What's your favorite cruise line?

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Just had an amazing experience through Asia with Azamara Club Cruises. The best crew ever.

 

I have heard a lot about Azamara. They are the same ships as Pacific and Ocean Princess. Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise.I wish they would bring Azamara down here. I think they are part of RCCL.

[The_Big_M]

Don't think we'll see Celebrity here again because we have RCCL here.

 

 

Never say never :-)

[editor@cruisecritic]

Thanks for all the insightful posts. Here's another question. If you have a friend who's never cruised (should I do this in a new thread by the way?), would you recommend:

 

*short cruise from Aussie home port

*Europe cruise

*Pacific crossing?

 

Carolyn

[cazz0069]

Thanks for all the insightful posts. Here's another question. If you have a friend who's never cruised (should I do this in a new thread by the way?), would you recommend:

 

*short cruise from Aussie home port

*Europe cruise

*Pacific crossing?

 

Carolyn

 

Hi Carolyn, i would suggest a cruise from an Aussie home port. I think big ships, long cruises, overseas destination, could be a little overwhelming for a first time and i wouldnt want to scare potential cruisers off...Our first cruise, was 12 nights on Princess, just up the coast of Australia and that was a fantastic choice :)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

*short cruise from Aussie home port*Europe cruise*Pacific crossing?

Carolyn

 

For me there is only one answer.....

as long as time and budget allow.....

*Pacific crossing.

preferably one that included Hawaii and Tahiti.

[STKI Male]

I have sailed with P&O, Princess and RCI and find that Princess suits me best for a number of reasons.

 

1. Laundry's
   
2. Great World Wide Itineraries
   
3. Any Time Dining on most ships.
   
4. Good loyalty benefits such as free internet, and free washing and dry cleaning to elite members.
   
5. Fairly modern ships.
   
6. Great Staff.
   

Needless to say I do keep my options open and will sail with anyone that has the right itinerary and price when i'm looking for my next cruise.

[ging466]

My favourite line is Silversea!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Has any one cruised with Seabourne?

We are getting a lot of ads for the Asia season.

Yes they are still pricey, but for what you get with some of the deals,

they look amazing, and would be a once in a lifetime experience.

[sachiboo]

Oceania gets my vote!!! Nautica does Australia/NZ cruises.

[Australian family]

Princess popular with Aussies

An online poll has revealed

Australians’ favourite cruise

lines - and the features they

most dislike.

THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL CRUISE

community website last week asked

Australians to choose their favourite cruise

line, resulting in a close competition

between Princess Cruises and Royal

Caribbean.

At last count, the Cruise Critic poll had

Princess on top with 46% of votes, followed

by Royal Caribbean (36%) and P&O (13%).

Holland America Line and Celebrity

Cruises made a smaller splash, each with

9% of votes.

Voters also used the opportunity to

comment on their least favourite aspects,

such as the age of ships in Australian waters

and the cost of fares compared to discounts

offered to Americans.

Royal Caribbean also came under fire for

its lack of laundry facilities, while Princess

was praised for its cheap laundry and fridges

in each cabin.

However, Princess was attacked for its

restrictions on Australians who try to book

cheaper cruises through US-based travel

agents. (See ‘This Week At Sea’, page 3.)

Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief,

Cruise Critic, told CW that two factors

inspired the decision to conduct the poll.

“One is that it’s very clear that cruise lines

are really intrigued by the Australian market

beyond Australia’s home-grown options,”

she said.

“For the first time, we’re seeing cruise

lines acknowledging that rather than simply

put a ship in your market and hope North

Americans and Europeans will show up that

Australians (and New Zealanders, too) are

really gung-ho about cruising.”

“It’s very clear that cruise lines are

really intrigued by the Australian

market beyond Australia’s homegrown

options”.

H E O R L D ’ S L E A D I N G R I V E R C R U I S E L I N E . . . B Y F A R ®

Spencer Brown noted that P&O, Princess

and RCC had recently committed further

resources to Australia - not to mention

Holland America (see story at right).

“So that’s exciting – that’s a sign that the

market is growing, and when the market

begins to grow, as we are seeing in the UK

and in Europe, cruise lines start to offer the

spiffiest ships rather than hand-me-downs,”

she said.

The second inspiration for the poll was

that Cruise Critic’s Australian members were

“incredibly vocal”, Spencer Brown

explained.

“I love that I get a half dozen emails a

week from Australia-based travellers asking

various questions – and I always answer

Source: Cruise weekly

Goes to show that these pages are read.

[Australian family]

When Cruise Critic asked Australians

about their favourite cruise line (see story on

page 1) it received many complaints about

unfair pricing and the lack of new ships.

Voters on the website used the opportunity

to vent their feelings about cruising in

Australia.

The first comment posted on the forum,

by Cruise Critic member ‘Eileen’ said: “I

voted for Princess because I do love that

line, however, I will switch soon if they

continue their present stance in regards to

booking overseas.”

This complaint referred to non-US citizens

who try to obtain cheaper cruise fares by

booking through a US-based website.

Australian travel agents are always quick

to warn customers that you may be denied

boarding if you are found to have bought

your cruise online from an American travel

agent, scoring a discount that was valid for

American passengers only.

But many Australians have taken the risk,

saved the cash, and got away with it.

This has long been a contentious topic

among Aussie cruisers – not to mention

travel agents – and I’m curious to hear your

experiences.

Have you booked a discounted cruise with

a US agent and been caught? Or did it

work?

Another Cruise Critic member, ‘David’,

was critical of the value of local lines,

particularly P&O.

He said Australians should “compare the

value of what you are getting [on an

overseas cruise] with what you are charged

locally for the privilege of taking a cruise

with the local product”.

He was quickly shot down, however, by

P&O fans.

‘Australian family’, one of several people

who resented the “old” ships in local waters,

said: “It annoys me that these cruise lines

only send their older ships here. Do we not

deserve the right to have the newer ships

sailing on our waters?”

Age was irrelevant for other passengers

such as ‘Mabel58’ who said “the poor old

Pacific Sun is a bit dated but the crew were

superb on my last cruise” and added that

“some of the new mega ships in Europe

have all the gimmicks but feel soulless to

me.”

It’s all very interesting!

So what’s your favourite cruise line, and

what do you dislike about cruising in

Australia? I’d love to know!

Email me: louise@cruiseweekly.com.au

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I just recieved the weekly newsletter as well.

 

Thank you Carolyn for this poll, its looks like its woken a few up down here, and we are being listened to.

 

What I find amazing to come out so far, is that there is a big market down here looking for something other than the local product can provide.

 

And why not?

 

I am not surprised that Princess is ahead.....

 

I relish the choices we have now , and the ones that are coming.

 

[Australian family]

I have just read the articles in detail and it is interesting that they have quoted a few us in this article, including myself.

I wonder what Ann Sherry thinks about this.

It is also interesting that Louise Goldsbury the editor is wanting to hear from cruisers:

 

So what’s your favourite cruise line, and

what do you dislike about cruising in

Australia? I’d love to know!

Email me: louise@cruiseweekly.com.au

[editor@cruisecritic]

Thanks, David -- and all for being such a great community of cruise travelers. We're definitely listening!

 

Carolyn

 

I just recieved the weekly newsletter as well.

 

Thank you Carolyn for this poll, its looks like its woken a few up down here, and we are being listened to.

 

What I find amazing to come out so far, is that there is a big market down here looking for something other than the local product can provide.

 

And why not?

 

I am not surprised that Princess is ahead.....

 

I relish the choices we have now , and the ones that are coming.