rush to book a cruise right now.

[hunter2004]

Sorry for your bad experience on The Mariner. We love this ship. We sail with many RC ship so far Mariner was the best one for us. We were sad to discovered that they are going to relocate her. Give Mariner another try might find some you like ..good luck

[bubbie617]

I am a little hesitant to try Celebrity, where my only point of reference has been RCCL.

 

I understand how you feel about trying Celebrity after many RCCL cruises. We are D+ but decided to try Infinity a couple of years ago because we loved the itinerary. We, too, were constantly making comparisons between cruise lines. Ultimately, we decided that each had its strengths and weaknesses - but both were great. No mass market cruise line is going to have everything. You have to pay big big bucks and go on Crystal or Seabourne or the like for that. Meanwhile, we generally stick to RCCL or Celebrity. Some cruises have been better than others, but none have been bad.

 

Go on your Celebrity cruise with an open mind. Enjoy the extras and pay no attention to the things you miss from RCCL. You'll still have a wonderful vacation.

 

Happy sailing.

[Toddcan]

I have to admit, I really enjoyed our family's carnival cruise. It was a short 4 night bahamas on the old, tired Sensation. But, it was great. Some of the small things that made it great: Ice cream machines = flawless. Slide in the pool = kids loved it!

 

Now, I am going on RCI Mariner for the first time next march with the family again. I've already told the kids the icecream and slides don't exist, they frowned. But, Carnival didn't have the rock climbing wall or an ice rink! six of one, half a dozen of the other, is my hope.

 

I do admit, I've been lowering my expecations of the Mariner over the past few weeks. At first when I booked the Mariner cruise, I heard this is the best ship afloat.. etc etc etc.. So I built up the expectations. I'm currently in the process of EA (Expectation Adjustment).

[crystalblue0610]

This is why I'm trying my best not to read TOO MUCH on the Mariner. We're looking at it next and so far from what I'

ve read it sounds like crusie "heaven" but that's or some people.

 

I read the CCL boards for over a month and had really high expectations for the Conquest and they got met barely halfway.

 

The ice cream thing does puzzle me. I guess they were more concerned with putting activites onboard: rock climbing, ice rink, a mini mall, etc rather than food things:confused:

 

BUT I do have to say that this board is unbelievablely kind:eek: I;ve read some of the "I didn't like the Carnival ____" and the OP gets eaten alive. Everyone here actually says thankyou for your review, wow what a difference

[PhoenixCruiser]

I think next time we cruise we are going to try Princess. Being as it is owned by CCL and a bit toned down, so to speak, I think it might be a good fit. Thats a year away though so no rush to book a cruise right now.

 

If RCI ever ticked us off enough to try another cruise line our first choice would be Princess. Have fun planning (don't wait too long if you want to cruise next year) and please come back here and give us an update. :D

 

###

[Travelitis]

Good points on your review. RCI could learn from Carnival in some things, although adding Vegas reviews is not on my list. The thong and feather parade was a strike against Carnival for us.

 

BUT I do have to say that this board is unbelievablely kind:eek: I;ve read some of the "I didn't like the Carnival ____" and the OP gets eaten alive. Everyone here actually says thankyou for your review, wow what a difference

 

This THREAD is very polite and kind, but when I was comparing Carnival, RCI, and Princess, the Princess and Carnival crowds were very nice, but some of the poster on RCI came across so condescending against the other lines without constructive criticism. It made me a little biased against RCI, actually, so I went to the roll call, and those folks were like all of you on this thread -- very nice.

 

Carnival's 24 hr. pizza and ice cream along with the selection of complimentary drinks is a real plus. You mentioning that is making me 2nd guess my Liberty of the Seas choice for our family 1/09. Those things really make a difference when traveling with our kids, because they don't drink tea, Coke, Sprite, or Dt. Coke. I have to pack some drinks to give them an alternative to water and milk. Maybe the flowrider is worth it, though.:cool:

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Funny how here on the RCL threads, people seem to accept a negative post "more" then on other boards. Had this been a Princess topic, I am sure we would be hearing 2,4,6,8....who do we appreciate. The OP would have been flamed, stomped, thrown under the bus...until the thread was deleted.

 

Interested to see if this thread will continue as it has started.

 

Have you been to the NCL board lately? :eek: It's like a members only club over there.

 

Anywho.

 

To the OP thanks for the review. It didnt seem to be all bad for you. Sorry you didnt like it.

 

Personally I dont like to limit myself to one line. I like to see what others have to offer first hand.

 

RCI will once again be in my future plans, though I am not sure when yet.

 

I think there is room for improvement, even on Carnival.

[firefly333]

Strange I had about the same reaction to RCI. I thought maybe it was because cheerleaders here had my expectations so high that it just couldnt possibly live up to what I expected.

 

I still like Princess the best so far, but think RCI has the very best perks for repeat cruisers of any cruiseline, so I have not given up on RCI, but lowered my expectations somewhat.

 

thanks for your review. I agree Carnival has the most comfortable beds and the best pizza of any cruiseline and food more available at odd hours than RCI, that was part of what puzzled me to, hard to get food late at night on RCI. I thought it maybe was the storm the last night especially.

[firefly333]

Sorry you were disappointed but would like to point out that coffee, tea, and lemonade are available 24/7 right outside the Windjammer when the WJ is closed.

 

I was on the Rhapsody, my first RCI cruise, so I admit to being a RCI newbie. We were sitting outside the Windjammer about 6:30 a.m. and it doesnt open until 7 a.m. and there was nothing cold to drink we could find. My sister doesnt do coffee or tea, she is a juice person, but even cold tea would have done the trick. Nothing but coffee until 7 a.m. I could find?

 

I kept feeling that I was missing something, so maybe there was food and drink in places I didnt know to look.

[dachshunddoglover]

The OP made some very valid points and I appreciate his perspective. I agree with the ice cream situation and he did not mention that the one and only self serve machine on the pool deck did not even open until 12 noon each day. My kids were wanting Ice Cream before noon. I'm with him on the popcorn thing too. We love popcorn!

 

But overall - we love RCI and will continue to sail with them.

 

I hope the OP does not give up on cruising, just stick with a line that you feel comfortable with and you will have a great time.

 

E-Beth

[mollyeilis]

Funny how here on the RCL threads, people seem to accept a negative post "more" then on other boards. Had this been a Princess topic, I am sure we would be hearing 2,4,6,8....who do we appreciate. The OP would have been flamed, stomped, thrown under the bus...until the thread was deleted.

 

Interested to see if this thread will continue as it has started.

 

What's funny is that I've seen so many opposite posts than what you wrote. :)

 

I think the biggest difference with this OP's post is that he was fair and balanced, and didn't seem to have wild expectations of appropriate service. I think that's what has made the difference in the responses.

 

 

So CCL is Carnival? Why did I always think it was Celebrity? :o

[PhoenixCruiser]

What's funny is that I've seen so many opposite posts than what you wrote. :)

 

I think the biggest difference with this OP's post is that he was fair and balanced, and didn't seem to have wild expectations of appropriate service. I think that's what has made the difference in the responses.

 

 

So CCL is Carnival? Why did I always think it was Celebrity? :o

 

Molly, Celebrity is usually referred to as "X" :)

 

###

[sgttami]

Everyone is different.

 

I've never sailed Carnival so can't compare but did "stray" last year and sailed NCL...I thought it was horrendous (almost) and others raved how great it was.

 

I've never looked for or eaten ice cream/yogurt on a cruise and I don't drink lemonade or look for the beverage stations throughout the day. I might eat popcorn once a year so would never look for it on a ship. Honestly, I would never even think of these things!! Now if they ran out of or didn't have something I liked, I'd probably rant!!

 

If I want to see Vegas style shows, I go to Vegas. I think that the ships do an excellent job of offering a variety for everyone. While I normally wouldn't go to see an ice show, I think the ones that are performed on the Voyager class ships are phenomenal for a performance at sea. Some of the comedians were great, some were really lame.

 

Food is always hit or miss on a cruise. I've had great and not so great.

 

I'm open to new choices...!!

[mickeyny31]

Got back from the Mariner Eastern a couple days ago and my wife and I have decided that we really don't like RCI. I know, people will think we are nuts. We have been on two CCL ships (Glory and Destiny) and we have wanted to try RCI for the longest time. So we did and were constantly comparing everything to CCL since thats what we are familar with. First, why is it so hard to get a glass of lemonade or tea anywhere else than the windjammer? The bars don't have it and when the windjammer is closed for a couple hours for cleaning you can't get it. On CCL there are beverage stations scattered throughout the ships, why doesn't RCI do that? There was only one ice cream machine on the entire ship and the line was like 30 people deep everytime we went by it. When were the Vegas like shows that we saw on CCL? Went to three shows and did not see a one Vegas type show. The dining room food, ehh it was average we thought. Not great, but not bad. The service was top notch though! Our wait staff made dinners great! All the service was great throughout the ship to be honest. I think we ate breakfast twice in the windjammer. On the first morning most of the food was luke warm. The tongs & plates were warmer than the food! We thought it was a fluke that day so we tried again and sure enough the same thing. After that we ordered room service each morning. That was much better and actually hot when we got it. We never felt like going to the dining room breakfast so cannot comment on that. Although people in our party did use that option and were very complitmentary of it. RCI has to get a better recipe for pizza! Tombstones are better than that stuff they served. No where on ship can you get a bag of popcorn. We have had this on CCL cruises, whats up with that? Why does RCI only offer the "top movie" in 5 different languages and NOT English! I understand many different nationalities are represented on board, but come one at least offer the movie in English! Then the kiosks in the photo dept. Those things were useless. Either they would lock up or if you were lucky enough to get to your pictures they were there one day and the next day they were gone! Or you had some stranger's pictures on your seapass card! That kiosk thing was a joke and the photo staff had a different answer everytime you questioned them about an issue.

 

On top of all this I ended up getting a stomach virus on the second to last sea day. So I spent 36 hours in the bathroom. Not sure if it was noro or what, but I am pretty confident it had nothing to do with food. Other people in my party had the same dinner item I had and they were fine. I cannot blame RCI for my illness, but it was kind of like icing on the cake for us.

 

We had read and heard so many good things about Mariner and we were flat out dissapointed. Even a platinum C&A member in our party was surprised at some of the things that happened. They had been on the Mariner before and won't go again.

 

I know I am going to get comments, but this was our experience. We went with a large party and basically expected the same level or better than CCL offers and did not receive it :(

I agree totally. I travel RCCl for the kids. As far as I'm concerned, Carnival is a much better cruise line. I agree with all that you said and am with you 100%

[Merion_Mom]

Strange I had about the same reaction to RCI. I thought maybe it was because cheerleaders here had my expectations so high that it just couldnt possibly live up to what I expected.

 

I still like Princess the best so far, but think RCI has the very best perks for repeat cruisers of any cruiseline, so I have not given up on RCI, but lowered my expectations somewhat.

 

thanks for your review. I agree Carnival has the most comfortable beds and the best pizza of any cruiseline and food more available at odd hours than RCI, that was part of what puzzled me to, hard to get food late at night on RCI. I thought it maybe was the storm the last night especially.

 

firefly, I have never had difficulty getting food from room service late at night, and it's a pretty extensive menu. They DO shut down room service around midnight or so the last night of the cruise, but that is announced and printed in the Cruise Compass. (I assume that you are not talking about a Voyager or Freedom class ship, since the Café Promenade is open until the wee hours, and only closes for cleaning.)

 

 

I was on the Rhapsody, my first RCI cruise, so I admit to being a RCI newbie. We were sitting outside the Windjammer about 6:30 a.m. and it doesnt open until 7 a.m. and there was nothing cold to drink we could find. My sister doesnt do coffee or tea, she is a juice person, but even cold tea would have done the trick. Nothing but coffee until 7 a.m. I could find?

6:30 A.M. ?!?!?!?!? <shudder:eek: >

[Seacruizlover]

I have only cruised on CCL twice and DCL once. I never even thought to compare DCL with CCL. I knew the two cruise lines were different and I actually expected them to be different. I had a great time on both the cruise lines. Now I am trying RCL for the first time on the AOS in only 11 days and I am looking forward to all the new things I will experience. Variety is the spice of life and things would get quite boring if everything was the same.

 

I do however wonder about people (or perhaps I am just jealous) that complain about ice cream not being available 24 /7. How does one eat all that ice cream and still have room for dinner or not gain 50 lbs? Cause if there is something you guys know about this and I don't then please let me in on the secret! LOL :D I have heard though that RCL has free coconut cookies and I am really hoping that the availability of them is very limited. There is only so much temptation I can handle!

[truffles2]

The Coconut (Ranger) cookies are verrrrrrry tasty!