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annford 10-05-2007 05:00 PM

Re: BEST CRUISES
 
Celebrity & Royal Caribbean especially when doing Alaska land and sea. The train and buses are new, you never touch your bags when going from bus to hotel.

On Celebrity you will not see too many children, in fact on some of their ships, some of their indoor pools do not allow children with or without parents. Adults only.

Celebrity I think caters to those 45 - Up (This is my all time favorite(

Royal Caribbean caters to a wide range of age, children are seen and not heard. They keep them quit busy and out of the way.......so if you are taking your grandchildren this would be my choice........both generations will enjoy. (I would not hesitate to take my grandchildren or even myself on this line)

Carnival is move vibrant, action packed, even their decor relects that. I think that is why they call themselves the fun ship...........If that is too much fun for you, see above.

Holland America is a great line, but be away they do cater to an older crowd. They feature world cruises and unusual itineraries. Do part of a world voyage or the whole thing. Highly skilled staff and medical facility. But so does Celebrity and RCCL


kofficer 08-15-2009 02:28 PM

Try a 7-day cruise on Carnival, instead.
 
We are avid Carnival cruisers. We started late, around 3 years ago, and are now 63. We like the mix of ages on their cruises, but HATED the short cruise we went on. Those cruise, are very much geared for the younger, partying crowds. The 7 and 8 day cruises are on a different class of ship, most with a wonder supper club (for which there is a $30 surcharge, but it is wonderful, and talk about pampering). The newest ship, that will be going out of Cocoa Beach starting next year will be wonderful, the "Dream". We went out on its sister ship, last year, the Splendor, stayed in the SPA accomodations and had the time of our lives. As business was off, they called us on December 24th and bumped us into a SPA suite (we were in a SPA balcony), for an additional $100 per person. Carnival has been good for us. It's a big price point difference from the Holland America, with newer ships, and also a big difference from Royal Carribean also. We took the 8-day trip that goes down as far as St. Kitts two years ago, and the whole ship was Seniors, it seemed, and by the way, they were all partaking of the craziness on deck.

I just thought I would add my take on Carnival. We also plan to try other lines once we retire and have time to get good deals, but don't count Carnival out based on a 4 or 5 day trip.

Lee in Tampa

784caroline 08-15-2009 02:41 PM

QUESTION...Why is this posting on the "Contractor and Services" ...would a better fit be on the Travel Board?

Hancle704 08-15-2009 03:12 PM

When we traveled with kids and grandkids we had great time on Carnival. We also had a good experience on a 21 day Carnival repositioning cruise traveling with friends. Started with Hawaiian Islands and then on to Vancouver and Alaska. Packing for the this trip was a challenge and air travel coming home was not fun.

We are hoping to go next year with kids again, and will try Royal Carribean for our first time. Have heard nice things about them for travel with families.

When traveling alone, we have enjoyed Norwegian, Celebrity and Princess but believe Holland America was the best for seniors.

Our least enjoyable cruises have been those that required air travel to or from ship in Europe. For my money, the way air travel has evolved, we will only take cruises in future that begin and end in Florida.

Julie 08-15-2009 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 784caroline (Post 220423)
QUESTION...Why is this posting on the "Contractor and Services" ...would a better fit be on the Travel Board?

My thoughts EXACTLY! :agree:

And while we're at it, why not just start a new post since this one was last responded to in 2007? :confused: Now I might be getting a bit picky, but it's nice to see fresh topics started since things can and do change. :shrug:

REH7380 08-15-2009 04:10 PM

Just an Opinion
 
We have taken 6 Transatlantic cruises on Royal Caribbean, plus a Med cruise and others. We also took a Holland America to Alaska. We have decided we would not take or use Royal Caribbean again as they have gone to nickle and dime the passengers for everything. A few years ago that was not the case. (example: it was also the case that before you ate there were always a hand sanitizer to prevent any infections. They no longer did that on our last transatlantic. They charged for almost everything as though it was extra) THere was just a significant reduction in all their service. We are Diamond on Royal Caribbean but even there they have taken away a lot of the things you received for being a loyal cruiser. They went from a pretty gool line to less than average. We would use Celebrity or Holland America for another cruise.

Bryan 08-16-2009 06:40 AM

My bride and I have cruised many times and on various lines. I totally agree with Hancle on air travel - we try very hard to find cruises that start/end in Florida now. That is not always possible but it sure can be a deal breaker for us.

We also agree 100% with REH7380 on the nickle and dime crap prevalent on so many cruise lines today. Not too long ago we used NCL for a cruise. The dining room food was not really bad but it sure had gone downhill and they way they were pushing passengers to use the "specialty" restaurants that charge for a meal, plus the very skimpy selection of dishes in the main dining rooms, led us to believe they were purposefully trying to force passengers to go to the premier restaurants and pay for meals.

I like soft drinks and especially do not like getting coffee, milk, tea, etc., as part of my fare but having to pay for a 7-Up or Coke, especially at a meal. It seems most cruise lines now charge extra for soft drinks - a prime example of them nickle and dimeing us to death!

Now many cruise lines charge extra for specialty coffee such as a Cappuccino or Latte. Holland American has coffee machines that dispense those coffees gratis (or at least as part of your cruise fare and not at an extra charge). To the rest, that want to sell you a "coffee card", I say adieu.

I also think the tipping policy has adversely impacted service. When I used to hand my tip directly to the waiter or cabin steward, they knew where it was coming from and why. Now, most cruise lines add tips to your on-board charge account automatically and you have to take action to reduce, increase or change the charge. Especially in the dining rooms, I have noticed that the level of service has gone downhill rapidly due to the individual waiters/assistant waiters not being held personally responsible for the service they provide. This decrease in service has been so pervasive that on the last two cruises we took, I made it a point to visit the Pursers Office and reduce my dining room tip by an amount equivalent to three days (out of a seven day cruise) tips and I told them exactly why I was doing it too - poor dining room service!

MelZ 08-16-2009 08:29 AM

We have done somewhere over 20 cruises and will be on a Transatlantic cruise in 2 1/2 weeks. We rate Holland America and Celebrity tops, RCL and Princess are mid pack and Carnival is our least favorite.

BTW Cunard does not describe the QM2 as a cruise ship but rather as a Ocean Liner, yes there is a difference.

784caroline 08-16-2009 08:47 AM

MelZ

Totally agree with you on the QM2...the Transatlantic is a "Crossing" not a "Cruise".

What ship are you doing your "Crossing" on in 2 weeks??

REH7380 08-16-2009 09:06 AM

Alternative
 
We found a great alternative to the latest being ripped off on some of the cruises. We rented a Villa in Tuscany for $700 for the week. It had a kitchen, little living room, bedroom and a patio that overlooked olive trees with horses that came to the fence in the evening. We could drive all over Tuscany, (one of the garden spots of the world). The cost for airfare, Villa and rental car did not reach the level of a cruise when you put all the added cost on the cruise. We rented a car in Paris and drove to Tuscany which was our excursion and it was terrific. We found that the price of the cruises ended up to be about 40% of the total cost of getting to the ship, excursions, tips, added fees on the cruise and if a transatlantic air fare to return home. This may not be for some but it is the alternative we found for seeing the world.

14thMed 08-16-2009 09:49 AM

Thanks for the info on Holland America. We have cruised Carnival a couple of times and thought we would give HA a try. Not unhappy with Carnival,just wanted to see what else is out there. Al

MelZ 08-16-2009 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 784caroline (Post 220551)
MelZ

Totally agree with you on the QM2...the Transatlantic is a "Crossing" not a "Cruise".

What ship are you doing your "Crossing" on in 2 weeks??

Celebrity Constellation

We start in London, go to Normandy, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Nova Scotia and disembark in NJ.

784caroline 08-16-2009 07:21 PM

WE just did the Summit (14 days) in November 2008 from Barcelona to Venice and are hoping to do the Panama Canal on ether the Millineum or Infinity this fall. Love the"M" class ships of Celebrity...but would also not mind trying the new Solsice (sp)Class.

You need to post a report on your return on the travel board....your ports of call sound great!!

Have a safe trip!

R2Montroy 01-12-2010 03:35 PM

Med Cruise: Athens to Barcelona
Baltic Cruise: Harwick to St. Petersburg

bamiller7 09-08-2013 02:53 PM

Depends on what you like - we are "jammers" having sailed on Barefoot Wimdjammer many times - laid back, less people, unique islands, casual dress - tshirts/shorts. Going in Janiary on Islamd a windjammers out of St Lucia to St Martin - 24 people on board

Check it out


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