If you had to pick..

[Lomac924]

What is the closet cruise line in terms of service and quality to DCL? We have never sailed with anyone other than DCL and thinking about expanding our horizons. TIA!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Viking if your party is all adults.

Anything else would either be a huge upgrade (including price) or a huge downgrade IMO.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We're going with Princess because has so many more ports they cruise to. 2023 will be a land/sea on Princess from Fairbanks AK to Vancouver BC, ten days total, seven of the days on the ship in the Owner's Suite for just less than DCL 7-night Family verandah inside passage cruise.

 

[Marc D]

Our ‘other‘ cruise line is Celebrity. We tried RCCL, NCL (in the Haven) and Azamara and Celebrity is our clear winner. My parents have sailed on all those lines, plus Costa, Holland America and Princess. They are soon sailing on their 104th cruise and have been sailing Celebrity exclusively for the last 10 years.

Contrary to what a PP said, I do not see any downgrade in quality, outside of stage shows. In fact, the food, for us is much better on Celebrity, especially in the buffet, and they are cheaper than DCL, especially in Alaska and Europe. If you are willing to spend the same amount of money as you would on DCL, you will probably be able to afford a Concierge room on that line.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Our ‘other‘ cruise line is Celebrity. We tried RCCL, NCL (in the Haven) and Azamara and Celebrity is our clear winner. My parents have sailed on all those lines, plus Costa, Holland America and Princess. They are soon sailing on their 104th cruise and have been sailing Celebrity exclusively for the last 10 years.

Contrary to what a PP said, I do not see any downgrade in quality, outside of stage shows. In fact, the food, for us is much better on Celebrity, especially in the buffet, and they are cheaper than DCL, especially in Alaska and Europe. If you are willing to spend the same amount of money as you would on DCL, you will probably be able to afford a Concierge room on that line.

I've never sailed Celebrity, but a couple of things.

1. I think their ships are extremely ugly, even uglier than MSC. They look like commercial fishing boats.

2. This isn't Celebrity-specific, but onboard casinos are such a huge turn-off. It would take a lot for me to get on a ship with one. And most (all?) allow smoking, and the smell doesn't stay contained.

 

[MomOTwins]

I've never sailed Celebrity, but a couple of things.

1. I think their ships are extremely ugly, even uglier than MSC. They look like commercial fishing boats.

2. This isn't Celebrity-specific, but onboard casinos are such a huge turn-off. It would take a lot for me to get on a ship with one. And most (all?) allow smoking, and the smell doesn't stay contained.

It’s true, DCL has the prettiest ships! I know it seems like such a little thing but wow I love walking up to the DCl ships in port or watching it from the beach Castaway Cay. Stunning!

 

[Marc D]

I've never sailed Celebrity, but a couple of things.

1. I think their ships are extremely ugly, even uglier than MSC. They look like commercial fishing boats.

2. This isn't Celebrity-specific, but onboard casinos are such a huge turn-off. It would take a lot for me to get on a ship with one. And most (all?) allow smoking, and the smell doesn't stay contained.

Your first point is a question of taste. I prefer the Virgin and DCL look, but It certainly does not have a significant impact on our choices.

I never go to the casino and would prefer that space to be used by other things. All Celebrity casinos are smoke-free. Therefore, we have no problem going past it. On NCL Bliss, the smokers must use a closed room, but the smoke smell was everywhere on the casino deck. Being very bothered by it, we had to change decks to cross the ship.

 

[randumb0]

I'd say either Celebrity or Princess

 

[insureman]

I've never sailed Celebrity, but a couple of things.

1. I think their ships are extremely ugly, even uglier than MSC. They look like commercial fishing boats.

2. This isn't Celebrity-specific, but onboard casinos are such a huge turn-off. It would take a lot for me to get on a ship with one. And most (all?) allow smoking, and the smell doesn't stay contained.

What cruise line besides DCL does not have a casino? Thanks

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What cruise line besides DCL does not have a casino? Thanks

Viking

 

[FigmentSpark]

Anyone have any comments about MSC?

 

[insureman]

Viking

Thanks. Good to know.

 

[tvguy]

I've sailed Paquet, NCL, RCCL HAL, DCL, Celebrity and NCL America.
Paquet is out of business, but they put all the other lines to shame as far as service and quality. Not sure many cruisers would like how they operated. Gourmet foods, absolutely NO other dining option other than the main dining room and the Midnight Buffet. Dinner was a 3 1/2 hour 12 course "event".
I would rank NCL America lowest, but it was a good trip. But the Pride of America is basically a floating hotel, not a destination unto itself. They overnight in two ports, and they really push in port options, not on board.
I really found NCL, RCCL, HAL, DCL and Celebrity about on par as far as service and quality.

 

[Dug720]

This isn't Celebrity-specific, but onboard casinos are such a huge turn-off. It would take a lot for me to get on a ship with one. And most (all?) allow smoking, and the smell doesn't stay contained.

Not allowed in Celebrity's. And they're much more easily avoided than on other lines.

And I think the Edge-class look gorgeous.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

And I think the Edge-class look gorgeous.

I don't mind the lines. The white and blue just makes it look like a crab boat.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We went on a celebrity cruise over Christmas. Loved it. Food was much better than Disney. Entertainment was great. Drinks and wifi included. But we don’t have kids so I don’t know how the kids program is but I heard other people talking about it as being good. No slides or characters.

 

[ChanaC]

Speaking of fishing boats, I think the older Carnival ships look like Coast Guard ships. Just very plain and functional. The oldest appears to be the Carnival Ecstasy, built in 1991, but it looks like something from the 70s. And some of the older ships have this thing that drives me crazy - in the front of the ships there is a row or two of windows that slant downwards so the windows aren't all parallel. I'm sure it's supposed to be stylish but every time I see them I think it looks crooked and cheap. Like someone made a mistake while they were building the ship and everyone just went along with it. Photo below for reference. What's funny is that there are a few ships built in the late 90s, the same time as the early Disney ships, and they look decades apart.

 

[Dug720]

I don't mind the lines. The white and blue just makes it look like a crab boat.

I think it's gorgeous. And not all beat up with ugly crates all over it.

 

[auntlynne]

My friends who have left DCL seem to have moved to Celebrity. I am dabbling in NCL, MSC, and Royal C this year (in addition to Disney). Previously sailed Princess, also. I find dining and stateroom service to be fairly similar across the industry. I like my food and drink delivery to be prompt and accurate and my room fresh. But I don’t want to be fawned over. So far, so good, with smiles and an amazing ability to recognize me among the thousands of guests (a skill I don’t have).

The biggest differences seem to be price, entertainment, itinerary variations (a little less so on the bigger ships), and smoking (which often goes hand-in-hand with casinos). Another factor is the crowd the line targets. My Carnival cruise was so different than Disney that I would never suggest it to someone who loves Disney cruises. Party v sedate!

 

[Lomac924]

Thank you everyone for your responses! We have been looking at sailing on Celebrity. I have 3 kiddos (2, 8, & 9.5) so I know that DCL is great for them but I don't think we will be sailing on them exclusively going forth. I would be interested to see what kind of experience their kiddos have had with the programs on Celebrity.