Cruise Lines To Steer Clear Of These Days. And Why!

As none of us want to waste our precious vacation time and money on anything but those cruise lines on top of their game, I've been diving into the latest cruise reviews, pouring over the thousands of comments and messages I get, and been cruising on many cruise lines to see which are hot - and which are not - right now. Based on all that here are the lines I think you may need think about carefully, and why.

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00:00 Start
00:26 Issues To Know About
01:45 Line 1
03:11 Line 2
05:45 Line 3
07:08 Line 4
08:45 Line 5
10:22 Line 6
12:11 Line 7

[danacasey]

I cruise on NCL just because I don't want to be tied down to assigned dining. I don't mind cabin service once a day, and I look at specialty dining as a treat, like going out to dinner at home. I just do it once per cruise. The time of year and destination determine when I cruise. My worst cruise experience was because of rude children, but those were my own grandchildren, so I'd say that was self-inflicted!😂😂

[tomstrause]

After cruising Royal Caribbean since the early 1980’s, my wife and I discovered Viking and we will never go back to mass market cruises. We love the clean ships, decent food, mostly all inclusive, and uncrowded feel of the experience. The simple act of never having to fight for a pool deck chair was refreshing!

[cpnturq]

A friend of mine describes Carnival as the "Walmart" of cruise lines....lol

[theretiredmariner]

As an ex cruise ship employee, I am ashamed as to the greed that the companies now have. I worked for 5 cruise lined in over 25 years and the service that was offered is now from a completely different era, however, you pay your money you take your choice

[jimloth]

You know - all the changes, the nickel and diming, the increasing workload expectations on the crew, menu changes, the shift to mega-ships, and the rush to attract new cruisers at the expense of long standing customers, it's all got me thinking that cruising is no longer something we will be doing.

[tommyedodson]

This is why you have the best cruise channel on YT. So informative and fair. Would like to see similar listing of smaller ships in the value to medium price range to stay away from or to go on.

[Jimmy-Mc]

My issue with NCL is how they've started to market themselves as a premium cruiseline while also removing service and entertainment. I will pay more for better shows and food, but now they aren't even offered.

[DennisMatheson]

I just booked an NCL cruise for a Panama Canal transit in April. I went with them because they are about the only line that seems to cater to solo travelers, with a large number of solo "suites" on board. They also have a dedicated lounge just for the solo people to meet and mingle in. Maybe not the cheapest, but certainly cheaper than having to pay double just to sail solo.

[jeandalton]

Cruise experience changed dramatically over time due to the size of the ships. Even Carnival was so much nicer when the ships were smaller. The focus used to be on a very elevated experience. Now it is more focused on fitting as many people as possible into the ship regardless of whether they enjoy it or not. I think we will see the cruise numbers dropping as people realize they don’t enjoy vacations in a sardine can.

[crimlarksSteve]

Having just attained Elite status on Princess (we've been sailing on them since 2016) we have noticed the changes you mentioned. We'll continue sailing with them, but have also been sailing more on Holland America, which we really enjoy. We'll be on a HAL 94 day cruise roundtrip from San Diego to Australia and New Zealand next year. In general, we like smaller ships so we tend to book those.

[pj]

Having read a lot on Cruise critic, watch countless YouTubers, this video is gold. Terrific job synthesizing so much different information, and also very reflective of what I have also read.

[ijoetks]

I am surprised Royal Caribbean didn't make your list. Just got back from a Mediterranean cruise with them and RC just went from my favorite line to one I will never sail on again. Food has taken a dramatic turn for the worse since the last time I sailed with them (pre-pandemic) and we even found some things were inedible. Orange juice that tastes like watered-down Tang. Considered specialty dining because we couldn't stomach the Windjammer and main dining room fare, but was shocked to see cover charges of $56-$75 a person for specialty dining (last time I sailed it was $20)! No food served around the pool, like a pool bar or burgers, etc. My friends and I started playing a game with each other to guess how bad the food will be (rating game). Drink packages also were exorbitantly priced and both people in a cabin had to purchase them (even if one person isn't a drinker) and if you buy drinks individually they total around $18 after gratuity added, and the glass is overflowing with ice - so essentially you'd get about 3 or 4 sips for $18. Internet package also ridiculously expensive and unreliable - often very slow and lots of dead zones on the ship. Entertainment was hit or miss too. It seemed like fewer options and no big production shows. A jazz club with no live jazz. Activities were often cheesy and you can't even believe the "prizes" they give out to winning teams in the trivia activities. Highlighter pen, anyone? Yes, one pen for the entire team. I guess we needed to figure out a way to chop the highlighter pen into segments. Some activities had no staff person leading them and they had to be "self led" by the passengers! My biggest issue was that none of the hot tubs were hot. They were all tepid and I had to go to guest services TWICE to get them to raise the temperature. And even then, they weren't really hot. It's like they are cutting corners in every area they can and it almost became comical because it was so glaringly obvious. I am starting to fear my cruising days are coming to an end.

[corpkid]

A lesson I learned after going from Carnival to Oceania: I'd rather cruise 1/2 as much if I can do it 2x as well. I've tried to go back to mass market for a few holiday events, and while it wasn't miserable by any stretch, I just didn't enjoy it very much. 1200 or less is where I'm happiest.

[Smellynelly]

I'll stick to good old Cunard, hope they never change.😊

[blackpowder]

We were on MSC a year ago. We saw your review of it before we went including the stale pastry. We went anyway. The price was too good. We found the food to be quite acceptable. If we complemented something our waiter would bring us extra portions. The service was more than satisfactory and we gave them tips individually at the end of the cruise. The main problem we had with MSC was waiting for drinks at the bar. The wait could be 20 minutes or more. They had given free drinks and wifi with the more expensive cabins. The bartenders could not keep up. Some grumbled it was the line's way of giving free drinks without actually giving any drinks. Another complaint: the tips weren't added until we boarded on the first day. It's an underhanded way to hide the true cost of the cruise.

Carnival is the Kmart of cruise lines. The food is cafeteria grade. Never again. I'm saddened to see Norwegian and Princess slip. They used to be my favorite lines. Nickel and diming is another underhanded way of hiding the true cost of the cruise. We Americans hate it. Just be honest with your pricing.

[tmachado]

1. Costa Cruises
2. MSC Cruises
3. Carnival Cruiseline
4. Norwegian Cruiseline
5. P&O Cruises
6. Princess Cruises
7. Azamara

[vvnn]

We sailed on Norwegian star for several weeks in May/June 2023. Our cabin steward was excellent and most of the waiters etc. were pretty good, some excellent. Our cabin was very comfortable. The food was sometimes good but inconsistently so. However the front desk was atrocious – disorganized, could not answer questions and resolve issues causing long lines, etc. We experienced multiple (maybe six or more) sig errors on our bill, being charged for stuff we didn't buy, double charged, etc. Each time Norwegian corrected the errors but only after we spent time and aggravation standing in line, reviewing with them etc to get the issues resolved. They also switched perhaps half the ports from Dock to Tinder which made the entire cruise feel a bit like "bait and switch". Cagneys was great but the Chinese and Italian specialty dining food was pretty mediocre. The tours were over priced and in two cases poor quality. Overall made for a surprisingly disappointing experience.

[KristopherReed]

In the last 18 months we've done Royal, Carnival, NCL, and Princess, and I totally agree with what you said. We enjoyed Royal the most. The service on NCL was lacking, all the activities cost, and their private island was sad. Carnival is a drinking and partying cruise, which we like too, but the entertainment is very poor and their private beaches are not worth visiting, However we found the food to be good. We thought Princess was going to be a luxury line. We paid a lot more for that cruise then the other ones and it was the hardest cruise to get a drink on. Having a drink package is worthless when it take 30-45 minutes to get a drink and activities are non-existent. For us Royal had the best balance of free activities, good food, great entertainment, good service, and Coco Kay is far better then any other private island. I do wish Royal had some of the fancy bars and quick service restaurants that are on the Mardi Gras.

[webstermitchell]

I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS on 400K! You seriously deserve that, simply the best!🍾

[ssshar]

I agree with your notes on Carnival. I love them… but I also have small kids. It’s for families and younger guests. It’s not a line for people that want absolute peace and quiet. Though you can still get that if you want.