Unbiased and complete cruise line comparison?

[YourWorldWithBill]

6 hours ago, mammajamma2013 said:

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

I also like Emma Cruises, as it approaches cruising very differently than Tips for Travellers. A few months ago they did a joint live session.

[George C]

I have cruised 75 times over almost 50 years , have cruised all the big lines, currently I am only interested in 3 lines , all in suites 

celebrity which has excellent suite perks including a suite lounge open all day and a suite restaurant on all there ships, there newest ships Edge class has a fantastic outside retreat area with a pool and bar. Also has butler 

 

rccl we love there entertainment currently will only book oasis class because of the great entertainment including ice show , aqua show and broadway play , this class also has a suite restaurant.

 

Msc yacht club - has the best suite lounge of the three with live music from 5 to 11 , the other suite lounges do not offer entertainment in their lounge . They also have a suite restaurant and fantastic outdoor area with pool and restaurant, the butler service is excellent.

[rp1004]

On 6/28/2023 at 5:55 PM, George C said:

I have cruised 75 times over almost 50 years , have cruised all the big lines, currently I am only interested in 3 lines , all in suites 

celebrity which has excellent suite perks including a suite lounge open all day and a suite restaurant on all there ships, there newest ships Edge class has a fantastic outside retreat area with a pool and bar. Also has butler 

 

rccl we love there entertainment currently will only book oasis class because of the great entertainment including ice show , aqua show and broadway play , this class also has a suite restaurant.

 

Msc yacht club - has the best suite lounge of the three with live music from 5 to 11 , the other suite lounges do not offer entertainment in their lounge . They also have a suite restaurant and fantastic outdoor area with pool and restaurant, the butler service is excellent.

Just curious, have you tried the Haven on NCL? I was wondering how it compares service wise to MSC Yacht Club or Celebrity Suites with that same concept. 

[George C]

4 hours ago, rp1004 said:

Just curious, have you tried the Haven on NCL? I was wondering how it compares service wise to MSC Yacht Club or Celebrity Suites with that same concept. 

I have read lots of good things about Haven but have not sailed them , had a few real problems with ncl and don’t trust the line. 

[wineoclock]

18 hours ago, rp1004 said:

Just curious, have you tried the Haven on NCL? I was wondering how it compares service wise to MSC Yacht Club or Celebrity Suites with that same concept. 

My sister in law & family has sailed RCCL suites, Disney suites & Haven. They didn’t like Haven at all. We keep trying to persuade them to try X retreat with us. Their favourite experience is Disney but the kids are older now so are sailing RCCL this year. 
 

These threads are definitely making think we have to try YC one time even if only for the experience :))

[Cruzaholic41]

The problem with the Haven is it’s on NCL. I enjoyed the experience while in the confines but when out and about, you still have to endure the NCL nonsense. 
 

RCI and Celebrity suites are my favorites and imo, have the best perks. Plus, they are on beautiful, awe inspiring ships. I prefer suites on these 2 lines over most luxury cruise lines. 

[rp1004]

I really appreciate all of the great feedback on this. I also spoke with a travel agent that I know (do not currently use) and got what seemed to be genuine feedback and never felt like she was selling me on any particular one. Her feedback closely aligns with a good deal of what I have read from all of you so our plan is now to not cancel what we have currently booked, but going forward we are going to try all of the other major lines to see if any of the experiences are better fits. 

 

One thing that really clicked that she said was "with some lines you pay more and get a nicer room and the same basic experience, while with others you pay more and get a totally different experience."

[Hlitner]

We are fans of the MSC's Yacht Club, but have yet to cruise in the Haven.  However, when in the YC, the topic has often been discussed and most we have met preferred the YC.  If we happen to stumble on a Haven deal that comes close to the YC price we would be tempted to give the Haven a try.  As to the Celebrity Retreat cabins, we think the big negative is that unlike the YC (or the Haven) it is not a self-contained part of the ship.  Another issue we have with the retreat suites are the pricing.  Retreat pricing is often even more than we pay on luxury lines, such as Seabourn, and in its best day X is no luxury line.  Consider we are about to book a 32 day Seabourn cruise and the cost is under $500 per person day (which is all-inclusive of Internet, tips, all drinks, and everything else except for shore excursions).  Compare that to the lowest price retreat suites with tips, drinks and internet.  And consider that on lines like Seabourn items like Caviar and French Champagne do flow at no extra charge.

 

Hank

[JRG]

19 hours ago, rp1004 said:

I really appreciate all of the great feedback on this. I also spoke with a travel agent that I know (do not currently use) and got what seemed to be genuine feedback and never felt like she was selling me on any particular one. Her feedback closely aligns with a good deal of what I have read from all of you so our plan is now to not cancel what we have currently booked, but going forward we are going to try all of the other major lines to see if any of the experiences are better fits. 

 

And this brings us back to Do, as in Do Re Mi.....this was smart post to centralize the resources people use to compare cruises,   and that is really helpful for newcomers and veteran cruisers alike,  but the challenge of finding a resource that is unbiased is each cruisers path to choose.

 

The comments from actual cruisers who have recently made voyages,  and their descriptions of specific ships and site visits has been an invaluable resource for our cruises and our land vacations, only because we have learned to separate the good contributors from the imposters.    Once you master the knowledge of who the reputable cruisers are then its not hard to take that leap of faith and follow their advice.  

 

We use a travel agent that feeds us frequent flier mileage for our travels but we know how to use the parameters in their search engines to qualify a given cruise for price and itinerary, but when we book we know the details ahead of time and are not reliant upon their recommendations,   which we have never asked for, even though they purport to be the biggest travel agency in the world.

 

 

 

[wineoclock]

For us we like the Celebrity S class ships. M class too small & E class too big, though my husband has persuaded me to go on Apex again next year. On E class it’s retreat or not sailing as I don’t like the IV. I also like not having a formal night. 

 

I worry about SS or SB as possibly too small for me. So looking at regent or Oceania for our cruise after Apex. 

[babs135]

I would love to try a suite such as mentioned by George C but find the prices prohibitive.  We like to cruise 2 or 3 times a year, usually in an inside cabin, so if we were to take the plunge of paying the extra we'd probably have to just do the one cruise.

Tell me how I could convince DH to try something different!!!!!  His argument would be that whatever cabin you are in, you are all going to the same places.

[drsel]

No doubt some cruise lines are better than others.

There is a website which gives reasonably accurate star ⭐ ratings to each and every cruise ship.

 

But you also need to compare prices and evaluate the value received for what you pay.

Always remember that a little better is a lot more expensive

And a lot better is usually exorbitant and unaffordable to many

Edited July 5, 2023 by drsel

[Szt]

This is a tough one! Deciding what is important to you is paramount. One thing I love about CC is it's one of the few places people are as likely to post about good experiences as they are bad. In your research keep a few things in mind: some lines have the option to strip down the extras. NCL calls them "sail away rates". This takes out all the "free" offers. Make a list of all the amenities and packages offered. For example, I recently found out Celebrity offers a "zero proof" drink package. This is great for us as we are not big on alcohol, but do go through a lot of water and soda. Last cruise we spent a fortune on bottled water even though we had "unlimited drink package". Also remember things like Starbucks are rarely included in these packages. 
It's also good to remember this is a fluid industry. We thought the medallion tech on our last Princess cruise was fantastic. But I'd be willing to bet other lines come up with something similar soon. Most importantly, in your research, remember to take everything with a grain of salt. Good luck! Have fun with your planning. That's one of the best parts of travel! 

[Hlitner]

I was just re-reading this interesting thread and noticed George C's reference to the retreat suits on Celebrity!  Since the thread is about "comparisons" I have some thoughts about those suites.  No doubt, X does have some terrific suite amenities for those in the "retreat" suites.  That being said, part of our equation when comparing cruise lines is "value."  Celebrity generally charges more per passenger day, for their retreat suites, than it would cost to cruise on a small ship luxury line (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, etc) or the Premium Lines (Oceania, Viking, Azamara, etc).  We recently booked a long Seabourn cruise (this is an all-suite luxury line with very high space ratios) for less than $500 per person/day.  Seabourn is truly all-inclusive (except for shore excursions) so what you pay for the cruise is generally the total price.  You do not pay extra for tips, drinks, alternative restaurants, etc.  At $500 per person/day try comparing SB to the lowest price retreat suite on an Edge Class ship (and include drinks, tips, Internet).  In all cases, the X pricing is significantly higher and sometimes more than double the cost of Seabourn.  We have cruised on X (Elite Plus) and have also cruised on Seabourn (about 100 days) and I can say that in its best day....X is not in the same class.  While the actual suite on X might be larger (depending on which category) you will not be drinking French Champagne and eating caviar on X like you would on Seabourn (no extra charge).

 

For us. the X retreat cabins are horribly overpriced when compared to competition.  That being said, as long as X can find loyal folks willing to pay the ridiculous prices, why would the cruise line care.

 

Hank

[rp1004]

An interesting aside, as a result of this whole quandry my wife and I have started having more conversations about quantity vs quality. It was always our dream to retire and cruise 6-8 times a year. Currently we are doing about 3 and have a few years until retirement. After all this, we are both on the same page that if we had a budget for cruising, we would rather take half the cruises and pay for an upgraded experience in order to do so. We had just gotten in a routine with cruising and it seems as if the experience not meeting our expectations may actually end up pushing us to take more ownership of finding the experience we want instead of accepting the one we are accustomed to. Silver linings and all that............

[George C]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I was just re-reading this interesting thread and noticed George C's reference to the retreat suits on Celebrity!  Since the thread is about "comparisons" I have some thoughts about those suites.  No doubt, X does have some terrific suite amenities for those in the "retreat" suites.  That being said, part of our equation when comparing cruise lines is "value."  Celebrity generally charges more per passenger day, for their retreat suites, than it would cost to cruise on a small ship luxury line (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, etc) or the Premium Lines (Oceania, Viking, Azamara, etc).  We recently booked a long Seabourn cruise (this is an all-suite luxury line with very high space ratios) for less than $500 per person/day.  Seabourn is truly all-inclusive (except for shore excursions) so what you pay for the cruise is generally the total price.  You do not pay extra for tips, drinks, alternative restaurants, etc.  At $500 per person/day try comparing SB to the lowest price retreat suite on an Edge Class ship (and include drinks, tips, Internet).  In all cases, the X pricing is significantly higher and sometimes more than double the cost of Seabourn.  We have cruised on X (Elite Plus) and have also cruised on Seabourn (about 100 days) and I can say that in its best day....X is not in the same class.  While the actual suite on X might be larger (depending on which category) you will not be drinking French Champagne and eating caviar on X like you would on Seabourn (no extra charge).

 

For us. the X retreat cabins are horribly overpriced when compared to competition.  That being said, as long as X can find loyal folks willing to pay the ridiculous prices, why would the cruise line care.

 

Hank

I agree price is really high for celebrity but our cruise last year was 2800 per person for a week on beyond, but they bundled lots of things including 400 each in on board credit, drink package, tips , WiFi . Rates currently are way higher so we will be back on rccl.

[drsel]

An absolutely complete, fair and unbiased comparison.

I also recommend Emma cruises and Gary Bembridge's Tips for Travellers. Both are unbiased.

Edited July 16, 2023 by drsel

[drsel]

Another superb comparison with great video shots of each cruise line!