Your views on other cruise lines.

[Woobstr112G]

I have been sailing Princess exclusively since 2008. Mainly due to the itineraries. DW is really wanting to return to X on a Solstice ship if X offered better itineraries. IMHO Princess has better itineraries than X.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited September 25, 2014 by Woobstr112G

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

Whichever line that you sail aboard, I hope that you have a fantastic voyage ! You will find that at the end of the day most lines are more similar than different. Before I get lost in thought, let me mention MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), a line not well known in the States. They sail the MSC Divina out of Miami with a distinctly European flair.

 

It would be hard to pick a favorite, as there can be a big variation between different ships even on the same line. I've been on four cruises this year aboard HAL, MSC, Carnival, & Princess. Sadly, HAL was the worst (more on that below).

 

Carnival - This line gets a lot of negative publicity and reviews from past cruisers. My two Carnival cruises totally impressed me with the food, service, & ship itself. Carnival is basic cruising 101. Just like a Chevy or Ford, All American working class in a not particularly sophisticated way, but quality product nonetheless. True, the ships are decorated like being in Vegas on LSD, but I personally get a kick out of bold, wildly imaginative color combinations. The standard cabins on Carnival are VERY generous with size & layout. On my two cruises I never saw rude behavior. I would guess that Carnival has recently shifted the focus from party to family style cruising.

 

HAL - This is the saddest line to write about. They used to be my " It Cruise line". My last three HAL cruises have been real clunkers in terms of food, service, and general product presentation. It's such a shame to watch a line that stood out from the rest sail into self imposed mediocrity. The former gentility, style, attention to detail (all of which stories were legion), is vanishing noticeably. They have reputation for being an older person's cruise line, but in truth, HAL is now multi generational. They are to be credited for being one of the few lines that insist on building traditional nautically correct ships. These are mellow quiet cruises for people who don't require constant noise & stimulation. Most public rooms are deserted after 10 pm.

 

MSC - Pure La Dolce Vita, in an Italian sports car sexy kind of way. This line caters to Europeans & Latin Americans. Service and entertainment is geared to an international perspective. Extremely handsome and friendly Italiano officers !

 

Princess - All around generally wonderful cruise line. Mostly fine food and service, but I'm not a fan of the style of many of their new ships. So much of their ships design and decor leave me to ask "What were they thinking". Obviously, the newer ships were not designed by nautical enthusiasts, but by some know nothings sitting in an office. This is the line that pioneered the MUTS concept (of which I am decidedly NOT a fan)

 

Celebrity - My four cruises with Celebrity have been largely disappointing. When they started in the late 80's they got off to a flying start with mostly self generated rave reviews. Some of the worst service that I've encountered in dining rooms, cabins, bars, and deck have been on Celebrity ships. Just like a celebrity, this line seems too smugly self satisfied.

 

RCCL - Over priced & WAY over stimulated, with zero attention to detail. On a Trans Atlantic crossing one of the ports was Lisbon Portugal. On sail away, they just had to blast Jimmy Buffet. Totally inappropriate for the occasion. If it's tacky & loud it's RCCL.

 

Bon Voyage

 

VInny in LA

[Austcruiser84]

Im not an experienced cruiser by any means. One HAL cruise and one on the Ruby. We are going on the CB in Jan. 2015 and are super excited. I found the Holland line to be a bit too formal and the average age was quite a bit older than us.

 

Carnival seems to be too rowdy for me in too young of a crowd for us to enjoy.I wanted to ask what other cruise lines will be would be similar to Princess for cruises to the Caribbean.

 

RCCL and Norwegian perhaps?

 

I know there are a lot of variables but service, food, itineraries and cabins would be my main concern.

 

Thanks.

 

I haven't sailed with them, but I'd agree with others that Celebrity is probably closest to Princess in the Caribbean (in terms of frequency of sailings, price, and on board experience). I know people who've sailed Celebrity and they loved their time on board.

 

RCCL have the big Oasis class ships. That would be interesting to experience. Apparently, there are adults only areas on board, so you should be able to avoid kids if that's a concern. However, I've noticed that lines like RCCL and Carnival offer a lot of very short repeated itinerary 3-5 day Caribbean cruises, compared with Princess and Celebrity which offer 7 days + cruises. Personally, I'd rather longer cruises than shorter.

 

I sailed the Caribbean on QM2 a couple of years ago. Only one annual Caribbean sailing at Christmas time these days. However, I loved it (3 sea days, 5 port days, 3 sea days - NYC round trip). Booking for 2015 soon.

 

It's either Princess or Cunard for me when cruising. Cunard first, Princess second. If not Cunard in the Caribbean I'd definitely sail Princess (followed by RCCL and then Celebrity).

[susancruzs]

I've been cruising over 30 years since 1982, took my first at 35 yrs. old! :) I started with NCL, back then a totally different cruise line than they are now.

 

After trying Princess decided I liked them but also tried Royal Caribbean, liked them, too! I have tried Carnival, Celebrity and Costa and I'm not going on any of those real soon.

 

I must say Carnival surprised me, and I don't think they deserve the negative rep they sometimes get. They provide a product that totally meets expectations, just not my style.

 

Celebrity was so hyped that my expectations were way too high and I felt it wasn't a step above Princess or RCI, not at all. On my Celebrity cruises the staff was so robotic and distant, like they were trying to provide service but not be intrusive and it fell flat.

 

Cruise line choice is such a personal thing, hard to say for someone else. Princess and Royal Caribbean suit me best. I do longer cruises, nothing less than 12 days.

Edited September 25, 2014 by susancruzs

[eandj]

We are in agreement with Loonbeam, we alternate between Celebrity and Princess. We find their standards are very similar and have been pleased with both...

 

The newer S class ships on Celebrity are great. Age demo is similar. Entertainment I'd guess many would give to Princess.

We find Royal C is a great line for multigenerational cruises because of all the bells and whistles available.

 

So if for a Carib cruise I'd look at those.

[schlot]

Thanks so much for the information. I could see us taking cruises perhaps every 3-4 years so i'm trying to narrow the field done a bit and you've helped a lot.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Im not an experienced cruiser by any means. One HAL cruise and one on the Ruby. We are going on the CB in Jan. 2015 and are super excited. I found the Holland line to be a bit too formal and the average age was quite a bit older than us.

 

Carnival seems to be too rowdy for me in too young of a crowd for us to enjoy.I wanted to ask what other cruise lines will be would be similar to Princess for cruises to the Caribbean.

 

RCCL and Norwegian perhaps?

 

I know there are a lot of variables but service, food, itineraries and cabins would be my main concern.

 

Thanks.

 

Others posted really good info so I won't duplicate it. Another one to consider is Windstar. Sometimes you can get a really good deal on them. They are a little more pricey, just like Oceania. But, we really enjoyed both Windstar and Oceania.