Which cruise line is the best?

[SWLinPHX]

me and my wife have only been on ncl and celebrity.we are 30 yrs old and 23.. if you want tons of old people go with celebrity.... ncl was slightly younger with more to do on the ship. ncl was alot better than celebrity in my own opinoin, but on celebrity they didnt push us to drink all the time like ncl does.

 

Dougbass, besides demographic, would you say Celebrity's staff was unusually attentive and that the food and amenities were "one step up" from the casual/contemporary lines, in this case NCL? I thought all was one step up, but my Celebrity cruise was a private charter (ages late 20's to early 60's I'd say, with 30's-50's the majority) and I've never done NCL.

 

I understand it is easy for us to be unintentionally insensitive when we're young, but I try not to say "old people". I say "seniors" but the truth is I like cruises with seniors. I just don't prefer all seniors (or all kids, or all teens, etc.).

[iheartbda]

Dougbass, besides demographic, would you say Celebrity's staff was unusually attentive and that the food and amenities were "one step up" from the casual/contemporary lines, in this case NCL? I thought all was one step up, but my Celebrity cruise was a private charter (ages late 20's to early 60's I'd say, with 30's-50's the majority) and I've never done NCL.

 

I understand it is easy for us to be unintentionally insensitive when we're young, but I try not to say "old people". I say "seniors" but the truth is I like cruises with seniors. I just don't prefer all seniors (or all kids, or all teens, etc.).

I would be curious to know how many times Dougbass has cruised on Celebrity and NCL. ;)

[jtcoolk]

Sorry about not giving you more info. I'm actually not looking for a huge party boat. The g/f and I are looking for a nice romantic getaway without spending a ton, but that's going to give us great food, entertainment, and a good time. We did like the shows that Carnival had last time... do other cruise ships have shows like that?

 

Basically I was just looking for the differences between say:

 

Carnival

Royal Caribbean

Norwegian

Disney

Celebrity

 

I should also add that I probably want a balcony of some sort. It's not that we are in the room 24/7 but it would be nice if we wanted to sit outside that we could do it in the privacy just off of our bedroom.

 

I think that everything you want is on Princess. I am biased, I love them but have tried 2 others. I have many friends that have been on RCL and they perfer Princess. Outdoor movie screen, best pizza on the sea, huge balcony if you book on Caribe deck, fresh water pools (most cruise lines have salt water).

[beachchick]

Sorry about not giving you more info. I'm actually not looking for a huge party boat. The g/f and I are looking for a nice romantic getaway without spending a ton, but that's going to give us great food, entertainment, and a good time. We did like the shows that Carnival had last time... do other cruise ships have shows like that?

 

Basically I was just looking for the differences between say:

 

Carnival

Royal Caribbean

Norwegian

Disney

Celebrity

 

I should also add that I probably want a balcony of some sort. It's not that we are in the room 24/7 but it would be nice if we wanted to sit outside that we could do it in the privacy just off of our bedroom.

 

I'm not saying that mainstream cruise lines don't have good food. And food is so subjective that one person's "fantastic" can be another's "it's okay" and still another's "blech." But you rarely get great food on a mainstream "not spending a ton" cruise line. The inexpensive fares, the cost of ingredients, and the fact that they're preparing food for thousands of passengers with varied food preferences several times per day mean that you'll usually get decent to very good food with some standout items and some you really dislike (or that are poorly prepared).

 

Many people envision cruise food as gourmet, 4 or 5 star cuisine. I've heard it generally is that on the luxury (read: most expensive) cruise lines. The reality is that mainstream cruise cuisine is more moderate, mass prepared, but tasty and sometimes creative dishes. The specialty restaurants often have higher end, more prepared-to-order dining served in a more intimate and upscale atmosphere. In our experience, the best of the specialty restaurant meals might be 2 to 2+ star, but not more than that. Keep in mind that all of this is my opinion and others have completely different, but equally valid opinions about the various cruise lines' dining.

 

You're smart to go with a balcony, IMO. We started with an inside (never did that again--hated the cabin, loved the cruise), moved to oceanview (decided that if we can see outside, we need to be able to be outside our own cabin), and finally moved to balcony or mini-suite. We've never looked back, even though it means we cruise less often, we do not cruise without a balcony.

 

Celebrity or Royal Caribbean might be a good fit for you. Definitely look at Princess and NCL. Keep in mind that NCL has all freestyle dining, which means that there is no assigned dining table, tablemates, or times. It doesn't mean that you can walk into any venue and be seated immediately because the various restaurants are small and not even the dining rooms can accomodate all passengers at once. NCL also does not have required formal nights. They have "dress up if you want" nights, but you could dress up every night if you wanted to do so. All they request is what's called resort casual (collared shirts with pants/slacks for men; nice top with pants/slacks/capris/skirt or sundress for women) in the dining rooms and restaurants in the evening. Other cruise lines usually have one or two formal nights, but there are casual dining options (e.g., buffet, diner) for those who don't care to dress formally at dinner.

 

beachchick

[momofmeg]

Now we must disagree with the comment that RCI has the "best ships." Sure, they have glitzy mega-ships but whether this is a good thing is certainly open to question. For cruises like us (and after reading one of the other comments we can say we probably did our 35th cruise about 15 years ago and have done a lot more since) small is better than huge. Ships like the Oasis are wonderful for those who want to be on a resort as opposed to a cruise. In fact, if you look at the ultra luxury cruise lines (Silverseas, Seabourn, Sea Dream, Regent) what they have in common is that they do not have mega-ships. If quality equalled big then the huge banquet halls would be the best restaurants.... We actually do like the Radiance ships a lot, but based on all the budget cutting on that line we do not think their quality is even close to what it used to be and certainly not as good as several other mass-market lines such as HA, X, etc. In fact, some would argue that even Carnival now has better food than on RCI...particularly in the buffets. RCI has developed a very successful philosophy of building huge mega-ships designed to maximize on-board revenue and economies of scale.

 

Hank

 

Hank, compared to you with my 17 cruises- 104 days total-I am just a babe at cruising, but I have to agree with you. My favorite cruises were on older small ships. Now, I do love balconies which the newer ships have but I miss the feeling of a " real cruise" we got when on the original Pacific Princess, HAL Statendam, and Celebrity Zenith. Even the better ships that held around 2000 people, such as HAL Westerdam , Zuiderdam, Celebrity Constellation, and Disney Wonder, just did not have that "feel," although they were nice ships.

 

I am just not interested in rock climbing. I do love to watch ice skating, but you only get to attend one show, and I can see much better shows at Philip's arena in Atlanta, not that the skaters were not talented, it was more the rink was so small, that there was only so much they coudl do-in a larger arena, talented skaters can do so much more.

 

Now, I do feel my hubby woudl love that boogie board thing that the larger than voyager class RCI ships have, but then again-he gets to do that when we go to the beach in a real ocean in real waves-not simulated waves.

 

I suspect thoguh, some of this is my age-I do feel RCI's target is 30 somethings and families with teens, as those are the age groups that love that stuff.

[Dancer Bob]

There is no "best" cruise line. Even to name my "favourite" line, there's at least 3, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. I think of the ones mentioned, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are evenly matched, NCL is an honourable mention keeping in mind their "freestyle" policy.

I will say that in general, the more I've paid for a cruise, the more disappointed I've been. The worst food and overall worst experience I've ever had, was on a so-called "luxury" line. Usually the cheap cruises with low expectations, I've been pleasantly surprized.

[SWLinPHX]

Well said Dancer Bob! :o

[momofmeg]

There is no "best" cruise line. Even to name my "favorite" line, there's at least 3, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. I think of the ones mentioned, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are evenly matched, NCL is an honorable mention keeping in mind their "freestyle" policy.

I will say that in general, the more I've paid for a cruise, the more disappointed I've been. The worst food and overall worst experience I've ever had, was on a so-called "luxury" line. Usually the cheap cruises with low expectations, I've been pleasantly surprized.

 

Bob, our favorite depends on the cruise- for a cruise with our daughter we really enjoy NCL-but for my husband and I alone we prefer HAL or Celebrity.

[maryann ns]

Outdoor movie screen, best pizza on the sea, huge balcony if you book on Caribe deck, fresh water pools (most cruise lines have salt water).

 

Here is an example of why there can be no one best cruise line for everyone. I do not want to see movies while on a cruise, I would never eat pizza when I could have something more interesting (to me), and I prefer salt water pools.

 

We all have different interests and reasons for cruising and there are many different lines out there to meet different tastes.

[maryann ns]

Outdoor movie screen, best pizza on the sea, huge balcony if you book on Caribe deck, fresh water pools (most cruise lines have salt water).

 

Here is an example of why there can be no one best cruise line for everyone. I do not want to see movies while on a cruise, I would never eat pizza when I could have something more interesting (to me), and I prefer salt water pools.

 

We all have different interests and reasons for cruising and there are many different lines out there to meet different tastes.