What is the worst Cruise line that you have sailed on

[janetz]

Carnival :cool:

[05mak05]

We've been on lots of cruises - Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival. 3 or 4 years ago we were on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston on Halloween. The crowd was well-behaved, no drunks, food okay but the ship was hard to navigate and the decor was way over the top. Well, we only thought that was a C+ cruise. We've just off the Carnival Legend and that ship is the more bizarre thing I've ever seen. Funeral urns for decor? Black/brown low ceilings? So many people were loud and obnoxious. On the first sea day, there was a line of VIPs at customer relations asking to get off of the ship in Cozumel. The carpeting in our room wasn't clean and bed linens rumpled. What puzzles me is that I've read so many threads that say that Carnival staterooms are a bit larger than Royal Caribbean. On the Ecstasy our oceanview was so tiny that it only had 2 straight backed chairs. The Legend balcony midship on Deck 6 did not compare to a D1 on Royal Caribbean.

In over 40 cruises, really the only one that I'd rate as "bad" was the Legend (although we had a good time with family members from Florida!) And another things that amazes me is that the Legend gets fairly decent reviews ... each to their own, I suppose.

[Smokeyham]

.....This made us decide to try NCL for our next cruise. Now you all have me in a panic because everyone seems to dislike the line so much. I hope I haven't made a terrible mistake booking with them.

 

We're doing the Western Caribbean in November & I booked an inside room to keep the cost down. Don't get me wrong, we're not snobs or anything, we can have a good time just about anywhere, I'm just worried it's going to be a booze cruise with school lunch style food. Oh well, live and learn right. We might just enjoy ourselves anyway.

 

I think you'll be OK, as long as you understand the atmosphere, decor, and approach (free-style dining, informal dress code, etc.) and are OK with those.

 

I think the food has been OK in the MDRs, but would recommend planning/budgeting for a couple of meals in their speacility restaurants. We've enjoyed our time on board, and found the other passengers to be pleasant, but this has been on West Coast repositioning cruises, which may not have as much of a party atmosphere.

[MiamiSpartan]

I don't want to get involved in negativity....

We always have a great time on every ship we travel on....

I will say that Carnival is usually our last choice with everything else being equal.....pretty much just because the decor gets a bit tired after a while.....but they are changing things now...

[bluehenfan]

For me it has to be NCL. Only tried it once. We'd sailed on Disney RCCL and Carnival previously. I thought cabin on NCL was very small and drab. I thought this must be what a jail cell looks like !! Food was awful. Staff not very friendly, I went to buffet a little late for lunch and as I was getting ready to go down line I was told "we're closed". Never bothered to tell me identical buffet line on opposite side was still open. Another passenger heard conversation and told me about it.

On another occasion went to lunch and there was a section marked "carving station". When I went to check it out, there were two or three types of pizza sitting under heat light. Someone asked server what the deal was and was told "we ran out of ham". This became a running joke with my family. If I fix something that's nobody's wild about, I'll just say "sorry we ran out of ham." LOL !!

Only good part was we sailed from NYC and it was nice to sail past Statue of Liberty. Have thought about giving NCL another try but even more than the food, it's the drab little room that makes me say, "Maybe next time.."

[loubetti]

Never had a bad cruise, and I was on QE2 when she hit the rock in 8/92. I enjoyed my 13 cruises on the late, old Regal Empress just as much as those on Cunard and Celebrity. Big ship, small ship, new ship, old ship, never any real problem. If you manage expectations, and truly know how to get what you want from a cruise, you'll be fine. Of course, I never sailed NCL or Carnival or RCI.

[muti]

Don't care for Carnival -- loved NCL's Pearl.

[Jade13]

Veendam,

Ship broke down 3 x, hence the reason i bring flashlights on cruises,

Food was awful, service was plain awful. Always the last to leave the dining room, because, as others were getting dessert, we were getting appetizers....

 

never again unless it's free!

 

Wow. When was that.

 

We just spent 3 weeks on Veendam and had a good time. Our Service was great as usual on HAL.

[lrowe70]

Only been on 3 cruises and enjoyed them all.

Of them, Carnival would not be my ship of choice, however it's simply because it didn't fit with my taste. There was nothing wrong with it in the least. The service and kids' Club were great in fact. I've recommended the line to friends who are more into the "fun ship" atmosphere.

[momofmeg]

Only been on 3 cruises and enjoyed them all.

Of them, Carnival would not be my ship of choice, however it's simply because it didn't fit with my taste. There was nothing wrong with it in the least. The service and kids' Club were great in fact. I've recommended the line to friends who are more into the "fun ship" atmosphere.

 

I liked Carnival when we first started cruising. But as I got older I found I did not care for their atmosphere, I prefer it to be more laid back. NCL is more family than party-party and although their food is not as good as Carnival I would pick NCL over Carnival.

 

I also do not like as well the ships that carry over 3000 people, no matter the line.

[crooooze]

I have also found that there was more to do during a sea day on Royal Caribbean. There was the rock wall, roller blading, mini golf, ice skating, behind the scenes tours, etc.

I remember NCL's activities were mostly spa, port shopping lectures, bingo, or casino events. Many of which had charges. So I had to spend most of my time eating. :-)

[Smokeyham]

This has been some great reading. We'll be going on Princess in a few months, and I will be curious to compare Princess to NCL.

[Capt_BJ]

NCL

 

customer service was non-existant

 

they had my money and after that could care less . . .

 

sailed them several times but this change was noted in the last few years and we'll not return

 

sent back our 'frequent flier cards'

[Ralph Henry]

never had a bad cruise and been on Princess /RCL/ CCL / NCL

but if I had to rate them then NCL woud be at the bottom of the list, mainly because the waiters were not as friendly.

[kcmesq]

I totally agree with you, NCL is the worst cruise line. Please visit a FB page I started after our 40th anniversary nightmare family cruise on the Norwegian Jewel 1/28-2/4/12. Please "like" the page and share your experience of cruising like a Norwegian.

[Muffinis#1]

:confused: YES, ANOTHER VOTE FOR NCL!!! BAD, BAD, BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

NCL pride of America!!!!!!!!

[worldspan]

NCL pride of America!!!!!!!!

 

I love the sarcasm!!!! Yes, so totally true! NCL is garbage indeed. Shame their execs don't wake up and smell the coffee!!

 

Worldspan

[momofmeg]

never had a bad cruise and been on Princess /RCL/ CCL / NCL

but if I had to rate them then NCL woud be at the bottom of the list, mainly because the waiters were not as friendly.

 

I agree-I would cruise NCL again-but they are not my first choice-however Carnival is even below them in my opinion-for my likes/dislikes.

 

It would take a lot to get me back on Carnival. I am not saying I will never cruise Carnival again-but it would have to be some some super special reason. Like maybe-Bermuda from Charleston-Charleston is a 5 hour drive and I find that preferable to a 2 and half hour flight to NY with all the hassle of flying. By the time we drove to airport waited, went through security, waited for flight, picked up luggage after flight and found taxi or other transportation to cruise port-it would be just as much time-and a whole lot more hassle.

 

The other Carnival cruise I would consider is the 8 day southern Caribbean-for the ports. In either case I would make sure we had a balcony where I could spend a lot of time when at sea-since I do not like Carnival atmosphere.

 

NCL- it would have to be the same class ship as the Pearl-as we liked the Pearl-their other ships-not so much-and I think I would hate the Epic. I would never do the NCL Hawaii cruise-heard too many bad things about the all american crew. That does not say much about our fellow country men does it?

[momofmeg]

I love the sarcasm!!!! Yes, so totally true! NCL is garbage indeed. Shame their execs don't wake up and smell the coffee!!

 

Worldspan

 

Worldspan the execs know they offer a bargain price as they are in competition with Carnival and not Celebrity-it is us who would be foolish to think we will get a better experience for the bargain price.

 

Some people even feel lines like Celebrity are crap- I don't think so- I think Celebrity is a wonderful value for what they offer. Too many people want more than they can afford/willing to spend. You know champagne tastes (Crystal-Regent) with house wine budget (Celebrity). In this analogy Carnival and NCL would be equal to beer budget-LOL!

[navybankerteacher]

I agree-I would cruise NCL again-but they are not my first choice-however Carnival is even below them in my opinion-for my likes/dislikes.

 

It would take a lot to get me back on Carnival. I am not saying I will never cruise Carnival again-but it would have to be some some super special reason. Like maybe-Bermuda from Charleston-Charleston is a 5 hour drive and I find that preferable to a 2 and half hour flight to NY with all the hassle of flying. By the time we drove to airport waited, went through security, waited for flight, picked up luggage after flight and found taxi or other transportation to cruise port-it would be just as much time-and a whole lot more hassle.

 

The other Carnival cruise I would consider is the 8 day southern Caribbean-for the ports. In either case I would make sure we had a balcony where I could spend a lot of time when at sea-since I do not like Carnival atmosphere.

 

NCL- it would have to be the same class ship as the Pearl-as we liked the Pearl-their other ships-not so much-and I think I would hate the Epic. I would never do the NCL Hawaii cruise-heard too many bad things about the all american crew. That does not say much about our fellow country men does it?

 

I agree, I would put Carnival down near NCL - not so much for their basic quality, which can be comparable to Princess and close to Celebrity and HAL === but for the yahoos many of their itineraries attract. A "Fun-ship" on a short booze cruise is not attractive -- but I am inclined to think that on a longer itinerary, avoiding the Spring break mentality, Carnival can offer good value. NCL, on the other hand appears wedded to the bottom dollar concept -- they really cannot compete in the service area while attempting to under-price their competition.

[kennicott]

Well then, having voyaged extensively for over two decades, but certainly not on all the ships available much less all the multiple cruise lines offering their wares, we find that Berlitz offers the best comprehensive review of each ship as well as that for each line.

 

Now, having said that, admittedly, as others argue, Berlitz reviews only offer the sole opinion of a one, Douglas Ward, and are repeat with error. Doubtful, but maybe so now and then, however then, only regarding an occasional error(s). We find that Ward and company reach out in extensively more detail to far more than say, our peer group Cruise Critic cruise reviews do with their limited and convoluted assessments. Rather, Berlitz does indeed take into consideration personal voyager reviews as well as getting into the nitty-gritty aspects of cruise life so important to all of us. So (and I realize there is violent disagreement herewith regarding some evaluations), but love them or hate them, read and weep, or agree, here they are, the latest, and they do make sense; to us anyway:

 

Of the eleven major lines, summarizing all the different categories such as food, service, cabins, open decks, quality of ingredients, wine lists, dining room/cuisine, bars, etc. etc.etc. here they are;

 

1. Cunard

2. Celebrity

3. MSC

4. Princess

5. HAL

6. P & O Cruises

7. NCL

8. Star Cruises

9. Costa Cruises

10. Carnvial

11. Royal Caribbean

[worldspan]

Worldspan the execs know they offer a bargain price as they are in competition with Carnival and not Celebrity-it is us who would be foolish to think we will get a better experience for the bargain price.

 

Some people even feel lines like Celebrity are crap- I don't think so- I think Celebrity is a wonderful value for what they offer. Too many people want more than they can afford/willing to spend. You know champagne tastes (Crystal-Regent) with house wine budget (Celebrity). In this analogy Carnival and NCL would be equal to beer budget-LOL!

 

No Celebrity is not crap, but "today's" Celebrity under RCCI is not what the "original" Celebrity was under Chandris. Yes, for big ships the Solstice class vessels are very shiek indeed and I can sail on one and surely enjoy. But don't think I am not remembering how the old Celebrity (under Chandris) used to be which is much better than today's.

 

In my my older age I am trying to cruise less often and when I do cruise enjoy a Seabourn or a Regent where food (to me the most important factor in cruising) is still something superior to that I might enjoy in a local restaurant at home.

 

Worldspan

131 cruises strong

[Karysa]

My nine cruises have been on Royal Caribbean.So i expect the best,and always get the best.So far i have not had a bad cruise.

 

Let's all go to the Caribbean.:):):)

 

 

 

Wow surprised there is not a tongue in cheek winky face with this reply!

 

My answer to the OP would be Costa because they had a very lax smoking policy.

[cruzeluver]

I totally agree with you, NCL is the worst cruise line. Please visit a FB page I started after our 40th anniversary nightmare family cruise on the Norwegian Jewel 1/28-2/4/12. Please "like" the page and share your experience of cruising like a Norwegian.

 

Wow. Joined Cruise Critic just so you could direct us to a Facebook page you made just for the purpose of trashing Norwegian? Guess I don't get it as I have this thing called "a life".

 

And no, I'm not an NCL cheerleader. Have sailed NCL a few times. Like them, don't love them.

[05mak05]

Well then, having voyaged extensively for over two decades, but certainly not on all the ships available much less all the multiple cruise lines offering their wares, we find that Berlitz offers the best comprehensive review of each ship as well as that for each line.

 

Now, having said that, admittedly, as others argue, Berlitz reviews only offer the sole opinion of a one, Douglas Ward, and are repeat with error. Doubtful, but maybe so now and then, however then, only regarding an occasional error(s). We find that Ward and company reach out in extensively more detail to far more than say, our peer group Cruise Critic cruise reviews do with their limited and convoluted assessments. Rather, Berlitz does indeed take into consideration personal voyager reviews as well as getting into the nitty-gritty aspects of cruise life so important to all of us. So (and I realize there is violent disagreement herewith regarding some evaluations), but love them or hate them, read and weep, or agree, here they are, the latest, and they do make sense; to us anyway:

 

Of the eleven major lines, summarizing all the different categories such as food, service, cabins, open decks, quality of ingredients, wine lists, dining room/cuisine, bars, etc. etc.etc. here they are;

 

1. Cunard

2. Celebrity

3. MSC

4. Princess

5. HAL

6. P & O Cruises

7. NCL

8. Star Cruises

9. Costa Cruises

10. Carnvial

11. Royal Caribbean

To say that Douglas Ward doesn't like RCI would be an understatement :-) It's our favorite.