Cruise Line Hierarchy?

[limmy]

Originally Posted by Bootrip2

I find it quite amusing with the hierarchy thing, pick a cruise for the facilities it offers and places it goes to unless you are rich enough to hire a cunard line for exclusive use there will always be someone higher up than you!

See more...

It's not about being the highest!
Being a novice I want to make sure I don't pay a similar price per day for something that ends up inferior and disappointing.
I know people who've had bad holidays and people who have had bad cruises. We only go abroad once a year and the next one would be for my Sons 16th birthday, so we just want to make sure it's a good one.
I'm happy to pay for quality, but don't want to be ripped off paying over the odds for something that isn't worth it.

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Omega1

A cruise line hierarchy will be different for different people - it’s so subjective. We’ve done around 50 cruises but we don’t look for ships with lots of stuff like flowriders, climbing walls, zip lines, kids clubs etc. What makes us happy is a great itinerary, good value for money, good food, decent entertainment and service. Our favourite cruise lines are Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. Ok for us were NCL and RCL. Not so good was Costa.
We’re always open to try different things so our next two cruises are with MSC (Genoa to Rio) and Costa 😳 (Indian Ocean) both are great itineraries and fantastic vfm. We go with an open mind.

See more...

^^THIS^^

Originally Posted by limmy

It's not about being the highest!
Being a novice I want to make sure I don't pay a similar price per day for something that ends up inferior and disappointing.
I know people who've had bad holidays and people who have had bad cruises. We only go abroad once a year and the next one would be for my Sons 16th birthday, so we just want to make sure it's a good one.
I'm happy to pay for quality, but don't want to be ripped off paying over the odds for something that isn't worth it.

See more...

'Worth' is subjective I'm afraid. There is never one answer to 'who is best'. Food may be better on one line, but shows worse. Activities for teens may be better on one but you may have more 'add on' costs.
DCL for us is 'worth it', but for many it's not and that's absolutely fine. What suits one may not suit another - that's why there are many successful cruise lines.

All you can do really is choose where you want to go and when - that will narrow down your search somewhat. Then maybe watch videos of the options available to you and see what appeals to your son (and you all)!

You'll have a great time I'm sure, sorry not to have been much help!
Joa

[mickeyspal]

We cruise a lot and have been on RCCL , NCL, celebrity, tui,cunard
, MSC.
Rccl ,NCL and MSC are the bigger ships with everything on them, such as ice rinks waterparks fairground rides wave pools etc.
Celebrity is quite classy and often have the best offers on prices, they have lots to do but not "fun" stuff like the others.
Cunard is posh, their idea of a casual night means men can leave their tie off
Tui ships are a lot older but they are friendly and good fun

[lesley1960]

Originally Posted by limmy

Can anyone help a cruise novice please?

We have our DCL booked for this year but the more vlogs we watch the more I think we'll love it. Already planning for the Disney blues, so looking at other cruises for next year as it's DS 16th.
He'd love to go to the Greek Islands.

So I've heard DCL are the Waitrose of cruises and Celebrity are maybe like the Lidl?
Who and what is in-between?

Wd have no young ones to consider. Children 10 and 15, love adventure. We love a drink and activities.

Saw Yorkshire T's post about a ship with waive rider, ice skating, climbing etc and that sounds up our street.

See more...

Oh dear , hope you don't post that on cruise critic , they will hang you out to dry !
Can't comment on DCL, but Celebrity is probably mid range ?Regent and Seabourne, might be classed as Fortnum and Mason
There are plenty of cruise lines some might class as 'inferior ' , but we pick cruises for places we like to visit at a price we like to pay ... after all you visit the same places no matter what ship you are on !

We hate RCI , Celebrity was good but probably because of the location (Alaska ) enjoyed P&O and really enjoyed the 2 Marella Cruises we did last year , even on Dream which is an old and creaky boat , but we had a great time , but then we aren't fussy lol

[SquishTheWhale]

If you're not bothered about characters I certainly wouldn't be looking at Disney. You pay a huge premium for them and part of that is for the characters.

Not to keep restating the same point others have, but Celebrity are considered a premium cruise line. Keeping it lighthearted and not wanting to start a debate, you have:

Luxury lines (so maybe Harrods!)
Crystal
Seabourn

Premium lines
Celebrity
Princess
Cunard
Disney

The less traditional lines
NCL
Royal Caribbean
Virgin

The budget friendly lines
Costa
Carnival
TUI
MSC

I'm not saying any one of those is better than others- they just all operate in different ways and appeal to different people.
Your boss may well have not liked her Celebrity cruise- so many different factors affect enjoyment.

We really didn't like the one MSC cruise we did, despite the ship being spectacular. Others do like them.

Personally if I had to pick one line to cruise with right now it would be Royal. We've had a great experience on a short cruise with them and I love megaships. But for others, a huge ship with slides and surfing and 20 dining options would be their idea of hell. So no one line is 'better' or more worth it than others.

[Majik]

The main reason we book Disney is the crew. We have sailed 23 Disney cruises and have 3 more booked for later this year. We mostly travel as a couple and I can not say we have much interaction with the characters but we do enjoy the overall atmosphere and the food.
The crew literally welcome us back with open arms and we truly feel that they have become like family.
Our next cruise will be different as we are travelling as a large family group including our two year old Grand Daughter. Cant wait!

[jas72]

Originally Posted by Majik

The main reason we book Disney is the crew. We have sailed 23 Disney cruises and have 3 more booked for later this year. We mostly travel as a couple and I can not say we have much interaction with the characters but we do enjoy the overall atmosphere and the food.
The crew literally welcome us back with open arms and we truly feel that they have become like family.
Our next cruise will be different as we are travelling as a large family group including our two year old Grand Daughter. Cant wait!

See more...

Have you done other cruises as you are paying double the price of other cruises for the open arms welcome?

The reason I ask is that I'm probably budget concious and our holidays have to have good V for M. Knowing disney they were my first choice for my cruise in 2017 but comparing prices and amenities I just didn't see where the extra cost went.

My son was 12 so hugging guys in costumes wasn't that interesting yet the cruises get booked up so I just wondered what the difference in price (60% more expensive pp than other cruise lines.)

You've done 23 so I wonder if you could explain?

[Majik]

Originally Posted by jas72

Have you done other cruises as you are paying double the price of other cruises for the open arms welcome?

The reason I ask is that I'm probably budget concious and our holidays have to have good V for M. Knowing disney they were my first choice for my cruise in 2017 but comparing prices and amenities I just didn't see where the extra cost went.

My son was 12 so hugging guys in costumes wasn't that interesting yet the cruises get booked up so I just wondered what the difference in price (60% more expensive pp than other cruise lines.)

You've done 23 so I wonder if you could explain?

See more...

Hi

I guess you pay your money and take your choice.

No we have not cruised with other lines as we have not felt the need. We feel that we get amazing value for money. We love the ships, the itineraries, the food and the crew. The atmosphere once on board is lovely and we feel completely relaxed as soon as we are back on the ship.

Everything is taken care of and there is plenty to do if you want to take part.

We always feel excited about the next cruise that is coming up. We have one in August and two in September booked and are eagerly awaiting the next release of dates and itineraries.

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by Majik

Hi

I guess you pay your money and take your choice.

No we have not cruised with other lines as we have not felt the need. We feel that we get amazing value for money. We love the ships, the itineraries, the food and the crew. The atmosphere once on board is lovely and we feel completely relaxed as soon as we are back on the ship.

Everything is taken care of and there is plenty to do if you want to take part.

We always feel excited about the next cruise that is coming up. We have one in August and two in September booked and are eagerly awaiting the next release of dates and itineraries.

See more...

I guess what you have posted is what everyone says about their favourite cruise line. They are the ingredients of a great cruise.

[SquishTheWhale]

I guess with the above its no different from the person who returns to the same nice hotel every year- they know they will have a good time staying there and they know what to expect.

We like trying out different cruise lines- I guess the downside of that is you might have some bad experiences like we did with MSC! But on the whole they have all been good in different ways.

Maybe one day we'll try a Disney cruise but we at the moment we don't have that kind of money