My ratings for buffet food

1)RCCL...loved the rotating ethnic themes and the multiple options, excellent salads. Serve yourself.
2)Princess...good quality but too Italian-oriented although there was a small selection of Asian. On Island, only one location, and rarely opened all of the seating. No trays and limited variety of "free" beverages.
3)NCL..edible but boring,especially on a long cruise. Cheap ingredients (eg tilapia).
4)HAL...surprisingly bad, major communication problems with servers.

Your Travel agent must have been paid by Norwegian to promote a cruiseliner that is much worse than Princess cruise or even my small inexpensive boat. "No way gian"!

I am not promoting one over the other. Each does different things well.

We recently took our fourth cruise with Princess, the Regal Princess. It is a lovely ship. Service and food was good, though not quite as good as on previous Princess cruises. Entertainment was really a mixed bag, overall enjoyable, but not even close to what it was the first time we went on Princess.

We also cruised on Norwegian Epic a couple of years ago. Perhaps we lucked out. Perhaps it was the ship, but the service was impeccable, the food in the buffet was the best we have had on any cruise (really good if you have children and want or need to use the buffet more) and the entertainment top notch with a big variety for different ages. The decor is more "fun" and less elegant than Princess, more family oriented.

We have now sailed on three different cruise lines with our GD and Norwegian Epic was miles ahead of the others with their kids' programs.

For a couple just wanting to relax a bit and not have a lot to do, Princess is lovely. However, for a family I would choose the Epic hands down.

I am a TA and very familiar with both cruise lines. My philosophy is that there are no bad cruises, only the cruise that is right for you.

NCL has a great kids program and is a good choice for families. The newest ships are very nice and the solo cabins, a welcome idea. The price point is very good value.

For me and my wife Princess is our choice. More elegant, less children onboard, and the food, higher quality, better tasting, and well prepared. For us the higher price point gives us more of what we want. Generally in life, better costs more.

If price was no object we would be sailing on Crystal, Seabourn, etc.

My stateroom on Norwegian Sun was YUUGE with tons of storage. Island Princess was a tiny room an bathroom with very little storage. MUch better CS on NCL..

"My philosophy is that there are no bad cruises, only the cruise that is right for you."

And a good philosophy it is! It's hard to say that one line is "better" than another. HAL is "better" for me (fewer children, generally quieter), but might not be for someone looking for lively nightlife, for example.

Cruised Princess a couple years ago and it was like geriatric city. Everything offered was geared to the octogenarians. Food, room, service were all fine, no complaints there. Entertainment, music, activities were the worst I've experienced and I've cruised quite a few different lines. Just not my idea of a vacation. To each their own.

Buckeye610. What other cruises have you taken?

Buckeye.

When we cruised the Panama Canal out son, then 29 yrs. old was with us and on this cruise were many older people. One day I saw him in one of the hot tubs conversing with all older people, some probably in their 80's and they were all having a good time. Nothing but smiles. I am proud of him. I wish you could meet him. :S-.

Our first cruise was on a Princess ship to the Caibbean. It was mixed with lots of families and young people. The entertainment was fantastic and there was a wide variety of music.

The next Princess cruise, a TA, seemed geared more to an older crowd, understandable due to length of cruise.

A Princess Greek Island cruise had a lot of honeymooners, understandable due to itinerary.

This Spring, we just did another Caribbean cruise on the Princess Regal, and I must say it did seem very geared to seniors, and was kind of a quiet cruise, hardly any families or kids. DD and GD had a lovely time anyway. Many of the oldsters danced with GD. I don't want a wild party cruise, but did miss the liveliness of some of our other cruises, and wondered if Princess is gearing more towards seniors. I think it is more the particular ship and the itinerary.

Princess has fewer ships now in the Caribbean. Most in the Caribbean are Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc. that appeal to families, so maybe Princess is going the other way. Nice to have such variety. Just have to pick what you want. All good.

Ita, if you are still around, did you take the cruise already and which did you pick. How was it?