What are some good Cruise Lines?

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travel guy

All of the major cruise lines are "good & reliable". Some of them "specialize" in different cruise styles - from Carnival's "Fun Ships", to Holland America's "more mature clientle", and every thing in-between. An experienced travel agent can get you an excellent match for your life style and wallet.

The first question is where and when do you want to cruise?

The choices are constantly growing: the Caribbean has three options:
- Eastern, (generally; San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Martin, Nassau - this is my wife's favorite for shopping)
- Western ports (generally; Jamiaca, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel - usually more adventurious shore excursions).
- Southern (generally some combination of: St. Thomas, St. Martin, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Aruba, and Curacao - this is 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.) This include Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland American, Carnival, and Princess.

Others have "Freestyle" or "Personal Choice" dining. In other words, they have 4-8 restaurants for you to choose from, and you eat when, where, and with whom you want - and dress as casual as you please. NCL has "freestyle" and Princess has both "assigned" and "personal choice" options.

Your budget does come in to play in both departure city and cabin selection. A quick scale, from least expensive 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.

As far as what's included and what's not included in your cruise price, here's a little guide:

- Included - Ship accommodations, ocean transportation, most meals, coffee/tea/juices, most entertainment, and port taxes.

- Not Included - Any item of a personal nature including but not limited to: alcoholic beverages, spa and salon treatments, speciality coffees, shore excursions, gratuties, air transportation, transfers, photographs, medical services, etc.

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.

I hope this information was helpful.

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

owenlax17

Most cruise lines are good. However, some are outright great. It all depends on what you are looking for in a cruise.

If you want tons of personal choice, little "fixed schedule" things like dining and such, and plenty of food and drink options, go for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).

If you want a more traditional environment (fixed dining times, a bit more luxury, and a quieter more traditional atmosphere) go for either Celebrity or Holland America Line (with Celebrity being my preference).

If you want a happy medium between the two, go for Princess on one of their newer ships (either Grand Class, Diamond Class or Coral Class).

If you want a kid-centric atmosphere and are in love with disney world/land then your only choice is (quite obviously) Disney Cruise Lines.

If you want mega ships which define the word "mega", and have to have everything on board (including an ice skating rink, shopping mall, rock climbing wall and multiple pools), then I'd suggest Royal Caribbean, whose new ships have set amazingly high standards for adventure and athleticism on the ocean.

Lastly, if you want a low cost but still pleasing experience, go with Carnival. From my experience, the food isn't as good as Celebrity, HAL, or Royal Caribbean (though still miles ahead of many land-based hotels). The ships tend to be a little gaudy, and attract families with young children. However, they all have a festive atmosphere and attentive crew.

In short:

Freedom: NCL
Traditional Luxury: Celebrity
Contemporary Luxury: Princess
Disney Everything: Disney
Adventure: Royal Caribbean
Most bang-for-your-buck: Carnival

Garacaius

Carnival / Princess. I have been on Carnival and was very pleased, there is plenty to do and plenty to eat and drink if you want it. They have gambling on the ocean and shows.

coolliz2444

Royal Caribbea, Celebirty, Carnival, NCL, Princess, Holland America, but I would go with RCL, Celebrity, Carinval, or NCL as they are the best ones to choose from and arent to stuck up or for the older crowd and have a different variety of things to do.

Linkin

All the big mainstream ones are good. Read reviews on individual ships on www.cruisecritic.com

I've been on Carnival, Princess, and Disney. I loved all my cruises except the Carnival one and one Princess one. Turns out, I like new and big ships. Everyone's tastes are different so read the reviews to help narrow down the choices.

curiositycat

My friends have always spoken highly of both Princess and Carnival-I've never been on one, it's second hand.

lissa_80

Try Carnival Cruise (www.carnival.com).

I had been on one to Mexico and I had a really good time onboard.

arecibena_ausente

my favorite royal caribbean...

Eileen R

Young people seem to like NCL and Carnival. Royal Caribbean has the rock climbing, water rides, etc. My personal preference is RCL because my experience with them has been very positive. Their sister company is Celebrity. If you like being entertained at dinner then Carnival would be for you.

seeker

If you are looking for a cheap, good time go with "Blue Cruises". You will go to Turkey, and several other stops. It is kind of like a party cruise.

Lex

There is only one good cruise line, in my opinion. Norwegian Cruise Line is my favorite because of a program they have called Freestyle Cruising. This lets you eat when you want, where you want, with whom you want, and come and go as you please. This makes it more fun to enjoy the ports. Other cruise lines, for example Princess, set a time for you to eat and if you aren't there at your time, you miss out. They also sit you with strangers that you might not get along with.

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