Was this an "off" cruise for RC?

[NorthTXRanchers]

In June of last year, we took our first Royal Caribbean cruise (a shorter four day cruise on Grandeur of the Seas) after many Carnival cruises (all seven days or longer). We are an easy-going, happy family that really enjoys our cruises, and we make a huge effort to engage the staff everywhere on the ship and have had nothing but wonderful experiences. That said, our RC cruise was very different and quite honestly, pretty disappointing.

 

We had always heard that Carnival was the "working class" cruise line but have always had "first class" service, accommodations and food. On RC, we didn't have such great luck (and the things that were lacking seemed (??) to be related to cutting costs and/or a less than wonderful atmosphere for the staff that showed in their dealings with us passengers). A couple of RC fans at our dining table, who also said this cruise was very disappointing and way different than previous RC cruises, suggested that we probably experienced the new "pared down" standard that they thought might be in place at every cruise line due to the economy, etc.

 

I'd love your feedback -- before we book another cruise with either RC or Carnival, we'd love to know if our RC experience was an "off" one or something that other RC folks have noticed.

 

The things that disappointed us, when compared to our previous Carnival experiences, are listed below. Some of these things are so small that they're not important to our decision making process, but are included here just so I get a feel for whether our experience on RC was not what we should expect next time out.

 

Here's our (nitpicky) list:

 

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). Also unsanitary as we watched staff grab slices of fruit (not by the rind, unfortunately but on the cut flesh) with their bare hands and more unsanitary practices that I won't share here. The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and a huge, wonderful selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc. (so much so, that we sometimes lose weight on our cruises since there are so many wonderful fresh things to eat!). Is RC's buffet usually better than what we experienced?

 

2) towel animals for only one night (my teenage girls still LOVE these things and took pictures of them every day on Carnival).

 

3) no Andes' (or any) mint on the bed at night

 

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

 

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day. The rest of the time EVERY machine on the ship (yes, we found them all) was turned off and covered up with a fitted cover. Only twice on our four day cruise did we find RC folks serving up TINY portions (about a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cones. After about 60 minutes, they closed it up for the rest of the day and night. We asked about this and they told us that it was opening up for only short periods and that we might "catch" them if we check that area often. This seemed really weird to us ...

 

6) no 24 hour pizza but only really poor quality frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza (still on the cardboard piece that it was frozen on) that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. So limited that even though we're the "never in our cabins" kind of family, we only caught the pizza place open once in four days and our pizza loving teenagers were constantly checking! Near the pizza they served store bought cookies in two big plastic bowls while they pizza thing was open, but after about ten minutes, they came and grabbed a bowl and took them to the back. We thought they were refilling the half full bowls, but nope. Our can eat anything and never gain a pound teenagers feared that it was their last chance to get cookies, so they grabbed several to take back to the cabin. Sure enough the RC guy came back to pick up the other bowl promptly and pulled up the table for the night. All the folks in the pizza line (probably 20 people) were looking for the cookies when they got their pizzas and were pretty hacked off that they had closed down the cookie bowls before most folks got their pizza. We only got some because we were at the front of the pizza line. It was totally weird how they had them out for only minutes and then removed them for the night when people were still standing in line to get food at the only place you could get it at that time of the evening (immediately following the late show). Our kids missed the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.) all served on fresh dough, and are wondering if the pizza bar at RC on our ship was normal for the line.

 

7) no slide into the pool

 

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... and the servers, while nice, were not at all engaged or spirited. They did get better on the last day (when they were ready to get their tips?).

 

We want to book another cruise and right now, nobody in our family wants to do a RC cruise "ever again" but I've heard so many good things about RC, I thought it was worthwhile to find out of this is the RC standard or if we just had an "off" cruise.

 

Thanks a ton for your feedback!! I sincerely appreciate it. Our favorite things about the cruises are the wonderful staff and service and the healthy, fresh food. So we're anxiously awaiting informed updates from you.

 

Thank you.

[jagsfan]

This is really disappointing to read. We haven't sailed RCCL in about 3 years, and loved it

then. I haven't done a short cruise on them, though, just 7 days or longer. My son just

returned from a 3 day Monarch and also felt things had gone downhill, since their last

cruise a year ago. I'm hoping this is a one off thing. We're sailing Oct 16 on Freedom, and

we're expecting good things. Carnival has come way up in the world over the past few

years, and I certainly agree about their pizza....I learned to love goat cheese on Carnival.

If RCCL is lowering their standards, they will find out that it will hit them in the pocketbook

at some point, as there are other choices. I hope you give them another chance, as the

short cruises on all the lines tend not to be as good as the 7day or more.

[alexkrn46]

I would suggest you stay with Carnival since you didn't enjoy your experience on RCCL. I have never experienced any issues in the Windjammer, so I can't address your issue there.

 

The towel animals and mints have been discussed over and over here.

 

There are no slides for adults on RCCL, but there are skating rinks, flow riders, rock walls, zip lines. There are more 24 hours venues on the larger ships. The entertainment includes 3d movies, water shows, and Broadway Shows

 

That being said, to me it sounds like Carnival is better fit for you.

[cruisinp]

RCCL is my favorite cruiseline. I like Carnival but, my first choice cruiseline is RCCL hands down. I have been on 13 cruises with them and have 2 more booked. My thoughts are that a 4-night cruise is usually not as good as a 7-night cruise. This is only my opinion, and I have been on 4 4-night cruises. Please - no flaming.

 

-- Windjammer is not my favorite place to eat. That said, I have enjoyed some "not so bad" meals there. I prefer a sit-down type meal rather than buffet.

 

-- I have been on ships where there is a towel animal every night but that has not been the norm from my experience.

 

-- Chocolates on the pillow are a thing of the past with RCCL. Although I don't eat them every night I do miss them.

 

-- No chocolate buffet.

 

-- Depending on the ship, pizza is usally available for most of the day/night. On some ships I believe it is either 24 hours or way into the night. I rarely stay up late so I don't know for sure.

 

-- No sliding board on RCCL but they do have the flow rider on some of the ships AND the rock climbing wall AND ice skating rink.

 

I do believe that most of us have a cruiseline that we like better than others and that we should cruise on the line that fits our vacation likes. That being said, RCCL just might no be your cuppa tea! Oh wait, that's Princess!

[EV2008]

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). Also unsanitary as we watched staff grab slices of fruit (not by the rind, unfortunately but on the cut flesh) with their bare hands and more unsanitary practices that I won't share here. The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and a huge, wonderful selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc. (so much so, that we sometimes lose weight on our cruises since there are so many wonderful fresh things to eat!). Is RC's buffet usually better than what we experienced?

 

2) towel animals for only one night (my teenage girls still LOVE these things and took pictures of them every day on Carnival).

 

3) no Andes' (or any) mint on the bed at night

 

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

 

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day. The rest of the time EVERY machine on the ship (yes, we found them all) was turned off and covered up with a fitted cover. Only twice on our four day cruise did we find RC folks serving up TINY portions (about a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cones. After about 60 minutes, they closed it up for the rest of the day and night. We asked about this and they told us that it was opening up for only short periods and that we might "catch" them if we check that area often. This seemed really weird to us ...

1.- I can't belive that they were not handling the food properly, all I have experienced from the crew is the upmost cleanliness, maybe the other passengers.

2 towel animals really. I would rather have a clean room then the towel animal that will be in the way anyway.:o

3 I was just on the Oasis and we had chocolates every night

5 the soft serve ice cream was open all day and who knows for how late at night

I don't want a water slide, who needs it when you have an ice rink, rock wall, flowrider and a great put put golf.

[Rockfordcruiser]

Stay with CCL... Thanks for posting this a year later as well!

[dappledumpling]

I have taken many cruises in the past. I have had only one that I felt was sub par, that cruise was the granduer. I would have never sailed RCCL again except I had another booked for 2 months later. A cruise on the navigator and I remembered all I loved with RCCL.(have 3 booked now for the next 6 months)

 

Have had six cruises with carnival and enjoyed them but felt RCCL better matched my cruise style. If ya like carnival stay with them but if your ready for a change give RCCL another try on one of thier other ship classes (the radiance class is my Favorite)

 

Happy cruising

Rick

[klingoncruiser]

Looks like you need to go back to Carnival in that most of the things you said are either long gone and not really missed, or never were.

 

That is O.K. it is always good to try other cruise lines. I would at some point try a much larger RCL ship as that ship is really not a match to the things on the larger ships.

 

Also, most 4 day cruise tend to be a bit odd anyway on most lines. I like them, but they just don't seem to match up with those 7 day ones.

[cccer]

We have been on 7 Carnival cruises and just returned from our 2nd RCL cruise on the Serenade. Before the Serenade cruise, I did not see much difference between the two lines. There are some things here and there, but not enough for me to pick one over the other. The Carnival cruises were mostly based on cost.

But after the Serenade, I love Royal. What a great ship.

 

The Windjammer food was very good for a buffet.

Towel animal every night.

No chocolate.

Ice cream/yogurt was available when the Windjammer was open.

Staff (including dining room) was probably the best I have ever cruised with.

 

I will still base my cruises on cost and itinerary, but I am seriously looking into following the Serenade to Europe next year.

[Retired LEO]

Everyone's expectations are different. It seems that Carnival is the better fit for you and your family. As for me I'll never set foot on another Carnival ship. That's the beauty of cruising. There's something out there for everyone.

[rolloman]

The difference between one of the older ships (Grandeur) and the new RCCL ships is like night and day. That being said I would take any older ship RCCL over any new Carnival any day of the week.

[Brad1185]

I think you experienced the new RCI norm. with their cutbacks there is no more quality anything unless your paying extra for it.

 

RCI's food on the buffet, mdr and the pizza is not fit for human consumption.

 

I don't think Carnival's buffet is much better, but their mdr is.

[negrilbride]

Hi! I don't have a lot of cruising experience, but I thought I would suggest that if you cruise RC again, you try a 7 night on either Oasis of the Seas or Allure of the seas.

 

1) There were Soooooo many varied and good dining options that we ate at the windjammer exactly once, for breakfast one morning. You could easily enjoy only no-charge dining options, and never miss the windjammer. The meal we did have there was average breakfast buffet food though.

 

2) There were towel animals every night on our bed.

 

3) There were chocolates on our pillows every night (fairly good ones at that!)

 

4) There is not a chocolate midnight buffet, but there is a chocolate breakfast in the MDR the final sea day!

 

5) Soft serve ice cream machines in the Wipeout Cafe and on the pool deck were open all afternoon.

 

6) Sorrentos was open from 11am till 3am. The pizza was not the best ever, and the crust was premade, but it was average to better than average. They have premade pizzas that you can enjoy by the slice, or they do individual size pizzas with the toppings of your choosing.

 

7) There is no slide, but there are 2 flowriders, multiple pools, and many many activities.

 

8) The main dining room food on Oasis was some of the best food we've ever had. We had consistently wonderful meals, with only one meal out of 14 (we ordered different things each night,) being less than stellar.

 

I hope this helps you! As I said, I don't have much cruising experience, but I am a pretty picky traveler, and I think sailing on the Oasis class would solve a lot of the complains you had about RC vs. Carnival.

[Soloist]

In June of last year, we took our first Royal Caribbean cruise (a shorter four day cruise on Grandeur of the Seas) after many Carnival cruises (all seven days or longer). We are an easy-going, happy family that really enjoys our cruises, and we make a huge effort to engage the staff everywhere on the ship and have had nothing but wonderful experiences. That said, our RC cruise was very different and quite honestly, pretty disappointing.

 

We had always heard that Carnival was the "working class" cruise line but have always had "first class" service, accommodations and food. On RC, we didn't have such great luck (and the things that were lacking seemed (??) to be related to cutting costs and/or a less than wonderful atmosphere for the staff that showed in their dealings with us passengers). A couple of RC fans at our dining table, who also said this cruise was very disappointing and way different than previous RC cruises, suggested that we probably experienced the new "pared down" standard that they thought might be in place at every cruise line due to the economy, etc.

 

I'd love your feedback -- before we book another cruise with either RC or Carnival, we'd love to know if our RC experience was an "off" one or something that other RC folks have noticed.

 

The things that disappointed us, when compared to our previous Carnival experiences, are listed below. Some of these things are so small that they're not important to our decision making process, but are included here just so I get a feel for whether our experience on RC was not what we should expect next time out.

 

Here's our (nitpicky) list:

 

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). Also unsanitary as we watched staff grab slices of fruit (not by the rind, unfortunately but on the cut flesh) with their bare hands and more unsanitary practices that I won't share here. The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and a huge, wonderful selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc. (so much so, that we sometimes lose weight on our cruises since there are so many wonderful fresh things to eat!). Is RC's buffet usually better than what we experienced?

 

2) towel animals for only one night (my teenage girls still LOVE these things and took pictures of them every day on Carnival).

 

3) no Andes' (or any) mint on the bed at night

 

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

 

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day. The rest of the time EVERY machine on the ship (yes, we found them all) was turned off and covered up with a fitted cover. Only twice on our four day cruise did we find RC folks serving up TINY portions (about a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cones. After about 60 minutes, they closed it up for the rest of the day and night. We asked about this and they told us that it was opening up for only short periods and that we might "catch" them if we check that area often. This seemed really weird to us ...

 

6) no 24 hour pizza but only really poor quality frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza (still on the cardboard piece that it was frozen on) that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. So limited that even though we're the "never in our cabins" kind of family, we only caught the pizza place open once in four days and our pizza loving teenagers were constantly checking! Near the pizza they served store bought cookies in two big plastic bowls while they pizza thing was open, but after about ten minutes, they came and grabbed a bowl and took them to the back. We thought they were refilling the half full bowls, but nope. Our can eat anything and never gain a pound teenagers feared that it was their last chance to get cookies, so they grabbed several to take back to the cabin. Sure enough the RC guy came back to pick up the other bowl promptly and pulled up the table for the night. All the folks in the pizza line (probably 20 people) were looking for the cookies when they got their pizzas and were pretty hacked off that they had closed down the cookie bowls before most folks got their pizza. We only got some because we were at the front of the pizza line. It was totally weird how they had them out for only minutes and then removed them for the night when people were still standing in line to get food at the only place you could get it at that time of the evening (immediately following the late show). Our kids missed the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.) all served on fresh dough, and are wondering if the pizza bar at RC on our ship was normal for the line.

 

7) no slide into the pool

 

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... and the servers, while nice, were not at all engaged or spirited. They did get better on the last day (when they were ready to get their tips?).

 

We want to book another cruise and right now, nobody in our family wants to do a RC cruise "ever again" but I've heard so many good things about RC, I thought it was worthwhile to find out of this is the RC standard or if we just had an "off" cruise.

 

Thanks a ton for your feedback!! I sincerely appreciate it. Our favorite things about the cruises are the wonderful staff and service and the healthy, fresh food. So we're anxiously awaiting informed updates from you.

 

Thank you.

 

 

I will begin by saying that I'm an RCCL fan. But I will say that your negatives are pretty much what I'd expect on that ship or any vision class ship. With 1 HUGE exception. Food handling is and should always be top notch on any cruise ship.

 

The towel animals and chocolates are a thing in the past.

 

Water slides have never been on RCCL ships. They have done other things like rock climbing, boxing ring, flowrider surfing, Ice Skating, Rollerblading, Zip Line. These are on the large ships (the ones that are larger than most any Carnival Ship)

 

Pizza and Ice Cream, on that ship, I'd agree that could be expected.

 

Dining Room food is usually excellent, especially on the small ships. Buffet is hit or miss as to quality.

 

The point is that I do not believe that RCCL's experience is as consistent across all their ships as it should be. :confused:

 

It would sound like you would enjoy a Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis class ship better. Possibly a Radiance Class.

 

However I would think that the entertainment/ night life experience was above your expectations. At least mine on the Enchantment was and it is the reason that I stayed with RCCL.

 

Longer cruises 7 days or longer generally have better service. Ships that have not recently re-positioned from or about to go to Europe have better service. Because Med cruises tend to infect a crew with jaded mentalities.

 

If I was happy with Carnival then I'd definitely stay. But I'm wondering which carnival ship you were on.

 

I'm packing for my September cruise and will be making my next reservation for the springtime cruise.

[Vegas Vic]

I think you experienced the new RCI norm. with their cutbacks there is no more quality anything unless your paying extra for it.

 

RCI's food on the buffet, mdr and the pizza is not fit for human consumption.

 

I don't think Carnival's buffet is much better, but their mdr is.

 

I sailed on the Allure last month in a group of 11. There is not one person in our group who would agree with you.

[readytogo2]

My first cruise on RCI was also on the Grandeur, four day, in June also. I had a great time on that ship. I did notice the limited or no snacks at night which was a bit disappointing, but I just told my son to order from Room service, so no problem there. We found the DR food quite good although, I did miss the lobster,which we were told they don't serve them on the shorter cruises. The Windjammer was pretty good for a buffet, but I must say the handling of the fruit observed by the OP was a no no and should have been reported, not to be a snitch, but just so that practice doesn't continue as that is just unacceptable especially with so many outbreaks of Noro.

As far as towel animals, we had one every night but if that stopped, no biggie. And as for the slide, I for one could care less, if I wanted my kids to be on one, I'd take them to a water park. That also goes for rock walls etc...I am taking a cruise, not going to an amusement park.

We never had a problem getting ice cream and to tell you the truth, the ice cream from those machines, I wouldn't even call ice cream and that goes for the ice cream on Carnival too....What you should do is order the good ice cream in the MD for dessert, very good. And speaking of Carnival, we found the buffet to be the worst of any we have ever experienced, slop with herds of people lined up... was such a huge turn off, if it wasn't for the NY deli they have which I must say was great, we would have went to the DR for every meal.

Most of our cruises have been with Princess and I gotta say, over the years many things have been done away with or just going downhill. I think it's a sign of the times and looks like we just have to accept the fact that all cruise lines are nickle and diming us more and more while giving us less and less.

[negc]

I think that your description of your findings as "nitpicky" was pretty accurate and since no cruise line is exactly like another it may just be that what is important to you and your family is better served by Carnival than RCI. However, I would disagree with your assessment of the food in the Windjammer and don't believe your experience of the staff handling food improperly was typical of the manner in which things are done on RCI or Carnival or most other main line cruise ships. While chocolates have been gone in all but the suites for at least two years, it is not true of the towel animals which we have found in our rooms on most, though not all, evenings. Certainly there was more than one night when the room steward made them for our enjoyment. Except for Princess, i have never been a big fan of the pizza served on most cruiselines, including Carnival, but the "make your own pizza on Allure and Oasis and in the Windjammer of other ships has been an improvement. Perhaps the non-functioning soft serve ice cream (yogurt) machine was the result of a particular problem on your cruise but we have never had a similar experience on any of the many RCI cruises we have been on.

As others have mentioned, the lack of a slide in the swimming pools is more than made up for by the flow-riders, H20 zones, rock walls, bungee trampolines, mini-golf courses and the ice rinks.

Service, in my opinion, depends as much on the individuals you encounter as it does on the particular line, but we have come to expect a very high quality of service from the staff on RCI ships and have rarely been disappointed and certainly never found it to be noticeably different or better when the end of the cruise approached.

It could certainly be that RCI is not the line for you or your family but if your complaints are all that you can offer as reasons not to return to RCI, I think you ought to consider giving the line another chance.

[Texmike]

We've been on 6 RCI cruises and one on the Carnival Conquest out of Galveston

 

I liked the better party atmosphere and the food better on the Conquest than RCI cruises.

 

Service was good on both ships. Entertainment is about the same on both ships.

 

We play to sail on the Carnival Magic when it comes to Galveston later in the year

[NorthTXRanchers]

I think that what some of you are saying makes total sense to me. On Carnival, we were always on a 7 day cruise and on their newer ships. On RCL, we were on a 4 day on an older ship. The ship really showed wear and tear and although most of the crew on board were great, our MDR and cabin staff seemed worn out and ready to be off. So I'm guessing that we were just on the wrong ship at the wrong time. I'm wondering if the ice cream machines were on their last legs, thus their keeping them open only for brief periods of time, and always staffed (no self serve at all).

 

I'm getting the sense that it's not fair to have compared the shorter cruise on an old ship to the longer cruises on newer larger ships. It was our first short trip, and it didn't occur to me there would be such a difference, although the bargain we got on the 4 day RCL cruise should have been an indicator, perhaps. I'm thinking that booking a week on a newer RCL cruise ship may be the ticket to giving the line another honest chance. We certainly never wish to have anything/anyone dampen our cruise experiences because we absolutely love cruising.

 

I must be "pickier" than the average person but I guess that's a good reflection on the expectations that our previous Carnival cruises we've taken. I'm looking forward to having a great experience on RCL, and appreciate your feedback. Some RCL fans seem to have been offended by my asking my question, and that certainly wasn't my intention. I just see this forum as a great source of experience and information that's served me well in the past.

 

Happy cruising to you all.

[S&SCruisers]

My only cruise has been on the Serenade and it was absolutely amazing. The food in both the Windjammer and MDR was really good. We hadn't planned on going to the MDR every night, but our waiter was so awesome we wanted to see him rather than going to the Windjammer! I didn't know about chocolates on the pillow, so didn't expect it. I did expect towel animals but we only got them 3 of the 7 nights. A little dissappointing but the whole experience was so amazing, the lack of towels animals was no issue at all. I believe I will be a loyal RC cruiser and I hope you'll give them another try.

[The_Big_M]

Was on Rhapsody (the same class) ship on a 9 night cruise a few months back and had a not too different experience. It may be the ship grade (newer ones have newer activities), but I doubt it's the cruise length.

 

1) Found the buffet food reasonable, but seem to recollect bare hands at times with food, though not sure where.

2) Towel animals came most nights

3) no mints, no midnight buffet, no Baked Alaska, no lobster.

5) ice cream machines were self-serve for a few hours a day, but most were broken after the first day or two, and when operating usually out of an ingredient. Not very good quality anyway, so not much of a loss but you can't expect them.

6) Pizza was open a few hours and reasonable standard, but never saw any cookies (biscuits) there.

8) Had a terrible waiter in the MDR who just mumbled and was uninterested. Staff were stretched, and the 3 course menu wasn't very exciting.

[Pushka]

I think the only thing that would really bother me is hygeine issues, especially in such a closed environment.

 

The towel animals - I actually find (the ones I have seen) a little weird. I dont like clowns either, so it is probably something about me.

 

Chocolates on the pillow - again, not the least bit important for me.

 

Water Slide - um, really? Not an issue for me

 

Midnight chocolate buffet? I will be sound asleep from the busy port activities

 

I am not a fan of buffet so I will probably not eat in the winjammer. As soon as I see a lot of food, and people with food, I lose my appetite.

 

Pizza - again, it would have been nice to have pizza but going to Italy, I can get my fix there.

 

I guess it depends on needs.

 

I would like a nice cruise, clean and not too sqeezy cabin; hot showers, clean sheets, a few nice sunsets, pleasant meals but I am not looking for five star dining. I probably wont go in the pools unless to cool off if the weather is hot during the day. Anything else is a bonus.

[goouchjac]

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). Also unsanitary as we watched staff grab slices of fruit (not by the rind, unfortunately but on the cut flesh) with their bare hands and more unsanitary practices that I won't share here. The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and a huge, wonderful selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc. (so much so, that we sometimes lose weight on our cruises since there are so many wonderful fresh things to eat!). Is RC's buffet usually better than what we experienced?

 

2) towel animals for only one night (my teenage girls still LOVE these things and took pictures of them every day on Carnival).

 

3) no Andes' (or any) mint on the bed at night

 

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

 

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day. The rest of the time EVERY machine on the ship (yes, we found them all) was turned off and covered up with a fitted cover. Only twice on our four day cruise did we find RC folks serving up TINY portions (about a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cones. After about 60 minutes, they closed it up for the rest of the day and night. We asked about this and they told us that it was opening up for only short periods and that we might "catch" them if we check that area often. This seemed really weird to us ...

1.- I can't belive that they were not handling the food properly, all I have experienced from the crew is the upmost cleanliness, maybe the other passengers.

2 towel animals really. I would rather have a clean room then the towel animal that will be in the way anyway.:o

3 I was just on the Oasis and we had chocolates every night

5 the soft serve ice cream was open all day and who knows for how late at night

I don't want a water slide, who needs it when you have an ice rink, rock wall, flowrider and a great put put golf.

 

Well said and I agree:):)

[mommabean]

I get towel animals every night except for the first night and this is as recently as May.

 

Ghirardelli chocolate is left on the pillows in a Grand Suite and above. NO one needs the chocolate. Have you looked around at the size of the cruisers lately? That's not a make it or break it deal for me, that's for sure.

 

The pizza is no better on Carnival. I've had it. It's best on both lines if it's fresh out of the oven. It's available into the wee hours on RCI. Most people sleep after that. I see no reason to have it open for the few who can't or don't sleep. They can order room service and pay the small service charge/tip. Some ships do have some food 24 hours.

 

I'm so glad there isn't a slide into the main pool deck area. There is a slide in the kid's pool on Radiance class ships. If others don't have them, fine with me.

 

Chocolate midnight buffet on a short cruise? How many times do people need a buffet? There is always a Caribbean or Mexican or some type of pool deck buffet once on these shorter cruises.

 

The dining room food on RCI is every bit as good as Carnival and the desserts are way better on RCI. I was on a 9 night Carnival cruise in April so I know what they are serving. Warm chocolate melting cake? I think chocolate addicts should cruise Carnival or bring a Hersey bar in their suitcase. RCI has the best sugar free desserts, too. It was almost always a different color sugar free cake on Carnival and not so great a cake at that.

 

Buffet? The buffet and the lines on Carnival are horrible. I don't know how anyone can say otherwise. RCI has a far superior and assorted selection of food without the huge lines I've seen on my 4 Carnival cruises. The only disgusting food handling I've seen is by the passengers. They eat off their plates while grazing the stations and lick their fingers and proceed to touch the serving utensils. I've seen this on both lines which is why I opt to not eat at the buffet very often.

 

The soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt is always open when I've seen it. I've seen kids with their fingers pinching off the stream of ice cream. Gross. You better let a bit run out of the machine first if you want to be sure of sanitation.

 

I've always had better service, cleaner ships, and much better cabin layout on RCI. And I've had an Ocean Suite on Carnival which couldn't compare to a wonderful Junior Suite on RCI. The on board prices for everything are higher on Carnival, too. Pictures, drinks, they even charge for bridge/galley/theater tours unlike RCI who gives them for free to high loyalty cruisers.

 

Yes, your cruise was off. I wish I knew what happened to your towel animals. :rolleyes:

 

Less slides mean less kids. Yay! Kidding....Unfortunately it doesn't really mean less kids. The Adventure Ocean program keeps them coming back for more.

 

Gina

[mommabean]

Here is one of my towel "animals" as recently as March of this year. This was on Radiance of the Seas.

 

 

:p

 

 

Gina