Help me in making my decision

[nimiq]

Hello all,

 

I have been difficulty in selecting between 4 cruise ships for our November cruise. This is why I turn to my cruise critics friend to give me why they would chose a ship over an other without thinking about the itinerary or price.

 

I will also post this tread in the other line board to make it more realistic.

 

Out of the 4 ships I will be listing we have been on 3 of them and the other was a sister ship to it. We like them all for different reason but I want to know about your choices and why ?

 

Here is the list :

 

MSC Divina

NCL Getaway

Princess Regal

RCCL Oasis of the seas

 

Thanks again for the help

Sea ya

 

Eric

[Thrak]

Regal Princess because I am a "pretty, pretty Princess". It's the only line I've sailed and I'm happy with it. :)

[more cruises]

I choose Regal for very biased and probably ridiculous reasons - will never sail on MSC (heard too many bad things), didn't click with RCI, and didn't like Getaway (tried her twice)

 

Regal isn't our favorite Princess ship but we love Princess and always wonder why we book anyone else.

 

May your next cruise be your best

Edited October 25, 2015 by more cruises

[fishywood]

Since you have sailed each line before, and presumably would willingly sail all of them again, it's hard to pin one ship down without knowing more of your preferred cruising style.

 

Regal Princess has somewhat fewer bells and whistles than Oasis or Getaway. To me that's a positive; you may or may not prefer the sportier activities and brasher entertainment of the others.

 

For MSC I would wait for their new ship coming to Miami. They promised to base Divina there year round, then withdrew her for a while admitting that they had not adequately prepared to go full-time in the North American market. Perhaps a dedicated design from launch will work out better.

 

And for my next NCL cruise I will only book if the Unlimited Dining Plan is an included perq, or adding the plan and its mandatory gratuity will not bring the price higher than a similar cabin and itinerary on Princess.

[PenguinLife]

It just depends on what you want, all 4 are fairly new ships, built within about the last 5 years, 3 are large 3,500 - 4,000 passenger ships then there is the Oasis of the Sea which when introduced brought cruising to a whole new scale carrying over 6,000 passengers. Personally I tend to like smaller ships (by todays standards) with 2,000 - 3,000 passengers, as the big ones just seem way too impersonal. With the 2000-3000 passenger ships it seems you get to know your fellow passengers a bit better even on a 5-7 day cruise, in this regard the smaller the better. By contrast as passenger counts get higher it gets harder to get to any personal connection with the fellow passengers, instead it is just a sea of strangers. A few years ago by chance we were on a cruise with a couple of my wife's cousins (they live about 200 miles from us, and we typically only see them at family reunions, etc.), this was aboard the Carnival magic with over 4,600 passengers aboard, over the course of a week on board we only ran into them a total of 3 times. Additionally with the larger ships the whole process of just getting on and off the ships at destination ports seems to be a challenges even with multiple boarding gangways as the ships themselves often overwhelm the capacity of the docks to handle that many people at once. So given all this I would reluctantly pick the Regal Princess with a passenger capacity of 3500, and one of the largest ships in the Princess fleet.

[nimiq]

Wow so far you have been all interesting to read it's so fun ...I might have forgotten to say that it will also be an inside cabin.

 

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

[swilliams1660]

If you want a lot of activities, I'd go with the Getaway. We just got off the Getaway last week. DW & I went with our two grown sons & their families. It was great for a family vacation. For just the two of us, we're going on Princess in February.

[Daisyloo]

I vote for Regal Princess. We sailed on her last year and loved her. She is a beautiful ship. There is lots to do, service is excellent, food is very good with lots of venues to choose from, most with no extra fee. Entertainment is good. We have never had issues with noisy rowdy drunks on any Princess ship, nor have we had to deal with being overrun with lots of children. We loved the Regal.

[denatravels]

If you want a lot of activities, I'd go with the Getaway. We just got off the Getaway last week. DW & I went with our two grown sons & their families. It was great for a family vacation. For just the two of us, we're going on Princess in February.

 

 

More activities on Royal Caribbean.

 

This post is SO funny-- it's always going to be skewed to where you post it. Check out the other boards.

Edited October 25, 2015 by denatravels

[nimiq]

More activities on Royal Caribbean.

 

This post is SO funny-- it's always going to be skewed to where you post it. Check out the other boards.

 

Actually that's why I posted it in the other boards as well but I think people have been so far very objective even in the other boards about other cruise line. My question was not what cruise line you prefer but a specific 4 ships.

 

My only concern or I should have added was you must have done them all to answer my question. All in all people are good here love to read you all its always enjoyable.

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

[geocruiser]

I have sailed on three of the four cruise lines that you posted. Of the four ships listed I have sailed on Regal Princess in March 2015. I love that ship so much that I have book three more cruises on her. Great food, beautiful ship.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Actually that's why I posted it in the other boards as well but I think people have been so far very objective even in the other boards about other cruise line. My question was not what cruise line you prefer but a specific 4 ships.

 

My only concern or I should have added was you must have done them all to answer my question. All in all people are good here love to read you all its always enjoyable.

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

 

So, Eric, which one did you choose or have you chosen yet? Let us know which one you go with and why, will you? Having only cruised on Princess, I'm just curious.

 

Tom

[OCruisers]

Since you have been on all four (counting the sister ship) and liked all four, thinking it would now come down to the itinerary you like best. :)

[lor74]

My 2cents:

 

Devina - haven't been on, but from everything I have read, the "worst" of the 4 choices.

 

Regal - As a Princess loyalist, this would be my choice based on brand, also for the perks that come with being elite. If it is just adults traveling and you are looking to relax, this is the best option. The Regal wins hands down for buffet dining, the IC, and the CG, but I am no longer a fan of the Princess MDR. Entertainment is not as good as NCL or RCCL. I always have great service on Princess.

 

Getaway - Just sailed her a few weeks ago, and it completely changed my opinion of NCL. We had a great week. A good choice for adults looking to have fun with or without children. The choose your perk promo adds to the value. I had an inside cabin, and had to sleep with ear plugs because of the water pipes in the ceiling. Service was good all around.

 

Oasis - Based on my experience on the Allure, a great choice for families. It was nice to have had the experience of sailing on one of these mega ships, but I would not do it again. MDR and Chops aside, I was disappointed in the rest of the food. The entertainment was good, but the ship was too crowded for me. Service was not as good as the others.

[nimiq]

So, Eric, which one did you choose or have you chosen yet? Let us know which one you go with and why, will you? Having only cruised on Princess, I'm just curious.

 

Tom

 

Ok so you wanted to know ....I chose Regal Princess not that the others are not good but got an other great price and got to be in a Balconcy cabin as well.

 

It's so funny how I always have a hard time in selecting a specific ship got my next cruise.

 

Although I got more cruising with Princess I don't mind trying other ship as they all got a different feel to them and that's what I like.

 

Thanks again

Sea ya

 

Eric

[Pierlesscruisers]

Ok so you wanted to know ....I chose Regal Princess not that the others are not good but got an other great price and got to be in a Balconcy cabin as well.

 

It's so funny how I always have a hard time in selecting a specific ship got my next cruise.

 

Although I got more cruising with Princess I don't mind trying other ship as they all got a different feel to them and that's what I like.

 

Thanks again

Sea ya

 

Eric

My wife and I have only ruised Princess so the only thing we know about other lines is what we read or hear plus we've really enjoyed our times on Princess so we figure what the heck, we'll build our benefits on one line.

 

Thanks for the reply and I hope that you enjoy yourself and have a great time!

 

Tom

[nimiq]

My wife and I have only ruised Princess so the only thing we know about other lines is what we read or hear plus we've really enjoyed our times on Princess so we figure what the heck, we'll build our benefits on one line.

 

Thanks for the reply and I hope that you enjoy yourself and have a great time!

 

Tom

 

Hey Tom,

 

After you reach the level you want on a specific cruise line a suggest you to try others its the best thing and other lines and other ships are great as well.

 

sea ya

Eric