Best Cruise Lines?

mrsjdubbs12

WHat are the BEST cruise lines out there for Caribbean cruises?  I want to make sure that we are on a fun ship with lots to do and that has a good reputation- there are so many choices.  HELP!

ehathewa

check out cruisecritic.com

We went on a Carnival cruise and had a great time, but I have heard that some of the other lines (Norwegian, Royal Caribbean) are a little nicer. 

Beverly8

I've only ever cruised with Royal Caribbean and I absolutely LOVE them and would never try another cruise line.  We recently cruised on the Oasis of the Seas, the sister ship to the Allure of the Seas, it was beautiful! worlds biggest cruise ship! Soooo much to do, many shows to see, excursions, bars/clubs on the ship, a comedy club, theater that hosted broadway shows( our headliner was Hairspray on my cruise) they also did Adult game shows and activities, they do games and other events pool side.  I have always been 100% satisfied with royal caribbean.  The cruise staff are all extremely friendly and welcoming, anyone and everyone bends over backwards to make sure you have an excellent time.  The food in the Main dining hall as well as the other restuarants is delicious! good luck in your search!!!

sweetie1184

I think Royal Caribbean is a great cruise line. They have a nice mix of fun party things and activities, but they also have really great service. Carnival is more of a party boat, There's a lot of drinking and partying going on constantly, and the service is ok. Princess cruises are an older crowd, very calm and mild, but they treat you like royality and pamper you. It just depends on what exactly you're looking for.

alithebride

i've been on 4 lines: carnival, princess, cunard and disney.
service was best on (in this order) carnival, cunard and disney. princess ha awful service.
food was best on (in this order) cunard, carnival, disney. princess's food was ok-after we sent things back repeatedly for being under/over cooked.
fun on board (in this order) carnival, disney, cunard, princess
staterooms were nicest (in this order) carnival, cunard, disney, princess
staff was friendliest in this order: carnival, princess, disney, cunard

overall our carnival cruise was an exceptional value, largest room (we always have balcony), best staff, friendliest staff. i didnt' experience the party atmosphere on carnival anymore than princess or disney-but it was different. it didnt' seem as forced as princess or disney. not to say that they had bad stuff going on but the passengers on carnival didnt' need coaxing to get involved.

i probably won't cruise on princess again. we hada  group of 12 (2 tables at dining) and it was constantly a let-down. 30 minutes to get a glass of wine, food was always over cooked or under cooked or not how we ordered-and we're not picky. medium rare steak with mashed potatoes-we got well done with asparagus. eek.

everyone has differences of opinion as to what the 'best' line is so your question will do nothing more than get you opinions from others-and they may work for you or not. i suggest you pay more attention to the itinerary and size of staterooms and what amenities the ship has than what 50,000 people think the best line is.

GoBucksOH

Love Royal Caribben.

Also loved Celebrity, which is owned by RC. Both were awesome.

strlzfan11

I've only cruised with NCL, but loved it.  I ditto the PP poster who recommended checking out cruisecritic.com.  Use it to determine which cruise line (or two) best suits your needs and then you can decide which one offers the itinerary you'd prefer.

Hays2be

Royal Caribbean, Holland, and Princess.  Holland and Princess are more upscale and relaxed.  Holland only offered what was on the menu--no asking otherwise.  Both were nice.  I like RC the best.  More to do, ship seemed to not be crowded (and we were told it was at capacity)  All went to the standard ports.

We are looking at a NCL for our honeymoon.  Still undecided between cruise and all-inclusive.  I'm leaning cruise, he's leaning all-inclusive.

king26

I've cruised with carnival and Royal carribean and I say carnival all the way.  There is so much to do and they have the biggest rooms.  My mom is clausterphobic so this is very important for family trips.  The food is fabulous, the service is unbeatable, and the entertainment is wonderful. 

futurepivko

Ive been on Celebrity (with my whole family, cousins, etc.) and Carnival with FI's whole family...cousins, etc. The Celebrity was AWFUL. the boat was so old that when it moved money would fall out of the slot machines (not kidding) and you could feel EVERY move. a lot of the things on the ship were closed or broken. they should never had let people pay money for that ship. i was actually happy to go home, i was tired of being on that boat. the service was just ok. my advice about them...RUN AWAY.

The Carnival boat was amazing. it was so big and there was sooo much to do. we had a great time. food and service was awesome. we are doing another Carnival for our honeymoon. The casino was huge, and we loved how in the casino there wasnt cash payment for the slot machines, it was all done on your card with preloaded money, so we didnt have to worry about carrying cash all the time.

shan87

I personally have been on Royal Caribbean, Carnvial and Disney. However, since this is for your HM I'll live out Disney.

IMO Royal Caribbean is the nicest. Their ships are beautiful and spotless. Both have formal dinning and both were good and matching you up with appropriate table mats. Disney was kinda awkward as my Single Mom with 2 girls was sat with a Single Dad with 2 girls. haha

Royal Caribbean I went with my Mom and Sister but their was a nice balance of Family and Young Fun Crowd.

I went on Carnvial with my FI and it def. geared towards Adults but there was still a lot of families.
Both we equally as fun and had similar activites but Carnival had to cancel 2 of its acts because of sickness and one missed the flight so 2 of the 7 nights had no night show. Their acts were very similar and got dull by the end of our time.

Carnvial Cruise we were at sea for 2 of the days and it felt small when everyone is stuck on the ship. I didn't feel that on the Royal Caribbean ship. Carnvial was seriously short chairs and since the waters were high they closed the upper decks adding to the crowdnes.

If you are picking one where you are at sea a day or two then I would go with Royal Caribbean.


If you like free style cruising were you are not locked into a formal dinner setting my FI went on Norweign Cruises and said although the ship wasn't the nicest the atmosphere was really laid back and he enjoyed that.

angiem33

For what you are looking for I would recommend Royal, I personally only sail Celebrity, but that is because DH and I prefer the refined upscale cruising.  Celebrity is closer geared to "foodies" "upscale" "relaxing" "service oriented" crowds.  Example - I have a butler on every single cruise - nothing is better! 

Stay away from Carnival especially for a honeymoon the ships are all night clubs/party all the time no relaxation or romance.  Plus the last update was that the main dining room didin't even change their menu for an entire WEEK long cruise. 

Royal has a ton of activities and shows, the are geared towards families, so you will have kids on board, but the ships are nice and with some many activities to try it will keep you busy i.e. - ice skating rink, rock wall, wave rider, broadway-style shows, etc.