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

I travel with my husband, sister and BIL. We are 58 - 63 years old and travel without children. We have cruised RCI, Celebrity, CCL, and Princess.

I think our favorite cruise line depends alot on what we're looking for. If you are looking for lots of activities, lots of noise, lots of announcements,and tons of things to do, RCI is a great line. If you travel for the ship, Celebrity is my favorite but I also love the Freedom class on RCI. I also think the length of the cruise can make a difference. We recently did a 7 day on Oasis of the Seas. It was filled to capacity plus, due to many 3rd and 4th passengers. Despite traveling in October, there were a ton of kids on board. If we do a 10 day, we see much fewer kids on all the lines. Food is subjective. If you love a leisurely quiet dining experience, Celebrity can be a better line for our group.

It depends on what we are looking for.

I travel with my husband, sister and BIL. We are 58 - 63 years old and travel without children. We have cruised RCI, Celebrity, CCL, and Princess.

I think our favorite cruise line depends alot on what we're looking for. If you are looking for lots of activities, lots of noise, lots of announcements,and tons of things to do, RCI is a great line. If you travel for the ship, Celebrity is my favorite but I also love the Freedom class on RCI. I also think the length of the cruise can make a difference. We recently did a 7 day on Oasis of the Seas. It was filled to capacity plus, due to many 3rd and 4th passengers. Despite traveling in October, there were a ton of kids on board. If we do a 10 day, we see much fewer kids on all the lines. Food is subjective. If you love a leisurely quiet dining experience, Celebrity can be a better line for our group.

 

It depends on what we are looking for.

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

WAAAY to many variables here.

You like large ships or small. You like "elegant cruising or "fun". You have kids? or not. You like really exotic itineraries, or thats not important. You like loud and "alive" or laid back. You like cruising with upscale or the masses.

We started on NCL and Princess... Why? Kids. Then "graduated" to Celebrity for the elegance... Then over to RCCL (Big family trips) and then to HAL (Exotic itineraries, and more laid back)

Now it's on to small ship (Star Clippers and Windstar)

So what are YOUR desires? Answer that and you will get a lot of suggestions!

I was advised to take quiz on cruiseline website- google "what cruise is best for me"

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My preference is Celebrity and the Solstice is my favourite but we pick cruises by Itinerary, timing and price, if everything is similar across a few lines, then the cruise line and ship may play a part n the choice.:D

...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

Still too many variables - I don't think there is any one BEST ship or cruise line. At any point in time, the best cruise is the one that meet your needs/wants AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME IN YOUR LIFE. Our criteria are somewhat different:

1. Itinerary - where do we really want to go?

2. Timing - when can we go (vacation time/holidays, when is it OK to be away from family and other obligations).

3. What ships are going where we want to go when we want to go? We then research the cruise line and the ship unless we are already familiar with them. We do usually eliminate any of the 'mega-ships" - just too many people in too small a space both onboard and in ports.

4. We then choose the best cabin in the best location we can afford. For us, that would be an aft balcony if available. If we don't like the available cabins, that eliminates the cruise.

5. Are we willing/able to pay the price for what we've chosen?

Food, activities, entertainment, service, and drinks packages rarely enter into our decision. We've found them all to be pretty comparable on the lines and ships we've sailed - mostly RCI, Princess, Celebrity. There are many more similarities than differences. (If you're looking at sailing one of the more upscale and expensive lines, then you can expect a higher performance level in all your categories.)

Food is generally good in all the dining rooms and buffets, but rarely great or exceptional. All the specialty restaurants we've dined in have been a step above the dining rooms, but not always worth the extra price.

We do a few daytime activities if they sound interesting, but they don't 'make or break' a cruise for us. We pretty much entertain ourselves on sea days (lots of good books, quiet music if we're in our cabin, just watching the sea) and rarely go to the evening shows - don't care for the Broadway-type production shows or most comedians, magicians, etc. - we've all seen much better on TV and they all sound alike after awhile. We do enjoy some local entertainment shows brought onboard in some ports, but those tend to be few and far between. Again - not much difference among ships or cruise lines.

Service has always been generally very good on all ships/lines - with a few isolated exceptions. We've observed very few examples of poor service except in cases where a guest is less than polite and patient with a crew member.

Drink packages are also not important to us. We don't drink enough to make even the lowest cost package worthwhile. If the package is a free perk, then 'Thank you very much!', but we wouldn't purchase one.

I think the point I'm making is that trying to find the 'best' in every category on one cruise is setting yourself up for disappointment, unless you have a very high budget. There will mostly good and a little bad on every cruise. Anyone who tells you that their cruise was perfect in every way probably has a very short memory! Pick a cruise using a few things that are most important to you, then go expecting to have a great time and ignore little problems that aren't worth worrying about.

Simon- I've never had poor service on any line, even Thomson which has no tipping- in fact, they were amongst the top lines for service, entertainment and friendliness.

After a few years and a few lines, we're more likely to sail from the UK- you're close to Liverpool, so will know about Fred Olsen and C&M sailing from there- but they're small, old ships, so hardly an RCI experience.

We prefer ships which swallow some of the vast tipping prices charged on most US managed lines, and ones which charge pub prices for drinks with no additional tipping for bar sales.

Entertainment and activities are important for sea days, and again we have found ships which cater to our needs.... yours may be very different to ours, especially as we're fairly aged now.

Our next two booked cruises are with P&O out of Southampton, and Fred Olsen out of Newcastle.

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

If food is really first and foremost, put Oceania at the top of your list. Also, terrific lecturers and unique sea day activities (from a country fair out on by crew to boat building). Entertainment is fine for a cruise ship (Broadway shows belong on Broadway). Premium booze package (unlimited) is $60/day including tip (4 drinks with top shelf liquor to break even). Service unmatched in the industry. Bottom line price is a value with included air (or air credit) plus internet and OBC or excursions. Only 700 or 1100 passengers (R ship vs O ship)

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

Celebrity. It's a more upscale line with better food, good nightlife and good entertainment. Go for a Solstice Class ship.

Since good entertainment at night is important, don't go any more upscale than Celebrity. Broadway belongs on Broadway? Hogwash! Some people enjoy good entertainment on board. :)

Have not been on a bad cruise yet. Do your homework, understand what the cruiseline/ship offers or not.

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

We've only been on three lines, Carnival, NCL and Celebrity. Of the three, Celebrity is our favorite. We like the Summit because it is quieter, the age range is more to our liking and although you may find some families there aren't as many as on the other lines. We also love the entertainment on the Celebrity lines. We also find the food to be a better quality on Celebrity however the food is not horrible on the other lines.

We have heard that RCCL is quite nice but the ships just seem to big for us. That being said we are going to give RCCL a try next time to compare.

The staff also seem to be just a bit higher quality on Celebrity and we love the adults only areas. OUr very first cruise was on a Celebrity and we heard quite a bit of other more seasoned cruisers compare Celebrity with other lines and say that Celebrity was the absolute best. Many of the cruisers had been on 20 + cruises with some having been on 50+ cruises.

Celebrity. It's a more upscale line with better food, good nightlife and good entertainment. Go for a Solstice Class ship.

 

 

 

Since good entertainment at night is important, don't go any more upscale than Celebrity. Broadway belongs on Broadway? Hogwash! Some people enjoy good entertainment on board. :)

If what you're used to is Broadway or even top tour cities like SF, shipboard "wannabe" productions often fall far short of the mark.

If what you're used to is Broadway or even top tour cities like SF, shipboard "wannabe" productions often fall far short of the mark.

NCL certainly put on some great broadway style shows.:D

what I would suggest is going in to a cruise specialist (a travel agent who is knowledgeable about cruises) with your list as well as your desired ports, your budget, where you might want to leave from, time of year you want to travel --info like that. A good TA will try to match you up with a cruise for your wants.

a favorite cruise line and ship for me would be far different than the next person. There are some cruise lines I would never consider as I don't think they're a good match for me but may be a good match for you.

If what you're used to is Broadway or even top tour cities like SF, shipboard "wannabe" productions often fall far short of the mark.

I've seen my share of Broadway Shows since I'm a short train ride away from NYC and don't bother with tour cities, even though Wash. and Phila. aren't far either. I find nothing wrong with Broadway type shows on ships, I enjoy them for what they are.

Sometimes we book for the itinerary, sometimes because we can't pass up a bargain, and only once for the ship. that one was to sail on QE2 before she was retired. We really like the cabins and food on Celebrity, but thought the food was really good on our last Carnival cruise. Love the ship and cabins on MSC, and the musical entertainment. The food less so, but we never go hungry. We like the variety in cruise lines. Some we would sail more often if they were closer. We feel that cruising only one line is like eating at the same chain restaurant no matter where you are. EM

If what you're used to is Broadway or even top tour cities like SF, shipboard "wannabe" productions often fall far short of the mark.

I have quite a bit of Broadway, off Broadway, and top tour city experience and still I enjoy the ship entertainment. Does it fall short of Broadway, of course, but using that analogy you would not go to shows in top tour cities because they fall short of the mark that Broadway sets. Also I don't pay over $100 for just the show on the ship like I willingly do on Broadway.

I couldn't be branded as loyal to any cruise line, accidentally or otherwise. We have cruise on some 600 pax rust buckets to 4000+ super liners and I couldn't honestly say that any one stood out as they are all different in various ways. If you want the British experience onboard then P&O, Fred Olsen, Thompson, Cunard, Voyages of discovery and C&M will supply.

We took our first cruise with HAL this summer on the new ship; Koningsdam in the Med and that was brilliant all round, some of the US and Canadian regular HAL passengers were not impressed as they said it was different to their past experiences with HAL, as they say you can't please everyone all the time.

I think a lot of people tend to stick with their first cruise line if they enjoyed it, plus many people book while still onboard to get some of the offers. It also depends what your priorities are. The upside is that there is so much choice now at sensible prices.

We really love Celebrity. Our favorite ship is the Silhouette. However, if we are sailing with family and children under 15, we enjoy the RC Oasis Class ships-- so much to do for the kids and adults as well. And IMO the best entertainment at sea.

I didn't read thorough all of the posts, but prior to me there were 19.... probably 19 different answers. Everyone has different desires, needs and expectations, so someone's "X is the best choice" someone else is going to say "X is the worst choice".

"Best" is very subjective because all of us have different expectations on what we want from a vacation. Some want an ultra-casual experience that gives them the most nights for their vacation dollar. Others want old school elegance and will splurge on luxuries that they can't have the rest of the year.

I haven't sailed on any line other than Cunard because the traditional elegance, real formal nights, and lack of daytime noise suit my preferences. But others might be ready to jump overboard and start swimming back to shore after one night out. One person's paradise is another person's hell.

Given what you told us, you might check out the line-specific boards to determine if another line or ship is more suited to you at this stage in your lives.

I would also suggest reading the ships member reviews as you can get an idea as to each ships strengths and weaknesses

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.

If what you're used to is Broadway or even top tour cities like SF, shipboard "wannabe" productions often fall far short of the mark.

Really? Have you seen RCI's productions of Mama Mia, Hairspray or Saturday Night Fever? Well, I have. And I have been to a couple shows on Broadway. These productions are not "wannabes" at all. They are the real deal, performed by artists who have actually performed on Broadway and like venues. Actually, in a way they're better because the cruise ship theaters are a lot more comfortable and roomy than any Broadway theater I have been in.

I agree that cruse-ship-standard singers/dancers acts do not compare but then again, no one is trying to say they are Broadway shows. But some are still pretty good, and the ones I've seen recently on Celebrity were really good.