Larry,
I thought I'd chime in here. I think your experience with a particular cruise line has a lot to do with which ship(s) you choose.

I didn't particularly care for either one of my RCI cruises, but I also understand that they were both short cruises (3-4 day) on their older ships so my experience may not be indicative of the 'typical' RCI cruise. I found the food disappointing both times and the service lacking once.

The other lines I've sailed are NCL, Celebrity, Princess, and Renaissance (now defunct). My favorite experiences were on Ren and Celebrity, but my Celebrity cruise was several years ago so again may not be indicative of their current product.

The Princess ships I've sailed have been the Dawn, Sea, and Star. I much preferred the smaller size (well I guess the word 'small' is all relative here), decor, and atmosphere of the Dawn/Sea versus the larger, flashier Star. In my experience, Princess seems to deliver a very consistent product in terms of food and service from ship to ship. I wouldn't put them at the very top, but they seem to do most things well enough and consistently enough for me to say that the overall experience is very good. I've been happy with the waitstaff and room stewards we've enoucountered, and while I wouldn't say that their food is exceptional, I can't remember ever having a bad meal. And they've always been willing to accomodate our special requests in the dining room with a little advance notice.

What other lines besides Carnival and RCI have you sailed?

Thanks Patty for the thought. We are long time travelers but new to cruises and have taken only two, the RC (Splendor of the Seas) Med. cruise last year and the Carnival (Destiny) Carib. cruise this summer. It seems there is some variation of opinion inre to most cruise lines and that Princess, at least from what I see, hear and read seems more consistent. As for our experiences both ships were about the same size (large) and had about the same passenger to staff ratio. The service was good and comparable, the shows on RC were alot better and the quality of food both in terms of higher end items and preparation was alot better on Carnival, as was the variey. And both easily prepared my wifes special meals (Indian food) request. As for how well each ship serves their passengers I wonder if the tone set by the captain and officers makes a diference. I think the tone a leader sets means alot and would matter, esp. to cruise ship workers who seem to really work hard with little rest. We talked to some of them and I would not want their schedules. Thanks again for the comment. BTW what about an Alaska cruise? We are giving that serious thought and will probably do it some day hopefully, sooner than later. Any ideas? Larry

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I have only sailed on the Norwegian Majesty (twice) and the Norwegian Dawn
Loved both ships.
The Dawn had a very nice selection of Indian dishes on vegetarian side of the Garden Cafe at lunch time. Each day there would be a couple of cold dishes and three or four hot dishes.