Step up from RCL

[shawn&angie]

I have been wondering what the next “step up” would be in terms of a cruise line.

 

I read many complaints on these boards about the trends (declining) in food (quality and offerings), entertaininment etc. We have only been on two lines Celebrity and RCL. Since my first cruise in the 1992 I too have noticed some of the same trends that others have mentioned. We still cruise probably because we have excepted that it is still the only great way to enjoy the most out of certain locations…which is to say we truly now cruise for the ports!

 

I have posted in the past after hearing many people say that RCL needs to start “waking up” to what their customers are saying. My theory is they now are attracting a new type of cruiser…the one that requires less in terms of food quality and entertainment and is the same cruiser that spends a good bit of time in the Casino. They would obviously spend less and make more on this type of passenger. I have to believe that large cruise lines spending several millions in marketing, fully research their strategies before implementing them.

 

My question truly is….if I were willing to pay more for better quality food, entertainment etc. what are my choices? It seems that based on what I have read the next “step up” increases the cruise price by three and four time what we currently pay so I am not sure it is worth it. It seems to me there should be something “in the Middle”...is there? Any Thoughts?

[RCCLCARIB]

I would say Carnival would be a step down, but I would think Celebrity and Holland America would be a step up.

 

Problem is though, all the cruise lines have their pros and cons. While you might be getting better food on Holland America, you will not get as much activities, entertainment, or nightlife.

 

I would think Celebrity, especially with the new Solstice Class, would be a step up from RCCL while also maintaining some of the signature RCCL amenities. Just my opinion.

[willysgrandma]

If you don't consider Celebrity a step up, you could try Princess but for a real step up, Regent, Cunard and Silversea are more expensive cruise lines.

 

Princess is the least expensive alternative and often they are less than RCCL.

[SelectSys]

If you don't consider Celebrity a step up, ... Princess is the least expensive alternative and often they are less than RCCL.

 

It also seems that Celebrity is often times less expensive than RCCL. I think this is because of the all the extra facilities you'll find on RCCL ships - climbing wall, skating, etc.

[lucky99]

I have been wondering what the next “step up” would be in terms of a cruise line.

 

I read many complaints on these boards about the trends (declining) in food (quality and offerings), entertaininment etc. We have only been on two lines Celebrity and RCL. Since my first cruise in the 1992 I too have noticed some of the same trends that others have mentioned. We still cruise probably because we have excepted that it is still the only great way to enjoy the most out of certain locations…which is to say we truly now cruise for the ports!

 

I have posted in the past after hearing many people say that RCL needs to start “waking up” to what their customers are saying. My theory is they now are attracting a new type of cruiser…the one that requires less in terms of food quality and entertainment and is the same cruiser that spends a good bit of time in the Casino. They would obviously spend less and make more on this type of passenger. I have to believe that large cruise lines spending several millions in marketing, fully research their strategies before implementing them.

 

My question truly is….if I were willing to pay more for better quality food, entertainment etc. what are my choices? It seems that based on what I have read the next “step up” increases the cruise price by three and four time what we currently pay so I am not sure it is worth it. It seems to me there should be something “in the Middle”...is there? Any Thoughts?

 

The only two, in my experience, that would be down would be Carnival and on some ships NCL. Some NCL are OK. Having said that we went on the Constellation (Celebrity) in February of last year and I was surprised at the food and service. Both had gone down since the last time we sailed Celebrity. I think industry wide they have to make some cuts because of the oil problem. Everything costs more. About the cost, we have not really paid that much more on Princess, Holland or Celebrity but it has definately been worth whatever the difference has been. It is just a different crowd, better food, better service, ship decor was better, ships seemed much cleaner, less children and rowdy people on Holland for sure if you prefer a really quiet cruise.

[Gonzo70]

If you are looking for a step up in the quality of food I would go with Celebrity; keep in mind that there is less activities geared towards younger people, but if you are looking for a peaceful, relaxaing vacation with some pampering it may be the best choice without paying the significantly higher fees of Crystal, Regent, Oceania etc. Celebrity has some nice extra touches like being handed a glass of champagne when you board the ship. Holland America is also more elegant than Royal Caribbean without much more money, but is geared even more to an older crowd than Celebrity. For my next two cruises I have one on Royal Caribbean because I enjoy the amenities like rock climbing wall, mini golf etc, but also have one booked on Celebrity because I liked the food and ambiance better.

[LizC]

What cruiseline and ship are you taking to Alaska?

 

I've been on several lines by far my favorite is RCL but I also enjoyed Princess very much.

 

Now when you mean a step up what exactly are you looking for? Less crowds better food?

 

Regent and Crystal might be what you want or Cunard. Though I have not sail on them yet I hear that is the case. But you may just want to give Princess a chance. We loved our cruise on Crown.

[MattInFLL]

HAL is a bit more premium, but my experience has been that it is also just way too sedate for me. I only do HAL when we are with a charter group.

 

Cunard Queen Mary 2 or Queen Victoria might be an option. I loved QM2, and they offer lots of different itineraries.

 

I thought the food on Norwegian Star was some of the best I have had (in their premium restaurants) and if you buy one of the top level suites, they treat you like royalty. (It is truly night and day the way NCL treats suite pax over the other mainstream lines. Anything above Junior Suite level.)

 

Celebrity was great and I really want to try Solstice and it is a small step up.

 

Crystal is a way to get a premium/luxury experience and still have a larger ship.

 

My best friend swears by Regent (I think he has over 150 days on them) - but he likes to sit on his balcony and watch the water all the day. The crowd is very often old and cranky. But impeccable food and service.

 

I know nothing about Azamara and Oceania, but they were created to give people a true middle ground...

[antsp]

we went from a rccl cruise to a princess cruise on the same day, very different style of cruising, but i would say a step up

[firefly333]

I would consider Carnival, Princess and RCL all to be equal and prices may be higher or lower on any at any one time. Iv done them all.

 

I might say to me Disney would be a step up, but then there was another poster with teens who says to her teens Disney is not as good, even though its a 5 star ship. Someone else says you have to have one foot in the grave to cruise HAL and so on.

 

Iv had a bad cabin steward on one cruise each on RCL and Princess, does that make them bad or just one employee who needs more experience. (both were pretty new, the RCL one in her 4th week and sea sick all week).

 

Only had one cruise I was ready to get off the ship early, that was in a inside cabin on the SOV, so cabin choice and ship choice also make a difference.

 

Pretty subjective and I pretty much like any cruiseline I have to admit.

[shawn&angie]

Thank you for all of the responses. One thing that I think I have picked up from this thread is that possibly I need to explore different ships within RCL or even Celebrity. For example the AOS, our last RCL cruise will be much different than the Serenade that we will be sailing to Alaska in August. The same is probably true for Celebrity. Our last cruise was on the Mercury, chose due to its itinerary. I am sure there are other Celebrity ships that would offer a much different experience.

 

The point I was making or trying to figure out is can you step up…go back to Lobster or higher rated shows or entertainment (all the things people complain that have been reduced or taken away) without tripling your cruise price as you would on some of the more premium lines mentioned above.

 

It seems to me there should be something in-between, a cruise line that you can pay a little more for to get back to how you remember cruising used to be. But as I said in my original post…I am not so sure that marketing hasn’t forced cruise lines to look for a different …. more profitable passenger!

 

Thanks Again

[63galaxie]

Our experience has been three times on Celebrity, once on Carnival, once on Princess, and once on RCI Adventure of the Seas last week.

We have been avid Celebrity fans (we loved Millineum and Century) until last week. Now, we are avid RCI fans. We found the service and food to be actually better on the AOS than it was on Millie in March. We found the AOS to be a really unique ship (comparitive to the others we sailed on), and we are planning a second cruise on her next summer.

I consider Celebrity and RCI to be equal at this point, depending on the ship.

Karen in Kentucky

[Cruising89143]

Just about all major cruise lines have cut back on quality in one place or the other in order to keep prices affordable for the masses. If you read the other boards, the complaints about cut backs are there in one form or another. One of the easiest places for a cruise line to cut back is in the area of food.

 

I make no bones about it that I like Royal Caribbean. Having also cruised on Carnival many times and within the last year having cruised on HAL and NCL(third time) to see what they were all about. My next three cruises will be with Royal Caribbean so that can tell you what I thought of the other lines. Nothing wrong with them but RCI gives me the best OVERALL cruise experience when all things are considered.

 

I found that HAL did have a little better food but not enough to make me want to book them again. Also the quality of food and presentation was not that much greater than what I have experienced on RCI and the HAL ships just don't do it for me at all. Also I found the service on RCI to be better than that of HAL.

 

IMHO the days of fine dining in the formal dining room is gone for good. It is now mass produced banquet quality food served to you by the wait staff. If one wants fine dining, they either can pay to dine in one of the specialty dining rooms or move up to lines like Oceania, Azamara or one of the other deluxe or luxury lines that caters to a much smaller group of guests at one time. Of course you will also pay more for a better product.

 

I also agree that overall quality/experience can be different from ship to ship within the same cruise line but I also have found that Royal Caribbean seems to be a little more consistent with their product over one of the other lines that I cruised for years. I think that this comes down to better management on the ships.

[pinkrosesdeb]

cruisingator could have been speaking from my mouth! Totally agree! We had so many people tell us before we sailed HAL that if we like the service on RCI we would be "blown away" by the service and food on HAL...not even close. BUT, I think because they built it up so much we were let down when it didn't live up to the hype. HAL is a wondeful line...just not for us. So, go with sensible expectations and be mindful of the times, eveyone is cutting back because they have to. If they didn't, the cost of cruising would take a huge jump and, for me, I can stand the few cut-backs as long as I can cruise! JMHO! Deb

[shawn&angie]

Thanks again everyone....what a great discussion...the way things should be on Cruise Critic!

[skisteamboat]

Me, I treat the boat as a floating hotel. Just a place to sleep and probably to eat. Ports of call are the first item for me so quality of the on board experience is secondary.

 

That said, I stick with RCCL and Celebrity just like my airline choices are primarily driven by FF Miles. Just like airlines, everyone is heading for lower cost operations so if I get better benefits on my main choice, that's who I go with unless there is a terrible difference in pricing.;)

 

So it really depends if you value the on board experience or ashore experience higher. If its on board, go with the premium lines since the rest are all sort of the same. If not, I would stick with those that give me the best "extras" after deciding where I want to go.

 

Cheers

[cookiersmom]

cruisingator could have been speaking from my mouth! Totally agree! We had so many people tell us before we sailed HAL that if we like the service on RCI we would be "blown away" by the service and food on HAL...not even close. BUT, I think because they built it up so much we were let down when it didn't live up to the hype. HAL is a wondeful line...just not for us. So, go with sensible expectations and be mindful of the times, eveyone is cutting back because they have to. If they didn't, the cost of cruising would take a huge jump and, for me, I can stand the few cut-backs as long as I can cruise! JMHO! Deb

 

Our experience on HAL was NOT of good service at all. From the hotel desk to the concierge to the dining staff, we were not pleased with their lack of attention to customer service. On Princess, we found the cruise staff a bit like a private club, we were intruding on their space. The dining staff in the Anytime Dining had a wide range, we had poor waitstaff and excellent, so if you found a good waitress or waiter, then you made repeat reservations. I really feel that the prepaid tips that are on both Princess and Holland really DO affect staff behavior (not ALL, just some). I know that on Royal the staff know their tips depend on their attention to me and my family, and I find it absolutely seems to make a difference.

 

That being said, my overall thoughts on the 3 lines are

Holland: If you are 70+ in age, not a bad ship, but wayyyy too old a crowd, with entertainment and activities aimed to that generation

Princess: A good second to RCI for me, but still prefer RCI

RCI : Yes, quality of the food has definately declined over the years, but generally still a great vacation!

 

I think our next will be Celebrity. We will be able to bring over our Platinum standing from RCI, but really wish the two lines would let you count cruises on both toward Diamond status!

[skandls]

Since the ports are important to you - do check into Oceania. I have not cruised with them but I have heard good things from people who have. They do offer specials that can include airfare- so their pricing will not be really expensive. They do seem to do longer cruises to more interesting ports.

 

I will wait for the reviews to come out on the new Celebrity Solstice. We took the Constellation to the Baltics last summer - I was disappointed with the food. It may have been the suppliers but the food was not any better then the food served on RCCL ships.

 

Also - while river cruises seem very expensive they are much more inclusive because most of the tours are included in the base rate. And some of the lines include wine with dinner - which can save a few dollars.