Who Would You Cruise With if NCL Doesn't Pull Through

[Barcode78]

First let me preface my comments by saying that I am a big fan of NCL.  I have had minor issues in the past on cruises but they were just minor like you have during every vacation land or sea.  Every cruise I have been on has been quite enjoyable.

 

Here is my history of cruising in just 5 years.

Norwegian Jewel - December 2015

Freedom of the Seas - August 2016

Norwegian Escape - December 2017

Norwegian Getaway - September 2019

Norwegian Epic - December 2018

Norwegian Breakaway - September 2018 (booked but cancelled by NCL due to Hurricane Dorian)

Norwegian Breakaway - October 2018 (replaced previous cruise)

Norwegian Joy - January 2020

Norwegian Bliss - May 2020 (booked but cancelled by NCL due to current Pandemic - will fill out refund form when its available in 2 days)

Norwegian Breakaway - November 2020 (cancelled before final payment in July due to uncertainty - still waiting for $100.00 deposit to be refunded)

 

I hope that NCL survives and I will gladly sail with them again.  Just not departing with any more cash until I see many voyages go without issues or buzz killing safety precautions.  I can book a cabin by a lake and have more fun than wearing a mask in the dining room or having NCL employees wearing them.  I am not against safety precautions but I think it would take away from the vacation.

 

So back to the original question.  

 

Who will you cruise with if NCL is liquidated?  It's a hypothetical so just assume for the sake of the question that they are not doing any sailings.

 

My answer is I want to try all the major cruise lines at least once.  I have already done a Royal Carribean and liked it.  I think I would check out MSC next, then Carnival.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Barcode78
fixing typo

[okpaddy]

I have been sailing with NCL for the past five or six years. Prior to that I enjoyed Holland America, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. I'm not a big fan of Carnival after a bad experience out of Galveston. I will most likely return to HA, and I would also like to try Costa and MSC . The fun is in finding new destinations, and right sized ship. Good luck with your future adventures. Stay safe and hopefully the sailings will go again soon.

[cruiser4801]

Holland America Line is now my go-to line.  HAL's customer service In Seattle is very responsive and their new ships are spectacular (Pinnacle class ships).

[Love my butler]

I am looking forward to sailing on the Carnival Getaway sometime next year.

[complawyer]

we have been cruising with ncl since 2010. my wife is a diamond club member with cesar's entertainment so she gets discounts on cruises and 3 or 4 times per year we get offered a free cruise.

 

in the hopefully unlikely event that ncl goes belly up, i think i would throw my business to celebrity

[sanger727]

I've cruised Celebrity, NCL, and Carnival. Celebrity and NCL have tied for my top choices so if NCL is out we will probably choose Celebrity. Although, I have to say that I have been impressed by how Carnival has handled this issue. They were not my favorite onboard experience, but for near term future cruising I would be more likely to give Carnival my business just because I believe they have been more proactive with cancellations so I have a bit more trust in them at this point.

[Trimone]

P&O Jewel or maybe Gem 

[tallnthensome]

We sail with whoever has the most appealing cruise to the most appealing destinations for the most appealing price. We sail NCL, MSC, Carnival, Royal, Princess, Holland, and are booked for Celebrity for 2022. If NCL did go under we would just pick any of the others. Not loyal to any .....

[xcell]

I was 1st loyal to Royal, but then NCL came up with the perk packages and a Xmas cruise that was half the price of Royal, I had to jumped ship.  It was my first, and almost my last cruise with NCL as the Epic was a disappointment (bad bad service in comparison to what we experienced with Royal).  I convinced my wife to have another go, especially since the next cruise included specialty dining for everyone in your cabin for 7 days. No regrets on staying with NCL as now we are platnium.

 

My kids are growing up, so we switch back to Royal, as I could book 2 balcony rooms for the cost of 1 on NCL. We did stray and tried Disney, but didn't really enjoy it -- it was good, but not for the price (I could have taken 2 cruises for the price of 1 Disney cruise, which holds true even today.). NCL started to come out with ships with waterslides which enticed my kids back to NCL.  We also had a taste of the Haven (twice) but way before the bids, and all you had to do was call in and ask how much the upgrade was (my kids love me then). Then when I heard about the MSC YC and that it was half the price of the Haven, well, another jumped ship.  I think a lot of other cruisers (no fault of cruise critic) were doing the status match with MSC, so MSC upped the costs of the YC (at first, they didn't charge for the 3rd and 4th if they were kids, but now they are) and now it has to be the right cost for me to venture there (I don't think we could do regular cabins on MSC).

 

So long story short, if NCL falls, Royal and MSC will be my back ups but maybe, just maybe, I will try different lines as I have to entertain my kids less as they become young adults.

 

Sorry for the long answer, but these days, I like reflecting on the good old days....

Edited May 6, 2020 by xcell

[hallux]

I've sailed on Royal before.  Might consider MSC, or might follow my parents to Princess.

[KateQ22003]

I love Holland America so will probably lean that way. Waiting to try Virgin as well.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

We have 12 NCL cruises and 5 Princess cruises. We have always preferred Princess but it was always a little pricier. You do get a little more for the additional cost. But, we will  'bite the bullet' and go to Princess. We especially liked their round trip LA to Hawaii cruise. I would rather spend the 5 days at sea each was as opposed to the 5 hour flight each way.

[Peachypooh]

The Viking Mississippi set to set sail on the Mississippi in 2022.

[reveur15]

I will try Celebrity cruise if Ncl does not survive.

And maybe Carnival also.

Edited May 6, 2020 by reveur15

[trummy]

Carnival. I enjoy the open Lido and the freedom of not having to schedule everything.

[FaithPlus1]

I'm not loyal to any company. I just go based on price (this is huge for me as I am a party of 1, and will only go on a cruise that is really a good deal), itinerary, and the date. I've only gone on a few cruises during my life as an adult (I'm 35 but went on some cruises with a kid with companies that no longer exist) and they have been NCL (3), Carnival (1), and Princess (1). It just happened to be that NCL just always worked out for me. On each sailing I always was able to meet people of all ages by going to the hot tubs every day (you always see the same people lol), and because NCL does actually make an effort into arranging solo travelers to meet, so socially good experience. 

 

That said, I always have wanted to try Celebrity. It's my parents favorite line (my parents though aren't cheap like me, and don't really go by price when planning), and the experience just seems more low key, upscale, and relaxing. I don't really want to be around a lot of kids when I travel (no offense) and prefer more couples, friends, and just generally more of an adult experience. Anyway Carnival to me wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, but I most likely wouldn't sail with them again (it was just mediocre, but not terrible). Never tried Royal Caribbean ,but I am open to trying it, but I know to expect a lot of kids on it due to their amenities (Yes I know you can just sail on dates when kids should be in school, but I don't have the luxury of traveling whenever I'd like). 

 

But yeah if I had to pick one that I would probably end up with it would most likely be Princess by default. 

[Trimone]

I would probably try Virgin Voyages, they seem to have got the age wrong, and the middle age are going there... 

[IrieBajan54]

The first one that copies NCL's Free Style cruising at a reasonable price for solos. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by IrieBajan54
add text

[Lupush]

I'd probably go to Celebrity/Royal.  Seem to have the best options given what my family's interests are.

[hallux]

4 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

reasonable price for solos.

This is important for me as well.  MSC has some newer ships with solo cabins.  

Royal has VERY limited solo cabins (including solo balconies!!) on the Quantum and Quantum Plus class ships but they're VERY hard to get, generally needing to book as soon as the cruise is released.  I don't think they have them on the Oasis class.

[IrieBajan54]

3 minutes ago, hallux said:

This is important for me as well.  MSC has some newer ships with solo cabins.  

Royal has VERY limited solo cabins (including solo balconies!!) on the Quantum and Quantum Plus class ships but they're VERY hard to get, generally needing to book as soon as the cruise is released.  I don't think they have them on the Oasis class.

.

Personally, I don't care for Studio cabins. I normally book last minute and like to get a regular inside cabin that is roomier. Sometimes I have been able to get a balcony for not much more. No suit, not tux! Maybe one of the surviving lines will adopt the Sail-Away rate.

[seaman11]

iv tried many lines. and royal seems the best to me for my needs overall ,not too stuffy and not too low brow. . i will go on others if the deal is too good to pass up though.  carnival right now is giving me cruises for basically port fees only with 200 obc back. 

[evandbob]

Why must we cruise one line only?  I may prefer one over the rest, but IMO, to only sail one line is so limiting.  We wouldn't even know what we were missing on the other lines, good or bad, if we kept booking the same one over and over.

 

And to formulate an opinion about an entire cruise line after just one sailing on one of their ships can be deceptive.  Cruise experiences do vary within a cruise fleet, and a sailing on the newer ships of a line may be quite different than on one of their older ships.

 

We have already sailed Celebrity, MSC, Carnival, Princess, Royal & Disney in addition to NCL, and will continue to do so post COVID-19 whether NCL exists or not. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by evandbob

[steveknj]

While we are not brand specific with cruising NCL is usually my first choice, mostly because I think you get the best bang for the buck and they usually either sail out of our local port in NYC or a drive away in Boston.  But a lot of times it comes down to price, destination or a certain ship we want to go on.  We had booked the Bliss which both left from NYC and was a ship we wanted to try (but replaced it with the Getaway next March).  If NCL doesn't make it, we'll probably see what is available in either Bayonnne (RCI or Celebrity) or in NYC (Carnival).  We had a fantastic time on our last Carnival Cruise (Horizon) but a less enjoyable time leaving out of New Orleans on the Dream.  RCI seems to be more expensive, but again, we've had a good time on both of our RCI cruises, but I find them kind of "duller" than NCL or Carnival.  I'd like to try MSC, but they aren't local so I'd have to fly to Florida or somewhere to cruise, which makes cruising more of a hassle. 

 

But lets see what shakes out and hopefully we'll be able to do our March 2021 cruise.

[sammee]

This would have been my first time on NCL and out of NYC. It's usually Carnival or Royal for me, whoever has the best deals. I have similar deals as seaman11, but that's on hold. One NCL, has my money, lol. Two, gotta be more careful with health now adays (didn't see that one coming).