Jump to content

Which cruise line will you Never, Always and Try to cruise with and why?


chromered7
 Share

Recommended Posts

Always: Celebrity, my favorite. The crew, the excellent service, the cleanliness, the ships, the solarium, the cuisine, the pampering, the little extras.

          Runner up - Royal Caribbean. The entertainment is top notch. The crew is terrific and service is very good.

 

Try: Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, Holland America, Princess, edited to add Disney

 

Never: Well, never say never. I’m willing to try any cruise line and I can’t see myself NOT enjoying a cruise unless I or my travel companion were to take ill or get injured. 

 

Edited by QueensChick
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always - Celebrity, only have a few under my belt, but all were amazing

Maybe - Seabourn or Oceania, but Celebrity would have to really mess up for me to do this

Never Ever (again) - Carnival, my sorority days left me long ago, the things I saw people do 🥴

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always - Celebrity, been on 50 so far and it would have been at least 56 if not for Covid.  Would also do Royal Caribbean again, but never, ever on one of the huge megaships - if I want a resort I'll visit one on land

Never again - Carnival - for most people on this thread reasons are obvious

May try - Holland America  - many say it is the most like Celebrity and as we are seniors now we fit the demographic!  Possibly Princess - sailed once years ago and were not impressed but they seem like a semi-comparison to Celebrity.  Would only pick them due to itinerary.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always:

Princess, with Celebrity a close second. One cruise with X was our favorite, another was a big disappointment. Princess gets the edge for consistency and formal nights. They are close.

Never:

#1 RCL. Apparently no one in authority, no one can help, nothing happens without dispensation from on high. A terrible business model.

#2 Carnival. Great for first time young cruisers, not us anymore. 

Try:

#1 HAL will soon home port near us. Catholic services on board. Must try!

#2 Saga. Over 50, no kids. Formal nights observed.

#3 Oceania. Would like to read why @Ken the cruiser doesn't like them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

Always - Celebrity/HAL Itinerary dependent.

Never - P & O, Costa.

Try - ? Itinerary dependent. e.g. NCL Hawaii

Try: We had never been to Hawaii and decided the best way to see the islands was to take Pride of America. We only used it as our floating hotel. It is rather garish, but served it's purpose. We did everything on our own. Rent cars, lunch at Four Seasons, DH watched his basketball team play in the Maui Invitational, looked at real estate etc. Had a great time. it provides a nice overview of all the islands and what they have to offer. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

#3 Oceania. Would like to read why @Ken the cruiser doesn't like them.

Let me first say, these are OUR experiences which have guided our opinion. Many folks very much enjoy cruising with O and I highly recommend you give them a try if they offer an itinerary and price point that meets your needs.

 

First cruise, Feb 2015, 10 day Caribbean cruise on the Riviera, free upgrade from a B3 to A3 cabin. Had a great time and were truly wowed by all the various dining options and entertainment provided!

 

Second cruise, Mar 2016, 14 day Caribbean cruise on the Riviera, A2 cabin. 12 days out of 14 we were in Code Red because of norovirus. Over 10% of the passengers got noro. This was the 5th time norovirus had broken out on the ship in the last 4 months, and we only found out about the other outbreaks because our steward told us. After multiple complaints from various people and multiple letters from us to HQ after the cruise, they finally issued a 25% credit to be used within 12 months, but it had to be applied to another Riviera cruise in the Caribbean. We passed. Strike 1.

 

Third cruise, May 2018, 16 day B2B around Cuba on the Sirena, A1 cabin. Had a great cruise and very much enjoyed going around Cuba twice. Note: My DW and I along with a friend that booked a separate cabin were the only passengers that booked a B2B around Cuba. Apparently, when our visa information which was maintained by customer service was applied to our second cruise, as we had to get 2 Cuba visas, one for each leg, somehow our CC information as well as that of our friend was apparently transferred "in the open" to our second cruise accounts and subsequently copied by someone. Will explain more about this later. In addition, someone used my info to create a separate O internet account using some bogus email address along with my account info. Luckily, we were able to catch that and it was deleted by the Shipboard IT department after extensive discussions a day later. However, the morning we arrived back in Miami after the second leg, both my DW and her friend got separate calls from their banks letting them know some shakey looking online charges had been made around the Orlando area, which they were. When we formalized in writing what we experienced to O HQ, they were convinced that couldn't have happened, except for the fact those CCs hadn't been used for weeks other than on the cruise ship, of which they were both on file with our separate O accounts. Strike 2.

 

Fourth cruise, July 2018, 32 day Northern Europe and Iceland cruise on the Nautica, A1 cabin. Had a great time, except for our flight over from Atlanta, which was booked through O, was delayed getting into Amsterdam and KLM put us on a later flight which flew us into Oslo's "other" airport and we arrived at 11 pm. Since we had purchased a 1 day precruise stay through O at a nice Oslo hotel, which included the transfer from the airport to the hotel, we thought we were good to go. But, since we didn't make the originally scheduled flight and were flown to the "other" Oslo airport 132 km away, O said the contract with the hotel only included the transfer from the closer Oslo airport 72 km away and we were on our own. After continual pressure from our TA, O finally agreed to book a taxi to come pick us up. We later found out after we submitted the $528 bill it to customer service that O HQ was not going to reimburse us for the taxi fare. And for 3 weeks they didnt budge on their decision. Our trip insurance wound up paying for it, but that adventure didn't sit well with us. Strike 3.

 

Fifth cruise, Oct 2018, 45 day Med and TA cruise on the Riviera. Had a great time even though we missed 4 ports due to weather. But, earlier in May 2018 O advertised they had upgraded their onboard internet service and allowed every stateroom 1 free unlimited account which everyone in the cabin could use, but only one at a time, which meant most everyone left their devices on, but only actually logged into their stateroom account when it was their turn. The problem on the Riviera was that they never upgraded their router capacity capabilities, especially in the cabin areas, and we would get knock off the router nearest to our cabin every 2-3 minutes because all those powered on devices would periodically try to bind to the network (i.e. connect to the nearby router), even though it's user was not logged on! My DW was not happy. Did I mention it was a 45 day cruise! For my DW, as she values her internet time while on a long cruise for a variety of reasons, that was it. The end of our desire to cruise with O.

 

Sorry for my story being so long, but that's pretty much why O will not be in our cruising plans anytime soon.

Edited by Ken the cruiser
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The responses in this thread are fascinating. We sail all lines, and like to mix it up. I’d say our never would be NCL: service is functional at best, and the MDRs are consistently the worst out of any mass market line. Still, they’re the only line with ships based year round from Manhattan, which means we’ve sailed in them lots. 
 

Also, somewhat surprised at the Carnival hate. I’ve always said Royal Caribbean is just a ship full of Carnival passengers who think they’re too good for Carnival. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found this topic interesting, mainly for the following reason:

 

 Amongst the reasons for choosing a line, nobody seems to include safety, or health, as a comparison point. It seems to suggest, that on these issues, you are all  considering cruises lines to be equivalent. (Please correct me if I am not interpreting your comments correctly).

 

Having read quite a bit about incidents at sea, and how a cruise line respond to situations, when they do not go quite as planned, my choices would be taking these elements in consideration:

 

Never: Carnival for a few reasons, including my age, interests,  and my perceived safety related issues.

 

Unlikely: River cruises ( I love the ocean too much.... and some European rivers really don’t offer a lot of margin to safely operate cruise ships), Windstar ( I was curious about this line, however a colleague provided me a detailed review and this would not be a good fit for us)

 

Curious about: Disney ( especially with a grand-child), Princess ( because of the comparison with X, yet, the Diamond Princess saga.... did not impress me much, from an organizational perspective)

 

Would consider: Cunard, Gauguin, Oceania, Crystal, Seabourne, Viking

Ocean and Azamara....If itinerary, timing and price is right. As a result of unforeseen circumstances, NCL has to be placed in that group since we have a prepaid booked cruise on NCL. At first glance, I don’t think it will be a good fit for us, but, who knows, we could be very pleasantly surprised. 

 

Would not hesitate: RCCL ( except, may be the Oasis Class, which don’t seem to represent the kind of cruise experience I am looking. for.) and HAL (with pre-planned personal activities for sea days).

 

Always a first consideration: X. 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

The responses in this thread are fascinating. We sail all lines, and like to mix it up. I’d say our never would be NCL: service is functional at best, and the MDRs are consistently the worst out of any mass market line. Still, they’re the only line with ships based year round from Manhattan, which means we’ve sailed in them lots. 
 

Also, somewhat surprised at the Carnival hate. I’ve always said Royal Caribbean is just a ship full of Carnival passengers who think they’re too good for Carnival. 

because one does not like Carnival or any other line for that matter, how does it equate to "hate"?  I drink Pepsi but does not mean I "hate" coke, it is called personal preference.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never:  Carnival.  My last 2 cruises with them were freakin' horrid.  I'd also never cruise with NCL.  Not a fan of how they handle "main dining".

 

Always:  Celebrity.  Each cruise I have with them is better than the last.  I was saddened that I had to cancel my upcoming October cruise with them (non-Covid related).

 

Try:  Princess.  My next cruise is with them and I do like how the ship looks.  I am intrigued.

 

Maybe:  Virgin.  No kids.  HUGE draw there.  May be a bit "too hip" for my tastes though.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

Never:  Carnival.  My last 2 cruises with them were freakin' horrid.  I'd also never cruise with NCL.  Not a fan of how they handle "main dining".

 

Always:  Celebrity.  Each cruise I have with them is better than the last.  I was saddened that I had to cancel my upcoming October cruise with them (non-Covid related).

 

Try:  Princess.  My next cruise is with them and I do like how the ship looks.  I am intrigued.

 

Maybe:  Virgin.  No kids.  HUGE draw there.  May be a bit "too hip" for my tastes though.

no kids or as few as possible, yay

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting topic. Well then:

 

Always: 

 

1. CUNARD- top lecturers, great ships - with a nod to the olden, golden times of ocean liners.    

2. CELEBRITY  - great cruise line- top service- rank 2 because of the many things they cut off.

                             Many changes which were not to my liking.

Never:   

 

COSTA-  one cruise was quite enough- CARNIVAL- no need for constant partying

 

Maybe again:

 

 RCCL- my very first cruise line- over 25 years ago- back then- great- now... well not so much,                watered down to medicore at best- example: plastic plates in the Windjammer... and so on...

 

 HAL-  comparable to X- but the new ships are too dark - no or rare connection to the sea.

 

TUI Cruises - Mein Schiff 1 to 6 :  also comparable to X- but to many GERMANS for my taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always:

  - Celebrity. Continues to meet our current cruising needs. With the 3 Classes, gives us enough variety. 

  - Viking River. Great itineraries and good pricing. Reliable company. 

 

Never:

  - Disney. I don’t like talking rats!  Well the real reason is I’m not a big DisneyWorld fan, and the cost is well beyond the experience and all other Lines have same itineraries.
 - Carnival or large ship RCL. Unless I was to join my family w grandkids and this was the only choice for them. 
 

Try:

 - Viking Ocean or Expedition, and Smaller Ship Lines for itineraries, but would have to be very special. 
 

den
 

Edited by Denny01
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never: Is probably too strong a term, as the right itinerary or circumstances could change things.  Probably Avoid would be a better term.  

  NCL - the cruise we took with them had quite poor food, even in the specialty restaurants.  Mediocre otherwise

  Carnival - not interested based on their image

 

Always:  Or Look first based on good experiences

  Azamara - really enjoyed the one cruise we did with them based on itinerary, passengers, atmosphere, though not much in the way of entertainment.

  Celebrity - our one experience with them was pretty good for entertainment and (most) food.

  Oceania - was pretty good all around, but I like the atmosphere and fellow passengers better on our Azamara cruise

 

Maybe:  would consider these if other factors were right

  HAL - our one HAL cruise seemed pretty average all around.  A definite step up from NCL, but entertainment and food seemed a bit below Celebrity

  RCL - we haven't tried them, but might do one based on more activities for the grandchildren of more variety of musical entertainment

 

Try:  have an eye on these for "one of these days"

  Seaborn - we were considering for 2020, but didn't happen

  Disney - the reputation is good, but pricey

  Windstar - both the sailing ones and the old smaller Seaborn ships could fit us

  Viking - like Disney, but without the kids

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

Always:

  - Celebrity. Continues to meet our current cruising needs. With the 3 Classes, gives us enough variety. 

  - Viking River. Great itineraries and good pricing. Reliable company. 

 

Never:

  - Disney. I don’t like talking rats!  Well the real reason is I’m not a big DisneyWorld fan, and the cost is well beyond the experience and all other Lines have same itineraries.
 - Carnival or large ship RCL. Unless I was to join my family w grandkids and this was the only choice for them. 
 

Try:

 - Viking Ocean or Expedition, and Smaller Ship Lines for itineraries, but would have to be very special. 
 

den
 

It's a small world after all.......argh

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never:

Carnival (OK I might if they had the perfect itinerary, but have managed to avoid them).  I did watch the pier runner videos for a Carnival ship. 🙂

Always:

Celebrity S Class

HAL, and Princess.

Try:

River cruises and other small ships.

Edited by NMTraveller
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, KWW88 said:

because one does not like Carnival or any other line for that matter, how does it equate to "hate"?  I drink Pepsi but does not mean I "hate" coke, it is called personal preference.

Hate is generally defined as intense dislike or aversion to someone or something. I would say many of these comments would qualify as intense dislike or aversion to Carnival. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always:

Royal or Celebrity.

 

Never ,ever again:

MSC. Once was enough with those pirates

 

Maybe:

NCL. Was my first and only cruise with them 50 yrs. ago and would like to see how much they have changed. Really enjoyed the cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always:  Celebrity

              -   MSC Yacht Club

Sometimes:  Royal Caribbean (time of year)

                       - Holland America (newer ships only)

                        -Princess (used to be never ~boring and didn't like how they handled dining~ but    willing to try again)

Want to try:  NCL Haven (if pricing wasn't so high)

Never:          -  Carnival - and we went on a couple.  Ships and food are OK, but "experience" not good.

                     -   Disney - just NO

                      -   Costa - too much like Carnival

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Especially on the Carnival forum. 😲

I think that on the Carnival board Celebrity might be included in the Never cruise category.  😀

Edited by TeeRick
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...