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It seems most “what’s your favorite cruise line and why”threads end the same way – someone suggesting that you’d get the info you’rereally after if you asked specific questions. So here I am.

 

My wife and I just came back from a Mexican Riviera cruise on Norwegian’s Star.This was our very first cruise and, overall, we loved it and are alreadylooking forward to our next cruise. While we enjoyed our trip on the Star, onecan’t help but wonder what else is out there. I understand that this alone isWAY to open-ended to turn up any really useful information, so here are someparticulars about us as well as what we like, disliked, and what we consider tobe must-haves for the next sailing.

 

Us:

 

* Mid-30’s, married with kids (though the kids are staying at home). We’dprefer a crowd that’s mostly 30-45 if possible.

* Not into the night club party scene that some folks ourage seem to enjoy

* Not into dealing with everyone else’s kids. We left oursat home for a reason.

* We found that we were usually asleep by 11 and up by 8(give or take). Entertainment available late at night or early in the morningwon’t usually be something that we’d take advantage of, though there’s no harm inhaving it on the boat

* we’re non-smokers, but not necessarily looking to avoidboats that have designated smoking areas. If there are cruise lines out there that havefree-for-all smoking, that’d be a deal breaker for us

* neither of us are gamblers, so big casinos aren’t a perkfor us

 

 

Things about the cruise that we liked:

 

* good variety of live entertainment available in the evenings – musicians inevery lobby/lounge and very good shows

* staff was generally quite friendly and easy to get alongwith

* steak house had good food

* generally not a lot of kids and teenagers

* getting on/off the boat in the ports of call went verysmoothly, especially considering how many people were onboard (~2,400)

* the cost was reasonable (we had an interior stateroom ~ $900/personafter taxes & port fees)

*even though we had the cheapest room option available, wefound that it suited our needs well. There’s always room for improvement but,for as little time as we spent in the room, we had no complaints. I don’t feellike we’ll need to get a nicer room next go around.

* I didn’t think we would like it, but we ended upappreciating the tipping being already included. It was nice to finish dinnerand then just get up and walk away from the table.

* having more than one sit-down restaurant included in thecomplimentary dining options was nice. We rarely wanted to hit the buffetexcept for mid-morning and late night snacks.

 

Things about the cruise that we didn’t like:

* the food (aside from the steakhouse) was very underwhelming/disappointing,even at Moderno (the Brazilian restaurant that costs extra)

* the nickel-and-diming was frustrating – most of thedaytime entertainment was provided at an additional cost. Room service, spaservices, etc seemed to be overly inflated as well (ie: $300+ for a 45 minutecouples massage that’s $150/60 minutes back home)

* feeling like we’re constantly being sold something - $200watches presentation, diamond seminars, art auctions, etc. When anemployee asked if we wanted to attend the auction and we said no, theyquestioned us about why. I was taken back by the salesman approach he had withus. That should NOT be the way you approach people that already paid a lot tobe on the boat in the first place, IMO.

* because the daytime entertainment was at extra cost, weskipped out on most of it. By the third day at sea we were a bit bored. Sorry, but Idon’t want to play bingo enough to drop $100 on it. Please give me somethingelse to do instead.

 

MUST-haves for the next cruise:

 

* better food

* better (& included) daytime entertainment. We are notthe type to play board games all day or lounge around reading. A couple hoursout by the pool is nice, but we’re not going to spend 8 hours a day out there.I’m thinking about things like mini-golf, big water slides, etc. I understandthat there are things we won’t get away from paying extra for, but it’d be niceif things cost a bit less, too. I’m pretty sure that we can just be particularabout which ship we sail on in order to meet most of these needs,but if there’s a company out there that’s well-known for having an abundance ofentertainment options that are up our alley, we’re all ears.

 

We’re not shy about crowds, so I don’t necessarily want to book on a smallboat.

 

The cost of this trip is closing in on being about tops for what we’d want topay. Surely we could go up a little in price to meet our wants, but pleasedon’t suggest something that’s twice the price.

 

We want to leave from a US port and head south. Not super particular aboutports of call yet. Step 1 for me is to settle on a cruise line and then find afew boats we’d like. Then we’ll see where they’re headed. I’m pretty flexibleon exact ports and very flexible on dates (Jan 2019 at the earliest).

 

Hopefully that’s enough info to steer responses in a helpful direction. Let meknow if there’s any other pertinent info that’d be helpful.

 

TIA for the help

- Chris

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You were on one of the smaller, older NCL ships. I recommend trying one of the big new NCL ships if you like the freestyle dining with all the various dining choices.

 

Another choice is Celebrity because the there is a nice vibe on the ship for young adults with no kids. Not any of the bells and whistles like wave pools and zip lining Royal offers.

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It seems most “what’s your favorite cruise line and why”threads end the same way – someone suggesting that you’d get the info you’rereally after if you asked specific questions. So here I am.

 

 

 

My wife and I just came back from a Mexican Riviera cruise on Norwegian’s Star.This was our very first cruise and, overall, we loved it and are alreadylooking forward to our next cruise. While we enjoyed our trip on the Star, onecan’t help but wonder what else is out there. I understand that this alone isWAY to open-ended to turn up any really useful information, so here are someparticulars about us as well as what we like, disliked, and what we consider tobe must-haves for the next sailing.

 

 

 

Us:

 

 

 

* Mid-30’s, married with kids (though the kids are staying at home). We’dprefer a crowd that’s mostly 30-45 if possible.

 

* Not into the night club party scene that some folks ourage seem to enjoy

 

* Not into dealing with everyone else’s kids. We left oursat home for a reason.

 

* We found that we were usually asleep by 11 and up by 8(give or take). Entertainment available late at night or early in the morningwon’t usually be something that we’d take advantage of, though there’s no harm inhaving it on the boat

 

* we’re non-smokers, but not necessarily looking to avoidboats that have designated smoking areas. If there are cruise lines out there that havefree-for-all smoking, that’d be a deal breaker for us

 

* neither of us are gamblers, so big casinos aren’t a perkfor us

 

 

 

 

 

Things about the cruise that we liked:

 

 

 

* good variety of live entertainment available in the evenings – musicians inevery lobby/lounge and very good shows

 

* staff was generally quite friendly and easy to get alongwith

 

* steak house had good food

 

* generally not a lot of kids and teenagers

 

* getting on/off the boat in the ports of call went verysmoothly, especially considering how many people were onboard (~2,400)

 

* the cost was reasonable (we had an interior stateroom ~ $900/personafter taxes & port fees)

 

*even though we had the cheapest room option available, wefound that it suited our needs well. There’s always room for improvement but,for as little time as we spent in the room, we had no complaints. I don’t feellike we’ll need to get a nicer room next go around.

 

* I didn’t think we would like it, but we ended upappreciating the tipping being already included. It was nice to finish dinnerand then just get up and walk away from the table.

 

* having more than one sit-down restaurant included in thecomplimentary dining options was nice. We rarely wanted to hit the buffetexcept for mid-morning and late night snacks.

 

 

 

Things about the cruise that we didn’t like:

 

* the food (aside from the steakhouse) was very underwhelming/disappointing,even at Moderno (the Brazilian restaurant that costs extra)

 

* the nickel-and-diming was frustrating – most of thedaytime entertainment was provided at an additional cost. Room service, spaservices, etc seemed to be overly inflated as well (ie: $300+ for a 45 minutecouples massage that’s $150/60 minutes back home)

 

* feeling like we’re constantly being sold something - $200watches presentation, diamond seminars, art auctions, etc. When anemployee asked if we wanted to attend the auction and we said no, theyquestioned us about why. I was taken back by the salesman approach he had withus. That should NOT be the way you approach people that already paid a lot tobe on the boat in the first place, IMO.

 

* because the daytime entertainment was at extra cost, weskipped out on most of it. By the third day at sea we were a bit bored. Sorry, but Idon’t want to play bingo enough to drop $100 on it. Please give me somethingelse to do instead.

 

 

 

MUST-haves for the next cruise:

 

 

 

* better food

 

* better (& included) daytime entertainment. We are notthe type to play board games all day or lounge around reading. A couple hoursout by the pool is nice, but we’re not going to spend 8 hours a day out there.I’m thinking about things like mini-golf, big water slides, etc. I understandthat there are things we won’t get away from paying extra for, but it’d be niceif things cost a bit less, too. I’m pretty sure that we can just be particularabout which ship we sail on in order to meet most of these needs,but if there’s a company out there that’s well-known for having an abundance ofentertainment options that are up our alley, we’re all ears.

 

 

 

We’re not shy about crowds, so I don’t necessarily want to book on a smallboat.

 

 

 

The cost of this trip is closing in on being about tops for what we’d want topay. Surely we could go up a little in price to meet our wants, but pleasedon’t suggest something that’s twice the price.

 

 

 

We want to leave from a US port and head south. Not super particular aboutports of call yet. Step 1 for me is to settle on a cruise line and then find afew boats we’d like. Then we’ll see where they’re headed. I’m pretty flexibleon exact ports and very flexible on dates (Jan 2019 at the earliest).

 

 

 

Hopefully that’s enough info to steer responses in a helpful direction. Let meknow if there’s any other pertinent info that’d be helpful.

 

 

 

TIA for the help

 

- Chris

 

 

 

The cruise industry, not unlike autos and pretty much every other business has segments akin to "good/better/best." NCL (mass market) is at the low end of the family that also includes Oceania (premium) and Regent (luxury).

IMO, what you're looking for requires that you look, at least, at the premium segment (lines like Oceania or Azamara).

One caveat. Don't compare only cabin prices. Rather, look at "net daily rate," which is all required and anticipated/optional expenses divided by total days on vacation. For example, that Oceania cabin price will include air tix (or a credit) of as much as $1-2k, which will be extra for NCL as will/may things like internet, beverages, specialty restaurants, booze, excursions also be included on premium/luxury lines but not on the mass market ones.

You really have to look at the total dollars to make a valid comparison. To those bottom lines add the quality (or lack of it) issue: which line restricts smoking, thundering herds, nickel-diming, etc?

 

 

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If you want to stay on west coast, check the dates when the Norwegian Bliss (which is a much newer ship than the Star) will be doing the Mexican Riviera. Alternatively, check out some slightly longer itineraries, such as 9 to 10 days Caribbean or Panama Canal partial transit on any major cruise line when kids are in school.

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Depends on what you are looking for. If you aren't trying to break the bank, RCI and Carnival may be good choices. RCI would have the edge on entertainment. Carnival would have the edge on (included) food.

 

From there, there are plenty of step up options

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Most of what you disliked are pretty much the same on the mass market lines, expensive spa treatments, expensive bingo, lots of selling, art auctions...

 

Sail when kids are in school, and longer cruises. NCL, RCL, and Carnival all have newer ships with bells and whistles, for free - water slides, rock climbing,

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NCL leads the industry in nickel-and-diming. The uninspiring food in the MDR is part of their plan.

 

Just about any line would get you an improvement in those areas.

 

Royal Caribbean seems to have lots of activities, especially on their newer, bigger ships. Lots of Royal Caribbean cruises out of Fort Lauderdale.

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Would suggest looking into Royal Caribbean. Research their ships - each class/group of ships are different. The Oasis class are the biggest at sea - spectacular entertainment and lots to do for all ages. Radiance class, for example, are much smaller, more like an old-fashioned cruise ship. RC attracts all ages; longer cruises have less kids. There are dining locations that are for a fee, but plenty of included dining. You don't need to pay extra for anything other than alcohol. Spa services, casinos, photographs, etc. you will pay extra for on any line.

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Most of what you disliked are pretty much the same on the mass market lines, expensive spa treatments, expensive bingo, lots of selling, art auctions...

 

Sail when kids are in school, and longer cruises. NCL, RCL, and Carnival all have newer ships with bells and whistles, for free - water slides, rock climbing,

 

OP pretty clearly identified NCL as having what he did not want. Carnival is only slightly better - RCL would be a step up. The sad fact is: if he wants a cheap fare, he will get a cheap product - and then pay more on board to upgrade it. Better to book Royal, Princess or Celebrity and get a decent product without having to buy extras.

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Short version - without spending more (although as mentioned already, not necessarily an AWFUL lot more per diem, depending on how much extra you spent on travel, booze, upgraded restos etc. on NCL...) for a premium line, your full list of wants is simply impossible.

 

We've mostly cruised Princess because that's who offers the most cruises we like the sound of on the left coast that have fit our available dates. Both our favourite cruises were actually on NCL, for many of the same reasons you gave, but the nickel & diming has definitely gotten worse - and by the sounds of it you only did an upgraded dinner once (Moderno - in our view the worst of the premium restos on NCL). The biggest strength of NCL in our view is all the dining options, so we budget for paying the extra fees - and MDR food seems to be deliberately just a little more 'meh' than Princess to 'encourage' folks to take the upsells!

 

You would definitely find MDR food on Princess a step up. There's plenty of low-key entertainment options like piano bars and a somewhat better daytime program (at least in Alaska - lots of 'enrichment' activities like talks from Iditarod competitors, puppies on the piazza and so on). Unfortunately the 'port talks' are just as bad as NCL - thinly-veiled 'go shop at these folks we get a kickback from' experiences, the spa is just as badly overpriced (most lines have spas subcontracted to the same folks, so quality/price is pretty similar across all the lines in the same price level), and while the shops and public spaces look a little classier there are just as many annoying tables full of 'bargains' that you have to maneuver around.

 

Bigger & newer ships = More Stuff is also generally true across the lines. Avoiding kids can be done on mainstream lines by taking longer cruises/sticking to dates outside school vacations as a good rule of thumb. As a really general note, and to be fair based on only one cruise so take with a large pinch of salt (although you may struggle to find any salt in the food...), I think HAL should definitely not be on your list based on the similarity of stuff you want with what we also prefer while cruising - fewer kids on warm itineraries maybe, but a dearth of entertainment and the blandest food we ever experienced (we ate at the Crown Grill almost every day, which seemed to be the only kitchen with any spices at all!)

 

Based on what we've heard from friends who've cruised RCC, Celebrity, Carnival I think the info above looks pretty solid giving rough comparisons, especially NBTs ranking for different priorities. Price-wise, unless you're able to go last-minute - when unsold rooms can be incredible bargains on just about any ship from any port - I think you realistically have to consider upping your overall budget a little, even if it's for things like paying for enhanced dining options, to get onto newer ships with more stuff that fits your wants.

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You were on one of the smaller, older NCL ships. I recommend trying one of the big new NCL ships if you like the freestyle dining with all the various dining choices.

 

Another choice is Celebrity because the there is a nice vibe on the ship for young adults with no kids. Not any of the bells and whistles like wave pools and zip lining Royal offers.

 

They gave a presentation on the Bliss and, while the entertainment looked like it'd be leaps and bounds better, I still wondered about the food. I had assumed NCL has a standard that their fleet adheres to and that the complimentary food was going to be about the same regardless of the boat I was on. Is this not the case? Because that would be spectacular!

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The cruise industry, not unlike autos and pretty much every other business has segments akin to "good/better/best." NCL (mass market) is at the low end of the family that also includes Oceania (premium) and Regent (luxury).

IMO, what you're looking for requires that you look, at least, at the premium segment (lines like Oceania or Azamara).

One caveat. Don't compare only cabin prices. Rather, look at "net daily rate," which is all required and anticipated/optional expenses divided by total days on vacation. For example, that Oceania cabin price will include air tix (or a credit) of as much as $1-2k, which will be extra for NCL as will/may things like internet, beverages, specialty restaurants, booze, excursions also be included on premium/luxury lines but not on the mass market ones.

You really have to look at the total dollars to make a valid comparison. To those bottom lines add the quality (or lack of it) issue: which line restricts smoking, thundering herds, nickel-diming, etc?

 

 

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I didn't realize it was an option to have airfare and the like included as part of your cruise fare. That's definitely a game changer. Thanks for the info!

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OP pretty clearly identified NCL as having what he did not want. Carnival is only slightly better - RCL would be a step up. The sad fact is: if he wants a cheap fare, he will get a cheap product - and then pay more on board to upgrade it. Better to book Royal, Princess or Celebrity and get a decent product without having to buy extras.

 

Actually, I mentioned that I was only looking to see what else was out there that might be more tailored to what we're after. I would be perfectly fine with sailing on Norwegian again, if it was possible to fix the two items I listed as must-haves. I believe a different NCL boat would address the entertainment issue. I just wasn't sure about the food.

 

Also, for the record, Princess' fares for our dates and itinerary were cheaper than NCL's. If they offer a superior experience that's more in-tune with what we're looking for, well that's a no-brainer decision for me.

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I didn't realize it was an option to have airfare and the like included as part of your cruise fare. That's definitely a game changer. Thanks for the info!

 

Of course you can find a cruise line where airfare etc. is included as part of your cruise fare— but that “cruise fare” will be appropriately higher than on the less expensive lines.

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Short version - without spending more (although as mentioned already, not necessarily an AWFUL lot more per diem, depending on how much extra you spent on travel, booze, upgraded restos etc. on NCL...) for a premium line, your full list of wants is simply impossible.

 

We've mostly cruised Princess because that's who offers the most cruises we like the sound of on the left coast that have fit our available dates. Both our favourite cruises were actually on NCL, for many of the same reasons you gave, but the nickel & diming has definitely gotten worse - and by the sounds of it you only did an upgraded dinner once (Moderno - in our view the worst of the premium restos on NCL). The biggest strength of NCL in our view is all the dining options, so we budget for paying the extra fees - and MDR food seems to be deliberately just a little more 'meh' than Princess to 'encourage' folks to take the upsells!

 

You would definitely find MDR food on Princess a step up. There's plenty of low-key entertainment options like piano bars and a somewhat better daytime program (at least in Alaska - lots of 'enrichment' activities like talks from Iditarod competitors, puppies on the piazza and so on). Unfortunately the 'port talks' are just as bad as NCL - thinly-veiled 'go shop at these folks we get a kickback from' experiences, the spa is just as badly overpriced (most lines have spas subcontracted to the same folks, so quality/price is pretty similar across all the lines in the same price level), and while the shops and public spaces look a little classier there are just as many annoying tables full of 'bargains' that you have to maneuver around.

 

Bigger & newer ships = More Stuff is also generally true across the lines. Avoiding kids can be done on mainstream lines by taking longer cruises/sticking to dates outside school vacations as a good rule of thumb. As a really general note, and to be fair based on only one cruise so take with a large pinch of salt (although you may struggle to find any salt in the food...), I think HAL should definitely not be on your list based on the similarity of stuff you want with what we also prefer while cruising - fewer kids on warm itineraries maybe, but a dearth of entertainment and the blandest food we ever experienced (we ate at the Crown Grill almost every day, which seemed to be the only kitchen with any spices at all!)

 

Based on what we've heard from friends who've cruised RCC, Celebrity, Carnival I think the info above looks pretty solid giving rough comparisons, especially NBTs ranking for different priorities. Price-wise, unless you're able to go last-minute - when unsold rooms can be incredible bargains on just about any ship from any port - I think you realistically have to consider upping your overall budget a little, even if it's for things like paying for enhanced dining options, to get onto newer ships with more stuff that fits your wants.

 

Thanks for the in-depth reply! It's appreciated!

 

A couple things:

 

I hope I didn't make it sound like I had a bad time, or that I had this super long list of things that had to be addressed on the next cruise we take. My must-have list is only two things - entertainment and food. i could deal with the rest of it if I needed to - I only included the info in an effort to enable specific suggestions if anyone had them.

 

We opted to eat at three of the premium restaurants - The sushi bar (which i completely spaced when typing out the original post), Moderno and Cagney's (the steakhouse I mentioned but failed to name). To be fair to Moderno, they had one of the most original salad bars I've seen in a long while. Lots of the items they provided were ones i'd never expect to see on a salad bar. my only issue with their food was the meat. every single bit of it seemed dry and overcooked. I'm sad to hear that Moderno was a poor choice - i should've done more homework beforehand. We loved Cagney's. The sushi bar was pretty decent. Worth what we paid at least!

 

Thanks for the tip to stay away from HAL. From what I'd been reading, it seems like the average passenger age is above what we'd be shooting for. I hadn't seen any mention of entertainment or food woes, but I'll ad them to the list. thanks!

 

Lastly, I'll concede that the budget may need to be a bit more flexible than I'd hoped. Realistically, a 20% increase is likely to be doable, but much beyond that and I'm tapped out for now.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to type that all out. It's appreciated.

 

- Chris

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Thanks to all for the replies. I wanted to clear up something I may have misrepresented in the original post: we had a great time. Despite what I mentioned not being a fan of, I'd do it all over again so long as I was able to address the food and entertainment - my two "must-haves". I made sure to point out things we liked and things that we didn't in an effort to help anyone who ventured to respond. I figured that the more info I could provide, the more specific a response might be.

 

Also, sorry for the horrendous spacing issues my original post had. I had it typed out once and the browser unexpectedly closed on my, so I lost the whole thing. Second go-around I typed it in Word, but copy and paste from there apparently lost a lot of the spacing and I didn't catch it.

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I didn't realize it was an option to have airfare and the like included as part of your cruise fare. That's definitely a game changer. Thanks for the info!

 

 

Oceania's regular promotional fares (called "O Life") include airfare or, if you prefer, an air credit that reduces your cabin cost. Also included in the price are unlimited internet, all non-alcohol beverages and unlimited specialty restaurant visits as well as a choice of an alcohol or excursion or OBC package. Most top producing TAs will add gratuities coverage and additional OBC (often refundable). Cabin amenities are first rate, service is impeccable and the biggest of their ships is only 1100 passengers.

If you've worked hard for your vacation dollars, do the math for premium lines like Oceania or even Azamara.

 

 

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Responses in red

 

Thanks for the in-depth reply! It's appreciated!

No worries - asking detailed & specific questions is deserving of a detailed & specific answer in my view

 

We opted to eat at three of the premium restaurants - The sushi bar (which i completely spaced when typing out the original post), Moderno and Cagney's (the steakhouse I mentioned but failed to name). To be fair to Moderno, they had one of the most original salad bars I've seen in a long while. Lots of the items they provided were ones i'd never expect to see on a salad bar. my only issue with their food was the meat. every single bit of it seemed dry and overcooked. I'm sad to hear that Moderno was a poor choice - i should've done more homework beforehand. We loved Cagney's. The sushi bar was pretty decent. Worth what we paid at least!

Yup, salad bar was the best part of our meal too - at least comparable to an 'on land' decent Brazilian place but the meat was also universally overcooked compared to how we like it, and virtually all the cuts employed were frankly poor choices to treat like steaks - they needed braising not broiling! Medium-well across the board - and that was asking for the rarest bits they had. The Picanha was the most tolerable beef cut, not much over Medium, and the lamb was actually decent (but then lamb handles anything from rare to well done much better than beef in my opinion, so 'medium well' works much better with lamb for me than going from my preferred rare beef does).

Cagney's we tried once and never again - it wasn't bad but like most steakhouses it was poor value as I can go buy a better steak locally for much less than the upcharge, and cooking a steak how you like it yourself is a trivial task for a remotely-competent cook. Good sushi is also ridiculously easy to find in Vancouver, and again for the upcharge cost it just wasn't good enough to be worth it for us. Le Bistro was more our speed and we've done multiple visits - the Teppanyaki resto on the bigger ships is also fun if you're with a group.

 

Thanks for the tip to stay away from HAL. From what I'd been reading, it seems like the average passenger age is above what we'd be shooting for. I hadn't seen any mention of entertainment or food woes, but I'll ad them to the list. thanks!

I try not to mention our low opinion of HAL because I'm aware it's a tiny sample set and not likely indicative of their average standard, but given how closely some of your wants fit with ours I felt it justified this time around. I'd eat at Moderno every night rather than the Veendam's MDR, as at least the meat had some decent flavour! Struck me as like moving to Victoria - something we'll seriously consider if we ever begin to think 8pm is a late night out...

 

Lastly, I'll concede that the budget may need to be a bit more flexible than I'd hoped. Realistically, a 20% increase is likely to be doable, but much beyond that and I'm tapped out for now.

It's almost frighteningly sensible of you to quote actual numbers - and incredibly useful. The vast majority of CC folks insist on subjective terms like 'reasonable' with zero data about what their personal definitions are - makes it damn hard to recommend restos or hotels here with the gamut of price range we have in the city. I don't care if you have a bajillion bucks in the bank and are choosing to stick to X budget because you're getting your new Rolls Royce gold plated or you've scrimped & saved for every penny and literally cannot afford more - actually giving a dollar budget makes life so much easier.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to type that all out. It's appreciated.

Again, no worries. I burned at least a few calories typing so now I get to have a snack;-)

- Chris

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Welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and you are asking great questions/giving great feedback. We are similar cruisers to you (leaving the kids at home, love music, not into clubs or casino) but about 10 years older. We've sailed Carnival, Royal, NCL and Princess. I'm going to go against most and recommend Carnival. My replies below: (snipping your post for length)

 

Us:

 

* Mid-30’s, married with kids (though the kids are staying at home). We’dprefer a crowd that’s mostly 30-45 if possible.Princess tends to run a little older, we were on the young side in our mid 40's.

* Not into the night club party scene that some folks ourage seem to enjoyWhile not a party scene, our Regal cruise was more of a club atmosphere for music rather than live band.

* Not into dealing with everyone else’s kids. We left oursat home for a reason. Itinerary, length of cruise, and time of year will affect this the most. We just got back from a Feb 25th 7 day Bahamas on Carnival Pride (Baltimore) and had very few kids. They also have a good kids program and I suspect most of the children were there during the day.

* We found that we were usually asleep by 11 and up by 8(give or take). Entertainment available late at night or early in the morningwon’t usually be something that we’d take advantage of, though there’s no harm inhaving it on the boat

* we’re non-smokers, but not necessarily looking to avoidboats that have designated smoking areas. If there are cruise lines out there that havefree-for-all smoking, that’d be a deal breaker for us Most sailings from US ports are non-smoking except in the casino and a few other dedicated smoking areas. I'm pretty sensitive to smoke and did not find it an issue on the Pride. It was noticeable when going through the casino but not unbearable and there were ways to avoid the casino if you wanted. Outside wasn't bad at all if you walked by quickly (we walked the promenade which included smoking on one side) and I remember smoking areas being congested on our NCL sailing.

* neither of us are gamblers, so big casinos aren’t a perkfor us

the only possible advantage would be more crowds in the casino makes for less passengers in other areas

 

Things about the cruise that we liked:

 

* good variety of live entertainment available in the evenings – musicians inevery lobby/lounge and very good shows We found Carnival and Royal both good for this. The Pride has a Red Frog Pub which had a house band that was very good and played a variety of music. There were also several other types of musicians at various bar areas.

* staff was generally quite friendly and easy to get alongwith With the exception of one slow bar server, we had great service on Carnival. Regal and Royal also had excellent service. We were the most disappointed with NCL, although they had the best welcome back from port days (wet cloths to refresh yourself, cups of water or juice, even popsicles one day)

* steak house had good food We did not try David's, but it has very good reviews. We were disappointed in Royal's steak house. If you sail Regal Princess they have a Winemaker's Table that is phenomenal and not much more than the cost of a specialty restaurant - worth the price even if you don't drink wine.

* generally not a lot of kids and teenagers

* getting on/off the boat in the ports of call went verysmoothly, especially considering how many people were onboard (~2,400) Royal was the only ship I remember being difficult for transitions, but we sailed on the Grandeur which is one of the smallest.

* the cost was reasonable (we had an interior stateroom ~ $900/personafter taxes & port fees)Carnival is one of the budget lines, but all lines offer sales. Being willing to have an interior helps with price (we've always sailed Balcony because we love the water).

*even though we had the cheapest room option available, wefound that it suited our needs well. There’s always room for improvement but,for as little time as we spent in the room, we had no complaints. I don’t feellike we’ll need to get a nicer room next go around.

* I didn’t think we would like it, but we ended upappreciating the tipping being already included. It was nice to finish dinnerand then just get up and walk away from the table.We like the service charge being added and not having to worry about it. Most lines, if not all, follow this model. You can always tip extra if you feel the service warrants it (there have been some servers and room stewards we felt have gone above expectations.

* having more than one sit-down restaurant included in thecomplimentary dining options was nice. We rarely wanted to hit the buffetexcept for mid-morning and late night snacks. We prefer sit down, but were very pleased with Guy's and Blue Iguana on Carnival - they are outside the buffet but still go through a line to get your food. Regal had a very nice Italian option that was complimentary for lunch, I think some other lines do this as well. We prefer as much included as possible and don't like the nickel and dining either.

 

Things about the cruise that we didn’t like:

* the food (aside from the steakhouse) was very underwhelming/disappointing,even at Moderno (the Brazilian restaurant that costs extra)We had very good Brazilian on land once, and were very dissappointed in Moderno also. MDR food on Carnival and Regal was also underwhelming, but we never left the table hungry;) and most nights at least one item was really good. We think our best MDR experience was with RCI, but remember that most of the lines are buffet food feeding several thousand and not gourmet dining.

* the nickel-and-diming was frustrating – most of thedaytime entertainment was provided at an additional cost. Room service, spaservices, etc seemed to be overly inflated as well (ie: $300+ for a 45 minutecouples massage that’s $150/60 minutes back home)Room service prices didn't seem too bad for the convenience factor (although we only used the complimentary continental breakfast one early departure morning). Spas are overpriced across most lines and usually include a high pressure sales pitch for products.

* feeling like we’re constantly being sold something - $200watches presentation, diamond seminars, art auctions, etc. When anemployee asked if we wanted to attend the auction and we said no, theyquestioned us about why. I was taken back by the salesman approach he had withus. That should NOT be the way you approach people that already paid a lot tobe on the boat in the first place, IMO.The sales are a big way for the ships to make money while keeping cruises affordable, and present on all cruises we have taken. I was pleasantly surprised how limited they were on the Pride - "art" gallery was behind doors and there were not a lot of shops.

* because the daytime entertainment was at extra cost, weskipped out on most of it. By the third day at sea we were a bit bored. Sorry, but Idon’t want to play bingo enough to drop $100 on it. Please give me somethingelse to do instead. Our NCL trip was port intensive, so I don't remember what they offered during the day. There should have been free options too (most lines charge for Bingo, it might be an extension of the Casino). Some other options you should be able to find: trivia, movies/concerts, silly pool games (hairy chest competition), bar competitions (making mixed drinks), dance lessons, cooking demos, afternoon tea, etc. If you can find reviews with the daily activities list (Princess Patter, Carnival Fun Times) that should give you an idea.

We walked, napped, did window shopping - sometimes there are sale days for less expensive souvenirs, went to the gym. A lot of people spend time at the pool or just relaxing in the sun on a lounger.

MUST-haves for the next cruise:

 

* better food This is going to be very subjective based on what you did/didn't like. I will say that NCL was the worst for food for us.

* better (& included) daytime entertainment. We are notthe type to play board games all day or lounge around reading. A couple hoursout by the pool is nice, but we’re not going to spend 8 hours a day out there.I’m thinking about things like mini-golf, big water slides, etc. The Pride had nice water slides and mini-golf. I thought our NCL cruise had these too (I know it had big slides) but this may vary by ship. Royals big ships will give you the best options here. I understandthat there are things we won’t get away from paying extra for, but it’d be niceif things cost a bit less, too. I’m pretty sure that we can just be particularabout which ship we sail on in order to meet most of these needs,but if there’s a company out there that’s well-known for having an abundance ofentertainment options that are up our alley, we’re all ears.

 

The cost of this trip is closing in on being about tops for what we’d want topay. Surely we could go up a little in price to meet our wants, but pleasedon’t suggest something that’s twice the price. Royal, Carnival, and NCL are going the three entry level lines, but you can find deals on others (especially with sailing interior). NCL usually offers several "included perks" that you would have to pay for on other lines and drives the price up. If you don't drink much then the cost of a drink package wouldn't be a perk for you.

 

We want to leave from a US port and head south. Not super particular aboutports of call yet. Step 1 for me is to settle on a cruise line and then find afew boats we’d like. Then we’ll see where they’re headed. I’m pretty flexibleon exact ports and very flexible on dates (Jan 2019 at the earliest). We enjoyed sailing from Baltimore, but it doesn't require flying. Miami (and the other FL ports) and San Juan are probably going to give you your most options.

 

Hopefully that’s enough info to steer responses in a helpful direction. Let meknow if there’s any other pertinent info that’d be helpful.

 

TIA for the help

- Chris

 

Responses in red

:')I loved your last bit about getting a snack - now I can have one too.

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