Other Cruise Lines

[kylmac]

Oh, we had ZERO expectations because we had read the horrendous reviews on Cruise Critic before we even went. We liked the itinerary, it was the only ship doing round trip islands and we were celebrating our anniversary. Even after "being prepared" by reading the reviews, and going in with an open mind, it was actually far worse than we were even prepared for. The filth, the attitude and the food all made for a very unpleasant experience. The only plus besides the itinerary was that they had great vendors for excursions!

Oh no! We are sailing this summer after 3 days at Aulani. We are not expecting DCL but hope it is not so terrible!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Oh no! We are sailing this summer after 3 days at Aulani. We are not expecting DCL but hope it is not so terrible!

I would be very interested in your review of the cruise. We have friends (we met them cruising DCL) who did the Hawaiian island cruise on NCL and were very disappointed with the cruise (mostly staff and condition of ship). Not so much the cruise per se.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We hated Carnival including our kids. We had a major fight onboard that almost diverted the ship. The only food we liked was Guys burgers and Blue Iguana.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Oh, we had ZERO expectations because we had read the horrendous reviews on Cruise Critic before we even went. We liked the itinerary, it was the only ship doing round trip islands and we were celebrating our anniversary. Even after "being prepared" by reading the reviews, and going in with an open mind, it was actually far worse than we were even prepared for. The filth, the attitude and the food all made for a very unpleasant experience. The only plus besides the itinerary was that they had great vendors for excursions!

Yup. Worst cruise we've ever been on. Food was so bad even our pregnant niece lost weight. A third of the crew walked off the ship in a wildcat strike shortly before our cruise, so service was even worse than usual. shudder.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Oh no! We are sailing this summer after 3 days at Aulani. We are not expecting DCL but hope it is not so terrible!

Friends of mine sailed Pride of America for their very first cruise 2 years ago and said it was the best vacation of their lives. I hope you have a similar experience.

This next comment isn't directed at you @kylmac, just a general comment. I think it's really funny that the biggest complaint coming from Pride of America is the horrendous service and that staff is mostly US citizens. All other ships are mostly non US citizens and everyone loves the service.

 

[dairyou]

I just posted a thread about the last time we were with DCL was 2005. We've been and to at least 6 Carnival, 2 RCCL, 3 Norwegian. We noticed with the three main dining room meals were absolutely terrible. We've heard its to drive everyone to the Specialty restaurants? We were on one of the newest Norwegian ships and the hotdogs were cold in the middle. We did enjoy the variety of options of Carnival which is why we mainly stuck with them. The comedy clubs on RCCL and Norwegian had to be reserved. Many times there weren't seats to be reserved so your entire party had to wait in line to get seats.

We're looking forward to sailing on the Fantasy or Dream. Its all completely new and exciting for us!

deb

 

[texasgingerbread]

Celebrity - Aqua Class...do your research and get a room on the "bump out" and book ahead. Priced the same as others in category and your balcony will hold a table and chairs with 2 loungers. HUGE. This is all adults though - so depends on your 19 year old.

 

[texasgingerbread]

PS - ports would be my first look and then decide which boats sail to those ports. Depends on where you want to go.

 

[owensamo]

We've started taking Celebrity cruises for the itineraries this past summer - we did Alaska northbound (which DCL doesn't offer), and will be doing an Italy and Greek Island cruise this summer (Concierge level for the price of a DCL oceanview on a similar itinerary). While X isn't DCL, the service was very similar in my opinion. My teen wasn't keen on the teen club on the Millennium - very small, and not very well attended - but enjoyed the events she did attend. Otherwise we spent most of our onboard time in the forward lounge with wrap-around windows, enjoying the scenery well into the (sunlit) night! The food was on par with DCL - food service was atypical as there was a large group on board (partial charter), but I thought it was fine. I missed the rotational dining, but did kind of like the anytime dining - and really appreciated that the buffet was open for dinner. We had no complaints about the room (though it was smaller than DCL).

As for Hawaii - when we were looking at Hawaii for 2014, we found that Hawaii itineraries (other than Pride of America) tend to sell quickly because most lines only do it once or twice a year, while repositioning their ships. There are deals to Hawaii - Hawaiian Air often has discounted flights from LA, inter-island flights are ~80 each leg, and there are plenty of vacation rentals (and even hotels) that run around $200/night. We've considered Hawaii cruises - but the cruises to Hawaii from the mainland have a lot of sea days - I'd rather spend those days on the islands exploring, and seeing more in those areas than one can in a day or two. I would really recommend pricing out a land-only itinerary to compare to any cruises you find and see what makes the most sense to see the things you want to be able to see. When we went in 2014, we used timeshare points on both Oahu and the Big Island, and airline points for flights, so most of our expenses were food (and Costco groceries weren't really any pricier than at home), attractions, and car rental (great deal through Costco). I think overall we spent less in Hawaii for the 3 of us than we typically spend on a DCL 7-night carribbean cruise. I really think you can do Hawaii relatively inexpensively, if you do enough research.

 

[cyclenut]

I don't have as much experience with cruising as some on here, but we've sailed the Carnival Breeze (September 2016) followed by the Disney Wonder (January 2017) very recently and it wasn't that long ago we were on the RCCL Freedom of the Seas.

We love DCL because we love Disney, but we don't love everything about DCL. We found the Carnival Breeze to be surprisgly nice and much better than any Disney ship in a few areas. We loved their "food court" and the subsequent variety and we loved their prices. We stayed in a Jr. Suite for less than DCL aft whitewall Verandah. DCL shows are far superior and we thought the MDR experience on Disney to also be much better than the Breeze. The overall ship decor on Disney is outstanding and the guests are treated exceptionally well.

The Carnival Breeze sold me on Carnival as being a very viable option for us. We had sailed older Carnival ships and were not very impressed. Our advice previously was to stay away from Carnival unless you could not afford anything else and just had to get on a ship. Now I would find them to be an acceptable alternative, but only on their newer ships.

The biggest thing to look at is the age and size of the ship. Then look at the cruise line. You must find an itinerary you prefer as well, but I would not cruise to Hawaii or around Hawaii. It sounds novel, but the amount of time at sea is much more than you might think and you'll be sailing in the Pacific, where there is a great chance of rough seas if you cruise to Hawaii.

If you are a fan of Disney and really like the Disney experience (uniquely Disney), then there is no other choice but DCL. You can get great service elsewhere, but Disney has a way of just making the service feel special. It's not stuffy, but relaxed and fun but so polite and helpful. Nobody else has the kind of training that gets this type of balance.

If you are looking for a great vacation experience and are interested in Disney because you heard it is "better", check elsewhere. You will pay a premium for DCL and unless you really appreciate Disney, you can get better bang for your buck with RCCL or even one of Carnival's newer ships.

 

[RedSox68]

Oh no! We are sailing this summer after 3 days at Aulani. We are not expecting DCL but hope it is not so terrible!

I would be very interested in your review of the cruise. We have friends (we met them cruising DCL) who did the Hawaiian island cruise on NCL and were very disappointed with the cruise (mostly staff and condition of ship). Not so much the cruise per se.

Yes, we loved the itinerary and the excursion vendors they used, but like Princess Shmoo notes -- it was the staff and the condition of the ship (and our rooms). The only time in traveling with my husband in 40 years that I heard him complain. On the say back to the ship in one port, he said "boy, do I hate getting back on that ship". I was going to say that that was 8 years ago, but it sounds like PrincessShmoo may have friends who did it more recently and still had problems. What I don't understand is they are well aware of the comments and the problems and in 10 years still have not come close to fixing them or straightening out the crew and their attitude.

Do what we did -- go into it with an open mind and take it for what it is. I know we paid very little for our rooms and could even afford a separate room for our daughter -- so I guess you get what you pay for. I, too, would very much like to hear your experience when you return. Please let us know if you do a trip report.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Pride of America and the Hawaii cruise was our first cruise. It was a while ago now 8 years at least. But we loved it. We then sailed NCL Europe holy moly never again. Since then we have taken 6 DCL cruises loved them all. Trying Royal Caribbean in the summer and rebooked DCL for 2018. I would not sail NCL again. It was so dirty. I have a comprimised immune system. The Jade had about 80% of the guests with Noro. Found out so did the previous cruise. If I had known that I would not have boarded.

 

[RedSox68]

The biggest thing to look at is the age and size of the ship. Then look at the cruise line. You must find an itinerary you prefer as well, but I would not cruise to Hawaii or around Hawaii. It sounds novel, but the amount of time at sea is much more than you might think and you'll be sailing in the Pacific, where there is a great chance of rough seas if you cruise to Hawaii.

The cruise we did around the Hawaiian Islands was the only time-saving way we could see all the islands without flying to each one and staying in hotels. The cruise was 7-nights and stopped at Hilo, Maui (overnight), Kona and Kauai. We saw the lava flowing into the ocean at night time and spent a whole day sailing up and down the Na Pali Coast (words can't describe it). It was round-trip from Honolulu and we did not experience any rough seas at all. Now that would be different if sailing from the west coast round-trip to Hawaii as that is where you have a lot of wasted sea days and are in open ocean for days at a time.

If there were other options other than NCL to do a local cruise of the area, we'd do it again; we don't have the time or money for the 15-day ones from California though. We used our extra days staying at Maui and renewing our vows for our 30th anniversary and spending time in Honolulu (Hilton Hawaiian Village is amazing if you can't afford Aulani).

 

[RedSox68]

Pride of America and the Hawaii cruise was our first cruise. It was a while ago now 8 years at least. But we loved it. We then sailed NCL Europe holy moly never again. Since then we have taken 6 DCL cruises loved them all. Trying Royal Caribbean in the summer and rebooked DCL for 2018. I would not sail NCL again. It was so dirty. I have a comprimised immune system. The Jade had about 80% of the guests with Noro. Found out so did the previous cruise. If I had known that I would not have boarded.

Did you sail in 2008? If so, what month?

I am so sorry to hear your bad experience on your second NCL cruise. After Pride of America, we said no NCL ever again, but took the Breakaway out of NYC last year to Bermuda and it restored our faith in NCL. Beautiful ship, excellent room steward and great room. But in the reviews they do say that most of the problem with Pride of America is it is an all-American crew (isn't that sad).

 

[Vijoge]

Friends of mine sailed Pride of America for their very first cruise 2 years ago and said it was the best vacation of their lives. I hope you have a similar experience.

This next comment isn't directed at you @kylmac, just a general comment. I think it's really funny that the biggest complaint coming from Pride of America is the horrendous service and that staff is mostly US citizens. All other ships are mostly non US citizens and everyone loves the service.

That's been the issue with Pride of America ever since she started sailing this itinerary. The non-US staff on the other lines are basically trained to "kiss butt" and they do it well. They work long hours, they work hard, go out of their way to make customers happy, and keep a smile on their face while doing so. They often put up with a lot of crap from customers. The US staff on the Pride has never been able to (or required to) adapt to the idea of giving this kind of service. People were excited when the Pride announced she would have an American crew until they found out just what that meant as far as service goes.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Did you sail in 2008? If so, what month?

I am so sorry to hear your bad experience on your second NCL cruise. After Pride of America, we said no NCL ever again, but took the Breakaway out of NYC last year to Bermuda and it restored our faith in NCL. Beautiful ship, excellent room steward and great room. But in the reviews they do say that most of the problem with Pride of America is it is an all-American crew (isn't that sad).

I can't recall the exact year but it was in June time. We had no issue with the staff or Price of America it was The Jade in Europe that was the cruise from hell! In fact we did a mini cruise also in the same ship. We are out NCL. The mini cruise was a booze cruise. The week was bad staff, flifthy ship, smallest cabin I ever saw in my life. No thanks! DCL for us we were thrilled rather cruise less often and have a better standard. Trying Royal soon!

 

[RedSox68]

Yup. Worst cruise we've ever been on. Food was so bad even our pregnant niece lost weight. A third of the crew walked off the ship in a wildcat strike shortly before our cruise, so service was even worse than usual. shudder.

The best meal we had was in their specialty dining Italian Restaurant -- it was comped to us as an "I'm sorry" for the horrendous condition of our staterooms when we checked in (waited for 3 p.m. rooms to be ready and they were filthy -- never cleaned). We liked it so much we went back another night and paid for it -- just to avoid the restaurants. Waiter attitude on that ship was abysmal. We actually saw a waiter in the steakhouse restaurant open the billing wallet in front and make a stink about the tip he was left! So inappropriate.

 

[mktt]

Pride of America and the Hawaii cruise was our first cruise. It was a while ago now 8 years at least. But we loved it. We then sailed NCL Europe holy moly never again. Since then we have taken 6 DCL cruises loved them all. Trying Royal Caribbean in the summer and rebooked DCL for 2018. I would not sail NCL again. It was so dirty. I have a comprimised immune system. The Jade had about 80% of the guests with Noro. Found out so did the previous cruise. If I had known that I would not have boarded.

Our family calls NCL cruise Never again Cruise Line after our 2010 Jade cruise. It was disgusting and frankly soured us from cruising for a few years.
Thankfully we gave cruising one last chance and had a more typical cruise experience in 2013 on RCL that brought cruise vacations back as an option.
Now that our kids are in the Disney sweet spot we're DCL cruisers but in 2019 will probably go back to RCL or Celebrity.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Our family calls NCL cruise Never again Cruise Line after our 2010 Jade cruise. It was disgusting and frankly soured us from cruising for a few years.
Thankfully we gave cruising one last chance and had a more typical cruise experience in 2013 on RCL that brought cruise vacations back as an option.
Now that our kids are in the Disney sweet spot we're DCL cruisers but in 2019 will probably go back to RCL or Celebrity.

Oh I love that! Never again Cruise Line! So you were vistim of The Jade. That was our colour when we got off.. We saw a lady being sick in the hot tub...

I am glad ypu gave cruising another go. What a difference the cruiseline makes!

 

[MickeyD]

I don't think I saw anyone mention Princess? We have cruised them and really enjoyed it. A great mix between DCL and RCCL, I think. The make up of the guests seemed to skew older, but not as much as our Celebrity cruise. Keep in mind that longer cruises tend to skew older though. I really like Celebrity, but when our son was 18 he thought it was boring and wanted to go back to DCL!
As for seeing the Hawaiian islands, cruising is a good way to get an overview of them and see which, if any, you would want to return to. There is NO way you would be able to talk me into any of the ones that sail from the mainland over though...forgot who said it RedSox68?? but it can get pretty rough in that ocean! I have friends that just got back from the Pride of America and I am anxious to get their feedback. From what I saw her post on FB though it doesn't seem like the ship part of the experience went well, and their room looked TINY. She also experienced numerous problems with the booking of the cruise and working with the cruise agent at NCL.