Never been on a cruise...

[IluvKingLouis]

Looks like we may plan a cruise to Alaska leaving from Seattle. Could y'all share with me the differences between cruise lines? I don't need the absolute best, but I'd prefer not to be stuck on a boat for 7 nights if it was dingy.

TIA! (BTW, I'm a bit of a foodie so good food would definitely sway my opinion).

ETA, I'm currently looking at the Norwegian Star via Travelzoo.

 

[dimimi]

I would suggest going to cruise critic dot com You will find a lot of information there about every ship and every line. You can read reviews of every ship and join the forum and ask questions.

I have never sailed on Norwegian Star, but I have heard Norwegian is an older crowd, over 60.

I would also compare prices. I found a travel agent that will give me on board credit or free tips when I book with her. I usually book myself with the cruise line directly and then transfer my booking to the travel agent.

Have fun, our family loves to cruise. I don't know who is going in your family, but we found getting 2 cabins was much more convenient than everyone in one cabin and the money difference was minimal.

 

[msjprincess]

I would suggest going to cruise critic dot com You will find a lot of information there about every ship and every line. You can read reviews of every ship and join the forum and ask questions.

I have never sailed on Norwegian Star, but I have heard Norwegian is an older crowd, over 60.

I would also compare prices. I found a travel agent that will give me on board credit or free tips when I book with her. I usually book myself with the cruise line directly and then transfer my booking to the travel agent.

Have fun, our family loves to cruise. I don't know who is going in your family, but we found getting 2 cabins was much more convenient than everyone in one cabin and the money difference was minimal.

Really? I've heard that about HAL, never Norwegian.

 

[tigercat]

Cruise Critic is good in some ways and I have used them and been on their site a lot. The only thing is to watch for trolls and their nasty comments.
tigercat

 

[mdsoccermom]

Norwegian is not an older crowd. As someone else said, HAL is. However, I wouldn't consider the food on NCL to be anything to write home about. If you have no kids, I would do Celebrity.

 

[mjkacmom]

Really? I've heard that about HAL, never Norwegian.

NCL, RCCI, and Carnival are all family friendly mass market cruise lines. The last NCL cruise we were on had 800 kids onboard! OP, you are on the wrong board - go on the cruisecritic.com boards - the DIS of cruising.

 

[mickey&arielsmom]

I have never sailed on Norwegian Star, but I have heard Norwegian is an older crowd, over 60.

When we sailed on Holland America, we called it Geritol America. I think it was an over 80 crowd!

 

[antmaril]

Holland America does attract an older crowd. I cruised out of Seattle to Alaska on HAL in 2009. i was 58 years old at the time and I felt pretty young on that cruise. I did enjoy it very much. Alaska is amazing. If you can find a cruise that sails into Glacier Bay, it really is spectacular!

Good luck!

 

[erincon23]

We've been on Princess for the Alaska cruise, Royal Carib for a 3-night Caribbean, and Disney for 3 nights. RCL had the best food, and I'd say Disney and Princess were both a notch below. RCL also had the best entertainment (I love Disney, but I like live music in the lounges and something other than just those great-as-they-are Broadway-style shows). Rooms on RCL were the smallest of the three. Disney was the cleanest and most personal, Princess had the greatest variety of activities. If we were to go on another cruise, of the three, I'd pick RCL, and if I were to do another Alaska cruise, I'd CERTAINLY do RCL over Princess.

My parents cruise about once a year and really like Celebrity the best. They've been on just about every line (except Disney). They're not too fond of Norwegian.

 

[Jeafl]

I've been on Carnival, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity and the now defunct Big Red Boat.

Holland America is definitely an older crowd, and although the ships are nice, I didn't see them being worth the extra money.

Celebrity has an older crowd too, and it is also more expensive. You will see differences in things like fine china and silver, as opposed to not so fine china and silverware on the other lines. Their entertainment leans more toward travel lectures and less nightlife too.

Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival are pretty much the same, but it depends on which ship. I've been on 3 different ships from each of those lines, and if you go on the newer ships you will be fine. i would not recommend the older ships on any of those lines. I think Royal Caribbean likes to think they are a notch above, but honestly, Carnival has stepped up it's game with their newer ships and there is no longer much difference.

Carnival has some of the best food, believe it or not. I have only had one bad meal out of 3 Carnival cruises. The problem with NCL is that they are turning towards the "premium" restaurants you have to pay extra for and are not putting much money into the general dining room. They pretty much force you to go to the restaurants that have an additional charge. This can add substantially to the total cost of the cruise. Royal Caribbean is now starting to charge for steak in the regular dining room, whereas the other lines it is included.

A minor point as well, definitely not a deal breaker, is that Carnival has free 24 hour room service, and Royal Caribbean charges for their food between 10 pm and 6 am, or something like that.

Royal Caribbean's newer ships have some great features like skating rinks, rock climbing walls and surfing. The newest ship even has ziplining.

It all depends on what you are looking for. My parents went on HAL to Alaska and loved it, but then again, they are in their late 60's.

If you have any specific questions, let me know. Cruisecritic.com is really a great source of information too.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Wow! This is a lot of great information. Thanks so much.

We will be just me, DH and DD8. Quality of food and kids activities are important.

I totally forgot that Disney now goes to Alaska. Is there any AP discount?