Gordon wrote:
I was referring to lines in general, including buffet, tender, etc. In
the reviews, as in the posts here, there was general dissatisfaction
with the service in general.

IMHO, you have been misinformed about RCCL cabins. We have sailed on
that line 5 times and on HAL 5 times and the cabins have been similar.

Not misinformed. Going with my personal experience and what I've read
over the years. Just did a quickie look at the cruiseline websites.
I've been on two of the "Vision Class" RCI ships, so that's what I
specifically looked at. Outside cabins are 154 sq. ft., balconies are
236 sq. ft. (195 cabin &41 balcony). On the Statendam, the outside
cabins are 197 sq. ft., balcony cabins are 292 sq. ft. To me, those are
siginificant differences in size.

While RCCL's were a little smaller, each cabin had room for a loveseat
sized bed-sofa, so that is not too bad.

Sure. They'll all try to squeeze in the same amount of furniture...but
then how much floor space is left? I find that on the HAL Vista class
ships, they put too much furniture in the cabins - just gets in the
way.

Like you, we have
heard that, of all the mass market cruise lines Carnival has the
biggest cabins but I am still leary of their party reputation.

Well, I've been on two Carnival cruises and have yet to find the
party...at least in the evenings. During the day, it is a little too
loud and obnoxious near the pool for my taste (I like to spend my sea
days out on deck reading, snoozing, etc). But, at night, when I'm in
the mood to drink, dance, etc. the ship is totally and completely dead.
Walking back to my cabin from the casino at 12:00 or 1:00 am, the disco
is empty...literally. There are other things that make me hesitate to
sail on Carnival again, but the party atmosphere isn't one of them.

Jill and I are in our very early 60s and, sometimes on HAL, we felt
like we were the youngest passengers. I understand that is changing
somewhat.

I'm in my 40s, and I think HAL is my favorite - the best fit for me.
You should try the Zuiderdam, which feels like their "young" ship. Just
goes to show you, different strokes for different folks. Sure, there
might be a higher percentage of oldsters on an HAL cruise, but there
are enough of us young 'uns, too.

Lee

The only reason we even considered NCL is because, as retirees, we can
pick up and go any time and NCL was offering some ridiculously low
fares for last minute bookings out of Houston and, I believe,
N'Orleans.

Thanks for your input.

Gordon


LeeNY wrote:
Gordon wrote:
I read in several reviews that there are longer lines on NCL cruise
lines than on most others. Is that true?

What kind of lines are you referring to? When you're checking in?
Buffets? Tenders?

How does their cabin size
compare to RCCL or Holland America?

Holland America's cabins are probably the largest of the 3. Royal
Caribbean has always had a reputation for having tiny cabins (at least
that's what I've always heard). NCL is probably closer to Royal
Caribbean as far as cabin size, than to HAL. Of the mass market lines,
I think Carnival and HAL's cabins are the biggest.

Lee



Thanls.

Gordon