If not NCL, which Ship would you sail?

[65viki]

We are by no means giving up on NCL but would like to hear from those of you who have sailed other fleets, we would love to try something new.

[pappagene]

We are by no means giving up on NCL but would like to hear from those of you who have sailed other fleets, we would love to try something new.

 

DW & I have only sailed on one other line since '95 and that was Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. It was large, but not crowded. Staff was frendly and helpful. It ended up being another almost perfect do nothing vacation. We did enjoy her and will probably go back when we get the chance.

[DDMau]

We have only 10 cruises and been sailing since 2002.

 

NCL 60%

Holland 20%

Princess 20%

 

Either one of these would work.

[russianmom]

I enjoyed Celebrity and Princess- slightly more formal (before we had kids). Carnival was a DISASTER.

[Dolphins]

The only non-NCL ship that could possibly tempt me is Royal Caribbean's huge Oasis of the Seas but only if it sailed a long cruise round trip out of New York. It has a lot of interesting features, one of which I wish NCL would adopt- a large indoor solarium pool ideal for winter sailing out of New York.

[Starry Eyes]

What is important to you? What type of new things would attract you? Is formal ok or do you want to stay casual? Like bigger ships or smaller ones? How important is nightlife? Very sedate or very active or in between? foodie or not? ages? there are lines to suit each taste, but no line is perfect for all comers IMHO. the more you share the more likely people can give you the ups and downs of other lines for you.

 

Personally, I like big ships. I like to be on the more active side, so I love ice rinks and flow riders. I am an early bird so a nice cafe in the morning is a delight. So, I love RCI's Freedom and Oasis class ships. Still, sometimes I want a more sedate cruise with different, maybe fancier menus, then I choose Celebrity (or Princess occasionally).

[che5904]

Thats easy, probably none. I really love the freestyle of NCL, not interested in dressing fancy, not interested in eating with strangers (sorry to some people "new acquaintances"), I don't want to pay for things I'm not using.

 

Now in saying all of that, I am all for trying new things. But as you can see there are certain things that are important to me. So IMO your question is too broad. Because it would completely depend on what is significant to you and what you may or may not like.

 

Here are some comparison files that I started for a relative, maybe this may help decide what type of things are important to you. To be able to narrow your search on which line you may want to try next and be able to research those lines more thoroughly.

cruise mass market comparisons.pdf

cruise mass market stateroom.pdf

cruise comparison chart 2011.pdf

[Starry Eyes]

The only non-NCL ship that could possibly tempt me is Royal Caribbean's huge Oasis of the Seas but only if it sailed a long cruise round trip out of New York. It has a lot of interesting features, one of which I wish NCL would adopt- a large indoor solarium pool ideal for winter sailing out of New York.

 

I do not think Oasis or Allure are likely to move to NY. also the solarium, while wind sheltered, is not fully enclosed on Oasis. Celebrity's Silhouette might be closer to meeting you solarium, cruise length, and geography, but will have a very different feel that Oasis. If it would have to be Oasis, I suspect you will continue to be sailing NCL for the foreseeable future.:D Happy sailing.

[redlef]

Carnival Spirit or its sister Carnival Miracle. Much less crowded than a lot of big market ships, the Aft Wrap suites are great, and the chocolate melting cake is to die for.

[Highlander1]

Only 5 cruises under our belts and liked every one of them, but the best was Princess (Caribbean Princess). Food was best, entertainment was surprisngly very good, ship was wonderful, crew, top notch.

 

Surprisingly, we liked NCL (Dawn) 2nd best followed by RCCL (Explorer) and Celebrity (Summit). This year we are going on the Celebrity Silhouette because its a new ship and its convenient (Bayonne) and the Caribbean Princess to Bermuda from NYC because its our 30th Anniversary and we love Bermuda.

 

We like to pick based more on itinerary than cruise line, haven't sailed Carnival yet but I am willing to give it a try. Enjoy!!

[Sauer-kraut]

I really loved my crossing on the Queen Mary 2. Lots to do on that ship, super wonderful library. Fun in the Golden Lion pub...lunch served there as well at no charge. Lovely afternoon tea at no charge. Coffee and tea available 24 hours self serve on deck 2.

 

Neat windows on deck 2 for the games tables; start a puzzle, board games available, cards. Bridge classes, interesting lectures, nice shows. Planetarium, pools, hot tubs and fitness center.

 

The line is formal, but you can get away with a long skirt and switch up fancy tops.

 

Mom went on the Queen Victoria and enjoyed that as well, it is a smaller ship but still lovely.

 

Good for you, OP, for wanting to branch out and try different lines!

[gooch47]

Obvious if you look at my signature. We prefer Princess, but at least part of that is because of the excellent perks we get for sailing with them so much. NCL has become our second favorite because we get all our cruises with them for "free" from the Caesar's Casino chain.

 

We really like the laid back Free Style atmosphere on NCL. With Princess you can get pretty much the same experience except they still have real formal nights. For those we either go to the buffet or kinda break the recommendations with my hubby going in just a shirt and tie and me some kind of sparkly top.

[Leeroy-Jenkins]

We are by no means giving up on NCL but would like to hear from those of you who have sailed other fleets, we would love to try something new.

 

Phenomenal!

 

[mtwingcpa]

I'm also a fan of NCL, but am considering Celebrity (for the smoking policy) or HAL (for the range of itineraries).

[LAFFNVEGAS]

No secret by my signature that I am a HAL fan :) But my next fave cruise line is NCL :D Trust me I try to express that often on the HAL Board.

 

I have cruised HAL, NCL, Celebrity, Princess and RCI and my least favorite is RCI. I honestly think that HAL is the closest in comparison to NCL. mostly due to the crew and service and the fact they both have Elemis products ;). But there are must many similarities that HAL people just do not want to believe :D

 

Now looking forward to NCL returning to the West Coast in late 2013.

[travelnap]

We are by no means giving up on NCL but would like to hear from those of you who have sailed other fleets, we would love to try something new.

 

65viki, I would agree with the other posters, a lot depends on what you like to find a good fit with another line. I have sailed on most of the mass market cruise lines and they all have little differences. I like the NCL freestyle as I usually travel solo, so I can do whatever I want. HAL and Princess are a more formal cruise experience, and usually an older crowd than what NCL has. Carnival and RCI probably have an age mix that is more similar to NCL. Almost all of the cruise lines offer the open dining option which is similar to the freestyle dining, but not all of them have the specialty restaurants that NCL has to offer. They might have 2 or 3 options other than the MDR. Food is subjective, but I haven't had bad food on any line that I cruised with. Entertainment will also vary from line to line. That also is more of a personal choice as well, as different people enjoy different entertainment as well. I like NCL's entertainment but there are others who don't care for it. If you like the big ships then give RCI a try. If you like the midsize ships similar to NCL (with the exception of the Epic) then all of the other lines will have ships of similar size available for you. I usually pick which line to take by itinerary and price, and I have not had a bad cruise yet. I have not sailed on Celebrity yet, so I can't tell you much about them. From what I have heard they are the more formal type cruise experience similar to HAL and Princess. As long as I am on vacation, I am enjoying the experience, whichever line I happen to be on. Good luck and Happy Sailing.

[weltek]

We are in the same ship (get it? Boat, ship?) :D

 

Everyone we mention this to recommends we should try Royal Caribbean. We want fun, but not too much silliness.

 

We like:

-flexible dining times (show up when we feel like it)

-a few options other than the MDR, even if we need to pay

-lots of quiet spaces to read both inside and outside

-adults only hot tubs in quiet areas

-any stateroom configuration (though I think we are used to tiny inside rooms on NCL)

-fun piano players and guitarists in lounges on ship

-comedy shows

-some of the audience participation "game shows"

-White Hot party

-modern, beautiful surroundings

-buffets for breakfast

-afternoon snacks

-food with flavor and international flair

-really casual daytime wear

-tables for two upon request (I don't mind dining with others sometimes, but would prefer a table for two at least 70% of the time)

 

We dislike:

-dressing up for formal nights (though we do dress up a bit for dinner most nights...DH just doesn't want to pack suits. A button down and nice khakis is usual for him at dinner, a casual dress for me).

-ships that die at 8:00

-poolside games

-dancing waiter parades and other similar cheesy stuff

 

Things we don't care about at all:

-kids clubs

-ice cream

-bingo or casino

 

 

The food on NCL is fine for us. Some is great, some is average, but that's fine. As long as I get a few "Oh yum" moments, I'm pretty happy.

 

I don't know that I love the mobile mall concept it seems like RC likes, but I'm open to the prospect.

[spideyfam]

We are just the opposite. We are loyal to Carnival. We wanted to try a different line and we chose Norwegian.

 

Deciding factors were a drivable embarkation port, sunday to sunday sailing, and the port (Bermuda).

[65viki]

What is important to you? What type of new things would attract you? Is formal ok or do you want to stay casual? Like bigger ships or smaller ones? How important is nightlife? Very sedate or very active or in between? foodie or not? ages? there are lines to suit each taste, but no line is perfect for all comers IMHO. the more you share the more likely people can give you the ups and downs of other lines for you.

 

Personally, I like big ships. I like to be on the more active side, so I love ice rinks and flow riders. I am an early bird so a nice cafe in the morning is a delight. So, I love RCI's Freedom and Oasis class ships. Still, sometimes I want a more sedate cruise with different, maybe fancier menus, then I choose Celebrity (or Princess occasionally).

 

We're just looking for general opinions so the answers here have been great for us. We like good food, flexible eating, good ports, good price . . .

[Cruzaholic41]

We are by no means giving up on NCL but would like to hear from those of you who have sailed other fleets, we would love to try something new.

 

Royal Caribbean. As already mentioned in this thread, Oasis or Allure of the Seas are a must! Even Freedom and Voyager Class are still spectacular. RCI has the best ship designs at sea.

[computerworks]

We are by no means giving up on NCL .....we would love to try something new.

 

That's something we've pondered as well.

 

With the itineraries published now out to almost 2014 and no new routes or ports to be found, we may be faced with seeking some variety with respect to destinations on other lines.

[zookiebird]

We enjoyed all our cruises with NCL. However, last yrear we took our first cruise with HAL and have become converts to that line. Everybody has their own reasons. For us, HAL is just a better fit. We love their mid-sized ships and that they are a bit more formal, without being overly so. Subjective, of course, but imho HAL offers the best itineraries, much better food, and is less "in your face" than NCL.

[gelo7]

Loved the Holland America Eurodam and the Celebrity Eclipse.

[Azure Moon]

Before booking cruises recently, I gave some thought to Carnival's new ship Breeze that comes out next year. It has a very tempting itinerary, almost dream itinerary status - to me anyway :p, that includes an overnight in Rome, Italy and Venice, Italy. 12 days, lots of ports, and 3 sea days.

I love some of Carnival's food items, so my mouth was drooling as much as my heart was, for that itinerary :D. Two things kept me from booking it, though. 1.) Hubby's work schedule. Doesn't really go with long vacations at this time :(:mad:, and 2.) Carnival allows smoking in some of their entertainment venues. Great if you're a smoker, not great if you don't smoke.

I did book another very tempting itinerary (with an overnight in Venice, Italy), this one an NCL 12-day European cruise, but had to change it to the shorter European cruise we also wanted to do at some point - the 9-day Baltic Capitals.

I'm hoping when hubby's work schedule permits longer vacations, NCL will have an itinerary like the Carnival Breeze's. After all, I have yet to meet anyone who didn't like the overnight in Maui and Kauai on the same cruise itinerary :cool:!

[NLH Arizona]

I will be on my first NCL cruise early next year, but have cruised on a number of lines.

 

Celebrity is a great cruise line, I've taken a lot of cruises with them. Their food is usually very good (you can always get something that is not right on any ship), their service is excellent and you can do flexible dining. They have some wonderful cruises with great ports. Their pricing is going to be higher than NCL, but it is worth it.