Is there a cruise ship hierarchy?

Carnival is going DOWN... quickly. The only way to go on a somewhat decent Carnival cruise is if it is more than $600-$800 per person.

RC is top tier for nola. Above it would be Seabourne, Cunard and Viking.

RC is equal to Holland and Virgin. (One goes older, one younger with rc in middle)

Norwegian is a step above carnival and had a great deal on added extras including a la carte dining, which usually cost a lot more on NCL.
NCL really isn't that different ship wise from carnival. And carnival often has better food and activities. Issue with carnival is is short cruises attract the worst types of customers. Cruises that have $400-800 rooms often have bad guests.

There are def levels of quality between company’s, but the departure ports makes a big difference as well.

Mass market lines: MSC, Carnival, Royal, Norwegian. All of these run about the same price. Each has its own vibe. Largest ships.

MSC: European-style on a budget. Upside: Ultra-modern, new ships. Downside: Poor service, quirks that don’t vibe with Americans.

Carnival: The “Fun” ships, party people. Upside: Great included food, value, friendly passengers wanting to have fun. Downside: Can be rowdy; attracts crowds who are there to party, less-refined class of folks.

Royal: Focus on families, entertainment, and high tech; more laid back. Upside: newest ships are record-breaking and innovative. Downside: $500-1000 more for same itinerary. Unfriendly, snotty crowds. You have to have a reservation to do anything.

Norwegian: Focus on dining, all-inclusive model. Modern, upscale ships. Upside: Some of the best specialty dining at sea; best first class experience (The Haven). Best for solo cruisers. Downside: Crowded top decks, little open space, upcharges to access clubs on the top decks; smaller, crowded onboard venues.

It’s really about finding the best fit for you. All of the mass market lines run the same product just from a different focus. I’m a Carnival guy; I like the value I get for the money and party people are my people. But it’s not for everyone and I refuse to go on an older ship of theirs that has not been updated.

Premium lines: Princess, Celebrity, Virgin, Holland America. Again, each of these has their own vibe and audience. Princess & Holland are owned by Carnival; Royal owns Celebrity. Smaller ships than mass market, but still large. More variety in itineraries. In this group, I prefer Celebrity. Their modern, super chic ships and upscale dining menu is more my style when I want to splurge.

Luxury: Cunard, Azamara, Viking, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn. Usually all-inclusive. Much smaller ships. Very expensive. Longer itineraries and exotic destinations. Michelin-star dining.

Don't sleep on Disney Cruise Line either. You don't need to be a hardcore Disney fanatic or anything - they have an entire area of the ship dedicated to adults only and have over 18 bars, etc. all over the ship.

Although it is probably one of the most, if not the most, expensive of the top tier lines, the service and cleanliness alone put them in their own category.

And if you want to REALLY splurge, look into Concierge on DCL - although be careful, once you sail Concierge, it's hard to go back (similar to Haven category on NCL).

Book NCL and don’t look back. Excellent company

You looking for luxury or adventure?

Small ships are top notch, mainly for adventure.

Luxury liners are for sedentary types. Small ships are for adventure types. Both can be top tier, depending on what you want.

quote:

---

I prefer Celebrity.

---

Same, I've done 3 with them. Food was very good and I liked the age of the passengers, mostly middle aged empty nest couples. Princess was very good too.

Norwegian was a step down, but it was an old ship and we got a huge discount, so no complaints at all.

Carnival has been covered. Fine when you are young, but not anymore.

As mentioned, departure port makes a difference. If most people have to fly to get there you will have a better group on the ship. Also, I much prefer smaller ships. I have no desire to take one of the new mega ships.

The only cruise I’ve ever went on was Carnival two years ago and it felt like I was on a floating Walmart. The people on there was just nasty. I’m 57 and in decent shape but I’d would say 65 % were obese. The women would be in a two piece bathing suit weighing well over 200 lbs. My wife is 57 also and without a doubt one of the prettier women on the entire ship. Food was terrible also