Rcci Wins..............

[kidless]

After six cruises all on Carnival, we finally took our first RCCI cruise last week for 7 days on the Mariner. We had an absolute blast and was our best cruise to date all others except for one (which was no fault of the cruise line) were wonderful too but this one just seemed special! Instead of giving the standard review, I thought I would write about the differences we saw in the two lines while they were fresh in our minds. We had decided on our last Carnival cruise to try RCCI while docked in Nassau there was a RCCI ship docked across from us and at night, we could see into a cabin, it looked nice, and we decided to try RCCI looking at it as a step up.

Having been on 7 cruises we know we cannot base all of our opinions on only one RCCI cruise so we know the negative things we noticed (which in NO way took away from the trip) may not be on all ships on all sailings but may have been just on this particular trip.

Embarkation went fairly quick but it did seem they were somewhat disorganized and some of the ladies working were a tad grumpy….but we put it down to them working on Mother’s Day. On entering the ship I was in love with the décor, it was so beautiful and classy I just felt comfortable. On this RCCI won hands down. You really notice how gaudy Carnival is after sailing on RCCI.

Our cabin was the best we have ever had. Normally on Carnival we do Balcony or Cat 11 we had a Jr Suite on the Mariner it seemed so much bigger than the Cat 11’s on Carnival and the floor plan was so much nicer seem like a hotel room. The walk in closet was wonderful. The kids had a Superior Balcony this seemed about the same as Carnivals balconies but RCCI bathroom was much nicer, loved the circler shower door and not just a curtain where it seems Carnival bathroom floors are always wet after a shower. Although I do think Carnivals, beds are way more comfortable and their pillows much better. Even DH who is retired Marine Corp and can sleep anywhere found them uncomfortable, as did both kids so I know it wasn’t just me.

The room service on RCCI is way better too ….could not believe we could actually get eggs and bacon in the morning…which we enjoyed early on our balcony as we docked in St Thomas this was a real treat since on Carnival you can only get a bagel. I also think the coffee on RCCI is great, I enjoy my coffee black but always need to add cream and sweetener on Carnival cause it is so strong. I also was impressed that at night you could have dinner delivered to your cabin ordering from the dining room menu for that night we never did this as I enjoy dressing up and going out. However, one evening my DD was very tired so it was nice for her to enjoy the menu from the comfort of her bed.

We had heard that service on RCCI was much better and I must admit the first day or so we were not getting it, as it seemed the same as Carnival. However, on or about Monday evening we started to notice a difference it is amazing how so many of them remember your name and everything you tell them and we were very impressed with service over all on the ship. And at the end of the week got extra envelopes to hand out extra tips to people like Kevin at Bolero’s or Chin in Ellington's or Jay on the wait staff. This was the first time we ever felt the headwaiter earned the tip we gave him. We were really impressed with the service although our cabin steward was not impressive and the worse we have ever had on a cruise he was just ok.

Getting off ship at Cococay was a clustermuck due to rough seas for the tenders but from what we heard from other guests this is very common occurrence at this port. RCCI was not very good at letting people waiting in the very long line know what was going on or what they should expect in wait time many were up at Customer service screaming. We were not overly impressed with the island it was way too crowded once we got off ship and they have the beach chairs on top of one another but that is just not our thing many seemed to love it.

We did notice that it is a much older crowd then Carnival I had never seen so many walkers and wheel chairs on a cruise. The elevators always seemed slow and overcrowded several people told us that this is common on other RCCI ships and we heard many comment about it.

Food overall I felt was good, Carnival does win on this note as I think theirs is better. We would go into the Windjammer at lunch and once for dinner and found the wait staff in there to be a million times better then Carnival; they would actually go get coffee or tea for you. The selection may not be as varied as Carnival but we never had a problem finding something we liked. The dining room food again Carnival wins but RCCI wasn’t bad I think anytime you mass produce you lose some quality and the service again was so wonderful it made up for it so overall RCCI wins.

Disembarking was a snap and the easiest we ever had getting off a ship we were home by 9:30. I cannot express in words what a wonderful time we had and now have 111 days untill our next RCCI cruise. We would cruise again with Carnival but for now, we are going to be sticking with RCCI.:D

[alprice]

GREAT - I love the Mariner!!!

[Cruising89143]

Diane, I thought about you guys several times last week and was wondering how you were enjoying the Mariner. Glad to hear that you had a good time. Now you can see why I made the switch.:) Welcome back even though I'm sure that you would rather be on a cruise.

[kidless]

Diane, I thought about you guys several times last week and was wondering how you were enjoying the Mariner. Glad to hear that you had a good time. Now you can see why I made the switch.:) Welcome back even though I'm sure that you would rather be on a cruise.

 

You were so right AGAIN! We had a blast and I am plotting a cruise on the Freedom when she gets here...............................

[cruiserbryce]

glad you had a great trip

[hubofhockey]

The service is better on RCI and the ships are nicer. It's also more expensive.

 

From what I understand, the better comparison among Carnival lines to RCI is Princess. I am booking Princess for my next cruise as it was between RCI FOS and Crown Princess. The Crown Princess had a better itinerary (Eastern Caribbean) and cost a bit less.

 

Carnival is a discount cruise line. I find the activities and amenities to be lacking and that was even on its second newest ship (The Liberty). The breakfast buffets are horrible when compared to RCI (and I hope Princess too). But I will give Carnival its due. They make cruising affordable to everyone. Their dinners are good and their specialty restaurant (Harry's) is outstanding. My kids also love Camp Carnival. When it's the four of us, the cost of cruising can get very expensive and Carnival is a nice alternative to have. But I'm Carnivaled out and we're paying a bit more and getting one day less on Princess. But I would have done the same for RCI and I'd love to go on the Mariner.

[crusinmama06]

I was wondering how it was going for you! Welcome back! :D

[kidless]

I also didn't mention Chair Hogging was horrible...I couldn't believe it. We have never noticed it to be a problem on Carnival but it was terrible. One morning I got up at 0800 dragged DH out of bed and ran up to get a seat in the Solorium only to find not one chair open very few had an actual body in them. We ended up finding a spot at the family pool so in the end it all worked out but it really surprised me.

[Cruising89143]

Chair hogging is bad and something that the cruise line needs to address. I will let you know about the Freedom as I sail on her 11/02.

[crusinmama06]

Chair hogging is bad and something that the cruise line needs to address. I will let you know about the Freedom as I sail on her 11/02.

 

Honestly, the only "chair hog police" that I have ever seen were on FOS. :D They were pretty good, especially in the solarium.

[AmyGarner]

After six cruises all on Carnival, we finally took our first RCCI cruise last week for 7 days on the Mariner. We had an absolute blast and was our best cruise to date all others except for one (which was no fault of the cruise line) were wonderful too but this one just seemed special! Instead of giving the standard review, I thought I would write about the differences we saw in the two lines while they were fresh in our minds. We had decided on our last Carnival cruise to try RCCI while docked in Nassau there was a RCCI ship docked across from us and at night, we could see into a cabin, it looked nice, and we decided to try RCCI looking at it as a step up.

Having been on 7 cruises we know we cannot base all of our opinions on only one RCCI cruise so we know the negative things we noticed (which in NO way took away from the trip) may not be on all ships on all sailings but may have been just on this particular trip.

Embarkation went fairly quick but it did seem they were somewhat disorganized and some of the ladies working were a tad grumpy….but we put it down to them working on Mother’s Day. On entering the ship I was in love with the décor, it was so beautiful and classy I just felt comfortable. On this RCCI won hands down. You really notice how gaudy Carnival is after sailing on RCCI.

Our cabin was the best we have ever had. Normally on Carnival we do Balcony or Cat 11 we had a Jr Suite on the Mariner it seemed so much bigger than the Cat 11’s on Carnival and the floor plan was so much nicer seem like a hotel room. The walk in closet was wonderful. The kids had a Superior Balcony this seemed about the same as Carnivals balconies but RCCI bathroom was much nicer, loved the circler shower door and not just a curtain where it seems Carnival bathroom floors are always wet after a shower. Although I do think Carnivals, beds are way more comfortable and their pillows much better. Even DH who is retired Marine Corp and can sleep anywhere found them uncomfortable, as did both kids so I know it wasn’t just me.

The room service on RCCI is way better too ….could not believe we could actually get eggs and bacon in the morning…which we enjoyed early on our balcony as we docked in St Thomas this was a real treat since on Carnival you can only get a bagel. I also think the coffee on RCCI is great, I enjoy my coffee black but always need to add cream and sweetener on Carnival cause it is so strong. I also was impressed that at night you could have dinner delivered to your cabin ordering from the dining room menu for that night we never did this as I enjoy dressing up and going out. However, one evening my DD was very tired so it was nice for her to enjoy the menu from the comfort of her bed.

We had heard that service on RCCI was much better and I must admit the first day or so we were not getting it, as it seemed the same as Carnival. However, on or about Monday evening we started to notice a difference it is amazing how so many of them remember your name and everything you tell them and we were very impressed with service over all on the ship. And at the end of the week got extra envelopes to hand out extra tips to people like Kevin at Bolero’s or Chin in Ellington's or Jay on the wait staff. This was the first time we ever felt the headwaiter earned the tip we gave him. We were really impressed with the service although our cabin steward was not impressive and the worse we have ever had on a cruise he was just ok.

Getting off ship at Cococay was a clustermuck due to rough seas for the tenders but from what we heard from other guests this is very common occurrence at this port. RCCI was not very good at letting people waiting in the very long line know what was going on or what they should expect in wait time many were up at Customer service screaming. We were not overly impressed with the island it was way too crowded once we got off ship and they have the beach chairs on top of one another but that is just not our thing many seemed to love it.

We did notice that it is a much older crowd then Carnival I had never seen so many walkers and wheel chairs on a cruise. The elevators always seemed slow and overcrowded several people told us that this is common on other RCCI ships and we heard many comment about it.

Food overall I felt was good, Carnival does win on this note as I think theirs is better. We would go into the Windjammer at lunch and once for dinner and found the wait staff in there to be a million times better then Carnival; they would actually go get coffee or tea for you. The selection may not be as varied as Carnival but we never had a problem finding something we liked. The dining room food again Carnival wins but RCCI wasn’t bad I think anytime you mass produce you lose some quality and the service again was so wonderful it made up for it so overall RCCI wins.

Disembarking was a snap and the easiest we ever had getting off a ship we were home by 9:30. I cannot express in words what a wonderful time we had and now have 111 days untill our next RCCI cruise. We would cruise again with Carnival but for now, we are going to be sticking with RCCI.:D

 

 

 

Hey!! We were on the cruise with you, and I would have to agree with everything. Although I loved the food, but we have only cruised RCI, so we have nothing to compare it too. Captain Johnny & Drew the cruise director were great. We were never bored. In Coco Cay, DH and I did find a spot away from everyone a bit past the water slide, it was very quiet, although there was alot of seaweed and we couldn't get in a deep enough area to actually swim. We did follow some rays around though, and that was cool. My only dissappointment on the cruise was there wasn't enough time in St. Maarten. Another few hours would have been nice... I was very sad to leave, and can't wait to go back:D

[barbarah33]

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[4myguys]

Thanks for the review and comparison.

[kidless]

Hey!! We were on the cruise with you, and I would have to agree with everything. Although I loved the food, but we have only cruised RCI, so we have nothing to compare it too. Captain Johnny & Drew the cruise director were great. We were never bored. In Coco Cay, DH and I did find a spot away from everyone a bit past the water slide, it was very quiet, although there was alot of seaweed and we couldn't get in a deep enough area to actually swim. We did follow some rays around though, and that was cool. My only dissappointment on the cruise was there wasn't enough time in St. Maarten. Another few hours would have been nice... I was very sad to leave, and can't wait to go back:D

 

Amy were you at the meet & mingle? And I agree we loved St Maarten and want to go back. Would have rather spent more time there and less in St Thomas. At Cococay we also found a quiet spot but you could not get in the water there were all rocks there.

[Cruising89143]

Diane, St. Maarten is one of my all time favorite ports. Love it and can't wait to get back there again in November.

[FMZ]

DH and I have been on 10 Carnival Cruises and 3 RCI cruises (and one Princess) and I would agree with your comparisons. My thought is that they both do some better than the other and we are happy with both lines. My next booked is RCI and I'm looking forward to the parade, ice show, and the flowrider. But I will miss Carnival's beds, shows, and dinners. I'll never do Princess again, not our cup of tea.

 

The good thing about cruising both lines is that you can broaden your search when it's time to book your next one! :)

[Loves_Dogs]

Glad to read that you experienced a noticeable difference between Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Us too, having only cruised Carnival, will be on Mariner in a few weeks, dont know HOW I will ever make it that long I am so excited! We could have went on a very similiar Carnival cruise for FAR less money, but decided to try Royal, I hope we see a difference for the extra money we spent too.

[kidless]

Glad to read that you experienced a noticeable difference between Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Us too, having only cruised Carnival, will be on Mariner in a few weeks, dont know HOW I will ever make it that long I am so excited! We could have went on a very similiar Carnival cruise for FAR less money, but decided to try Royal, I hope we see a difference for the extra money we spent too.

 

jeleja, You will notice a big difference from the moment you get on ship. It is just beautiful. And the service is fantastic. I wish I was going back on her in a few weeks! Have a great time............

[Gator0178]

Thanks for your honest review. It's always nice to see a comparison, and know you made the right choice.

[kidless]

Another thing we noticed were the kids, there didn't seem to be as many as on Carnival. But the ones that we did see where 1000 times better behaved then any cruise we have ever been on. We never saw young teens running around ship or in and out of elevators or displaying bad or rude behave which is constant on Carnival. When ever we did see young teens or children thet were always with an adult. Never heard any causing a ruckus in the hall ways or around the pools. We were really impressed!!! :D

[Jtd724]

Welcome to where the flavor is.

[Loves_Dogs]

Another thing we noticed were the kids, there didn't seem to be as many as on Carnival. But the ones that we did see where 1000 times better behaved then any cruise we have ever been on. We never saw young teens running around ship or in and out of elevators or displaying bad or rude behave which is constant on Carnival. When ever we did see young teens or children thet were always with an adult. Never heard any causing a ruckus in the hall ways or around the pools. We were really impressed!!! :D

 

OMG I am so glad to hear that. On our Destiny cruise, the kids drove me CRAZY..they were everywhere all the time, loud and obnoxious, no adult in sight. A few times my breakfast order disappeared off my door and I am sure it was kids playing pranks.

 

I actually go on vacation to spend time with my son. Although he is 18 years old now, on all of our cruises, I never ever just let him wander the ship alone (or with other kids). This is family time. We hang out, visit the karaoke lounge, go to some shows, sit on our balcony and read or play chess, wander around the ship. In ports, we scuba dive. Thank you kidless for all the info, you are making my wait even harder, but in a good way :-) ....

[hazeleyez3]

Thank you for the review and comparison. We have sailed Carnival, and have always enjoyed ourselves, but I've been wanting to try RCI for some time now.

[kidless]

Thank you for the review and comparison. We have sailed Carnival, and have always enjoyed ourselves, but I've been wanting to try RCI for some time now.

 

Well I don't know if all these things are true on all ships....I hope some are and some aren't. But we have always loved Carnival but found RCCI to be better in so many ways and look forward to our next.

 

I see you are from Baltimore, I grew up there and my son is a firefighter in Anne Arundel County I'll be coming up that way the end of June can't wait to get a crab cake!!!! :D

[Oville]

OMG I am so glad to hear that. On our Destiny cruise, the kids drove me CRAZY..they were everywhere all the time, loud and obnoxious, no adult in sight. A few times my breakfast order disappeared off my door and I am sure it was kids playing pranks.

 

I actually go on vacation to spend time with my son. Although he is 18 years old now, on all of our cruises, I never ever just let him wander the ship alone (or with other kids). This is family time. We hang out, visit the karaoke lounge, go to some shows, sit on our balcony and read or play chess, wander around the ship. In ports, we scuba dive. Thank you kidless for all the info, you are making my wait even harder, but in a good way :-) ....

 

Hi, I was on the same cruise as Kidless and I too loved it. It was my first time on Mariner and I would say I'd put her up as one of RCCL's best ships, might give a slight edge to the Jewel.

 

Our cruise was May 11 and there were very few kids onboard. One way to avoid "obnoxious" kids is to book when school's still in session.