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re: Best Cruise Lines
Posted on 1/20/23 at 5:21 am to Gulf Coast Tiger
Posted on 1/20/23 at 5:21 am to Gulf Coast Tiger
quote:
We leave for our first Viking Cruise in 60 days.
Whats you're itinerary?
Wife and I are waiting until our daughter is old enough. I am sure the details will change but we have talked about going and taking our daughter for HS Graduation on the venice to athens route througn the adriatic or the Rome to Athens through the Holy Land
Posted on 1/20/23 at 10:56 am to LSUfan4444
quote:
Whats you're itinerary?
It is called the Rhine Getaway
quote:
Wife and I are waiting until our daughter is old enough
Viking doesn't allow anyone under 18 on the River Cruises. I don't know about the ocean cruises
Posted on 1/20/23 at 11:18 am to Gulf Coast Tiger
quote:
Viking doesn't allow anyone under 18 on the River Cruises. I
Right...which is why were thinking a HS graduation trip for her once she becomes of age
Posted on 1/20/23 at 12:18 pm to LSUfan4444
Been on Carnival and Celebrity. Love them both.
If you haven’t been on Carnival in awhile, check out their five newest ships. Their included fast service dining has the best options at sea. They’re cheaper and offer a greater variety of itineraries than their counterparts. At least, that’s what I’ve found in my research when I look at other lines.
Carnival passengers are there for a good time. I don’t find the crowd to be any different from ones I see in Vegas. Most folks are friendly and ready to party. Some organize Facebook groups so that people can meet ahead of time online. It’s a very social collection of people. Not really for introverts.
Celebrity’s laid back vibe was a nice break from Carnival’s “in your face” energy. Fellow passengers were engaging and genuine. The food was amazing. I got the best fish n chips I’ve ever had from the buffet of all places. Loved full menu included with room service. While the entertainment didn’t strike me as any better or worse than Carnival’s, the choice of excursions felt like an upgrade. Their drink package is money. Can’t wait to sail them again.
People dogging Carnival is a favorite past time of the travel board which seems, to me, to be comprised of RCCL aficionados who look down on Carnival as if RCCL is really any different. Most loyal Carnival customers find RCCL loyalists pretty snobby and this board is no exception. Carnival loyalists who have sailed RCCL will tell you the MDR food is bland and the passengers are rude.
I hear nothing but great things about Holland America, Viking and Disney but they target very specific demographics. Never heard a complaint from anyone who’s been on Princess. Never heard anyone who liked an MSC cruise; in fact, the reviews are so negative, I’m not sure I’ll ever try them.
Looking forward to two Carnival cruises this year on Celebration and Jubilee!
If you haven’t been on Carnival in awhile, check out their five newest ships. Their included fast service dining has the best options at sea. They’re cheaper and offer a greater variety of itineraries than their counterparts. At least, that’s what I’ve found in my research when I look at other lines.
Carnival passengers are there for a good time. I don’t find the crowd to be any different from ones I see in Vegas. Most folks are friendly and ready to party. Some organize Facebook groups so that people can meet ahead of time online. It’s a very social collection of people. Not really for introverts.
Celebrity’s laid back vibe was a nice break from Carnival’s “in your face” energy. Fellow passengers were engaging and genuine. The food was amazing. I got the best fish n chips I’ve ever had from the buffet of all places. Loved full menu included with room service. While the entertainment didn’t strike me as any better or worse than Carnival’s, the choice of excursions felt like an upgrade. Their drink package is money. Can’t wait to sail them again.
People dogging Carnival is a favorite past time of the travel board which seems, to me, to be comprised of RCCL aficionados who look down on Carnival as if RCCL is really any different. Most loyal Carnival customers find RCCL loyalists pretty snobby and this board is no exception. Carnival loyalists who have sailed RCCL will tell you the MDR food is bland and the passengers are rude.
I hear nothing but great things about Holland America, Viking and Disney but they target very specific demographics. Never heard a complaint from anyone who’s been on Princess. Never heard anyone who liked an MSC cruise; in fact, the reviews are so negative, I’m not sure I’ll ever try them.
Looking forward to two Carnival cruises this year on Celebration and Jubilee!
Posted on 1/20/23 at 12:50 pm to UGAnations
We did our first ocean cruise in May of last year with Viking. The Viking Homelands Bergen to Stockholm cruise over 15 days. Can't say enough good things. We've done 6 cruises now with Viking, but this was the first ocean ship. What I liked was it was much smaller. 900 capacity vs. upwards of 5-6k on some of these mega liner type ships. We had 590 on our cruise. The service. The food. The people. Was a great trip.
Selected Photos
Selected Photos
Posted on 1/20/23 at 1:31 pm to Saint Alfonzo
quote:
Our last cruise on Royal was in October. Compared to previous cruises on Royal ships, the food outside of the specialty restaurants was not up to their usual standards. We gave them the benefit of the doubt, as the ship was just now getting back into service following the Covid pandemic. We cruise again in August on a France and Italy itinerary. Should be fine.
What ship are you sailing on in August? We are doing a Western Mediterranean itinerary on Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas in May. Sailing out of Civatavecchia (Rome) with stops in Italy, Spain and France.
Posted on 1/20/23 at 7:57 pm to chadm71
quote:
What ship are you sailing on in August? We are doing a Western Mediterranean itinerary on Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas in May. Sailing out of Civatavecchia (Rome) with stops in Italy, Spain and France.
We're sailing on the Enchantment out of Barcelona, the cruise ends in Civatavecchia. Our first Mediterranean cruise on Royal, on the Serenade, left from there.
Posted on 1/20/23 at 10:53 pm to chadm71
quote:
Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas in May
I did a 7nt Eastern Caribbean on Symphony July '22; while the boat was nice, it was too big for me with my medical condition or maybe because my room was at the aft of the ship and I spent the majority of my time in the Solarium or Vitality Spa getting massages(forward). Plenty of stuff to do on the boat. If you have kids they'll have a blast! From the dry slide to waterslides, zipline across the top deck, rock climbing wall, the full size carousel in the Boardwalk and 2 flo-riders.
The main dining room food was okay. Symphony and Adventure both offered the same menu in the MDR, pretty much identical besides the lobster night on Symphony while Adventure it was an upcharge. I read somewhere that the menu will change sometime in February.
My sister, who has diamond plus status, hyped up my 1st cruise so I went thinking it was going to be a blast, what a major letdown. I just got off Adventure of the Seas and the voyager class is more my speed. A tad bit smaller but maybe because I got the junior suite on the lido deck and didn't spend much time outside the Solarium which was steps away from my room. Symphony's bartender were great, they kept feeding me drinks, 105 in 7nights while Adventure made me wait 15mins after I chugged my drink.
Been home for 6 nights and I still have sea legs. My 7nt'r on Symphony, sea legs didn't go away until 23 days after the cruise and pretty calm seas compared to Adventure sailing back into Galveston with 13ft seas.
This post was edited on 1/20/23 at 10:59 pm
Posted on 1/21/23 at 12:43 pm to LSUfan4444
quote:
Right...which is why were thinking a HS graduation trip for her once she becomes of age
Bring a friend of hers. From what I have read about Viking is the crowd is older. We are in our 50s and we will be one of the youngest couples on board
Posted on 1/21/23 at 6:38 pm to jimlsu1
quote:
Viking Cruise Lines
We've done 3 Viking cruises and enjoyed all of them. We've done other lines that are also very good. Disclosure: the wife specializes in European river and Mediterranean cruises. We take a group of 20 - 30 folks each Spring.
For first time European river cruise, definitely the Danube.
Posted on 1/21/23 at 6:44 pm to Gulf Coast Tiger
quote:
the Rhine Getaway
Great itinerary! … Cruising uphill.
I loved how the border between the countries moved back and forth over the centuries.
And some really good German champagne (but they can't call it champagne). It's an excursion.
Posted on 1/21/23 at 7:00 pm to LSUfan4444
quote:
venice to athens route througn the adriatic or the Rome to Athens through the Holy Land
If Athens, make sure the ship stops at Ephesus, Turkey (one of my top 3 ever lifetime destinations). Blows Pompeii away i.e. Roman ruins covered, these by an earthquake instead of a volcano. Since they were discovered later and were more remote they are better preserved.
St. Paul preached there, hence his letters to the Ephesians.
Lagniappe: Mary, Jesus's mother, lived up the mountain. They rebuilt her very simple home. , but it's still interesting.
Posted on 1/21/23 at 7:40 pm to Fat Man
Taking a family cruise this summer from Galveston to Bahamas over 4th of July on carnival. Goin to key west , half moon cay, Freeport, and Nassau. Kinda starting to think I shouldn’t have booked with carnival after reading through this thread. I liked the itinerary though. Never been to Bahamas.
Posted on 1/21/23 at 9:01 pm to jkylejohnson
quote:Don't second guess it. You can have a great time on a Carnival cruise as long as you understand what to expect.
Kinda starting to think I shouldn’t have booked with carnival after reading through this thread
Posted on 1/25/23 at 9:33 am to Saint Alfonzo
quote:
We're sailing on the Enchantment out of Barcelona, the cruise ends in Civatavecchia. Our first Mediterranean cruise on Royal, on the Serenade, left from there.
What was your experience sailing out of Civatavecchia? Any issues to be aware of?
Also, what were your port calls and general idea about each? Any must-do's or must-avoid's?
Our trip is 4 months away and we're still planning at activities at each port. We will also be staying in Rome for 3 days before the cruise.
Posted on 1/25/23 at 10:07 am to tokenasian37
quote:
If you have kids they'll have a blast! From the dry slide to waterslides, zipline across the top deck, rock climbing wall, the full size carousel in the Boardwalk and 2 flo-riders.
are all of these things included, or do you have to pay extra for things like the zipline?
Posted on 1/25/23 at 11:09 am to chadm71
quote:
What was your experience sailing out of Civatavecchia? Any issues to be aware of?
Took the train down from Rome, then walked to the ship. Little bit of a walk with luggage, might be better to hire a car or van from Rome, or take a shuttle from the train. Embarking was quick and easy, as it usually is with Royal.
quote:
Also, what were your port calls and general idea about each? Any must-do's or must-avoid's?
The ports we did are not the ones you'll be hitting on the Symphony. Ours was an Adriatic Sea, Italy, Greece, Croatia cruise. I see Florence is on your itinerary. Go see the David, it's absolutely breathtaking. Eat some gelato.
quote:
Our trip is 4 months away and we're still planning at activities at each port. We will also be staying in Rome for 3 days before the cruise.
We stayed in Rome for three days before our cruise. Took the train to Florence one of those days. Did a lot of Rome sightseeing. Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain was being renovated at the time.
Posted on 1/25/23 at 11:20 am to jkylejohnson
quote:
Kinda starting to think I shouldn’t have booked with carnival after reading through this thread
If you go on Carnival knowing what it is, it will be fine for you. If you are expecting a refined experience, you will be disappointed.
Posted on 1/25/23 at 2:43 pm to jkylejohnson
quote:
Kinda starting to think I shouldn’t have booked with carnival after reading through this thread
I cruise on Carnival once/yr.
1- RCCL and NCL never run that itinerary from Galveston. You’d have the extra expense to fly to FL to go the Bahamas on those lines.
2- Expect a party crowd. You’re on an 8 day so that’s going to limit a lot of the riff-raff. People are going for a long trip and to do exactly what you are doing—get over to the Bahamas from Galveston.
3- There will be a ton of families and kids which will temper any rowdiness.
4- I’ve been on the Dream. It’s a nice ship. They’ve added some of the dining from newer ships. Its design is the louder, bright decor more like Carnival’s older ships. But it’s pretty popular.
Posted on 1/25/23 at 10:15 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
do you have to pay extra for things like the zipline?
Nope, all included, you just need to sign a waiver and you're good to go.
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