Which ships are most sociable?

[mikewrit]

We've sailed four times on NCL and plan a fifth aboard the Norwegian Pearl through the Panama Canal next April. As a CC newbie, I've been spending way too much time on these boards. I am particularly interested in the varied culture of cruising, from the super luxury lines -- where everything is included in a fairly steep price and passenger attitudes seem snooty and women think of wearing ball gowns to dinner -- to what are called "mass market " lines -- where dignified society matrons are exposed to noisy, smelly kids, badly dressed boors and unsavory dinner conversations about gastric distress. On which lines or particular cruises are passengers most likely to make lots of great friends and share much enlightening conversation about wonderful shore visits and rich days at sea? Would it be useful for CC to more strongly encourage that aspect of cruising as part of member reviews?

[JanineM]

We prefer to sail Celebrity which has this ridiculous reputation as "snooty". Good grief, the clerks at our local mall are more snooty than 95% of the people we've encountered on ships.

 

If you are open to meeting different people, chatting with those at your table, visiting with others in line, on the pool deck or at the theatre then you will make friends on ANY line.

 

And because people enjoy dressing up doesn't make them snobbish, any more than those who choose to wear baseball caps and baggy jeans are slobs. I personally love dressing up because I don't get the opportunity at home, but we love nothing more than making new friends when we cruise!

[Travelcat2]

Quite an interesting question! We cruise on a luxury line, however, are not familiar with snooty behavior. Most passengers on Regent are well traveled and enjoy discussing travel. It is easy to be friendly with people everywhere on the ship. We have friends that we met 2 years ago and will be taking our 3rd cruise with in January. Until recently, we were not even aware of how many children they had or what business they were in. These topics are not important on board the ship. We tend to meet before dinner to discuss our day -- excursions, etc. I suspect that there are people on all cruise lines that want to brag and act pompous. There are others who enjoy talking about their maladies. For the most part though, there are a great group of mature people on luxury lines (mature not always meaning old:-)

[Cruzaholic41]

I agree with Water*Baby. I find Celebrity to be a highly sociable cruise line minus all the drunken fools. Give Solstice Class of any of the Millennium Class that have been "Solsticized" a try.

[RetireeWannabee]

It's a crapshoot dependent on who is on your sailing. Generalities will not set your expectations well.

[Shifra]

Very good question. On my cruises I have met the nicest people on Princess and HAL, next in line would would be Celebrity. Most of the other mass market lines don't interest me.

 

Cannot comment on luxury lines since I haven't been on one. :(

[mikewrit]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I hope there will be more.

[geoherb]

We've met great people on Celebrity, HAL, and Princess. Of course any time you book a cruise on one of their ships, you're taking a chance you'll run into a few jerks as well.

[Hlitner]

Ships are not "sociable.! It is the passengers who are sociable and make the cruise. We have been on less than excellent ships and had a ball because of our fellow passengers, and have also been on some of the best ships in the world and been disappointed because of the passengers. Having spent nearly 2 years of our lives on more then 50 different cruise ships, we think making friends is somewhat based on luck which can certainly be enhanced by being on a smaller ship. When you cruise on a mega-ship (3000+ passengers) you will often find yourself meeting people and never seeing them again. Put yourself on a 700 passenger ship and you will keep running into the same folks again and again which helps develop friendships. The longer the cruise the better chance you will develop some really strong life long friendships (we recently made quite a few friends on a 42 day cruise) simply because you have more time to get to know each other. But we do not see how "making friends" has much to do with cruise reviews because it has little to do with the cruise line and is more about a particular group of cruisers on one particular cruise.

 

Hank

[mikewrit]

It strikes me that most cruise reviews are highly subjective in these parts. Two people on the same cruise may vary widely in their various assessments, with one issuing two begrudging ribbons while the other hands out the max. I prefer the review that says, "We had a lot of fun with some terrific people despite some problems," to the one that says, "I'll never cruise again with XYZ because I was forced to suffer a boorish head waiter in the sushi bar."

[SuitCaseBears]

>>from the super luxury lines -- where everything is included in a fairly steep price and passenger attitudes seem snooty and women think of wearing ball gowns to dinner --

 

Huh? First of all most of the luxury lines did away with formal nights before the mass market lines did. And I've never met anyone snotty on Regent.

 

If you price out what you'll actually want to do (airfare, excursions, drinks etc) some of the luxury lines compare quite well price-wise with the mass market lines.

 

AND the luxury lines have smaller ships which I've found to be very helpful when it comes to socializing, because you get to know your fellow passengers by sight more quickly, and that often makes striking up a conversation easier.

 

So I think you're assumptions are way off base. But they are yours and I'm unlikely to change them.

 

But I'll vote vote with whoever said it's not the ship or the cruise line, but the passengers. I think if you are cheerful, ready with a smile and a hello and also respect those who don't want to socialize, you can't help but find kindred spirits on any cruise line.

 

But try to avoid the hyperbole and stereotypes.

[mikewrit]

I grant that my assumptions may be way off base. I haven't sufficient experience for much more than guesses based on what I read on these boards. I'd still like a section on the Cruise Critic review form for passenger ambiance. Might help me to move my assumptions somewhat closer to the base.

[lady_cruiser]

For our age group (early 60s) I find that Royal Caribbean is the best ship for our age group. Of course the only ships we have sailed on has been Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.

[Aquahound]

I grant that my assumptions may be way off base. I haven't sufficient experience for much more than guesses based on what I read on these boards. I'd still like a section on the Cruise Critic review form for passenger ambiance. Might help me to move my assumptions somewhat closer to the base.

 

Last year, I tried the Celebrity Solstice. It was my first Celebrity cruise. Not only was the ship absolutely gorgeous, but I found everyone on board to be very personable, friendly, and most of all, civil. One year later, I cruised the Solstice again on a different itinerary. I had the same exact experience with fellow cruisers. Give Solstice Class a look.

[Capt_BJ]

this answer may sound snooty . . . . but . . . .

 

I've found that when we sail a higher end line the folks on board tend to come from a tighter knot socio-economic background and that is why perhaps they don't try to one-up another in the way we have experienced on more 'main-stream' lines.

 

Our most recent cruise was on RCL FOS and it seemed everyone's first words out of their mouth was what type of cabin they were in or what "frequent flier club" privledge they were getting and "I guess you don't" . . .

 

On our WINDSTAR sailings, (original 4 mast ships only) all the cabins are the same so short of discussing "what did you pay" everyone was on the same footing....a not inexpensive footing but not crazy. And THAT seems to bring everyone to an "I'd like to just TALK to you" level cuz we must be the same kind of folks vs "I'm in first class and you're not, nadi nadi boo boo . . ."

 

I'd say our Pricess sailings came closest to the WINDSTAR experience - while the family friendly lines seem to be bad along this line. NCL ugh, RCL, ugh and even (gasp) DISNEY.

 

WINDSTAR has always had a very casual, relaxed attitude while always retaining a sophistication that suggested a beer bong contest at the pool was NOT going to happen. We've never met a person we couldn't enjoy dinner with on WINDSTAR - and you can eat alone or with a diffent person every nite. On our sailings by the second nite we were asking for the BIG table for our 6 best new friend couples to share with us!

 

Must go now and try to book another WINDSTAR cruise . . (lordy I HOPE they haven't changed)

[Talisker92]

I have cruised on Silverseas, Seabourn,Regent, Princess, NCL and some others that are no longer in business. I have cruised on a ship with 46 passengers and one with 3000.

I agree with the other posters here-it is the passengers that are important-statistically 5-10% of the passengers are going to be snobs, jackasses, or whatever-that leaves 90-95% who are really nice.

I enjoy meeting people, and my wife is always at my side to give me the elbow when needed LOL

She had taught me the proper answer to the "How many cruises have you been on" question, as well as many others.

[JanineM]

I grant that my assumptions may be way off base. I haven't sufficient experience for much more than guesses based on what I read on these boards. I'd still like a section on the Cruise Critic review form for passenger ambiance. Might help me to move my assumptions somewhat closer to the base.

 

This is such a highly subjective, personal thing.

 

There are those who draw people to them, and there are those who do not. Let me give you a good example. My husband and I sailed with one of my very good friends and her husband. She is super outgoing and vivacious and talks to everyone around her. The other 3 of us, on the other hand, are much quieter and not very outgoing but we're all perfectly nice, fun, friendly, intelligent people ... not snobbish, just not vivacious. Lisa made friends everywhere she went. She was pulled up onto the stage during one of the shows in the theatre and probably a hundred people yelled out, "LISA!" because they all knew her. She is sought out because of her huge smile and friendly personality. Happens absolutely everywhere we go.

 

Lisa left the ship saying that everyone was so friendly and wonderful and she made so many friends. The rest of us, who were on the exact same cruise, sitting at the same tables, doing the same excursions, made maybe 1 or 2 friends. Friendship, conversations, relationships are created by individuals, not by ships or cruise directors or cruise lines.

 

And one other point I'd like to make since you have been reading the reviews, is that you have to take them with a grain of salt. Remember that old adage about someone with a good experience telling one person and the person with a bad experience telling ten? Well that's absolutely true in the reviews. The vast majority of cruisers have a great time but just don't take the time to write reviews. Those who are either super cheerleaders, or have a bone to pick will write a review. I learned long ago not to make decisions based on individual reviews or comments from these boards.

 

If your goal is meet a lot of new friends on a cruise then just dive right on in and talk to the people around you. Some may not want to converse, but that probably has nothing to do with snobbishness, but more to do with their personality or issues or whatever.

[SuitCaseBears]

You've answered your own question

 

It strikes me that most cruise reviews are highly subjective in these parts. Two people on the same cruise may vary widely in their various assessments, with one issuing two begrudging ribbons while the other hands out the max.

 

Exactly. Plus only a small minority of cruisers are on Cruise Critic.

 

So all you can do is read a LOT of different threads and then sort of squint a think of them as an impressionistic painting.

 

Also - go to the individual cruise line areas. There you'll find people who love a particular line hanging out together. Hear what they say to each other.

 

But bottom line is that what people post on any message board gives you a very filtered view of the subject matter. You have to apply your own filter to see what it will mean to you.

[mikewrit]

Dagnabit! As I feared, no easy answer. Sad but true. I guess I've got years and other wherewithal for four more cruises, five if we take inside cabins on mass market lines, two if we go for Crystal or Seabourne. Withal, I resolve to find a Lisa or a Hank on every boat (I know, SHIP!) and follow the sociable leader.

[jocap]

This is such a highly subjective, personal thing.

 

There are those who draw people to them, and there are those who do not. Let me give you a good example. My husband and I sailed with one of my very good friends and her husband. She is super outgoing and vivacious and talks to everyone around her. The other 3 of us, on the other hand, are much quieter and not very outgoing but we're all perfectly nice, fun, friendly, intelligent people ... not snobbish, just not vivacious. Lisa made friends everywhere she went. She was pulled up onto the stage during one of the shows in the theatre and probably a hundred people yelled out, "LISA!" because they all knew her. She is sought out because of her huge smile and friendly personality. Happens absolutely everywhere we go.

 

Lisa left the ship saying that everyone was so friendly and wonderful and she made so many friends. The rest of us, who were on the exact same cruise, sitting at the same tables, doing the same excursions, made maybe 1 or 2 friends. Friendship, conversations, relationships are created by individuals, not by ships or cruise directors or cruise lines.

 

And one other point I'd like to make since you have been reading the reviews, is that you have to take them with a grain of salt. Remember that old adage about someone with a good experience telling one person and the person with a bad experience telling ten? Well that's absolutely true in the reviews. The vast majority of cruisers have a great time but just don't take the time to write reviews. Those who are either super cheerleaders, or have a bone to pick will write a review. I learned long ago not to make decisions based on individual reviews or comments from these boards.

 

If your goal is meet a lot of new friends on a cruise then just dive right on in and talk to the people around you. Some may not want to converse, but that probably has nothing to do with snobbishness, but more to do with their personality or issues or whatever.

Perfect, Janine. Thanks.:)

Jo.

[PROCRUISE]

We've sailed four times on NCL and plan a fifth aboard the Norwegian Pearl through the Panama Canal next April. As a CC newbie, I've been spending way too much time on these boards. I am particularly interested in the varied culture of cruising, from the super luxury lines -- where everything is included in a fairly steep price and passenger attitudes seem snooty and women think of wearing ball gowns to dinner -- to what are called "mass market " lines -- where dignified society matrons are exposed to noisy, smelly kids, badly dressed boors and unsavory dinner conversations about gastric distress. On which lines or particular cruises are passengers most likely to make lots of great friends and share much enlightening conversation about wonderful shore visits and rich days at sea? Would it be useful for CC to more strongly encourage that aspect of cruising as part of member reviews?

 

I find your perception/question to be interesting. As you can see, we do "mainline cruising" because we can do more cruising that way. We have made great friendships, and continue to keep in touch, on EVERY cruise we've ever taken. I suspect it might be that we purposely steer conversations towards wonderful shore visits, great itineraries, and the enjoyment of simply cruising. I don't need to know about others incomes, how many homes they have, their latest medical condition, politics, or current complaints. I do appreciate insight regarding great experiences and recommendations. We have found that from many passengers on CCL, NCL, HAL and probably also will on Celebrity when we give them a try in March.

[bob brown]

A very interesting thread!

Lots of very good points made.

It is up to passengers themselves to be sociable or not, as has been said.

However, cruise lines themselves, especially the cruise director and his or her staff, can have some impact on the ambiance.

Seemingly hokey activities, such as HAL used to conduct, like "Are you Mr. or Ms. Ryndam" (or whatever the ship you were on, were designed to help "break the ice" for passengers to encourage socializing. They no longer do this as feedback has told them people just didn't want it any more.

Many cruiselines at one time, or still do, award 'points', signatures, or "dam dollars" just for participating in organized activities on board, which can later be used to 'buy' logo merchandise. The main purpose was not to give away prizes, but rather to encourage participation and socializing on board.

Perhaps this is what the OP was getting at?

[beachchick]

We've sailed four times on NCL and plan a fifth aboard the Norwegian Pearl through the Panama Canal next April. As a CC newbie, I've been spending way too much time on these boards. I am particularly interested in the varied culture of cruising, from the super luxury lines -- where everything is included in a fairly steep price and passenger attitudes seem snooty and women think of wearing ball gowns to dinner -- to what are called "mass market " lines -- where dignified society matrons are exposed to noisy, smelly kids, badly dressed boors and unsavory dinner conversations about gastric distress. On which lines or particular cruises are passengers most likely to make lots of great friends and share much enlightening conversation about wonderful shore visits and rich days at sea? Would it be useful for CC to more strongly encourage that aspect of cruising as part of member reviews?

 

I assume you're overgeneralizing on purpose? Sure there are some posts about "snooty" passengers on this or that cruise line (luxury or otherwise because you read threads about snobby folks on all cruise lines) and various posts compaining about badly behaved children, poorly dressed slobs, and social boors (though not at all limited to so-called mass market lines). But I don't believe those limited threads indicate that luxury cruising is full of snooty ball-gown wearing women or that mainstream cruise lines are full of low class social idiots. (I wonder though what "dignified society matrons" would be doing on "mainstream" cruise lines in the first place? And some women choose to wear true full length gowns on formal nights regardless of cruise line.)

 

We have met nice, interesting, fun people on all our cruises. No, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea for CC to "strongly encourage" cruise reviews to focus that much on how sociable passengers might have been on a particular cruise. It is unique to each sailing because every cruise is different and every cruise line attracts all kinds of people from those we'd rather never see again to those we become long-term friends with.

 

beachchick

[RetireeWannabee]

...No, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea for CC to "strongly encourage" cruise reviews to focus that much on how sociable passengers might have been on a particular cruise. It is unique to each sailing because every cruise is different and every cruise line attracts all kinds of people from those we'd rather never see again to those we become long-term friends with.

 

beachchick

This kind of feedback on a review would be pointless, as Beachy points out.

 

Additionally, it would add no value to the review, IMO, because it is dependent not only on the makeup of that cruises pax, but has everything to do with the reviewer and their objectives.

 

I'm not on a cruise to make friends. If it happens, great, but not a goal. What possible value could there be in my reporting "there were some nice people onboard"?

 

The social aspects of any sailing are completely up to the passenger to create their own social agenda.

[Taxguy77]

this answer may sound snooty . . . . but . . . .

 

I've found that when we sail a higher end line the folks on board tend to come from a tighter knot socio-economic background and that is why perhaps they don't try to one-up another in the way we have experienced on more 'main-stream' lines.

 

Our most recent cruise was on RCL FOS and it seemed everyone's first words out of their mouth was what type of cabin they were in or what "frequent flier club" privledge they were getting and "I guess you don't" . . .

 

On our WINDSTAR sailings, (original 4 mast ships only) all the cabins are the same so short of discussing "what did you pay" everyone was on the same footing....a not inexpensive footing but not crazy. And THAT seems to bring everyone to an "I'd like to just TALK to you" level cuz we must be the same kind of folks vs "I'm in first class and you're not, nadi nadi boo boo . . ."

 

I'd say our Pricess sailings came closest to the WINDSTAR experience - while the family friendly lines seem to be bad along this line. NCL ugh, RCL, ugh and even (gasp) DISNEY.

 

WINDSTAR has always had a very casual, relaxed attitude while always retaining a sophistication that suggested a beer bong contest at the pool was NOT going to happen. We've never met a person we couldn't enjoy dinner with on WINDSTAR - and you can eat alone or with a diffent person every nite. On our sailings by the second nite we were asking for the BIG table for our 6 best new friend couples to share with us!

 

Must go now and try to book another WINDSTAR cruise . . (lordy I HOPE they haven't changed)

 

Did you like Windstar?:confused::p