Topic: Favourite cruise line and/or ship

QUOTE:

I have been on all Fred Olsen ships and have been on Ocean Village. Fred Olsen is the outright favourite. But in April I will be on the Voyager of the Seas and may have a different answer in May.

We're trying some bigger ships this year too. So far we've been on nothing with over 1800 passengers however in the next few months we'll be on Celebrity Eclipse and RCI Adventure. Not sure if big ships are our thing but we should find out soon!

Dave, I can understand your loyalty to Fred Olsen as we had a great time on Balmoral which is a very spacious ship for it's size - lots of public areas and deck space. Would go back with them like a shot it's just their balcony cabins are expensive.

Coming up for cruise no 26 and I CAN'T come up with a favourite... I know it sounds sad, but each cruise has been slightly different - even on the same class/model of ships... it's the people you meet/experiences you have ON the cruise that define it's popularity (in my opinion...)..

Take the old Sunbird (now Destiny)... she was my first cruise and as such even though she's a grotty old tub now, I still have very warm feelings for her ... she's a "fall-back" when I can't find something that grabs my eye.

FAR easier to say LEAST favorite ones (in my case MSC/OV and Fred)... if pushed for now - I'd have to veer toward Celebrity Century being the current fave -however once again biased towards people met / experiences on her rather than "her"...

Having only done 3 to date..first 2006,second 2008 and 3rd July 2009...first 2 with RCI and the 3rd Princess.......we are trying Celebrity 26th Apr....... then in Aug.we are on the big MAMA of them all :p Oasis for a wedding.....10 of us.....but we have said this before.(hubs and myself)........the 3 Cruise Co's we have and are doing are ......we think......maybe the best for us...

Cunard is maybe 1 to try ....but we still think they segrogate passengers like many yrs ago......if you book a certain grade of cabin...that then depicts where you eat....(I may have that slightly wrong)but we know what we mean......

I personally think that IF you can afford to sail Cunard........and lets face it.........most people say that is the most elite Co......then if you have paid your money .......why should you only be allowed to eat at a certain level...........
I also know on certain lines with certain grades of cabins.they do come with certain privalages,but to actually not be allowed anywhere near .......seems a little too stiff.......
maybe wrong.just MY opinion.....and yes we would love to do Cunard...but with fair,equal policies ......as I said .only our thinking and views......

QUOTE:

Having only done 3 to date..first 2006,second 2008 and 3rd July 2009...first 2 with RCI and the 3rd Princess.......we are trying Celebrity 26th Apr....... then in Aug.we are on the big MAMA of them all :p Oasis for a wedding.....10 of us.....but we have said this before.(hubs and myself)........the 3 Cruise Co's we have and are doing are ......we think......maybe the best for us...

Cunard is maybe 1 to try ....but we still think they segrogate passengers like many yrs ago......if you book a certain grade of cabin...that then depicts where you eat....(I may have that slightly wrong)but we know what we mean......

I personally think that IF you can afford to sail Cunard........and lets face it.........most people say that is the most elite Co......then if you have paid your money .......why should you only be allowed to eat at a certain level...........
I also know on certain lines with certain grades of cabins.they do come with certain privalages,but to actually not be allowed anywhere near .......seems a little too stiff.......
maybe wrong.just MY opinion.....and yes we would love to do Cunard...but with fair,equal policies ......as I said .only our thinking and views......

Hi Sue,

Cunard does have a 'grill class' which has a separate dining area, it's quite small compared to the magnificent Britannia Dining room on QM2. But that's about it for 'segrogation' everyone uses the same bars, the same pools, the same seats at the theatre and planetarium. Oh there is one small deck at the back for grill class as well.....

I would like to try it one day but frankly, I have had no issue with any meal served in Brittania.

I have only sailed 6 different cruise lines, but the favourite for me is Queen Mary 2 for the space, the service and the uniqueness of the experience. It's nothing to do with status or anything like that, she just is quite unique in her design, her layout and a glorious marriage of what it used to be like to be on an ocean liner whilst full of the latest technology and offerings.

However I am really looking forward to trying Celebrity next month as so many good reports from these Solstice class ships, and I would like to take the family on one of the RCI boats next year, either Independence or Allure / Oasis just to experience the 'wow' factor that so many speak of - and let's face it - that's for the kids!

Hi Grant,yes the wow factor is why we chose the Oasis..the Carousel is going to be a real winner with our grandaughter who will be just turned 4.and grandsons who are or should I say will be 8 and 9.....
We are still very excited about sailing on a brand new ship though....that will be a first for us...
We havn't ruled out Cunard........but thats for maybe later on say in another 3-5 yrs or so......

I've only cruised with two lines, RCI and Carnival. RCI was our first experience and we really enjoyed the whole experience. At the time we were on the largest cruise ship at sea, but as we were new to things we didn't realise what that actually meant at the time. We quickly booked another RCI cruise on the then newly launched Voyager class and again enjoyed it again. This just confirmed that it was no mistake first time round. We then cruised on Carnival Inspiration, out of New Orleans. We enjoyed this cruise very much, but there was just something missing. I cannot put my finger on it but we just felt that RCI did things just that little bit better. Since then we have only cruised with RCI, having been on IOTS three times and booked again for later this year. As we now have a child our outlook for what we require from a cruise has obviously changed. The larger ships cater for children very well, whilst still providing a good experience for those not travelling with children. Hence the number of repeats on IOTS. We would love to try Oasis but OH does not really want 'junior' to fly to US just yet so maybe in a few years time we will give Oasis or Allure a go, unless they port out of Southampton or a close Med port like Barca.

So with our limited 'Line' experience RCI comes out tops. However, the constant changes to the 'overall' package, high bar tariff, charging for shuttle buses etc is making us, myself in particular, take a long hard look at the competition, specifically Venturer, as this could also offer us a comparable experience albeit in much more British kind of way.

Our Favourite ship has to be IOTS but this is perhaps because 'junior' is really well catered for and always enjoys himself on board. For us, as two adults, AOTS is probably our favourite but this may have been partly due to the destinations.

QUOTE:

...
Cunard is maybe 1 to try ....but we still think they segrogate passengers like many yrs ago......if you book a certain grade of cabin...that then depicts where you eat....(I may have that slightly wrong)but we know what we mean......

I personally think that IF you can afford to sail Cunard........and lets face it.........most people say that is the most elite Co......then if you have paid your money .......why should you only be allowed to eat at a certain level...........
I also know on certain lines with certain grades of cabins.they do come with certain privalages,but to actually not be allowed anywhere near .......seems a little too stiff.......
maybe wrong.just MY opinion.....and yes we would love to do Cunard...but with fair,equal policies ......as I said .only our thinking and views......

I think 'segregation' might be the wrong word Sue. When I get on a plane I see passengers in nice seats who paid more. Good for them! If I spend more to get a suite I'll get various 'extras' (which, of course, I've paid for) - and so I should! If people choose to pay extra to eat in a Marco Pierre White restaurant on P&O (no thanks!) that's up to them.

The short answer is: It's not segregation - you get what you pay for ;).

QUOTE:

Cunard is maybe 1 to try ....but we still think they segrogate passengers like many yrs ago......if you book a certain grade of cabin...that then depicts where you eat....(I may have that slightly wrong)but we know what we mean......

I personally think that IF you can afford to sail Cunard........and lets face it.........most people say that is the most elite Co......then if you have paid your money .......why should you only be allowed to eat at a certain level...........
I also know on certain lines with certain grades of cabins.they do come with certain privalages,but to actually not be allowed anywhere near .......seems a little too stiff.......
maybe wrong.just MY opinion.....and yes we would love to do Cunard...but with fair,equal policies ......as I said .only our thinking and views......

I sail on ships where there is a lounge for the top suites. I don't think it's worth the money so consequently don't have certain suite privileges. Fine by me. If I wanted them, I'd pay for them. I don't feel segregated, just indifferent to the extras and glad I've not paid for them. The rest of the ship is available to all cabin levels. I gather on Cunard, the grills come at quite a premium so you aren't all paying the same price. If you were, then you'd have a beef. The rest of the ship, bar a lounge, is open to all.