Choosing the Best Cruise Lines for your Cruise Trips

Gala awards, traveler’s surveys and readers polls on the best cruise lines are more common than snow-free days in New Hampshire in February. Recently I read that the Europa, one of the Hapag-Lloyd (a relatively little-known-to-the-US-market European line) cruise ships was proclaimed the very best in every area – service, itineraries, cabins, cuisine, on-board programs and so forth – but does this make it the best cruise line for you? Maybe not….

If you’re a seasoned traveler with ample resources (special pricing for a 15-day Polynesian adventure on the Europa’s sister ship, the 164 passenger Bremen, is $6,500 per person -- originally priced at $10,140 per person -- based on double occupancy) and a true appreciation for stimulating lectures, incredibly creative on-board activities and an “expedition of knowledge” plus exquisite cuisine, my answer is “yes.”

But if you’re seeking a venue for a family reunion, or a close-up encounter with wildlife in a remote jungle, or non-stop activities to occupy your children and give you a chance to relax and bask in the sun, Hapag-Lloyd is not the best cruise line for you.

My suggestions, before you begin to search for your ideal cruise trips among an overwhelming number of options, are to consider each of these three key factors:

1. Destination – where would you like to travel? Are there any regions in the world you would like to see? And when do you plan to cruise?


2. Price /value – how much do you plan to spend? The transportation costs to arrive at the embarkation and disembarkation ports and the costs of having a good time on board should be added to your budget.


3. Amenities – what do you and the people traveling with you really enjoy doing? Cruising is the ideal time to try something different while enjoying activities you like.
   

Matching the features of the ship and destinations, within any price constraints, with your interests and desires is key to ensuring you’ll choose the best cruise lines for your cruise trips. Read more...

Best Cruise Lines Awards Announced and more

This year, I happened to miss an invite to Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s gala festivities at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in New York on October 10 for the 2007 Reader’s Choice Awards ceremony; in fact, I also was elsewhereing when over 28,000 readers completed a questionnaire to identify the world’s best cities, islands, resorts and of course, the best cruise lines.

First, the formal results – I must admit, it’s a bit of a read, but it makes for real interesting observations. However, if you don’t manage to get through it, you’ll find my comments, translating the complex into simplicity, at the end to give you Cruisin'Genie’s take on the reality behind the gloss and glamor.

For the Reader’s Choice Awards, cruise ships were divided into two categories: Best Large Ships (at least 500 passengers) and Best Small Ships; readers were asked to rank pre-set entrants (write-in entries were allowed to give a sense of a level playing field) according to:

● Activities/Facilities
● Cabins
● Crew/Service
● Design/Layout
● Food/Dining
● Itineraries/Schedule
● Shore Excursions

Competition is fierce for this prestigious award – in existence since 1988, the “Reader’s Choice Poll” is one of the oldest and most respected awards in the travel industry. The invitation list to the award festivities reads like a “Who’s Who” of travel, with the CEOs of major travel industry companies reigning in their excitement and anticipation while emcees Debra Messing and Scottish actor Alan Cumming provided amusing tales of their travel adventures.

It’s interesting to note that this year, not one of the best cruise lines, large or small, made it to the “Top 100 Best of the Best” list (in 2006, SeaDream Yacht Club was #95 on this list and #1 on the Best Small Ships list). For 2007, Crystal Cruises regained its #1 position in the best large ship category, sending Regent Seven Seas down to the #2 spot, but Regent Seven Seas took the #1 spot in the best small cruise ships category. SeaDream fell to the #4 position.

Hmmm…. on the day press releases from cruise lines that fared well in the Reader’s Choice Awards were circulated, Cunard (in the #7 spot for Large Cruise Ships) announced its selection as the number one best large cruise ship in the 2008 Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships and best overall for food and for service. Is it the very best, or not?

There are a lot of travel awards for the Best Cruise Lines: Conde Nast also produces the “Gold List 2007” (SeaDream pulled the highest score in this poll) and the “Cruise Poll 2007” (Celebrity’s Constellation was chosen for the #1 spot for Best Large Ships – but for this award, a “large” ship must be over 1,500 passengers. Cunard doesn’t appear until the 25th position).

Travel + Leisure published its 2007 “World’s Best Awards” earlier this year. For the cruising awards, a ranking for “value” was included in the survey tabulations. Crystal Cruises received the top honors for the Large Cruise Ship category and SeaDream was #1 for Small Cruise Ships.

Trying to keep the rankings for all of these awards straight can be a challenge – and what does it really mean that a ship you’ve chosen for your next cruise vacation hasn’t made it to the top, or even the top 10 of the best cruise lines awards?

The very best cruise experience for me – or for you -- may not be the #1 cruise ship on the latest “World’s Best” awards. The awards are a good form of recognition for quality in the industry, but they don’t guarantee that the award winners will deliver the very best experience for every passenger – it depends on the ship, the other passengers on the sailing and the experiences we want.

Before signing off, there’s a great event this month – “World’s Largest Cruise Night” – an annual event in the cruising world, sponsored by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) and its member cruise lines. Many cruise lines, whether or not they are members of CLIA, offer special deals and promotions today, this week and for some, through the end of this month.

For the most part, these offers are better than other special sales held during the year, so if you’re thinking of a cruising vacation, it’s worth taking the time to check out the October deals. For a sampling of what is available, I’ve listed some of the specials from the best cruise lines on our website. Hey click on our 'website' link back a bit if you missed it... Enjoy!

Here’s to sharing the best cruise lines experiences.

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Welcome Onboard the sequel

Last time before I got my boarding call, I was about to tell about the hard lessons my husband and I learned on our first cruise together...

I’ll not delve into all the gory details of our first cruise experience, but do need to share:

● When we noticed at the Cozumel pier that there were several sleek, shiny and large vessels dwarfing the tired, rusted and narrow vessel we called “home” for the week, reality struck and we knew we had not chosen one of the best cruise lines for our maiden cruise vacation;

● My seasickness was unbearable as soon as the ship began to flail in a few medium waves -- our ship was so ancient, it really didn't have much of a stabilizer system;

● We are the only people I know who lost weight on a cruise;

● Our on-board bill exceeded the cruise fare by over 150% (and I tried to save money on the Internet??). While many of you are familiar with this experience, we were shocked at the final total and the price we paid for some of the worst shore excursions imaginable;

● On a voyage shortly after ours, the ship sank! Yes – and I doubt anyone misses her.

Our life directions have changed since our infamous experience with the Premier Cruise Line and we’ve been fortunate since then to have been able to enjoy several cruises that met and even exceeded our expectations.

We’re looking forward to more cruising in our future – the depth and wealth of destinations and ships available now far exceeds my first or even second cruise experience. But before we take our next cruise, we’ll have defined our expectations of cabin space, food, entertainment and features – and researched all the options to make sure we’ve found a good match.

In my Best Cruise Lines blog, I’ll share the up-to-date and latest insider information on the cruise lines, cruise ships, newest “hot” itineraries and special deals in the cruising world.

Whether you are one of the 10 million people in the US who took a cruise vacation last year; or one of the 78 million who hasn’t cruised yet; or your expectations of cruising didn’t equal the experience – or you’ve enjoyed the cruises you’ve taken but are looking for a different experience on your next vacation, please cruise on back to read our updates and leave your comments as our quest for the Best Cruise Lines unfolds.

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Best Cruise Lines Welcome Onboard

My first experience on a cruise ship was definitely not an experience on one of the best cruise lines. I sailed from New York, over 30 years ago, on a transatlantic crossing of Holland America’s Staatendam to spend two months trekking across Europe and returned on a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel (the name has long since been forgotten) – in the midst of a major hurricane off the Canadian coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

That trip marked the beginning of my continued thirst for travel – but many years passed before I wanted to step aboard a cruise ship again. Time has totally changed the character of the cruise industry (and fortunately, good stabilizer systems have greatly improved a ship’s ability to resist rocking and rolling….).

About 7 years ago when our lives revolved around fast-paced, high-stress jobs in a major congested urban location, my husband and I decided we needed a relaxing vacation and chose a 7-night cruise to the Western Caribbean. The articles I read on the Internet about advanced stabilization systems aboard the new ships calmed my concerns about seasickness and hurricanes and we ventured into the world of cruising.

We chose an itinerary that had the fewest days at sea and stopped at several ports in Mexico and Central America. Off I went to the Internet to find the best deal for our cruise. Little did I know (at that time) that not all ships are created equal and purchasing a cruise vacation from an Internet-based call-center type operation may be a good way to find the lowest price if you are a really experienced cruiser, but it wasn’t a good move for a busy executive/novice cruiser type.

I called the 1-800 phone number on the web site and stated our choice to the order taker; several weeks later, we received our cruise documents in the mail and set off for Fort Lauderdale. The nameless person on the internet did not mention that my choice of ships would not ever make it on any “best cruise lines” list or that my husband, with a UK passport, might have a Visa problem. Let The Buyer Beware – we learned a hard lesson on our first cruise together.

Must fly, just heard my boarding call - it's a long haul from DownUnder back to Lake Winnipesaukee. Will complete my welcome when I get home on Sunday - all about the hard lessons on my second cruise... Read more...