The cruise market has become huge in recent years. Many companies have established themselves, and those that were already popular have launched several new ships.
With so much choice, passengers sometimes have difficulty finding their way around.
Is it better to choose one cruise line over another? A smaller ship over a larger one?
Well, choosing is not easy since personal tastes and preferences can have a great influence.
Therefore, I asked my Facebook followers which cruise line they Would Never Choose (according to their preferences) and these were the answers.
Carnival
Unsurprisingly, the most named cruise lines are also the most popular ones. Again, it does not mean that they’re necessarily the worst cruise lines, maybe they’re simply not suitable for some passengers.
For example, Carnival relies heavily on a fun, festive atmosphere that appeals more to a young audience.
These are some of the comments I received:
At the same time, I’ve also read very positive comments about Carnival. Many people said they had a great time, whereas other cruise lines were quite boring.
For example, this is the comment of a woman who’s been on Carnival 11 times:
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is a cruise line that many people consider to be low-level.
In the article on Costa ships from best to worst, we saw how there are several criticisms, especially on the maintenance and aging of the ships.
In addition, Costa is a brand designed primarily for an Italian clientele so perhaps it fits poorly with the tastes of American passengers.
As a positive point, it must be said that Costa Cruises is among the cheapest cruise lines in the world.
I’ve traveled with them and shared my experience in the article titled “I took a cruise on the cheapest cruise line“.
Disney
I’ve never been on Disney Cruise but I’ve read mixed comments about its ships.
Some people complained because they found too many rude children on board. I think they are rather strange comments because if you go on a Disney cruise you certainly expect there to be a lot of children.
Speaking of rudeness, many adults on all cruise lines don’t behave appropriately and do things that all the other cruise passengers hate.
In addition, quite a few comments have remarked that Disney cruises are more expensive than average. If you wanna know more check all the Disney cruise ships by age.
MSC
MSC is a cruise company of Italian origin, but in recent years it has been focusing heavily on the American market.
I have to be honest, I’ve traveled with them several times, and I’ve always had a great experience. I think they have a perfect balance between price and quality.
However, when I asked my followers about it, I got several negative reviews.
Most of them were about the overcrowding of the ships. Check the two below here:
Royal Caribbean
What can we say about Royal Caribbean? I think it’s the most famous cruise line in the world so it needs no special introduction.
I haven’t seen criticisms in specific areas, only some passengers complaining about the lack of engaging entertainment, especially compared to that of Carnival.
On the other hand, I believe it gets mentioned frequently because many people who go on cruises have traveled with them at least once. As a result, it’s normal to see more feedback—both positive and negative—compared to other cruise lines.
Before traveling with them, remember to check all Royal Caribbean ships from best to worst.
Margaritaville
I must admit that I was not familiar with Margaritaville at Sea.
When I asked on Facebook which cruise lines to avoid, I received some comments mentioning it, so I took a look online.
It’s a fairly young cruise line; it started operating only in 2015.
One comment, in particular, mentioned terrible customer service:
Norwegian Cruise Line
I have always considered NCL to be a good quality cruise line, and I believe that many of you agree with me.
However, I’ve received some critical comments, especially on entertainment. Some have described it as a boring cruise line, and perhaps they didn’t appreciate the “freestyle cruising” concept that NCL is based on.
Below here you can see one of the comments:
To Conclude
As you were able to see, all the major cruise lines receive criticism.
However, as I always say, if a passenger doesn’t like a cruise, it doesn’t mean you won’t like it as well.
Everyone should try a cruise line firsthand, at least once, before they can say they don’t like it. You can’t always trust others, especially after seeing all the strange things passengers do on a cruise.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!
