When you're not cruising Carnival, who do you cruise and why?

[ddloml]

We have strayed a few times from CCL and it was due to itinerary factors. First time was a trip to Bermuda where we chose NCL. That was because NCL stayed docked at King's Wharf for three days - most Carnival trips will be there for 1 day, or maybe overnight. Our second time was a Princess cruise in Alaska. The tipping point was that they would let us experience Glacier Bay National Park. Again, Carnival rarely goes there. This year we are going on Princess again for a full Panama Canal transit. That's another rarity for Carnival.

 

Carnival is a good choice and provides good value for 'routine' cruises in the Caribbean. But for special events or itineraries, we have found better alternatives on other cruise lines. And it's mostly due to advice and consensus found on Cruise Critic - Thanks everyone!

[sandij]

We are seasoned Carnival cruisers but have also done several other lines. If you want a longer cruise you have to go outside Carnival and if you want a European cruise you have to go outside Carnival, unless they have a new ship coming out then they'll do a brief European itinerary. It's fun to try new ones anyway, we currently have a Carnival booked and are looking at a Princess for a British Isles cruise next.

[meatloafsfan]

We sail Disney for fun, movies, and an all inclusive type experience (we don't drink much and don't buy too much Disney merchandise any more so with the OBC we get, there's rarely a final bill at the end of the cruise and of course, no casino to spend $$ in).

 

We sail Celebrity for simple relaxation - lots of small bits of live music, great coffee shop in Café Al Bacio where we like to hang out in the morning, late afternoon and after dinner. Also, great buffet, good MDR food and they have good adult only pools.

 

We used to sail Royal when I could get a cheap rate as a quick, cheap getaway but after our last experience, they are off our radar. We're not their target audience (no flow rider, rock wall, etc. for us) and it really showed in their lack of daytime activities and alternative evening entertainment.

 

I will also say that Carnival is stepping it up with some longer cruises called Journey cruises. We've done a couple of these now and they are pretty awesome. We're booked for a 14 night in January 2018 on the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore. Can't wait!

[nhsails]

Caribbean:Celebrity, Oceania, MSC, Royal

South America-Panama Canal: Oceania, Azamara, Regent

Mexican Riviera: Princess

Alaska: Princess, Crystal, Celebrity

Mediterranean: Azamara, Viking Ocean,MSC, Celebrity

Baltics: Viking Ocean, Azamara, Celebrity, Cunard, Regent

Asia: Regent, Azamara, Oceania

Europe: Viking River

[summersigh]

We've done RCCL to Bermuda and New England/Canada because we wanted to take the train from the Carolinas to Baltimore. :D

We also did Freedom of the Seas to sail out of Pt Canaveral (shorter drive than to FFL) It had the most "stuff" to do and watch.

The RCCL ships were lively with alot of things to do and the food was good. We ended up with good tablemates on all 3 of those trips. (we like late fixed seating in the MDR table for 6 or 8)

 

HAL is laid back and was our favorite although we weren't all that thrilled with the MDR menus in December. I really enjoy their technology workshops with trained microsoft instructors. Tablemates on HAL are often very well traveled and hearing those adventures makes for interesting dinners.

 

There is no comparing our transatlantic from Southampton on Cunard's Queen Mary2. It was"lucious" in all respects.:D

[B4RK3R]

Are we talking Caribbean or in general because some lines do better in certain areas than others?

 

Mostly, in general. We are just on a Caribbean kick here lately.

[microbuck]

Our first choice is Carnival. When love MSC also but only in Yacht Club. We are booked on both in the next 2 years.

[Grayce]

We've tried many different lines. We love Princess. I feel the food and service are just a bit better. The decor is beautiful. But probably the main reason is we enjoy longer cruises and are tired of the Caribbean. We've been doing more European and transatlantic cruises.

[dverzic]

We are cruising to Hawaii in November on the Grand Princess. The major reason we chose this is because it goes out of San Francisco. We live in San Jose, so we won't have to deal with flying, airfare or luggage restrictions. I wish more cruises would leave from SF. We also chose it because of the destination and because it's our ten year anniversary so I wanted something a little more elegant. Carnival is great when I cruise with my girl friends and just want to have a good time though.

 

 

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[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

I'm pretty new to Carnival (2013) but really like the fun atmosphere of their cruises. I have sailed most lines but favour NCL for their studio cabins & entertainment. I'm also platinum on them so that's a draw too.

That being said I've never had a bad cruise on any ship.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We've also cruised Royal Caribbean, NCL, and Princess. My least favorite was Princess, but perhaps I would have a better experience with them in the future. I loved RC, the ship was gorgeous and we had a fabulous experience! We really enjoyed the freestyle concept and free beverage package on NCL. Our next cruise is back with Carnival though because it was cheapest and we've never had a bad Carnival cruise.

 

 

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[lenquixote66]

We alternate between 6 cruise lines . We go for the best ininerary.

[KPfromCT]

We have only strayed once from Carnival, and it was last June to sail on Oasis. One of the large ships has been our bucket list for some time, now. The stars aligned, and it worked out.

 

We are too young for Princess/Celebrity/HAL. They just don't appeal to us.:')

The ship is just as important to us as the itinerary.

 

We will stick with Carnival and Royal for now.......

[DebJ14]

MSC because they have the most elegant ships and the best entertainment and better food then Carnival and the price is much lower.

 

I have to agree with this one. The MSC ships are maintained to a pristine condition. They are beautifully decorated and the entertainment is the best we have seen on any line. Nobody else has a full production show every night as well as an afternoon opera performance. The food is much better than Carnival, NCL, HAL or RCCL. For those on a Gluten Free diet they have a separate gluten free menu and the ships have been certified by an international Celiac organization.

 

If you sail in the MSC Yacht Club,, then the experience is magnificent. The food and service in the Yacht Club dedicated restaurant and lounge is even better than on the rest of the ship.

[Shaded Lady]

My last non-Carnival cruise was on the Big Red Boat (!!!) so I'm reading this post with interest. DH & I are looking at trying some alternatives to Carnival in 2019.

[sonicbuffalo]

We've been on 5 Carnival cruises and 1 each on Norwegian and RCCL.

 

We cruised NCL because it was an 11 day cruise going to Aruba, Curacao, and several of the Eastern islands. We tried to like NCL but they just didn't measure up to CCL. For food, they want you to eat their gazillion specialty restaurants. Their regular food sucked, and their entertainment wasn't very good. We loved the 11 day cruise due to the fantastic people we met and still stay in touch with.

 

We went on RCCL and their entertainment rocked. It was the best entertainment we have seen. CCL still has their regular food beat without a doubt. We cruised on the Allure mainly because of the size of the ship. We had been on those same islands before.

 

Our choice is Carnival and we're going on another cruise in October on CCL.

[Bases5]

We have cruised several different lines with Carnival leading the way by far.

But our favorite 2 cruises have been on Princess.

Can't exactly put a finger on it but we just really like everything about them

[ontheweb]

We have cruised several different lines with Carnival leading the way by far.

But our favorite 2 cruises have been on Princess.

Can't exactly put a finger on it but we just really like everything about them

 

My favorite two cruises were also on Princess, and I can tell you why, the itineraries. The first was for our 30th anniversary in the Baltics. The other was a British Isles cruise, We also had an anniversary on that cruise, and spent it on an overnight in Edinburg, Scotland and attended the Royal Military Tattoo.

[MMastell]

Other than Carnival my choices are:

 

1. NCL

2. Celebrity

3. Azamara

4. Royal Caribbean - Jewel Class or Voyager Class

5. Princess

6. HAL

6. Seabourn (Very special itinerary and occasion only) $$$$

7. Oceania

8. Costa

 

I have not sailed on MSC but I think I may give it a chance.

 

I've sailed all of these lines on various itineraries around the world and I have to put Celebrity and Azamara as my first choices for cruises outside the U.S. I'm at a high tier on the loyalty programs for Celebrity, Azamara, Royal Caribbean, NCL and Princess but I definitely don't use that as a determining factor on which one I choose. You can live without free laundry and a cocktail party.

 

My last two Princess cruises have not been good in the way of service and food, so they have dropped on the list. HAL has great itineraries but the old reputation of "For the Newlywed and Nearly Dead" is definitely what I've encountered but they were long journeys. However, HAL has some great itineraries.

 

For the Caribbean, NCL is definitely my first choice and they have some decent Mediterranean and Northern Europe itineraries.

 

I've been on Oceania twice and the passengers had a "we're better than others because we're on Oceania" attitude and it really bothered me. Also, Oceania isn't worth the price for what you get. Go with Azamara and you'll get better passengers, food and friendly service. I never encountered a snobbish attitude on my two Seabourn cruises.

 

I've been on Costa once for a 10 day Med cruise and it was just fine but an itinerary or price hasn't popped up to make me cruise them a second time.

 

There are a lot of choices and over the last 17 years I've just decided to try as many as I can.

 

Take care,

Mike

[tennboy1981]

I was on the NCL Sun in 2015. Got a great deal with the free beverage package. I really didn't care much for the staff on NCL. Met some with attitudes, Bar staff was way overworked. It seemed everyone on the ship had the free beverage pass. Entertainment about par with Carnival. Overall nothing impressed me with NCL. If I found another decent deal I may go with them again. Oh and the Sun had a really bad sewage smell most of the cruise in certain areas.

 

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[SeeJennyCruise]

RC - an older ship years ago. I'll try again when the time and price is right out of Galveston. I'm Platinum on Carnival, so it would have to be special to get me to book over Carnival out of Galveston.

 

Disney - A family cruise and if we can afford to take everyone again, we will. It was the older Disney Magic out of Galveston. We have gone on three family cruises on Carnival and had a really good time. There just isn't a comparison with Disney. It is so far above for a family cruise with several generations together. Even our 20-year-old single son was impressed.

 

Princess - This was a 7 day out of Houston with a scuba group and my parents. We enjoyed the amenities and a junior suite. Enjoyed the option to pay a small corkage fee for unlimited carry on bottles of wine. It was a bit of a snoozer in the evenings, but we were tired from our many daytime activities. We're going to try Princess again for the Mexican Riveria.

 

Celebrity - Alone as a couple, this was the best cruise ever. The beautiful ship, the activities, the music, dancing opportunities, the top notch staff, and a respectful and large Veteran's Day celebration, we are completely sold on Celebrity. We wish Celebrity sailed out of Galveston.

[spiritkat090909]

Celebrity..for the smoke-FREE casino and the fantastic main dining room food.

 

It was better than Crystal and much less expensive. Carnival keeps giving us (not really) free cruises (via casino deals) and they are hard to turn down, when the time is available.

 

Celebrity doesn't sail year round Caribbean, though. We prefer Fall/Winter cruising and if the schedules work out... I'd actually choose them over Carnival. But, rarely happens.

 

So, we keep going on Carnival out of Galveston or New Orleans. Royal Caribbean has priced itself out of comparability and substantially cheapened it's food. We are Diamond level on that line and basically they are our 3rd choice.

 

Have sailed HAL, PCL, & NCL and don't any longer.

[nhsails]

Spirit,

Celebrity is now keeping a ship in Caribbean year round. Plus details on new Edge class bookings at noon Monday.

[WupperAV]

We do Princess but last Cruise was our last Cruise on them. Crown was pretty cruddy and we had several things happen that were their fault including screwing up our M&G, they skipped going around the tip of the Horn saying 100 MPH wind but a ship left for Antartica that day. Dinner was so late being served one night our friends almost walked out. (1 hr more than usual) They give 2 pats of butter if you want more everyone else is through with their meal before you get it. Milkshakes were $2.50 xtra for a 8 oz glass of fake icecream actually.

[wrigley80]

Take a look at my signature [emoji846] I haven't found the need to cruise with anyone else. If it's not broke...why fix it. I love Carnival...the ships, the crew, the new friends you meet, the ports.

 

 

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