cruise ship?

Question

which ship is best

Answer 1

I agree with the other folks who have stated that it's not the ship - it's the cruise line.

The first question is where and when do you want to cruise? The choices are constantly growing: the Caribbean has three options: Eastern, (my wife's favorite for shopping in St. Thomas) or Western ports (generally more adventurious shore excursions). For a Southern Caribbean cruise (my favorite), you'll need to fly to San Juan; then there's Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riveria, Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific, Hawaii, South Pacific, the Orient, Europe (too many options to list here), and a growing popularity for European River Cruising and Barging.

The next question is how structured you want your cruise to be. Most ocean cruise lines have "assigned" dining times and various dress codes for dinner (formal nights, casual nights, etc.). Others have "Freestyle" or "Personal Choice" Dining. In other words, they have 6-10 restrauants for you to choose from, and you eat when, where, and with whom you want - and dress as casual as you please.

Your budget does come in to play in both departure city and cabin selection. A quick scale, from least expenseive to most expensive cabin types is: Inside; Oceanview; Balcony; Suite. The best location for least motion is as close to mid-ship as possible - another factor that not too many people realize is that the higher decks have more motion than the lower decks.

Some final thoughts; 1) make sure you use a good travel agent; 2) ask your travel agent to price out "Celebrity Cruise Line" for you - absolutely the best (our personal favorite, AND, 7 out of 10 of their ships were voted "World's Best Large Ships" by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler in their 2006 Cruise Poll!); and 3) remember that August - October is hurricane season in the Caribbean.

Have fun - planning is a big part of the enjoyment!

Answer 2

There are some differences among the different cruiselines. Do you like an active night life and pool games during the day? Try Carnival. Do you want nonassigned dinner times? Try NCL. Do you want sports-oriented activities? Try RCL. And so forth.

Even the ships for the same line may have differences. Take Princess. There are small ships (eg. the Pacific Princess) and really large ships (eg. the Sapphire) and those in between. Some people only want to go on the smaller ones. Some people the larger ones (my husband is one who prefers the 100,000+ g.t. types).

You'll find that there are more opinions than cruiseships on the open sea. Take any negative review with a grain of salt, unless you read a consensus. If you go on a cruise with 2499 other people, a few will hate it for whatever reasons, some will feel it's the best cruise they've ever taken, and most of the rest will have enjoyed it.

Answer 3

As someone else has already pointed out, it is not about the ship but the cruise line. Like that poster I have also only ever used NCL. I have been on NCL's, The Spirit, The Jewel and The Sun. All of them are lovely ships, beautiful in everyway.

I can't speak of the other cruise lines but have heard some negative things about some of them as far as the calliber of passengers is concerned. However I have not encountered any of these problems on NCL lines. I have always had a great time and did not encounter any drunks and bad behaviour on any of my cruises with this line. Why risk ruining a good thing, so I will be sticking to NCL, as so far I have not found one thing to complain about while cruising with them. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

It's the line, not the ship. However, within each line ships tend to take on their own character.

My wife and I have been on Holland America Line (Veendam x2, Statendam, Rotterdam, the old Noordam) and the service is crisp, the ships are immaculate, the food is outstanding. We're in our fifties, so we're part of the youth group on HAL.

We've been on Celebrity (Horizon). Celebrity has a great reputation, but Horizon is the "odd man out" in the line because the crew is not "ship-shape." Still, it was enjoyable.

My wife went on Royal Caribbean (Monstrosity of the Seas, or some such) with her best friend, she enjoyed it very much.

We went on Carnival (Conquest) a year ago, Gulf of Mexico out of New Orleans. That was the cruise that diverted to Galveston when Katrina struck New Orleans. The value for money was fine. The food wasn't near Holland America's standards, but then the prices weren't, either. I was born an old fuddy-duddy, and I found the passengers to be fun. And Carnival handled the diversion and subsequent upset about as well as it could be done.

Answer 5

It's not about the ship. It's about the cruise line. So far I've only been on Norwegian, and it was amazing! I spoke to other passengers, and Royal Caribbean is also thought to be excellent, possibly the best.
Carnival is known to be pretty bad, and I think Princess cruise lines is either the same company, or just another one that sucks. I haven't heard much about Celebrity cruises, but I take that as a bad sign.
Stick with Norwegian and Royal, and you should be fine.

Answer 6

The best cruise line is NCL and their best ship is the Norwegian Star. DO NOT go on Carnival. I have unfortunately been on one of those ships before and it is more of a stressed out cruise than it is a relaxing cruise. Like the first response said, you see screaming kids, drunk people vomiting all over themselves, etc. Just stick to the nicer cruise lines which is NCL and Royal Caribbean.

Answer 7

Hi, I went on Fascination by Carnival, I have to say that it was my first cruise and I LOVED IT. My experience was wonderful, the service, the people and all of the workers on board in one way or an other made our stay a joy.
Try it out, don't let anyone take this chance of having a great experience.

Answer 8

it depends on wht you are looking for each cruise line has differnt ppl they are trying to get like carnival is trying to get all ppl young and old umm more expenive ones are most likly looking for older people. so it all depends on wht cruise line you go on because there ships will reflect the price you paid and what kind of ppl they are hoping to attract so if you want to have fun dont go on a ship that seems to be aimed towards older people or vis versa. but cruises are really fun i have been on two and hope to go on more in the future

Answer 9

Costa Europa is a brilliant cruise ship.The food is delicious and the cabins are great. Lots of nautical antiques onboard.When we were there , there was a soprano called Fiorella Di Luca she was very good.Different shows everynight.Pools jacuzzis and the works. I would recommend it.Give it a try.

Answer 10

None. My wife and I went on a Carnival 5 day cruise. It was a nightmare beyond belief. Smokers everywhere, screaming kids and crying babies all over the place. Drunks out in the evening and vomiting on the deck.

It was horrible. Never again.