What is your favorite cruise line other than Carnival?

[Eli_6]

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

[jbethel11]

31 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

Royal Caribbean/Norwegian. Look at MSC or Costa and see if they offer sailings that work for you.

[havanadaydreaming]

NCL, for us.  for some there is up front sticker shock but after the Free At Sea promotions they're very close to what we pay on Carnival...and I think they have better food/entertainment onboard. 

 

MSC was nice too.  id sail them again.  definitely not the same "party" vibe as Carnival, however. 

[Saint Greg]

Haven't booked another one but if I did it would be NCL.

[grandmarnnurse]

19 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

Well, let me say that we started cruising with Carnival in 2000, after one cruise on a now defunct cruise line. We sailed with them for 5 cruises until 2007. After a break from cruising to take care of some medical issues and 2 major surgeries, we returned to cruising in 2014 with a cruise on the RCCL Independence of the Seas. We loved it, but never felt the MDR food wasn’t as good as our meals on Carnival. We also felt Royal tended to try to “nickel and dime” you more. But we followed in 2015 on the RCCL Oasis of the Seas with our sons and their families. The ship WOWED us, but the service was horrible, the food still not as good as Carnival, and there was even more pressuring to purchase things. Not to mention, it was necessary to pre reserve all shows prior to cruising, something I did not like. We rolled with a cruise in 2017 on the NCL Getaway. We were lured to them by their Free at Sea offers. This was the first year they were offered, and we loved having the drink package included, without the price of cruise going up. We booked the same ship to cruise with family in 2018. We found their food much better than Royal, and the service was also better. But there were no roaming waiters for cocktails, probably because they don’t have to push for sales, since most people have the drink package. What we loved was their Freestyle Cruising concept. To eat wherever and whenever you wanted. Loved that! Their buffet was fabulous and probably the best we’ve had at sea. We recently returned to Carnival because we missed them, their food (which have more complimentary choices now), their Dive in Movies, and their fabulous top notch staff. We felt Carnival gave us the best cruise experience for the value, which was important to us as a retired couple on a much more limited budget. With all that said, if I had to choose between RCCL and NCL as an alternative to Carnival, it would be NCL. But that is only my personal opinion, and everyone has different tastes in a cruise line. It is a very subjective matter. It all depends on what is important to you in a cruise line. I hope I’ve helped you. Happy sailing! 😎🛳🌴🏖

[fabby50]

NCL - we get so many perks!  We usually get a suite and yes, the price is more, but you get so many good things with a suite and with loyalty benefits.  We usually walk off the ship with no bill, something that doesn't happen on any other line.

[lazydayz]

Royal for us. Partly because both Carnival and Royal offer multiple opportunities to sail from Tampa or Port Canaveral.  And because of our status on these two lines. We tried Celebrity and Holland but they are a bit too sedated for me. I would be willing to try a new ship with NCL. 

[jbyrd72]

I have been on RCL, NCL and Carnival.   If not Carnival, would do NCL again.  Wife says that the food on our next cruise, Horizon in April 2020, is not up to par, we will be going back to NCL for good.  

[Joebucks]

I've really been wanting to try other lines, but Carnival has always won with me for price/itinerary/etc. I'm really interested in trying the mega ships from Norwegian and Royal. I think Royal has more of my interest. I have one more Carnival booked on the Horizon and I will try to do something else next. I will definitely want a Mardi Gras cruise as well.

[crzndeb]

I will choose Carnival for Europe ( including TA’s), or unique cruises (just finished the 24 TP on Splendor), but since there are so few of those, I will cruise on Royal. Plus I like longer cruises. Anything under 10 days is to short for me.

[ShakyBeef]

 

I have sailed:

 

• Carnival
• NCL
• RCI
• Celebrity

My favourite so far is Celebrity.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

We have had several fine cruises on Princess, and are presently booked on a Norwegian fjords cruise next year on Princess.

[amyotravel]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

We have had several fine cruises on Princess, and are presently booked on a Norwegian fjords cruise next year on Princess.

We liked the room and the decor on Princess. Bars were very nice. Outside theater also great. But went by ourselves and found it harder to meet people. Too sedate for us. Did not enjoy the food nearly as much. Paid for the Steakhouse which we don't bother on Carnival because we find enough we like there without it. And steakhouse on Princess was just OK (Ruby Princess a few years ago.) 

Tried Costa and really did not like that nearly as much as Princess. Not even close. 

[dmdiver]

I liked my 2 RCCL cruises & they sail out of Galveston, so they would be my second choice.  Fixing to try NCL & looking forward to trying a new line.  I wasn't really impressed with the service on Princess with the exception of our room steward.  The ship was beautiful, but staff really ruined the cruise for us.  They were just too stand-offish.  I'm open to trying MSC someday.  Haven't thought much about the others, but who knows what the future will bring?

[TNcruising02]

I have cruised on Carnival, Royal, Norwegian, and Disney. Carnival is my line of choice.  My second choice would easily be Royal.

[Bases5]

After Carnival would be Princess then MSC followed by Royal

[glrounds]

Have cruised Princess and loved it. Love Carnival also, but maybe it's time to abandon the Disneyland  Theme Park atmosphere of the top deck and move over to a more refined cruise line. The SOLO cabins on the NCL ships are enticing, but never seem to be available. Very little difference in pricing for me.

Edited November 13, 2019 by glrounds

[Donoiv11]

4 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

 

Staten Island Ferry

[Sif]

I've done Carnival and Royal Caribbean, with a tentative future booking on Norwegian. I'd say if you really, really like Celebrity and don't mind the smaller space, you can save money by booking an inside stateroom and it might encourage you to explore more and get the most out of the ship since you'll be more inclined to spend time outside of the room.

[xitappers2bx]

5 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Just curious.  I am wanting to take a Norwegian Fjords or Iceland cruise and this isn't a route Carnival normally takes.  (They have one, but dates don't work.)

 

I was looking at Celebrity and had a little sticker shock.  We like to do a Havana room, Vista balcony or Suite on Carnival and a comparable room on Celebrity is at least twice the price.

You do get a good bit more though in a suite on Celebrity.

 

When we did Alaska, we were in a Neptune Suite on Holland America and it was by far the most wonderful suite experience; the rooms were quite similar to the Grand Suite on Carnival, BUT the service was insane, we had access to the steakhouse as a private dining room for breakfast (best breakfast ever), concierge, lounge, amazing stewards that doubled up as butlers, unlimited laundry service, in room dining from the dining rooms, basically anything we wanted, we had access to.  Things that just don't exist on Carnival.  My kid loves Carnival though, so I pay the silly amount for the suites but on other lines, once you get to the top tier suites you are getting an entirely better suite experience. 

[Garf]

5 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Well, let me say that we started cruising with Carnival in 2000, after one cruise on a now defunct cruise line. We sailed with them for 5 cruises until 2007. After a break from cruising to take care of some medical issues and 2 major surgeries, we returned to cruising in 2014 with a cruise on the RCCL Independence of the Seas. We loved it, but never felt the MDR food wasn’t as good as our meals on Carnival. We also felt Royal tended to try to “nickel and dime” you more. But we followed in 2015 on the RCCL Oasis of the Seas with our sons and their families. The ship WOWED us, but the service was horrible, the food still not as good as Carnival, and there was even more pressuring to purchase things. Not to mention, it was necessary to pre reserve all shows prior to cruising, something I did not like. We rolled with a cruise in 2017 on the NCL Getaway. We were lured to them by their Free at Sea offers. This was the first year they were offered, and we loved having the drink package included, without the price of cruise going up. We booked the same ship to cruise with family in 2018. We found their food much better than Royal, and the service was also better. But there were no roaming waiters for cocktails, probably because they don’t have to push for sales, since most people have the drink package. What we loved was their Freestyle Cruising concept. To eat wherever and whenever you wanted. Loved that! Their buffet was fabulous and probably the best we’ve had at sea. We recently returned to Carnival because we missed them, their food (which have more complimentary choices now), their Dive in Movies, and their fabulous top notch staff. We felt Carnival gave us the best cruise experience for the value, which was important to us as a retired couple on a much more limited budget. With all that said, if I had to choose between RCCL and NCL as an alternative to Carnival, it would be NCL. But that is only my personal opinion, and everyone has different tastes in a cruise line. It is a very subjective matter. It all depends on what is important to you in a cruise line. I hope I’ve helped you. Happy sailing! 😎🛳🌴🏖

I agree with you 100%. I have been on RCL 5 times, NCL 3, CCL 15, My number 1# is CCL and then close NCL. RCL is my last resort, I do not enjoy there food.

[LatinaInTexas]

Have only been on 5 cruises, 3 Royal, 2 Carnival, and so far prefer Carnival. Cant wait to try MSC and Norweigan next.

[mikenbon]

We've cruised on Carnival 7 times do far, and a RCL once. We enjoyed it so much that we are cruising both again next Feb/March for a side 2 side cruise. 

[keywest1]

We have sailed on Carnival, NCL, and RCCL.  Overall, Royal is our favorite, but we have to go for the money, and Carnival usually wins that battle.

We are sailing on MSC next summer with the kids and grands.  They had 7 day prices on Armonia that beat the deal we got on 5 day Fantasy by enough to pay for about half our round trip airfare.

[thesmiths]

We did 2 Disney cruisewhen the children were younger and loved them.

May do another one if we ever have Grand Children And we are still around 🙂

 

Carnival is our go to. Vista Class, love the Havana Area and love the ABC islands.