Debate on Cruise line between friends

[vacationlover_mn]

Our first was carnival, then we did some Norwegian and Royal.  End result was, we just love the entertainment and vibe and ships of RCI.  It was fun to do other things, but we just like Royal better 🙂 although... it would be fun to try some of the other fancier lines someday 🙂

[cloud_nine]

Our first cruise was Carnival and I said "never again", then we tried RCI and stuck with them. I've tried NCL and despite the great service, I wouldn't go back with them as I wasn't overly keen on the food, or the insane queues for the bar - I'm assuming because nearly everyone had the drinks package - which I've never experienced on Royal, yes there are queues but nothing like what I experienced on NCL (plus a lot more LOUD drunks). Personally, I would try Celebrity (they're next on my list of cruise lines to try) but I know they are a little higher in cost than some cruise lines. I've heard that MSC is slightly better out of the US than they are in Europe, so wouldn't rule them out either if you're looking for a lower price point.

[Daisymae14]

I guess the fact Carnival cruise lines is always in the news for one thing or another more than any other and incidents on their ships, their management system worries me and the hear say of others that have been on there during Incidents and how they were handled and they just seem to care more for money than passengers safety and opinions. Their dumping of plastics in the ocean ( I am a ocean lover of sea animals ) and the fact of other "matter" being dumped in other locations.  The probation period they have been on due to their falsifying audits just worries me alot. 

I am definately open to explore all options! I wont discount any of them...but I'm just Leary of Carnival,  just thru news media,close friends opinions and some thru cruise critic.  

 I guess I do need to find out for myself which cruise lines fit my taste.  

[caribbeanboy]

I would suggest Princess or NCL.  But the newer ships!

[deliver42]

NCL on a newer ship.

[Daisymae14]

Thank you everyone!! Girls and I still comparing. Food and relaxation are biggest points for us all. Looking to sail in March. We dont want a pricey ship line. So pen and paper are hitting comparison notes right now. Thank you for all your feedback! It has really helped us! 

[CanadaRob]

MSC has beautiful ships and price point similar to Carnival not the greatest customer service but have great deals on wifi and drink packages.

as others have said newer Carnival ships are still quite good.  NCL as mentioned might be a good compromise.

[Wordell1]

I tried to convince my wife that trying Carnival might not be so bad...She wouldn't budge.  Then I saw the video of one Carnival ship crashing into the other one and had to say that I was wrong.

 

Add to it that several of their ships have either failed or almost failed health inspections.

 

 

[Daisymae14]

Yes @Wordell1, that is our concerns as well. I think we have eliminated Carnival, we just dont feel comfortable taking one of their ships...more negatives than positives,  maybe that is why they can afford lower cost cruise deals, they know bad reputatreputation has gotten the best of them. They need to keep people coming somehow. Idk. Just thinking is not for us.

[jakeil7]

4 minutes ago, Wordell1 said:

I tried to convince my wife that trying Carnival might not be so bad...She wouldn't budge.  Then I saw the video of one Carnival ship crashing into the other one and had to say that I was wrong.

 

Add to it that several of their ships have either failed or almost failed health inspections.

 

 

Wasn’t Royal’s incident of choice for a while beaching their ships on sandbars? 😁. The thing that worries me about CCL is that they don’t seem to take their maintenance as seriously and when there is an incident their first priority does not seem to be getting passengers off and home.  The poo cruise being the best (worst?) example but there are others. It could be perception though...not like I have examined their maintenance logs. 
 

as for the health inspections....everyone seems to fail them once in a while. I did not see a significant variance in them when I looked at the historical data

[CynBeth6]

I am with all of you will never try Carnival.  We did go on a cruise in Hawaii on NCL and really liked them but so far our other cruises have all been on RCCL.  

[dmpuszcz]

We usually cruise Royal (partly because of the casino discount we get) but have a done a few on the newer NCL ships and have really enjoyed them as well.  We're cruising Royal in a couple of weeks but looking at the next one to be on NCL.  I found more activities on NCL personally.  

[dd likes to cruise]

I have been on 6 NCL, 4 RCL, 3 MSC, 1 each on Princess and Celebrity.  All in the last 5 years. Loved each one.

 

Size matters on most lines. Your entertainment and dinning choices are better on the larger ships, in most cases, but it might require or recommend reservations in advance on  those larger ships also. Princess and Celebrity I find a tad bit pricier. I have not had customer service issues on any of the cruises.  I must be low maintenance, so can’t compare that area. 

 

That’s my 2 cents worth. 

[frito58]

7 hours ago, Daisymae14 said:

Planning a trip for bday. I am a loyal RCCL girl, and so is my bff but my other 2 friends have only and always done Carnival.  Due to  bad things I hear so much of Carnival,  I wont cruise with them.

With that said...Can someone give me opinion on other cruise lines -that they have tried and really enjoyed as much as RCCL? We are going to meet in the middle and try something different. TIA! 

Well I am diamond with Royal and Platinum with Carnival which is the same personally I don't see any difference in the two other than the type of ships . Oh the bad things is bunch of baloney . I do like Royal ships little better especially Voyager class ships , Carnival has better food and some better layouts such as the comedy club and the Alchemy bar . I would think you could find a nice Ship to sail on  either line . 

[CruiseMomTX]

7 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Carnival recycles names.

It's their new LNG Mega ship out of PC

 

If I was going for nostalgia, I would have used Carnivale😉

 

Funny when I was 11 I sailed on the Carnivale!!  I found pictures a few years ago finally and we had a family group of 20+.  Boy how things have changed, lol.

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, Daisymae14 said:

Thank you @Heatherco!  We are in much debate at the moment...lol We all love fun and sun, not full on day and night drinkers...just casual girl fun and relax!  Trying to pinpoint best itinerary, food and price. 5 day is perfect for us. ( age group 45-50 )

I have only been on one Carnival sailing. It was my first cruise in 1986. I was 25 at the time.  Then we did several Princess cruises over the years. While we enjoyed all of them, it was at a time when we were raising our family and since the kids enjoyed it we stuck with Princess. We also sailed on Celebrity as a couple no kids and enjoyed that as well.  Last year we sailed on Anthem for DW 50th birthday and we really enjoyed the ship. After sailing on Royal I now feel at the age of 59 that Princess is too old and slow for us. I go on that board from time to time and I think the age demographic has jumped from 50's to 80's. All they talk about is how disappointed they are about the choice of books in the library, hand washing, and how to set up a smart phone so you don't get charged for data.  Maybe because we have become empty nesters and now we look for more excitement.  I would choose Celebrity over Princess both have good food and both have elegant ships but I think Celebrity has a younger audience  40's, 50's.   

 

I would try to convince them to sail on Royal because I think it's a step above Carnival and NCL.  I think once they try it that they won't want to go back to Carnival. Honestly from what I read on these boards Carnival hasn't changed since my 1986 sailing.  I don't think the ships have the same ambiance as Royal. My son 27 yrs old is sailing on Carnival in February. His only other experiences have been on Princess when we went as a family and NCL to Bermuda that he and his girlfriend took. He didn't like NCL at all. Looking forward to hearing what he has to say  about  Carnival.

[John&LaLa]

34 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

 

Funny when I was 11 I sailed on the Carnivale!!  I found pictures a few years ago finally and we had a family group of 20+.  Boy how things have changed, lol.

 

That was our first cruise, January 1989

 

We still have a souvenir from that cruise.

He's 30 now. 😉

[TNcruising02]

If you are meeting in the middle, I would go with Norwegian and try to snag the special that includes unlimited drinks and also specialty dining.  While Carnival is my favorite line (I will reach platinum on my next cruise), I think Royal and Norwegian are both good lines.  Norwegian has good theater shows like Royal.  Neither have as good of comedy shows as Carnival, but not everyone likes comedy shows like my husband and I do.  LOL.

Anyway, I think a Norwegian cruise is meeting in the middle.  The ships I have been on have a really nice grotto area.  Their dance parties are a lot of fun.  Good shows.  Howl at the Moon is a lot of fun.

Edited January 29, 2020 by TNcruising02

[PhillyFan33579]

I have cruised by far the most on Carnival, but I think RCI is superior to Carnival for many reasons. Since Christine Duffy has taken over, it seems like all they do is cut one thing after another. While that helps them keep their prices low, I miss a lot of the services Carnival used to provide. My wife and I are fairly close to Diamond on Carnival, but our next four cruises over the next seven months are all booked on RCI. Not sure if we will ever make it to Diamond on Carnival. 

[cruisegus]

5 hours ago, CanadaRob said:

MSC has beautiful ships and price point similar to Carnival not the greatest customer service but have great deals on wifi and drink packages.

as others have said newer Carnival ships are still quite good.  NCL as mentioned might be a good compromise.

But what port do they sail from? very few, not a main cruise line in my opinion

[cruisegus]

Based on cruising both RCCL and Carnival, Diamond + and almost Platinum, each has it own plus and minus. 

 

RCCL has the main stage shows, ice show and extra + water slide, best loyalty perks, also biggest ships in the world. 

 

Carnival has the advantage on comedy club, dive in movies and on boarding access immediately to room for Platinum and above

 

NCL though i have been considering trying a cruise on them seems to not be in the value price point on a number of comparisons, really have to have an incentive to try them

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

2 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

If you are meeting in the middle, I would go with Norwegian and try to snag the special that includes unlimited drinks and also specialty dining.  While Carnival is my favorite line (I will reach platinum on my next cruise), I think Royal and Norwegian are both good lines.  Norwegian has good theater shows like Royal.  Neither have as good of comedy shows as Carnival, but not everyone likes comedy shows like my husband and I do.  LOL.

Anyway, I think a Norwegian cruise is meeting in the middle.  The ships I have been on have a really nice grotto area.  Their dance parties are a lot of fun.  Good shows.  Howl at the Moon is a lot of fun.

 

Isn't that special you are talking about on NCL available on every sailing? If you go with the free drinks just be prepared to shell out over $100pp for the gratuities for the drink package alone on a 7 day cruise.

 

I like NCL but find them overpriced since we don't drink much. If you decline the drink package, and dining package to get the cheaper price you can't pick your cabin. Can only book a guarantee.

[ourfamilylovescruising]

try NCL on a newer ship we Like the food better then Royal 

we have sailed on 7 RCCL, 7 NCL, 3 Celebrity ,3 Holland , 13 carnival 

 

today it is more about comparing ship vs ship then cruise lines they all have good and bad

 

Good Luck

[Tee & Chilli]

11 hours ago, Daisymae14 said:

Thank you everyone!! Girls and I still comparing. Food and relaxation are biggest points for us all. Looking to sail in March. We dont want a pricey ship line. So pen and paper are hitting comparison notes right now. Thank you for all your feedback! It has really helped us! 

Are you aware March is spring break? Something to think about.

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

Isn't that special you are talking about on NCL available on every sailing? If you go with the free drinks just be prepared to shell out over $100pp for the gratuities for the drink package alone on a 7 day cruise.

 

I like NCL but find them overpriced since we don't drink much. If you decline the drink package, and dining package to get the cheaper price you can't pick your cabin. Can only book a guarantee.

That's what turned me off to NCL. From what I have heard from friends who sail them you have to eat in the specialty restaurants as the MDR is awful.