What makes ship your Favorite

[KPGirl]

ok before coming to cruise critic I thought a cruise was picked because of where it was going not because of the ship. So now I am wondering what makes or breaks a crusie ship and on the note it seems that there isn't much written about the Glory , the ship I chose because of the date and destination. Thoughs??:confused:

[tef43]

I avoid ships with certain cruise directors (Jeff Bronson, and now added to the list, Lesley Sparkles).

 

A good CD will not "make" your cruise, but a terrible one can certainly ruin it.

[blue_water]

The itinerary and price are the determining factors for purchasing. The experience with the service and the cuisine is what the cruise is ultimately rated on.

[musicgal]

Three factors are very important to us-

1)Cleanliness

2)Traffic Flow

3)Food Quality

 

I personally do not like doing the same itineraries, but issues with any of the above will put us off any venue- whether that be a hotel, restaurant or ship.

 

After these three, customer service and standards of politeness are important.

[laumicmah]

For us, we don't like big crowded ships. We like the smaller and easier to navigate ships with less guests. The Glory has been our least fave and the Fascination is our fave (out of the CCL ships we've been on).

[skiorcruise]

Destinations and price make the decisions for me, but there is a big difference in how much I enjoy a "crowded ship" and an "empty one", even though they are both at capacity or sold out.

 

Carnival defines capacity as 2 persons in each cabin, even though they may sleep as many as 4. If you cruise in say July, when school is out, the same ship at capacity will seem much more crowded due to the school age children than it will in October.

 

Another factor I like to look at is ships tonnage per passenger, also crew members to passenger ratios. By tonnage, the Spirit class ships are the least crowded in the Carnival line. More crew per passenger means faster service, which always makes the ship seem less crowded.

 

Hope this helped.

[laumicmah]

Destinations and price make the decisions for me, but there is a big difference in how much I enjoy a "crowded ship" and an "empty one", even though they are both at capacity or sold out.

 

Carnival defines capacity as 2 persons in each cabin, even though they may sleep as many as 4. If you cruise in say July, when school is out, the same ship at capacity will seem much more crowded due to the school age children than it will in October.

 

Another factor I like to look at is ships tonnage per passenger, also crew members to passenger ratios. By tonnage, the Spirit class ships are the least crowded in the Carnival line. More crew per passenger means faster service, which always makes the ship seem less crowded.

 

Hope this helped.

That's why I am looking forward to my April cruise on the Pride...I think that will be my new fave ship.

[mclinns04]

A friendly, helpful staff is a great start. Interesting dinner partners can be a big deal too. They may not make or break the cruise, but they can have an impact. The best Maitre'd that we ever expeienced was Ken on Conquest, who really perked up that cruise. When I found out that he was going to Magic I couldn't wait to book. We will see him again in Nov.

[H82seaUgo]

ok before coming to cruise critic I thought a cruise was picked because of where it was going not because of the ship. So now I am wondering what makes or breaks a crusie ship and on the note it seems that there isn't much written about the Glory , the ship I chose because of the date and destination. Thoughs??:confused:

 

for me, it's always aethetics.

[cathyz]

I avoid ships with certain cruise directors (Jeff Bronson, and now added to the list, Lesley Sparkles).

 

A good CD will not "make" your cruise, but a terrible one can certainly ruin it.

I agree with you about Jeff, but we had Sparkles on the Spirit a few months ago and really liked her! She wasn't nearly as obnoxious as most.

[YankGA]

ok before coming to cruise critic I thought a cruise was picked because of where it was going not because of the ship. So now I am wondering what makes or breaks a crusie ship and on the note it seems that there isn't much written about the Glory , the ship I chose because of the date and destination. Thoughs??:confused:

 

We pick ours based on the port of choice, and when we can take the vacation time. We are going on our Third trip on the Dream in May, and our second trip to the Western Caribbean. may not take many trips off the ship.. has so much to do.. Love cruising! :)