If not Royal Caribbean....who?

Going on the Oasis in Feb. and this may be our last cruise. Wife wants to try an all inclusive. I am not so sure. If we were to book another cruise I have no loyalty to any brand. I have liked the Royal Caribbean cruises we have done but wonder what else is out there. I think after we get off of the Oasis whatever we go on again would have to be a large ship. It should go out of Florida or pretty close. Have heard rumors of the Carnival Dream being a nice ship but really do not know much about it. If you leave Royal or have left Royal where did you go and why? How did you like it?

We've enjoyed Celebrity and Princess

We've enjoyed Celebrity and Princess

Did you find them better or the same. I have no issues with Royal but always looking to see what is out there.

Have been on Princess 5x and Carnival 3x aside from Royal 7x. Loved Princess and would go back in an instant but there isn't as much for our son to do as he is just shy of 4. Liked Carnival as well. Most lines have their good points and bad. Princess, to us is the best overall line. We are in our late 30s & early 40s. Only came over to Royal because of our son and the flowriders. RC has been really disappointing on our last few cruises, we have one more coming up shortly and we will most likely jump ship back to Princess or NCL. We are interested in NCL due to the Haven as 99.9% of the time we book a full suite. RC is becoming boring and disconnected from the sea.

Did you find them better or the same. I have no issues with Royal but always looking to see what is out there.

We prefer Royal's ships, but there were things we enjoyed better on those lines. Better food, better service, more intimate atmosphere, and better entertainment in the smaller venues around the ship (lounges, piano bars, etc). I'd say that it all balanced out to an equivalent cruising experience.

None of the mass market lines are "all-inclusive"...not by a long stretch! You'll have to go Silverseas, or Seabourn...something like that to get AI.

if you are close to Florida, why don't you try the different lines when they bring in their new ships (which are getting better and better). They are typically 3 or 4 day sailings. Carnival has a new ship Vista in Nov 2016, which looks very interesting . NCL has the brand new Escape in Nov. 2015. Of course, we're already booked on the Harmony when it gets here too. But I want to check out the other lines. If only the other lines would match status like airlines and hotels do. :rolleyes:

After 7 cruises on HAL, we were bored with their ships and wanted to try Oasis. Oh WOW! We loved Oasis! We are now scheduled for our third cruise with RCCL in three years.

HAL was great for food, service, and all the port intensive cruises in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic. However, on sea days, we were just plain bored. They cater to an older crowd so they have flower arranging, computer classes, bingo, and lectures. I would still take a HAL cruise if they had a specific itinerary that was port intensive, but otherwise, we will stick with RCCL for their fun ships.

We are out of NY but airfare is pretty cheap to Florida and we have some family there. I was looking at the new vista ship and it looks pretty nice. Pretty sure there is no sure bet on this one. I am wondering if after we do the Oasis if it will wreck us for other ships?

The one thing I will add to my post above is that Princess actually felt like a cruise vacation as the others have felt like people movers and floating resorts.

Going on the Oasis in Feb. and this may be our last cruise. Wife wants to try an all inclusive. I am not so sure. If we were to book another cruise I have no loyalty to any brand. I have liked the Royal Caribbean cruises we have done but wonder what else is out there. I think after we get off of the Oasis whatever we go on again would have to be a large ship. It should go out of Florida or pretty close. Have heard rumors of the Carnival Dream being a nice ship but really do not know much about it. If you leave Royal or have left Royal where did you go and why? How did you like it?

Since you've been happy with your Royal Caribbean cruises, you'll probably be happy with the Carnival Dream you're considering. :)

Is the "all inclusive" your wife wants a land resort? There are some nice ones in the Caribbean. That could also be an option. ;)

LuLu

Since you've been happy with your Royal Caribbean cruises, you'll probably be happy with the Carnival Dream you're considering. :)

 

Is the "all inclusive" your wife wants a land resort? There are some nice ones in the Caribbean. That could also be an option. ;)

 

LuLu

The Dream looks nice. Yes she wants to do a land resort. That is probably the way we will be going but I think I will miss the ports. Pretty sure I cannot sit in the sand 24/7 but may have to try it one time just to be sure. Friend of mine says on his all inclusives he try to see how few calories he can burn.

I have heard a lot of really good things about MSC's Yatch Club. It is a ship within a ship concept, with the upper three decks for the Yatch club, although you are not required to stay on these decks. My brother was recently on one of those cruises and he was very impressed with it. I also read a very good review of the Yatch club recently over on the Celebrity board that closely matched my brother's take on the ship and cruise. I have been watching for an excuse to try them out.

I've tired Princess, Carnival, and NCL. Each time, I've found myself wishing I was on a RCI cruise. Certain aspects of each of those lines were nice, but looking at the whole experience, I prefer Royal.

With that said, if I was to try a different line, I'd be tempted by Celebrity. I've read some reviews that mention more of a personal touch (I've read things about hand towels in the restrooms instead of paper towels, and other things along those lines), but I'm not sure if that would be worth losing the more upbeat atmosphere of Royal.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great time.

I'd like to try MSC.

I have heard a lot of really good things about MSC's Yatch Club. It is a ship within a ship concept, with the upper three decks for the Yatch club, although you are not required to stay on these decks. My brother was recently on one of those cruises and he was very impressed with it. I also read a very good review of the Yatch club recently over on the Celebrity board that closely matched my brother's take on the ship and cruise. I have been watching for an excuse to try them out.

I was going to recommend this as well - the MSC Divina looks beautiful and would probably feel very inclusive in the Yacht club!

I'd like to try MSC.

Oh, I forgot to mention them! They've caught my attention once or twice (even more now with that new ship coming to Miami).

Going on the Oasis in Feb. and this may be our last cruise. Wife wants to try an all inclusive. I am not so sure. If we were to book another cruise I have no loyalty to any brand. I have liked the Royal Caribbean cruises we have done but wonder what else is out there. I think after we get off of the Oasis whatever we go on again would have to be a large ship. It should go out of Florida or pretty close. Have heard rumors of the Carnival Dream being a nice ship but really do not know much about it. If you leave Royal or have left Royal where did you go and why? How did you like it?

We took a break from cruising (sense 2009) and have been doing all inclusive s. Jamaica, Cancun. I really really love them. It works to mix things up a little.

None of the mass market lines are "all-inclusive"...not by a long stretch! You'll have to go Silverseas, or Seabourn...something like that to get AI.

You can get pretty close to an AI if you add a drink and dining package.

The "All Inclusive" could be a break to do something different. That doesn't mean you'll never cruise again!

Have FUN whatever you decide! :D

LuLu

We've been on Carnival, Princess, NCL and Disney. We always come back to Royal, though. They seem more organized than the others. If we are staying on board or have many sea days, we'll stick with Royal, but some other lines have more desirable itineraries (for us). Did anyone else try to kill the bug on Zigybean's post?

Trying NCL Escape for Springbreak and Carnival Vista next summer ... will see how they compare to RCL. Pricing on both was better, be interesting to see how the experience compares.

First time on NCL, will be our 3rd Carnival but 1st time in several years and 1st time on a newer/bigger ship with them.

We went to NCL a few years ago because we got a deal that was too good to pass up & cruising out of Boston meant no flight & home in 15 minutes. After 3 cruises on NCL Dawn, we were back to Royal in April for a Panama Canal cruise. We had a great trip but............ IMHO, Royal has gone downhill.

We have a Grandeur cruise booked next year & it will probably be our last with Royal. I'd cancel but I booked it when the BOGO was good & I can't find another cruise that comes close in cost to what I paid for that cruise.

Carnival Breeze is a great ship however nothing can compare to the Oasis class ships. I often see people not liking a ship because they compare it to Oasis & Allure. I think most cruise lines have pros and cons.

We're thinking we'll try Celebrity on our next cruise. It does sound like a slightly better product, for us. We're not cruising with kids, and we're only in our early 50's. I think we'd both like to see if it really is a little more luxurious, although I do still consider X "mainstream cruising".

Our first cruises were on HAL. Honestly, we really enjoyed them. At the time, they had amazing service (cabin steward cleaned the cabin every time you left), a great wine department, with an onboard somelier (a real one), etc. BUT, we wanted to try something a little more active, and after this summer will have cruised 8 times with RCI.

MSC sounds interesting (of course, their web page is down tonight so I really can't research them at all). But we've made Diamond, which gets us reciprocal benefits on X, and I think we're going to try them.

Part of it may be just so many consecutive years on RCI cruises, but they've lost a bit of the magic. And, I do think service is declining. I'm hoping that's not long term as I still think RCI is the most innovative cruiseline.

Having said all that, we're still very excited to get on Brilliance in less than a month!