What is the worst Cruise line that you have sailed on

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Personally, it has nothing to do with the cruiseline, but with the ship. Having sailed different cruiselines, there are ships I would never return to and others that are our favorites. For example, we love the spirit class ships on Carnival, but hated the Glory and the Dream. Hated the old NCL Crown but loved the old NCL Dream. Last year had a great time on HAL's Veendam, this year, not so much so. We do not care for the freestyle of NCL, however, when you are in a suite on NCL, you are spoiled! After sailing on the Crown Princess and the "mass" of people on there, not sure I would sail on the type of ship again. To say one cruiseline is better than another is ridiculous, two people could be sailing on the same line and same ship and have totally different opinions. It's what best suits your taste and personality.

[westview1]

If anything said on these boards is offensive to you, particularly when talking about bad cruise lines, you may want to reconsider your internet usage time. But before you go jumping all over me for simply stating the obvious, you may want to take a closer look at your precious CEO. He, himself, stated the cruise line targets that demographic. It's pretty hard to refute facts that even the cruise line, themselves, admit to. That particular line is all about quantity, not quality. Heard too many people on a neon ship at a fraction the cost of other lines - what do you expect?

 

First of all, he is not my precious CEO, he is Carnivals CEO. That being said. The cruise line may target first time cruisers, and offer a less expensive fare but that does not give anyone the right to call those who choose to sail with them undesirable. I try to live my life by the Golden Rule. I am no better than anyone else, perhaps you are.

 

What does my internet time have to do with my being offended by what someone has said? I could go online for 1 minute and find something to be offended by or I may spend all day surfing the net and find nothing to be offensive.

 

If you are so offended by my opposition to your opinion, then maybe you should be more open to dissenting opinions.

[westview1]

Personally, it has nothing to do with the cruiseline, but with the ship. Having sailed different cruiselines, there are ships I would never return to and others that are our favorites. For example, we love the spirit class ships on Carnival, but hated the Glory and the Dream. Hated the old NCL Crown but loved the old NCL Dream. Last year had a great time on HAL's Veendam, this year, not so much so. We do not care for the freestyle of NCL, however, when you are in a suite on NCL, you are spoiled! After sailing on the Crown Princess and the "mass" of people on there, not sure I would sail on the type of ship again. To say one cruiseline is better than another is ridiculous, two people could be sailing on the same line and same ship and have totally different opinions. It's what best suits your taste and personality.

 

Thank-you, I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Talisker92]

Mine was on the original Sun Princess in 1988. It was a "high density" ship. Our cabin was so small that there were 2 single beds and a tiny table between them! The food was singularly uninteresting, and the staff could not care less. The ship made one more cruise and it was sold. The last I heard, it renamed the Flamenco.

Fortunately, that did not put us off cruising.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Mine was on the original Sun Princess in 1988. It was a "high density" ship. Our cabin was so small that there were 2 single beds and a tiny table between them! The food was singularly uninteresting, and the staff could not care less. The ship made one more cruise and it was sold. The last I heard, it renamed the Flamenco.

Fortunately, that did not put us off cruising.

 

LOL, this reminds me of the RC Song of America when we sailed in 1994. Room was soooooo small don't even want to talk about the "shower"! Ship was one of those "you can't get there from here"! Needless to say, we stayed away from RC and are going for the second time since 1994 in February 2012. Again, had nothing to do with the cruiseline, but the ship!

[mr green]

LOL, this reminds me of the RC Song of America when we sailed in 1994. Room was soooooo small don't even want to talk about the "shower"! Ship was one of those "you can't get there from here"! Needless to say, we stayed away from RC and are going for the second time since 1994 in February 2012. Again, had nothing to do with the cruiseline, but the ship!

 

Strange. In the late '90s Song of America was said to be a good 'First Time Cruise'. We enjoyed it, our 2nd cruise as I recall, better IMO than NCL.

 

john

[boogs]

Ok, I'm offended. I have been on a couple of different lines, and yes I have been on Carnival more than the others. But, I would have to say that based on my fellow passengers, my experience on Celebrity was the most undesirable. The demographic was much older and the one thing I remember about that cruise were the discussions about health issues and funerals.

 

My point is this: We all have our own personal tastes and levels of we consider to be desirable. To say that a cruise line will attract a lower class of people is pure snobbery. You don't care for your fellow passengers, that is fine, but to imply that those who choose a certain line are somehow beneath you is classless.

 

I have never been on a Carnival ship. However, since we all base our decisions on what we learn from friends, from what we read, and from personal experience, I'd like to make two points:

 

Point one: over half of the posts in this thread say their worst cruise was on a Carnival ship. The remainder are spread out among the rest of the cruise lines. I find it difficult not to make a judgment about Carnival based on this statistic.

 

Point two: a couple we dine out with often took their first and final cruise in the late 90s on a Carnival ship. Their experience was so disappointing that even today we can't convince them to try another cruise, even on another cruise line. For a company to put out such a bad product that people refuse to even consider trying that type of product again, even from another company, is noteworthy. I wonder how many people are permanently turned off to cruising because their first cruise was a sub-par experience?

 

Not having been on a Carnival ship, and having no personal experience with that cruise line, I don't think I'll be sailing on one of their ships, in large part based on what I've read here and how strongly my friends feel about not cruising again after their poor experience on a Carnival ship.

 

Full disclosure: my favorite cruise line is Celebrity. Every cruise I have ever taken with them has been near perfect. Disney, Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean complete my top five.

[sooziecruz]

Mine was on the original Sun Princess in 1988. It was a "high density" ship. Our cabin was so small that there were 2 single beds and a tiny table between them! The food was singularly uninteresting, and the staff could not care less. The ship made one more cruise and it was sold. The last I heard, it renamed the Flamenco.

Fortunately, that did not put us off cruising.

This thread is hilarious! A "bad" cruise-come on people-a bad cruise is if it sinks! (Yes, I am joking.) I say; Old ship or new ship, tacky or classy or somewhere in between, short cruise, long cruise, hot weather or cold weather, crowded or not so much, big or small, I love them all! By the way, my very first cruise was aboard original Sun Princess in 1982. Loved it. That was 24 cruises ago....If I am blessed enough to have the time, health and means to travel-then I make the very best of it each and every time! Happy cruising!:)

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Strange. In the late '90s Song of America was said to be a good 'First Time Cruise'. We enjoyed it, our 2nd cruise as I recall, better IMO than NCL.

 

john

 

LOL! We also sailed on the original Love Boat, Pacific Princess. Of the two different cabins we had, neither one had beds that went together, thus twin beds! DH and I always joked that we never understood why it was called the Love Boat, since everyone would probably end up on the floor! P.S. That was a great ship!

[Peace2U]

I wasn't quite as impressed with NCL or Carnival. Carnival's music selection was too poppy, not very classy. NCL charges $6 an hour to watch children during port days. They are kind of no frills.

[alphakitty]

I've sailed several times on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and once on NCL Spirit. I've enjoyed all my cruises and don't think any of these lines are bad. I guess I'm really easy to please, we keep to ourselves mostly, but don't mind sharing a table at dinner if need be. We always do freestyle, my time, whatever.

 

In our experience, each of these main stream lines is more alike than they are different.

[Taxguy77]

It is unfortunate, but more or less normal, for a table for 12 having to wait up to two hours at dinner. It has happened to us, but, since we knew the reason so we saw no call to complain.

 

john

 

It may be somewhat "normal" for cruiseships, but sure is not for land based restaurants! We used to belong to a 12 person Dinner/bridge group that met once a month. For many years we met at the host's selection of restaurants in several cities and two countries, from fast-food to elegant dining in a members only club and NEVER waited more than a half hour.

[westview1]

I have never been on a Carnival ship. However, since we all base our decisions on what we learn from friends, from what we read, and from personal experience, I'd like to make two points:

 

Point one: over half of the posts in this thread say their worst cruise was on a Carnival ship. The remainder are spread out among the rest of the cruise lines. I find it difficult not to make a judgment about Carnival based on this statistic.

 

Point two: a couple we dine out with often took their first and final cruise in the late 90s on a Carnival ship. Their experience was so disappointing that even today we can't convince them to try another cruise, even on another cruise line. For a company to put out such a bad product that people refuse to even consider trying that type of product again, even from another company, is noteworthy. I wonder how many people are permanently turned off to cruising because their first cruise was a sub-par experience?

 

Not having been on a Carnival ship, and having no personal experience with that cruise line, I don't think I'll be sailing on one of their ships, in large part based on what I've read here and how strongly my friends feel about not cruising again after their poor experience on a Carnival ship.

 

Full disclosure: my favorite cruise line is Celebrity. Every cruise I have ever taken with them has been near perfect. Disney, Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean complete my top five.

 

I haven't been keeping a scorecard on which cruise lines were mentioned. I don't actually care if someone doesn't like a particular cruise line. It's all based on your experience, and what you like and dislike. What I don't like or understand is how someone can lump everyone who chooses a particular cruise line into one group and calls them undesirable. I have cruised on more than one line myself and there are positives and negatives with each. I could take Celebrity again and have a different experience, but, on the cruise that I took, the passenger demographics, mainly because of age, didn't work for me. I am 46 and was 41 when I took Celebrity, I was definitely one of the younger passengers that sailing and I didn't have a good experience in my opinion. BTW I may listen to what my friends say, but I make up my own mind. I find life is more interesting when there is variety. Your opinion may differ and that is what is so wonderful about life, we all have something to contribute.

[Taxguy77]

Personally, it has nothing to do with the cruiseline, but with the ship. Having sailed different cruiselines, there are ships I would never return to and others that are our favorites. For example, we love the spirit class ships on Carnival, but hated the Glory and the Dream. Hated the old NCL Crown but loved the old NCL Dream. Last year had a great time on HAL's Veendam, this year, not so much so. We do not care for the freestyle of NCL, however, when you are in a suite on NCL, you are spoiled! After sailing on the Crown Princess and the "mass" of people on there, not sure I would sail on the type of ship again. To say one cruiseline is better than another is ridiculous, two people could be sailing on the same line and same ship and have totally different opinions. It's what best suits your taste and personality.

 

That shows different people or the same on different cruises are very different in their perceptions. The Crown is our all-time favorite (Tied with the Royal Clipper), as we went from Miami to Chile on her. We had 2 other couples as tablemates for dinner with great conversation about the days events, and a waiter I would have tried to hire if I owned a restaurant! Also had a room with a bay window where we would enjoy some restful time while getting ready for dinner.

Then NCL started getting sold over and over and trying to institute "Free-Style". After a cruise with this mess and poor quality food, we quit NCL.

 

The rest of your post I totally agree with, and could not have said it as well.

[SantaFeFan]

To say one cruiseline is better than another is ridiculous, two people could be sailing on the same line and same ship and have totally different opinions. It's what best suits your taste and personality.

 

I agree on your overall message, but disagree on the comment highlighted above. There is nothing ridiculous about saying something is better than another. It's the simple act of having personal preferences. It's a trait of the human animal to make evaluations and then decide which one is better than the other. That is how we decide on where we live, what we eat, who we marry, and how we live our lives. Everyone has the right to believe something is better than another - it is one of the things that makes us all individuals. Nothing ridiculous about that.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

I agree on your overall message, but disagree on the comment highlighted above. There is nothing ridiculous about saying something is better than another. It's the simple act of having personal preferences. It's a trait of the human animal to make evaluations and then decide which one is better than the other. That is how we decide on where we live, what we eat, who we marry, and how we live our lives. Everyone has the right to believe something is better than another - it is one of the things that makes us all individuals. Nothing ridiculous about that.

 

I agree, did you not read the last sentence to what you highlighted???? It's what best suits your taste and personality.

[CruiserChloe]

Personally, it has nothing to do with the cruiseline, but with the ship.

 

I'd like to agree with you, but in my expereince, I just can't. My Carnival experience has been the Imagination, Splendor, and Dream. That's 3 different ship classes. If Carnival has another ship class that isn't so bad, it doesn't really say much about the line because the 3 classes I have been on were that bad. Actually, to clarify, it's not that they were that bad, it's just that they were not as good as all the other lines I have been on, which are Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and Royal Caribbean.

 

I think I've given Carnival a fair chance. But I can comfortably say I won't be returning. The ships I've been on were too crowded and lacked class.

[cruisenuts4life]

I have never had a bad cruise,but my least favorite was on the carnival pride.Just wasn't impressed at all with the ship or people on it.Just not my cup of tea.:)

[ducklite]

I wasted a week of my life on the RCCL Mariner. Since then I've turned down a free cruise with RCCL, you couldn't pay me to step foot on one of their ships again.

 

OK--I told a white lie, we did step foot on one of their ships to attend the wedding of a dear friend--but we went to the wedding and got off, didn't sail with them. That we'll never do again.

[fusilier6713]

going on my 1st cruise on the norwegian jade in may 2012 , i knew i shouldnt have read this thread :), hopefuly being the hardy soul i am its all going to be what we make of it ;)

[mamasue]

Every cruise we've been on has been great.... never had one we didn't enjoy.

Carnival Imagination was our least favourite...and the food on NCL Norwegian Jewel wasn't great!

Both cruises were last-minute cheapies, so our expectations weren't too high.... and hey.... we were cruising!!:)

 

Our favourite has been the MSC Poesia..... loved everything about it!!!!

[msbptg]

I see that everyone that lists an MSC cruise in their signatures on this thread also rates MSC as their worst cruise ever.

 

I,ll have to disagree. We sailed Opera in 2006 and had no problems..except the rude staff..

[kelmac]

Never had a really "Bad" cruise, however, NCL is not great. I may try them again some day, but I will eat every meal in one of the alternative restaurants.

Give me Oceania, Azamara, Celebrity, Cunard or Holland America!

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[sarge98]

What is the worst Cruise line that you have cruised on.What made it bad for you. Was it the ship, the service or the food.

 

Let,s all go to the Caribbean.:):):)

 

Try looking up worst cruises on the net. Lots of them. The North Koreans even have an entry.

[satxdiver]

HAL!! The average age onboard our cruise was 80 I think. The public areas after dinner were deserted. It was like sailing on a ghost ship. Then there were all the walkers and carts to dodge. Never again!

 

HAL dinner times:

early dining 3:30 - 5:00

late dining 5:30 - 7:00

midnight buffet 8:00