Luxury cruise line that's Royal-ish??

[chill6x6]

Hi,

 

So yeah we want to try something different.  We've done Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, HAL, and Princess.  Thinking about trying one of the "luxury" lines.  I have no idea which way to go.  But would want something very similar to Royal...don't want to have to dress up for dinner any more than nice slacks/shirt.  Really looking for better service, smaller/newer ship.

 

Suggestions?

[Charles4515]

27 minutes ago, chill6x6 said:

Hi,

 

So yeah we want to try something different.  We've done Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, HAL, and Princess.  Thinking about trying one of the "luxury" lines.  I have no idea which way to go.  But would want something very similar to Royal...don't want to have to dress up for dinner any more than nice slacks/shirt.  Really looking for better service, smaller/newer ship.

 

Suggestions?

Oceania. 

[little britain]

Virgin. No children. No additional charge for specialty dining. Innovative entertainment 

Edited February 15 by little britain

[chill6x6]

Thanks to both of you! I've been looking at those two and also Explora Journeys.  

[Tatka]

My parents sailed on Oceania Riviera from Dubai in December. They generally don’t like cruises.. and out of RCI, NCL , Princess (5 cruises)  only Princess impressed them somewhat … they LOVED Oceania … and have another scheduled this year to Bermuda 

[sunlover12]

Oceania for me too.  It's a premium line with casual dress and atmosphere.  Specialty dining is no extra charge. The food in all the restaurants is very good. No extra charge for sodas and specialty coffee.  Beer and wine included with lunch and dinner.  No nickel and diming. Their largest ships are 1200 passengers so it never feels crowded. The smaller ships can go to so many more ports than the big ships.  Oceania has some very interesting itineraries. I've been on Royal's Oasis class ships and are now pretty much done with those for a variety of reasons.  

Enjoy your future cruising no matter which line you choose. 

 

 

[George C]

MSc has a yacht club which is a ship within a ship , totally separate from rest of the ship with a really nice lounge , outside area with bar , pool hot tubs , live music most of the night . If you want to go to a specialty restaurant or one of the shows outside yacht club your butler can escort you . WiFi and premium drink package is included.

[chill6x6]

Thanks a lot for that info1

 

I think I may have found a few itineraries I like with Oceania.  

 

The prices Royal has currently really opens up so many other possibilities.

[chill6x6]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

MSc has a yacht club which is a ship within a ship , totally separate from rest of the ship with a really nice lounge , outside area with bar , pool hot tubs , live music most of the night . If you want to go to a specialty restaurant or one of the shows outside yacht club your butler can escort you . WiFi and premium drink package is included.

Thanks! And I would do MSC but I can't find an itinerary I like for the timeframe I need. My last few cruises with Royal have been Star class which new bookings are well let's say, up there! So much so there are now many other options.

[time4u2go]

9 hours ago, little britain said:

Virgin. No children. No additional charge for specialty dining. Innovative entertainment 

I agree.  Consider Virgin.  It's great.

[LooneyCruzer]

[Hoopster95]

Oceana, especially on one of their larger ships (Riviera, Marina or Vista)

[happy cruzer]

Not much entertainment on Oceania that compares to royal.  Is there an equivalent to traditional dining with a set time each night?

[George C]

I see you mentioned celebrity but have you tried Edge class suites which has really good entertainment and perks for there upper suites are really nice. 

[travelberlin]

Since you want luxury but similar to Royal, maybe MSC Yacht Club is for you. None of the smaller luxury ships would be similar to Royal. 

[chill6x6]

1 hour ago, George C said:

I see you mentioned celebrity but have you tried Edge class suites which has really good entertainment and perks for there upper suites are really nice. 

I haven't lately.  That would probably be a good way to go too.  From what I'm seeing I can do a pretty good suite and longer itinerary on Oceania for what a RS is and still have some change in my pocket.

 

I understand some of the price includes a ship with more "stuff" to do.  More variety, more choices.  I'm kinda at the stage in life now that I really just want to relax and take it easy on a cruise. LOL!

[Morecruisesplz]

22 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

Hi,

 

So yeah we want to try something different.  We've done Royal, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, HAL, and Princess.  Thinking about trying one of the "luxury" lines.  I have no idea which way to go.  But would want something very similar to Royal...don't want to have to dress up for dinner any more than nice slacks/shirt.  Really looking for better service, smaller/newer ship.

 

Suggestions?

We loved Virgin. One price for everything was great, but happy, friendly staff was the best!

[little britain]

The new Explora ship is getting very high reviews ( luxury MSC) and does some great itineraries. 

[twangster]

I imagine a luxury line being Royal-ish would be the grounds for a complaint thread.  

 

“I booked luxury line xyz and it was just like Royal!”  “Bait and switch!!!”