Should have listed the names of the ships that you cruised on. That indeed could have made a big difference!

Would love a list of exactly what ships you sailed on in each line. I think there’s a wide gulf in impression to be made depending on if you’re on an older or newer ship in a line.

I don’t judge a cruise line’s food by judging their specialty restaurants. I paid a price to get one that includes a room and meals. I judge the food that came in that price.

Disney’s shows are #1 in my opinion. Real snow falling from the ceiling during Frozen, etc. Their holiday cruises for Halloween and Christmas are outstanding.

I have been on Disney, Celebrity and Holland America. I put Holland America as the winner of those 3, and I continue to go back to them. I like HAL's food better than either of the other 2. Price wise, cheaper than Disney and comparable to Celebrity. The smaller ship size is also a big plus for me and those with whom I have cruised. But it depends on what you are looking for--if it is a fun time or party atmosphere, don't take Holland America. However, if you are looking for a relaxed atmosphere where you can just unwind and veg out, HAL is a great choice.

I’m happy that you guys loved virgin. Me and my partner felt the same way. The food was incredible, and i just loved the overall vibe. Staff felt energetic and the biggest winning point is the “no children.” I think people think it’s super young but it’s really not. It seemed to be overall 30-70 from what I witnessed. The 70s disco party was really fun I definitely recommend it.

I would like to say....HAL is NOT just for "older" people. I started cruising in my 30's and longed to have a line with class, history, relaxation, and a destination driven cruise line. The Music Walk on HAL......outstanding!

I have been on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival, Norwegian, and Holland America. For me Holland America is clearly the best. Best food, best service, best cabins, best shore excursions, best ships, etc. No comparison in my book.

VIRGIN BLEW US AWAY TOO! It's hard to go back to any other cruiseline! Virgin also never nickles and dimes and this was a breath of fresh air. Their final all inclusive pricing upon booking was also so nice it is great value when you consider all the upcharges, tips, horrendous wifi prices all the other cruiselines do!

I was very interested in your take on this as it is very subjective. You based your rankings on your experience, age, interests and your own personal idea of what constitutes a great cruise. For us, the ranking would have been very different. We have no interest in rock climbing walls, go-karts, a cruise that caters to families or a huge party atmosphere. Been there, done that, lol. What we want now is a cruise where we can relax, visit interesting and diverse ports and enjoy delicious food with great service. Consequently we love Celebrity, Princess and HAL and would rank those as our top 3. If we're splurging on a more expensive cruise, our choice would be Oceania. Love their smaller, more intimate ships. To each their own, how boring would it be if we were all the same? 😊

We have been on 57 cruises including Crystal, NCL, RCCL, Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America. Our interests (at 81 and 77) lead us to a smaller ship that still has activities such as ballroom dancing, variety in music, decent food, and pickleball. For these reasons, we like Holland America. We do, however, miss Broadway type production shows, along with variety shows.

Just a thought it would be nice to see a good sit down talk video like this on each individual port you guy's visited. You know talking about things to do, see, excursions or any other info you could think of it. You guys are always so helpful not just with the cruises but with the Amtrak. Thanks for all you do!

I totally agree that choosing a best cruise line is more about who you are which makes it subjective. Thanks for making that clearly known. We have been on 6 different cruise lines all of which were in your review. Just got back from our first Royal Caribbean cruise which took place the end of April though the first part of May. After spring break before summer vacation. We were on a mega ship and the number of families was crazy. We never found a quiet spot to read and relax aside from our stateroom for which we paid a premium so we could have an ocean view. Looking forward to seeing more reviews!

As a recent retiree, i am watching these cruising YT channels. It comes down to price vs quality of overall experience. I, myself, would not go the ‘cheap’ route as you basically get what you pay for. Look for the best price, you can get, on a top cruise line.

Because you were surprised that Holland ended up at the bottom means there is no bad cruise line or experience! Amazing that you were able to do all 9 in such a short period of time 😁

Thanks so much for sharing your honest opinions. This video is exactly what my husband and I needed as new cruisers to make our final decision for our future cruise. We certainly appreciate the through research and reviews that both of you did an excellent job presenting. 😊

I love Holland America. No kids running around. More mature adults and enough entertainment to keep busy. Smaller ships. Food is excellent and entertainment is perfect. No complains at all. Don’t need all those gimmicks and kids entertainment. There is a spa, gym, activities, etc. we don’t even want our room clean daily, just need basic services and so Holland America is perfect for us and has good pricing as well. Any recommendations of other smaller ships without fancy and elaborate stuff and no little kids?

Thank you both for the time and energy it took to educate people on cruising,you have definitely made it easy to make a choice for cruisers it helps.

I am planning a cruise, and your video has given me, so much information on the selection of the cruise ship for a vacation. I have traveled with carnival in the past and thinking of choosing another cruise line. Thanks for the video, which has given me more information in the selection of the cruise ship for our upcoming vacation.

Thank you for this video - this is precisely the information I’ve been searching for but couldn’t find anywhere! Your recommendations are super helpful!

I have only been on 1 cruise, and it was on HAL. We chose this line because we were going to Alaska. We never had to use the tenders to get to ports and were always front and center, even in Skagway. Also, you are almost guaranteed to get into Glacier Bay, unless there is a weather issue or something similar. As for food, they were great! There were 4 of us who all had different dietary issues. They were VERY accommodating, and the meals were delicious.

I’ve been on Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. I’m 73 now but my first cruise, which was Carnival, was about 12-15 years ago. There is no contest for me. Princess was the clear winner for me.

I think your ranking is fair. I went on my first cruise and it was holland America. I think holland America is great for people with autism because it is not extremely loud and it was quiet at night. I didn’t find a need for speciality dining because over the week there was always good food between the dining room and buffet. There was also a pizza place and a fast food restaurant we really enjoyed when we got back from ports. There’s no water slides, arcades, or that many kid things on holland America. It’s more for a relaxing cruise experience with an emphasis on lectures, classical music, jazz,etc. Most people on the Caribbean cruise I went on were older. There was no loud party people.

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. Planning my first cruise and this was super helpful! 💞 Happy travels.

Respectfully: I just disembarked Celebrity SOLSTICE on the 30th. It was my third time aboard her and my 25th on Celebrity vessels. I've done ONE on Princess and was so unimpressed I didn't bother to leave a future cruise deposit. Three on NCL, 'just OK'. No dazzle factor. Royal Caribbean is all about ice rinks & go karts. Not so much on service and food. THAT is where Celebrity DAZZLES. So much so I'm booked monthly on Celebrity ships through February + June of 2024. Take it from a MONTHLY cruiser with 25 Celebrity Experiences that have all been Xceptional. Mac

From what I've heard from other people it looks like your rankings are extremely accurate. A while ago Royal Caribbean was voted the best dining room food, but they have changed their menu and people say it is now just average.

Rankings are interesting. We’ve sailed many different lines. I must disagree about HAL. HAL caters to a clientele that enjoys the old fashion style cruise. No bells and whistles, no water slides, no spectacle. I actually find HAL a place to truly relax and unwind. I do not want to come home from a cruise exhausted from activities. Since HAL caters to the over 55 age group, we feel more comfortable, as we are in that category. Expectations of cruise experiences has changed with the activities getting out of hand. If I want to visit a park, I’ll do that in land. If I want to go to a mall to shop, I’ll do that on land. If I want a wave pool, I’ll go to the ocean. I’m going to keep seeking cruise lines that offer a calm, relaxing, and laid back presence.

Thank you so very much for all you do. Keep moving upward and onward

This is a great video, thanks so much for making it. I’ve been on many cruises in my lifetime as I live in Miami Florida and I’ve seen the cruising industry evolve from the time I was a little child in the 1960s. I sailed on the original carnival cruise ship, and my first cruise was on a Costa ship called the Franca C and that was in the early 1960s when my grandparents took me on that weeklong Caribbean cruise. After that I was hooked on cruising, and I’ve been cruising ever since. I find that I select a cruise depending on the ports and what I’m looking for and the experience that I want to have. I’ve sailed on all the 9 cruise lines that you mentioned, but I have to say that my go to cruise lines are Norwegian and Princess. I find that both have a consistent product. I agree with you about Norwegians food, as well as the other comments that you made about the cruise line nickel and diming passengers once on board. Princess is a totally different experience and I like it when I want to relax, read some books, and have a more traditional cruising experience. I am a little surprised about the ranking for Holland America as a sailed on the koningsdam and I really like the music walk but I see where you’re coming from as far as other perspectives regarding Holland America. Keep on making videos, this was a great one!

We were cruise Virgins on our VV (Scarlet) for our 20th anniversary just a few weeks ago. It was fantastic & exceeded all of our expectations. Anyone we spoke with that had traveled other lines said we would never go anywhere else again! They catered to my GF needs, felt like a VIP at times. We already booked another, truly amazing trip❤ Just an aside,when we booked, VV was one of the best deals out there I didn't see them as being more$$$ especially with all the inclusions.

Thank you for sharing this list. What a useful video for planning the dream.

This was very helpful! Enjoyed the commentary and I think the rankings were fair and the thinking behind the rankings was reasonable.

As older cruisers we enjoy smaller ships with interesting ports. Celebrity, Princess & Holland were top 3 for those. Carnival & RC were zoos with too many people. Fine if you are younger and want to party. Not been on NCL or MSC, but vibes from friends were negative. Virgin and Disney would be nice if we were 25-35 or had young children. Your vlog was informative. True it is subjective with many variables. Thanks

We have only sailed on Carnival and Holland so far. Carnival we felt was a bit too young for us. We didn't appreciate getting bombarded over the loudspeakre constantly from the cruise director. We went to Alaska on Holland, and it was amazing. The rooms are very nice. Food was not amazing, but still very good. We came back and booked another cruise with Holland. BUT we also booked a cruise next year on Royal with our adult kids to Alaska, and we booked a Caribbean cruise with Celebrity after that. So we're definitely going to try them out. We'll have to squeeze a Princess in there as well.

Love how you presented your categories and thoughts. Good format for breaking things down. I’m at the 50 something solo cruiser stage at 20 cruises on 6 lines. Currently I find myself looking for great food, wonderful entertainment and quality service as my trio of interest. Cunard and RCL mega ships are next on my bucket list.

Thank you for your honest evaluations. Very helpful!!

not disagreeing with your rankings but just wanted to comment that we recently sailed with holland america on a 14 day cruise in the baltic. it was amazing. the cruise was more about the ports & excursions, which is why we booked with them. the service was incredible and we will gladly sail with them again.

Thank you for your vlog and for providing your ratings! My husband and I have sailed on most all of the cruise lines that you've listed. I think there are so many factors to consider when rating a cruise line. It would be great to know exactly which ships you sailed. I've had different experiences on different ships from the same cruise line. For the most part I do agree with your overall assessment of your choices for top three however, I would rank MSC much higher for several reasons. I think in the past MSC had experienced some issues, but most recently has really stepped up their game. We've sailed on four MSC ships and the biggest complaint for us is embarkation. The food was much better the last few times we sailed. But MSC is a winner for us because of their private island, it's like a hidden gem! And like you mentioned, the price point cannot be beat. We've found that all of the other major cruise lines prices have gotten out of control, including and especially Carnival. We've recently sailed Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Royal and all four were way cheaper than the prices for similar sailings on Carnival! And, we found that the food on Celebrity was horrible. I was actually shocked by the food. Princess is okay, but again, for us Princess has offered some really great deals so we chose Princess for a few of our sailings. So, all in all, I think you were pretty on point, but people should keep in mind that when comparing cruise ships and cruise lines, it will never be apples to apples. And it really depends what you're looking for. For all in prices, including drinks, wifi, and most often onboard credits, I'd pick MSC or Princess. For fun and entertainment I'd select Royal Caribbean. And if you are an adult traveling without children, then I'd chose Virgin Voyagers! Thanks again!

We have never been on a cruise, but we are looking to try, so this was a good overview of what to look for and which lines would best suit our preferences. Thanks for the info.

Thanks we are going on a NCL in May of next year to Alaska. We are in our 70's and really try to avoid a lot of kids. We go to relax and sight see. Great video.

Cost wise, yes Virgin is “expensive” but there are no add ones for dining, coffee, soda, Wi-Fi, and tips. So in my opinion it should be looked at differently. I recently priced out cruises on NCL and Royal and Virgin was almost the same when I added Wi-Fi and a few special dinners.

You picked the 2 biggest “party” ship lines. This has helped me in knowing how to gage your other recommendations for my style of travel, which is different.

Loved your comparison! Thank you!

Thanks guys. Useful information. Much appreciated

Sailing Virgin in 12 days for the first time. I have been on Carnival 7 times.

Thanks for your research. I have sailed Carnival (long time ago), Disney and Royal several times each. We are booked on Virgin later this summer for our anniversary. We have looked and researched the other lines, except MSC, not familiar with that one. Based on our experience, friends experience who sailed on other lines, and things we have read, target demographics etc, I think you nailed it. I guessed what you would say a lot while I watched and was pretty close in most cases. I will take a fresh look at Carnival. They historically had a reputation for being a more down-market party experience. Sounds like that may have changed with some of the newer ships. Also you may consider doing a ranking specifically with cleanliness, buffet appeaeance food safety etc. Sometimes that is a determining factor on which lines people sail. Thanks again.

Looking very nice. Thank you for sharing.

Of the 5 cruise lines we have been on we have pretty similar outlooks. #1 NCL #2 Royal Caribbean #3 Princess #4 Carnival and a distant #5 Holland America Can't wait to try Virgin. We keep hearing great things about them. Great video guys!

Virgin is our favorite. We have booked 3 cruises with them. If you plan it right, with sailor loot and bar tabs, you do not need to spend any money once you are on the cruise. If you can afford a rockstar cabin, you will feel like a rockstar.

I love your channels and really appreciate you doing this ranking, but there is SO much to consider on each line. Maybe do a video just talking about each category for each cruise line. I'm a Disney fan, so they are my number one, even though they are insanely expensive. You didn't mention that soda is included on DCL. It would make a big difference if you had kids with you. Also, it depends (for all lines) which ship you sail on, and also, in my opinion, the destination. For me, having only cruised on 4 lines so far, NCL ranks at the bottom. So many considerations, but I do think this video has value, giving people who haven't cruised on a particular line an idea of what it will be like. I appreciate you guys. Keep up the good work!

Fantastic video. Thanks for taking the time to make it.

I value your opinions. Thank you for taking time out and give me your insites on the 9 cruise lines. Only sailed on NCL but I like that you give some great options if we choose to sail on other lines,

I have been booking more cruises with MSC because they have the best solo rates hands down!

Last week we sailed on Celebrity. While we had a great time, some sea days and nights we struggled with entertainment. It turns out that we are not that interested in Neil Diamond. Much of what passes for entertainment is art auctions, posture assessments, and photo sessions. The musicians, while talented, played sets geared to people older than me. (I’m in my 60s). The food and service were great, I was just a little surprised at the entertainment.

Thank you for this video, very helpful insights. For future versions of this video, would love your insights on crowdedness, how many staff per person, wait times for various things, etc. Thanks again!

One of the more insightful reviews and better overall things I’ve seen

The extra category for me that puts NCL on top is the studio rooms and solo traveler program. If the other lines would add a solo traveler event once a day I’d consider them but the other lines seem much less invested in the solo traveler market

I agree with MSC being dead last in the food category; that's the only cruise I've been on where every port I was more focused on finding good food to take back on the boat than i was on activities. The only things i was comfortable eating on the boat was hashbrowns and toast. For me RC had better buffet options and carnival better seated dining options.

Awesome video 🙌🏾thanks for sharing!!

great video, the summary at the end was really helpful.

I just did 7 days to Alaska on Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas. It was an awesome cruise! I'm 37 years old and went with a group of 8 people, ages 27 to 75. We all really enjoyed the cruise. So many different activities and shows. The food was alright but not amazing. I think most people will enjoy Royal unless you want something really fancy.

100% accurate with MSC. We are doing a week at Disney World in January, we have an RC cruise booked leaving 3 days later, and I was able to book a 3 day cruise for 3 people on MSC for much less than 3 nights in orlando with food and an uber to the port would have cost. It's like $500 less... so even though MCS wouldn't be my first choice, Im saving some money and its still a cruise 🤷‍♀️

You guys are great for making this video! I have only cruised on Royal but I've been wanting to branch out. I have been considering Norwegian or Carnival but now I'm going to look into Virgin as well 😁

Great information, looking forward for more of you content.

I love, love Celebrity Cruise Line all my cruises are on Celebrity.

This is very helpful! I’ve been looking at Celebrity for my 1st cruise but may have to rethink things. I really appreciate your input and opinions 😊

Great video. Just what I was looking for. Thank you.

This was extremely helpful! So far we've only done Disney cruises but I'm wanting to branch out and try others. Your rankings on key areas makes it easier to prioritize which ones to consider first. Could you provide a ranking on the quality of the rooms you had as far as size/space and cleanliness/appearance? Thats one area that can vary greatly between ships. Maybe that depends more on age of ship.

My main difference is that I could never rank Carnaval above Celebrity. I just came off of the Celebrity Beyond. What an amazing ship!!!

I’ve been on every one of these cruise lines except Holland America and I can tell you that we just took an MSC cruise in Europe and it was fantastic. I think the location of where the cruise is plays a pretty big role as well. The food was excellent on the European cruise, but part of that is probably the difference in their quality of food over there as opposed to America

Had a wonderful connection with a friend who works for Virgin, my husband and I got to go for just the cost of taxes. Great experience by far.

Appreciated your assessment of the different lines. We're taking our first cruise with RCCL this winter, and since we're a family of varied ages, and are not foodies, I'm confident that it will wind up being a pretty good choice for us.

The transatlantic cruise can be boring, a lot depends on your cruise director. A lot depends on what you are looking for on the cruise also. Having recently retired from a very high stress job I've cruised with Holland to help destress and recharge. Since covid I've noticed a lot of changes in the cruise lines and they always haven't been great.

I have done 4 virgin Voyages cruises this year. Try to find a TA to get you a placement holder so you can get $300 bar tab + $600 on board plus if you have loyalty status with another cruise line you can apply for Virgin and get so many perks including an extra $100 in a bar tab. And your TA might be able to get you another $100 on board credit

I've cruised on many NCL ships with my family and they never tended to disappoint. In fact, my favorite vacation to date was on the Norwegian Breakaway! Tons of things to do, modern ships, and lots of dining options! I am trying Royal Caribbean for the first time in the spring with friends on board the Symphony of the Seas, I'm looking forward to trying a new cruise line!

Great video! Thank you for making it!

We've been disappointed with the pricing on NCL too. It was our favorite cruise line for years, but we've been having a hard time finding reasonably priced cruises. Royal Caribbean has better prices so we've been cruising more with them.

I have only cruised 4 times and we always picked Disney! I love their ships even the old ship still look good and Disney keeps them clean and good looking. I love the food on Disney, the rooms are good love the split bath it helps in getting everybody ready for dinner after a port day. The cast members are amazing! So polite eager to help. I’d like to do Virgin next then Royal Caribbean. I don’t have the desire to cruise with Carnival until the get more newer ships which they are working on but the bad press they get with rowdy,drunk fighting, just not my scene.

Thanks for the video and enjoyed reading everyone's review. I have a good list of cruise lines. Now I'm thinking it will come down to itinerary.

I really enjoyed your video. My spouse and our first cruise was to Alaska on a Holland American ship which was nice at that time. Then we came across NCL and sailed with them numerous times both in the Mediterranean and in the Baltics. We have also sailed on Carnival to the Bahamas. But, recently Virgin Red sent out an offer we couldn't resist. We were fortunate to sail on the third sailing of "Resilient Lady" out of Athens this past Father's day week for only 80,000 points. Virgin Voyages blew our socks off and we will consider sailing with them more. We haven't sailed on Disney, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity or MSC. We do have family scheduled to sail in August out of Venice so can't wait for their take on the cruise. Thanks again!

I book a cruise for the destinations, not the ships. We pick destination and then search for best cruise deal that includes places we want to go. Best Alaskan cruise deal was Princess with cruising up to Hubbard Glacier and INTO Glacier Bay National Park. Our next vacation is on HAL in Norway. And the one after that is a Viking River Cruise from Bucharest to Budapest on the Danube. Those two cruises will add countries #21-25 to our list of places visited.

How about the category of use/ease of ship. Elevator wait times, easy to navigate on the ship, vibration/sound, hours open etc.

Yes I agree your ratings about MSC's price.. that's what got me to book. Going on Virgin soon, I have travelled on the other ships pre-Covid so pricing and hospitality was different... Thanks for the ratings of the cruise lines and the video of Virgin it was so helpful..

First time on your channel, look forward to seeing more. We recently cruised on the Prima (NCL). Beautiful ship, expensive, food was okay, but I don't worry about the food so much. The biggest issue is the size of the venues. Still, it was a great cruise and we never waited for an elevator or felt crowded navigating the ship. It was my 15th cruise. Thinking back now I realize how we have leaned towards NCL. We have 2 Celebrity, 2 Princess, 3 Royal Caribbean, 1 Carnival, and 8 Norwegian cruises. We have two more scheduled in November this year on NCL. I have found my very best deals on NCL. Now, thanks to you I will have to start looking for deals on Virgin. Good video, thanks.

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. While I have different opinions on many of your ratings, it's understandable since personal preferences vary. It's also important to consider that experiences can differ depending on the specific ships within each cruise line. For instance, if you only traveled on older Celebrity ships, your rating for Celebrity would likely be lower compared to if you had been on the newer Edge class ships. Personally, I've cruised on the NCL Prima and the Celebrity Apex, and I believe that Celebrity surpasses NCL in almost all categories. So, it's all subjective to some extent. Nonetheless, I appreciate hearing your personal views and gaining another perspective.

Yeah, I think NCL has the biggest PR issues coming out of the pandemic. Service has suffered on all the lines, but NCL seems almost belligerent in public image. Once the overall demand levels out, I predict NCL will have the most problems filling ships.

Just returned from my very first cruise. We sailed MSC Yacht Club. Ship was gorgeous, service was magnificent, shows and entertainment venues were superb! Best food ever, every meal we had was an amazing experience!!!

You guys, absolutely love this video! Thank you!

I have been on NCL, Carnival, and Disney and my favorite is NCL. I think NCL keeps their prices high to deter the riff raff from booking cruises on their ships. I think you get what you pay for and I like NCL. I would like to try Virgin.

I would love to see you separate the food rankings between the food that is provided with the cruise fare and specialty dining. I recently went on a Carnival cruise last year and the specialty dining was fantastic, but the buffet and MDR were just plain bad.

This is the first video I have seen about your cruises. I really enjoyed the Amtrak videos. We have only been on 3 cruises and of those 3 lines, we pretty much agree with your findings. On one line that you ranked near the bottom, we found the service and food terrible plus as a bonus, we got Norovirus. Thanks for a great, informative video.

Just looking to book on Virgin! You summed up a lot of questions. Thank you!

Hey, happy cruising!! You missed a cruise line. Unfortunately, you can't experience the best cruise line because it sailed the high seas many years ago. In the words of my travel agent, "Royal Viking Line (RVL) was the Cadillac of cruise lines." She was absolutely correct. Everyone was in the Skald Club and attended the Captain's welcome cocktail party. There were free drinks and caviar. Everyone received a shot of aquavit and the Captain led a toast. Everyone received a gift that was a set of two aquavit glasses. There was a $500 certificate to apply to a future booking. Yes, Royal Viking was top of the line!! Today's Viking Cruises is headed by the same gentleman who headed RVL, so it's very close in quality. Bon voyage!!

Everyone is going to have different opinions. We did a back to back with Carnival Horizon and Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and my expectation was that Royal would be better but I was disappointed. At this stage in life , mid-40’s with college kids, we will mostly stick to newer or refurbished Carnival ships, on week long cruises.

We really like MSC HAVING BEEN ON 6 so far. Our fav is Celebrity and we recently went Carnival. The variety of food on Carnival was outrageous.

Excellent review! Thank you

Would absolutely do Virgin... IF they were not owned by Black Rock. Great video, thanks!

Would have loved to see a category for technology. Things like website ease of use, check-in, experience on the ship. I really found the medallion on princess is a game changer.

Enjoyed your video, thanks for the info

Excellent, I cruise with Princess; I've always had a great time. This was an awesome video to watch to get an idea of how other cruise lines rank.