Your favorite cruise line and why

[ErikaBeMe79]

Very subjective, I agree! All personal. I have nothing to compare to, but I LOVE NCL. I'm just not a fancy-like person (at all)- especially on vacation. Vacation for me (personally) is relaxing and not HAVING to dress up.. I much prefer the casual feel with NCL. I also prefer to dine whenever I'm hungry, and wherever I want... AND just with my husband. I'm not anti-social, don't get me wrong.. lol! I do like to meet new people, but would rather do that around the ship... I'd rather just have DH and I at a table for meals.

 

I have no desire to really try another line :) For ME.. if it aint broke, I'm not gonna fix!

[jocap]

Really, really enjoyed Princess and P&O- which used to be the same line and are similar- but NCL is the line which suits us best.-jocap.

[collegecruiser346]

NCL. I like the freedom of freestyle dining.

[neverthought]

NCL. I like the freedom of freestyle dining.

 

 

Ditto...:)

[pcb412]

I think it depends on the ship more than on the line. We sailed on an older Celebrity ship (Century) shortly after a cruise on one of the newest RCL (Liberty OS) ships and preferred the layout on the newer RCL ships (Voyager class and above).

 

The service on LOS was far and away the best I've had on any cruise. The food quality and dining options were better than on Celebrity or Princess. This may not have been true in the past - there are many posts here about how they've slipped - but these were all cruises within the last year.The pricing of these 'premium' lines has gone to about the level of the mass market lines now.

 

I'll be going on my first Carnival cruise in October so I'll have another line to compare. I get the impression that RCL is more of a Disneyworld atmosphere vs. Carnival being more of a Las Vegas atmosphere. Would that be a fair comparison?

[Traveler353]

I have only cruised onboard Carnival ships, so I have nothing else to compare them too. If another line moves more ships into NOLA or Mobile I would have no problem giving them a try.

[springfire]

I'll start by saying I have never had a bad cruise. Here is how I feel from my experiences

 

Carnival-The walmart of cruising, usually the best prices, loud ship, lots of kids, party's and things to do. Not a very elegant cruise. Food is below par with most other cruise lines, good family line, large cabins

 

NCL=I have only worked on NCL, this is also a fun cruise line, free style dining is a big part, no need to dress up, good family line

 

RCCL-better food, good service, plenty to do with the kids, larger ships with the voyager class, better entertainment, higher priced but you get what you paid for

 

Princess-just completed my first cruise, good food, good service, OK entertainment, older crowd, nice ships, not as many kid activity's but my three kids had a good time because of nice ship layout

 

HAL-have not sailed but family members have, great service, good food, nice cabins, much older crowd, very few kids

 

Celebrity-have not sailed and this will be my next cruise

 

My favorite line to date is RCCL, but thats just my choice, I would sail on any of the above lines if the price is right. E\

 

Enjoy

[Leafpeeper]

We've cruised NCL, Princess, RCCL, and Carnival and have enjoyed all of them. There are things that are unique to each cruiseline that makes them special for us. I would never want to eat in the same restaurant everytime I go out to dinner, just as I would not want to cruise on the same ship and same cruiseline each time.

 

We love so many different types of restaurants on NCL, we love all the pools and outdoor movies on Princess, we love the decor of the cabins and ship on RCCL, and DH loves the casino games with special rates on Carnival as well as the entertainment (even on weekend cruises).

[Eeyoregon]

I have sailed Disney, RCCL, NCL and Celebrity.

 

Hands down favorite: Disney.

 

But favorite for affordability is NCL.

[abrowncow]

we've sailed Carnival, Celebrity, HAL and NCL...

 

i have to say HAL was my favorite for food and ship.

 

but we've done NCL 6 times because of itineraries and we've always enjoyed ourselves on NCL. they have great children setups and the layout on the newer ships is nice.

[grandmato4]

Isn't it great that there are different cruiselines for different people!:) Our preferred line is Princess. It seems to fit us best right now. Service has always been great, we've enjoyed the food, itineraries, prices we can afford for the places we wish to travel right now. Love their afternoon tea.

[pspercy]

Travel & Leisure has published its list for 2009, in the August issue

http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2009/

 

Top 10 Large-Ship Cruise Lines

Rank '08 Name Score

1 1 Crystal Cruises 88.94

2 2 Regent Seven Seas Cruises 86.02

3 4 Oceania Cruises 81.78

4 3 Disney Cruise Line 79.93

5 - Azamara Cruises 78.95

6 6 Celebrity Cruises 76.70

7 7 Holland America Line 75.92

8 - Cunard 75.84

9 8 Princess Cruises 74.24

10 9 Royal Caribbean International 73.00

 

Top 10 Small-Ship Cruise Lines

 

Rank '08 Name Score

1 3 The Yachts of Seabourn 87.87

2 - Avalon Waterways 87.60

3 1 Silversea Cruises 85.67

4 - Tauck World Discovery 84.30

5 5 Lindblad Expeditions 84.11

6 7 Viking River Cruises 83.56

7 6 Windstar Cruises 82.23

8 2 SeaDream Yacht Club 80.52

9 8 Uniworld River Cruises 79.97

10 4 Grand Circle Travel 79.07

[TravelCruise]

We have cruised with Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, NCL, Princess, and Royal Caribbean, and enjoy each for different reasons:

 

Our first Carnival cruise wasn't as expected, so we were turned off to them. Then, they had a great deal in a homeport, so we gave them a second chance. It was our MOST FUN cruise ever! Now I don't hesitate to cruise with them, so don't think one bad (or good) experience tells all the tale.

 

Celebrity has the best service and my husband and I loved dancing before dinner each evening. Holland America's staff (two nationalities) works great together and are very attentive, although I have had one bad cruise experience with the staff on a different ship.

 

NCL has the most innovative entertainment at sea - they are always doing something amazing. As far as "11 restaurant choices", beware that you have to pay for all but a few of those. Princess has somewhat boring decor on their ships, but great entertainment in lots of smaller venues, which can be a problem finding a seat. Love their Skywalkers Nightclub - coolest disco at sea.

 

Royal Caribbean has my all-around vote - great innovative ships, fun staff, lots to do.

 

Some posters mention outdoor movie screens - Carnival has added them as well, and I believe the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas will have one.

Freestyle dining - almost all cruise lines now offer open dining as a choice, as well as set dining. We enjoy both for different reasons - open gives you the freedom to eat when and where you'd like, but you can't beat the service and rapport with the same server. And even with open dining such as NCL and Princess offer, you can usually request the same table each evening if you find a server or view you enjoy. Happy cruising!

[OCruisers]

On Princess we like the Anytime Dining, the variety of foods, the itineraries, and the mix of British, Canadian, and American passengers.

 

You hit "the nail on the head" for us with your reply!

 

Normally, there are many more British on Princess cruises than on other mass market cruise lines. We so love sailing with British PAX!