If you were going to cheat on NCL with another line...

[Monica887]

What cruise line would you go? Which is your favorite of the mainstream commercial cruise lines, and why? And how do YOU think they compare to NCL when it comes to food and service etc? 

 

The more recent Carnival ones I did I didn't care for at all. Newer ships but I hated the layout. Didn't care for the service or food. Didn't like how over the top the cruise directors are. 

 

Only one recent one on Royal and it was an older ship. I would like to try one of their newer ships again but the service was excellent. The food was comparable to NCL (which I think is mediocre to good). 

 

Planning an extended family trip and trying to decide or see if there's anything I'm missing before I go back to NCL as my default. Youngest kid is 11 up to grandparents. Warm weather, easy to get to from the east coast. Christmas week. (We're stuck with school schedules...)

[sjmbruce]

We've been on Carnival, Princess and Royal. Aside from the little perks you get from sticking with one cruiseline, I've never understood the fierce loyalty to one over another.  

I've only been on one NCL cruise, the Pride in Hawaii. I wasn't a huge fan but loved the inter-island itinerary.  We're going to give them another try this year. 

[NikiPinkston]

We love NCL and have only been on Carnival (not for us, either) and American Cruise Lines (great small ship cruising) otherwise. We've sailed on Pride of America twice but want to do a trans-Pacific from L.A. to Hawaii, which NCL does not offer, so we're looking at Princess for that, either this summer or this coming December. (We actually had this cruise booked for last December but had to cancel due to a medical issue DH had, and Princess refunded our entire deposit.) We haven't looked at RCCL, but Princess looks like it might be a good fit for us.

[itsnotjustme]

I'm sending my wife with a friend on a VIking river cruise late next year.

 

Remind me later and I'll tell you what she thinks of it.

[olemissreb]

My favorite cruise line is Celebrity, but I haven't been too happy with their itineraries lately. I also took a Princess cruise about 34 years ago and felt like the youngest one on board. I may try them again one day. I've also been on Royal and liked them too.  So I'll be going on my first NCL cruise in March '25. I'll let you know how it compares.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I haven't used another cruise line in about 15 years, but I keep saying I want to try the edge class ships on Celebrity.  Once I use my four cruise next vouchers with NCL, I do plan to try Celebrity.

[jimsig]

I have sailed Carnival once, RC twice, and April will be my fourth NCL cruise.

 

I would do Royal again. 

 

On the second cruise we got priority boarding.  Granted it was the last of the priority groups but we were one of the first 25 or so on the ship as it was one of their oldest ships at the time.  As we were walking to the buffet an officer greeted us with a big smile and said, "Have we started boarding yet?"  we answered yes and he responded with "Ooops, I must have missed the announcement" and laughed.  

[dpepper64]

Celebrity would be my choice  Good time when we cruise with them last

[vacation44]

When our children were 5 & 6 we did a Disney cruise and it was a one and done due to the ridiculous price.   Have stuck continuously with NCL; however,  we will be doing a Viking River Boat cruise in 2026 along the Rhine.

[laudergayle]

I love to cruise, and will readily jump to any cruise line if the itinerary and cost fit my needs.  We are Platinum on NCL, but the price tag keeps going up.  This is what drove us to trial another cruise line.  We chose MSC.  We did a 4 day trial last summer and have since booked two other MSC cruises.  We are doing a quick 3-day in February, then 7-nighter out of Barcelona in the fall.  While we prefer NCL food and freestyle dining, it is not a major consideration when booking. 
 

Now, to answer your last question…if the price is right, I would recommend NCL out of Port Canaveral or Miami on one of their Breakaway class ships.

Edited January 28 by laudergayle

[Epic_Bear]

Im cheating on them with Royal Carribean in September to cruise roundtrip from my homeport of Boston to Greenland and Canada

[Isabella Benjamin]

We're going on our first non-NCL cruise in March.  It's a Disney cruise.  During Spring break.

 

Wish me luck.  

[graphicguy]

I do like Celebrity’s Edge class ships.  If they ever get their fares more aligned with the industry overall, I’ll give them another shot.  Right now they’re way high with their fares!

[2bc cruisers]

In a couple of weeks we are trying MSC then booked back with NCL  We’ve (not recently), tried HAL👍👍👎, celebrity 👍, CCL👎, RCCL👍, we come back to NCL.  I am hoping to cheat on ncl with the icon after the prices come out of the stratosphere.  That ship I won’t even care where it’s going.  Not sure the other half will appreciate it, but looks fun. 

[swmichigan cruiser]

I would do HAL on one of their newest ships. We did the Amsterdam this past summer and I was really impressed. Was really nice the hotel director on the Amsterdam used to be a hotel director on NCL that I had met before so we had a few good conversations.

[LatinaInTexas]

Loved all the cruises on the lines I have sailed so far. Overall really liked my first NCL cruise so much I booked my next cruise with them and will prob book my third with them soon.

Other than that the one cruise that was most similar to NCL and that I really liked a lot was with MSC. The only thing that stopped me sailing them again was their limited ships and itineraries, can't sail them to Alaska.

[slavetoabunny]

I have an Alaska cruise on HAL and a Caribbean cruise on Celebrity booked in 2024.

[jimsig]

Forgot to add that at some point as a Disney fan along with a 14yo DD  I do want to try DCL.  Would also love to do a European river cruise.

[Sailing12Away]

I have zero desire to sail on Carnival, and hubby has zero desire to try out Princess. He claims that any cruise line that had a documentary made about them for not good reasons is a cruise line he wants to avoid.

 

We've tried Celebrity - it was fine. They're typically outside of a price range we're comfy with so unless the itinerary is amazing we don't book with them. Having said that - we have 2 trips coming up with them because of the itineraries.

 

RCC was just meh on the ship we tried. Again, for a fancy suite with them it's out of the price point we're comfortable with. I also have zero desire to be on a ship with that many passengers, was literally getting anxiety looking at just the deck plans for Icon.

 

So for us, that leaves Virgin which we're interested in, and MSC which we would try. But we're honestly moving away from the big guys and looking at smaller lines that go to more unique itineraries and off the beaten path.

[oteixeira]

For us it's would be cheating to find out about other ship within a ship concepts.  So basically, Celebrity Edge class, the new Princess ship, MSC YC, etc.  We are already planned out on a couple of them.

[Va cruising]

We did this exact family trip last year with family ranging from 12 to 80.   We have sailed Disney, Royal, Celebrity, Holland, Cunard, and Princess.   I picked Royal's Symphony for the big family vacation.  Yes, there are tons of people on board, but the ship does a great job of spreading everyone out.  There are so many public spaces to utilize, that it never feels crowded except on embarkation day.

  The  larger Royal ships offer something for everyone.  We all did whatever we wanted during the day and met for dinner every evening.  Then, we usually migrated to Central Park or the piano bar for music.  I hope you and your family have a wonderful vacation!

[scar4711]

i would pick Virgin…i may do one next year 

[TwinMamainMN]

We’re the opposite so far. Several on Royal which we enjoy, one on Celebrity which we enjoyed, and our upcoming one is on Bliss. One thing I already dislike about NCL is no free adults only swimming area. Royal has a Solarium on most ships that is not only free but also includes swimming pools and hot tubs. We will miss that for sure. Will we miss it enough to not sail on NCL if the price and itinerary are right? I can’t say for sure yet.

[Nola26]

10 hours ago, sjmbruce said:

We've been on Carnival, Princess and Royal. Aside from the little perks you get from sticking with one cruiseline, I've never understood the fierce loyalty to one over another.  

I've only been on one NCL cruise, the Pride in Hawaii. I wasn't a huge fan but loved the inter-island itinerary.  We're going to give them another try this year. 

POA isn't indicative of NCL, its a very unique ship, crew and even beverage plan options. Try another ship/itinerary to get a real sense of NCL and Free Style Cruising.

 

I recently hit the Platinum level with NCL and will be able to enjoy those benefits next cruise. Some of the items that can make a cruise a little nicer: complimentary specialty dining meals, bottle of water in the cabin, photos/store discounts and we really appreciate the discount or complimentary laundry service. Either as a way to pack less or just take clean clothes home, so nice. There are other perks, but those are some we've used with NCL.

 

To answer the thread question I have cheated on NCL with both Celebrity and Holland America. Both were good but I still prefer NCL. Celebrity was a 4-night cruise on the Summit, so not likely a fair comparison to some of my weeklong NCL experiences. One thing I really missed on Celebrity was an option like The Local, 24hr eatery. The Summit has an indoor pool, Solarium that is for ages 16+. There is also a sauna in the ladies locker room in that area, a sweet no charge treat!

 

Holland America was for Alaska and I think that is the best line for Alaska, great experience, no tenders and an awesome itinerary. Holland America is also serving sustainable fish and had several vegetarian vegan options at the pool side grill (veggie burger, portobello mushroom and even a beyond meat bratwurst) that I have never seen on a cruise ship. Buffet is served including someone coming by to get beverage orders (water, lemonade, bar, etc.) We chose the Have It All option, and I think that made the cruise a relaxing experience. Another big deal with Holland America: all ships have a retractable roof over the pool.

 

I've often said I'd like to try Royal Caribbean, but so many reports disappointing food has changed my mind for now. Good food 3 out of 3 not sure why I'd risk disappointment.

 

NCL beats them both on entertainment. Quality of musical performers as well as stage shows are the best I've seen at sea.

Edited January 29 by Nola26

[gizfish]

2 hours ago, scar4711 said:

i would pick Virgin…i may do one next year 

Virgin does not allow children which OP says will be sailing with them. Check out MSC.