I FEEL LIKE A TRADER

[sea_u_onboard]

I hope this isn't posted twice - the site seems to be slow tonight - having problems.

Well - I did it. Today I canceled my scheduled July 31st cruise on the Celebration (5 day) for a May 30th cruise on RC's Rhapsody (7 day). I couldn't help myself - it was a great deal. Not only am I going to get an extra 2 days out of the deal but I get to go two months earlier and saved over $115.00. I couldn't beat that.

So - for those who have cruised on RC and Carnival what differences will I notice?

-- Cheryl

****Proud member of O.A.T.C.****
Check out my Homepage in my profile for Conquest info

10/99 Fantasy
12/01 Inspiration
03/02 Inspiration
03/03 Conquest

Trying RC - Rhapsody
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;5;30;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600
May 30, 2004

[Cotton]

What are you trading? http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Festivale 1987
Carnivale 1988
Mardi Gras 1989
Pacific Princess 1990
Norway 1994
Holiday 2001
Holiday 2002
Holiday 2003

[CruiseFever]

Stocks?

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

[germanbini]

Congratulations!

Sure, you may be "jumping ship," as it were, but don't worry about it, that was a great deal. You're not being a traitor to anyone here, and you'll probably be back to Carnival soon. Have a wonderful time and put that $115 to good use - more souveniers, gambling, and booze! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Sabrina

Sensational Cruise From the Bayou! (http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/groups.cfm?ID=35)
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Pictures of our Saint's and Sinner's Group (http://community.webshots.com/user/saintsandsinners)
Get 'Ta Know Me! (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=7073054527&m=6993012557)

Ecstasy 12/96 (2 days to
nowhere!)
Holiday 4/6/02 (11 day Western Caribbean)
Fantasy 10/27/02 (4 day Bahamas)
Fantasy 11/30/03 (4 day Bahamas)
Sensation 10/23/04 (5 day Western Caribbean) - deposited!

[mongo]

i saild the rhapsody end of feb, the mardi gras cruise. it is a nice ship, great staff, very friendly, and the best show troupe i have evver seen. compared to the pride, rhap is older and not so big, but there was also not a single child on board, makes for a real relaxing cruise. food wasnt as varried as on carnival, but still way better than i can get around here.

[BigDave]

Folks want to take sides, but all major cruise lines have good products.

Our two cruises so far have been 7 day cruises on Enchantment, and Rhapsody(sister ships).
My wife didn't want to try anything bigger or any other cruise line because they were so nice. (I want a comparison so we are trying others though http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif )

As long as the cruise they're selling isn't missing some ingredient you want you'll still have fun!

The Rhapsody is a great ship, enjoy!

BigDave

My first cruise: Enchantment, Eastern Caribbean - 10/13/2002
My second cruise: Rhapsody, Western Caribbean - 4/4/2004
My next cruise:
Valor, W. Carib. 2/6/2005 http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=22AA22&cdt=2005;2;6;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Radiance, E. Carib 2/13/2005 http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=229922&cdt=2005;2;13;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[jhale]

Even though the Celebration is our favorite ship, we had a blast on our Rhapsody cruise! Of course, I've never been on a cruise that I didn't like. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

jch
Fantasy 1995
Ecstacy 1996
Sea Princess 1999
Celebration 2000
Celebration 2002
Conquest 2003
Honeymoon on the Rhapsody of the Seas 2003
Ecstacy 2004
Until the Ecstacy
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=2325FF&cdt=2004;10;28;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600
Until the Wedding
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our "kids"
http://community.webshots.com/album/32677727SvUkJN

[gogetter]

Hello,

The differences i have seen are..........

In general...the cabins on Carnival are bigger.

The Food and service are better, or at least what i experienced on RCCL.

I had more fun on Carnival.

[Triguy]

Traded his Carnival CC board membership. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[momofmeg]

I like RCCL fine and I myself go for the best deal so I don't blame you one bit. My only gripe about RCCL is they love to make fun of Carnival and I am referring to the staff; especially the cruise director. I don't understand it either. If you have a quality product why do you run down your competition?

Besides that they are a good line and really from my 2 cruises I could see very little difference from Carnival. Carnival just has maybe a few more singles in their 20's age group maybe-at least in the past. My last 2 cruises Inspiration and Miracle though seemed to be less singles and pretty much the families, middleaged and older group of people you see on RCCL.

Carnival Tropicale 10/15/98
Sovereign of the Seas 11/22/99
Carnival Fascination 09/23/00
HAL Statendam 05/20/01
Sovereign of the Seas 11/08/01
Pacific Princess 09/29/02
Carnival Inspiration 12/14/03
Carnival Miracle 04/09/04

[halos]

You are certainly not a traitor. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
We are all cruise junkies here and we know what it's like to need a fix. If you can get a RCC cheaper, then we applaud you! You're only a traitor if you come back and trash CCL... http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

I believe in Miracles
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;6;19;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
MIRACLE JUNE 19, 2004
Calm Seas, Good Friends

[sea_u_onboard]

I do understand the difference in the spelling. Maybe I should have made the title I FEEL LIKE A "TRADER" as it was intended to be a PUN since I "TRADED" ships.

-- Cheryl

****Proud member of O.A.T.C.****
Check out my Homepage in my profile for Conquest info

10/99 Fantasy
12/01 Inspiration
03/02 Inspiration
03/03 Conquest

Trying RC - Rhapsody
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;5;30;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600
May 30, 2004

[tef43]

Good save, Cheryl. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

Tom <--- Curmudgeon of the Seas
http://members.aol.com/guitarzen/detroit100.gif
Eleven cruises so far. Up next:
Shhhh, it's a surprise!
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=e9967a&cdt=2004;10;9;7;10;00&timezone=GMT-0500
And then:
Carnival Spirit 12/10/05 Mexican Riviera
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2005;12;10;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800
Dance like it hurts, love like you need money, and work when somebody's watching.

[Cotton]

All in good fun, Cheryl. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Festivale 1987
Carnivale 1988
Mardi Gras 1989
Pacific Princess 1990
Norway 1994
Holiday 2001
Holiday 2002
Holiday 2003

[voyagerfl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I FEEL LIKE A "TRADER" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hmmmm, Bad Spelling......Ooorrrr, Bad Joke...LoL
http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[GroupCruiser]

I get it now.

[cantwait2cruise]

Sounds like a deal to me...a longer cruise and sooner...maybe you can do a Carnival four day in the fall!

HM on Inspiration 3/9/03
Sovereign of the Seas 8/17/03 (Just Mom and I)
Imagination 6/17/04 (w/ the Inlaws!)

[DreadPirateRobert]

I'd second the two main differences as being smaller cabins and food quality. Only sailed RCCL once and it was a business thing. At the time I thought CCL ships were cleaner and better maintained but have since been on some that weren't.
Frankly, most of the cruise is what you make of it.
Have Fun and tell us all about it.

Windjammer Fantome May 1988 ?
Elation Sept 2001
Voyager of the Seas May 2002
Celebration July 2002
Jubilee Sept 2002
Destiny June 2003
Jubilee Sept 2003

[FlorenceItaly]

Cheryl - I SO wanted to go on the May 30th Rhapsody sailing. I am assuming you got the Happy Hour Special. What a deal!!!!!!! My dh wouldn't go for it. He thought I should be happy with the 5 I have booked already, LOL. I kept telling him that none of those 5 were just with he and I, LOL. Enjoy.

Marie

HAL - MAASDAM - June 2004/Canada/New England
RCI - Mariner of the Seas,
Sept 2004(CC Group Cruise)

Carnival Miracle -February 2005
RCI Majesty of the Seas - Spring Break, March 2005
Celebrity Mercury, April 2005

[crisp1]

Cheryl, Sounds to me like you 'traded up' http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif. Have a great cruise, you've earned it http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif



To Sea, or not, to See.
Starward 81, Volendam 83, Oceanic 87, Majestic 93, Victory 2/10/02, Imagination 5/23/02, 1/30/03, Conquest 12/28/03, Destiny 04/11/04

Conquest New Years Cruise
http://community.webshots.com/user/crisp1028

[myshipcamein]

The difference between Carnival and Royal Carribean is PARTY. Been on the Navigator and the Victory and find the Carnival cruises are more party boats. RC is a little stuffy. Entertainment is not as good. We found ourselves in the middle of the day thinking "these nothing to do"...

Miracle 6/12

[atonal1]

Another difference is how each line treats repeat customers. RCCL has a much better program. The Crown & Anchor loyalty program is better than ANYTHING Carnival offers.

Inspiration 6/96, 12/01
Carnival Destiny 7/97, 11/00
Rhapsody of the Seas 11/98
Norwegian Sea 7/00
Norwegian Star 6/02
Paradise 11/02
Sovereign of the Seas 8/03
Serenade of the Seas 12/03

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;8;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500&nbsp;until Carnival Triumph 8/04

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;11;21;22;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500&nbsp;until Adventure of the Seas 11/04

[jmurph]

"A penny saved is a penny earned".
The cruise is what you make of it. I too was on the Rhapsody for the Mardi Gras cruise. We didn't dock in New Orleans because of an accident on the river. We had a blast regardless.

There are so many variables in what the differences are, they are hard to list.

Personally, I'll take a mini suite(or larger) over an inside cabin any day on any ship....BUT price is a HUGE factor for us.(just an example)
I really don't think you'll notice that much of a difference. Sure they do some things differently, and some of them you will like and some you will not.

Sometimes it seems that people that cruise some cruise lines think that they are better than others. Try not to compare when you are on the ship. It's like going to a new job and saying, "we did it this way at my old job". Just go, enjoy yourself and have a good time. All ships have their good points and bad points.

Jean

Ocean Beeze 10/01
NCL Sun 02/02
RCCL Majesty of the Seas 07/02
Sea Princess 02/03
NCL Sea 03/03
RCCL Serenade of the Seas Transatlantic 08/03
Carnival Victory 11/03
RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas....MARDI GRAS!!!!!!02/04
Carnival Destiny 06/13/04
RCCL Jewel of the Seas Transatlantic 09/04
Sapphire Princess Orient/Asia 03/05

[basher83]

I don't think you're a trader. Everybody has an opinion-- I've heard of many people liking Carnival better and others liking RCCL better. My husband and I (early 20's) happen to be hooked with RCCL. We went on them for our honeymoon and had the best time of our life. We're leaving May 10th on an 11 night Caribbean- on Grandeur of the Seas which we paid $849 per person-- 11 nights- we thought that was an awesome deal. Supposedly RCCL is a step above Carnival- but I don't know it what ways. I've heard food and service is better on RCCL but Carnival tends to have better shows. All in all I think carnival is more of a party ship. We're not into the huge party thing- more relax and enjoy the peace and quiet type of people. So anyhow- let us know what you think!

[sea_u_onboard]

Jmurph - I know what you mean when you say "we did it this way at my old job". We had a new employee that it took us over a year to get him to stop saying that. Drove us crazy


I plan to go with a clean slate. I'm sure I'll do some comparisons - but I'm not going to obsess over it. I love Carnival for certain reasons and I'm sure I'll love RCCL for certain reasons - they are both cruiselines after all.

It's funny how some think that the food is better on Carnival while other say it's RCCL - same with the shows. I think it's whatever is more important to you. Personally I don't care if I have to eat sandwiches from room service (which I hear are great) - just so long as I'm on the ship - I don't care. I figure it's better than going to work and cleaning the house.

-- Cheryl

****Proud member of O.A.T.C.****
Check out my Homepage in my profile for Conquest info

10/99 Fantasy
12/01 Inspiration
03/02 Inspiration
03/03 Conquest

Trying RC - Rhapsody
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;5;30;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600
May 30, 2004

[want2seaitall]

Hey I've done both cruiselines...and they both have their pluses and minuses...I'm thinking of booking with Carnival for the fall...today actually...because the great deals they have right now. Carnival - entertainment, kids programs, prices, and schedules are tops. RCCL - they have IMHO...don't flame me, better food and decor (my taste of course). For the right price I'd go with either. I guess you could call me a fence hopper and a smart shopper!!!

Happy cruising everyone!!!

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004
Carnival Inspiration - June 2003
RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

[want2seaitall]

Oh yeah...the pizza on Carnival is much better...hands down!!!

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004
Carnival Inspiration - June 2003
RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002