If not Royal than.....

Disney for sure!

We've sailed DCL 3 times and the service and kids clubs can't be beat. But we enjoy trying new ships and itineraries too and have pretty much stuck to RCI (except our first cruise which was Carnival and I'm in no hurry to sail Carnival again.) Norwegian has our attention now and we'll be investigating that for an Alaskan or European cruise or maybe Caribbean on Epic. I also hear good things about Celebrity and would try that.

I think cruise lines should offer much better loyalty incentives early on to keep a person's business. We will be Emerald shortly and find no real benefit to RCI's loyalty program. We just like their ships and have been satisfied with the service. Our gifts with Disney have been much better right after our first cruise plus they give us more gifts for being DVC members even though it really has nothing to do with the cruise line. Still not enough to keep us loyal to them... they just don't have enough choices.

Although Disney may be a wonderful cruise line, the OP said that they couldn't afford the high prices with RCCL. Disney's prices are so much more expensive than RCCL. The only cruise lines they will find cheaper than RCCL are Carnival and NCL; and some Carnival ships cost even more than RCCL. It depends upon the ship, destination, time of cruise, and number of nights. They need to check out when they want to cruise and choose a destination. They can then compare prices with ALL cruise lines, thereby comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Just my opinion. I hope to some day try Disney, but it's out of my budget.

Yes, really. We set our cruise expectations low so that every cruise (even the American flagged & crewed NCL Pride of Aloha) we have taken has been great for us.

 

In this class of cruising, the Diamond & Concierge lounges beat anything the competition offers -- defectors will surely miss them, and return eventually.

OK-so its the lounge you cruise for. Not the coffee machine then??:confused:

Ncl.

I've seen you over there LMaxwell;)

I'm going to give it a try and at least be able to give an accurate comparison with a current sailing and not a one time years ago never returning thing!

Please help me finish this. There are a ton of threads about disappointment with Royal lately. I can honestly say that I have not been disappointed at all, but simply cannot afford Royal anymore if they continue the current model of pricing.

 

DH and myself are in our late 20s, currently limited on available times to cruise, and have only done Royal thus far. We are nervous to change lines as we work hard to be able to cruise and don't want to feel like we wasted our money if we end up unhappy with someone else. BUT I would rather be on a cruise than not so...

 

If you have been with another line why do you like them? Who is your 'alternate' of choice? If not Royal, than who?

Most of the mass market cruise lines are similar. Try Princess or NCL, they are similar.

Thank you all so much for your input!! I love hearing what you enjoyed about the other lines...or didn't like at all. We aren't as experienced cruisers as many I see on here but I knew I could get honest comparisons against other lines.

I have heard too many first timers trying carnival and being so disappointed they don't cruise again, which leads us towards NCL at this point. We spent $800 on a drink package on Navigator last week and came well above even because of the astronomical prices for drinks onboard now. While NCL's room rates are comparable to Royal for our time frame, the fact they are throwing in a drink package for free really entices us.

Please continue to share...I really appreciate everyone's opinions :)

I've seen you over there LMaxwell;)

 

I'm going to give it a try and at least be able to give an accurate comparison with a current sailing and not a one time years ago never returning thing!

I look forward to your review. I've got TWO NCL Cruises, both with free drinks packages, one of them with a 3rd person for free. Got AARP discounts on both cruises (AARP is open to ANYONE, ANY AGE. Membership costs less than the discount I got). We are in our 30's. My money spends just fine at AARP. Also got OBC on both cruises from my T/A.

Basically I have 11 days coming up on NCL (7 balcony, 4 oceanview) with drink packages for less than I could sail for 7 days in a balcony (with Diamond discount) on Royal Caribbean and no drink package.

For younger couples I think NCL has a lot to offer with Freestyle AND with entertainment on their big ships. I am very excited to get onboard.

I'd suggest NCL with reasonable pricing all of the excellent promotions they've been running lately. We had a blast on our first NCL cruise on Breakaway and look forward to sailing Norwegian Escape in 2016.

We are Diamond on Royal, but DH and I sailed on Princess for the first time this past January. We were VERY impressed. The food in the MDR was far superior to Royal. It was what Royal was 10 years ago. Specialty restaurants were $20-25 per person. Their "Crown Grill" had the best steak and lobster I have had in a LONG time.

We celebrated our anniversary while onboard. At no cost to us, our cabin door was decorated with a magnetic sign and balloons. Princess also presented a cake to us at dinner that night. Not an ordinary cake, but a mouse filled decedent cake.

Although we have 2 RCI and 1 Celebrity cruises booked, we will return to Princess.

Please help me finish this. There are a ton of threads about disappointment with Royal lately. I can honestly say that I have not been disappointed at all, but simply cannot afford Royal anymore if they continue the current model of pricing.

 

 

 

DH and myself are in our late 20s, currently limited on available times to cruise, and have only done Royal thus far. We are nervous to change lines as we work hard to be able to cruise and don't want to feel like we wasted our money if we end up unhappy with someone else. BUT I would rather be on a cruise than not so...

 

 

 

If you have been with another line why do you like them? Who is your 'alternate' of choice? If not Royal, than who?

My choice last year was Trafalgar for two weeks in Italy. And looking that way again for next year .

Looking at Silver Seas, Arctic & Antarctic itineraries, just because we would like to see the last continent of the world that we have not been.

But will continue to sail RC, just add some other lines to the mix to spice it up:)

NCL, was not for me

Happy Days!

RCI is always my first choice but have sailed on Carnival and NCL. Don't be afraid to try Carnival if the price is a lot better. I took my grandson on a 4 day Bahama cruise for his high school graduation and we had a great time. Food and service was good. Only went on one NCL cruise and I didn't like the Freestyle dining and was disappointed in the choices in their dining room. Really felt like you had to do speciality dining to get a nice meal. Also, not as friendly crew as on RCI or Carnival.

Carnival is the obvious choice and really not a drop off from Royal. The ships on Royal are nicer but any week long ship on Carnival is hardly slumming it. At half the price, that's where I'd go.

Please help me finish this. There are a ton of threads about disappointment with Royal lately. I can honestly say that I have not been disappointed at all, but simply cannot afford Royal anymore if they continue the current model of pricing.

 

DH and myself are in our late 20s, currently limited on available times to cruise, and have only done Royal thus far. We are nervous to change lines as we work hard to be able to cruise and don't want to feel like we wasted our money if we end up unhappy with someone else. BUT I would rather be on a cruise than not so...

 

If you have been with another line why do you like them? Who is your 'alternate' of choice? If not Royal, than who?

I've been on Carnival, Royal, Princess and NCL. I am Platinum with Carnival and Diamond Plus with Royal Caribbean. I've been on Princess twice and NCL twice.

I too am getting a little disappointed with Royal Caribbean and I am looking to NCL and Princess for cruises after 2016.

Disney for sure!

If OP is priced out of Royal, how is he going to afford Disney at double the price?

I did a Celebrity Cruise last Christmas on The Summit. It was a great cruise. If you can get one of their 123 promotions with on board credit, beverage package and gratuities, that would be a lot of help with the cruise price.

Food and shows were very good on Celebrity.

What did you think of Azamara? I've always thought for the money, Crystal would be a better option.

We sailed twice on Azamara within 6 months. First cruise was the British Open Cruise...we had a great time but felt the bath in the balcony cabin was not acceptable. Ship is tired and thus far no make overs like Oceania and Crystal. There is nothing to do at night...only a lounge show that only people on the front row can view and the casino is very small. It's a stretch to call it a casino. We enjoyed the cruise because my DH played golf everyday and I got to see new sights. The weather was gorgeous and the seas were calm.

We upgraded to a suite on the next cruise in the Caribbean because of the bath problem in the balcony cabins. We preferred the buffet to the main dining room. Same food as the MDR but was quiet and service was great. I was sea sick for 4 days. We decided it was the size and shape of the ship so will stay away from the "R" sisters. This was only the second time I'd been sea sick in 30 cruises as I always take meclazine...to make matters worse most of the ports were tender ports and the seas were rough.

The following cruise was on the NCL Breakaway. We had an aft Haven suite for the price of an inside on Azamara. It was such a contrast to us that my DH said we're never going back on Azamara. The aft haven suites on the Breakaway, Getaway etc are incredible...take a look at them on youtube.

If the choice was between Azamara and Crystal I'd choose Crystal because all the ships have been updated. Azamara ships look the same as the day they were purchased. There are many people who love Azamara and won't sail anything but Azamara but we are not those people!

I've been on Carnival, Royal, Princess and NCL. I am Platinum with Carnival and Diamond Plus with Royal Caribbean. I've been on Princess twice and NCL twice.

 

I too am getting a little disappointed with Royal Caribbean and I am looking to NCL and Princess for cruises after 2016.

I agree but as long as cruisers are willing to pay nothing will change. I feel the two smart ships are way out of line. I guess they are smart for Royal. We are diamond plus and now since are discounts are not combinable with cruise sales. We too are thinking of other lines. Even celebrity With there 123 is more attractive. Just my opinion.

I'm grateful for all your replies today. We have decided our best option is to pick whichever itinerary and price point best suits us, and if we don't like the brand...well....live and learn I guess! We won't know until we try!

I have heard too many first timers trying carnival and being so disappointed they don't cruise again, which leads us towards NCL at this point. We spent $800 on a drink package on Navigator last week and came well above even because of the astronomical prices for drinks onboard now. While NCL's room rates are comparable to Royal for our time frame, the fact they are throwing in a drink package for free really entices us.

 

Please continue to share...I really appreciate everyone's opinions :)

Even with a beverage package, you spent over $800? What beverage package did you get? Did you get any drinks that weren’t on the package? Or, did you pay so much because the prices of the individual drinks went up?

Alexis

I have not been happy about the way Royal has been treating it's guests. The prices are a big factor but the attitude makes it hard to put up with the price tag. It would be different if it didn't feel like we had to risk so much money on a company that seems to be all over the place with no clear idea of what we are getting for the price. For this reason we are looking at Disney. It was our first cruise 15 years ago and has been out of our price range for awhile. Suddenly Royal is pushing our cost to cruise up. So if Harmony ends up around the same price as a Disney cruise I will likely be jumping over there since I know the experience I will be getting and if I'm not happy they will make sure I am. If anyone else experienced the MyMagic+ roll out you know how bad it was. A far bigger and more complex project than the Quantum of the Seas and it effected far more people in a much less controllable environment. They some how managed to get it under control though. They worked to correct every issue we had leading up to the trip and then every time we had to deal with anything that was wrong while on vacation they immediately did something to make up for it without us even saying anything. A far cry from 4 months of complaining to Royal only to be ignored and then get a rather poor excuse of "we know it was wrong of us and we have an entire internal team prioritized to work hard on ensureing we don't do that again". Lot of help that does for me, I'm still out thousands of dollars on their mess up. We'll see where Harmony's prices fall, it all comes down to that, I will not pay the same price to an ungrateful company as one that will ensure I enjoy my trip and provide a higher quality experience worthy of the price.

Yes, really. We set our cruise expectations low so that every cruise (even the American flagged & crewed NCL Pride of Aloha) we have taken has been great for us.

 

In this class of cruising, the Diamond & Concierge lounges beat anything the competition offers -- defectors will surely miss them, and return eventually.

I know this sounds terrible but the lounges are the only reason I continue to sail RCCL. I was trying for pinacle (currently at 424 points) but now I have starred looking at other cruise lines because of what they did on the Oasis and I see that going fleet wide. I actually had a very good experience on NCL so they may be an option or a may just go to one of the premium lines that are all inclusive.

As to the ops question I would check out NCL's newer ships.

We have found several deals recently on other lines. You have to diligent in your searching. The deals don't last long.

We are at the Pinnacle Club level and love RCI, but the prices today are prohibitive. We snagged the MSC Divina seven nighter to Bermuda at only $299 pp for an April sailing. We just booked, a couple day ago, the Regal Princess for $399 pp sailing in two weeks for seven nights.

A while back Princess had the Caribbean Princess 14 night TA to Southampton on sale (a real sale - not a pretend RCI sale) for $934 pp in a balcony with $100 OBC pp. Since we can stack all sources of OBC with Princess Cruise Line, our total OBC is a whopping $675.

Affordable cruises, for us, are out there, but not on RCI. We are still holding out hope that late August will be a return to the September / October fire sales, but probably not until RF retires.

I think which cruise line would be your "second best" depends on what, exactly, it is about Royal that you like best. (and what you don't give a fig about)

If I were you, I wouldn't discount any of the mainstream lines. Much depends on the itinerary and which ship it is, as far as the demographics and general ambiance, more so than which cruise line it is, IMHO.

Why?

Celebrity fits the bill, but they are slightly more expensive.

 

I suggest you avoid Carnival at all costs. You can try NCL, but will probably be disappointed.

 

Best bet is to watch prices on RCCL and jump on a bargain (which still do exist).