Cruises

bonjourbelle05 · February 2013

For my birthday present DH is sending my friends and I on a trip of my choosing....I was talking to one of the girls about trip ideas and she talked about how much she loved her cruises and although I've traveled a lot I've never done a cruise, so what cruise lines have you been on? Likes/dislikes?

alithebride · February 2013

I've been on a bunch but find the itinerary is far more important than the line. besides my likes/dislikes may be the total opposite of yours. I suggest you start by seeeing which ships go where for when you want to go, see which itinerary works the best for you and go. you can visit cruisecritic.com for reviews of ships/ports etc..

vic8504 · February 2013

I have cruised with Royal Caribbean, Princess and Carnival. I liked Royal best but they are a little more expensive. We have cruised w Princess 3 times and love them. Like PP said destination takes top priority. Good luck! Hope you find something.

dragon_chica · February 2013

Ditto the others. Each cruiseline tend to cater more to specific groups. For example, one cruiseline may not have specific dinner times you need to choose from and others do. Do your research on what your needs and wants are and go from there. I love cruising, heck, I like all kinds of traveling. It's a great way to not only lay out in the sun and relax but be offered a ton of other fun activities without going too far.

MrsNole · February 2013

alithebride:
... but find the itinerary is far more important than the line.

ITA with this. Research all ships going to the places that you want to go.... I don't think that you could go wrong with of the big ships. I loved Carnival when I went on it. Cruise Critic is a great research tool as well.

GilliC · February 2013

I didn't like Costa, because I felt they're a bit disorganized (this was before they sank the Concordia) and the long list of languages on board gets tiring. Honestly, I recommend a predominantly-English-language cruise if it's your first.

I've also sailed Princess, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and G Adventures. Royal is okay, but I feel like they nickel and dime you a lot for the extras on board, so I like Princess a bit better. But generally I feel that Royal has better food. Cunard is generally a much older crowd, but it has more of the classic ocean liner elegance.

However, I'm also one that cruises for destination. Among the itineraries I've sailed, the Indian Ocean was definitely up there. Too bad that the pirate activity has scared off most of the major cruiselines, so Costa was one of the few remaining options. East Asia was also fantastic, since it was fun to be able to compare all the different cultures along the way. They're so close geographically but all so different! Closer to home, Alaska is a gorgeous cruise with wonderful scenery and wildlife.

Our one Caribbean cruise was fun just for the drinks-on-the-beach relaxing party atmosphere. The Baltics are a wonderful cruise for culture with lots of great European cities to explore (all of which are very convenient to the ports). The Norwegian coast is pretty scenery, and there's a lot of interesting variety if you sail all the way up to the Arctic.

Canary Islands were a little disappointing, though it would probably be better in warmer weather given the long sea days getting there and back.

(Also, I haven't been yet, but I've heard some fantastic things about the Chilean fjords!)

jessica490 · February 2013

I've been on 2 cruises, Royal Carribean and Celebrity. Royal is my favorite of the 2. i've only traveled to Eastern and Western Caribean but have have found Eastern to be the better bunch is islands. This May we are going to the Oaisis (their newest, largest ship) and can't wait! Crusing is a ton of fun, so much to but can be pricey as well depending on how much you drink and what activities you pay for. Have fun!

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