After trying other cruiselines, our hearts belong to RCI!!

[sgriff17]

I hope my future experience on RCI will be as good as all of yours. I've been on 5 CCL cruises and 1 Princess. Like many of you, I found myself constantly comparing the two lines...and in the end, I liked Carnival much better.

 

I am 26 and my wife is 24, so that will account for "some" of it...however, we would never accept dirty ships, bad food, or sub-par service. We may be young, but we are darn picky. There are of course some cruises on CCL that have been better than others and some ships are MUCH better than other ships. For example, we loved the Pride, but loathed the Triumph.

 

With that being said, we are going on the Empress of the Seas in about 3 weeks and am VERY excited to be trying yet another line. There were certainly things we liked better about Princess than CCL...but overall we found CCL to be more to our liking.

 

Here's to hoping I can say RCI is my favorite in about 4 weeks! (However, even with Princess and my future RCI cruise, I think a line needs to be given a few separate chances until an opinion can be set in stone...)

 

Next I think we'll try Disney as I'm sure we'll have some kiddies on the way soon! :) I'm in no particular rush to try HAL or Celebrity yet.

[vikielynne]

Sgriff17 - I used to be a Carnival fanatic, I actually cruised RCI about 10 years ago & after that one said I'd never go back to them. It was so boring. I think I was just too young to appreciate it & it was off season. Now I am working on booking as many trips as I can afford with RCI :) . To me their ships are so much prettier than Carnival's are, they're rather neon oriented to me. I can see from your signature that most of Carnival's ships you cruised were the big ones. Just don't expect the same style on the Empress. She's a good bit smaller but from what I hear in a class by herelf. I'll let you know as I'm booked on her for the 02 September cruise & can't wait

[Merion_Mom]

Hi everyone - First of all, let me say I am not a frequent poster, I have posted on occasion, but I read threads quite often, and have found so much helpful information on these boards that I don't know what I'd do without them! And this might be a little long, so please bear with me!

 

I am writing this for people who wonder "should I try [another cruise line] even though I like Royal Caribbean?" I wondered the same thing myself. My husband and I have been on two RCI cruises - and not even on the newer classes - one on Monarch of the Seas and the second on Grandeur of the Seas. We loved both of those cruises and figured we didn't need to try any other cruise line.

 

HOWEVER, when we went to plan our third cruise, I have to say that Princess had an overall better deal that we couldn't pass up - we got an awesome balcony room on the Caribbean Princess plus $100 shipboard credit for $1400 total for the two of us - I couldn't find anything comparable that RCI had to offer at the time, so we decided what the heck, we'd give it a try. I have to say that while it was an absolutely beautiful ship, and we had a great time and met wonderful people, the whole time I had this little nagging feeling that "RCI is better in this regard, or that..." and by the time the cruise ended I had no hesitation in saying that I preferred RCI. I agree with the consensus that the crew of the Princess seems a little "stuffy" sometimes - the dining room staff was the least friendly of all. We were supposed to have Traditional Dining but got placed in Anytime Dining - I have no idea how - and I didn't care for that too much. The food was just okay, not great. Our cabin steward on Princess was just okay, nothing out of this world. I realize this was just one cruise and I can't judge a whole line on this one experience, but I still believe RCI just got all the details right in at least what we were looking for in a vacation.

 

Fast forward to this summer, my family wanted to take a cruise together and as we were going to have kids with us, summer was the only realistic option. Of course summer is a more expensive time so the best option for all of us on a budget seemed to be the Carnival Conquest. Once again, I thought, what the heck, I'd give it a try. Well we all had fun, but I don't think I'll be trying Carnival again anytime soon. It definitely lives up to its reputation as "the Fun Ship" in that it was LOUD, LOUD, LOUD, always something (usually a party) going on. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, if that's your thing, then that's definitely the line for you - I might have even felt different about it if I was still in college and went with a bunch of girlfriends - might have been the perfect match. But not for this married couple in our mid-thirties with a three year old and my mother, sister and her two kids. The kids didn't like Camp Carnival too much, which was a shame, because I'd read good things about it. The ship was not all that clean in some areas, in need of paint, etc., it didn't smell too great at times and again - the noise! I don't know what it was about our floor, but everyone seemed to slam doors (including their balcony doors) as loud as they could at all hours of the day and night, and they talked and laughed and yelled all the way down the hall at all hours of the day and night was well. It was just LOUD. But did we have a good time? Yes, a vacation is what you make it I believe, and I certainly enjoyed being out on a ship visiting the Caribbean again. I had no complaints about the majority of the food, our dining room staff was superb, especially with the children, and our cabin steward was very good, all so much so that we gave them extra tips in cash at the end of the cruise.

 

But in the end, the bottom line at least for me and my husband, is that as soon as I got home - I started planning and dreaming about our next cruise (as I always do when I finish a cruise!) and I have no hesitation in saying that it will definitely be on RCI again. To me, RCI wins hands-down on everything, from the beauty of the ships, to the service, to the atmosphere, the entertainment and yes even to the food, and right down to all the little details that I believe they get right. I understand that people can have bad experiences on any given cruiseline at any given time, and I don't doubt that some people get turned off by RCI as well, but in my opinion based on my experiences, I've tried enough to know I'm going back to Royal Caribbean to stay.

 

Like I said, I'm writing this for everyone who asks, should I try....? I don't see the harm in trying something new, you might find you like it, if the price and timing is right, why not. I'm very glad we tried the other lines, because now I know what we prefer. I'm still open to trying other lines like Celebrity and maybe Holland America, but probably WAY down the road sometime.

 

Well with that being said, now I'm off to plan our next cruise for just my hubby and me - our 10 year anniversary cruise next year on Liberty of the Seas!!!

 

:D :D http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=382218 :D :D

[HUTCH-1]

For the young couple going on the Empress soon. We went on the Empress in 2005. At that time, it was one of the older ships in the RCI group.

I'd recommend a Radiance Class or Voyager Class ship for younger couples. These ships have more to offer as far as activities , food choices and rooms.

Of course, the Freedom of the Seas would be the best. We were on the two night sailing out of New Jersey, and that ship really offers so much for every age group. I'm sure you'll have a good time anyway, but for your next sailing, keep in mind the newer ships.

 

Majesty of the Seas February 17, 1993

Monarch of the Seas February 6, 1994

Majesty of the Seas February 11, 1996

Splendor of the Seas February 8, 1997

Song of America February 8, 1998

Monarch of the Seas December 6, 1998

Rhapsody of the Seas February 6, 2000

Explorer of the Seas February 3, 2001

Radiance of the Seas February 9, 2002

Explorer of the Seas March 1, 2003

Mariner of the Seas February 8, 2004

Explorer of the Seas May 16, 2004

Jewel of the Seas November 6, 2004 (8 nights)

Empress of the Seas April 11, 2005(11 nights)

Mariner of the Seas September 4, 2005

Brillance of the Seas October 30, 2005 (12 nights)

Brillance of the Seas November 11, 2005 (11 nights)

Freedom of the Seas May 13, 2006 (2 nights-out of Port of New

Jersey)

Mariner of the Seas October 22, 2006

Freedom of the Seas December 3, 2006

Radiance of the Seas September 14, 2007 (14 nights)

Pride of Hawaii August 7, 2006

Sapphire Princess April 17, 2007(29 nights)

Celebrity-Elite Member- 10 cruises on the record

January 22, 2005 Galaxy

(12 nights)

January 28, 2006 Constellation

(7 nights)

April 17, 2006 Mercury(Mexican Riviera)

(11 nights)

[Ocean Boy]

I am 26 and my wife is 24, so that will account for "some" of it...however, we would never accept dirty ships, bad food, or sub-par service. We may be young, but we are darn picky. There are of course some cruises on CCL that have been better than others and some ships are MUCH better than other ships. For example, we loved the Pride, but loathed the Triumph.

 

With that being said, we are going on the Empress of the Seas in about 3 weeks and am VERY excited to be trying yet another line. There were certainly things we liked better about Princess than CCL...but overall we found CCL to be more to our liking.

I have seen the Empress but not been on her. I think it might be best for you to not judge RCI by your cruise on that ship. I'm sure the level of service and cleanliness will be fine. But if you enjoy CCL, I think that at least a Radiance class, and more likely a Voyager or Freedom class, ship would be much more to your liking than Empress. RCI is one cruise line where the different classes of ships can greatly change the cruise experience as there are big differences between the ship classes.

[Cruising89143]

I have seen the Empress but not been on her. I think it might be best for you to not judge RCI by your cruise on that ship. I'm sure the level of service and cleanliness will be fine. But if you enjoy CCL, I think that at least a Radiance class, and more likely a Voyager or Freedom class, ship would be much more to your liking than Empress. RCI is one cruise line where the different classes of ships can greatly change the cruise experience as there are big differences between the ship classes.

 

I have to agree with this. The Empress will not be a ship that one would want to judge the entire line by. It would be like me going on a Voyager class ship and then sail on Carnival's Holiday or Celebration which are the two oldest and smallest ships in the Carnival fleet. They cannot compare to the newer larger ships and are missing many of the bells and whistles that we have come to like in the larger ships.

[crusinmama06]

That was cute. But now you've got me curious about what you didn't like on Disney - I haven't done all that much research on the Disney boards - but we were hoping one day when my son is a few years older to take him on a Disney cruise.

 

Well first let me say that no Disney cruise would be a bad cruise. There were just some very distinct differences between them and RCCL that I personally didn't like.

 

--The ship didn't have the "wow" factor that the RCCL ships have. You know when you walk in and see the glass and gold centrums on RCCL, THAT is a big WOW for me.

 

--The shopping, just two small stores on board...both Disney stores. Everything you could possibly want to buy as a disney souvenir. So no shopping mall

 

--No extra food places that I can recall. There are a couple of pool bars but nothing like Sorrentos and Johnny Rockets. Not that I need them, but they are nice to have there.

 

--No casino. I am not a gambler by any definition. But at night, when there is nothing really going on, I like to go play a few slots. On Disney you don't have that option.

 

--I didn't like having to stand in line throughout the day to get pictures with the characters. Just would have liked to spend my time elsewhere.

 

--The price. I usually don't like to factor price into things because we honestly do always spend alot on our yearly vacations and I don't mind paying for a great experience. BUT, for the price of a category 7 on Disney, we are getting a grand suite on FOS. So that means all of the perks that go along with the suite including the concierge lounge.

 

The things I did like on Disney

 

--The shows were incredible and hard to beat by anyone. The best!

 

--The sheer "magic" of Disney like in Animator Palate dining room where you start off in a black/white dining room and it becomes transformed into color by the end of the meal. Very cool to see.

 

--My kids were in princess heaven. BUT, they loved Disney World so much more for princesses...with all of the princess character meals we do. AND, when staff members at WDW see a girl dressed as a princess, they have to address that child AS a princess "Good morning princess and how are you today?"

 

So, for us we have reached a compromise. Before the cruise we go to Disney World for a week and stay at the Wilderness Lodge (it's beautiful). Then for the cruise we go on RCCL. So for Disney, we go to Disney World (you just can't beat that place) and for a cruise we go to RCCL.

[dfishner]

What a great thread, I to have been on several cruise lines Hal, NCL and Carnival. My first RCL experience was this past January on Radiance of the sea after cruising her we both felt this was the best cruise we were on.

Fast foward to now we decided to do another cruise in November-December time-frame. Found a great deal on the Carib Princess balcony cabin Caribe deck and booked it, but found something nagging at me how much would I enjoy the ship compared to our last cruise. I felt it was a beautiful ship, great ports, cabin etc. I just felt we would not enjoy the cruise ship as much, maybe I am wrong but the Radiance spoiled us. We decided to change our cruise to the Explorer of the Seas, was always curious about the Voyager class of ship and really liked the idea of the ice skating ring, the RP and the ship seemed to have much more to offer. We still have a balcony cabin maybe not as nice or as roomy as princess, but feel we are back home on a cruise line we really enjoy. Maybe we will try something else in the future but for right now we are staying put with RCL

[Disneycrazymom]

I could have written your post about Disney! I was (well lets just say shocked) that we all enjoyed RCI - Mariner better than our Disney cruise!

Disney is great and we liked it. DD was 4 and it was all about the characters but even she at 6 this cruise didn't miss them.

 

We can do the Mariner for 7 days and spend 7 days at Disneyworld for the price of a 7 day Disney cruise. When my kids heard that there was no decision to make! So off we went for our first RCI experience. Every member of our family (DH and I 40ish, DS 13 and DD 6) said they would prefer the Mariner. There are just things for everyone, not just the little ones!

 

Now if you are going to do Disney, do it while the kids are still in awe of the Characters and take lots of money for photos!!! In my opinion it is a once in a lifetime experience for young kids. Where else can you have Cinderella to yourself! And I am glad we got to do it once, but I see no real need to go again with them, when the rest of the family gets so much more for less $$. We all love Disneyworld and travel there once a year and for us that is a better choice. So now our hope is to cruise RCI and then add on days at Disneyworld. The perfect vacation!:D

[alecsmom]

Dfishner- I think you probably would have enjoyed your Caribbean Princess cruise - but if you already had that nagging feeling - I think you definitely did the right thing in changing it to a Royal Caribbean ship - you won't be disappointed - hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

And thanks to everybody for their replies/advice/Disney info/ etc. Seems to me on this board, most all of us just have that same common "feeling" about Royal Caribbean - can't quite describe it but we know what we feel about cruising on RCI - it's definitely something special!!