Honest Question on Not Liking the Ships

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

But the itineraries for both lines are really varied (at least from an American perspective). Canaries, more interesting Caribbean itins, the Baltic, East Asia (that isn't just Keelung and Naha).

I think that depends on what you've looked at and what you've done. I'm not dissuading you from the two lines you've mentioned, I'm just saying those are absolutely not at all the only lines that do varied cruises including the regions you mentioned although the Baltics is one lines are just getting back to due to its proximity to Russia (we are heavily looking at a Seabourn one for 2027 for example). Seabourn also has been doing the Canaries for a while now, Asia as well (actually almost have done a Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand cruise several times now just hasn't worked out). The other lines do these types of places too. For the Caribbean Seabourn primarily uses Barbados as its home port but their ports are more varied than DCL that's for sure.

Once you branch out you find this is the case in other lines. DCL is so heavy on the Caribbean it's really not worth looking at if you're interested in the world. Probably because I'm not really interested in doing the Caribbean (I've done one years ago when I was a teen) at the moment that I always am looking at cruises that take place elsewhere in the world. For the Caribbean the larger ships (and Virgin) have been utilizing their private islands so their cruises take a hit on varied locations for that region for reason but even if you didn't have private islands DCL is still extremely focused in that region that is creates the same ole same ole.

 

[peder]

I think that depends on what you've looked at and what you've done. I'm not dissuading you from the two lines you've mentioned, I'm just saying those are absolutely not at all the only lines that do varied cruises including the regions you mentioned although the Baltics is one lines are just getting back to due to its proximity to Russia (we are heavily looking at a Seabourn one for 2027 for example). Seabourn also has been doing the Canaries for a while now, Asia as well (actually almost have done a Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand cruise several times now just hasn't worked out). The other lines do these types of places too. For the Caribbean Seabourn primarily uses Barbados as its home port but their ports are more varied than DCL that's for sure.

Once you branch out you find this is the case in other lines. DCL is so heavy on the Caribbean it's really not worth looking at if you're interested in the world. Probably because I'm not really interested in doing the Caribbean (I've done one years ago when I was a teen) at the moment that I always am looking at cruises that take place elsewhere in the world. For the Caribbean the larger ships (and Virgin) have been utilizing their private islands so their cruises take a hit on varied locations for that region for reason but even if you didn't have private islands DCL is still extremely focused in that region that is creates the same ole same ole.

I think I'd love Seabourn and Explora (though even Explora has had to scale back their itineraries because their more interesting ones never sold). I guess I haven't looked at these more premium lines as closely as I should have... I've always assumed they're a bit more hostile to kids, especially younger ones? But mostly when I look up their deck plans, I see very few connecting cabins and very few that accommodate a family of 5? That's always been a pretty big blocker for us (when we book Yacht Club on MSC, I need to book two cabins, one of which is essentially a throw-away cabin, so we try to get friends or family to come along with us).

Edit to add: we're doing a Royal cruise out of Singapore, and we've done MSC in the Western Med + Norway + Taiwan. We've looked at a ton of itineraries on most lines. What I've found is that most of the major lines treat their non-traditional itineraries as second-class citizens, using almost exclusively older ships. But I know that the AIDAcosma is a flagship that does the Canaries. That's what we've been trying to find: great ships that are also on a great itinerary.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think I'd love Seabourn and Explora (though even Explora has had to scale back their itineraries because their more interesting ones never sold). I guess I haven't looked at these more premium lines as closely as I should have... I've always assumed they're a bit more hostile to kids, especially younger ones? But mostly when I look up their deck plans, I see very few connecting cabins and very few that accommodate a family of 5? That's always been a pretty big blocker for us (when we book Yacht Club on MSC, I need to book two cabins, one of which is essentially a throw-away cabin, so we try to get friends or family to come along with us).

Explora seems to be doing more marketing towards families compared to when they first launched but they are also new and have a very small fleet so that impacts the variance level, they are ambitious in adding fleet though.

For Seabourn no that isn't a kid friendly line they don't have any activities for kids no clubs, etc so it's more rare to see kids but there can be some; our first cruise had some (a few toddlers and then young and older teens) our second cruise we were the youngest at 36 and 35 (at that time) back in March/April and zero kids. Both cruises were in the Mediterranean region (first was Adriatic second was western with also Iberian). They have a fleet size of 6 at the moment but next May one is being sold to a Japanese company that also bought one of their ships last year. From a post on FB yesterday detailing Carnival's earnings someone mentioned Seabourn was 70% sold out for next year whether that figure is fully accurate or not I can't speak to that, they also release their schedules fairly far in advance.

I don't know specifically on Regent or Silversea how families are looked at there though. I would agree cabin capacity is probably an issue with the upper lines thus needing more cabins more frequently.

Purely speaking though in what places other lines do there's more options out there

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Edit to add: we're doing a Royal cruise out of Singapore, and we've done MSC in the Western Med + Norway + Taiwan. We've looked at a ton of itineraries on most lines. What I've found is that most of the major lines treat their non-traditional itineraries as second-class citizens, using almost exclusively older ships. But I know that the AIDAcosma is a flagship that does the Canaries. That's what we've been trying to find: great ships that are also on a great itinerary.

IMO that would be something higher end more specialized lines wouldn't do nearly as often but that's just my opinion. For patterns I can only speak to Seabourn but they tend to use keeping a ship in a particular location for an extended time period for more than a year or so but then it shifts elsewhere. Like Seabourn Encore (which we have sailed in 2023) was used a lot in the Mediterranean (which is where we sailed it) but then shifted to Asia after that then has been used in Alaska this year and is staying there a lot for next year. That's why when we sailed the Mediterranean again this year it was Ovation (her sister ship and 2 yrs newer technically). Their most exotic locations are presently mostly being done with their Expedition ships which are their newest. They did use an older ship (sold and left the fleet in 2024) previously for Alaska and Antarctica but it was because it had a special hull that could handle the ice. They do however tend to use an older ship for their World Cruises but no one would ever consider that a second class citizen thing. There's some uncertainty in the air with Seabourn's future so I can only speak to now but the more specialized and higher up (though not language-wise) a cruise line is the less likely they behave like the juggernaut lines precisely because people look to them to be different than those lines