Was RCCL your first cruise?

[keishashadow]

OP - No, see ticker for details.

 

all the lines i've sailed provided an enjoyable vacation experience. I do lots of research and try to adjust my expectations to be realistic, anything above that is gravy.:)

 

That said, our experience on NCL was such that I'd hesitate to try to them again unless they were the only ship sailing the itinerary/week I required. DCL is my favorite but the price prohibits us from sailing them every year. I am hoping that RCCL will be a good fit for us.:D

 

My DH's 1st sailing was on the USS Forrestal. Didn't have to pay a dime;)

[bigeagle12]

OP - No, see ticker for details.

 

all the lines i've sailed provided an enjoyable vacation experience. I do lots of research and try to adjust my expectations to be realistic, anything above that is gravy.:)

 

That said, our experience on NCL was such that I'd hesitate to try to them again unless they were the only ship sailing the itinerary/week I required. DCL is my favorite but the price prohibits us from sailing them every year. I am hoping that RCCL will be a good fit for us.:D

 

My DH's 1st sailing was on the USS Forrestal. Didn't have to pay a dime;)

 

RCI was the first and still our favorite. But love trying other lines and other itineraries. So far love RCI and Princess find them overall pretty equal.

 

HAL ship, food, and service were great (food superior to RCI and Princess) but entertainment and night life SUCKED.

 

Look forward to trying others and probably will not go back to HAL until we retire and fit into their "lifestyle" :D

[Starry Eyes]

I think that you are 100% correct. I have found that people I meet tend to favor the cruise line that they first cruised with. Some won't try others. I tend to be a Carnival cheerleader because it was my first (C Cruise Dude or Carnival Cruise Dude). I know folks who sailed Royal first and are the same way.

Presumably, there was a reason why people picked the line they did for their first cruise; it is not a random assignment. Maybe a travel agent or experienced friend helped match the person to the line. maybe the prospective cruiser researched the lines and picked one that fit. if price was a factor the first time, it may continue to be a consideration. In any of these cases, the cruiser may continue to favor the first line.

 

My first cruises were NCL because freestyle appealed to DH...less rigid and closer to other vacation experiences. Soon we tried Celebrity, Princess and HAL, interspersed with more NCL cruises. RCI was the fifth line we experienced. Of late, we cruise RCI more often than others.

[FreshOffTheBoat]

Yes and I am hooked.

[Ander026]

My first cruise was with my parents on HAL in Alaska. The first cruise I went solo was with RCCL. Since then the majority of my cruises are with RCCL, 1 with Carnival and 1 with NCL.

[mlmbar]

My first cruise was 2010 on Carnival Pride. I chose that because it sails from Baltimore so no airfare for me. Had an awesome time mostly because of the people and because I had nothing to compare it to. The cabin was larger than RCI and the food quite good. The decor, however was ghastly. Who does Italian Renaissance on a ship sailing the Bahamas and previously Mexican Riviera. Had my fill of cherubs and laughed everytime I heard a parent explaining the HUGE reclining nude in the piano bar.

 

Saw the Mighty Ships show about Oasis and sailed eastern last Sept. OMG! My jaw hit the floor the minute I walked on and continued to do so all week. RCI is a definite step up IMHO and I am spoiled. I guess sailing on oasis does really cloud the opinion since the ship is much newer, bigger, etc.

[pinkmaija]

First two on RCCL - this one would be too but we can only sail on one of a few specific days, so Carnival is the one that worked out.

[OhioCruiserDude]

My first was RCI Monarch of the Seas (sadly leaving the fleet):( and as you can see from my signature RCI is the only one I have ever been on and dont plan on any other line at least for now.

[palmtrees40]

We have done 3 Carnival and 1 Norwegian and we are booked on RCI for the first time in 2013 they have all been great cruises!!

[Mama24]

I've been on a grand total of two cruises. First one in 1997 was on Princess, and it got me hooked on cruising. Second one was this past December -- a family reunion cruise on Freedom of the Seas, and it got me hooked on RCI. :cool:

[hummy0605]

We have theory that people tend to stick with the first cruiseline they experience. We took our first cruise in 1996 and it was with RCCL. Since then we have taken 27 of our 43 cruises with RCCL. We think that RCCL is literally making people miss the boat when they have no ship deployed year round on the West Coast when it could be the first cruise that someone experiences and then they would be very loyal to RCCL. We think that RCCL us trading short term profits in Europe for long term market share in the US and giving that first cruise experience to Carnival, Princess and HAL. What are your opinions?

 

 

Yes our first cruise was with RCI on Jewel - my husband booked it as a surprise for my 40th and only told me 2 days before we were going (how I packed I don't know!)

Since then we have been on 3 more with RCI, next one is end of August and have Caribbean booked next March.

Love RCI and my husband doesn't want to try anyone else in case they aren't as good and it puts him off cruising!!!! (weird way of thinking but hey ho :p

[Sinppu]

We have theory that people tend to stick with the first cruiseline they experience. We took our first cruise in 1996 and it was with RCCL. Since then we have taken 27 of our 43 cruises with RCCL. We think that RCCL is literally making people miss the boat when they have no ship deployed year round on the West Coast when it could be the first cruise that someone experiences and then they would be very loyal to RCCL. We think that RCCL us trading short term profits in Europe for long term market share in the US and giving that first cruise experience to Carnival, Princess and HAL. What are your opinions?

 

Our first cruise was on Royal (but we didn't get to choose it ourselves) and all after that are also Royal. We will try Celebrity in the future. I have done research on all the main cruise lines and only Celebrity has appealed to me enough to consider it.

[sjb317]

Our first cruise was 11 days on Spendour of the Seas in 1999, we thought we had died & gone to heaven! 25 cruises (all on RC) later, we are trying Celebrity in October for a round trip cruise from San Diego to Hawaii. The only reason we chose Celebrity is Royal did not have the itinerary we wanted:(.

 

Sherri:)

[mommabean]

Our first cruise was 11 days on Spendour of the Seas in 1999, we thought we had died & gone to heaven! 25 cruises (all on RC) later, we are trying Celebrity in October for a round trip cruise from San Diego to Hawaii. The only reason we chose Celebrity is Royal did not have the itinerary we wanted:(.

 

Sherri:)

 

That was why we did one cruise on Celebrity after about the same amount as you on RCI. It just wasn't the same but it could have just been the ship. Nothing about it was up to RCI standards for us. Even the rooms were smaller (unless you want to spend a lot more on a suite and have a butler which we don't want) and not efficiently laid out like RCI. But go into it with an open mind. Maybe your experience will be better.

 

We did meet some nice people and enjoyed Michael's club where the crew was top notch. And we were traveling with friends so that part was all good.

 

Gina

[BecciBoo]

I think RC should send a ship back to California, it only makes since to have ships on both coasts and the gulf, they have plenty to go around:D

Our first cruise back in 2004 was Rhapsody out of Texas and the rest is history, we had so much fun and were so pleased and wowed, no reason to go elsewhere. Then tried Carni's rust bucket Ecstacy (sorry Ecstacy lovers)so we could say we had and learned a valuable lesson. If it ain't broke don't fix it. We go to diamond with RC. Still have to do Oasis class to complete the bucket. But will probably do an X before long.

[sjb317]

That was why we did one cruise on Celebrity after about the same amount as you on RCI. It just wasn't the same but it could have just been the ship. Nothing about it was up to RCI standards for us. Even the rooms were smaller (unless you want to spend a lot more on a suite and have a butler which we don't want) and not efficiently laid out like RCI. But go into it with an open mind. Maybe your experience will be better.

 

We did meet some nice people and enjoyed Michael's club where the crew was top notch. And we were traveling with friends so that part was all good.

 

Gina

 

I have to admit I am a little apprehensive about this, which is probably silly. We have always had great cruises with Royal so kind of hate to switch. Plus, I wish the 15 nights would count as C&A points. We will be on Century, a smaller, older ship & definitely no suite/butler for us!:D It will be interesting to compare the two lines.

 

Sherri:)

[negc]

We have theory that people tend to stick with the first cruiseline they experience. We took our first cruise in 1996 and it was with RCCL. Since then we have taken 27 of our 43 cruises with RCCL. We think that RCCL is literally making people miss the boat when they have no ship deployed year round on the West Coast when it could be the first cruise that someone experiences and then they would be very loyal to RCCL. We think that RCCL us trading short term profits in Europe for long term market share in the US and giving that first cruise experience to Carnival, Princess and HAL. What are your opinions?

Our experience doesn't support your theory. Our first sailing was on Costa in 1980 and was followed by a Carnival cruise in 1981. It was not until 1983 that we first sailed on Royal Caribbean (Song of Norway) and we have been on fifty something cruise with them in the intevening years. During that time we also sailed on Holland American, Princess, NCL and several other smaller lines. Our experience on Costa convinced us and several of our closest friends that cruising was our best vacation option, and our first cruise on Song of Norway convinced us that RCI provided us with a cruise experience that best matched our tastes and interests.

There are far more reasons why RCI left the West Coast and other lines reduced their presence, so to believe that they are missing a golden opportunity by deciding not to forego profit is short-sighted on your part, not theirs. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about the wisdom of RCI's decisions, but their executives are the ones charged with making those decisions and their history of past success seems to indicate that they are right more often than they are wrong.

[awlpa55]

And I am another that will put a crimp in your theory. My first cruise was Transatlantic from Liverpool to New York. It was 1960 and I was 4 years old. My parents and I were moving from Europe to America and that is how we got here. Since then my family has cruised nearly 60 times and with nearly every line that was, and in some cases, still is sailing. We didn't sail RCCL until the late 90's and after almost 40 cruises with other lines. From Carnival to Crystal, we've tried them all. While my husband and I each prefer a few lines over the others, we have never truly had a "bad cruise." Some interesting tablemates, funky storms, not so friendly staff, but never,ever a bad cruise:D

Debbi

[cruiser-007]

We only have three cruises chalked up. After trying NCL first, we new there had to be something better out there. Our 2nd and 3rd were on EOS. We absolutely love this ship and it's extraordinary staff. Don't see any reason to switch to another line anytime soon. :)

[kampdog]

My first cruise was on the Legend of the Seas. An elegant but ancient boat by comparison to the new ships. I don't know if its even in the fleet anymore.

[FRANKM]

First cruise was on Monarch in 2000 Sailing 7 days from San Juan.

When researching, it was a toss-up between Monarch and the Carnival

Destiny. For some reason (cant remember why) I picked Royal.

Have been happy ever since. Never had a bad cruise. Going on Oasis

this August. Maybe someday I will try another line like Celebrity or

Princess but for now, Iam comfortable.

 

:)

[printingchick]

Nope, my first was on Carnival. To your theory, my next five after that were ALSO on Carnival. Then I tried Royal. I've stuck with them since, although I'm considering trying out Celebrity next.

[ksadonnab]

First cruise was with Royal Caribbean. In fact all so far have been with them. I am pleased with the product and service so why switch........that is until I run out of ships or itineraries - but it looks like I have a long way to go before that happens :D

[mj]

My first cruise was on RCCL - Sovereign of the Seas back in 2000. Got me hooked.

[peteukmcr]

First was with RCI on Mariner of the Seas during her inaugural season in 2004 and we're going back on her in 29 days after a gap of 8 years!

 

In between it's been exclusively RCI, but have to admit we've got Celebrity Reflection booked for 2013, as we need to try it out.