Which line(s) wouldn't you cruise with?

[Dakota Baker Girl]

Great cabin steward who got our entire tip and the ship itself was lovely. Tasteless food, rude wait staff pretty much sums up MSC.

[Warm Breezes]

Everyone has their own standards that dictate what they do or do not like. That something doesn't meet my standards doesn't mean it meets no one's standards. Some things I like, others will not - and vice a versa. I meant no disrespect with the "standards" comment. I only meant MY PERSONAL standards. I like Pepsi, you may like Coke. Neither makes one of us better than the other. Just that we prefer different things. You should like whatever you like. And I will continue to not like what I don't like.

 

 

 

Yes, I am smart enough to know you are not all like that. But, like anyone else, I have a certain level of tolerance for some types of people. In the case being discussed, it is loud and obnoxious people, who on my Carnival cruise, was much too high a percentage of the passengers for my liking. Why would I in my right mind subject myself to that situation again?

 

I like Pepsi too so no argument from me there :D. I don't blame you for not wanting to subject yourself to something you don't prefer. But I will say that I never went to hairy chest contest on Carnival as I never had the desire to go to one and I have not come across a bunch of loud, obnoxious passengers on any of our CCL or NCL cruises. It just hasn't been my experience so I struggle to relate with those that use those images to describe these cruiselines. The biggest differences I have seen between the types of passengers on our cruises has been demographics. Most of our CCL cruises we have been on, our DCL cruises, and our first 2 NCL cruises where mostly families. Probably due to when we sailed and from where. CCL Glory consisted of mostly families from New York and New Jersey on a short get away. Our 2nd NCL Jewel cruise out of New Orleans was mostly couples in their 40's-60's and our most recent Princess cruise was mostly groups from retirement villages in Florida and snow birds in their 60's-80's. None of which were the loud party crowds that you are looking to avoid. We've had a lot of great "family" vacations on CCL and NCL and believe me, if they were just the party boats you are describing I would have a hard time taking my kids back on them.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[tigercat]

I also have trouble when people keep saying that only drunk, loud hairy contest people are on Carnival. My last cruise in Sept. on Carnival the average age was 55. There was a total of I believe 9 kids. I have been on several Carnival cruises and have never seen the hairy chest contest. The contest that was the most risque was on RCCL. On my Disney cruise we had a horrible time, but to be fair if given the money to go on another one I probably would. After all it might have only been that cruise that was a problem and maybe only our cabin stewart, childrens club and wait staff that were the problem. If we had other staff members maybe our experience would have been better.

Since I will never have the money to try the very expensive cruise lines I don't feel that I can bash them and say I would never cruise them.

tigercat

[buddymum]

Im not sure I see most of the main stream cruise lines as expensive/too cheap either way.When I was looking at Med cruises it seemed major ones such as NCL, Celebrity, Pand O, RCL, MSC, Costa and Princess etc were very similar in price.

 

See my opinion on Carnival is an odd one, I have only sailed with them around the Baltics so the crowd was very different to what I had heard and they had trouble finding people to enter poolside contests etc. It was an amazing cruise with different nationalities on board and I booked to sail through the PC with them this year.

 

But that reminds me, I am a little hesitant to sail Costa/RCL due to their tipping policies (Ie paying before your cruise if you have anytime dining and whatnot) being a bit odd.

 

Celebrity too also has this policy on paying tips if you are on anytime dining.

[donnatello]

I've been on well over 100 cruises and/or T/A's on just about every line, both current sailing and no longer in existence. IMHO, top of the line: Crystal. Not so impressed: NCL. They are all different, what appeals to one doesn't to the other. What is most important to you is of little consequence to me. Don't get on the ship with a preconceived notion of what it is or isn't going to be. For me....I just love traveling by ship!!!!!!!!!! No matter what ship or line I'm on, the water is just as blue, the gentle sway of the ocean just as gentle, the creaking of the ship in motion just as comforting, a good book on a deck chair on a quiet promenade deck, a walk around the deck at dawn or dusk, watching a sunrise or sunset just as magnificent. These are what's most important to me, so no matter what ship or line I'm on................I'm a happy camper.

Edited April 22, 2014 by donnatello

[fortinweb]

I also have trouble when people keep saying that only drunk, loud hairy contest people are on Carnival. My last cruise in Sept. on Carnival the average age was 55. There was a total of I believe 9 kids. I have been on several Carnival cruises and have never seen the hairy chest contest.

 

No, not only on Carnival. But Carnival is know for these activities They are a crowd pleaser for the demographic they are courting.

 

Since I will never have the money to try the very expensive cruise lines I don't feel that I can bash them and say I would never cruise them.

tigercat

 

If you had a bad experience on an expensive line, you would be bashing them as not worth the money. Those of us who had bad experiences on budget lines have as much of a right to bash that experience.

 

I experienced what I experienced, whether you want to believe it or not. And I am not the only one in my group of friends to report the same observations on a Carnival cruise. Fact is, many of Carnival's cruise itineraries are short and priced low. That combination will attract people who are more into the party mode. Which is just what we observed on our cruise down to the Mexican Riviera a few years ago. People in some of the cabins near us would wander in after 2 am, loud and obnoxious, shouting to each other down the hallways. Not much fun for those of us who weren't there to get falling down drunk every night.

Edited April 22, 2014 by fortinweb

[Lovely other]

carnival, P&O and anything aimed at the British market !

[tigercat]

"If you had a bad experience on an expensive line, you would be bashing them as not worth the money. Those of us who had bad experiences on budget lines have as much of a right to bash that experience.

 

I experienced what I experienced, whether you want to believe it or not. And I am not the only one in my group of friends to report the same observations on a Carnival cruise. Fact is, many of Carnival's cruise itineraries are short and priced low. That combination will attract people who are more into the party mode. Which is just what we observed on our cruise down to the Mexican Riviera a few years ago. People in some of the cabins near us would wander in after 2 am, loud and obnoxious, shouting to each other down the hallways. Not much fun for those of us who weren't there to get falling down drunk every night."

 

I think the cruises that are only for a couple of days during school breaks will be a different cruise than the longer one's during school times. That is why we do the longer cruises at a time during the year that school is in. I think any cruise line that has family on board, RCCL, HAL, Princess, Carnival ect and is during school break will be a different cruise for people than another quiet time and longer cruise.

 

I am not saying that you didn't experience what you did, just that it isn't all the time on all the ships. That is what gets me as that is a blanket statement. I have been told that my experience with Disney (and I love Disney) and RCCL is wrong. No not wrong just my experience just as your experience was yours. That is why I was trying to say that any cruise can be not as nice as another one in the same line on a different time and ship.

 

On our last cruise we had 3 friends with us on their first cruise. It was a Carnival cruise. The oldest couple (both in their early 70's) thought the cruise was nice, but thought the decor was outlandish. They decided to take another cruise on another line a couple of months later. They came back and decided that they liked the Carnival cruise much better. Not every cruise line is best for everyone and you need to find the one that is right for you. I would not tell anyone that they have to cruise Carnival or any other other cruise line. It would depend on what it is you are looking for and wanting for you and your family.

tigercat

[Downdie]

carnival, P&O and anything aimed at the British market !

 

Funny enough, I have a bit of this attitude as well. We don,t sail on ships where English is the only language spoken whether American or British based ships. My last five cruises have been on ships where English was not the primary language, Enjoyed every one.

[Warm Breezes]

No, not only on Carnival. But Carnival is know for these activities They are a crowd pleaser for the demographic they are courting. I disagree that this is the demographic they are targeting. Yes the shorter cruises attract this demographic but the 5+ day cruises, of which CCL has many, target families. Just watch their commercials.

 

 

 

If you had a bad experience on an expensive line, you would be bashing them as not worth the money. Those of us who had bad experiences on budget lines have as much of a right to bash that experience.

 

I experienced what I experienced, whether you want to believe it or not. I don't think I saw where anyone doubted your experience. We just stated that they were not our experiences.And I am not the only one in my group of friends to report the same observations on a Carnival cruise. Fact is, many of Carnival's cruise itineraries are short and priced low.And this right here explains why you had your experience and many of us haven't. If your one experience on CCL was a short booze cruise...well that is what you will find. I've only been on one 4 day CCL cruise and it was over Thanksgiving so it still had a Family orientation. It is well known that the shorter cruises like this on CCL and other lines are going to attract those looking for quick, cheap drinking get away. We haven't sailed on those cruises and have not had those experiences. That combination will attract people who are more into the party mode. Which is just what we observed on our cruise down to the Mexican Riviera a few years ago. People in some of the cabins near us would wander in after 2 am, loud and obnoxious, shouting to each other down the hallways. Not much fun for those of us who weren't there to get falling down drunk every night.

 

I'm not doubting your experience...but I am saying that the type of cruise you chose ( a short booze cruise) led to your experience...not necessarily the cruise line. I've had 2 totally different experience on the same ship before, NCL Jewel. Our first NCL Jewel cruise was out of Miami over Thanksgiving. The demographics on that cruise were mainly families on a holiday vacation. Our second NCL Jewel cruise was out of New Orleans in October. The demographics on that cruise was drastically different from our first. There were barely any children and it was made up mostly of couples in their 40's-60's. It was a completely different cruise experience on the same ship.

 

My point is that you can't judge a cruise line from one sailing. Especially when that one sailing lends itself to a certain demographic that is not representative of everything that line has to offer. I am slightly guilty of that with our last Princess sailing. The only difference is that I'm not ruling them out in the future because of one disappointing cruise and I'm not slamming the whole cruise line because of things I found disappointing on that one cruise. I may take a few years before I try them again, but I'm definitely not ruling them out.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[fortinweb]

I'm not doubting your experience...but I am saying that the type of cruise you chose ( a short booze cruise) led to your experience...not necessarily the cruise line.....My point is that you can't judge a cruise line from one sailing. ....

 

Yes, I agree with your advice that one cruise may not be indicative of an entire cruise line. However, I have several friends who have had similar experiences as I have. It's the sum total of my own experience, as well as the experiences of friends that I trust, that I have based my opinion on, right or wrong. With three couples on three different cruises ending up disappointed, it's hard to think it will be different on a fourth cruise.

Edited April 23, 2014 by fortinweb

[donnatello]

As an above poster mentioned, I also find it "interesting" when I read two reviews from two different people who were on the SAME cruise and the reviews are polar opposite.

[dorisis]

The top 3 being the biggest is hardly surprising. They are simply the "massest" of the mass market. McDonalds is one of the most frequented eateries in the country, yet I would imagine they would rank fairly low on many people's list of favorites. Similarly Walmart draws a whole lot of shoppers, but are unlikely to be many people's favorite shopping experience.

 

Cheap is good, but experiencing cheap is not always the best.

 

Good analogy.

[Warm Breezes]

Yes, I agree with your advice that one cruise may not be indicative of an entire cruise line. However, I have several friends who have had similar experiences as I have. It's the sum total of my own experience, as well as the experiences of friends that I trust, that I have based my opinion on, right or wrong. With three couples on three different cruises ending up disappointed, it's hard to think it will be different on a fourth cruise.

 

And this is again where I have had the opposite experience....I just had 2 different co-workers return from the Carnival Glory and the Carnival Freedom over the last month. The co-worker who sailed on the Carnival Glory was a first time cruiser in his early 50's who went on a 7 day with his GF. He came back stating they had a great time and his GF was already wanting to plan their 2nd cruise. The co-worker who sailed on the Carnival Freedom was on his 3rd cruise with his family of 4. He and his wife are in their late 40's with 2 teenagers. This was an 8 day cruise for him. He came back stating they also had a great time. This was the same guy who just came back from a Hawaiian land vacation with his wife and wasn't at all impressed. He said he would rather cruise anytime....and all of his cruise experiences have been on Carnival. They just confirmed my own experiences on Carnival....especially these 2 ships. I thought they might have a slightly more negative feeling about these cruises since they were both sailing over Spring Break, but they said the kids were really no issue on these sailings.

 

Don't get me wrong...I'm not arguing that you or your friends did not have the experiences you had and I'm not trying to push you to CCL...I'm not loyal to any line. I'm just offering our experiences up as an opposite point of view. Your view point is hard for me to understand as it has not been my experience, nor that of my co-workers, just as my view point is probably hard for you to understand as it has not been your experience or that of your friends. It's a good thing we have choices.

[cruisemom42]

Don't get me wrong...I'm not arguing that you or your friends did not have the experiences you had and I'm not trying to push you to CCL...I'm not loyal to any line. I'm just offering our experiences up as an opposite point of view. Your view point is hard for me to understand as it has not been my experience, nor that of my co-workers, just as my view point is probably hard for you to understand as it has not been your experience or that of your friends. It's a good thing we have choices.

 

You do sound a little defensive. What difference does it make if someone has a bad experience and doesn't want to try a particular line again? People have different experiences on different ships -- you keep saying it yourself. But then you add that it wasn't YOUR experience, as if that somehow invalidates the experiences of others.

 

My vacation time and dollars are both limited. If I have a bad experience on a cruise line, and other friends of mine with similar likes/dislikes have also had bad experiences -- why would I want to go back and risk having another bad time? Especially when there are so many other products out there? It might be different if there were only one cruise line. But there are quite a few.

 

Likes/dislikes can be very subjective things. What doesn't seem loud or obnoxious to one person might set another's teeth on edge. Some enjoy frou-frou food in many courses with fine china, silver, and good service. Others want to eat comfort food, don't want to have to dress up to get it, and want to get out of the dining room relatively quickly. To each his/her own.

 

On the other hand, some of us have experienced significant problems that were not subjective. On my one and only NCL cruise, there was NO air conditioning in our cabin. In August. In the Western Caribbean. It was 90 degrees in there during the day. NCL wouldn't or couldn't move us or fix the problem (which they acknowledged). Their answer was to provide us with a single, small fan. They also never offered us any reparation -- no cruise credit, no reduction of our fare. And that was only the starting point of the things that were wrong with that cruise.

 

Why in the world would I ever want to give another dime to them?

[Aquahound]

You do sound a little defensive. What difference does it make if someone has a bad experience and doesn't want to try a particular line again? People have different experiences on different ships -- you keep saying it yourself. But then you add that it wasn't YOUR experience, as if that somehow invalidates the experiences of others.

 

Exactly. I have no desire to book Carnival and I have no problem saying I have never cruised Carnival. I've cruised enough, heard enough first-hand experiences from friends and family, and had enough experience through my job dealing with cruise ship passengers who commit crimes to know that particular cruise line does not appeal to me.

 

People need to stop taking things so personal. It's so bizarre.

[ducklite]

Exactly. I have no desire to book Carnival and I have no problem saying I have never cruised Carnival. I've cruised enough, heard enough first-hand experiences from friends and family, and had enough experience through my job dealing with cruise ship passengers who commit crimes to know that particular cruise line does not appeal to me.

 

People need to stop taking things so personal. It's so bizarre.

 

 

Agree. There are two lines in particular that people are extremely defensive of, even when the line is so obviously wrong about something their fans will make excuses for them. It's quite puzzling.

[calliopecruiser]

AYour view point is hard for me to understand as it has not been my experience, nor that of my co-workers, just as my view point is probably hard for you to understand as it has not been your experience or that of your friends. It's a good thing we have choices.

 

So, you can't understand it.....get over it. Share your experiences and your opinions, and accept that others will have different experiences and different opinions. You do sound awfully defensive, as if that poster's opinion is somehow calling you a liar or something, which is kind of what you're doing too. No one is finding your experiences or opinions hard to understand - opinions are based on experiences, so what's hard to understand about that? If one has different experiences, one will have different opinions, but those opinions aren't wrong, and they don't make other people's different opinions wrong either.

[Warm Breezes]

You do sound a little defensive. What difference does it make if someone has a bad experience and doesn't want to try a particular line again? People have different experiences on different ships -- you keep saying it yourself. But then you add that it wasn't YOUR experience, as if that somehow invalidates the experiences of others.

 

My vacation time and dollars are both limited. If I have a bad experience on a cruise line, and other friends of mine with similar likes/dislikes have also had bad experiences -- why would I want to go back and risk having another bad time? Especially when there are so many other products out there? It might be different if there were only one cruise line. But there are quite a few.

 

Likes/dislikes can be very subjective things. What doesn't seem loud or obnoxious to one person might set another's teeth on edge. Some enjoy frou-frou food in many courses with fine china, silver, and good service. Others want to eat comfort food, don't want to have to dress up to get it, and want to get out of the dining room relatively quickly. To each his/her own.

 

On the other hand, some of us have experienced significant problems that were not subjective. On my one and only NCL cruise, there was NO air conditioning in our cabin. In August. In the Western Caribbean. It was 90 degrees in there during the day. NCL wouldn't or couldn't move us or fix the problem (which they acknowledged). Their answer was to provide us with a single, small fan. They also never offered us any reparation -- no cruise credit, no reduction of our fare. And that was only the starting point of the things that were wrong with that cruise.

 

Why in the world would I ever want to give another dime to them?

 

Not defensive and definately not trying to invalidate fortinwebs experience or trying to convince fortinweb to try CCL again. But fortinwebs posts do portray CCL as a party boat boozefest and for someone who is seeking information on what cruise to choose I feel it is only fair to post my different point of view based on my experiences as well. Yes there are some CCL cruises that will resemble the booze cruise atmosphere that forinweb is portraying. I'm not denying that at all. They are the type of cruises that fortinweb chose to take...a short cheap CCL cruise. But there are many CCL cruises that are not party boat boozefests and that is what I am trying to point out by relaying my and my co-workers experiences.

 

It is just like fortinweb already has a preconcieved notion that NCL is a place where "special moments" would not likely occur based on the opinions and experiences of others. I'm just posting my experiences in relation to forinweb's so potential cruisers researching cruises don't avoid trying a cruiseline just because of the "opinons" of others based on their experiences...especially when my experiences are so completely different from the ones expressed. Let them see both sides in doing their research. IMHO everyone should try different lines for themselves and form their own opinions....fortinweb may be missing out on something great by refusing to sail on NCL because of someone elses opinions and experiences....but that is fortinwebs choice and we will never know.

 

I personally don't chose my cruise by cruise line. I chose the ship that best offers what I am looking for out of that particular vacation at the price I am willing to pay for it. Both of those variables change with every vacation, just like ships change over time. It is up to me to do the research and find that best fit. I'd rather see both types experiences good and bad so I would be able to pick the right type of sailing for the experience we want for our vacation.

[ducklite]

I'm not doubting your experience...but I am saying that the type of cruise you chose ( a short booze cruise) led to your experience...not necessarily the cruise line. I've had 2 totally different experience on the same ship before, NCL Jewel. Our first NCL Jewel cruise was out of Miami over Thanksgiving. The demographics on that cruise were mainly families on a holiday vacation. Our second NCL Jewel cruise was out of New Orleans in October. The demographics on that cruise was drastically different from our first. There were barely any children and it was made up mostly of couples in their 40's-60's. It was a completely different cruise experience on the same ship.

 

 

 

My point is that you can't judge a cruise line from one sailing. Especially when that one sailing lends itself to a certain demographic that is not representative of everything that line has to offer. I am slightly guilty of that with our last Princess sailing. The only difference is that I'm not ruling them out in the future because of one disappointing cruise and I'm not slamming the whole cruise line because of things I found disappointing on that one cruise. I may take a few years before I try them again, but I'm definitely not ruling them out.

 

 

I think you can judge some things about a cruise in one sailing, particularly the way they react when things go wrong. That isn't going to change from cruise to cruise, that is indicative of the way management operates.

[Warm Breezes]

I think you can judge some things about a cruise in one sailing, particularly the way they react when things go wrong. That isn't going to change from cruise to cruise, that is indicative of the way management operates.

 

Well, I guess I will have to wait until I experience something that needs to be resolved before I can respond to that one :D. I personally couldn't tell you how I'd react.....I guess it would depend on circumstances on hand and the individuals involved.

[slidergirl]

I think there are several parts to a cruise that determine what kind of experience you will find: length, destination, activities, decor, season, advertising.

 

A 3-4 day cruise out of Florida (or L.A.) to the Bahamas (or Ensenada) will yield just about the same clientele/atmosphere regardless, of cruise line - mainly a drunken party. A 10-day cruise out of Rome (or Barcelona) for the Med will yield a totally different clientele/atmosphere, regardless of cruise line.

 

Some cruise lines advertise the "party" atmosphere - the ads that Carnival put out there just turn me off the product (especially the ones they had with that stupid guy a few years ago).

 

Oh - another reason I've been totally turned off of Carnival (outside of the reviews with all the poolside contests which I abhor anywhere) is 3 little words: Joe Farcus Interiors… Talk about an instant migraine!!!!

[Vivere LaDolceVita]

Exactly. I have no desire to book Carnival and I have no problem saying I have never cruised Carnival. I've cruised enough, heard enough first-hand experiences from friends and family, and had enough experience through my job dealing with cruise ship passengers who commit crimes to know that particular cruise line does not appeal to me.

 

People need to stop taking things so personal. It's so bizarre.

 

Precisely. All businesses develop reputations for a reason. Obviously, people can have experiences that defy a particular line's reputation. But when we, as hardworking Americans with so little vacation time, have to carefully choose where and how we spend our vacations, why take the risk?

 

As for me, I don't see myself cruising with any lines other than =X= and RCI in the near future. Since the anticipation is half of the fun, why ruin the fun with worry about how the cruise will turn out?

[bobbisailsolo]

I been on about 12 cruise, 4 different lines.. Several overseas. I sailed on the old Norway, which even though old and dying, I found it to be so enjoyable, just for those reasons. I guess it's how you look at things... Some people see the glass half full, some half empty. I guess as a world traveler, both land and sea, I tend to focus on what I like rather than what I don't like... Understanding the A/C problem which certainly is a valid issue. But I have to say, if I'm traveling, it's all good. Never had a bad trip...so yes, I have preferences, but not enough to rule anything out. I'm feel just so blessed to have been able to see everything that I have!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Maksim]

I would like to make a comment that it's all individual, depending on what you are looking for and what appeals to you. For some, beer drinking and lot's of noise by the pool is great, for some it's not. We crossed off our list Carnival and MSC (it only took one time on MSC). Never tried NCL, but from what I heard, probably will not. We cruised primarily with Princess and Celebrity, once with RCL. All were good. Considering for next year HAL for Europe (never cruised with them) or even Oceania, whcih is a whole different level as it is a luxury line. Heard lot's of good things about it, but the price is higher, yet, when you add up all the perks incuded, probably not that much higher. If you are going with the bunch of kids, RCL is your best bet. For more mature population, I would think Princess, HAL and Celebrity. That's my $.05 worth.