I am interested in taking a cruise for the first time. Give me some pointers as to which cruise line to use.?

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tech_fanatic

As far as best cruise, it really depends on what you are looking for. One of my favorite lines is Disney. Reasoning: The cruise ship is always spotless and they do a wonderful job of keeping it clean. The rooms are slightly larger than other lines, and trust me , on a cruise it makes a big difference. The shows are wonderful. If you have kids they will absolutely love the boat, it is probably the best line for families. The food has always been good. Finally, the staff. I have never experience service while travelling like I have on Disney, they go out of their way to make you comfortable and it is great. I think that Disney is a great option even if you aren't taking kids, it is just an all around great line. I feel, as do many others, that once you get off of a Disney cruise you will be spoiled. The price is very modest and affordable, but you feel more like you are on a luxury line.

Carnival. Their prices are usually the lowest, but the quality of the cruise is a lot lower than other lines. In my experience the food hasn't been very good, the ship needed cleaned up and renovated really bad and the service didn't compare to other lines. If you read reviews of Carnival ships, you will see a lot of people have had the same experience. They advertise as being the fun ship. This is true if you are in to partying, gambling, drinking, etc. But I really don't like this type of thing, so the atmosphere wasn't very appealing to me. Plus, the age range on board is pretty young. You will find lots of young families and also college aged kids. So if you are wanting to stay away from kids this may not be a good line. This also tend to be a line for families, but I really am not sure that this is the most appropriate line to take kids.

Royal Caribbean is a pretty good line. It kind of runs in the middle as far as price goes. They have lots of on-board activities and it is a lot of fun. I think this is a better option to take kids on than Carnival, but that is just my opinion. The average age tends to be a little bit older, but still a lot of fun and less partying. I think it is a great line. If you have kids it might be a better option than Disney, simply because they offer more choices for destinations. But if I had to choose between Disney and Royal Caribbean and destination really wasn't an option, I think I would go Disney hands down.

If you are wanting a little more sophisticated feel and a more luxurious line, than I would look into lines like Princess, Oceania, Crystal, Celebrity, etc. These are all really great lines. They cost more than some other lines, but the service and food and overall cruise is well worth it. But again, this is a little more sophisticated group of cruises. So the average age is going to be older.

If price doesn't matter, I would say either Oceania or Crystal. Both are fabulous cruises and they are wonderful. Here would be my order of preferance:

1). Crystal
2). Oceania
3). Princess
4). Disney
5). Holland America
6). Royal Caribbean
7). Norweigan
8). Carnival

I think that is all of them. I'm having a brain freeze right now..... Celebrity is also pretty good, I would throw that somewhere in the middle. Oceania and Crystal are great and the best if you are wanting a bigger cruise line and not if you wanting a more intimate, small cruise. Windjammer is one example of a small cruise line, but there are several out there that are really good.

For me, my preference is: Royal Caribbean for a small budget, Disney for a medium budget and maybe Oceania or Crystal for a bigger budget.

sexytwin

I would say Carnival they offer more destinations to leave from and they have negotiable prices and dates.

Shelley C

I would work with a travel agent in your area. If they start by asking you alot of questions about your interests they should be able to match you up with the best cruise line. Get an agent that has cruised several times.

fatsausage

Celebrity - avoid Carnival, it is for Yuppies.

rcsmith525

I have traveled on Disney, Celebrity, Royal Carribean, and will travel on Carnival in July. From my experiences and those of my family... I would say pick Royal Carribean. It is a little more expensive but the ships are much nicer and a lot more fun. I love Royal Carribean- that would be my choice.

DAVEG_10

I just returned from a 7 day day cruise last weekend onboard the Norwegian Spirit that left NYC and stopped in Florida, Nassau & NCL's private island for the night for a big island dance party/bbq.

We chose NCL because they offfer a Freestyle type cruise.
In detail, that means, food is buffet style available 24 hours and you do not have to make reservations for a dinner at a certain hour.

I have plenty of pictures if you'd like to see some. E-mail is my ID @ yahoo.com

Paige

I have only been on Carnival, because the prices are the best. We have always had a great time, the staff is super nice, and the food has been top notch.

In my opinion: Carnival travelers are more middle class w/ families...that are going to relax, have agood time, and get away from everything.

I will be going on the Royal Carri bean next,, and by the looks of the ship,,, it is beautiful.

You can take virtual tours of the ships now,, and I did notice that the carnival rooms were larger looking,,and you can also look at the ages that travel mostly on that boat. your travel agent,,and don't go without one if this is your first cruise,,because there are a lot of people that show up w/out the proper documents and information etc.

For Example:
A dad and step mom were going to take his daughter w/ them on a cruise,,but they had to have permission from the real mom before they would allow her to leave the U>S>

Starting in Dec. u need a passport.

Children under the age of 16 if they dont' have a drivers license..need a social security card.

DesignR

Royal Caribbean by far. Do the Alsaka cruise. It was simply awesome!

teacherladytina

My husband and I took our first cruise two falls ago. We went on Royal Carribean's Enchantment of the Seas to the carribean; 5 nights to Jamaica and Grand Caymen. It was a great cruise and a really nice ship. We went with my brother and his wife who have been on at least five other cruises and even they said that it was the best one they had been on for the money. The ship was beautiful and extremely well-kept. (I've heard horror stories of mold in the showers, etc on other lines) We got our tickets several months in advance for really cheap too.

If your looking for deals, it's best to go in the off-season; Oct-Dec or Jan-March excluding the holiday weeks of course. Our cruise cost us $490. US per person which on a cruise all food is included. The only thing we had to pay for was alcoholic beverages (which, by the way, go down fast on a cruise. My husband and I don't even drink often, and we spent lots on drinks! :-p) Be sure to take money for the ports though. And your best way to save money on excursions is to NOT book through the cruise line itself. There are so many vendors at the docks that will take you around to the same excursions for half of what you pay the cruise-line. Also, sometimes the vendors will take you on better excursions than you would get through the cruise line.

Example: when we went to Grand Caymen, one couple in our party booked an excursion to Sting-Ray City and Snorkeling at the coral reefs. My brother, his wife, myself and my husband just went on shore and paid a vendor for the same tour. We went on a cool little boat (Gilligan Island style) with several other couples and got to sit on the front of the bow as we were taken to the Sting-Ray spot. When we got there, we stood in waste deep water, where there were dozens of sting-rays to feed and pet! One of the crew would even pick them up and put them on our backs for photo ops! We left there and went snorkeling in deeper water and had a blast looking at all the different fish. There wasn't much coral to see, but there were tons of tropical fish all over. Then, the same crew member that picked up the sting-rays for us, got every couple a huge conche shell (snail still alive) right out of the ocean and they showed us how to get the snail out of the shell, and we all had fresh escargo on the boat. It was awesome! We even got to keep the shells for souvineers! The other couple that went on the cruise-tour excursion barely saw any sting-rays, but did see a lot more coral reef than we had. They had a great time too, but it was obvious to all that we had the better deal.

Regardless of what cruise you decide on, don't forget to add gratuities to the price tag (usually $50-$100 per person). You can ususally opt to pay this in advance right in your ticket fee. Also make sure if you travel to the carribean, be sure to by several underwater disposable cameras. The pictures come out absolutely wonderful! Hope this helped!

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