Rhapsody of the Sea or Pacific Jewel for first cruise

[Bella cruiser]

I know I will get the usual P&O lovers and P&O staff members berating me and accusing me of insulting their family members because they enjoyed their one and only P&O cruise and can't wait to get back on the Pacific Sun, but to be honest I don't care.....

 

Anyway that is the end of my daily rant, I've got to get back to my job as a Royal Caribbean Rep (only joking).

 

Paul

 

Honestly Sludger, you are truly unbelievable, I will repeat myself as you obviously didn't understand the first and second times.

 

Firstly, I never said that you insulted my family...I said that I couldn't understand why you found it so difficult to believe my family enjoyed their P&O cruise.

 

Secondly , I do not work for P&O, I am a Town Planner and I deal with assessing subdivision applications (Unfortunately not much call for my services within the P&O ranks).

 

I am happy to try different ships and lines in the future and wouldn't limit myself to P&O but the standard cabins on Rhapsody are too small for a family in my opinion, Princess is a bit too expensive and not as kid friendly so we will have to wait until Carnival Spirit comes to give that a try.

 

As for old ships, it doesn't bother me as I personally don't think that new, cool, glitzy or flash is necessary for people to have an enjoyable holiday. You obviously do which doesn't make you right and me wrong, we just have different opinions. :)

 

Oh and by the way, next time you feel like having a 'rant'. please feel free to leave me out of it. :rolleyes:

 

Jenny

[sludger]

It depends on the line. In RCL group, TAs aren't able to discount, so the price through the line and a TA will be the same. For others TAs are able to discount, so you may be able to get a discount (though it depends on a number of factors, not related to you). Doesn't hurt to shop around when you have a cruise in mind though.

 

It appears so, I will certainly be more vigilant in future.

In fact I just read that a Perth travel agent has been voted cruise travel agent of the year. So I might give them a try

 

Paul

[sludger]

Apologies for hijacking this thread, back to the original question.

 

Personally, having sailed on both these ships in the last 4 months, regardless of bias the Rhapsody is far and away the best vessel to take.

 

I think the only thing that is slightly better on the Jewel is the entertainment organization.

 

P&O Aust. entertainment staff are second to none, there is always something going on.

 

Paul

[Sandielle]

I know I will get the usual P&O lovers and P&O staff members berating me and accusing me of insulting their family members because they enjoyed their one and only P&O cruise and can't wait to get back on the Pacific Sun, but to be honest I don't care. If more people came to the fore as well, eventually we would get newer ships here and I wouldn't have to pay for flights to the us to experience these superliners.

 

Anyway that is the end of my daily rant, I've got to get back to my job as a Royal Caribbean Rep (only joking).

Paul

 

With respect, this is so childish and unnecessary. You publish your hatred for P&O ad nauseum . In fact, it makes one wonder what has happened that, after rarely posting, you now feel the need to continually attack and call people stooges if they dare speak a word in favour of P&O. All posters should be able to feel free to say whether or not they like a ship/company without those who think they know better sitting in judgment on them.

 

As for me, I am thankful that I am able to cruise and have enjoyed every one!

I wish the same for all.

[sludger]

Apologies for hijacking this thread, back to the original question.

 

Personally, having sailed on both these ships in the last 4 months, regardless of bias the Rhapsody is far and away the best vessel to take.

 

I think the only thing that is slightly better on the Jewel is the entertainment organization.

 

P&O Aust. entertainment staff are second to none, there is always something going on.

 

Paul

 

I must make mention of the food also, on the Jewel we have never had a bad meal in the main dining room.

I think the only difference being the buffets where the Rhapsody again wins for variety. The Jewel's buffet was very crowded most of the time.

 

Paul

[cruisin-m]

Rhapsody is a beautiful ship, pity about the food.If you dont mind pretty average food its the better of the two, but as far as food goes, P&O do a better job.

Regards Frank.

 

 

I'm so glad I'm not the only one out there that thought Rhapsody's food was extremely average compared to P&O/Princess :p. I started second guessing whether it actually was good food with how much everyone says they love it.

 

Rhapsody as a ship is way better then Pacific Jewel, and because you are a first timer some traditional things that I think have become an essential part of cruising like champagne waterfall, baked alaska, island night, decent stage shows etc wouldn't bother you at all. Which probably makes it the ideal choice!

[golfer76]

I completely disagree! Having done both in the last 6 months, Rhapsody wins hands down in food over P&O!

 

I totally agree Debsta!! I heard comments about P&O's food supposedly being better than RCI's...after travelling on the Dawn recently, there is no comparison to the Rhapsody for me, both in ease of obtaining food and the choices available. If the Rhapsody sailed out of Brissy and its prices were a little less expensive, I would not hesitate to sail on her everytime over P&O anyday. ;):)

 

Much nicer ship in my opinion...you've made a good choice for your first cruise. That was the reason I chose her for our first cruise. :)

[Dizziedi]

With respect, this is so childish and unnecessary. You publish your hatred for P&O ad nauseum . In fact, it makes one wonder what has happened that, after rarely posting, you now feel the need to continually attack and call people stooges if they dare speak a word in favour of P&O. All posters should be able to feel free to say whether or not they like a ship/company without those who think they know better sitting in judgment on them.

 

As for me, I am thankful that I am able to cruise and have enjoyed every one!

I wish the same for all.

 

 

The same can be said for people who don't agree with P&O lovers.

 

Cheers

Di

[anderss22]

I was looking at booking an 8 day cruise with P&O on Pacific Jewel in December 2011 to celebrate my 40th which is actually in January. After some further researching on the net I have come across a 12 night cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas which will actually mean I am onboard for my birthday.

 

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons for both of these boats and which you think is better and why.

 

This will be our first cruise so I want to make sure I make the correct decision. I did notice that Rhapsody is slightly dearer than Pacific Jewel however it is a longer cruise with a few more ports.

 

Are there sites online where you can get better prices than through Royal Carribean direct? I have come across sites where you can book for P&O and also get an onboard credit included, is this also possible to obtain for Royal Carribean?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Rhapsody all the way! You will love it... Its a much nicer ship and has a fantastic crew. I had my first cruise and her and absolutely loved it!:D

[cruisin-m]

The same can be said for people who don't agree with P&O lovers.

 

Cheers

Di

 

I agree with this, I do think there an awful lot more anti P&O'ers around here though :p

I often stay sidelined in the cruiseline debate but I do have to say you feel really isolated and get abused on here for defending P&O and your opinion, yet when it comes time to abusing P&O and praising US ships it is "fair debate of a point". The same thing for P&O and you get accused of working for them :confused:

 

My honest frank opinion was that Rhapsody of the Seas was a real letdown in food and onboard experience and if it was my first cruise I probably wouldn't have had the love for cruising that I got from cruising with P&O/Princess and just went back to landbased holidays. The service was great but there was so much they didn't do that was special to me I felt like something was missing and it wasn't a cruise.

The first-timers that came with us don't want to cruise again despite enjoing it... and I can understand why there was just no fizazz to it.

The ship itself is absolutely stunning I must confess though.

[golfer76]

That's the thing though cruisin-m...everyone is entitled to an opinion. ;)

 

Personally I loved the food on the Rhapsody way more than the Pacific Dawn. There was more choice for someone such as myself who prefers simpler food. Food is also much more easily obtainable on the Rhapsody as opposed to the Pacific Dawn (I can't vouch for the other P&O ships as I haven't sailed on them). Lining up for food in the buffet on the Dawn was an absolute nightmare at times...especially if you only wanted something down the far end of the line, plus the choice was very disappointing at times. The Rhapsody had no line-ups for the buffet - it's come and go as you please. I did enjoy the main dining room on both ships equally as well I will say. I didn't like being charged extra for fries on the Dawn...the Rhapsody had these freely available most of the day and night. Small things to be sure, but enough to be annoying to take the gloss of a cruise.

 

We still enjoyed the Dawn enough to book another cruise on her, but as I said earlier, if the Rhapsody sailed out of Brissy at the right price, I would pick her over P&O anyday. ;):)

[The_Big_M]

I'm wondering where I fit in as not a great fan of Rhapsody nor P&O? :-)

 

Both for different reasons, but both were weak in dining/food in particular, and not strong in service.

 

OTOH, I've found Princess very good all round, not perfect, but better than either the above for dining. It falls down on the activity side though.

[subaru94]

I was looking at booking an 8 day cruise with P&O on Pacific Jewel in December 2011 to celebrate my 40th which is actually in January. After some further researching on the net I have come across a 12 night cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas which will actually mean I am onboard for my birthday.

 

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons for both of these boats and which you think is better and why.

 

This will be our first cruise so I want to make sure I make the correct decision. I did notice that Rhapsody is slightly dearer than Pacific Jewel however it is a longer cruise with a few more ports.

 

Are there sites online where you can get better prices than through Royal Carribean direct? I have come across sites where you can book for P&O and also get an onboard credit included, is this also possible to obtain for Royal Carribean?

 

Thanks for your help.

Go for the Rhapsody of the Seas, we were on her in April and had a wonderful time.

[bobhsv]

Rhapsody wins it for me....and I am not anti P&O. I thought the food was excellent on ROS, the entertainment was better too. You wait till you hear the reggae band up near the pool (I hope they are still onboard), as they are fantastic, and made this area quite lively compared to other ships. Great atmosphere, great staff, great layout of the ship, good beds, great cabins, and the list goes on.

Smart choice with ROS, you will be more than happy.

Jen