Pros and Cons of various Cruise Lines

[TwoWeebles]

I have only ever cruised on Royal Caribbean and I was wondering if there are people out there who have been on more than one cruise line, what are the pros and cons of each and which do you like the best?

[piemom9397]

We went on RCI in February and tried Carnival last month, because they offered somewhat better rates, and we were able to swing an inside cabins for my kids and a balcony for DH and me. Well, not to bash Carnival, but you do get what you pay for. The service in the dining room left so much to be desired, it's not even funny. The dining room was tiny and the tables are so very close together, not elegant like on RCI. The soda card program was a bit more expensive and you didn't get an insulated mug like on RCI (I know it sounds petty, and I don't mean to, honestly, but still...). The showers had actual doors & not shower curtains. We had to pay a $20 deposit at the purser's office to get an extension cord for DH's CPAP machine with Carnival; on RCI, our steward brought us one. On RCI, you can order room service on the t.v.; on Carnival, you can't. Admittedly, the food at the buffet on Carnival was better at dinner than RCI's. And oh, the chocolate melting cake!

 

Overall, it was a good experience on Carnival, but a great one on RCI. I won't say that I'll never go on Carnival again, and I realize that we can have a less-than-ideal experience on RCI, but I'm doubting that I will. :)

[Essiesmom]

You will get very biased opinions of each cruise line from the people on a forum. Every person expects something different, and what pleases one may greatly frustrate another. A three or four day cruise on one ship may be entirely different from a 7-10 day cruise on the same ship, with different passenger mix. Time of year makes a difference, too. My suggestion is to go to your local big box bookstore and pick up a copy of a cruise book, such as Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships, or one similar by Fodor or Frommer...the authors of these books give impartial descriptions of each line, their strengths and weaknesses, in addition to reviews and ratings of each ship. They are updated each year, to keep the ships current. I find them an invaluable reference, even though I have a number of cruises under my belt. EM

[*Luv2Cruz*]

I have only ever cruised on Royal Caribbean and I was wondering if there are people out there who have been on more than one cruise line, what are the pros and cons of each and which do you like the best?

 

We've cruise on several cruise lines and liked them all.:) NCL has FreeStyle dining and dress on all their cruises which makes it really nice for traveling to Bermuda so you don't have to have dinner at a set time.

 

I see in your signature you too are a Bermuda lover.:cool: We are heading back to Bermuda for the fourth time on June 7 with a CC Group. If you would like more information about our CC Group cruise to Bermuda, please see the links in my signature!;) Thanks!

[TwoWeebles]

We've cruise on several cruise lines and liked them all.:) NCL has FreeStyle dining and dress on all their cruises which makes it really nice for traveling to Bermuda so you don't have to have dinner at a set time.

 

Tell me about the FreeStyle cruising. I have heard of it, but I do not know too much about it. I know it means you can dress how you want, and eat when you want, etc., but does that mean that you have to eat at a restaurant on the ship and pay extra money for dinners that would otherwise be included on other ships?

[Lionesss]

Having only sailed RCI and Disney we noted these differences.

Food-Disney tastier, and deserts great.

-RCi Food okay, deserts so-so.

Soda- Disney free

- RCI buy a card or pay per drink.

Shows Disney wins hands down

Rci were good, but lacked something.

Embarkation/Disembarkation

RCI wins hands down

Disney kinda disorganized

Ships- Both phenomenal, beautiful, clean

Teen activities, believe it or not RCI wins.

Pricing. We were able to obtain Grand Suite on Mariner of the seas for what we paid two years ago on Disney for a Cat. 7.

Future plans, RCI has our vote!

Later

[CC Help Michell]

Tell me about the FreeStyle cruising. I have heard of it, but I do not know too much about it. I know it means you can dress how you want, and eat when you want, etc., but does that mean that you have to eat at a restaurant on the ship and pay extra money for dinners that would otherwise be included on other ships?

 

No, you still have the same restaurant options included in your cruise as most other ships offer -- 2 main dining rooms (some other ships include 1, some have 2), a buffet, and a "coffee shop" type place. Most ships also offer 1-2 specialty restaurants with a surcharge. NCL offers 6-7 specialty restaurants on most of their ships, so instead of 3-4 choices you have 9-11 or so.

 

I agree with the person above who suggested checking out a general guide to cruising -- or the cruiseline profiles here at Cruise Critic. We've sailed a number of different lines and find them more alike than different -- so we always book our trips based on itinerary and price, in that order. After that, if those are basically the same, we prefer NCL's Freestyle because it's the relaxed kind of experience we prefer, but we will sail any line that takes us where we want to go for what we want to pay.

[mom2girls]

I'll only compare RCI to Carnival since it has been 25 years since I sailed on NCL.

The food is much better on Carnival than on RCI. You also get free cappuccino's in the dining room on Carnival. The staterooms are bigger on Carnival. The service is better on Carnival. (The room stewards even call you by name.) The decor is better on RCI. The shows are slightly better on RCI.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Tell me about the FreeStyle cruising. I have heard of it, but I do not know too much about it. I know it means you can dress how you want, and eat when you want, etc., but does that mean that you have to eat at a restaurant on the ship and pay extra money for dinners that would otherwise be included on other ships?

 

No, you still have the same restaurant options included in your cruise as most other ships offer -- 2 main dining rooms (some other ships include 1, some have 2), a buffet, and a "coffee shop" type place. Most ships also offer 1-2 specialty restaurants with a surcharge. NCL offers 6-7 specialty restaurants on most of their ships, so instead of 3-4 choices you have 9-11 or so.

 

I agree with the person above who suggested checking out a general guide to cruising -- or the cruiseline profiles here at Cruise Critic. We've sailed a number of different lines and find them more alike than different -- so we always book our trips based on itinerary and price, in that order. After that, if those are basically the same, we prefer NCL's Freestyle because it's the relaxed kind of experience we prefer, but we will sail any line that takes us where we want to go for what we want to pay.

 

Thanks for your input. Just to summarize, I've included a list from another recent thread detailing the dining choices on the Dawn!

RESTAURANTS on the DAWN (an "at-a-glance" list)

 

Sur-charge restaurants are in RED, and reservations are required.

 

Le Bistro French Restaurant - $15 pp

Salsa Tapas Bar (Mexican) - $10 pp (has that infamous "Il PoPo" dish & lobster tacos)

Cagney's Steak House - $20 pp

Bamboo – (A Taste of Asia) - $15.00 pp (relaxed & music from the piano bar)

Blue Lagoon (24 hour 'diner') – (great fish & chips!)

Impressions Italian Restaurant- $10 pp

Garden Cafe (Main Buffet) – (on the pool deck) has a separate kids buffet area

Topsiders Bar - (on the pool deck)

Aqua (Main Dining Room- casual, quiet, smaller) – Open for dinner and breakfast for balcony cabins and above

Venetian (Main Dining Room - formal looking, larger, beautiful and good aft view seating) – open for all meals

Teppanyaki - -$25.00 pp

Sushi and Sashimi Bar -"ala carte" pricing (pay for whatever you eat)

Bimini Grill – (2 levels up from the pool)

Room Service – Limited menu. (tip them)

 

**Jazz Brunch (held on a sea day)- $15.00 pp (well worth it. lots of food: a buffet of breakfast type food and then a menu with breakfast and lunch)

 

**From NCL website: Resort casual dress gets you into every venue at night too. Some people like to add a jacket, or when celebrating a special occasion, get all decked out. This too is welcome everywhere. And if you're tired from a long fun day and just want to wear shorts; our buffet is the place for a casual dinner. Some people prefer nice jeans. They're welcome in many of our restaurants as well, but not in all. It's your vacation on NCL so dress comfortably, and you'll find a venue that suits your style.

[TwoWeebles]

Thank you all for your input. Gives me things to think about. I am so excited just to take the vacation, that maybe I won't care about the ship. :D

[mrsfuzzmo]

I have been on about 13-14 cruises. RCI (3) NCL (3 pre-freestyle), Disney (1),

Dolphin (2), Windjamer (1), Carnival (2) and a couple more no longer in business. I think, in my observations, it is more dependent on the "ship" rather than the line. We have found everything to be comparable on all lines. Things like comfort of beds (RCI wins so far), entertainment staff (NCL wins so far), Ports of call are much more important than the "Name" on the outside.

 

Check out ports, ship newness & amenitites, price. That's how we choose a cruise.

[GORDONCHICK]

You know, this can vary not just by cruise line. If you cruise on an older ship of one line, then one of the newest of another, you're automatically going to think the latter is the better line, when that may not be true. Also, you have to take into account what your expectations of a cruise may be, and that can change from cruise to cruise (example would be one cruise as a romantic getaway for just husband & wife versus a family cruise with children or even multi-generational). The type of cabin and location can play how you see the cruise line, and you may not be comparing apples to apples. Speaking of food, it's very subjective and one of the most argued about subjects when it comes to what line is better. This is why out of four cruises, we've been on three lines with the fourth line coming up in January.

 

Personally, I like Celebrity best of the three we've tried. No announcements all day long, better food variety, more attentive service, etc. But I have friends that are the same age as me, and they would consider Celebrity "dead" because they are partiers. We aren't.

[Northshorecruisers]

We have only sailed HAL and Princess.

We like the smaller ships on HAL. Also, the staff on HAL is more attentive and professional. We overheard many of the staff on Princess complaining within earshot of passengers. Service also did not seem consistant from one day to the next.

We just felt there was more value for our dollar on HAL.

[CC Help Michell]

You know... I started to reply to Cruise Ahoy's post in great detail, as it's presented as a "helpful overview" but then when I read it I found nothing but one opinion after another, many of which are 180 degrees opposite from my actual experience sailing on those lines. One example will suffice, as I don't want to derail this entire thread for the OP.

 

The only thing "Premium" about Royal Caribbean compared to CCL or NCL is the price they charge for their cruises -- Celebrity is a clear cut above its parent in service and amenities, and they do not belong in the same category. After I read that part of this lengthy, canned post, it tripped my "travel agent with a sweetheart deal with Royal Caribbean" alarm. I don't know if Cruise Ahoy reposted this "summary" from a copyrighted website, or something, so it could be that my issue is with whoever wrote this thing, and not with the poster who posted it.

 

It's not that I dislike RCI -- we've sailed them before and will again -- in fact, I was looking at their Freedom cruises from Port Canaveral today, but having trouble stomaching paying $1200 per person for an inside cabin on a totally ordinary Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

 

I guess it's just that I think people should read the reviews of ships/itineraries that interest them themselves, instead of relying on someone like a TA to "summarize" them -- listen to the people who have "been there, done that" instead of getting the "filtered" version.

[cruisead]

For me, after being on most of the lines out there, I divide the cruise lines into four groups----Budget Mass Market, Mass Market, Premium and Luxury. To compare them to hotels it would be like this: Budget would be Comfort Inn/Baymont/LaQuinta, Mass Market will be Holiday Inn/Ramada, Premium would equate with Wyndam/Hyatt Regency and Luxury would be Four Seasons/Peninsula/Ritz Carlton.

 

Now again, only my opinion, I would put Costa, NCL, MSC more in the budget category (not a bad thing at all as they have their niche and cater to a lot of passengers), Premium would be HAL, Princess and Celebrity, Cunard and Luxury lines are Crystal, Regent, Sea Dream, Seabourn and Silversea. You have a few that can't really fit into any group as they aren't really premium nor are they exactly luxury and those are Azamara, Oceania and Windstar.

 

Like with all things, the more you pay usually means you get better things, but you DO pay dearly for the luxury lines. You get better food that's not mass prepared hours ahead of time, you get more exotic itineraries, specialized tours with less people on those tours.

[mom2girls]

You know... I started to reply to Cruise Ahoy's post in great detail, as it's presented as a "helpful overview" but then when I read it I found nothing but one opinion after another, many of which are 180 degrees opposite from my actual experience sailing on those lines. One example will suffice, as I don't want to derail this entire thread for the OP.

 

The only thing "Premium" about Royal Caribbean compared to CCL or NCL is the price they charge for their cruises -- Celebrity is a clear cut above its parent in service and amenities, and they do not belong in the same category. After I read that part of this lengthy, canned post, it tripped my "travel agent with a sweetheart deal with Royal Caribbean" alarm. I don't know if Cruise Ahoy reposted this "summary" from a copyrighted website, or something, so it could be that my issue is with whoever wrote this thing, and not with the poster who posted it.

 

It's not that I dislike RCI -- we've sailed them before and will again -- in fact, I was looking at their Freedom cruises from Port Canaveral today, but having trouble stomaching paying $1200 per person for an inside cabin on a totally ordinary Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

 

I guess it's just that I think people should read the reviews of ships/itineraries that interest them themselves, instead of relying on someone like a TA to "summarize" them -- listen to the people who have "been there, done that" instead of getting the "filtered" version.

I'm with you there. Obviously, this person has not been on every cruise line. I can't see how RCI is grouped with Celebrity. I've never sailed Celebrity, but I have sailed RCI. The service and the food were horrible. I personally think that Carnival is better than RCI. But, everyone has their own opinions. We just need to remember that they are just that opinions. You need to do them all in order to form your opinion about each line.

[Jade13]

 

Holland America - a fine premium class line that caters to seniors. Holland America is the oldest cruise line in the business and they have some beautiful mid-sized to large ships. The older ships were nicely decorated with an old world charm, but some of their newer ships like the Zaandam are much plainer and modern in design. Many past clients (us included) are not impressed with this change after Carnival Corp. took over ownership of Holland America. The cruise line is extremely popular with seniors that have cruised on Holland many times and they keep on cruising with Holland, which caters to their top clients by offering great discounts to past passengers. Food tends to be little bland and entertainment is geared to this age group, but there are usually some wonderful dance bands and larger dance floors than on many other lines. The average age on board will be one of the highest of major cruise lines, so don't expect a great kids program. Celebrity has moved ahead of Holland America and Princess to take the lead in the premium class market.

 

This is really biased. When was the last time you were on HAL? We are mid 40's and few older seniors in the Med. We have been on 3 HAL cruises and one Celebrity in the past 13 months. Celebrity, like HAL, is a Mass market line for sure, but Celebrity is not close to HAL . In our opinion HAL has better staterooms, better cabin stewards, activities, better customer service and better food than Celebrity. Celebrity wasn't bad, clean ship and bargain price, but to say HAL is for seniors and there are no children, well you haven't cruised with them recently.

[jtl513]

This is really biased. When was the last time you were on HAL? ... but to say HAL is for seniors and there are no children, well you haven't cruised with them recently.

Just the line " ... but some of their newer ships like the Zaandam ..." shows that the info is approximately 8 years old! :eek: There have been six HAL ships built since then. The info for the other lines may be this outdated too, and I would take it all with a grain of salt.

[CruisnGram]

You gotta love those that have never stepped foot on a specific cruise line yet classify them as "budget" simply because their price is excellent and they "heard" some others didn't like it.

 

FYI, between Princess, RCCI & NCL, I'll take NCL any day.

 

CG

[dvdfreakmc]

Holland America - a fine premium class line that caters to seniors. Holland America is the oldest cruise line in the business and they have some beautiful mid-sized to large ships. The older ships were nicely decorated with an old world charm, but some of their newer ships like the Zaandam are much plainer and modern in design. Many past clients (us included) are not impressed with this change after Carnival Corp. took over ownership of Holland America. The cruise line is extremely popular with seniors that have cruised on Holland many times and they keep on cruising with Holland, which caters to their top clients by offering great discounts to past passengers. Food tends to be little bland and entertainment is geared to this age group, but there are usually some wonderful dance bands and larger dance floors than on many other lines. The average age on board will be one of the highest of major cruise lines, so don't expect a great kids program. Celebrity has moved ahead of Holland America and Princess to take the lead in the premium class market.

 

 

My wife and I have been sailing Holland America since our 20s and now are in our 40s and think that this is a pretty biased report. But that's O.K. if more people don't discover the calm, resort style elegance that is available on HAL. We will keep it to ourselves.

 

The good news is there are many cruise lines that are out there, just like hotels and resorts, and each on and in fact, each ship has its own uniqueness. Each cruise brings it's own unique features. Much like a discussion about which is better, Sheraton, Marriott, Hilton, or W -- you will find different price points, features, and amenities that speak to you. However, we have found that cruise lines really don't want to exclude passenger segments. HAL has kid's programs, and Disney has adult only spaces. So each cruise in their own way develops their own persona, but generally has something for all.

[grannynurse]

One cruise line does not fit all. It's obvious just being here on cruise crtitc that each line has their own cheerleaders and fans.

We have been on 5 different lines but have sailed HAL exclusively since 2002. We've changed since our first NCL cruise in 1984, which BTW we loved, but NCL has changed too. We've never had a bad cruise on any line but now we feel we've found a "home" on HAL and until we change again, or HAL no longer meets our needs, we'll stay.

I'd never try to convince anyone that my opinions are better, it's just that our wants and needs are different.

Viva la difference!

GN

[vmom]

The phrase in cruise ahoy's post under the NCL review indicates that he is a TA.

 

Cruise ahoy also fails to mention that HAL's vista class tends to appeal to a broader range of ages, particularily on its Caribbean sailings. He appears to have a bone to pick with any lines owned by Carnival Corp. or NCL.

 

I have read several books that feature reviews of cruising including "Berlitz Guide to Cruising" "The unofficial Guide to Cruises" and "Frommer's Cruises and Port of Call". All of these reviews offer a more balanced review regarding the different cruise lines, ships, and the type of passengers that each will appeal to.

 

There is no perfect cruise line for every person. There are multiple lines for a reason. I think its important to be aware of the personality of each line to find one that appeals to your particular needs and personality.

[Jade13]

The phrase in cruise ahoy's post under the NCL review indicates that he is a TA.

 

Cruise ahoy also fails to mention that HAL's vista class tends to appeal to a broader range of ages, particularily on its Caribbean sailings. He appears to have a bone to pick with any lines owned by Carnival Corp. or NCL.

.

 

He refers to NCL as a "bottom-Feeder", and says someone used to RCL will be disappointed.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=16126617#post16126617

[CruisnGram]

He refers to NCL as a "bottom-Feeder", and says someone used to RCL will be disappointed.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=16126617#post16126617

 

Yes, and also notice the he say's "people say". Wanna bet he's never stepped foot on an NCL ship? Gotta love the experts who really don't have a clue.

 

CG

[firefly333]

As someone off of the most recent Carnival Conquest during Ike, I doubt I will ever recommend Carnival to anyone again. Im not sure I will book more cruises thru them after them dumping us in New Orleans. Mutters were heard, RCL wouldnt have done things that way, they would have taken care of their pax so they would not have to deal with them later, because you can be sure Im not the only one upset with how little Carnival did for us.