Unbiased and complete cruise line comparison?

[rp1004]

I am not really a new cruiser as I just did my 25th, but we are thinking as a family it may be time for a change. I don't want to post about anything specific or bash any particular line or ship because I understand they are all good in ways and all have problems. I just want to understand the fundamental differences between lines a little better and haven't really found anything that is complete and unbiased. Plenty of Line A v. Line B banter out there to read, but there are so many lines out there I want to find the right fit for us. I am pretty open minded about any of the lines but also know it could be just the cruise industry as a whole, and that is ok too. I just want to find the best value for my money and my current line of choice just doesn't give that, and when I have spoken to them directly it doesn't seem to do much good. I probably should have started this discovery process sooner as it has been the last 3 cruises (different ships and itineraries). I think I have been in denial because I am pretty loyal and still love being on a cruise, but after spending enough on the last cruise to put a kid through a semester at a good college and still getting consistently poor service on a "flagship" vessel, I have to at least look. 

 

I also understand maybe it isn't a different line, but a different size ship, different intineraries, etc could be the answer, and that is completely fine. I just need some sort of resource to better understand all options as I love cruising and plan on doing it for another 30 yrs. 

 

Any help is appreciated. 

[Joebucks]

I would go to Youtube and dedicate a few hours to watching onboard videos. Seeing the ship, entertainment, food, amenities, etc. are probably some of the best unbiased views you can get. There's too many biased people on the internet that refuse to admit it. 

[cruisemom42]

I don't think you'll find what you're looking for on this site. But there are guides out there that at least TRY to provide somewhat objective reviews of all cruise lines and try to group them into categories based on various parameters such as cost per day, what's included (or not), whether you are a family versus a couple, size of ship, entertainment, etc.

 

There are so many lines out there (and several more that will be launching soon), that I can't help but feel there's a line out there for anyone who enjoys cruising. (Some people don't, and that's fine too).

 

Do keep in mind that expectations should be realistic, especially post-Covid when must lines are still struggling to get back to where they were and to pay off significant debt. Even aside from that, some people fail to understand that there is no line out there offering six-star services at three-star prices. 

 

A few books to consider are listed in this link: 

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/10-books-to-help-you-plan-your-next-cruise/40212

 

 

Some potential online sources to read:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-to-pick-cruise-line/

 

https://www.cruisewatch.com/cruise-guide/plan-your-cruise/choosing-right-cruise-line

 

 

Talking to a good, knowledgeable travel agent that specializes in cruises could be another option. However, I've found that TAs often specialize or partner with specific cruise lines, so there may be some "steering" toward a certain line, especially if you are a new client.

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by cruisemom42

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

I don't think you'll find what you're looking for on this site. But there are guides out there that at least TRY to provide somewhat objective reviews of all cruise lines and try to group them into categories based on various parameters such as cost per day, what's included (or not), whether you are a family versus a couple, size of ship, entertainment, etc.

 

There are so many lines out there (and several more that will be launching soon), that I can't help but feel there's a line out there for anyone who enjoys cruising. (Some people don't, and that's fine too).

 

Do keep in mind that expectations should be realistic, especially post-Covid when must lines are still struggling to get back to where they were and to pay off significant debt. Even aside from that, some people fail to understand that there is no line out there offering six-star services at three-star prices. 

 

A few books to consider are listed in this link: 

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/10-books-to-help-you-plan-your-next-cruise/40212

 

 

Some potential online sources to read:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-to-pick-cruise-line/

 

https://www.cruisewatch.com/cruise-guide/plan-your-cruise/choosing-right-cruise-line

 

 

Talking to a good, knowledgeable travel agent that specializes in cruises could be another option. However, I've found that TAs often specialize or partner with specific cruise lines, so there may be some "steering" toward a certain line, especially if you are a new client.

 

All good advice, however, things have changed so much since Covid that I would take anything written pre-Covid with a grain of salt.

[cruisemom42]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

All good advice, however, things have changed so much since Covid that I would take anything written pre-Covid with a grain of salt.

 

Well yes. But not everything changes. Carnival is still a budget-friendly family line, HAL still has more variety in their itineraries (and a somewhat sedate atmosphere), Disney is still Disney. None of the lines has significantly changed their focus. It's just that all of them -- as I said -- are struggling post-Covid to maintain the same levels, particularly of service and food quality.

[JRG]

These days I would suggest looking at Celebrity and make them a baseline for comparing lines but they have different classes of ships so that's part of the selection.   Yes I have cruised them and they are our preferred line,   so I'm a bit of a homer,  but they deserve to be on the short list.

 

It seems like you have a good start on managing the expectations though,  and there are definitely some lines struggling and some seem to be doing better during the recovery.

[JRG]

11 minutes ago, JRG said:

so I'm a bit of a homer,  but they deserve to be on the short list.

 

I forgot to mention that Celebrity always seem to do exceedingly well on the CC food reviews, and that includes rankings vs. the other lines,  that's a helpful resource.

 

If Celebrity isn't the line your currently shelving then I understand, my bad, but I think they are not of the ones that is floundering and I hope I'm right.

 

It's a challenge for alot us and we have about the same amount of cruises under our belt as the OP.

Edited June 27, 2023 by JRG

[Aquahound]

26 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

All good advice, however, things have changed so much since Covid that I would take anything written pre-Covid with a grain of salt.

 

I agree.  I think it's best for the OP to research travel sites that categorize cruise lines and speak to their individual qualities.  With 25 cruises under their belt, the amenities shouldn't be foreign to them.  Moreso, I think it's great they are willing to spread their wings and try something different.  

 

  

[YourWorldWithBill]

3 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I also understand maybe it isn't a different line, but a different size ship, different intineraries, etc could be the answer, and that is completely fine. I just need some sort of resource to better understand all options as I love cruising and plan on doing it for another 30 yrs. 

I learned a lot from a YouTube site called "Tips for Travellers." Yes, the British spelling of travellers. He has hundreds of very impartial videos covering just about anything you can think of relating to cruising. Just a suggestion, but I found it very helpful. 

[rp1004]

Thank you all for the great advice. I will start with what you have given me and get to work. It is just frustrating as it is very difficult to know what is unbiased and what is a sales pitch disguised as unbiased. 

 

Price really is not a concern. I don't mean that to say that I am wealthy becuase I am not. But no normal cruise experience is going to be turned down because it costs another few hundred per person. What is VERY important to me, however, is that I get what I am paying for and I am am made to feel valued. I have a strong belief that there is an answer out there that will be a good fit, I just have to start looking elsewhere. 

 

I really do appreciate all of the comments!

[katmu]

2 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I learned a lot from a YouTube site called "Tips for Travellers." Yes, the British spelling of travellers. He has hundreds of very impartial videos covering just about anything you can think of relating to cruising. Just a suggestion, but I found it very helpful. 

 

I would agree with this advice.  I find Tips for Travellers to be the most impartial of the YouTube channels.  He has sailed nearly every major line and hosts a weekly Q&A session where he answers viewers questions as well.

[YourWorldWithBill]

3 minutes ago, katmu said:

 

I would agree with this advice.  I find Tips for Travellers to be the most impartial of the YouTube channels.  He has sailed nearly every major line and hosts a weekly Q&A session where he answers viewers questions as well.

I'm on the live chat most weekends, usually with something to say.

[ldubs]

Sometimes there can be some noticeable variations among ships within a cruise line.     Usually related to size and, not surprisingly, age (or time since retrofit).   How staff is managed plays a role too.   

Edited June 28, 2023 by ldubs

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I am not really a new cruiser as I just did my 25th, but we are thinking as a family it may be time for a change. I don't want to post about anything specific or bash any particular line or ship because I understand they are all good in ways and all have problems. I just want to understand the fundamental differences between lines a little better and haven't really found anything that is complete and unbiased. Plenty of Line A v. Line B banter out there to read, but there are so many lines out there I want to find the right fit for us. I am pretty open minded about any of the lines but also know it could be just the cruise industry as a whole, and that is ok too. I just want to find the best value for my money and my current line of choice just doesn't give that, and when I have spoken to them directly it doesn't seem to do much good. I probably should have started this discovery process sooner as it has been the last 3 cruises (different ships and itineraries). I think I have been in denial because I am pretty loyal and still love being on a cruise, but after spending enough on the last cruise to put a kid through a semester at a good college and still getting consistently poor service on a "flagship" vessel, I have to at least look. 

 

I also understand maybe it isn't a different line, but a different size ship, different intineraries, etc could be the answer, and that is completely fine. I just need some sort of resource to better understand all options as I love cruising and plan on doing it for another 30 yrs. 

 

Any help is appreciated. 

 

You have received some great suggestions for resources, but prior to starting research, I suggest developing your Statement of Requirements (SoR) of what you are looking for in a cruise. It should be detailed and include must haves and nice to have.

 

After our final Princess cruise, I spent 2-years developing an SoR and then researching. Having a detailed SoR helps remove some of the bias, as you can more easily focus on facts. 

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, JRG said:

These days I would suggest looking at Celebrity and make them a baseline for comparing lines but they have different classes of ships so that's part of the selection.   Yes I have cruised them and they are our preferred line,   so I'm a bit of a homer,  but they deserve to be on the short list.

 

It seems like you have a good start on managing the expectations though,  and there are definitely some lines struggling and some seem to be doing better during the recovery.

 

I like Celebrity and look forward to experiencing their newer ships.   I consider Celebrity and Princess to be pretty much the same, though Celebrity is more casual, which I appreciate.  

[SelectSys]

12 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I just want to find the best value for my money and my current line of choice just doesn't give that,

 

The best value for money is entirely based on your preferences.  What is it that you want in a cruise line?  Destinations off the norm, luxury feeling and service, activities on board, lots of dining choices, ...  I think figuring this out first will give you a good idea of what you want.  Also, you state your current line doesn't do it for you.  What is missing from that experience that you want?

 

CruiseCritic itself has lots of review information.  The general overviews are fairly factual and seem free of bias to me.  Every major ship and line is covered: https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruise-ships/  I would bet you could narrow things down looking here just looking at the summaries.

 

8 hours ago, rp1004 said:

Price really is not a concern. I don't mean that to say that I am wealthy becuase I am not. But no normal cruise experience is going to be turned down because it costs another few hundred per person. What is VERY important to me, however, is that I get what I am paying for and I am am made to feel valued

I read this to mean that you are going to be restricted to the mass market lines.  I do find this last statement about being valued as possibly the toughest. Getting what you paid for seems right, but being truly valued might be tough at times. This will depend on the specific crew members you interact with.  

 

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

I suggest developing your Statement of Requirements (SoR) of what you are looking for in a cruise. It should be detailed and include must haves and nice to have.

This is what I think as well.

[donaldsc]

You are asking a whole lot. w/o giving us much background information at all.  Also to be frank most of us are willing to try to answer specific questions but your question is so all encompassing that most us us will not bother to answer it.  Come back with some more specific questions and you will get more useful responses.   The answers to some of your issues are out there but you will have to do your own research to find.  I would also suggest finding a good cruise oriented TA.  As you know we can not recommend TAs on CC.

 

DON

[Hlitner]

We think it is very difficult to find CC opinions that are not, to some degree, based on bias and hearsay.  Why?  A majority of cruisers have only cruised on 1 or 2 lines within the past few years.  Many become cheerleaders for their usual line of choice, and often base what they say about other lines on "what they have heard" or what they knew to be the case 5 or 10 years ago.  That is just human nature.

 

A good cruise agent (difficult to find) that also manages to get themselves onto many cruises, can be a great source.  Reading reviews and comments here on CC, and than comparing them with other comments, can often become quite helpful.  Looking for specifics rather than generalities can also be helpful.  I recently read a post on the HAL board where the person was very upbeat on their ship and line.  But in the same post they mentioned that they avoided the MDR because service and quality were not good (they did like the Lido) and they also spent time at Guest Services dealing with overcharges  That poster still enjoyed the cruise and line.  But for many of us, saying that the MDR is not worth using, but the ship is fine, would not be acceptable.  Another example is if somebody posts that the entertainment was good, but they never go to shows and normally head to bed by 9, would also be a red flag.

 

Lately, we have seen another trend here on CC.   Many posters will acknowledge that their line of choice "is not what it was prior to Covid,"  "there have been many cutbacks," etc. and than they rationalize their own comments by saying something like "we just have to accept the way things are today."  Because of the "cheerleader" mindset that person does not see the wisdom in looking for other lines/ships that might be closer to what they expected prior to COVID.  

 

And lastly we suggest reading the actual ship reviews recently posted here on CC.  If you look at a few reviews for a ship, you can often detect trends and simularities.

 

Hank

 

[rp1004]

4 hours ago, donaldsc said:

You are asking a whole lot. w/o giving us much background information at all.  Also to be frank most of us are willing to try to answer specific questions but your question is so all encompassing that most us us will not bother to answer it.  Come back with some more specific questions and you will get more useful responses.   The answers to some of your issues are out there but you will have to do your own research to find.  I would also suggest finding a good cruise oriented TA.  As you know we can not recommend TAs on CC.

 

DON

I am really just trying to ask for an unbiased resource without completely slamming my current line of choice. That does lead to some plot holes, I know, but I am just not going to be that guy to use this forum as my therapy session. I think the list of requirements is a good starting point and a way to narrow down the search, and I will work on that for sure. But I have been so entrenched in one line for so long that I really don't know what else is out there.

 

I value service. I mean basic quality service, not like a private butler. I love my perks from my loyalty points, but I think everyone on board should receive the same level of service regardless of what color your card is. However, it does get frustrating when you pay a little more for this room over that room because our expectations automatically go up. 

 

I detest rudeness or a condescending tone from team members and I value consistency. I lump those together because I do realize that COVID changed everything, and it changed the cruise industry the most. It is a challenge for all cruise lines to have strong systems in place on a normal day but even more so now. I fully expect there to be some bad apples in every bunch, but in my most recent experience, I had what was a pretty minor issue (easy to fix) and went to guest services. They referred me to another manager and said they couldn't do anything personally. I spoke to the other manager about the interaction in question and she did apologize and said she would speak with the team member in question. Neither the manager nor guest services even took my cabin number to follow up with me. It really wasnt a big deal and they could have made it right with just acknowledging they had taken care of it and give me a beer on the house and I am happy. 

[Essiesmom]

There is/was a Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships by Douglas Ward.  He would describe each cruise line and if he had a bias, it was toward the luxury lines.  He used to update it every year, but the latest I can find on Amazon is from 2019, and Covid makes that way out of date.  EM

[mammajamma2013]

19 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I learned a lot from a YouTube site called "Tips for Travellers." Yes, the British spelling of travellers. He has hundreds of very impartial videos covering just about anything you can think of relating to cruising. Just a suggestion, but I found it very helpful. 

I find Emma Cruises to be impartial as well, and she also sails many lines. Another one to possibly check out.

[JRG]

2 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I am really just trying to ask for an unbiased resource without completely slamming my current line of choice.

 

This is good as it is holding the thread together.   

 

My best recommendation yesterday got torpedoed when Celebrity re-deployed Beyond for next year, and that is going to be a hot topic I think because alot of passengers are affected. I don't know if they are floundering or cashing in,  but it forces passengers to re-book at prevailing rates that that works to the advantage of the cruise lines.

 

It just goes to show you how dicey it can be right now planning out for a cruise, let alone selecting one from the choices.   

 

 

[rp1004]

15 minutes ago, JRG said:

 

This is good as it is holding the thread together.   

 

My best recommendation yesterday got torpedoed when Celebrity re-deployed Beyond for next year, and that is going to be a hot topic I think because alot of passengers are affected. I don't know if they are floundering or cashing in,  but it forces passengers to re-book at prevailing rates that that works to the advantage of the cruise lines.

 

It just goes to show you how dicey it can be right now planning out for a cruise, let alone selecting one from the choices.   

 

 

Yeah that was my intent to hold it together without going too far off the rails. As a little update, the rep I deal with (and have for years) at the cruise line has put me in contact with management to try and talk through the issues, so maybe there will be some good karma heading my way from that, but I still want to do my research and have a better understanding of the broader market.

[SelectSys]

3 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I think the list of requirements is a good starting point and a way to narrow down the search,

Great! I am sure this line of approach will lead to  something new to try.

 

3 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I love my perks from my loyalty points

That's why these programs exist - to lock you in!  I did hear at least at some point that MSC does offer a status match for new cutovers.

 

3 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I think everyone on board should receive the same level of service regardless of what color your card is

This is just not going to happen.  Same thing is true of airlines.  

 

3 hours ago, rp1004 said:

It really wasnt a big deal and they could have made it right with just acknowledging they had taken care of it and give me a beer on the house and I am happy. 

I agree that follow up would have been nice.  I am not so sure why a beer would be required as well.

 

Good luck on your quest!

Edited June 28, 2023 by SelectSys

[rp1004]

34 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

I agree that follow up would have been nice.  I am not so sure why a beer would be required as well.

The beer (or anything really) would have been more of a gesture that doesn't cost them much. Certainly wasn't necessary or as important as the follow up. I spent $10k on the cruise for 4 of us so I wasn't looking for a hand out, just good hospitality and an acknowledgement that it had been addressed.