What might cause you to travel on a cruise line OTHER than your preferred cruise line of choice?

Point of reference that started it all, United States Lines, SS America, Atlantic east and west crossings (as a youngster). Since then, Cunard, HAL, NCL, most recently Princess, twenty some days out from next NCL.

Best of the best Cunard, how many lobster tails would you like sir says our French waiter, on an easterly crossing. Five nights formal tux, two nights suits. The formal dress gets old quickly for my wife and I, on the return westerly trip, we hide out and eat with the Au-Pair at the buffet.

We absolutely would and will try different lines. Most recent was Princess, because of the balcony price point, the itinerary, and the cruise terminating at our home in Honolulu. Princess was our least favorite cruise line, but we would not have known if we didn't try them. HAL is probably our favorite now, nearest to Cunard.

We would try a tramp steamer that began and ended for us in Honolulu, ANYTHING to avoid air travel. The worst cruise is better than the best flight.

I have been pondering this question (off & on) for the past week. I found it interesting and thought provoking.

We have sailed on DCL, RCL, NCL and CCL, with Carnival becoming our line of choice. We like the value of course, but also the “vibe” of their ships aligns with our personalities and lifestyle.

I have considered other lines, most specifically MSC. I think their ships are beautiful, and I’d like an opportunity to experience one of them up close. Their pricing structure is also alluring. But I have stayed away because of reviews I’ve read and a personal experience with one of their phone representatives. I have a tendency not to spend money on a company’s product if their employees act dismissive or rude to me. I’m kind of quirky that way.

Anyway, we find it hard to justify spending a few thousand dollars on an experience that we may not like when we have a known quantity (CCL) who offers an experience with which we're comfortable. We realize this attitude restricts our avenues to new experiences, but it’s a sizable expense, and more importantly a week of our lives that is supposed to be dedicated toward relaxation, fun, and enjoyment.

So what would make us decide to try another line at this point of lives? I think I’ve narrowed it down to [2] scenarios. Either we got to take the cruise at little or no expense, either by winning a contest or getting it as a gift. That way, even if we found the experience lacking, at least we didn’t shell out a lot for it. All we lost was the time, precious as it is.

The other way would be if a group of family members and/or friends planned something. That way, even it was a bust, at least we’d have familiar people around to whom we could complain (just kidding). Seriously though, being surrounded by people close to us would go a long way toward helping make the best of a bad (or boring) situation.

As to your desire to sail on a Cunard ship, I do hope you someday will get to experience it, but ……………….. that’s just not our cup of tea (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/norwegian-cruise-line-introducing-tons-solo-rooms-travelers

Just saw this on that subject......like i said before, its about time they offered real, dedicated spaces for single cruisers......

Check out Royal. I believe both Royal and NCL now have what NCL calls a "Studio" cabin which is built for 1. The newer ships are supposed to have more of them as demand is building. These cabins do not have a single supplement charge ... BUT ... the number of these cabins is few so need to usually book early. Also some lines on ships that have high vacancy will wave the singles supplement.

First, dear heart, I'm personally glad you've decided to climb onboard again. Good for you....NCL may have been one of the first, if not the first, to offer so-called "solo traveler" accommodations and rates. Certain ships even have specific cabins and meet n greet areas specifically for that purpose. It was long overdue. Now, there are other lines and specific ships doing the same. Do your homework...or let your TA do it...appears you know what you're doing anyway. Seems like its time for you to get back to sea. stay in touch as you do your "research", love to hear further......

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are my favorites. Since I lost my spouse, I have not been on a cruise because I do not want to pay the single supplement. I've been considering Norwegian since I've been told they don't charge the single supplement for the single cabins.

Hate it or love it, my family is a Carnival loyal family. We feel we get the most bang for our buck with fun, food, and entertainment. We are always multigenerational when we cruise so everyone has something they enjoy.

My sister and I are both single and always room together. We are both interested in trying Virgin for its newness. What is stopping us is we do not share a bed. On Virgin, if you don't share a bed you have to sleep in an L shape. We are not sleeping head to head, feet to head, or feet to feet. That's just an awful design flaw in our opinion.

So to answer the original question, it just has to be appealing in some fashion. We picked our next years cruise because it had a stop in Aruba. We've always wanted to go there.

I have a particular favourite. And a secondary. The other members of the family have all cruised on the others.

My wife has done Alaska wit her sisters, My son has done many with the RCC, MSC, NCL, HAL.

The itinerary will be the deciding factor followed by the pricing. I prefer Princess and for Bermuda-NCL.

We on the Princess for Feb and MSC for October next year. The following year---who knows?

The right itinerary at the right price. We had been looking at Bermuda and found that RCL had a better timing and was considerably cheaper so we thought we would try (we have only sailed NCL other than this one).

A cruise line that actually has the nerve to advertise "cruising the way it used to be...."