RC vs. Carnival

I am trying to decide between RC Rhapsody or Carnival Sunshine, we are going in Dec. 31 and down to these two. We have not done either one. Truthfully I was a little disappointed in food last Carnival but I have heard people saying same thing on RC. Anyone cruised on both of these. Me, husband , Daughter 26, son 21. Thanks

Some threads on Sunshine vs RC ships:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2471648

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331925

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2294453

These are both older ships, I'd go for something more updated for your family cruise.

I love Royal Caribbean i just think they're classier then Carnival

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I am trying to decide between RC Rhapsody or Carnival Sunshine, we are going in Dec. 31 and down to these two. We have not done either one. Truthfully I was a little disappointed in food last Carnival but I have heard people saying same thing on RC. Anyone cruised on both of these. Me, husband , Daughter 26, son 21. Thanks

We had our second and last cruise with Carnival a few years ago. Will never put another penny in their pocket again. That means also not sailing on Princess or anything else they own, but so be it. They proved to us that from top to bottom, no one there cares about their customers.

Nothing in our cabin worked-not the tv, the phone-nothing. Daily requests to the cabin steward and guest relations got no results. Literally every day they said "we'll be there later" and never came.

Pictures taken were blurry. When we asked for a reshoot, the manager came out and screamed at us that we knew nothing about photography.

Upon our return, I called customer service and was treated as if I was a liar. So I wrote a letter and got a reply that amounted to nothing more than "too bad, so sad". Didn't even get an insincere apology.

3 sailings with Royal and no major issues. When questions are asked, whether during a cruise, while booking or after booking, they have always treated us as if we are the most important customers ever. What a difference.

I am trying to decide between RC Rhapsody or Carnival Sunshine, we are going in Dec. 31 and down to these two. We have not done either one. Truthfully I was a little disappointed in food last Carnival but I have heard people saying same thing on RC. Anyone cruised on both of these. Me, husband , Daughter 26, son 21. Thanks

We like both, but it depends on the ship. On Carnival, we only like the big ships. Our last cruise on the Ecstasy was horrible! If that had been our first taste of Carnival, we would never had gone back. But our other two Carnival cruises were wonderful!

We like the food on both lines. Loyalty perks are better on RCCL. Service has been both good and bad on either line. We will go on either one, it comes down to itinerary and price.

These are both older ships, I'd go for something more updated for your family cruise.

while both ships are old the Sunshine just had a multi million dollar face lift a couple years ago

Totally agree i went on one cruise on Carnival a couple yrs ago and was disappointed from the food to the furnishings so bland i feel does not compare to Royal Caribbean

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We are set on last week of Dec. and these are the two we can afford. Actually the Sunshine is prob. about $250 cheaper. So because the food was a little disappointing on last Carnival cruise, I'm wondering if Rhapsody is worth extra 250.

We are set on last week of Dec. and these are the two we can afford. Actually the Sunshine is prob. about $250 cheaper. So because the food was a little disappointing on last Carnival cruise, I'm wondering if Rhapsody is worth extra 250.

Carnival will always be cheaper. And in their case, not just less expensive, but cheap. You get what you pay for. Royal may be more dollars, but they are also a better value.

Here's my comparison. We've done a few Carnivals and did our first RCI a couple weeks ago...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2526532

while both ships are old the Sunshine just had a multi million dollar face lift a couple years ago

We sailed on the Sunshine when it was the Destiny and had a great time and also had a great time when we went on the Sunshine. We loved Jamie Dee as the cruise director. We do RC, Carnival, NCL-it all comes down to what you are happy with and where you can get a bigger bang for your buck. Enjoy no matter what.

My first cruise was on Radiance OTS and just by pure coincidence, our second cruise, just 6 months later, was on the same ship.

We then did a cruise to the same ports in the South Pacific on carnival Spirit. Loved being on a cruise, and the ship was beautiful, but from a cruise perspective you can not compare the two. RC far outshines Carnival from the entertainment, food, service etc.

Last year we went back to RC with a cruise on Explorer, and while it was incredible, I think I prefer the smaller cruise ship experience and am going on radiance again in december. Rhapsody as I am sure you know is smaller than radiance.

I got banned from Royal Caribbean for causing a scene in the WIndjammer but the two gals that caused a scene first... nothing happened. This nag thought that I tried to sneak into the Diamond lounge right after I got onto the ship and berated me in the cafe. The next day I offered to take this woman's pepperoni's and peppers because she was putting her husband down for knowing better than getting them for her, and she made a scene... and was friends with the Diamond lounge gal and they ganged up.

Folks, I'm moving on to better cruise lines like Norwegian and Princess and Holland. Windstar has a watersports platform and I'm ready for higher level experiences.

We sailed on Sunshine for our first ever Carnival Cruise in June. We enjoyed it even though we had really bad weather the whole time. A few quick impressions:

• We were not impressed with the MDR although in truth we only went once. Probably just an off night.
  
• The overall experience is remarkably similar to Royal.
  
• The adult only serenity area on Sunshine beats anything we have ever seen on any other ship.
  
• The Alchemy bar is the best bar we have seen on a ship. This was echoed by an acquaintance who had 43 previous cruises on multiple lines and is Diamond on Royal and Platinum on Carnival.
  
• The no extra cost dining options blow away Royal Caribbean. Blue Iguana (Breakfast burritos in the AM, tacos & such in the afternoon, Guys Burgers, Ji Ji is a free Mongolian wok during the day, the Italian restaurant is free during the day, the buffet has a more limited selection but is always fresh and good, there is a small Cuban buffet in the Havana Bar that is very good. The Taste Bar is really good.
  
• The show lounge is small and rather unusual, but the single show we went to (rock themed) was good.
  
• Love the comedy club with multiple shows every night and rotating comedians. Get there about 15 min early for a seat. It is a little small.
  
• The ship decor is really subdued after the major redesign. More like a Celebrity ship than Carnival.
  
• Some people complain about it feeling crowded but we saw nothing out of the ordinary. Big crowds at peak times in certain areas. We see that on all ships and generally navigate round that.
  

We currently have 2 future Royal cruises and 2 future Carnival cruises booked. Either line can provide a great cruise.

I could almost have written EBFURR's post. While normally I would choose Royal over Carnival, not in this instance.

Sunshine is a unique ship in the Carnival fleet and easily our favorite. It is going to have a lot more to offer in terms of amenities and included food options than Rhapsody.

 

• The no extra cost dining options blow away Royal Caribbean. Blue Iguana (Breakfast burritos in the AM, tacos & such in the afternoon, Guys Burgers, Ji Ji is a free Mongolian wok during the day, the Italian restaurant is free during the day, the buffet has a more limited selection but is always fresh and good, there is a small Cuban buffet in the Havana Bar that is very good. The Taste Bar is really good.

This is the one thing we heard several RCI cruisers complain about when we talked with people on ours. Because we generally would mention that it was our first one and we'd talk about previous cruises, how we liked this or that, didn't like this or that, etc... But several of them mentioned how they don't like the nickle & dime costs for the extra things. One couple who has been cruising for years said I think NCL started doing this and then RCI followed.

Been on 3 RC and 3 Carnival, we have always thought food, and service were about the same, but we prefer RC ships for the decorating and feel.

We did Carnival last spring, and we are not their type. We do prefer Royal. I think Royal has better people management systems, and everything flows. Carnival was just a nightmare of pushing and shoving, waiting in long lines, rude and entitled people. We said never again. It was like the never ending bad Walmart trip. The food was fine and the staff worked hard, but you pay for what you get.

We did Carnival last spring, and we are not their type. We do prefer Royal. I think Royal has better people management systems, and everything flows. Carnival was just a nightmare of pushing and shoving, waiting in long lines, rude and entitled people. We said never again. It was like the never ending bad Walmart trip. The food was fine and the staff worked hard, but you pay for what you get.

My sister only cruises Carnival, and even she says it is basically Walmart people at sea, but she keeps doing it cause she gets deals and says she is a Walmart person, so she is okay with it.

Sunshine has the worst passenger space ratio of their entire fleet. Having sailed on sister ship from Carnival that did NOT get the Sunshine improvements, that was already a very crowded ship. This alone would keep me from Sunshine. Rhapsody is a classic style cruise ship and will not have all the wow features RCI markets. Honestly, I would choose another ship between these two, but Royal is the classier line. Alternatives; more perks similar price: Norwegian and MSC. MSC should be 1/3 to 1/2 price of Royal. Norwegian is more freewheeling, price similar to RCI but more perks; like Carnival but with added classiness.

My sister only cruises Carnival, and even she says it is basically Walmart people at sea, but she keeps doing it cause she gets deals and says she is a Walmart person, so she is okay with it.

Hmm.....so that makes RCI, what, Target? JCPenney with the constant sales?

Hmm.....so that makes RCI, what, Target? JCPenney with the constant sales?

I don't see many websites on the people of target, but sure. From a sales perspective, I would say Kohls. If you get less than a 40% discount at Kohls, you have overpaid.

I try to avoid walmart, but we go to target all the time.

I was interested in this thread because I'm going on my first Carnival cruise in October after many cruises on RCL on ships ranging in size from the old Monarch to Freedom OTS. The Carnival ship will be the Magic and I'm interested in any comments on the differences I would find between that ship and a typical RCL ship. I keep seeing a lot of references to Carnival's Sunshine and that doesn't help me a lot with Magic.

For example, how does Carnival's MDR food compare to RCL's? I know that can be subjective, but to me RCL's MDR food is generally about the same as the usual restaurants I do to on a regular basis. Once in a while I'll get something that's really, really good but mostly it's just average. And the buffett is OK but boring. By the end of a week-long cruise on RCL I'm usually pretty tired of the food and I'm hoping to enjoy Carnival's more.

I've heard Carnival's other dining options are free where RCL charges for them. Is that true on Magic? I've never eaten in any of RCLs specialty restaurants because I didn't want to pay the extra money (although on my last cruise I almost ate at one because we signed up for the murder mystery but then it got cancelled so we didn't go). I did eat in a Johnny Rockets once because the grandkids wanted the "free" milkshakes and I thought it was slow and too expensive for what we got. Keep in mind I'm not a cheapskate by any means but I don't like to spend money and then decide it wasn't worth it.

What about the cabins? RCL has 2 outlets at the desk plus what was in the bathroom and that was plenty for our needs. We'll be in a balcony (room 8409) and I'm hoping there is as much storage as RCL has. That's one thing I definitely like about the RCL cabins - I never have problems with storage. Will the Magic's furniture arrangement allow for easy moving around the cabin, or is the bed up against the wall? And do we have to put our room key in the slot to keep the lights on in the room?

Any other comparisons I'm forgetting? We aren't big-time drinkers so one bar is as good as another to us. We also don't soak up the sun by the pool so don't care too much about that. We do go to a few shows if we're in the mood.

Oh - one more thing. Are the elevators on Magic really crowded? I have bad knees and can't take the stairs (unless the ship's on fire or something and then I think I could handle it). Most of RCL's ships with the exception of the oldest ones like Majesty have enough elevators so you can almost always get on with little waiting. How are Magic's?

Thanks!

Obviously you will find an opinion for whatever people perceive to be better, according to their experience or just from what they've heard. My first couple of cruises were on Royal Caribbean and I thought that nothing would compare. Then I took a cruise with some friends on Norwegian and my last few have been on Carnival. We have another one booked on RC for December and are really looking forward to it. I have been on both Rhapsody and Sunshine and enjoyed both of them for different reasons. A vacation is what you make of it. I was worried about the Sunshine b/c I read so many negative reviews...but it was fantastic! The comparison that Carnival cruisers are like Walmart people is not completely accurate. I've met great people on all the cruise lines I've been on and also seen rude and disrespectful people on those same lines. So keep an open mind and enjoy whichever one you choose!

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