tinathetoad

What cruise line do you think is a good one to look at.

My DH and I have cruised Princess, RCCL, Carnival, and Premier. I am thinking of maybe NCL or HAL. Our companions have never cruised.

What suggestions do you have?

gail

If you have cruised those 4 lines and liked one of them, why not use that line again?

tinathetoad

Thought maybe we would try something different. The lines are getting so huge and big. We have not cruised for about 2 years.

gail

One big difference in experience with NCL is their "freestyle dining" - no set seating times for dinner. Pluses and minuses to this, but just different. (For us, we liked the flexibility but by the end of the week would not have minded some dinner companions other than the 4 of us - we were getting bored with each other)

katybird

You can ask to be seated with other people if you wish or you can dine only with your own family/friends on NCL. That is what is so great about Freestyle! You have a choice!

LLindaC

The one suggestion I have is to cruise with a new, large ship. That way, there will be lots of activities for everyone.

kfusto

NCL and HAL are polar opposites! You really need to decide which style will best suit your group.

HAL:

- Traditional
- Formal
- One specialty restaurant
- Fewer announcements and scheduled activities
- Sedate, elegant decor and atmosphere
- Service oriented
- Large cabins, great bedding

NCL:
- Casual atmosphere and attire
- "Freestyle" Dining with both free and extra charge options
- Small cabins, ok beds
- Brighter decor
- Lots of entertainment and activities

RCI and Princess are somwhere in between. If you not want to be ovewhelmed by kids, beware of RCI's biggest (Voyager class) ships.

LLindaC

I was also wondering when you plan to cruise and what are the ages of family members? We took our family on the Enchantment in September- nice ship, lots to do, no kids at all, hardly.

tinathetoad

Going next May. We are in our mid-30's

LLindaC

Tina, May should be a good time for adults. Mid 30's I think HAL would be a bad choice. I've cruised 12 times and have a cruise penpal group and they told me that HAL was older and very sedate. Mostly negative on NCL as well. We cruised the Caribbean Princess in Jan, and while I liked freestyle dining, thought the ship didn't handle crowds well and the entertainment was lacking.Personally, we love the mega ship of RCCL and have sailed them 6 times. The Mariner is our favorite, followed by the Navigator. Perfect for 30 yr olds!

tinathetoad

RCCL is my favorite. I was not very impressed withthe Princess line. I just thought NCL for something different.

Also, I did not like Carnival. I know there are a lot of people who like Carnival though...maybe we should try again.