Narrowed Down: Royal Carribean Rhapsody of the Seas or Carnival Magic?

Hello all!

First time cruiser... and poster! Figure I'd ask the experts as I'm having a hard time choosing. Planning a cruise for myself, my husband, and daughter (age 9) for February of next year. We plan on getting an interior room.

The itineraries I'm going back on forth on are:

A) Carnival Magic, 7 night, Eastern Caribbean

Ports: Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk

B) Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas, 7 night, Western Caribbean

Ports: George Town, Cozumel, Belize City, Puerto Costa Maya

Any suggestions on what may be better would be greatly appreciated!

I would prefer the ports on option A. Love San Juan and enjoy St. Thomas too. Since those are US ports, you may find your cell phone works there as on the mainland, but it's always best to confirm with your cell provider.

I would choose A .

I like the itinerary for a first time cruise .

The Carnival Magic would be my choice . Rhapsody is smaller and a bit dated .

I also prefer Carnival food over RCI but that is just my preference after many cruises on both lines.

Both cruise lines do well with first time cruisers .

Carnival Magic is a newer ship. Not that I really care about the age of a ship, but on Royal, the older ships have much smaller cabins, particularly inside cabins. Insides on Magic are listed as 170 sq. ft., while on Rhapsody they are 142 sf. That's a big difference in a tiny cabin. If you think you can tolerate a bit more movement, try to get a porthole cabin at the front of the ship. They areclassed as insides at 170 sf, but in reality are more like an OV cabin and a bit larger. EM

I generally prefer RCI over Carnival but in this case, I think Magic is the better choice. Not only is it a much newer ship, but the itinerary is also a lot better.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! We would pick option A for sure! Whichever way you go, I hope you have a great cruise!

Thank you, everyone, for the input! Definitely going with option A now :D

Another vote for Magic. In addition an itinerary I like more, Carnival inside cabins tend to be larger. See the CC links below, Magic interiors are about 185 sq. ft. while Rhapsody's are around 145 sq. ft.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/rhapsody-of-the-seas-deck-plans/dp/interior-stateroom-m/cc/

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=513&pgtype=cabins

For the ports I would recommend option A.

Keith