Why Abandon a Cruise Line Based on One Ship?

[geoherb]

Our last Celebrity cruise was a disappointment. I occasionally look at Celebrity, but when the prices are much higher than Princess and Holland America, there's no reason to book with them again after that one disappointing cruise.

[Hlitner]

50 minutes ago, geoherb said:

Our last Celebrity cruise was a disappointment. I occasionally look at Celebrity, but when the prices are much higher than Princess and Holland America, there's no reason to book with them again after that one disappointing cruise.

We hear you and also have had issue with Celebrity since their current CEO decided to turn it into a budget line with premium pricing.  But HAL also has their problems (to be blunt, their entertainment sucks) as do some other mass market lines.  What I am saying is that the grass is not always greener on the other side.  For us, the last 3 years have found us doing a lot more Princess (not perfect, but a good value), MSC's Yacht Club (the best "value" in all of cruising), and some high end lines (Seabourn, Silverseas, Crystal, etc) when we can snag a good deal.

 

My issue with the premise of this thread is with the idea of "abandoning" a cruise line based on one cruise.  The industry is very dynamic which means it is always changing.  Celebrity may well return to something akin to its old glory days...although we now are thinking that this will not happen until there is a change at the top.  We also are optimistic that HAL (which seems to be cruising in rough waters without a rudder) will eventually get its act together (hopefully before I die of old age).

 

Hank

[Markanddonna]

I was almost ready to abandon (or more correctly move NCL to the bottom) after a TA on the NCL Jade, but we found a trip to the Holy Land on the NCL Spirit where the itinerary was perfect so we booked it. We were doing sort of a b2b on a brand new MSC ship with 6,200 passengers and thought  moving directly to an older, smaller ship that would be going into a two month refurbishment would be a disappointment. The experience was just the opposite. We loved the nicely cared for ship. The crew was great, the food was better, and the passengers were lovely. The ship had some places that were outdated, but that was easily overlooked. 

 

We loved MSC in the Caribbean, not so much in Europe. Each cruise line, each ship, and each sailing has its own pluses and minuses.

[navybankerteacher]

On 12/23/2019 at 3:14 PM, MCC retired said:

There are just too many choices to stay with one cruise line , bad experience or not.

Viva La Difference' .

Of course, that multiplicity of choices means that there is little reason to need  to go back to a line after a bad experience.

 

Because they are one (of essentially two) sailing regularly from a convenient, nearby, port, I have gone back to NCL several times despite serious discenchanment withthe experience.  Each time, my new experience confirms my disinterest in sailing with them again. At this point, unless they offered the ideal itinerary at the ideal time at a great price, I think I would prefer to spend the time staying home doing nothing but catching up on chores.

[cruznjan]

Hubby swore up, down and sideways he would never sail on Carnival because of what he had heard from past passengers. Bottom line, we have been on two Carnival cruises.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, that multiplicity of choices means that there is little reason to need  to go back to a line after a bad experience.

 

Because they are one (of essentially two) sailing regularly from a convenient, nearby, port, I have gone back to NCL several times despite serious discenchanment withthe experience.  Each time, my new experience confirms my disinterest in sailing with them again. At this point, unless they offered the ideal itinerary at the ideal time at a great price, I think I would prefer to spend the time staying home doing nothing but catching up on chores.

 

There are two cruise lines that I would avoid based on what I hear about them.   It is probably unfair but I'm pretty sure NCL isn't for me.

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

There are two cruise lines that I would avoid based on what I hear about them.   It is probably unfair but I'm pretty sure NCL isn't for me.

 

I don't think it's unfair at all to say that.  We know what we like and what appeals to us.  There's certain hotels/motels I've never stayed in and never will, simply because they don't appeal to me.  There's certain cars I won't buy, even though I've never driven them.  Same thing.  

[ldubs]

31 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

I don't think it's unfair at all to say that.  We know what we like and what appeals to us.  There's certain hotels/motels I've never stayed in and never will, simply because they don't appeal to me.  There's certain cars I won't buy, even though I've never driven them.  Same thing.  

 

Yes, that sure makes a lot of sense.  I guess I was thinking of the negative comments/bashing of cruise lines I like,  but I know better based on experience.   

[MamaFej]

4 hours ago, cruznjan said:

Hubby swore up, down and sideways he would never sail on Carnival because of what he had heard from past passengers. Bottom line, we have been on two Carnival cruises.

This gives me hope. Thanks! 

 

I'm dreading our first Carnival cruise next week ( a 3-day "Booze Cruise" for my cousin's 40th birthday) and looking forward to our second one in March (a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise with our youngest son for his senior year of HS spring break on a brand new ship). 

 

I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised next week and to find myself enjoying it more than I anticipate. 

 

I figure the March one on the new ship will have tons for the kid to do, and Hubby and I can enjoy time together in the quieter areas (though I'll probably check out deck activities, too). We will also enjoy taking him ashore for his first trip to Mexico. He hit his 50th US state when he was 10, he has been to Europe twice, yet neither he nor his siblings have ever been to Mexico, despite growing up in SoCal. 

[cruznjan]

43 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

This gives me hope. Thanks! 

 

I'm dreading our first Carnival cruise next week ( a 3-day "Booze Cruise" for my cousin's 40th birthday) and looking forward to our second one in March (a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise with our youngest son for his senior year of HS spring break on a brand new ship). 

 

I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised next week and to find myself enjoying it more than I anticipate. 

 

I figure the March one on the new ship will have tons for the kid to do, and Hubby and I can enjoy time together in the quieter areas (though I'll probably check out deck activities, too). We will also enjoy taking him ashore for his first trip to Mexico. He hit his 50th US state when he was 10, he has been to Europe twice, yet neither he nor his siblings have ever been to Mexico, despite growing up in SoCal. 

Our first was a Hawaii cruise on the Miracle. The second was a 5 night Bahamas cruise on the Sunshine celebrating my cousin's retirement. We enjoyed them both.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

If it floats, i’ll Be on it.  I have reasonable expectations. The restroom amenities on my pontoon boat are not the same as on Princess, but I do not complain about the lack of a toilet to guest services while on the pontoon as I did not expect there to be one.

 

Whatever line you choose, make sure your expectations are appropriate and make sure you are not part of the problem.

 

Also, don’t be one of those who complain about a cruise line because it rained or the seas were rough.

[lynncarol]

My first cruise was a surprise from my husband on our 25th anniversary from New York to Bermuda on a Cunard Line ship.  Weather was awful and I was seasick the whole time. (People were throwing up in hallways, but my husband experienced no problems at all). It took him ten years to talk me back onto a cruise ship. So happy I was persuaded as we now cruise frequently and celebrated our 53rd anniversary on a ship. Have I been seasick in bad weather since then? Yes, but over time this has abated to something that is easily controlled by dramamine and I can take it in stride.

[GUT2407]

On 12/23/2019 at 8:26 PM, EDiamond22 said:

I fell what your saying in kind of a different perspective, my family swore of carnival after one bad experience years before my time and have been loyal to royal ever since, and in turn turned me into loyal to royal. that being said i've never had a bad experience so it keeps me from trying another line for the fear of having a bad experience 🤷‍♂️

Whereas we were the opposite, first cruise was Princess loved it, that gave us the confidence to try others knowing that if we didn’t like them we could go running back to Princess.

[davekathy]

We would never book or not book a cruise line, ship or itinerary based on someones positive or negative experiences or opinions.