Who has switched their primary cruise line?

[OCruisers]

44 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I was aboard Sitmar Fairwind at the time that Princess acquired the Line.  We sailed from Port Everglades as a Sitmar ship and returned as a Princess ship.

 

Princess changed the ships' names and their exterior paint decor.  Princess also "learned" some of the "best practices of Sitmar's".  I think such benefits the Princess cruise experience today.

 

 

 

Gosh, was the name changed to Star Princess?  We were on a Sitmar cruise when that happened to us in 1989.  Maybe we were on the same cruise?

Princess gives us credits for the Sitmar cruises we took.  Guess because it was a complete buy-out.  

Agree, still love the old Sitmar pastas that Princess has continued to have.  

 

[iancal]

Princess and Celebrity are at the top of our preference list at the moment.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I was aboard Sitmar Fairwind at the time that Princess acquired the Line.  We sailed from Port Everglades as a Sitmar ship and returned as a Princess ship.

 

Princess changed the ships' names and their exterior paint decor.  Princess also "learned" some of the "best practices of Sitmar's".  I think such benefits the Princess cruise experience today.

 

 

Really interesting.  We were on the Fairsky at the same time and many of the Italian crew were being terminated at the end of our cruise.  Needless to say there was a morale problem with the crew....but we still loved Sitmar.

 

Hank

[OCruisers]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Really interesting.  We were on the Fairsky at the same time and many of the Italian crew were being terminated at the end of our cruise.  Needless to say there was a morale problem with the crew....but we still loved Sitmar.

 

Hank

 

Hear you!  We LOVED  Sitmar too!  

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, OCruisers said:

was the name changed to Star Princess

 

No.  She was named Dawn Princess.

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Really interesting.  We were on the Fairsky at the same time and many of the Italian crew were being terminated at the end of our cruise.  Needless to say there was a morale problem with the crew....but we still loved Sitmar.

 

Hank

 

Thank you for your information about the Fairsky's crew.  I have no knowledge of what the Fairwind's crews' situation was.  After it became known of the sale of Sitmar to Princess, I noticed no change in the service of any of the crew with whom I had contact.  

 

We had one of the best MDR team of Stewards in the forward dining room (the Lancaster Restaurant?) that we have experienced.  Their service was stellar from Day One to the end of the cruise.

[Aquahound]

On 11/27/2018 at 1:50 AM, reustmd said:

(sure you may vary lines, but we all have our primary goto line)

 

No, I honestly don't.  My primary line was Royal Caribbean.  Now, I no longer have a primary line.  I have lines that are are more last choices, but no first choice.  

 

I wish I would have done this long ago.  I find it much better not being loyal to one company.  

[Heidi13]

On 11/27/2018 at 5:17 AM, Hlitner said:

On 11/27/2018 at 5:17 AM, Hlitner said:

In my cruise world (with over 45 years of extensive cruise experience) there is no such thing as a "primary" cruise line.  To us, any cruise line is only as good as its current product.  I say this because those of us who have cruised for a long time, with many different cruise lines, are well aware that cruise lines are constantly reinventing themselves.  I will give you a very good example.  When we first started cruising in the 70s, we did many cruises on RCCL (now RCI).  Our favorite ship, at the time, was the Sun Viking which was an 18,500 ton ship that carried over 800 passengers!   In the dining room the waiters would often wear white gloves and serve sides from silver serving bowls/trays.  Our favorite waiter (Gary Branch) would cut open our baked potato and spoon-in all the toppings.  Sitmar lines (later bought-out by Princess) would cook pasta, tableside, every evening!  Midnight buffets were huge and happened every night of the cruise with even larger gala buffets once a cruise.  Drink prices were much cheaper then on land, excursions were priced to sell, and port experts/lecturers were honest brokers and not just shills for the onboard excursion offices.

 

Hank

 

Totally agree. Having also started in the mid 70's, we spent almost 40 years almost exclusively with P&O/Princess - initially working as a Navigator and then as a passenger. We have great memories of the services and standards you mentioned - silver service with waiter, asst waiter and a separate wine waiter. Cocktail parties with real drinks, where officers actually walked around and chatted to pax. 

 

We have noted the standards deteriorating gradually, with increasing drink prices, increasing excursion prices, nickle and diming everywhere, reduction in food quality, cabin stewards servicing increasing number of cabins, dinning room staff serving increased number of pax, shopping guides, annoying photogs ......

 

Our 2015 WC was our last Princess cruise, as in our opinion the standard finally dropped below our expectations. We wanted an alternative cruise line with smaller ships, better pax/space ratio, better quality meals, casual atmosphere (spent too many years in uniform/evening wear), no photogs, no casino (nice to have), no nickle and diming.

 

We researched the smaller ship premium/luxury lines and short listed to Viking & Oceania, opting for Viking. Our next cruise is virtually all inclusive on a 930 pax vessel, with included excursion in every port, no casino, no kids, no photogs, no art auctions and the shopping guide is traded for a resident historian.

[Heidi13]

On 11/27/2018 at 5:47 PM, OCruisers said:

 

Gosh, was the name changed to Star Princess?  We were on a Sitmar cruise when that happened to us in 1989.  Maybe we were on the same cruise?

Princess gives us credits for the Sitmar cruises we took.  Guess because it was a complete buy-out.  

Agree, still love the old Sitmar pastas that Princess has continued to have.  

 

When P&O purchased Sitmar, the Fairwind was changed to the original Dawn Princess.

 

The original Star Princess was one of the 3 Sitmar new buildings - FairMajesty. I recall she launched and possibly even started builder's trials with the Sitmar name, but on the inaugural cruise her name had changed to Star Princess. This ship is now the Columbus for CMV Lines.

 

When P&O purchased Princess Cruises in 1974/75, the 2 original ships had Italian galley & dining room crews, but the Sun Princess (Spirit of London) was more traditional P&O crewing. I worked on Island Princess in 1979 and remember the waiters making pasta at the tables, similar to Sitmar.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Heidi13

[marco]

I've been cruising since the 60's and a couple of TA's even before that to Europe as a kid in the 50's.  To date, well over 100 sailings.  We did have a very favorite cruise line which no longer sails (Home Lines) and now we have 3 that we kind of bounce back and forth between depending on date/itinerary/price.  There are a couple of lines that we've been on once or twice but would  rather not sail on them again.  A LOT has changed over the years. Size of ships, crew, amenities, optional discretionary onboard expenses  and what they charge for them,  and folks are always commenting about the cut backs.  We have tupperware bins overflowing with cruise memorabilia in the attic.  A while ago we were looking at them and came across a ticket from over 30 years ago.  The price of that cruise for the same cabin category, length, and basic itinerary was  only about $50 less than the cruise we took a couple of years ago. IF the prices aren't going up, what you get for the same  $$$$ HAS to change.  It's interesting too, that on that cruise over 30 years ago the port taxes were $12.  The one a couple of years ago was over $200.

[bob brown]

I choose primarily on itinerary, date, and price, and have spread my 34 cruises so far, over 8 different lines.   

That said, my original 'primary' line was HAL, but since HAL has all but abandoned its long time home, and homeport of New York, (my own homeport)...I have responded in kind.   Since NCL "own's" NY now, with at least two ships homeported here all year round, they are my 'go to', when I just want to jump on a last minute bargain cruise.  RCI, also homeporting at least one ship in nearby Bayonne, all year round, is my 'runner-up'.

I will still try other's, when seeking unique itineraries, and in January, will add a 9th line to my 'collection'...

Edited November 30, 2018 by bob brown

[rkacruiser]

15 hours ago, marco said:

We have tupperware bins overflowing with cruise memorabilia

 

Me too!  I have informed those of my relatives who will eventually inherit my estate that there is $$ in those boxes/bins if they make the effort to sell the contents to those who collect such items.

[ldubs]

Some time back Princess was our primary go-to line.  That stopped when they couldn't meet itinerary objectives or more recently because of pricing.   Now we go primarily RCI or Celeb, whichever meets our needs best.   We would like to go back to Princess but for a while now RCI and Celeb have edged them out.   

 

So right now I guess my go-to line would be RCI, Celebrity, or Princess.  We like them all.    

[iancal]

Our primary cruise line is the one that has the right ship, the right itinerary, and the right price for our preferences at time of booking.  Ships are more important to us than cruise lines.

 

We do not see much difference between some cruise lines.  When we add the increasing inconsistency of the mass market cruise lines into the mix the result for us is no primary cruise line.  Only the ship/cruise line that we happen to be sailing on next.

Edited November 30, 2018 by iancal

[LHT28]

it may not be  a matter of switching a  primary cruise line  but finding a cruise line  that tick more boxes of what you want

We dislike  the monster ships  so we do not even look at the itineraries  & most do the same  cruise  over & over again

YMMV

 

[Joebucks]

The "cruising isn't what it used to be" comments are extremely overdone. In many aspects, cruising offers more than it ever did. The thing that many people can't get over is how it went from an upscale vacation to mass market ranging to upscale. It's not even reasonable discussion to expect cruises that cost the same amount of money 30+ years ago (not even adjusting for inflation) to offer the same things you would get on Carnival, Royal, Norwegian, etc. There are options for everyone. Choose the one that suits your needs. Don't complain about the ones that don't

[lenquixote66]

On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 1:50 AM, reustmd said:

Lots of things can cause someone to switch to a new cruise line (sure you may vary lines, but we all have our primary goto line). Sometimes your tastes/priorities change. Sometimes the line your prefer makes cutbacks or other changes.

 

I've done 5+ RCCL cruises at this point and starting to consider trying out other lines because I feel as though service and food quality has declined. The newer ships are neat, and the entertainment is still solid, but I'm getting a smidge older and looking for a more consistent level of service on a quieter ship at this point.

 

I'm not asking what line I should choose, rather, I'm curious what has caused other folks to make the switch from one cruise line to another? What was falling short on your previously favorite line, and what line have you found to better meet your needs?

We began cruising in 1973 and have been on 6 cruise lines to date.We began with Cunard then Carnival then HAL ,Celebrity ,NCL and RCL .Lately we are loyal to Royal .

[evandbob]

When I could predict what the CD was about to say, it was time to experience other lines.

[gooch47]

We used to cruise with Princess exclusively.  We now tend to go to NCL because of the discounts we get through our land casino play.  We've also used RCCL, same reason, but those ships seem more like Amusement Parks than cruise ships.  Same with our latest cruise on the NCL Breakaway.  The decor on the Breakaway seemed bland to us, too, especially two of the MDR's.  I remember commenting on the NCL Epic's MDR that it reminded me of a high school cafeteria.

 

Anyway, we are currently looking for our next cruise and are pretty sure it will be back to Princess.

[Cruzaholic41]

Way back in the day, Carnival was my main line. Now, I can’t stand them and the shenanigans that occur on board. Then I went to RCI. I am still amazed by them but I’m a little over the family atmosphere. 

 

I’ve tried almost every well known line from luxury to premium to mass market. 

 

But ever since Celebrity came out with Solstice Class, they have been my first choice. I just got off Edge and I was totally blown away. Wow!  So for now, Celebrity is #1 for me. In fact, I think they deliver a better product than premium lines like Oceania. 

 

That said, Viking Ocean is a pretty close second for me. 

[reustmd]

19 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

Way back in the day, Carnival was my main line. Now, I can’t stand them and the shenanigans that occur on board. Then I went to RCI. I am still amazed by them but I’m a little over the family atmosphere. 

 

I’ve tried almost every well known line from luxury to premium to mass market. 

 

But ever since Celebrity came out with Solstice Class, they have been my first choice. I just got off Edge and I was totally blown away. Wow!  So for now, Celebrity is #1 for me. In fact, I think they deliver a better product than premium lines like Oceania. 

 

That said, Viking Ocean is a pretty close second for me. 

 

What sort of shenanigans on Carnival are you referring to? I've heard lots of stories, but I'm curious what sorts of things drove you away.

 

I'm interested to hear you like Celebrity above Oceania and Viking, could you share a bit more on what you prioritize that Celebrity does more to your liking?

[Lois R]

Lots of interesting responses.  I was a loyal Celebrity cruiser for about 13 years so yes, there are those of us who "stayed with one line".  I had some life circumstances change over the past 3 years and decided to branch out.  I went from the big ships to the small and even smaller...…..I tried Silversea twice and also did a River Cruise on AMA Waterways. I LOVED all 3 and in April I am trying Azamara and looking forward to it.

I do love the feel of a smaller ship that feels like a ship (to me anyway)

 

Hope you find what is best for you.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We don't have a primary cruise line either, although we have cruised the most with Princess.  I'm not even sure how many lines we have sailed with--8 maybe--including some defunct lines.

 

We look for itinerary, price and time of year and actually like trying new lines.  Always open to a new adventure!

 

Yeah, I agree with the drastic changes in service and food especially.  Our first cruise, around 1974, was on the Regina Magna (Chandris line).  The lobsters they served were so large the waiter cut off steaks from the plate-sized tails.  And we got as many as we wanted/could eat.

[George C]

While we tend to book same line as last cruise we do switch a lot , did 7 out of last 8 cruises on rccl next cruise is celebrity following is msc, only line we will not sail again is ncl and most like carnival. Have now done over 60 cruises, recently we done suites , but did many inside rooms in old days.

[robtruman]

I usually look at the itinerary, but I tend to lean towards Princess, primarily because of the extra perks they provide Veterans.