Which cruise line

[Jenna2407]

Hi

I have cruised once before on the norweigan epic.... i enjoyed cruising and the stops/food. But i dont think norweigan was for us at it was a bit manic and dis organised.

 

We are looking to cruise again in January from any port in florida (we are from the UK).

I have looked at a few different cruise lines, even norweigan (who are ridiculously expensive in comparassion to carnical and RC).

Which cruise line would you all recommend?

Are there any that are all incl (orher than NCL).

Thankyou :)

 

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[Essiesmom]

If you want to avoid 'manic' I would suggest Celebrity, Princess, MSC, HAL and maybe some of the luxury lines. The other lines...well, if you can find a cruise longer than 7-8 days, there will be fewer families/children and things might be less 'manic'. EM

[kerryincork]

Princess, celebrity & MSC. Have a more traditional feel, with set dining times.

 

Carnival & RCI will be as boisterous as NCL.

 

The reason NCL is all inclusive is because they have factored in drinks and tips in to Base price, Americans generally pay for Base cruise fare and then buy add ins.

 

 

 

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[Jenna2407]

Maybe 'manic' is the wrong word. I just meant the cruise line seemed disoragnised, boarding was horrendous at port canaveral. No1 was there to help us once on the ship.with regards with what to do (first timers).

So i am looking for a better cruise line in that aspect.

 

Are there no ither 'all incl' cruise lines? X

 

 

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[CruiserBruce]

NCL is not all inclusive. If you look at the NCL portion of Cruise Critic, you will see many complaints about "nickel and diming"- charging for little extras. Most of the main stream cruise lines include a long list of things, but are not all inclusive.

 

The only true all inclusive cruise lines are the high end luxury cruise lines.

[bUU]

Essiesmom also suggested the luxury lines: Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, etc. To find a more all-inclusive experience generally you can look for the cruise lines that are charging comparatively more. It's not a perfect rule of thumb but it works most of the time.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[Jenna2407]

Ok how about one with drinks included? (Sorry thats what i take to mean all incl, i exoect some restaurants/ activities to be chargeable )

 

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[cb at sea]

The only lines that include drinks IN THE FARE are the "luxury" lines( Silverseas, Seabourn, Regent, etc...)....and their fares are steep! Most lines nowadays offer drink 'packages" so that you pay (usually between $55-$85 pp per night) for the package, and get unlimited drinks up to a certain price point. Carnival limits you to 15 alcoholic drinks per day on their package, but you can have as many non-alcoholic beverages as you want.

[Jenna2407]

Thankyou.... yeah we dont have deep pockets 😂.

Ok, maybe just looking for a drinks package?

We dont drink alot....say a few cocktails and shorts a day (probably max 6 a day each). Is a package worth it?

 

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[kerryincork]

Most of the main cruise lines offer drink packages around $50 per person per night so just add that cost to price of cruise.

 

There is a well known travel agency in UK that has it own TV channel on Sky, they often include drinks in their pricing. You can also ask for drink package to be added to your total so you have all the big expenses up front.

 

You can find the daily rate for various drink packages on different cruise line websites.

 

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[GlamorousGirl]

Princess for good value and relaxing, non-hectic atmosphere. Great customer service and food, and quality ship, in our experience. If I'm paying I go with Princess.

[GlamorousGirl]

Thankyou.... yeah we dont have deep pockets 😂.

Ok, maybe just looking for a drinks package?

We dont drink alot....say a few cocktails and shorts a day (probably max 6 a day each). Is a package worth it?

 

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We are not heavy drinkers, but the convenience and ability to also get specialty coffee drinks make it well worth it to us. I don't like stressing over getting a big surprise bill at the end of the trip - that is my biggest reason for getting it.

[mjkacmom]

Just so you know, the employees at the pier are not employees of the cruise line, they just change their tags. So if you sail another line out of Port Canaveral, you will probably have a similar experience. On mass market lines, don't expect Julie McCoy there to greet you and show you to your cabin, staff is frantically getting cabins turned over, and thousand of people lunch.

[Jenna2407]

Yeah we are looking to go from miami for that reason 😊

 

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[Herfnerd]

Just so you know, the employees at the pier are not employees of the cruise line, they just change their tags. So if you sail another line out of Port Canaveral, you will probably have a similar experience. On mass market lines, don't expect Julie McCoy there to greet you and show you to your cabin, staff is frantically getting cabins turned over, and thousand of people lunch.

 

Ditto

 

Unless there were issues specific to the ship that made you feel it was "manic and disorganized", I don't think its fair to judge them based on the pier/dock employees and I think you'll find that any major port will be the same.

[Jenna2407]

The cruise line were aswell, had a small problem and the guest relations couldnt have been worse and made it into a big one. Refused to allow us to see a manager. Then when we did see the manager he sorted it within minutes.

Staff weren't the friendliest (was expecting outstanding staff and were british so our customer service isnt great!) Only one who was very good was our room steward.

I spoke to a few others from our cruise date and they agreed - so dont think it was just me.

 

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[navybankerteacher]

Thankyou.... yeah we dont have deep pockets 😂.

Ok, maybe just looking for a drinks package?

We dont drink alot....say a few cocktails and shorts a day (probably max 6 a day each). Is a package worth it?

 

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If you AVERAGE six a day, a drinks package will likely be about a break-even deal. One factor would be the number of port calls and the amount of time you spend ashore. I may have six on a sea day- but certainly not on a day when I spend six or eight hours ashore.

[OCruisers]

There are always many UK folks on Princess cruises whenever we cruise to the Caribbean.

You would feel "at home"! (y)

[frenchcanrican]

I have done RCCL, X, Norwegian, and Carnival. The most civilized trip I have been on was X. Absolutely perfect service. Ship was in excellent condition and food was very good. They run a special that does include alcohol and specialty coffee once in a while.

Carnival and NCL, to me, are similar. NCL nickeled and dimmed us too much. They asked us to pay for things that are included in the other lines in the base price.

I prefer RCCL. After many trips on several ships their product is very consistent. We rarely leave the ship with a bill that is over $150. Everything that is of interest to me is already included.

I would suggest going to the big 5 websites and comparing what's included, what's not, and overall costs. Make sure you include flights, tips, and taxes.

 

 

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[Shidah]

We were on the Epic out of Florida in March, our first cruise ever. And loved it. So much that we booked another trip in the Epic in November. But we stayed Haven. Not sure if you looked at Haven options on NCL ships, but going that option may help with the experience.

[Jenna2407]

I think were going to try a RC one out of miami... my friend did one out of miami and had no problems.

We will just buy a drinks package.

 

Thanks for everyones help

 

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