Inside on a Luxury/Premium Cruise or Balcony on a Mainstream?

What I really enjoyed on Princess was the service level and food. I found that on Princess there was a noticeable difference in terms of how eager the staff were to cater towards you. RCCL actually had decent service too but it was WAY more theatrical than Princess, especially in the MDR. On Carnival, service was non existent outside the MDR.

This is what got me thinking about trying a more upscale cruiseline. I really enjoyed the feeling of not just the service on Princess but the sincere attempts the staff made on Princess to make our vacation wonderful (they even went so far as to serve us Filipino food from their own kitchen in the MDR -- my wife is Filipino so this was really unexpected and appreciated).

I get the impression that this is an area premium plus and luxury liners excel at especially given the much higher passenger to staff ratio's. That's really appealing to me.

I would give one a try & see for yourself

Pick the itinerary you like then a line that caters to your wants/needs/budget

It is not one size fits all

That is why we have choices ;)

Enjoy

Lyn

Thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated. I'm still kinda leaning towards Princess. On my last Princess cruise in 2011 I hit the jackpot on a slot machine the first night of the cruise (10 day southern itinerary). $25,000 dollars -- as a Canadian that was tax free too! (and yes that was my best vacation EVER -- spa every day, excursions at every stop, etc -- I even got a picture taken holding a big cheque lol)

Anyways ever since that cruise Princess has been desperately trying to get me to sail again with discounted casino rates on the cabin plus casino cash. It's been pretty tempting to be honest.

I was really curious about the luxury and Premium Plus lines though. I really liked my Princess cruise, however, at the time the ship I was sailing on (Grande class) had a much lower passenger to staff ratio thanks to a big club at the top of the ship (which they have since removed and added cabins to).

The advice in this thread has been very helpful though in regards to luxury/premium plus lines. Thanks again!

Thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated. I'm still kinda leaning towards Princess. On my last Princess cruise in 2011 I hit the jackpot on a slot machine the first night of the cruise (10 day southern itinerary). $25,000 dollars -- as a Canadian that was tax free too!

That was a nice win

I guess it is a good reason to stick with Princess :D

That was a nice win

I almost had a heart attack. I talked with the casino staff and they told me that sort of hit only happens maybe twice a year ... I probably used up my entire quota of luck for my life that night.

I prefer a balcony... it adds to the experience. But I also think that when you add up the overall cost... like on Crystal and what you get compared to say Celebrity where everything is extra and the service while very good is not Crystal Service then you might find that a balcony is not that important to you- particularly when you use your room to sleep and change.

When I did Carnival back in the 90's we had the highest category. I think at that time they went by numbers and we were in a 12... I think. The room was very large and a great balcony but we really only slept and changed in the room so in a sense it was a waste for us...

Now I appreciate the difference between Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I appreciate the difference between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. and Cunard Queens Grill versus Celebrity and then of course Crystal.

So I want an experience... I want a balcony but for you the room might not be that important and if that is the case then I would choose a luxury line over another knowing that you get the whole ship rather than like Cunard where you get parts... or the ship within a ship concept...

When you do the math I think that it for the mot parts trends towards luxury lines.

All the lines offer something- sometimes it is just being able to get away that really counts.

~Steve

Agree completely that Carnival well deserves its place at the bottom of the list.

At the top from our experiences would be # 1 Azamara, 2 Celebrity, 3 Princess, 4 Oceania. 5 RCCL. YES, these last five ratings ARE BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCES & PERCEPTIONS of Service, Attitude, Itineraries, Accommodations, Cleanliness, Food - FOR THE $$ PAID. (Of course others evaluations may differ). We currently rate Celebrity very highly BUT ARE QUITE CONCERNED THAT RECECNT PRICE INCREASES, IF NOT REVERSED, WILL COST THEM PASSENGERS, LOYALTY, REVENUE & PROFITS.

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Agree completely that Carnival well deserves its place at the bottom of the list.

 

At the top from our experiences would be # 1 Azamara, 2 Celebrity, 3 Princess, 4 Oceania. 5 RCCL. YES, these last five ratings ARE BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCES & PERCEPTIONS of Service, Attitude, Itineraries, Accommodations, Cleanliness, Food - FOR THE $$ PAID. (Of course others evaluations may differ). We currently rate Celebrity very highly BUT ARE QUITE CONCERNED THAT RECECNT PRICE INCREASES, IF NOT REVERSED, WILL COST THEM PASSENGERS, LOYALTY, REVENUE & PROFITS.

 

 

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Thanks for your list! On Celebrity- were you dining in the various restaurants and MDR, just the MDR or a mixture of both.... For me I generally avoid the MDR in favor of the speciality restaurants.... QM2 I stay in in the Queens Grill MDR which is very small and Crystal's is great even if you eat in the engine room.

~Steve

Steve, We enjoyed the BLU dining area most. Much smaller, more intimate, quieter, great service generally excellent but lighter faire (though you could order anything from the main dining room). We went to each of the specialty rooms aboard found the food & service fine but OVERPRICED. Frankly we had similar feelings about many of the ship's tours - unfortunately.

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Just noticed that I failed to say we tried the MSR once for dinner, The food, beverages & service were all excellent. Just too big, crowded & noisy for our liking. & we are 'any time' diners that do our best to be there when they are least crowded, noisy & busy.

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