Any ship you've been particularly impressed with?

[navybankerteacher]

47 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But there are others who definitely use it as pejorative term.

If I were to start referring to Walmart as the Carnival of retail stores - would Walmart shoppers would see that as perjorative?

[Aquahound]

My last 4 cruises...and a cruise I have coming up shortly...have been on RCI Quantum Class ships.  They are definitely mainstream mega-ships, and I only return to them because of my terrific past and continued experiences.  Walmart?  I guess I just don't get it.  Oh well. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

If I were to start referring to Walmart as the Carnival of retail stores - would Walmart shoppers would see that as perjorative?

Some might, some might not, and others very well might not have an idea of what you were talking about.

[navybankerteacher]

46 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Some might, some might not, and others very well might not have an idea of what you were talking about.

There are always some folks who are challenged when it comes to reading comprehension

[MacMadame]

I don't think Walmart is remotely accurate. Maybe Target. But even then, the analogy doesn't work for me. Unless you are talking about a Margaritaville at Sea cruise.

 

Most cruise lines are more upscale than Walmart, Target, etc. You might find a better analog if you say one cruise line is more like Saks, another Nordstroms and a 3rd is Macy's. They are all department stores but they have varying levels of luxury and quality of good. Target and Walmart aren't even close.

[sjde]

CDNPolar-Viking was not my favorite river cruise lines so I am hesitant to take one of their ocean cruises.

 

 

[sjde]

MacMadame--Would you not even compare Carnival to Walmart or Target?

[Aquahound]

35 minutes ago, sjde said:

MacMadame--Would you not even compare Carnival to Walmart or Target?

 

Maybe, possibly a 3-day cruise on one of Carnival's old garbage-barge Fantasy Class ships...but even that's a stretch.  I still don't see the metaphor to a box store shopping center.  

[MacMadame]

37 minutes ago, sjde said:

MacMadame--Would you not even compare Carnival to Walmart or Target?

No. I would compare it to Margaritaville at Sea though. (I thought I said that but I guess I wasn't clear.)

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, sjde said:

CDNPolar-Viking was not my favorite river cruise lines so I am hesitant to take one of their ocean cruises.

 

 

 

Gotcha...

 

Our first Viking Cruise (of 10 now) was an Ocean cruise.  We fell in love with Viking from that cruise.  Our second Viking cruise was also Ocean.

 

We did not try Viking river until the third cruise.

 

The two "products" are so different yet similar but in very different ways.

 

If I could only go on one more cruise and you offered me ocean vs. river, I would choose Viking ocean.

 

Viking's river ships are very nice, and the river itineraries are more intimate and "inside" a country or region than the ocean itineraries are.

 

But, the Viking ocean ships have more space than passengers.  They are quiet and sedate and the experience is just so much more.  With specialty restaurants and entertainment and choice of lounges for a drink.  The Thermal Spa, the option of massages, etc.

 

To me you cannot compare Viking River to Ocean or in fact any River to Ocean cruise.  They are different.

 

I guess I would need to know what you did not like about your Viking River experience.

[ldubs]

23 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

No- I am just questioning your opposition to the use of a perfectly appropriate and applicable term for a low price, mass market provider.

Post #40 explains my thoughts on the subject.  

[TravelinGert]

On 4/8/2024 at 9:06 PM, sjde said:

Have there been any particular ships that you've been really impressed with or blown away by? Especially in these lines-RCCL, HAL, Princess and Celebrity. TIA!

Best ocean cruise I have had to date was on Adventure of the Seas. Great crew, great ship, and we had such a smooth experience that cruise. Second best was MSC Seaside which I really enjoyed.

 

Best boat/ship I have been on ever was the American Steamboat Company Countess but that line just shut down recently. I'm very sad about that as I had planned to cruise with them again next year. I did 3 cruises on that boat and got to know several crew members. They were good people and I hope they were easily able to get work elsewhere. 

[ecs66]

I have a soft spot for Island Princess.  I like the size, the vibes, the decor.  Classy not brassy.  Did the HI round-trip from Los Angeles one year.  Another year was the Panama Canal.

 

When Sapphire was new, we loved that.

 

Was on Celebrity Silhouette and it was too cold and stark for our taste.

 

Other ships we've had sort of blend together after a while.

[ecs66]

On 4/9/2024 at 10:42 PM, ldubs said:

Right now if we had to name one it would be Enchanted Princess.  

We're reserved for Enchanted in December.  Can't wait to see her.

 

We've mostly sailed Princess since Hubby and I started cruising in 2005.  (Cruised often with my ex since the '70s.)  As time passed, Princess seemed to go downhill and we gave up for a while.  We've read recent passenger reviews on Enchanted and many specifically say that Princess has has their game back.  Looking forward to December!

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, ecs66 said:

We're reserved for Enchanted in December.  Can't wait to see her.

 

We've mostly sailed Princess since Hubby and I started cruising in 2005.  (Cruised often with my ex since the '70s.)  As time passed, Princess seemed to go downhill and we gave up for a while.  We've read recent passenger reviews on Enchanted and many specifically say that Princess has has their game back.  Looking forward to December!

 

We also moved away from Princess for a while.  We are back now and also looking forward to our next Princess cruise (in October).  

Enjoy!    

 

 

[donaldsc]

On 5/1/2024 at 4:30 AM, sjde said:

Viking was not my favorite river cruise lines so I am hesitant to take one of their ocean cruises.

 

I have an interesting take on Viking River Cruises.  I have done 2 river cruises and one of them was a Viking Rhone (not Rhine) River cruise.  I was a bit disappointed w it because I had too high expectations for it.  Everyone who had done Viking river cruise had told me that it was totally wonderful and I would have the best cruising experience of my entire life.  It was a good cruise and I would do Viking river if I found a river I wanted to do but it was not as good as I expected.  Now the Clipper Cruise line 2 week Greece sailboat cruise was one of my best cruises ever.

 

BTW - if you have not done a Douro River cruise in Portugal you should check them out.  I can't remember which line we used for that cruise but it was a high end cruise and the Douro is a great river.

 

DON

[DeclanAllen]

Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas seems to be a crowd-pleaser, especially for families. My parents liked this ship a lot. It's got these crazy things called "neighborhoods" with different themes, like a Central Park area and a Boardwalk.  Sounds pretty cool!
 

Personally, I tend to favor smaller ships with more of a classic feel.  Maybe something from Celebrity Cruises or Holland America?  They might not have all the bells and whistles, but some people prefer that.