Would you still be loyal?

[Murphy]

Yes, I would jump ship if money were no object. But that's because I am "assuming" if money were no object, time would not be a problem either and I'd pick some kick-a** itineraries to some world wide locations and get out of the "Ocho Rios, Grand Caymans, Cozumel", or "St. Thomas, St. Maartens, Coco Cay" monotony (sp?) that I feel RCCL is in at least on their Caribbean itineraries.

[GCBCKat57]

I've had two "if money were no object" cruise fantasies:rolleyes: ....going to Tahiti on the Gaugain in a suite accomodation or buying an apartment on the Residensea and spending a year cruising the world. Rich fantasy life, no?

Kathy

[rubrrick]

As you can see by our signature, my DW and I have sailed on quite a few different lines. We stand right there with Sandbag regarding Renaissance, we had wonderful experiences and miss them. That being said, we think that Oceania is charging too much money for the same thing. They price their mini suites (I think they call them penthouse suites) at the same level as a RCCL OS.

Crystal, Seabourn and Radisson would charge us the same amount for a "standard" suite as we pay for a OS on Royal Caribbean. HAL suites are OK, but not like what we are used to on RCCL. We enjoy Celebrity, but in all honesty, we feel that we get about the same service on RCCL, without the butler! Our only experience on NCL was excellent (9/01 to China), but with all of the negitive posts of late, we are not sure that we want to try it again.

The food on RCCL, IMHO has improved over that past year. The flavors are better (or my taster is going south). We continue to "try" other lines, but we are very comfortable on RCCL and Celebrity. Our next cruise coming us in February on the Mercury will be out 35th, then will book our fall cruises on the Monarch. We are looking forward to the experience of the Radiance Class ships on our Transatlantic crossing next spring.

If we had more money to spend on cruising, would we do it differently, outside of adding a few more cruises, I don't think I would change a thing.

 

Rick

[Aldeya]

I've had two "if money were no object" cruise fantasies:rolleyes: ....going to Tahiti on the Gaugain in a suite accomodation or buying an apartment on the Residensea and spending a year cruising the world. Rich fantasy life, no?

 

Kathy

 

Oh, my dream cruise! Well, someday, in another life...

[madelinerose]

If money were no object, I'd have my own personal vessel, crew, galley, cooks, stateroom attendants, valets, butlers, spa personnel and itineraries. ;)

[jagsfan]

Over the last 21 years we've cruised on most lines, some I would cruise on again,

and some not. If money were no object, I would pick by itinerary first and then

luxurious accommodations. Our first RCCL cruise is coming up in Nocember, and I

expect to have a wonderful time. I've enjoyed every Princess cruise, Renaissance was

splendid, enjoyed a suite on QM2 in February, but don't think I'd go there again.

The idea of cruising on whatever whenever is total Utopia.

[Catnip]

I'd try out one of the luxury cruises in a heartbeat!

[rae]

We have only sailed with Celebrity, but in December 2006 we will be giving RCCL a try. I admit that I am a bit nervous and fearful of being disappointed as we have had such positive experiences with Celebrity. We chose RCCL because they had the itinerary that we wanted and the price was definately more reasonable.

Rae

[abridalmaven]

I'm amazed at how many people are not even willing to TRY another cruise line. It's more fear than loyalty, methinks. Many of the other cruise lines which are more upscale than RCCL are LESS formal, and involve little or no fussing. If you don't try, you shouldn't suggest you are talking from experience. My friends started at Celebrity and downgraded to Princess to do an Alaskan cruise with us. We went from Costa to Carnival, RCCL, Carnival, Renaissance (sorely missed) and several other lines (some more than once), most recently Windstar, with upcoming cruises on Oceania, Royal Clipper and Sea Dream (with the same friends). They were all enjoyable to one degree or other. I realize that some people like the psychological comfort of cruising on the same line or even the same ship over and over, but these same people tend to opine about their experiences which are extremely self limited. People who enjoy cruising should try at least one other cruise line to see if they're missing something

 

I HAVE tired NCL and did not care for it one bit.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Sandbag 7 refers to the "extremely self-limited experience" of those who prefer to sail the same cruise line repeatedly rather than trying different cruise line.

 

The purpose of this thread was a "fantasy" question about "if money were no object..." Many answered that they would just cruise Royal Caribbean more often and upgrade to suites. I don't see this answer as revealing a self limiting choice. By cruising more often, these respondents would see more ports in more countries, take more excursions, cruise in more seasons,etc. These experiences are hardly "self limiting."

 

It seems that some passengers cruise for the experience of the ship on which they cruise. To them trying different ships enhances their experience. But to me, it is about itineraries, not about ships. If money were no object, I'd stay on Royal Caribbean cruising frequently until I had exhausted every itinerary. Then, after that I would consider another cruise line if it offered a fascinating itinerary. But it definitely would be the itinerary that was important not the luxury level of the ship. But then I don't cruise for gourmet food or the average income of the other passengers.

[sandbag7]

Heavy, I am an itinerary cruiser. Don't care too much about the quality of the room, as I have found even an inside cabin to be acceptable (even prefereable) to some outsides. Certainly don't care about the incomes of my co-cruisers, though I try to avoid cruises with excess dressing requirements. As to staying with one line, I may be wrong, but I don't believe that RCCL goes to Tahiti as Renaissance did and Princess does, and certainly RCCL doesn't do Rhine or European inland cruises like KD or Royal Viking, not to mention Nile, Amazon or Yangtze River cruises. Also, no RCCL ship that I'm aware of goes to some of the smaller Carribean ports like Bequia, or goes to some of the BVI ports like Norman Island. So unless your idea of itinerary is limited to ports that accept 70,000 ton ships, I'm not sure how you accomkplish what you are seeking by staying stirctly with RCCL.

Now most, but not all of the alternative lines which are more itinerary based than RCCL ARE more expensive, so I thought my oriiginal post was appropriate.

[hstrybuf]

I'm not loyal to any one line, although probably more loyal to the three I've tried thus far. If money were no object, you bet I'd jump on a luxury line just for the experience. Who knows? I might find a new favorite and become a loyalist. ;)

[Philly Steve]

Without a doubt, yes. :)

[herecomesthesun]

I have not yet cruised Royal Caribbean, but I just wanted to say that even if money was no object, I think we would still cruise with the more commercial lines rather than Silversea or Raddison, because we cruise as a family and those lines do not offer as much for families. It really depends on what you are looking for. I doubt that the luxury lines would be a good fit for us. I would like to try Celebrity, though, when I'm a little older. Maybe for my honeymoon one day!

[Grayce]

I'm not loyal to any line. I would love to try a luxury line if money was no object.

[sandbag7]

Grayce, I don't know what your economic limits are, but I've always been limited more by the fact that my wife as a teacher can only cruise at certain times which are generally peak season. Now that she is approaching retirement and we can look at other times (early December for example) we are finding that some of the luxury lines do offer significant discounts; do yourself a favor and take a look at the options.

[Merion_Mom]

...and some day, Sand, we shall sail together. That will happen when your wife retires, and I retire, and my kids no longer want to sail with me..........

 

We shall cruise every line out there in round-robin fashion, and write columns about our travels, and sell those columns to national publications, and become rich and famous.

 

Deal?

[sandbag7]

Works for Me.

[comfortcove]

Previously 1 Crystal, 1 Carnival, 2 Celebrity, 2 HAL. Sailing on our first ten nighter on the Jewel in one week. Can't honestly post about an opinion until after the cruise. Smooth sails to all. Nancy

[chubbycheeks]

I think for the most part I would stick with RCCL but I agree with other posters about trying lines that cater to smaller, lesser mainstream ports and itineraries. There are certain places in the world that I'd like to visit that RCCL just doesn't go to.

[Sassy Chassis]

I will try a more upscale line to go on my "dream" itineraries, aka The Crossing and the Tahiti cruise! :)

[DT10L]

We did our first and last with RCIL this summer on Brilliance. The food was the worst we have eaten in any cheap hotel. The internet was the worst in the past 9 years of using it on ships. We took this cruise because it met my European schedule. We spent a month in Europe this summer. We have cruised several times on Celebrity ships. Our favorite was Infinity. The food in the regular restaurant was on par what we had in the $20 a head specialty restaurants on Brilliance. The service was spectacular everywhere from the breakfast, lunch, martini bar or even the cigar lounge.

 

We managed to do my personal dream of cruising the South Pacific and Tahiti. We were on the Tahitian Princess in a mini-suite. The ship an x-Renaissance was great as well as the food, internet and service. As for luxury, we did a 2 week Carib excursion in a similar mini-suite on Oceania's Regatta. The attention to detail in all aspects was very good. The itinirary was extrodinary as we went to islands that the larger ships cannot go to. The excursions were very expensive. Our bar bill was very expensive. But overall a good experience. We will probably do the Baltic next year with Oceania, and maybe South America.

 

We visited Symphony as quest, when she was here in Montreal. The rooms were slightly smaller than what we are used to. The upper deck is to expensive for that one bottle of liquor and bottle of Champagne. It was interesting to note that, as you went from the largest suites to the smaller ones, the quality of the Champagne descended also!:eek: There is some sort of class system onboard!

 

We just have had an interesting offer for Seaborne, but it did not fit our available time frame.

 

For those that stick to one line, you really don't know how much better other lines are. It quite similar to the Macdonald syndrom: one goes only there because all the other sheep go there.

 

We are presently cruised-out for the winter. We are booking instead some special time on the beach in St.Martin, with side trips to wonderfull St Barths and Anguila.

 

DT10L:rolleyes:

[SailBolt]

If money were no object, I would have to sail the best suite they had on the QMII for the most exotic itinerary I could find.

[OPSoccermom]

A 14 day sailing on a Celebrity M-class ship in a Penthouse suite. Any itinerary. For those who have not seen one, you don't know what you're missing.

[sandbag7]

DT, you may be a little too direct in your opinions for some, but you've hit the nail on the head, with the "Macdonald" comment. Americans seem to becoming more like Japanese who are most comfortable travelling with each other to places that cater specifically to them! When you meet Japanese people who go off the main line, or even better go to Japan, you see a whole new (positive) side to them.

I still have money limitations, so I don't generally book expensive cabins. If money was no object, I'd book the most luxurious cabin available for a trip down the Nile to Luxor, Aswan and beyond. Luxor, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings and Queens is IMHO, the most amazing cultural site;

I did Tahiti on Renaissance, and have an upcoming 14 day on Oceania doing the Northern Med. Why? They do it right with 3 days in St. Petersburg, an amazing destination in its own right. Less than 3 days there just doesn't cut it; I know, I was there 20 years ago.

St. Barths is awesome; haven't been to Anguilla-yet.