How many of you cruise on more than one line

[mitsugirly]

I have sailed with RCL, Carnival and NCL with NCL being the primary company we use. I have found I like ALL CRUISES. :D

[dorisis]

We started cruising 45 years ago. So far we have cruised on 21 different cruise lines. Mainly for itinerary with price, perks and other reasons coming second.We have our favorites and a few we don't care for.Every line and every ship has something to offer just as every country and every city has it's own unique ambience.

[springfire]

I have cruised Norwegian, RCCL, Princess and Carnival. I have never had a cruise that I have not enjoyed. All things being equal I prefer RCCL, but as you know things are never equal. When cruising Alaska I feel Princess is the best cruise lines and when in the Caribbean I prefer RCCL. I always enjoy the good rates that Carnival has to offer. We will be cruising Allure of the Seas next but my ears and eyes are always open to our next great cruise adventure.

[pussinbootss]

I have worked in entertainment for RCCL for 3 years, have yet had a chance yet to sail Royal. My husband works with me, but we just prefer NCL. The quality is very similar but prices on NCL are plenty lower. We want to take a short cruise soon to get 5 points needed to be gold members. I think Royal is an excellent company, but too expensive for me personally.

 

I'm not really loyal to a particular brand. I guess RCCL if I had to choose, since they pay my bills and all lol

 

 

Carnival Imagination June 2005

Norwegian Epic Jan. 2012

Norwegian Sun Nov. 2012

Norwegian Sun Dec. 2013

Norwegian Dawn Nov. 2013

 

RCCL Oasis of the Seas Crew Member since 2011

[kcwingwalker]

It's more fun to mix things up!

[momofmeg]

I have worked in entertainment for RCCL for 3 years, have yet had a chance yet to sail Royal. My husband works with me, but we just prefer NCL. The quality is very similar but prices on NCL are plenty lower. We want to take a short cruise soon to get 5 points needed to be gold members. I think Royal is an excellent company, but too expensive for me personally.

 

I'm not really loyal to a particular brand. I guess RCCL if I had to choose, since they pay my bills and all lol

 

 

Carnival Imagination June 2005

Norwegian Epic Jan. 2012

Norwegian Sun Nov. 2012

Norwegian Sun Dec. 2013

Norwegian Dawn Nov. 2013

 

RCCL Oasis of the Seas Crew Member since 2011

 

 

Then you know the biggest difference in the 2 lines is all the bells and whistles those monster ships have. Neither line has what I consider good food unless I pay extra for it. Families with teens love them, but all that is not my cup of tea. I prefer RCI's smaller and older ships. When cruising NCL, I am the opposite, I disliked the Sun and Sky because they were not built for freestyle and adding all the restaurants cramped areas on those ships. I had a great time of the Pearl though.

[cruising46]

I am just wondering how many people "jump ship" and cruise on multiple cruise lines? I know the benefit of staying with one line. We have done RCL and Carnival. While we prefer RCL over carnival, we do not dislike carnival at all. I am trying to plan a family cruise in April of 2015. With 4 of us going, CCL and NCL have less expensive options. I am also kinda curious of other lines. I know that if we never try, we will never know if we like that line or not. I know that I will be happy on RCL, we always have been. So do you sometimes choose a cruise by price over cruise line, with itinerary being the same, or as close as it can be? Or do you just stick with your preferred line? Thanks for listening to my rambling, but I am curious!

We have cruised on 5 different cruise lines - on 14 cruises, from large ships RCCL To small Azamara. Only bad cruise was on a Princess Ship, however, willing to try Princess one more time ....will be cruising the British Isles , lie thepe route. Schedule and price are always a determining factor. Loyalty Program are OK but not great

[momofmeg]

We have cruised on 5 different cruise lines - on 14 cruises, from large ships RCCL To small Azamara. Only bad cruise was on a Princess Ship, however, willing to try Princess one more time ....will be cruising the British Isles , lie thepe route. Schedule and price are always a determining factor. Loyalty Program are OK but not great

 

 

The problem with loyalty programs too is they change the rules ever so often. I would have been "elite" after my cruise on Celebrity next year but with the new rules I am 15 points shy. The Celebrity rep said we should switch to a 7 day cruise (as the booked cruise is a 5 day) That will not work as we want to spend a couple of days at some of the amusement parks, and my daughter only has Thanksgiving week off. Besides, not all of the Celebrity ships have re-positioned by Thanksgiving week. What else is offered, is like double in price for concierge and besides having been to all of the ports already, which is why we decided on the 5 day. We would rather do a shorter cruise and spend a few days in FL when repeating ports. Plus, we would still be 5 points shy of having elite with even doing a 7 day in concierge (would need to do 8 days) so no need to change to get that status.

 

I am not as crazy about Princess either, but they do offer some unique itineraries the other lines do not offer. That does make them appealing. Itinerary IS important. You will still have fun and go to the ports you want.

[Rogueperson]

I have been on 5 different lines in the 10 cruises i've been on. This is my general observation on the strength of each cruise line.

 

Carnival. Has the largest diversity of passengers. Makes for a unique cruise experience each time.

 

Royal Caribbean. Has the most innovative ships. They edge out on activities offered on board.

 

Princess. They create the best atmosphere onboard the ship. Its especially good for couples in my opinion.

 

NCL: Unfortunately, the last one i've been on, was before they implemented the freestyle, so my guess at best here, is their versatility. From what i hear, their entertainment is top notch. Will try one in the future soon.

 

Celebrity. Food. Their food was amazing and a step or two above the others.

 

That being said, I'm going to go against most grains i've seen and say Carnival has been the best all around cruise. they're food is great. Their activities have been great. I feel most comfortable on their ship.

 

Even though Carnival would be considered my "favorite" cruise line, other cruise lines continue to up their game and the scene changes on a yearly basis or more with upgrades, refits and new ships, new programs, etc etc etc. I would say don't even use cost as the main factor because if you do, you'll continue to pigeonhole yourself to one or two cruiselines who tend to offer the best price (Carnival at the moment). I still will cruise with any of them.

 

This is another thing to consider. Even with the same cruise lines, depending on your itinerary, length of cruise, home port, you will get a different cruise experience within the same cruise line, so there are so many factors, its hard to peg a "favorite" cruise line.

Edited November 26, 2013 by Rogueperson

[April29]

We cruise for the itinerary.

[Hlitner]

We took our first cruise about forty years ago and have since cruised on 14 different lines (well over 65 different ships) some of whom have since been merged into other lines (i.e. Sitmar) and others who have gone out of business (i.e. Renaissance). Even today, we routinely cruise on 3 different lines (Celebrity Holland America and Princess) and less often on several other lines. At this point in our lives we tend to favor longer cruises (over 4 weeks long) that go to interesting ports and places. Cruising the same line all the time can become a bit boring as their menus do not change very often, shows are often the same for several years, etc. Changing lines gives us lots of variety in food, entertainment, itineraries, etc. We do understand that folks that only take a rare cruise (like once a year) might be more comfortable staying with what they like and not wanting to experiment. But we cruise a lot (over 100 days last year) and are somewhat adventurous when it comes to both cruising and our land trips.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

Sticking with just one line tends to seriously limit your itinerary choices. We prefer HAL, then Celebrity, then Cunard. I'm sure we'd sail Princess again if the itinerary was right; we might go Royal Caribbean, but prefer smaller ships. Carnival is less likely, and I doubt we will ever sail NCL again. If a particular itinerary is very important, we will go by the line which offers the closest to our ideal. If we simply want to spend some time cruising, then it will be one of the top three. I think people put too much weight on the perks given --- is a few hundred in on board credit worth a week or more on a ship you do not like as much as your favorite?

[momofmeg]

Rogueperson,do not worry about going "against the grain"-this is only about opinions and we are all entitled to ours!

 

Although I do not like Princess as well as Celebrity, in my opinion they do have very good food, I found them more lacking in service in the dining room area this last cruise. We also had lumpy rock hard mattresses that I found very uncomfortable. I felt our mattresses were past needing to be replaced. My steward, who did give us very good service, brought an egg crate which made it a bit better, but nothing like the great memory foam toppers we had on Celebrity and NCL (on NCL ships that had freestyle 2-the NCL sky beds were just as bad)