…didn’t realize there were so many. Can anyone recommend a great cruise liner to go with…I was gonna try Carnival, but some friends told me to stay away from them. Anyone know about Princess Cruises and Royal Cruises?
Princess Cruises has been part of Carnival Corp. since the company merged in April 2003 with P&O Princess Cruises Plc.
I have been only on a Celebrity cruise, but thoroughly enjoyed it. My understanding is that Celebrity is more for the ‘older, more refined’ crowd based on the activities/dining/etc. offered, whereas Carnival is designed more for the younger active crowd.
You will rarely see a single person on Celebrity, but Carnival I am guessing is a better place for young singles to meet others.
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Happy Cruising to you!!
Fireman and I have been on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Norweigan, and Carnival. All were fun.
One of the Carnival ships had waaay too many little kids, for our liking. The other was long ago on a smaller ship no longer in service. That one we loved. Unfortunately, very few small ships are still in service. We call the mega ships, cattle boats.
Norweigan seemed to be too concerned with the bottom line. Fireman wanted something different for dinner, and they wouldn’t give it to him. They ran out of milk on the 3rd day out. Their staff wasn’t friendly, seemingly due to over work.
We did 10 & 12 day cruises from the Northwest to Hawaii, one on Princess, the other on Royal Caribbean. Both were great. The flight back was torture with both.
Even though Carnival owns several others, they all seem to remain individual.
I think it really depends on what type of experience you’re looking to have, and for how much money.
Do you want to travel in the lap of luxury?
Is it OK with you if kids are on the ship?
Do you want to be on a large ship with lots of available activities, or have a more intimate experience?
Do you want to meet single people?
Do you want to be casual?
Soley based on my experience (and that is from the early to mid 1990’s, all Carribbean cruises):
Carnival - more of a young, party, get drunk, get laid crowd. Nice ships, good food
NCL - more family oriented. Decent mix of different age groups. Nice ships, really good food. Seemed to try the hardest to have good entertainment. IMO the best option for a family.
Royal Carribbean - Older crowd – lots of seniors. Not so much stuff for kids or young people. Nice ships and really good food as well, though.
I haven’t been on Carnival in years, but it seemed like the “bigger, better party boat” back then. Now I think they have ships that carry upwards of 3000 people. Sorry, too many for my taste.
We enjoy Holland America line. Not the newest or the biggest ships but very nice. We have only cruised Europe with them, so I can’t comment on other routes (Alaska, Caribbean, etc).
Many lines’ service will be better or worse depending on the route.
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