Choosing a Cruise Line

[Jana60]

I have been on 16 prior cruises and am booked for #17 and I have learned that there is NO ideal Cruise line for all people. I've been on 8 Carnival, 3 RCCL, 4 Norwegian, and 1 Princess. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. I'm going compare them below as I think some folks judge the cruises lines from rumors or cruise experience 15 years ago and never got updated info. This is my humble opinion/review of these 4 Cruise lines:

 

Carnival Cruise line:

 

Rooms/amenities: Larger rooms than other cruise lines. 165-185sq feet as opposed to 110-120sq feet. Better in room amenities such as use of robes, refrigerators in most rooms, Razors, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo and occasionally deodorant in the bathrooms but not guaranteed so bring your own.

Staff: Mostly friendly and helpful. Give little towel animals in the rooms EVERY night and chocolates on the pillows. They are poor at giving directions but over the years Carnival has added numerous signs that tell you where things are. For instance when walking down a hall you may see above a door "such and such lounge" which tells you your heading in the right direction for the show lounge. They also issue little cards with a map of the ship on them that are small enough to carry in your pocket.

Dining: Excellent Service has been my experience. Food varies at times but they always still have Lobster night in the main dinning room without additional charges. They don't even blink an eyelash if you eat 3 lobsters!

They have 24 hour room service without additional fees. On some ships they offer a free Sushi Bar near the Casino for the Sushi lovers. The Mongolian Wok offered on some ships where they cook your food with your own chosen veggies, noodles, etc is excellent. The pizza is good.

Entertainment:

Advantages: (in my humble opinion) They have great comedy shows, usually 2 per evening with the early one being family friendly and the late one a little naughty. They offer 2 showings of most of their shows which allows for easier planning of evening entertainment plans. They have lots of Karaoke!!! If you are like me and LOVE to sing Carnival is the ONLY cruise line for you. They have Karaoke EVERY night and even some afternoons! They also have for part of these the live band playing along with you rather than just a Karaoke disk which is really fantastic. Last show involves the passengers and is loads of fun for the participants and hopefully for the other passengers as well. They also have the usual Trivia, Bingo, Casino, etc.

Disadvantages: Their dancers are sometimes fat and unprofessional looking. Rarely their choice of Guest Entertainer is questionable (They once had a guy do finger shadows on the wall for 20 minutes of their evening show).

Drinks/Booze: There is lots of opportunity to drink. They usually offer free cocktails at the Captains reception for all and then offer free cocktails at the Past Passenger party on another night. There is also free champagne at the art auctions. Add to this that you can bring on 1 bottle of wine and 1 12 pack of soda or water. All of this adds up to a fairly low bar tab for me.

Value for the Money: Overall superior as compared to all other Cruise lines I have been on. They don't nickle and dime you. All the other lines have added so many charges to items you formerly received free on your cruise vacation. I hope Carnival does not follow suite. The only negative for Carnival is for Solo Cruisers. Carnival charges a full 200% for passengers traveling Solo as compared to RCCL who charge from 130-180%. I don't know that that decrease in supplement really saves you much on RCCL as the Cruises are usually about $100 more expensive and then you have to pay for the little extras that Carnival gives for free such as lobster, robes, room service in the middle of the night.

Overall Rank (how much did I enjoy the Vacation when all is done): This is very much a matter of personal opinion but for me Carnival is #1 of the 4.

 

I will return and post my Reviews of the the other 3 another time. Feel free to add your own opinions!

[cruzeluver]

I am 100% in agreement with you with regards to there being no one best cruise line for all people. If there was, there would only be one!:p Different folks have different priorities and what one person considers a plus, another may view as a negative.

 

Your assertions abut Carnival is a prefect example. I would rate them fourth of the four lines we have sailed on, the others being Celebrity, Norwegian and Royal. But that is probably because we have different priorities. I am not concerned with alcohol, the availability of karaoke, and I find Carnival's production shows the least inspired or well done.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I have been on 16 prior cruises and am booked for #17 and I have learned that there is NO ideal Cruise line for all people. I've been on 8 Carnival, 3 RCCL, 4 Norwegian, and 1 Princess. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. I'm going compare them below as I think some folks judge the cruises lines from rumors or cruise experience 15 years ago and never got updated info. This is my humble opinion/review of these 4 Cruise lines:

 

Carnival Cruise line:

 

Rooms/amenities: Larger rooms than other cruise lines. 165-185sq feet as opposed to 110-120sq feet. Better in room amenities such as use of robes, refrigerators in most rooms, Razors, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo and occasionally deodorant in the bathrooms but not guaranteed so bring your own.

Staff: Mostly friendly and helpful. Give little towel animals in the rooms EVERY night and chocolates on the pillows. They are poor at giving directions but over the years Carnival has added numerous signs that tell you where things are. For instance when walking down a hall you may see above a door "such and such lounge" which tells you your heading in the right direction for the show lounge. They also issue little cards with a map of the ship on them that are small enough to carry in your pocket.

Dining: Excellent Service has been my experience. Food varies at times but they always still have Lobster night in the main dinning room without additional charges. They don't even blink an eyelash if you eat 3 lobsters!

They have 24 hour room service without additional fees. On some ships they offer a free Sushi Bar near the Casino for the Sushi lovers. The Mongolian Wok offered on some ships where they cook your food with your own chosen veggies, noodles, etc is excellent. The pizza is good.

Entertainment:

Advantages: (in my humble opinion) They have great comedy shows, usually 2 per evening with the early one being family friendly and the late one a little naughty. They offer 2 showings of most of their shows which allows for easier planning of evening entertainment plans. They have lots of Karaoke!!! If you are like me and LOVE to sing Carnival is the ONLY cruise line for you. They have Karaoke EVERY night and even some afternoons! They also have for part of these the live band playing along with you rather than just a Karaoke disk which is really fantastic. Last show involves the passengers and is loads of fun for the participants and hopefully for the other passengers as well. They also have the usual Trivia, Bingo, Casino, etc.

Disadvantages: Their dancers are sometimes fat and unprofessional looking. Rarely their choice of Guest Entertainer is questionable (They once had a guy do finger shadows on the wall for 20 minutes of their evening show).

Drinks/Booze: There is lots of opportunity to drink. They usually offer free cocktails at the Captains reception for all and then offer free cocktails at the Past Passenger party on another night. There is also free champagne at the art auctions. Add to this that you can bring on 1 bottle of wine and 1 12 pack of soda or water. All of this adds up to a fairly low bar tab for me.

Value for the Money: Overall superior as compared to all other Cruise lines I have been on. They don't nickle and dime you. All the other lines have added so many charges to items you formerly received free on your cruise vacation. I hope Carnival does not follow suite. The only negative for Carnival is for Solo Cruisers. Carnival charges a full 200% for passengers traveling Solo as compared to RCCL who charge from 130-180%. I don't know that that decrease in supplement really saves you much on RCCL as the Cruises are usually about $100 more expensive and then you have to pay for the little extras that Carnival gives for free such as lobster, robes, room service in the middle of the night.

Overall Rank (how much did I enjoy the Vacation when all is done): This is very much a matter of personal opinion but for me Carnival is #1 of the 4.

 

I will return and post my Reviews of the the other 3 another time. Feel free to add your own opinions!

Nice job ....

[Shorex]

I have learned that there is NO ideal Cruise line for all people.

 

Spot on. Well done on the review. May there be many more happy cruises in your future!

[gerryl12]

Good review, looking forward to the rest.

[Jana60]

Hi Everyone! I'm back for another installment. Thanks for the comments and please feel free to chime in if you feel there is something VERY good or VERY substandard about these 4 cruise lines.

 

Norwegian Cruise line:

 

Rooms/amenities: If your rock-in it like a rock star both financially and in your lifestyle you can find larger suites as big as 850sq feet on Norwegian. (my first apartment was smaller!!!) But the inner room is still much smaller than Carnival at a snug 128sq feet and the new Epic Studios are only 100sq feet. I am told that Norwegian has stepped up its in room amenities and now has refrigerators and flat screen TVs in every room. Staff: Extremely unfriendly and unhelpful on my last two NCL cruises. We would get lost and NO one would help us find the event we were trying to find. Things would be broken in the room (air conditioning for example in the Mexican Riviera!) And they not only did not fix it, they argued that it was "normal" for it to be 85 degrees in the room! Worst was the attitude of the people at the desk who when we complained has a general "so what" attitude. I have been on 4 NCL cruises with the first one being the old Norway which blew up 1 week after we returned to port! Despite the bad odors in the room, the food and entertainment were good enough that for a time NCL was the ONLY cruise line I cruised on. But we experienced the above staff and maintenance problems in 2006 and so did not sail with them again until 2010. When I gave them a second chance in 2010 we experienced the same type of staff behavior and the same "so what" attitude from their superiors.

Dining: Service was variable. Waited one evening for 30 minutes at the table without even bread and water! Food quality overall was very good but like some of the other cruise lines they did not have lobster in the MDR. Lobster was only found in the venues when charges. Entertainment:

Advantages: NCLs production shows are the best I've seen. Their Singers and Dancers have been superior on every cruise. They also have the usual Trivia, Bingo, Casino, etc.

Disadvantages: They don't have much Karaoke and what they did have was done as contests in which folks did not even get to sing their song all the way through. (picture the gong show). The staff basically used the passengers as objects to ridicule as part of their own comedy routine.

Drinks/Booze: If I am remembering correctly they usually offer free cocktails at the Captains reception for all and then offer free cocktails at the Past Passenger party on another night. There is also free champagne at the art auctions. They also had lemonade all day long on the Lido deck so bar tab was low.

Value for the Money: Overall poor as compared to Carnival. Like some of the other lines they nickle and dime you with multiple paid Venues. Like Carnival they charge a full 200% supplement for solo cruisers except in the new Epic solo studio where the price is based on single occupancy BUT they charge twice as much for the Studio. For example on the April Transatlantic Cruise of Epic the inner room (128sq feet) is $499 per person ($998 per cabin) where as the studio (100sq feet) is $999 per person ($999 per cabin). So you would be paying an extra $1 for 28sq feet LESS space! NOT A GREAT DEAL!

Overall Rank (how much did I enjoy the Vacation when all is done): While I may someday give them a second chance as it stands I do not even include NCL in my cruise searches. If the studio was the same price as the per person price of an inner room then I would be willing to try it but for now my rank for NCL is #4 of the 4.

 

I will return and post my Reviews of the the other 2 another time.

[geoherb]

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your reviews. We're going on a Carnival cruise in two weeks after sailing many times on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Holland America and once on Norwegian. I'm trying to adjust my expectations.

[dolittle]

Is there one that has no Karaoke .

[Nickymjw1]

I disagree about Norwegian cruise line. We prefer NCL over Carnival. Food on Carnival was not great last time we went. Very limited choice in buffet. Dining room, ok, nothing special. I am tired of the stupid waiter show too! Norwegian has better/more food choices. Love their staff. Only thing is that shows no longer good after Jean Ann Ryan company stopped doing them. I haven't been on the Epic so I can't speak on their shows..

[Jana60]

I disagree about Norwegian cruise line. We prefer NCL over Carnival. Food on Carnival was not great last time we went. Very limited choice in buffet. Dining room, ok, nothing special. I am tired of the stupid waiter show too! Norwegian has better/more food choices. Love their staff. Only thing is that shows no longer good after Jean Ann Ryan company stopped doing them. I haven't been on the Epic so I can't speak on their shows..

 

Food quality and entertainment were both good on my NCL cruises. It was the staff that were poor. Its a shame if they have quit having the great production shows. I don't know how the shows are on the Epic as I also have not saled on her. I have just heard about the solo studio cabins from people that have. It seems most people really like the Studio for solo travel. Not because of the room itself but evidently because there are associated social events for solo travelers and a lounge that the studio occupants get to use as a living room??? Makes me curious about them but I'm a little gun shy about the bad experiences we had (although I admit the staff may be totally different than on the two ships we saled.

[Jana60]

Is there one that has no Karaoke .

 

They all claim to have Karaoke but some such as RCCL have so little and such small song selection that for all intents and purposes its seems like they don't have any. Also, usually folks sing along with and make song requests in piano bars. (you know the kind with chairs attached to the piano all around it?) Yet on RCCL when I asked the Piano bar pianist if it was OK if I sang along with him (since the ship didn't really have much Karaoke), he said NO, its against the rules! I wasn't asking for his microphone, only whether it was ok to hum along and he acted like I had said a bad word. As it happens I've had professional training and can definitely carry a tune but even if I couldn't, It was 12:30 at night and there were only a few people left in the piano bar...He didn't need to be that mean. :(

I'm not sure if your asking about Karaoke because you wish to avoid it or because you wish to participate.:)

[Trent1984]

I've sailed on NCL twice, my last cruise was March 2011 aboard the Epic. I traveled solo and stayed in the Studios. On both cruises, I found the staff to be very helpful and personable. Immediately after boarding the Epic, I went to lunch in the Azure dining room... While I was waiting for a table, a server approached me and asked if I had sailed on the Jewel a year earlier. I, in fact, did sail on the Jewel the year prior and that particular server waited on me. I was amazed because I had only eaten in the main dining room once on that cruise and after a full year and hundreds of people she had served during that course, she remembered me.

 

I enjoyed my cruise aboard the Epic. I absolutely loved my cabin and feel sorry I didn't spend that much time in the cabin.. The studio's are a private area of the ship, occupying the center of decks 11 and 12. The Studio Lounge is located on deck 11... It is a large lounge area that has a flat screen tv, plenty of tables and chairs, board games, and a bar. There is a staff member who is essentially a concierge assigned to the studio passengers. Every evening there is a gathering for solo passengers and also a group dinner set up at a different restaurant each night. Also, there is a happy hour (or actually, hours) in the evening - purchase one cocktail and get the second free. Every morning there is continental breakfast set up and there is an espresso machine available 24 hours - free of charge. Throughout the cruise, the studio's concierge had entertainers come and perform private shows for us and even arranged a bridge tour during one of the port days. I would highly recommend sailing aboard the Epic and reserving a studio cabin.

 

Aesthetically the Epic is an ugly ship... She is too boxy. Interior wise, she is quite beautiful and has a lot of options for entertainment and dining. In fact, there was so much going on that 7 days weren't enough time to experience it all. I've seen Blue Man Group perform in Chicago and was surprised by the Blue Man Group performance in the theater.. I felt being on a ship, the act would be limited. That wasn't the case.

 

I know a lot of people complain about being nickled and dimed to death on NCL, but you have the option of not spending any money. If you don't want to pay for food, then stick with the main dining rooms/buffet/room service.. I dined in a specialty restaurant 6 nights of the 7 nights and still ended up spending less money in total than I would have had I chosen to sail on HAL or Celebrity.

[Happy ks]

I agree with your first sentence but would rate our choices differently. We have been on more than 20 cruises, 8 different lines (1 now defunct).

 

Carnival would be at the bottom of our list, even though we've only been on one Carnival cruise we don't need to spend more with them. Yes, the cabins are larger, but we didn't care for the decor. From pics I see posted online I still don't care for the decor on their ships. The food and entertainment were fine. It was the overall ambience and the cigarette smoke that really turned us off.

 

NCL was a notch above Carnival in ambience, but after 2 NCL cruises we found their food to be the worst at sea. We got the feeling we were on a budget, rather than a luxury vacation.

 

RCI is the line we've cruised with the most and other than a few cruises where the food was not as good as other times, we've always been satisfied with our experience with them.

 

Princess has been fine, somewhat a bit lacking in comparison to RCI, but mostly very similar.

 

Disney, fabulous, food not great, but not as bad as NCL.

 

Cunard, not as wonderful as we expected. The ship (QM2) was gorgeous, service and food comparable to mass market lines. Entertainment top notch.

 

Celebrity was awesome from beginning to end, a fabulous time, we look forward to more cruises with them in the future.

 

I think that with a the choices out there we can all find lines we like. Just because we don't care for one line doesn't mean it's not right for the next person. We find we like understated elegance rather than glitz. We don't need servers or cabin attendants to be a part of the entertainment, but we really appreciate the hard work they do for us.

 

I wouldn't care one way or the other regarding Karaoke, I'd never participate or attend, just not interested.

 

The one thing that holds the most importance to me is lack of cigarette smoke, I love that more and more lines are limiting the smoking areas. With that in mind, Celebrity is sounding better and better:)

[LittleMissMagic]

Disadvantages: Their dancers are sometimes fat and unprofessional looking. Rarely their choice of Guest Entertainer is questionable (They once had a guy do finger shadows on the wall for 20 minutes of their evening show).

 

:D :D :D My favorite comment - it's SO TRUE! I have seen some of the most out-of-shape dancers on Carnival, and many of them are lacking in technique. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't wear two-piece tops with thong bloomers - I've gotten an eyeful of cellulite booty from the front row! :eek: :D

[Jana60]

:D :D :D My favorite comment - it's SO TRUE! I have seen some of the most out-of-shape dancers on Carnival, and many of them are lacking in technique. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't wear two-piece tops with thong bloomers - I've gotten an eyeful of cellulite booty from the front row! :eek: :D

 

 

They do seem to work real hard to pick the most unflattering costumes. Admittedly I'm much fatter than they are but I keep my fat covered. Even when I played Madonna in the Legends show (see my profile for pic) I refused to show my fat upper arms so I was wearing a shawl over the corset like top tucked to allow arm movement while still covering the chub.;)

[mizLORInj]

I've enjoyed all cruises on all cruiselines.

[Jana60]

Hi everyone, I'm back for another installment.

 

Princess Cruise line:

 

Rooms/amenities: Rooms are smaller than Carnivals unless you book a suite or mini suite then they are about the same as far as I can remember. I only cruised with Princess once before so my memory is a bit fuzzy on their in room amenities. The room that we had at least was in nice subdued colors but I remember it as not having the largest closet.

Staff: Very friendly and helpful. Gave the little towel animals in the rooms EVERY night and chocolates on the pillows. They like most are poor at giving directions but we made it everywhere on time for the shows. Dining: Excellent Service was been my experience. Food was excellent and at least at the time we went was very good in the buffet as well as the MDR. They still had Lobster night in the main dinning room without additional charges at least at the time we went in 2004.

Entertainment:

Advantages: Production shows were very good. Dancers were superior to CCL but not as good technique as NCL. They also had my loved Karaoke but it was VERY popular (at least on that cruise) and there were about 200 people trying to get to sing in a few hours so even though they had plenty of karaoke time you might not get to sing. It was still fun to watch. They also have the usual Trivia, Bingo, Casino, etc.

Disadvantages: Would have liked to see more comedy acts but this may have changed since 2004.

Drinks/Booze: They had the usual free champaign at the captains reception for all. It was my first Cruise with them so I don't know if they had a past passenger party. I did notice that the waiters hovered endlessly and were quick to get drinks for alcohol but if you had a prepaid coke card it sometimes took an hour or more for them to bring the coke. Guess they already had their money so they were not as motivated to bring those "free cokes".

Value for the Money: Overall Princess had a more luxurious feel than Carnival, more subdued but also a little bit less fun. On our trip at least if you walked about the ship at 12 MN there was total silence except maybe for the all night buffet where folks were getting their midnight snack. I think this might have been due to the fact that there were alot of families with small children and elderly people on our trip and not so many young adults. Princess did not nickle and dime us but they cost more than some of the others.

Overall Rank (how much did I enjoy the Vacation when all is done): Since I only sailed with them once I have difficulty comparing them with the other lines. I would have to say they are tied for #2 for me. I only sailed with them once and while it was a good cruise I don't know that it was superior to Carnival other than the food quality and the Production shows which were better. Probably the main reason I have chosen Princess again for Cruise this summer is Itinerary. They have (as far as I can tell) the best Alaska Itinerary as they cruise both Glacier Bay AND Hubbard Glacier on their 7 day cruise out of Whittier. So for this trip at least they are my #1 choice since its all about LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION!!! This trip gives Princess Cruise line the chance to at least TRY to become my favorite cruise line (an opportunity they would value if they knew what a cruise fanatic I am!).:D

 

I will return and post my Reviews of the last one another time. Feel free to add your own opinions!

[sail7seas]

It bothers me when I read people trying to make all cruise line do the same things.

 

Someone will say when they are deciding whether to sail HAL, well Princes does blah blah blah and HAL doesn't. Or "X" provides whatever it is they like and HAL should.

 

The differences IMO are what make each line special.

We should decide those things that are the most important to us for our cruises and select the line that offers the most of the things that matter a lot to you.

 

I don't care about having a water slide into the pool but if you do, choose Carnival.

I would never go hear a rock climbing wall but if you like it, cruise RCI.

I don't want cartoon characters in costume around the ship for photos, but if you do, sail Disney.

 

But PLEASE do not try to make all cruise line do all things. They cannot and it only would weaken each to try IMO

 

[bus man]

Like Carnival they charge a full 200% supplement for solo cruisers except in the new Epic solo studio where the price is based on single occupancy BUT they charge twice as much for the Studio. For example on the April Transatlantic Cruise of Epic the inner room (128sq feet) is $499 per person ($998 per cabin) where as the studio (100sq feet) is $999 per person ($999 per cabin). So you would be paying an extra $1 for 28sq feet LESS space! NOT A GREAT DEAL!

 

I thought the whole point of having studio cabins was that solo travelers could pay less than the full single supplement for a standard room. What good is it to have studios if they're going to charge the same as a double? :confused:

 

Even when I played Madonna in the Legends show (see my profile for pic) I refused to show my fat upper arms

 

How could you possibly play Madonna without taking your clothes off? :D

 

Looking forward to your RCI review.

[Friend100]

It bothers me when I read people trying to make all cruise line do the same things.

 

Someone will say when they are deciding whether to sail HAL, well Princes does blah blah blah and HAL doesn't. Or "X" provides whatever it is they like and HAL should.

 

The differences IMO are what make each line special.

We should decide those things that are the most important to us for our cruises and select the line that offers the most of the things that matter a lot to you.

 

I don't care about having a water slide into the pool but if you do, choose Carnival.

I would never go hear a rock climbing wall but if you like it, cruise RCI.

I don't want cartoon characters in costume around the ship for photos, but if you do, sail Disney.

 

But PLEASE do not try to make all cruise line do all things. They cannot and it only would weaken each to try IMO

 

 

I agree with you Sail. Variety, or choices, or difference, is what makes our life just a bit more interesting, right? Imagine a world if everyone is using the same model of cellphone, watch the same TV show, drive the same car, shop at the same store, use the same shampoo, eat the same food, can only like one cruiseline ......

 

But to your point about the waterslide and rock climbing and characters, even they exist in those lines, you can also choose not to interact with them. But their existence do attract a different type of passenger as compared to those ships that don't have these stuff.

 

Those are only a small part of the overall cruising experience on their respective ship ... oh well, maybe not for Disney. We choose DCL specifically for the characters ... so I am contradicting myself :p. But I like both HAL and DCL (for different reasons) so I guess it is ok to be contradicting and I don't feel bad at all to like more than one type of cruising experience.

[Warm Breezes]

Personally I wouldn't rely much on your reviews because almost all of it is subjective. I personally would disagree with some of what you stated on Carnival and NCL based on my own experiences in the last year. Don't get me wrong, I loved all my cruises...I just don't agree with synopsis of the pros/cons of each in different subjective areas. But that's my opinion, based on my experience, influenced by my likes and dislikes.

 

When I choose which ship I am sailing on, I don't choose by cruise line. I have enjoyed all my cruises but usually for different reasons based on the ship and that specific cruise, not based on the cruise line. We choose a ship for a variety of reasons including: cost/value, itinerary, embarkation port, and sometimes for the ship itself (EPIC and Disney Magic/Wonder). I don't based on the things that were mentioned in your reviews (except cost/value which also depends on when you are sailing, which ship, where it is going, and, more importantly, what you value). I don't choose based on subjective things that can change from one person to the next, from one sailing to the next on the same ship.

 

When people are looking to choose which ship to sail, I suggest looking at the ships themselves for the things they want out of a cruise. I usually start with a time frame, then ports we want to sail out of, then itinerary and cost/value for the ship. I would expect to pay more on a newer ship offering more than I would on an older ship offering less. Sometimes if we want to sail on a specific ship, like we did on the EPIC (because what they had to offer appealled to us and we wanted to try something different), then we make that work for our schedule and budget, planning farther ahead to make it work for us. It was what we wanted out of that vacation.

 

FWIW, I also disagree with your statement on NCL nickle and diming you. The things they charge extra for are the same things that any other cruise line charges extra for. Yes they have more specialty restaurants to give you more choices. But they still have the same venues included with your cruise as the other mainstream lines. You can not be nickle and dimed. You purchase what you want and say no to what you don't. They may give you more choices, but it is still YOUR choice to buy it or not. To me that is just a false statement made by those who choose to overspend and need to blame someone other than theirselves for their lack of money control.

[isujim]

It bothers me when I read people trying to make all cruise line do the same things.

 

Someone will say when they are deciding whether to sail HAL, well Princes does blah blah blah and HAL doesn't. Or "X" provides whatever it is they like and HAL should.

 

The differences IMO are what make each line special.

We should decide those things that are the most important to us for our cruises and select the line that offers the most of the things that matter a lot to you.

 

I don't care about having a water slide into the pool but if you do, choose Carnival.

I would never go hear a rock climbing wall but if you like it, cruise RCI.

I don't want cartoon characters in costume around the ship for photos, but if you do, sail Disney.

 

But PLEASE do not try to make all cruise line do all things. They cannot and it only would weaken each to try IMO

 

 

Agree with you 100% but would take it one step further........to really KNOW, you really must branch out and try mulitple cruise lines. I read reviews, but things like food and entertainment are so subjective to begin with. Who knows my tastes, what I like in shows etc. We used to sail RC all the time, now we cruise Princess, HAL and Royal Caribbean. ........price and itinerary will be the deciding factor. All cruise lines do something very special. What your likes are determine where you sail next.......or at least it does for us.

[janabm81]

I do think it's all subjective and you should choose the line that fits you best but on the same hand it is nice to hear other people's opinions on each line and what they like and don't like.

[Warm Breezes]

I do think it's all subjective and you should choose the line that fits you best but on the same hand it is nice to hear other people's opinions on each line and what they like and don't like.

 

I don't mind hearing others opinons and if they ask I will give mine. I just don't give them any credence in my decision making process. I will not base my vacation decisions based on opinions of others. Much too subjective.

 

We were on an excursion on our last cruise that we all thought was great and we would recommend it to anyone as a great value for the money we spent on it. I came back and read a review a few weeks later from people who were on our exact same excursion at the exact same time as us and they did not have anything good to say about it and would not recommend it to anyone. Who's opinon would you trust? Mine or theirs? Personally I would only trust my own because it is based on my experience influenced by my likes and dislikes. The only way for me to form my opinion is to experience it myself.

 

When I look at reviews, I basically ignore opinions and look for facts...like the size of the rooms, the activities they have on-board, the types of shows they have (looking for things we like to do)...not things like the service, food, entertainment that is subject to the reviewers experience influenced by their likes and dislikes. Most of these things I look for are ship specific not cruise line specific. IMHO the only opinion that should matter to you is your own. They only way to form your own opinion is to try it yourself.

[Jana60]

Personally I wouldn't rely much on your reviews because almost all of it is subjective. I personally would disagree with some of what you stated on Carnival and NCL based on my own experiences in the last year. Don't get me wrong, I loved all my cruises...I just don't agree with synopsis of the pros/cons of each in different subjective areas. But that's my opinion, based on my experience, influenced by my likes and dislikes.

 

Duh....Yeah of course everything I wrote is absolutely JUST MY OPINION!!! (thats why I repeatedly said "in my humble opinion") Possibly an opinion which is unshared by anyone else in the whole world! Indeed as I mentioned earlier, sometimes we, (INCLUDING ME!) will base an opinion on something that is not even any longer true of the Cruises because we experienced it many years ago. So if I say the staff were rude and unhelpful on a particular cruise that was MY perception of them. Its simply a forum to discuss your views and opinions which is all this is. JUST FOR FUN DUDE! DON'T TAKE IT SO SERIOUS!!! :rolleyes: