Leeza_K

4 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

We have been on 7 cruise lines.Americanism,Cunard,Carnival,HAL,NCL,Celebrity and RCL.

 

We enjoyed all except Carnival.

LOL!!! Fair enough. We didn't have anything to compare it to when we sailed on Carnival so it was a starting point. 

On 7/26/2024 at 9:01 AM, PoppyVelvet said:

Something that hasn’t been discussed is what entertainment/night life the OP is interested in. If they like Carnival they may not be interested in, say, Oceania. 

We're not party animals. 😂 That said, the live music singers on the Carnival ships we sailed on were one of the most awesome parts of the cruise. They were wonderful entertainers. 

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

That does make some sense.

Definitely nothing wrong with sticking with what you like.... but we want to explore and try out something new. 

On 7/21/2024 at 2:02 PM, John Bull said:

 

Unexpected or excessive on-board charges, eg (some time ago) welcome "champagne" handed to everyone when boarding, followed by "can I see your card please?"  (yes, it was so they could charge the drink to us !)

 

And NCL have always been the industry leader in increasing "gratuities" and pushing pay-restaurants

 

JB 🙂

 

Thank you for clarifying. This is helpful. 

52 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

we stopped sailing NCL years ago ..... we looked beyond ...... NCL is OK for introduction to cruising but there is SO MUCH MORE available ...... today VIKING is our choice and have a Rhine river booked for the fall and a Med for next summer . . 

Thank you, this is helpful. We are narrowing it down and will likely pick something else than NCL. That said, unless it's REALLY bad service, I think it's hard to have a bad time on a cruise. Just relax and have fun, right? (Not an invitation to send bad cruise experience stories...please.) 

20 hours ago, John Bull said:

@Flatbush Flyer mentioned "nickel & diming".

NCL is probably the worst for this, @zqvol's mention of gratuities being payable on their included "Free at Sea" package is an example. And NCL concentrate on their speciality pay restaurants, so the standard in their main dining rooms suffers.

The former can be taken into account in the cruise pricing, the latter will probably disappoint.

 

The Flyer is an advocate for Oceania (we've not sailed Oceania).

By all accounts the food is a cut above. They also include extras such as excursions - obviously that keeps costs down when cruising, but you're paying for those things in your cruise ticket price. So when comparing prices take into account the money you'd otherwise spend, but you'll get no benefit from inclusions which don't interest you.

 

Celebrity are a favourite of ours and a cut above their stable-mate Royal Caribbean. If both appeal consider whether you want to pay the higher Celebrity prices.

 

MSC are a bit of an acquired choice - we enjoy them, they have the youngest and most-stylish fleet in the world, but they get more than their fair share of poor reviews from Americans ( & Brits) who are surprised that this Italian line doesn't provide an American experience 🙄. Food is very acceptable, but not outstanding - probably different for those who choose the Yacht Club experience but we wouldn't know because the Yacht Club prices are in a different league.

 

No-one's yet mentioned Princess - more refined and laid-back than the other mass-market lines. Another favourite of ours. And we've always found the food good in both Main Dining Rooms & buffets. 

 

We've only experienced Carnival once. OK, especially for the money, but with the greatest respect for Carnival I think you'll find the other cruise lines mentioned are better. 

 

BTW we always loved to share tables, we've made many good friends and shared many trips ashore with table-mates.

But when cruising re-started post-Covid understandably no tables could be shared with strangers.

Sadly for us, but fortunate for you, the cruise lines we've sailed have since been reluctant to offer shared tables. On both MSC and NCL the only large tables seem to be for shared cruise bookings.

But because so many tables are now two-tops they're crammed in. Certainly on MSC and NCL you are likely to be less than a foot from the tables either side of you - and that's probably true of most lines.

 

JB 🙂

Can I ask what you mean by "nickel and diming?" Meaning - extra costs up front when booking the cruise, or extra costs while you're onboard? I don't mind paying gratuities as long as it's clear up front what's being charged. Overall, just curious. Thanks!!  

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Oceania is a world apart (in the best ways) from the other cruise lines you’ve mentioned. And yet, if you look at the bottom line of all you get with your base fare (beverages, internet, booze and excursion package, specialty restaurants, <1200 or <700 passengers, etc), you may find that it’s a far better deal - particularly when you also consider all that you DON’T get on those other lines (mediocre food, poor crew and space ratios, thundering herds of passengers, nickel-diming for every little thing….)

Thank you!! 

33 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Have a look at MSC from Miami or Port Canaveral.  Consider the Aurea experience if you don’t want to dine with others, or Yacht Club.  Come over to the MSC board and do some reading.  EM

Thank you! Very helpful. We don't mind dining in the large, main dining rooms. We just want to be seated at our own table. That's all. 🙂 

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

Somewhat supporting @Flatbush Flyer's comments, while it is not clear to me what you mean by "good food is important" but then add "we're not picky," I think you will find that the offerings on Celebrity, NCL, and Royal Caribbean are, pretty much, comparable to Carnival.  You won't go hungry on any of them.  Oceania, on the other hand, makes a big deal about the cuisine and  dining experience on their ships.

Fair point. What I meant by "we're not picky" is it doesn't need to be 5 star, high end gourmet cuisine. The food was fine on Carnival and we had a great time. On the 2nd Carnival trip, some of the dinners were so-so, meaning it looked like something I could have picked up from the frozen section of Walmart. Edible? Yes. Impressive? Nope. 

My first-ever cruise was in 2018 on Carnival. We had a really good time. (I was skeptical I would like cruises. lol) We did Carnival a 2nd time to take my mother-in-law and we again had fun and really enjoyed it. We'd like to cruise again in 2025 but am overwhelmed about which cruise line to try next. We'd like to try something other than Carnival. We'd likely sail out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and looking at something 7 day to the Caribbean. We're flexible on the places it stops, to a point. 

We are considering Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, or Oceania but like I said, it's overwhelming. Don't know where to begin and I don't want emails and sales phone calls from 5 different cruise lines. lol Folks on our Carnival ship were advocating we should try Norwegian next... 

We'd book a balcony room on an upper deck. We also want to book a drinks/alcohol package and access to a spa with steam rooms, etc. 

Good food is important to us, but we're not picky. The food on Carnival was good, but maybe not mind blowing good...? We also don't want to be seated at dinner with total strangers if we don't have to be. 

We're not cheapskates, but I looked at prices for Virgin cruises and it was way above what we want to spend on a cruise. For that, I'll fly first class to Europe! lol 

Advice and suggestions from cruise experts welcomed!! Thank you!!!!