What's your favorite cruise line and why?

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Jeffrey C

My favorite line is Celebrity. I was on the Galaxy and everything was absolutely first-rate. The cabins were nice, the entertainment was fantastic, and the service was amazing. I mean, for an example of the attention to detail, the kitchen staff and the wait staff arranged the food on your plate so the logo was pointing directly at you!

Of course, it is expensive, so the line I use the most is Carnival. Of the 9 cruises I've been on, 6 have been with them. They are sheer fun and generally have good food, but not the five star food and little elegant touches Celebrity has.

I've also been on Norweigen and Royal Olympic. Norweigen was nice, though it was on a small ship and I prefer mid to large sized ships. Royal Olympic... well, it was OK. It featured exotic ports of call in the Black Sea and was an Eclipse Cruise, but I put it on the bottom of my list as far as entertainment, service, and food.

In about 6 weeks I'm going on Princess for the first time. I'm curious as to how it will stack up.

mustcruise

Depend on your presence or budget

If do you like upscale cruise lines Silversea will be first choise more personal service (Ritz Carlton at the sea) all suites has balcony and all inclusive.

Second best my opinion Crystal cruise line but bigger size and being two siting dining options put this ship behind Silversea.

Third one (Windstar or Regent Seven Seas) windstar is more casual both offers behind ship water platforms RSS Paul Gauguin in best Tahiti great luxury cruise offer for people looking romantic and tropic escape.

In premium luxury cruise line, I recommend Oceania in Mediterranean for Greek islands winters in Caribbean and south America or new Azamara Cruises own by RCCI. Windstar also great itineraries for
Greece and Turkey.

If you are looking mass market Royal Caribbean is my first choice follow NCL and Carnival Cruise Line but their master suites are still expensive and not for everyone, carnival attract most younger party crowd singles or couples, they advertise as PARTY boat. Royal Caribbean is more families orinted and little bit for everybody casinos atract senior crowd, entertainment mid age, bingo for widows, teen discos for young teens.

If you're looking more like Private Yacht type with tuxedo diner experience Seabourn Cruise line, more casual
Seadream ---- to learn more about cruise lines visit http://www.cruise-reviews.com/cruiselineinfo/index.asp

Are you into real cruise vacation, you can sail barefoot with windjammer or more upscale Clipper Cruise Line or royal Clipper cruise line, the people who hate ocean cruises alternatif river cruises offered world wide.

travel guy

My wife and I are both Travel Consultants, and cruise about 2-3 times a year - we have sailed on every major 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.

Our favorite cruise line is Celebrity. If you'll step back and take an overall look at Celebrity Cruise Line, you notice that they've won some pretty impressive awards:
- they won 6 of the top 10 positions in the Best Large Ship category
- won highest rated Premium Cruise Line
- took top 3 spots for Best Crew/Service
- won all 4 Best Food/Dining rankings
- top spot Best Cabins

You don't get to this position by offering a less than first-class product. I'm confident that once you experience Celebrity, you'll be spoiled. Other cruise lines just don't match-up to the levels of service, attention to detail, quality of food and overall cruise experience.

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 3) remember that August - October is hurricane season in the Caribbean.

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

nclcruiser

Personally, I like NCL the best because of Freestyle Cruising! Go check it out @

ctelly22

I like royal caribbean. They have great service and lots of activities.

auerboonies88

ncl cruises are nice but make sure you like the idea of not having a certain time to eat in the dinning rooms because if you dont have a party of 8 they dont take reservations in the small dinning areas and the wait is long. there are real nice people on the boats to help make your stay nice .there is some advatage to going this path and some like a set time that is your choice.

Bill in Kansas

Carnival -- I like the easy-going party atmosphere

The Lord of Love

for all around pricing and service I suggest Carnival......good luck

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