Improved lines, slipping lines

For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.

Ben S.

Ben. You're probably right. Carnival has improved alot. Food now is very
good and the line enjoys the same demographics as RCCL.
Royal Caribbean still has the most stunning ships in the mainstream market.
Food is still good, but not as special as their ships. I've seen no slippage
on Celebrity of anykind. One not-so good meal out of 4 cruises. (veal picata
on first night).

Ben. You're probably right. Carnival has improved alot. Food now is very
good and the line enjoys the same demographics as RCCL.
Royal Caribbean still has the most stunning ships in the mainstream market.
Food is still good, but not as special as their ships. I've seen no slippage
on Celebrity of anykind. One not-so good meal out of 4 cruises. (veal picata
on first night).

Hi Ben,
In the last 5 years we have not cruised Carnival NCL or RCCL. Of those
we have cruised I would say that Princess has improved for Elite
passengers with all the extras they give us. I especially like the way
they handle on board bookings.Celebrity seems to be trying harder, but I
think HAL has gone down a notch. Only been on the Noordam so maybe
that's not a fair evaluation. Personal opinion only!
~~DORIS~~

"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message
nk.net...
For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.


The concept of "overall" is difficult.

On our last Viking Cruise, last December on Navigator, the buffet food for
both breakfast and lunch was every bit as good as just about every cruise
we've been on. The dining room food may have been the worst ever - maybe
even worse than Destiny.

I would give the buffet for breakfast and lunch a solid A.

I would give the dining room for dinner a solid D-.

Same sailing.

Even the evening buffet was better than the dining room. The prociutto
(sliced paper thin and very tender) and melon in the buffet was fantastic
one night (I went for a 6:30 snack since we had late seating). Later that
evening in the dining room, the prociutto (thick sliced and tough as shoe
leather) and melon were terrible.

What's that come out to overall?

--Tom

"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message
nk.net...
For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.


The concept of "overall" is difficult.

On our last Viking Cruise, last December on Navigator, the buffet food for
both breakfast and lunch was every bit as good as just about every cruise
we've been on. The dining room food may have been the worst ever - maybe
even worse than Destiny.

I would give the buffet for breakfast and lunch a solid A.

I would give the dining room for dinner a solid D-.

Same sailing.

Even the evening buffet was better than the dining room. The prociutto
(sliced paper thin and very tender) and melon in the buffet was fantastic
one night (I went for a 6:30 snack since we had late seating). Later that
evening in the dining room, the prociutto (thick sliced and tough as shoe
leather) and melon were terrible.

What's that come out to overall?

--Tom

Tom & Linda wrote:

"Benjamin Smith" wrote in message
nk.net...

For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.



The concept of "overall" is difficult.

On our last Viking Cruise, last December on Navigator, the buffet food for
both breakfast and lunch was every bit as good as just about every cruise
we've been on. The dining room food may have been the worst ever - maybe
even worse than Destiny.

I would give the buffet for breakfast and lunch a solid A.

I would give the dining room for dinner a solid D-.

Same sailing.

Even the evening buffet was better than the dining room. The prociutto
(sliced paper thin and very tender) and melon in the buffet was fantastic
one night (I went for a 6:30 snack since we had late seating). Later that
evening in the dining room, the prociutto (thick sliced and tough as shoe
leather) and melon were terrible.

What's that come out to overall?


True inconsistency. I think inconsistency can bring down an overall
assessment.

It's a tough challenge, Tom. There's also the cost consideration,
factoring in inflation and relative costs of the cruising, then and now.
In general, amenities are up on ships with the newer ships, availability
of balcony cabins, amenities in terms of spas and gyms. Passenger space
ratio is up on newer ships. So you have to look at subjective things
like service points like knowledge of crew, personal attention, timeliness.

I think the nickel-and-diming thing is a frequently mentioned negative.
Another negative seems to be quality of dining cuisine and things
offered in Princess, HAL, Celebrity and to some degree RCI. Too many
passengers on larger ships than desired is mentioned, but less
frequently. With Celebrity the food doesn't get the overall praise it
used to get and many have noticed cutbacks in variety, vegetables,
presentation, sauces offered, fresh peppers, hearts of palm, etc.
Overall Celebrity seems a fine value, but standards of service attention
and food quality and creativity have dropped. Some also think
maintenance of the Horizon ships have dropped. I think how much weight
people put on various cruise aspects will determine how they feel overall.

Similar things with HAL, noticeable cutbacks and more obvious onboard
revenue promotion. Maintenance also has been mentioned as not up to the
level of the past. Vista ships took away free java bar and some services
offered in previous classes. Problems with ship management and service
are frequently mentioned with Vista ships.

Princess seems to have dropped a rung from premium to mainstream (though
these classifications are getting harder to justify). Seems product is
inconsistent. I don't know this product.

Carnival, however, is getting high grades for its food. I know you
disagree but I read review after review and look at comments in 4
internet boards and improved food is frequently mentioned. Also, service
seems up, entertainment has always been high, new ships have good
amenities even if I don't like their interior asthetics. The party till
you puke reputation is going away quickly and many put them on par with
RCI with food as good as and often better than HAL and Celebrity.

Ben S.


--Tom

7 of my 12 cruises have been on HAL ships, and I'd have to say the
embarkation procedure is the most improved on HAL.

Candy -- awaiting my 3rd Zuidy embarkation

Benjamin Smith wrote:

For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.

Ben S.

Benjamin Smith wrote:

For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.

Ben S.

Cruised many times on Celebrity, Princess, HAL, Carnival, and RCCL over
the past five years.

IMO, among the five lines above, Carnival is the most improved overall -
particularly in the culinary area, where I strongly feel it now exceeds
any of these others. I think there has been some slippage in bar
service with the elimination of Jamaican bartenders. I've also noticed
a decline in the overall quality of musical talent (although there have
been exceptions). Perhaps strict drug testing has been responsible for
this . Finally, the lack of any towels (they used to provide paper
towels) in public restrooms is very annoying.

All of the other lines have gone downhill in my opinion.

The food on Celebrity has steadily declined.
The food on RCCL has steadily declined, though maintenance may have
actually improved.
Food has declined on Princess and entertainment, which used to be a
major strength of this cruise line (often having known talent, e.g.,
Nell Carter) has definitely declined.
On HAL, I have seen a decline in both food and service.

Howie

Benjamin Smith wrote:

For those that have cruised a fair amount of lines and 5 years or more,
what lines would you say are most improved *overall* now, vs. a time ago
and what lines have slipped. Please state areas of improvement and/or
slippage: food, service, variety of entertainment, quality of amenities,
ship maintenance, training of crew.

I have a feeling that Carnival may be most improved overall. I'm
interested in how HAL, Celebrity, Cunard, and Princess rates in
cruisers' assessments. Assessment of any line is welcome.

Ben S.

Cruised many times on Celebrity, Princess, HAL, Carnival, and RCCL over
the past five years.

IMO, among the five lines above, Carnival is the most improved overall -
particularly in the culinary area, where I strongly feel it now exceeds
any of these others. I think there has been some slippage in bar
service with the elimination of Jamaican bartenders. I've also noticed
a decline in the overall quality of musical talent (although there have
been exceptions). Perhaps strict drug testing has been responsible for
this . Finally, the lack of any towels (they used to provide paper
towels) in public restrooms is very annoying.

All of the other lines have gone downhill in my opinion.

The food on Celebrity has steadily declined.
The food on RCCL has steadily declined, though maintenance may have
actually improved.
Food has declined on Princess and entertainment, which used to be a
major strength of this cruise line (often having known talent, e.g.,
Nell Carter) has definitely declined.
On HAL, I have seen a decline in both food and service.

Howie