Experienced cruisers please answer?

Question

What, in your opinion, is the "best" cruise line, and why?
The worst?

Answer 1

I have only been cruising for about 18 months but have bitten by the bug and about to go on my 6th.

% have or will be on Carnival, which I absolutely love. I have found thier food and service to be fantastic, whether is a 3 day shorty to the Bahamas or 8 day Exotic Western Caribbean, I have gone both with and without my kids ( 18, 16 and 12) and have enjoyed myself .

I recently went on Sovereing of the Seas (4 day to the Bahamas) with other nurses I work with and we had an awful time. The ship was old, the crew disinterested, food mediocre and the rooms awful. I have since learned that particular ship will be pulled out of RCCL service sometime in 2008, which is about 3 years too late. I might be willing to try RCCL again but frankly afraid to invest my time and money only to discover nothing improves with a longer stay

You wioll find people prefer one or the other, there doesnt seem to be a middle ground. Ive heard that Carnival is for "parties" and cheap people. I encountered both on each of the cruise lines so its just luck of the draw on whos onboard.I do believe that the longer the cruise the more sedate it seems, which is good becasue I take the kids on longer cruises. Not sure if this helps but enjoy. Lifes to short not to have sand between your toes

Answer 2

That is a loaded question. Like asking what is your favorite TV show. Your will get many answers. I have been on 21 cruises most with with NCL. Everything from A to Z was GREAT. Princess was a good cruise but, they did GREAT on the land tour part. Holland has the best of the best. Not every cruise line will fit your all around needs. First figure out;
1. where you want to go.
2. do you want scenery or beaches or a party ship.
3. time of the year & for how long.
4. how much you are willing to spend.
A final thought althou all have their good & bad points consider how many days you are at sea or in port or site seeing.
All are fun and something everyone should try.
Enjoy.

Answer 3

Each offer their own special thing

Carnival is the best deal for the money

Celebrity or Azamara is known for its elegance and amazing food (although most other ones are also)

Royal Caribbean is probably the best all around cruise with a combination of all things included (it is a little more pricey then Carnival)

Norwegian Cruise line offers the freestyle dining which is unique and a great experience...although it is a little annoying to have to pay extra for SOME food on this one

Disney Cruise line I would only go on when I have kids as they will be with a million others

Hope this helps...take you pick

I have been on all of these and i would have to pick the Royal Caribbean one as the best. I will be going again in May.

Answer 4

It all depends on what you like to do when you travel.I actually worked for 3 major cruise line. NCL. RCCL and Carnival.

If you are price concience then Carnival is probably your best bet. it all depends on what port you want to depart from also. Carnival is lively but they take a hit on the ships and the service and food.

Royal caribbean ships are generally beautiful they have the biggest ships and believe me the bigger the better but they are pricier than carnival and NCL. Entertainment is very good on them.

NCL's ships are ok, not as nice as Royal's and the service takes a hit if you plan on going to Hawaii with them. They employee only Americans on their ship in Hawaii so the service takesa hit. The freestyle is good and bad. You can go to eat whenever and wherever you want the bigger ships have 8-9-10 restaurants to eat but the food is not as good as lets say Princess or Cunard. Since you don't have the same waiters then the service is mediocre at best(Cunard had the best food by far) Entertainment is blah on NCL

Remember 2 things. Ship size matter, if you go on a small ship, it's going to be the worst of the lines ships.
Budget: Carnival is least expensive but not too much ahead of the rest,

My recommendation is Carnival depending on your budget if you want a little extra Royal Caribbean.

Answer 5

Royal Caribbean is the best. I have been on four cruises with them. I have always met people on board who went to other cruise lines and came back to Royal Caribbean. That tells me a lot. However, next year I will be taking a different cruise line (Norwegian) because I want to see more of the Hawaiian Islands. Royal Caribbean has two cruises that go there but you are at sea two to three days. I rather get on a cruise ship in Honolulu and see the other islands for a whole week.

Answer 6

I have been on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Disney and NCL. Royal Caribbean is my favorite, hands down. The waiters and room stewards are so friendly - and go out of their way to serve you. The ships are clean and beautiful.
Princess would be my second choice. Alittle more formal then Royal, but the food is absolutely wonderful and the suites are lovely.
Disney is great - more expensive, but very nice. It's Disney, you can't go wrong.
NCL being the worst I've ever been on. Would never sail with them again. Hated the free style dining, and the food was horrible.

Answer 7

I love Carnival for the liveliness and Holland America for it's ambiance. Now I want to try 'FreeStyle cruising with Norwegian. I went on both cruises this summer to Grand Caynman, Montego Bay, and Cozumel with Carnival for 7 days and loved all the activities and fun 24/7. THEN, I was 'hooked' on cruising, so immediately booked a Cruisetour with Holland America and spent a month in Alaska! I'm in live with cruising! There's a new list starting up that will be planning cruises for this winter, 2008 - 2018, and when enough people have joined, we will begin making plans!! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cruise_with_Singles/

Answer 8

I like Royal Caribbean the best because of what they have to do on there biggest ships and i also like NCL because of their ships and "freestyle crusing" i think princess is the worst because of what has happend on the ships and their ships are all bland. Carnival is in the middle because its all about parting and their is alot of kids and drunk people. Here is a little info about those 4 cruise lines

Royal Caribbean- RCC is great for familys and couples. Their ships are also the biggest and the best. At 155,000 metric tons you would imagine there is something to do on there. Their currently biggest ship (also the largest ing the world) is Freedom of The Seas, Liberty of The Seas, and Independance Of The Seas. There are all the same but the each have a huge rock wall, a surf simulator, mini golf course, adult only hottubs hangimg off the edge overlooking the sea, ice skating rink, boxing ring, flat screen tvs in every stateroom, Royal Promenade (like a mall), Presidential Family Suite with 4 bedrooms and a private balcony and hot tub, and all the regular things like theamed bars and resturants and much more. If you wait a couple years you can go on RCC 220,000 ton ship. Not sure of the name though.


Carnival- Carnival has many partys and is mostly for kids in my opinion. They have 24 hour pizza buffet, slides on their pools, and in their newest ship weighing in at 113,300 tons, and featuring a total guest capacity of 3,006, the Carnival Splendor will introduce a host of new features, including: staterooms with flat screen TVs, a spectacular 21,000 sq foot, two-level spa and gym facility, 5,500-square-foot children’s playroom and a mid-ship pool covered with a two-deck-high Sliding Sky Dome. I think carnival is copying RCC's ships. They even came out with a ship named Carnival Freedom. Carnival is cheaper but not as big ships and not as much to do on their best ship.


Princess- I myself highly dont recommend Princess since they are not one of the biggest companys and they dont have any specail ships that costs billions of dollars. Also many problems have come up with their ships like people getting sick. I dont even want to describe their ships because they are not worth the money.


Nowegian Cruise Lines- Nowegian is another great cruise company with awesome ships. The best ships are Pearl and Gem. Pearl has many things to do like
Bowling, Tahitian Pool, Fitness Center, Hot Tubs, Kid's Pool, South Pacific Spa and Beauty Salon, Stardust Theater, Pearl Club Casino, Art Gallery and Internet Cafe, Jogging/Walking, Track, Basketball/Volleyball/ Tennis Court, Trade Routes, Boutiques, The Chapel Card Room, LifeStyle Room, The Library, Aqua Kid's Club, Metro Center, Video Arcade, Photo Gallery, Meeting Rooms, and Corona Cigar Club. NCL also offers freestyle cruising which allows you to do what you want when you want. No pre-set dinner times.

If I were going on a cruise I would definetly choose Royal Caribbean Or Norwegian. Hope this was helpful.

Answer 9

that just depends,
people like different things, different levels of service and experiences. So what one person thinks is just the "best" someone else will complain about.
i think the mainstream cruiselines like princess, holland america, ncl.royal caribbean, are all good in many ways,
and
if you want to have higher service quality and
less people on the ship, you go for luxury lines like seaborn,crystal, ect.

Answer 10

Best: Crystal and Silverseas.
Worst: Island Cruises

I´m not crazy about Carnival and Costa either.

Among the "cheaper" ones, Thomson is the best I´ve ever been to.