Cruise Lines - what are the plusses and minus to you - lines you have cruised

[JoeyandDavid]

Home Lines was an Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. The company was founded in 1946, and it ceased operations in 1988 when merged into Holland America Line. Although based in Genoa, Homes Lines was an international company with ships registered in Panama, while the original company chairman Eugen Eugenides was Greek. By the time Home Lines was merged into Holland America, they were one of the most highly regarded cruise lines in the world

[cruisetarp]

Joey - From the late 60's til they closed down in 1988 Home Lines did 7 days cruises from New York to Bermuda from May til October each year and was our introduction to the wonderful world of cruising. Their all Italian crew were the best and as OceanGoingGal stated, this is where we all had our own personal lounges by the pool - no problem with chair hogs.

[DebbieandJerry]

Our first cruise was Norwegian (before they shortened their name to NCL). We went because it was affordable and the time was right. We were hooked right away.

The next cruise was Carnival because that was the ship that the local radio station was promoting as a group vacation. We met our cruising buddies on that vacaction and we made our ship decisions were based on how many of their family members were joining us (Carnival offered 3rd and 4th passengers for free back in the early 90's). This was definitely a party ship. Back then, this was when Carnival operated as "party boats".

The next cruise was SS Norway. This was our first experience where not everything was perfect on the ship. If the item ran out on the buffet (even midnight buffet), they wouldn't replace it or refill it. They just left the empty bowl or plate stay there. This was where we met other passengers who had sailed on other lines and encouraged us to explore. We had always thought that Royal, Princess, Celebrity and Holland America were out of our price range. Once we found out that we could afford these (other) lines, our offerings expanded.

When Marcy and James' kids were in their teens, we stayed with Carnival because of how affordable it was for them to travel as a family. Even when the policy changed to 3rd and 4th passenger 1/2 off, it still was an incredible deal.

As the teens grew up and moved into adult hood (and paying their own way), so did we. That was when we ventured out to the other ships.

Carnival PLUSES: Affordable vacation (especially balcony cabin), variety of itineraries almost year round, can always find a Caribbean vacation, very friendly staff and for the most part, passengers. I don't recall total number, but I think we have been on 9 Carnival cruises.

Carnival MINUSES: Food is so-so, entertainment is slipping, pool areas are way too crowded and kids do run all over the place. Don't get me wrong. I love children. However, some of them never learned manners.

NCL MINUSES: We have been on three Norwegian lines. Won't go back. Even if they give it to us.

Royal Caribbean PLUSES: Beautiful staterooms, easy ship to navigate. Only on one Royal Caribbean ship. 5-day to Pacific Northwest from Seattle. Sorry to see that itinerary is no longer available. It was a great get-away.

Royal Caribbean MINUSES: With the increase in their ship size, so has the price of their vacation skyrocketed. And, all of the "features" on their ship that they advertise (except for ice skating) are NOT included in the cost of the cruise.

Celebrity PLUSES: Fabulous service, incredible attention to detail, magnificent food. Beautiful stateroms. The most accomodating cruise line that we have ever been on (not only to me and my food allergies but to other passengers as well.) We have been on two Celebrity cruises and our third is this March.

Princess PLUSES: Great staterooms. Another cruiseline that offers year round itineraries to the Caribbean.

[JoeyandDavid]

Joey - From the late 60's til they closed down in 1988 Home Lines did 7 days cruises from New York to Bermuda from May til October each year and was our introduction to the wonderful world of cruising. Their all Italian crew were the best and as OceanGoingGal stated, this is where we all had our own personal lounges by the pool - no problem with chair hogs.

sounded very nice .. sorry i missed that..

[Suzila]

I know for sure we've been on 17 cruises, but there were more than that, just never kept track. We've been on Princess, RCL, Norwegian and Carnival.

Princess had the best kids program when we traveled with children. Carnival's food is good, but we really like NCL's choice of restaurants, better than sitting at the same table with the same people, at the same time each night. So, NCL is our currect favorite, as far as dining goes. however, NCL doesn't have as many activities for us as Carnival does. The RCL ships are nicer than the Carnival ones. The NCL rooms are larger than RCL's. Not enough storage space on RCL ships. The bathrooms on NCL are much larger than any of the other ships we've been on, WITH shower doors rather than curtains...love it!

[sailinglisa]

Let's see.........18 cruises down, number 19 on tap in February and number 20 in September 2009.

Carnival - been on the Fantasy, Legend, Liberty and next cruise is back on the Fantasy. Plusses: nice sized cabins, large showers (relatively speaking for a cruise ship), friendly service and good food. Minuses: tacky decor, rowdy kids all over the place with little/no parental supervision, some cheesy activities, no true adult only areas except the casino.

Princess - been on the Sea x 2, Dawn x 2, Grand, Island and Diamond. Plusses: great service and food, great staff, beautiful ships, fresh water pools. Minuses: smaller cabins, the smallest showers afloat on a cruise ship, some of the ships are too big, not enough enforcement of adult only areas.

Royal Caribbean - been on the Majesty, Enchantment, Radiance and Jewel......have the Freedom booked for Sept 2009. Plusses: beautiful ships (especially the Radiance and Jewel - lots of glass looking out over the ocean), great service, good food, great specialty restraunts, adult only solariums and other areas (and they do enforce this for the most part), Viking Crown Lounge. Minuses: the trend towards larger ships, lots of nickel and diming, too many superflous activities that you can do on land....why go to see to rock climb, surf, mini golf, ice skate, etc.? I'm afraid the Freedom is going to be way too big for me after really loving the Radiance and Jewel and Enchantment.

Celebrity - been on the Millenium, Summit and Century. Plusses: nice sized cabins with a nice size shower, absolutely the best specialty restaurants on the seas, very efficient crew, a very European style of service and the freshly made waffles in the buffet for breakfast. Minuses: food, to me too bland and the buffets horrible. The pancakes have the oddest taste. Very expensive drinks, staff at times seems cool, but I put that down to the European type of service. Ships decor varies for me, but the avant garde art turns me off, and the ships seem dark to me.

Premier - was on the Rembrandt (old Rotterdam V from HAL) - a true ocean liner. Best riding ship I have ever been on - so smooth in the water. The ship was kept as intact as possible by Premier and it was very art deco and 1950's......you could actually see Cary Grant walking down the stairs in the Ritz Carlton lounge, the beautiful stain glass in the stairwells, the decor in the dining rooms. Service was friendly. Minuses: plastic deck furniture, the ship was old, lots of wear and tear and just plain old age showing. You could tell they were trying to do their best on a tight budget. Just glad I got a chance to cruise on the old Rotterdam V.........she was unique.

All the above are jmho.....your milage may vary!

[Longboysfan]

Joey - From the late 60's til they closed down in 1988 Home Lines did 7 days cruises from New York to Bermuda from May til October each year and was our introduction to the wonderful world of cruising. Their all Italian crew were the best and as OceanGoingGal stated, this is where we all had our own personal lounges by the pool - no problem with chair hogs.

Yes. Did three cruises with them.

They ran the Doric and Oceanic(became the big red boat at the start).

It was nice food and service but they were not that flexible in many regards.

The chairs were nice - if you knew to go rent them right away as the prime spots anywhere near the pool or sun disappeared right away.

I like the no pay now and can stand the chair hogs to some degree.

Food was very good as was service.

The only this is all the ship events were at 3pm every day.