Which is your Favorite Cruise line?

Joanandjoe · June 24, 2008

The results for the top two lines are not surprising, given the huge number of PAX that each of the two lines carries. The largest ships of either line have more PAX than the combined totals for the seven ships of the last two lines on which I've sailed: Windstar 608 for three ships, plus Regen 2210 for four ships, for a total of 2,818.

What surprising to me is what comes behind Carnival and RCCL: Celebrity 8, Princess 7, HAL only one (our vote). I do not think that's a good cross section: a general poll probably would have HAL and Celebrity about even (X slightly ahead, perhaps), with Princess behind both.

rogue · June 24, 2008

I think there was a time that HAL was that high, but I think that in todays market, it has dropped in the eyes of the sailing public. From reading reviews, it doesn't surprise me to see HAL so low.

Joanandjoe · June 24, 2008

I think there was a time that HAL was that high, but I think that in todays market, it has dropped in the eyes of the sailing public. From reading reviews, it doesn't surprise me to see HAL so low.

Our three experiences on HAL have been quite good. Not as good as Regent, but the price is significantly less. Lets say B old Noordam, B+ on Rotterdam, and A- on new Noordam. On the other hand, our two experiences on Celebrity were B on Horizon, C on Zenith. To us, Celebrity is the one that's overrated. Why haven't we tried the newer X ships? Because of our so-so experiences on the old ships, the smaller size of the rooms on X compared to HAL, the lack of bath tubs (important to us) in all X rooms lower than Sky Suites, our dislike of the food on X (too bland and too salty, and nothing local to the region where one is sailing), and our perception that the new ships are too big for us.

We haven't tried Princess because the ships are too big, and the rooms too small, for us.

JoeyandDavid · June 24, 2008

On the other hand, our two experiences on Celebrity were B on Horizon, C on Zenith. To us, Celebrity is the one that's overrated.

I would like to point out.. that both of your Celebrity experiences are on ships that are no longer in the fleet... my point is that it must have been a few years ago that you had that negative experience..

55ChevyLady · June 24, 2008

maybe we are starting to compare apples to oranges??? :unsure:

Joanandjoe · June 24, 2008

I would like to point out.. that both of your Celebrity experiences are on ships that are no longer in the fleet... my point is that it must have been a few years ago that you had that negative experience..

Maybe so, but I doubt that I can convince Joan to try X again. Our Zenith cruise was May 13, 2006 - not all that long ago. We were in Concierge class, and had a poor room layout, a ladder to the unneeded upper berth that rattled all trip, and the most clueless room stewardess we've ever encountered. All that plus we missed a port, and didn't like the food.

JoeyandDavid · June 24, 2008

I would like to point out.. that both of your Celebrity experiences are on ships that are no longer in the fleet... my point is that it must have been a few years ago that you had that negative experience..

Maybe so, but I doubt that I can convince Joan to try X again. Our Zenith cruise was May 13, 2006 - not all that long ago. We were in Concierge class, and had a poor room layout, a ladder to the unneeded upper berth that rattled all trip, and the most clueless room stewardess we've ever encountered. All that plus we missed a port, and didn't like the food.

Joe you just had a lousy cabin... trust me .. and I know that can be hard :tongue: .. if Concierge is done right it is sweeeeeet.....

But I do understand Joan's views.. It would be hard for us to cruise HAL again after our Oosterdam experience

JoeyandDavid · June 24, 2008

maybe we are starting to compare apples to oranges???

no i dont agree with that Andrea.. we are talking fruit salad here.. its just some don't like kiwi..LOL

rogue · June 24, 2008

That's pretty much it, Joey. We all have different tastes. I was on the Oosterdam last year, and it was a good cruise, but didn't come close to some other cruises I've been on. I've found that Princess was better in almost every way. I'm sure, though, that there were people on that cruise that thought it was their best cruise yet. We can never all like the same things. That's what makes this whole thing interesting. :thumbup:

coloradocruisers · June 24, 2008

That's pretty much it, Joey. We all have different tastes. I was on the Oosterdam last year, and it was a good cruise, but didn't come close to some other cruises I've been on. I've found that Princess was better in almost every way. I'm sure, though, that there were people on that cruise that thought it was their best cruise yet. We can never all like the same things. That's what makes this whole thing interesting.

I've found this discussion all very interesting. I see both good experiences and bad experiences for the same cruiselines.

My wife and I were unhappy with the service we received on a Princess cruise, but I know they have their faithful customers. In our case, we paid alot for a suite, without noticing an increase in service. The ship was fairly new (Diamond Princess in 2005), but the furniture looked old and used. My wife thought it was left over from the Love Boat. I ordered a tux, which came with two different size shoes. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about it; so I had to make due. We ordered hors'de ovres one night, which never arrived. When I called the service desk, they said that were too busy. The dining room was excellent, and so was the kids program; but those other little incidents sort of left a bad taste in our mouths.

Incidentally, I am the one person so far that voted for Disney. What can I say? They're the only line that exceeded our expectations. On our last cruise with them, we had a concierge assigned to us that took care of everything. Ordering hors' de ovres? They showed up without my placing an order...complementary. It may be a bit unfair to the other lines, because Disney really took care of us on that particular trip.