Honest Question on Not Liking the Ships

[mcd2745]

You may have ships you like better than others...but I don't know how you can hate a ship.

I may not be too fond of the Wish, and like the four original ships better. But I don't "hate" it or would ever say "I'll never sail on that ship again!". I've had no issues with any of the ships we've been on from other cruise lines, either.

 

[holula]

I’ve sailed on DCL (23 times), Royal (3 times), NCL (3 times) and Princess (once.)

The only ship I hated was Enchantment of the Seas and that was specifically because of how the casino smoke permeated the whole ship. I sailed on her 10 years ago and am much more sensitive to smoke now than I was then, but even then was bad enough. I also didn’t think there was enough to do. Princess was also kind of boring but the cruise was like $600 with $400 OBC so it was cheaper than being at home.

I won’t sail on other lines older ships specifically for those reasons.

However I had a good time on Freedom, Oasis and all three NCL ships (all Breakaway/Breakaway+ class).

That said, nothing is like DCL for me. I want to try Virgin but the way they advertise really doesn’t seem like I’d enjoy it. I also really struggle to find out what they actually offer on the cruise.

 

[KKKKCS]

19 DCL cruises for me, 21 for my wife, 5 more booked between now and next June, and we have tried Royal Caribbean twice, Celebrity once, and Norwegian once. Obviously we like DCL the best, but we have had great experiences on the others as well. The worst experience was with Norwegian. The ship was nice, ports of call were great, customer service was, quite literally, nonexistent. Every level from officers down to wait staff were rude, surly, and made us feel like we were an inconvenience to them. Everyone we talked to on the ship felt the same way. Interestingly, our extended family and daughter went on the same cruise, same ship, the next year and had the best cruise ever! Not sure what changed, but we are happy it did. Our favorite ships are the classics, Magic and Wonder. We love the smaller, more intimate feel where you get to know the the other passengers and crew better. We certainly enjoy the other ships as well and will happily cruise on any of them, and any other cruise line given the chance (any day on a cruise is better than not being on a cruise ).

I guess this is a very long winded way of saying don't be afraid to try other cruise lines or ships. You'll always have your favorites, but you can surely have a great time on any ship you are on.

 

[kylenne]

Oddly enough I really want to try the Royal Caribbean mega ships but also fear they might be bonkers packed.

I can truly say that the Royal mega ships (at least Oasis and Quantum class, I haven't done Icon yet) don't feel crowded because they're laid out very well and Royal does an excellent job managing guest flow so you really never feel like everyone is in one spot at the same time. NCL Breakaway is smaller and actually felt worse due to some weird layout decisions; tbh people who think the Wish is badly laid out need to go on that one and they'll really see a badly laid out ship lol.

My issue with Royal is more so the nickel and diming feel, the post-covid cutbacks in MDR in particular basically force you into specialty dining unless you want to eat at the Windjammer the whole cruise and then you have to look at specialty dining packages. Drink packages are absurd. My sister has high C&A status with them so some of that I get to mitigate but on the whole, while I very much enjoy their product (I think they're the only other line that begins to approach Disney in terms of entertainment quality, specifically) and would continue to sail with them in the future I generally like Disney better. Virgin is next on my list to try after the Destiny.

I'm with you though tbh the only ships I would avoid altogether are older ones as the newer ones tend to have more amenities and things to do but even then, I would never say never. Sometimes you just want to get on a boat and if the price is right I would. (Except Carnival. That is one line I avoid altogether just because I am not at all a fan of their overall product.)

 

[asgur5]

Our two favorite things on a DCL ship are the adult area sundeck and the outdoor walking track. Since DCL ruined both on the Wish class ships, they aren’t for us. Isn’t a bad attitude, it is choosing to sail different ships that meet our needs.

I dont get how anyone would sail dcl if these are your favourite things? Other cruise lines do this better then dcl and for cheaper. Why are you on dcl?

 

[DCL58]

I dont get how anyone would sail dcl if these are your favourite things? Other cruise lines do this better then dcl and for cheaper. Why are you on dcl?

Because we enjoy sailing DCL and can afford it. We sail multiple weeks per year on DCL.

And we are about to become Pearl and aren’t quite ready to start over with another cruise line.

 

[DCLMP]

Because we enjoy sailing DCL and can afford it. We sail multiple weeks per year on DCL.

And we are about to become Pearl and aren’t quite ready to start over with another cruise line.

I get the first sentence and the second. I don't get the third.

There are no benefits to being pearl other than getting on the ship an hour earlier on embarkation day which is a joke because your still boarding the ship late. I'm starting to cruise other lines and my pearl benefits aren't even a factor in my decision.

There are a lot of reasons to rationalize spending the money on DCL, but the pearl benefits????

 

[DCLMP]

I can truly say that the Royal mega ships (at least Oasis and Quantum class, I haven't done Icon yet) don't feel crowded because they're laid out very well and Royal does an excellent job managing guest flow so you really never feel like everyone is in one spot at the same time. NCL Breakaway is smaller and actually felt worse due to some weird layout decisions; tbh people who think the Wish is badly laid out need to go on that one and they'll really see a badly laid out ship lol.

My issue with Royal is more so the nickel and diming feel, the post-covid cutbacks in MDR in particular basically force you into specialty dining unless you want to eat at the Windjammer the whole cruise and then you have to look at specialty dining packages. Drink packages are absurd. My sister has high C&A status with them so some of that I get to mitigate but on the whole, while I very much enjoy their product (I think they're the only other line that begins to approach Disney in terms of entertainment quality, specifically) and would continue to sail with them in the future I generally like Disney better. Virgin is next on my list to try after the Destiny.

I'm with you though tbh the only ships I would avoid altogether are older ones as the newer ones tend to have more amenities and things to do but even then, I would never say never. Sometimes you just want to get on a boat and if the price is right I would. (Except Carnival. That is one line I avoid altogether just because I am not at all a fan of their overall product.)

I agree with you, but the fact that I have paid 50% to 70% less on my 3 Royal cruises vs similar itineraries on DCL I'm ok paying for speciality dining. Honestly if I could afford Palo every night on a DCL cruise I'd do that. The MDR food isn't that good on any cruise line. I did not find the MDR on Royal to be much different than DCL.

I'm not sure why you brought up the drink packages they are optional. DCL doesn't offer them and alcoholic drinks are the same price on a pay as you go basis. The drink packages benefit heavy drinkers. I've only done it once. I don't think I drank my value in terms of alcohol, but I did enjoy the bottled waters, canned sodas, and coffees all of those are not included on DCL. I think it's a nice option and enhances the vacation if you can get if for a good price and make the most of it. It was fun to try different drinks and if I didn't like them...no big deal.

I've added a bunch of extras to my upcoming Royal cruise including speciality dining and I'm still 30% below the base price of the DCl cruise I cancelled. I don't feel nickel and dimed. I feel like I'm getting an enhanced cruise.

As for DCL the ability to bring your own wine and beer on at every port is an advantage. I don't think many people take advantage of it.

When it comes to the older ships...well they have the best itineraries. They are unavoidable if you want to get off the beaten path. I look at them as a floating train to the next destination.

 

[Sakura1017]

I like the amenities on the new Trition ships. However, with the triton ships you are losing personalization from the classic first ships had. There are too many people on the triton ships

 

[John VN]

oops

 

[longboard55]

Our first cruises were Princess to Mexico and I pretty much hated them, felt like summer camp, bad ports, too crowded. Then we did 6 Disneys with family and loved each one, mostly for the entertainment. Finally did Explora, completely different adult type experience, very relaxing and so much better ports on a small ship, places they big boys can not go, also nice to have drinks included and options for dinner. Next trip is a Disney with the double Disney Islands, then after that another Explora med cruise.

 

[jimmymc]

With Disney especially, some cruisers fall in love with specific areas on each ship and spend a lot of time there. So when a new ship takes that away, they "hate" the new design and will never sail on it again. The fact that you're willing to try other cruises means this probably isn't an issue for you. I haven't been on a true RCL megaship, but I like the larger Norwegian ships. I've also heard fantastic reviews for Virgin and the Yacht club from both traditional cruise fans and newer cruisers.

 

[kylenne]

I agree with you, but the fact that I have paid 50% to 70% less on my 3 Royal cruises vs similar itineraries on DCL I'm ok paying for speciality dining. Honestly if I could afford Palo every night on a DCL cruise I'd do that. The MDR food isn't that good on any cruise line. I did not find the MDR on Royal to be much different than DCL.

I'm not sure why you brought up the drink packages they are optional. DCL doesn't offer them and alcoholic drinks are the same price on a pay as you go basis. The drink packages benefit heavy drinkers. I've only done it once. I don't think I drank my value in terms of alcohol, but I did enjoy the bottled waters, canned sodas, and coffees all of those are not included on DCL. I think it's a nice option and enhances the vacation if you can get if for a good price and make the most of it. It was fun to try different drinks and if I didn't like them...no big deal.

I've added a bunch of extras to my upcoming Royal cruise including speciality dining and I'm still 30% below the base price of the DCl cruise I cancelled. I don't feel nickel and dimed. I feel like I'm getting an enhanced cruise.

As for DCL the ability to bring your own wine and beer on at every port is an advantage. I don't think many people take advantage of it.

When it comes to the older ships...well they have the best itineraries. They are unavoidable if you want to get off the beaten path. I look at them as a floating train to the next destination.

To each their own. What you call “enhanced” used to be the expectation of what’s included and still is on the more premium lines. There’s a word for what Royal has been doing since Covid, en-bleep-ification. Giving you less and less for your base fare and up charging for everything. I don’t want to have to spend on top of my cruise fare to have a decent experience regardless of how much cheaper the total ends up compared to other lines, and increasingly you’re forced to. The MDR menu changes are a prime example of that. On DCL I don’t feel forced to eat at Palo, it’s just a treat. Rotational is pretty solid to good. Royal MDR is dog food now outside of the Indian dishes. And if I’m going to be forced to do specialty dining to have a decent meal then I’m just going to do Virgin.

Gonna be honest, none of the mass market cruise lines do truly interesting itineraries to me. I would rather do those on newer, smaller ships on the premium lines or get into river cruising.

 

[longboard55]

Thoughts on drink packages, never had an issue with the Disney system, not like I am going to drink 8 drinks a day, and they had quality drinks at prices I thought were reasonable. Did the lux cruise with all drinks included and no one got ripped, we just enjoyed our martinis at appropriate times. I think the issue is when people pay a lot extra for a drink package and feel they need to get their monies worth so they start early and go all day

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thoughts on drink packages, never had an issue with the Disney system, not like I am going to drink 8 drinks a day, and they had quality drinks at prices I thought were reasonable. Did the lux cruise with all drinks included and no one got ripped, we just enjoyed our martinis at appropriate times. I think the issue is when people pay a lot extra for a drink package and feel they need to get their monies worth so they start early and go all day

That's been our experience on Seabourn as well. Never ran into someone drunk, never heard of it being a big issue either.

I wouldn't tie it to time of day though because mimosas and other types of drink are common enough to see in the morning.

 

[Jodo98]

my husband hates that there is no casino on any disney ship. at least a non smoking one for adults while kids in club or something. i know its family trip but sometimes adults need a moment.

 

[DCLMP]

To each their own. What you call “enhanced” used to be the expectation of what’s included and still is on the more premium lines. There’s a word for what Royal has been doing since Covid, en-bleep-ification. Giving you less and less for your base fare and up charging for everything. I don’t want to have to spend on top of my cruise fare to have a decent experience regardless of how much cheaper the total ends up compared to other lines, and increasingly you’re forced to. The MDR menu changes are a prime example of that. On DCL I don’t feel forced to eat at Palo, it’s just a treat. Rotational is pretty solid to good. Royal MDR is dog food now outside of the Indian dishes. And if I’m going to be forced to do specialty dining to have a decent meal then I’m just going to do Virgin.

Gonna be honest, none of the mass market cruise lines do truly interesting itineraries to me. I would rather do those on newer, smaller ships on the premium lines or get into river cruising.

I'm curious when has speciality dining, drink packages, escape rooms, laser tag, zip lining etc ever been included on any cruise line? I have not seen one thing on royal I have to pay for that's included on DCL except soda, but Royal has always charged for soda.

Food is subjective. Saying Royals food is dog chow is a little extreme don't you think? The lengths people go to on this forum never lacks on the dramatics.

What is the definition of a truly interesting itinerary? Certainly not DCL itineraries.

 

[DCLMP]

Thoughts on drink packages, never had an issue with the Disney system, not like I am going to drink 8 drinks a day, and they had quality drinks at prices I thought were reasonable. Did the lux cruise with all drinks included and no one got ripped, we just enjoyed our martinis at appropriate times. I think the issue is when people pay a lot extra for a drink package and feel they need to get their monies worth so they start early and go all day

There is no savings in a drink package unless you drink a lot. I think some people like the convenience of having everything paid upfront. It's included on most NCL cruises. I know if you have status on RCCL you get several free drinks a day which would be more than enough.