skubapooh

We don't necessarily desire an ultra-small ship. We've been ok on Celebrity ships in the 3000 pax range. The challenge is that going to any other mainstream line usually means a doubling of that capacity. We are definitely not interested in the 6000 pax ships with the waterslides and go-karts on the deck, that type of thing. We're not seeing a lot of options in the 2000-3000 pax range. Seems like things tend to either be really big or really small. Maybe I am missing some obvious options in my research. Destination-wise, we love to cruise Europe and the South Pacific. We're also interested in expanding into some more exotic destinations in the future like Africa and Arabia, but those aren't our bread and butter.

I'm shopping for a new cruise line and I'm finding it a bit overwhelming. My husband and I have been loyal Celebrity cruisers for the last 10 years. We've always sailed in their Sky Suites (entry-level suite product) and were very happy until just recently when they brought on a new CEO who has started axing amenities and raising prices at the same time. For what they're charging now, we no longer feel the experience is worth it so we're looking to make a move to a new line. We're used to sailing on mid-sized ships (~3000 pax capacity). We wouldn't be interested in going larger and are thinking of trying out some of the smaller lines focused on a more premium experience. Some things about us: - We're a couple in our mid-40's with no kids (we're not against sailing on lines with kids, but it's not a consideration for us). - We aren't that interested in ship "entertainment" but do enjoy enrichment lectures and destination-specific presentations. - We are independent and generally plan our own excursions. We rarely join the ship excursions so the Regent-style all-inclusive experience would probably be wasted on us. - We don't need ultra-luxury, but we like to feel "taken care of" on vacation and good food is important! - We don't need a huge cabin. Something in the 300 sq ft range would suit us fine but we wouldn't go much smaller. - A bath tub is a must-have for me (this seems to be really hard to find unless you upgrade to one of the largest suites). - The price-point we're comfortable with is in the range of $1500/night for both of us with drinks, gratuities, wifi included (we don't consider airfare in this). I've been scouring the various forums and cruise line websites trying to find a good match for us but have come up empty so far. I'm hoping y'all can help me crowdsource this problem. We'd appreciate any recommendations or direction this group might be able to provide.