NCL is decent and is probably the most affordable although as someone else mentioned the food is medioce. Tons of Euros in speedos and thongs, geriatric NY transplants living in Florida, and trailer trash seem to flock to these cruises.
@Naren - Yes, NCL has anytime dining. I prefer that, since I would not generally like the idea of having to drop whatever I’m doing so I can get to my assigned seat at 5:30.
The NCL cruise liner had several restaurants. Some of them were free, and some of them you had to pay for. Obviously, the one more expensive, the better the food.
do it higg
http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/02/23/royal-caribbean-anthem-float-out/23874461/
That’s one big ship.
Do Disney. Haven’t done it myself, but I know several families that have and they all loved it. The best option if you want your kids to have tons of stuff to do.
I didn’t read any of this, but there are boutique cruise options in the carribean on like 160 footers with 12 cabins. You don’t get all the commercialized bells and whistles but if you’re doing a romantic cruise its a way better option in my mind.
Also, here’s a good article
http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1004
Good ocean cruises witih tall ships
http://www.starclipperscruises.com/
http://www.windstarcruises.com/
And this one looks sick for a river cruise
http://uniworld.com/boutique-ships/europe/ss-antoinette
Crystal Cruises does big ships with old school Titanic like formality
^Going on a river cruise in Europe is definitely towards the top of our list…without the kids. Those ships just aren’t built to entertain kids, nor are the passengers (generally) friendly towards families. They’re much more the romatic getaway type of thing. Like I said, I think they look awesome, but I wouldn’t waste my time or money taking the kids along.
Disney really is the only option with little ones.
^Ok, I literally didn’t read any of the OP, so clearly I was waaay off. But hey, its good info for later.
^We’re (the wife and I) are going to Europe next year and we’re thinking of going on one of these cruises. I think Viking is the line my wife was checking out. Looks amazing. And amazingly expensive. Maybe IHIHM will gift me some of that muni income he rolling in.
My aunt and uncle have been on several European river cruises and loved them (had to stop going because my uncle can’t get on and off the ships anymore). No idea what line they used though. Based on the people they went with, the line catered to an older, affluent crowd.
There are Disney cruises there as well. For example:
Was considering this one or the one that goes to Turkey maybe this fall or next year.
I had a friend who went on one of them. They say that the ships are so small, that if you don’t like just a couple of the people you’re with, you’re kind of screwed. On one of the big oceanliners, you don’t see the same people that often.
I went on NCL last year and enjoyed it. The only major difference between my experience and others is that I thought paid food options were generally a huge step up from unpaid ones. It was like the difference between a 4 to 4.5-star yelp restaurant to a 2 to 3 star to me.
I would also look at alternatives for excursions. Most of the time the ship prices higher than local groups for a slightly worse experience. The only difference is that local groups generally prefer cash only.
I haven’t been on a cruise with RCL or CCL but what I understand they are much better b/c they have many more activities at any given point in time. Also, note when you are planning the trip because that could be the difference between all college students or all retired folk. I went right before Christmas and it was a lot of retired people and a minority of young professionals. Overall, I really liked my experience and would go again.
As I said, another difference is that the ship will wait for you if your ship-sponsored excursion is late in returning while they will leave you if you were with a local operator and are late. Being late is a very real possibility in European excursions because of all the attractions everyone wants to cram in 4 to 8 hours. And European traffic sucks bigtime compared to the average American traffic - it’s like Los Angeles all the time.