All Carnival loyalists - if you tried another line?

[pbsteve]

If I were to try another line I would get a room on one of the oasis ships. I will eventually, just gotta check out the open air middle of the ship

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[ARI421]

We are but trying ncl third and fourth people free can't beat that !


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[gtouch]

Which is better who knows they are different and the same in many ways. Sometimes you just have to try a different one to see for yourself. It is like church. I had a friend invite me to his "Cowboy Church" they were really laid back and casual. As I was looking around I saw a guy smoking a cigar inside the church......it caught me so off guard I almost spilled my beer.

[Drew's Wife]

We love Carnival...has always been our cruise line of choice for many reasons...however we have decided to check out other cruise lines in the future. So excited about our upcoming RCCL cruise.

[DarthGrady]

I began cruising RCI about five years ago. I had just made Platinum with CCL, so I was skeptical at first. I continued to give them the majority of my business for two main reasons:

1) Their past guest program is [I][B]much[/B][/I] better than Carnival's, especially once you get to their Diamond level and the nightly cocktail parties kick in.

2) Royal's ships are nicer IMO, although Carnival's Fantasy class ships will always be like a second home to me. I think 15 of my 20 CCL cruises have been on a Fantasy Class ship!

I know you said that price is an issue, and RCI does tend to be pricier than CCL. But I have seen many situations where they were about equal, and a few where CCL was more. I also think that your kids will like the big RCI ships better (Voyager, Freedom and Oasis Class ships) for their numerous physical activities.

Happy cruising, whichever you choose. :)

[ddloml]

I look at a cruise ship as a floating hotel. There are different brands of hotels, just like there are different cruise lines. I guess I'm not loyal to a particular brand, although you'll see I've used Carnival the most. I don't really care if I stay at a Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, or Holiday Inn, just as long as the room/bed is comfortable and the price is reasonable. While there are minor differences between the cruise lines, they still all give you a cabin, decent food, entertainment, and passage to the ports.

The choice of cruise line, for me, comes down to itinerary first, price second, and cruise line last. We wanted to see Bermuda, so we chose NCL. We wanted to see Glacier Bay in Alaska, so we chose Princess. My next cruise on [I]Carnival Liberty[/I] will be because DW wants to see Atlantis (Nassau), and I'd like to see St Maarten, an island we haven't visited before. These were both available on the [I]Liberty[/I] cruise at a reasonable price.

[iublondie25]

[quote name='Buffalofirsttimer4']I might be in the minority on this but I am only a loyalist to my family & friends. When it comes to cruise lines we go with who has the best itinerary & price of course for the time in which we can vacation-nothing more. Start looking to see who has what your most important features are-ports, price, dates, etc. Then take it from there.

[I]Happy Sailing!!![/I][/QUOTE]


I agree. I have only sailed RCCL, Carnival and Disney. Vastly different lines. There are pros and cons with all the lines. Happy sailing is correct.


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Marcie and Jay
Five kiddos ages 2-15
Grand Rapids,
Michigan

Carnival fascination 2001
Disney fantasy 2011
RCCL Allure of the Seas 2013

[JimAOk1945]

[COLOR="Black"]Royal Caribbean has a lot to offer families . . . lots of activities with a great atmosphere and service, wonderful food and itineraries, and fantastic ships.[/COLOR]

[cruise_girl2002]

[quote name='GeorgiaMomof4']OK - I'm a loyal Carnival cruiser - all we've ever done. But, if you decided you wanted to try something different which line would you choose and why?

I'm trying to work around schedules for 4 kids and just about to go crazy. I'm thinking I may book a cruise for next February on the Carnival Sunshine (first time on her) for all of my family except my college age daughter and then she and I might take a 4 or 5 day cruise during her spring break next year and we might try a different line.

Money will be an issue so keep that in mind. What should we do and which line should we try?[/quote]

I tried RCL twice and hated it. room size, bed, service, food, entertainment was so-so. the ship was beautiful, but for the price...wont sail them again. too much money for what they offered

[Hotdog 52]

We have sailed RCCL, NCL, Princess and Carnival. Carnival is a hoot. Great value for the money. :)

[A2Mich]

[quote name='golfadj']When carnival didnt improve loyalty program and instead made it worse any loyalty left.

Will be doing our first Princess cruise next month and after that plan to go back to RCCL for our first one there in about 7 years.

Look around and if you see a good price and itinerary on another line go for it.[/QUOTE]


I'll second that. Though we don't have an extensive cruising history, we were Gold on Carnival, and when they revamped their "loyalty" program, we got screwed over and demoted to Red. I think they should have kept all members at their current levels and benefits when they changed the program - it's not like we lost any real perks, it's more just a slap in the face.

[JustCruiseMe]

I'm not a loyalist but we have only been on 2 cruises, with third one booked. We've had great experiences so far and with the 100 obc for booking while on board and the 100 stock credit (I will have made 450.00 between OBC and stocks) It's hard to find a reason to try anyone else. Having said that if someone has a killer deal that can beat what we are perfectly happy with we'd book. In fact hubby wants to try NCL sometime because they have Pai Gow poker in the casino.

Just fyi-I bought the stock before we left, got the credit came back sold it for almost 300.00 profit, then just re-bought it for this new cruise. If it goes up again I'll sell it again and re-buy it like a day trader..but I'll be a couple a weeks trader..lol

[A2Mich]

[quote name='gtouch']Which is better who knows they are different and the same in many ways. Sometimes you just have to try a different one to see for yourself. It is like church. I had a friend invite me to his "Cowboy Church" they were really laid back and casual. As I was looking around I saw a guy smoking a cigar inside the church......it caught me so off guard I almost spilled my beer.[/QUOTE]


Now that's funny!


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[FlyingCruiserNJ]

[quote name='Buffalofirsttimer4']I might be in the minority on this but I am only a loyalist to my family & friends. When it comes to cruise lines we go with who has the best itinerary & price of course for the time in which we can vacation-nothing more. Start looking to see who has what your most important features are-ports, price, dates, etc. Then take it from there.

[I]Happy Sailing!!![/I][/quote]

Yeah, this. Anyone who is "loyal" exclusively to one company is a fool. That company will show you zero loyalty back so why show them any? Now, for the question of what others lines would I choose? I have sailed Princess (years ago) and RCCL and was not that impressed with RCCL. I sailed on a short cruise on an older ship but I do prefer CCL to them. Their perks, even for first timers, are much better though. Something Carnival could look at and possibly improve on (hint, hint but according to some, Carnival is pefect). I have heard nothing but good things about NCL, and my next cruise is going to be on them - probably the Getaway or Breakaway depending on when I will actually be able to cruise. I just figured it is time to try out something new and a lot of others feel this way. I would never sail on Celebrity, or HAL because I have heard firsthand how snotty and stuck-up and boring the people on those lines can be. I do like to have at least a little fun when cruising after all.

[Jenna1983]

I've only ever done Carnival since I started sailing in 2005 but it was based on price/itinerary mostly. However, since Carnival has decided to not return to Europe in 2015, I have decided that my next cruise will be on another line. I'll likely choose between Princess/MSC for Europe 2015. It all depends on what the price/itinerary is.