Do you tend to stick to one Cruise Line?

[chukosh]

These are probably a newbie questions...

 

We have only sailed on 2 cruises...both on Royal Caribbean (Enchantment 11/07 and Freedom 5/09). At the end of the month, we are sailing on NCL out of NY.

 

Do you find yourself sticking to one cruise line? Or do you tend to go for the best deals, regardless of the cruise line?

 

Sue K.

[LHT28]

We stick to 1 line

we have done the mass market cruise & not for us anymore

 

Enjoy what works best for you

[Essiesmom]

I book for convenience, price, itinerary...etc. Only once have I booked for the ship...that was QE2 because we knew she was a legend, and was being retired. We felt we needed the experience of sailing on her. EM

[paul929207]

We also, stick to one cruise line. In our case, it is the itineraries and their small ships.

 

The important thing is to do what works best for you.

[Talisker92]

I have sailed on a number of lines, from Silverseas down to NCL. We now stick to one line because of the perks for frequent cruisers, destinations and prices

[tak81288]

No, I'm still "experimenting" and willing to try different lines. Itinerary, dates, my schedule, time, embarkment ports, airline prices to get to various ports, cruises prices...etc...all play a factor when planning any given cruise.

 

I really like variety, but if I get to a point of having an absolute favorite maybe I will stick to just that line. At this point though, I am nowhere near that.

[Aquahound]

These are probably a newbie questions...

 

We have only sailed on 2 cruises...both on Royal Caribbean (Enchantment 11/07 and Freedom 5/09). At the end of the month, we are sailing on NCL out of NY.

 

Do you find yourself sticking to one cruise line? Or do you tend to go for the best deals, regardless of the cruise line?

 

I have mainly stuck with one line (RCI) for a couple reasons. They keep building better and better ships, and their loyalty program treats me well. That said, I am completely open to other lines and have been on 2 others. There are certain lines I will likely not try, but there are several I would love to try.

[sail7seas]

We sailed other cruise lines in the past but now cruise only on HAL.

 

[cruzeluver]

I think if after your first cruise or two you have decided you are a full-on addict, it is a good idea to try a few different lines to see which is the best "fit" for you. I cannot imagine doing 20 plus cruises all on one line, although I know a lot of folks do! After sailing with the "big guys" (Carnival, Royal and NCL) we are currently very happy with Celebrity and will stick with them until we are ready to move on and as soon as financially we can move up to a luxury line.

[mtwingcpa]

I've mostly stuck with NCL, probably because I know what to expect. But I've reached a point where I would like to try something different, so now I'm "shopping."

[Tazsamp]

As others have mentioned before me, our main decision usually comes down to itinerary, cruise cost and the flight options/costs associated with getting to the port. Coming from Canada, we can only cruise a couple of times a year (if we're lucky), so we really have to pick and choose. Because of having to fly to the ports, cost and availability play into it a lot - especially if we're taking the kids!

 

If you find a cruiseline you absolutely love then that's great! Variety though is the spice of life, and I believe you need to experiment a bit before you can honestly say which line offers you exactly what you're looking for.

[Cruzaholic41]

Nope. I cruise them all. I have my favorite and my least favorite, but I am open to anything.

[98Charlie]

Nope. I cruise them all. I have my favorite and my least favorite, but I am open to anything.

 

We're with you on this. We too have our favorites and least favorites but if the price, itinerary and time of cruise sounds good to us --- we've all for it.

 

Have cruise NCL, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess and RCL so far in 31 cruises.

 

So many cruises out there on so many cruiselines, just don't want to limit us to just one or two choices.

 

Dianne

[Tralynn]

I've only cruised 3 different lines at this point, but my goal is to try and cruise them all. To me, that's part of enjoying cruises. I find it adds to the excitement to not only see new places, but to get there with different experiences. I do hit a road block when I find an awesome cruise deal. I'll have every intention of trying out a whole new cruise line, and then BAM, a flash promotion shows up and I'm a sucker for a good deal so I end up on one of my old faithful lines.

[YOW]

We're variety-holics as well. Our favourite line is Celebrity, but we tend to alternate cruises between Celebrity and other lines. And we'll alternate cruise vacations with land vacations. Keeps things nice and mixed up, and we're never bored. :)

[worldspan]

You might have a favorite restaurant but is that the only restaurant you would ever go to ?

 

Sadly, at least here in the States, most cruisers are "politically entrenched" with one particular line as they might be about their politics or religion.

 

Its funny how people become so beholden to these frequent cruiser programs. The lines know it and surely taken advantage of that, their most effective marketing tool no doubt!

[jocap]

Been on 5 lines so far, and many more to go. OH not only prefers one line, but one ship on that line!!!

Jo.

[kamfan]

We are about to sail our 3rd line, HAL after NCL and Princess. We are finding, in our limited experience, that for us, it is more about the ship and itinerary than it is about the line. Both NCL and Princess were comparable with most of the experience, but found all 3 ships (2 NCL, 1 Princess) we have been on so far are considerably different from each other. We will continue to try out new ships, lines and destinations, and enjoy every one in its own unique way.

[griffy116]

We cruised Carnival first and then RCI. We are now going on our 10th RCI cruise. We travel as a LARGE family and we know that they deliver a good cruise for everyone from age 4 to 79. I wouldn't personally have a problem with a different line, but we've never been disappointed in the cruise, the crew or the ship.

[okgirl]

I've only sailed with Carnival. I'm leaving on my 23rd in 11 days. I never found anything I wanted to do, or anywhere I wanted to go that they didn't offer.

 

I also like getting to know the "routine" of a cruiseline and I certainly know the ins and outs of Carnival.

 

When I get to Milestone (25th cruise) I may consider alternate lines, but only if I can afford to book in a suite that will give me embarkation/debarkation VIP status, and only if the rest of my Carnival Crazies friends aren't on a group cruise.

[Lvs2Cruise2]

We have always been Loyal to Royal for many years (8 cruises). In April we will go on our first Princess Cruise on Coral Princess. I chose this cruise for itinerary. It is a full transit of the Panama Canal in 10 days. Royal doesn't offer that. Royal no longer does a partial transit either (at least last time I checked). So I'm anxious to see how we like Princess!

[Cruzaholic41]

You might have a favorite restaurant but is that the only restaurant you would ever go to ?

 

Sadly, at least here in the States, most cruisers are "politically entrenched" with one particular line as they might be about their politics or religion.

 

Its funny how people become so beholden to these frequent cruiser programs. The lines know it and surely taken advantage of that, their most effective marketing tool no doubt!

 

I guess this is a matter of different strokes for different folks, because I do not agree with your comment. Some cruise lines have very good loyalty programs, and when those programs earn you up to $300 booking discounts, concierge service, private lounges with free services and alcohol, priority this and that, on board credit - this list goes on and on, I don't really see that as being taken advantage of.

 

When I'm booking a cruise, I consider all options, but if the line giving me the best loyalty perks is one of the options going where I want to go, that's the line that gets my booking. I hardly see that as "sad" or "politically entrenched.

[geoherb]

We've sailed on more Princess cruises than any other line, but I still look at Celebrity and HAL before making a booking to see how they compare with price and itinerary. Our last non-Princess cruise was on HAL's Westerdam two years ago for spring break. We've taken four Princess cruises since then.

 

The perks for being Platinum on Princess are nice (especially the free Internet minutes).

[paul929207]

I guess this is a matter of different strokes for different folks, because I do not agree with your comment. Some cruise lines have very good loyalty programs, and when those programs earn you up to $300 booking discounts, concierge service, private lounges with free services and alcohol, priority this and that, on board credit - this list goes on and on, I don't really see that as being taken advantage of.

 

When I'm booking a cruise, I consider all options, but if the line giving me the best loyalty perks is one of the options going where I want to go, that's the line that gets my booking. I hardly see that as "sad" or "politically entrenched.

I wanted to say the same thing, but was afraid it would come out a little too strong, so I passed. I figure it is like everything else in life. You find the way that works best for you. My sister and her family rent the same house on the New Jersey shore each August. I would hate to do that every yer, but she loves it and I would never dream of telling her she should so something else. Others usually or always cruise to the Caribbean. I like to go different places. With 18 Princess cruises, three have included the Caribbean. The rest have been all over the world. That works great for me.

[romnan]

I personally am a creature of habit. I Don't like surprises we have been on 11 cruises to date and the majority have been on RCCL:)