What's Your 2nd Favorite Cruiseline?

I'll be turning Diamond this summer with RCL. Many years ago our famiy had taken six+ Carnival cruises (loved them, but when you know all the Cruise Director jokes word-for-word, it's time for a change!), and a Celebrity cruise. We had also cruised with NCL 2X, but the NCL ships felt a little crowded. We had booked one Princess cruise, but I had to cancel 2 days' before sailing due to a job emergency ...bah humbug.

I'd like to try another cruse line again, and maybe build customer loyalty points with another line. I'm now cruising solo, although there's always a chance that a famiy member might join me. NCL solo cabins are too small (I usually pick balcony or JS cabins). Ports aren't a big deal for me. I don't need to think about kids' programs anymore :-).

I work with someone who is a fan of the Holland America line, raving about their food. Someone else suggested Costa, because of their activities. I thought about going back to Carnival, but I'm not sure if it appeals to cruisers in their 50's-60's. What is your 2nd choice cruiseline, and why?

Done several with Princess, and will again. They are similar in overall experience to RCI IMHO. Have tried Holland, Celebrity, and Carnival also.

We, like you, will make diamond this summer. For the right deal and itinerary though, I would book a Princess sailing in a hurry.

For me it's a toss up between Celebrity and RC. I think Celebrity caters a little more to an older crowd than RC. The food on both are good. RC seems to have more activities and more kids in my experience. Wished I could help you with other cruise lines, but I have only been on those 2. :)

Have fun on which ever one you choose.

I prefer Holland America over Royal Caribbean, so I guess Royal Caribbean is my second favorite. :p I'm in my early 50's. HAL's atmosphere is more quiet and comfortable than Royal's energetic atmosphere. I especially like HAL for its more exotic itineraries. The ships carry much fewer passengers than Royal ships, so it feels more personalized and luxurious. They have a much better room service menu.

Thank you to all! This is exactly the info I was hoping to get!

Have you thought about cruising on some of the smaller ships like Seabourn/regent/Oceania. Whilst at first glance they seem much more expensive, because so much is included they aren't too bad. Seabourn are doing some special deals for solo sailors and the cabins (they are classed as suites) are lovely and spacious.

I am in mid 50s and will make Diamond this year.

My favourite is RCL but a close second is Carnival, loved the breeze and I think any age is suited to Carnival. My least favourite is Princess even though our best cruise overall was the Tahitian Princess.

Not tried any other lines so far.

Even though we have only cruised one Celebrity....we loved it. Food, service, ambiance, shows, clientele, on and on. :)

If I had the money or just cruised/traveled once/maybe two times a year, I would consider Azamara, since it is the RCI family or another Boutique cruise line.

HAL ships are older, but they have some great itineraries which is appealing.

RCI is my favorite, but Princess definitely comes in 2nd. They offer a really nice product, and some of their signature activities, such as Movies Under the Stars, are done really well (I think I'd return just for that movie experience, its one of the best memories I have from the trip). Celebrity has also grabbed my interest with their more "upscale" cruises, but I haven't found a trip that works for me and I'm not sure I'm ready to switch.

I don't really have any desire whatsoever to return to Carnival or Norwegian.

Since you're a solo, you might look at Crystal. While more expensive they are both all inclusive and have a normal solo supplement in the 30% range with deals available on a number of cruises. The loyalty program is not a big factor, the biggest incentive is a discount on future cruises but everybody from the first time cruiser in the cheapest cruiser to someone with 100 cruises in a penthouse is treated like royalty.

Roy

I don't even have a 1st favorite cruiseline ! :D Speaking for the non-loyalist crowd , there are more similarities then differences between the cruise lines . Your choice of ship , cruise length , itinerary , cabin class and cruise date have a much bigger impact then the single criteria of cruise brand .

The 2 cruise industry Goliath's want you to be brand loyal like GM and Ford once did . Be disloyal . ;)

My favorite cruise line is Royal Caribbean I be came a diamond plus and my family be came a diamond plus too. Me and my family never went on any other cruise line. We never took carnival or ncl. We love Royal Caribbean. But if I had a chioce to do a different cruise I would do carnival. But mostly I'm doing Royal Caribbean we get great service and I get to go on the flowrider and its fun going into the casino and I'm aloud, because I'm 18. But idc I still love to have fun with my family when we go on the cruise and my family and I are going on Royal Caribbean this year as a graduation gift. The ship I'm going on is the allure of the seas. I want to do the harmony. I heard they have a waterside which I want to go on and seeing the bontic bar. I hope my parents and my family book it. Oh btw I go with 15 people and most of them are Italian. Yea I got a big Italian family. Well I hope you like my message and please feel free to say someone about my message or has a question about my experience with Royal Caribbean

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1st is Royal Caribbean (of course)

2nd is "Star Clipper"… they have two 4-masted schooners and one 5-masted schooner.

We alternate between RCCL and Princess. They each have different things to offer. Princess has great itineraries, better food IMHO, more a "being on a ship" feeling. RCCL has a more modern vibe, excellent entertainment and activities, but more of a floating hotel feeling. We've sailed on NCL, Carnival, Cunard, Oceana and HAL, and would again depending on circumstances, but our go to cruise lines are always RCCL and Princess.

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At this point, I would say Celebrity is my second favorite. This may change in the near future though. I am in my 60's and won't say about DW ;). I'm really starting to look for a little more laid back atmosphere and we really enjoyed our X cruises. I think Royal is a fantastic cruise line for families.

I cruised on NCL when they had the Jazz themed cruises. When that ended I switched over to Royal Caribbean and have sailed on several of their ships. However, I'm ready to try NCL again and have booked a 2017 cruise.:D

Favorite now: Celebrity

2nd: Royal (was first for the first 20 years until a few years ago)

3rd: HAL (we are going back on them next)

If you like Royal, I would suggest trying Celebrity, especially on an S class ship.

Celebrity without kids. Royal with kids only other line I have sailed was NCL and it was my Least favorite in every single way.

For me, it depends on the ship. I'd say RCI is my favorite with Oasis class, Celebrity with Solstice class comes second. But a NCL with a Breakaway ship or Carnival's new ship Vista will be better than a X Millenium class or Royal's Vision Class.

But let's say Celebrity is my second choice overall.

I've sailed on RCI, Celebrity, Costa, Princess and NCL. My favorite is RCI and second favorite is Celebrity. My least enjoyable cruises were on NCL.

As diamond members, we're fairly loyal to RCI but will occasionally cruise on Princess. It's probably the closest to RCI that we can find. Our least favorite by far is Carnival. We tried them once and will never again be drawn into their lower prices.

1. Royal & Celebrity

2. Princess

3. TBD*

4. TBD*

5 Carnival

* To Be Determined

We have only cruised Royal and Princess and have enjoyed both very much. My only complaint with Princess is their rooms are much smaller. They size their rooms, including the balcony compared to Royal adding on balcony side so your room size is larger. We have found the entertainment better on Royal. We would cruise with Princess again if the price were right but pretty much stay with Royal for overall cruise enjoyment.

I am a Diamond Plus member on Royal. That said, I only take Royal if I travel with my kids as lots of kids on board. I've tried almost every cruise line at least once. My strong recommendation would be Crystal. The cruise line is great, food is great, fantastic service, and a bit of a larger cruise ship than the Seabourn's, Silverseas, Regent, Azimara, Paul Gauguin or Oceania's of the world. I thought the fellow passengers were exceptionally nice, and really loved the cruise. It is pricier, but not as much as you think. Oh yeah, they have a lot of overnights in certain ports which I thought was great too(all the lines that cater mostly to adults do in fairness). If you really like Royal, you need to try Celebrity Solstice class ship too, at least price as a comparison to Crystal.