Celebrity vs Princess vs HAL vs Royal vs Norwegian vs Carnival vs MSC vs Costa

[drsel]

Can anyone  do a comparison of the pros and cons of some or all of these mass-market Cruise lines?

 

How would you rank them based on quality of entertainment, shows, activities, food in the main dining room and buffet, state room, crew service and other facilities. Thanks!

Edited February 28, 2021 by drsel

[Porky55]

You are on the Australia and New Zealand forum section. We don’t have MSC or Costa in Australia, sorry? 🙄

[drsel]

Just now, Porky55 said:

You are on the Australia and New Zealand forum section. We don’t have MSC or Costa in Australia, sorry? 🙄

Never mind MSC and Costa, you can compare the others

[OzKiwiJJ]

This is one if those questions where everyone will give you different answers because we like different things.

 

Perhaps you should give us an idea of your tastes and preferences first.

[drsel]

4 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

This is one if those questions where everyone will give you different answers because we like different things.

 

Perhaps you should give us an idea of your tastes and preferences first.

 My preferences in the second paragraph are written in the order of how I personally rank their importance.

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by drsel

[OzKiwiJJ]

16 minutes ago, drsel said:

 My preferences in the second paragraph are written in the order of how I personally rank their importance.

 

OK, if you want that level of ranking then mine would be Princess, then Celebrity, with RCI and Carnival third equal. I haven't cruised on the others.

[drsel]

31 minutes ago, drsel said:

 My preferences in the second paragraph are written in the order of how I personally rank their importance.

 

so you think that Princess has better entertainment shows and activities than Royal Caribbean?

These are the most important criteria for me

Edited February 28, 2021 by drsel

[NSWP]

I have travelled on many cruise lines. For me It is Princess, good middle of the road cruising.good entertainment, good food..

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

49 minutes ago, drsel said:

so you think that Princess has better entertainment shows and activities than Royal Caribbean?

These are the most important criteria for me

The shows and entertainment on Princess suit our tastes but, as I said before, everyone has different ideas about what is good entertainment. We like jazz, classical, and piano bars. We aren't interested in activities other than trivia, and in the afternoons we prefer to head up to the Princess Sanctuary to read and enjoy the ocean views. 

[mr walker]

A wise person once said something along the lines of "mass market cruise-lines are more similar than they are different."

In around 20 cruises, most with RC, this has been our experience. Our first few cruises were with Royal, and we liked them a lot & hence everything becomes a comparison with them. We have done 2 Carnival & a 29N Princess cruise & would not hesitate to cruise on either again.

As others have said, sometimes it just personal choice

[ilikeanswers]

I think before you get too detailed you should remember when cruising restarts things might not be the same so people's pre covid experiences may not be as reliable for future cruises or whatever covid safe measures are put in place may change the experience significantly.

Edited March 1, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[pacificlover]

7 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

I think before you get too detailed you should remember when cruising restarts things might not be the same so people's pre covid experiences may not be as reliable for future cruises or whatever covid safe measures are put in place may change the experience significantly.

I totally agree that things are sure to change, but here are my thoughts on your list of cruise lines.  Celebrity - the best piano bar experience on the one cruise I had with them.

Princess - overall best fit for me

HAL - best food, particularly dining room

Royal Carib - too long ago, and not memorable

Norwegian - the variety and number of venues of entertainment were fantastic

Carnival - least impressed out of my 50 off cruises

MSC - best ambience but food and entertainment were below par

Not cruised on COSTA.

[RosieCanberra]

Overall, I would rank Celebrity, Princess and HAL as 4/5 star, and Royal, Carnival and Norwegian 3/4 star. I have not cruised with MSC or Costa. 

As per your categories above:

Entertainment/shows - Norwegian. On NCL Epic we had the Broadway production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and a Cirque tent experience. Both outstanding. Celebrity would be my second pick.

Activities- this is a tough one, the Royal ships are geared towards families and have video game arcades, rock walls, mini golf, dodgem cars, flo rider, that giant arm that swings out, and the air flyer thing (sorry I cannot recall the names) so for families I would pick Royal Caribbean. For me I enjoy trivia and lectures and movies which I can find on most ships.

Food - Celebrity, Princess and HAL have fabulous MDRs, great food and service. I don't use the buffet on any ship very often. 

Staterooms - Celebrity. On the newer Princess ships the cabins are better, although very small balconies. We had a mini suite on Majestic Princess that had a tiny balcony.

Crew Service - I generally find crew service to be pretty good. I have had some exceptional crew over the years who go above and beyond what is required, and I have had a dud or two. But mostly good service on all lines. 

[NSWP]

13 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

I think before you get too detailed you should remember when cruising restarts things might not be the same so people's pre covid experiences may not be as reliable for future cruises or whatever covid safe measures are put in place may change the experience significantly.

Exactly, like no self serve buffet. I loved the Princess Horizon Court.

[MicCanberra]

Much the same as Rosie for the same reasons.

Overall cruise experience, I would rank it X, Princess, HAL, NCL, Royal, P&O and Carnival. Food and service rank high for me.

I have enjoyed all the cruises we have done.