In your opinion - What is the best cruise company and their best ship please

I seem to have become accidentally brand loyal to RCI, not really by choice, RCI's "Next Cruise" got us last time and on that cruise I got a voucher from the casino (either a free cruise or $750 off with RCI only, so we are stuck with them for our next one, but.. i want to change cruise lines for our next one

 

I have found that most people I ask this question to in the ships we are on always seem to say that the company we are sailing with or the sister company i.e. Celebrity is the best. However, I think this might me a bias opinion

 

So, I'd really like to know, in your opinion what is the best overall cruise line and why, and your favourite ship from that cruise line

 

Thank you in advance for your help

Your question is totally unanswerable as we do not know anything at all about you. Your question is the equivalent of going on a car site and asking "what is the best car".

However, if you really want my answer, any ship that holds less than 100 passengers is better than every ship that holds more than 100 passengers. The fewer passengers the better. My absolute best cruise cruises ever were on the Lewis R French which is a Maine windjammer that has no motor and holds 21 passengers - https://schoonerfrench.com/.

My next best was on the Alaska Dream which does Alaska and holds 40 passengers - http://www.alaskandreamcruises.com/fleet/alaskan-dream.

All the other cruises that I have taken pale by comparison. Some day I would like to do AK on a trawler yacht such as the the Ursa Major - http://www.myursamajor.com/alaska-adventures - that holds 6 passengers.

One other thing. I pick the itinerary and then the ship, not the other way which seems to be what you are doing.

DON

We cruise on several lines.

 

Our preference would be Celebrity Solstice class ships...especially Equinox.

 

We tend to avoid older ships. Our selection really comes down to itinerary, ship, and price. We find that several of the cruise lines are almost identical in their service levels, etc.

Seems you have read my mind, except for that the ship is the Solstice.:D

Thank you Sue, that's a very good point, the reason we were steered in the direction of quantum class RCI for our first one was I was worried I'd get bored, however it turned out I hardly did any of the activities but really loved the experience

 

My wish list, in order is;

 

Great Food

Good activities on cruise days

good entertainment at night

Great Service

Drinks package at at a fair price

 

What would be your suggestion please

Food- Carnival hands down (at least between RCI, Princess, NCL, and Carnival).

Good Activities on Cruise days- I am not a big activity person, I prefer reading and spa days... so ? I do, however really enjoy the Solarium areas on RCI for reading if you count that as an activity. Also the lunch food there as well as it tends to be healthier and more flavorful than other venues.

Entertainment- My fave type of entertainment is Theater and Comedy. The Oasis class (possibly Quantum as well) on RCI fit the bill here for me the best but that severely limits your ship options. Carnival has several AWESOME comedy acts each night in their "Punchliner Comedy Club" which is now a feature on every ship. So Carnival.

Service- RCI suites with Concierge service is amazing, they have great suite perks. Between all 4 of the lines I have cruised with in nonsuites, I prefer Carnival here as well yet I find it varies by the staff you get- ie who your wait staff is, etc.

Drink packages- I have no idea as I am not much of a drinker.

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