Want to try a new cruiseline

[princessa]

Hi All,

 

I would like to start by saying that I absolutely love CCL and have sailed them almost exclusively with one RCI exception which was pretty similar in my opinion.

 

I really want to try a new line just for a new experience but they are all so much more expensive that I can't afford them:(

 

We are a family of 5 so two rooms are needed and I recently have become addicted to balcony rooms which makes matters worse.

 

All you Carnival cruisers that have cruised other lines, are we missing out? and if we are, which cruiseline do you think we should try?

 

I appreciate all your feedback:)

 

Thanks,

[OCruisers]

Princess is a family oriented cruise line with enjoyable things to do for all ages. :)

LuLu

[firemanbobswife]

Celebrity has the Family Veranda rooms on the Solstice class ships - Solstice, Eclipse, Silhouette, and Reflection. They can hold 5 people - 2 in the small room with bunk beds, two in the master bedroom, and one on top of the sofa.

 

We have stayed in them twice on the Eclipse and absolutely loved it. The ones on the 8th floor have the bigger balcony. There are only 4 of these rooms so they book up fast.

Edited October 24, 2014 by firemanbobswife

[ScottsSweetie]

Princess (which I have never sailed) has actually been offering some great rates lately. I would check them out.

 

Also, I think kids would really like all the offerings on the larger RCL ships.

[Boozebabe]

I would also like to try another line. I'm thinking NCL. I agree the others are a lot more expensive for similar accomodations. Royal Caribbean has just flat out outpriced themselves for me. Sure I could afford any of them but I take multiple vacations every year and Carnival is in my travel budget. NCL would be slightly higher but to me still worth the try.

[princessa]

I would also like to try another line. I'm thinking NCL. I agree the others are a lot more expensive for similar accomodations. Royal Caribbean has just flat out outpriced themselves for me. Sure I could afford any of them but I take multiple vacations every year and Carnival is in my travel budget. NCL would be slightly higher but to me still worth the try.

 

Well I have been searching and honestly it hurts to pay double. I just cant see it being worth it to pay double when I can cruise twice as much or splurge on excursions. I am willing to pay 1000.00 more total but i can see that it's easier said than done especially since I can't take advantange of last minute cruises due to work.

 

I want to find a summer cruise for the family. We are already cruising in Feb with Carnival.

 

Let me know if you come across anything worth while. :)

[PartyAnimal]

I am a die hard Carnival fan, but I have strayed and...........I love it. I just recently returned from a cruise on the NCL Dawn. Now because it is not one of it's newer ships the price was pretty comparable. I love the freestyle dining and the perks with having a Suite. Now that being said, I just think it was overall great. They still have the steel drum band and the night life was pretty good. My next cruise is back on Carnival, but I did buy a future cruise certificate while on NCL so it will be the next after that.

[luv2kroooz]

I used to sail CCL exclusively. I have been trying other cruiselines also. I would recommend trying one of Norwegian's newer ships. Lots of good deals to the Caribbean within the next 90 days.

[howard6933]

I have been on a total of 55 cruises and I must say that I have never had a bad cruise.

My favorite has been Princess and we have sailed with them 15 times and have enjoyed all of those cruises. Our 8 cruises on Norwegian have been a lot of fun all the time. They are always on the ball and actually were the first cruise company that went to the free style idea for meals with open sitting for all meals. Also have been on Holland America 8 times and they are a classy cruise line. They seem to be liked very much by a little older cruisers.

I feel that whatever cruise line you decide upon, you will have a great time. I have always said to my friends if you want to have a good time for a vacation, take a cruise. It's the "best bang for the buck". :)

[kelkel2]

We have sailed Princess and we did have a good time. I really didn't think it was all that different than what Carnival offers. I mean honestly, the main thing I noticed was the evening entertainment and how there were more options offered at night on Carnival. There wasn't much of an evening crowd on Princess.

I've never had a bad cruise so I can't really complain. When we cruised Princess it was spring break so we steered away from Carnival in hopes of avoiding a large amount of kids. I think we did because there weren't tons of kids on board, although there were some.

 

We got a really good deal about 6 months out on our princess cruise. It was for a balcony guarantee and we paid about $700/pp. Ended up with an aft view extended balcony. What a great cabin!!! Deals are out there you just have to look!! Sign up for Princess' emails. They send deals out all the time.

[islandatsea]

Being Platinum on both Carnival & Princess, we enjoy each cruise line. We cruise mainly Princess now but will be doing an 8 day on Carnival next year to try out the Cove Balcony that we have heard so much about. I did a 5 day cruise on the Paradise earlier this year & had a great time. Have cruised Holland America one time & thought it was a good cruise line. Have not gone back to HAL since we get more perks cruising on Carnival & Princess but would cruise with them again if everything fell into place. Hard to give up the perks that Carnival & Princess gives us.

[Cruise life]

I would love to cruise DCL again before the kids are much older...may be too late (although I know there are threads about adults Cruising DCL without kids having a blast). They may feel they are being babied at ten.

I want a party atmosphere on vaca and I don't think anyone else can offer that to me like CCL!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Barbiegator]

Hi All,

 

I would like to start by saying that I absolutely love CCL and have sailed them almost exclusively with one RCI exception which was pretty similar in my opinion.

 

I really want to try a new line just for a new experience but they are all so much more expensive that I can't afford them:(

 

We are a family of 5 so two rooms are needed and I recently have become addicted to balcony rooms which makes matters worse.

 

All you Carnival cruisers that have cruised other lines, are we missing out? and if we are, which cruiseline do you think we should try?

 

I appreciate all your feedback:)

 

Thanks,

 

As you can see by my signature we have tried different cruiselines. Liked them all. Disney is more expensive but took each set of grandchildren on a Disney cruise. How can a cruise not be fun!!!!!

[klct39lg]

We've sailed with Disney, Princess, Norwegian, and this will be our second with Carnival. I loved them all! Right now, we are sticking with 5-day cruises. We were looking at the Ruby Princess 5-day before we booked this one, can't remember why that wouldn't work. Anyway, we are super excited about the Liberty. :)

[golfb4cruzing]

Princess will fit. Not all the hype but a nice cruise. Call your TA or Princess with your budget constraints and they will fit you in. Watch the sailings and you'll see they can be the same or less than Carnival. We have not paid more than a couple hundred more for a balcony room. One time it was cheaper. Good Luck.

[princessa]

Thank you for all the good tips and information. I will keep looking and hopefully I will find something soon.

 

Seems like NCL and princess are well liked and I will focus on those 2 lines.

Does anyone know what kind of crowd celebrity has?

 

Thanks,

[LMaxwell]

What ship w Royal Carib did you try and what are age ranges in your group? Princess may or may NOT be a good fit based on those answer.

[princessa]

What ship w Royal Carib did you try and what are age ranges in your group? Princess may or may NOT be a good fit based on those answer.

 

I was on the enchantment of the seas. Husband and I are early 40's, kids are 11, 14, 21.

[Disconnections]

I was on the enchantment of the seas. Husband and I are early 40's, kids are 11, 14, 21.

 

Do the younger two become bored easily?

[princessa]

Do the younger two become bored easily?

 

Good question. They do not get bored on carnival. But they are fun ships. They love the shows and activities so thats important.

[LMaxwell]

I was on the enchantment of the seas. Husband and I are early 40's, kids are 11, 14, 21.

I would definitely say try a ship from RCI in the voyager, freedom, or oasis class. Those three classes really are the differentiators with the wow. Their other ships are more of a classic cruise experience. I think you'd find Princess more of a classic style cruise. They are family friendly but more sedate than Royal and won't have anything really exciting for kids.

[HollandAvery]

I'd recommend a newer Royal ship or try out Disney (although I know it's expensive it's certainly a great time for the kids). I have a student who cruises on Disney every year for Thanksgiving and she can't stop talking about how much she loves the ships. I think she has been on almost all the different Disney ships now and is talking non-stop about her upcoming cruise on the Wonder.

[Disconnections]

Good question. They do not get bored on carnival. But they are fun ships. They love the shows and activities so thats important.

 

I would definitely say try a ship from RCI in the voyager, freedom, or oasis class. Those three classes really are the differentiators with the wow. Their other ships are more of a classic cruise experience. I think you'd find Princess more of a classic style cruise. They are family friendly but more sedate than Royal and won't have anything really exciting for kids.

 

I agree with LMaxwell. If they need planned activities for fun, Princess may not be the right cruise line. Even with them trying to attract the younger families with the short cruises, there will still be a lot of downtime on Princess where they would need to create their own fun. Of course there are some things that would attract to them, but LMaxwell is right. Royal Caribbean's Voyager class and higher will have the most kid friendly activities.

 

With that said, Princess May or may not work for your family. Everyone has different tastes and you won't know if you like it or not until you try it.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Disconnections

[islandatsea]

Princess will fit. Not all the hype but a nice cruise. Call your TA or Princess with your budget constraints and they will fit you in. Watch the sailings and you'll see they can be the same or less than Carnival. We have not paid more than a couple hundred more for a balcony room. One time it was cheaper. Good Luck.

 

Yes.........sometimes you can cruise on Princess & be cheaper than Carnival. We had a balcony cabin on the Caribbean Princess during August this year & paid only $549 before taxes for a 7 day cruise. We kept checking the web site & saw the price drop which was only for about 1 week. What ever cruise line you decide to go with, just keep checking pricing daily & sign up for special offers. Hope you have a great cruise !

[SNJCruisers]

Yes.........sometimes you can cruise on Princess & be cheaper than Carnival. We had a balcony cabin on the Caribbean Princess during August this year & paid only $549 before taxes for a 7 day cruise. We kept checking the web site & saw the price drop which was only for about 1 week. What ever cruise line you decide to go with, just keep checking pricing daily & sign up for special offers. Hope you have a great cruise !

The problem is that the OP lives in Toronto and can't take advantage of last minute price drops that all of you Floridians can get. That's the problem with having to fly to the port instead of being able to drive to it.