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I’ve been diving into the latest cruise line reviews, reviewing all the comments and messages I receive and comparing that with my own recent cruising experiences, and from all that I came across five cruise lines that passengers seem to agree are the hottest cruise lines right now, ones rising with the tide and floating above all others, so ones perhaps you should consider more than ever before right now. Here’s what I found.
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0:00
I've been diving into the reviews
0:01
reviewing all the many comments and
0:04
messages I receive every day and
0:06
comparing that with my own recent
0:07
cruising experiences and from all of
0:09
that I have come across five Cruise
0:12
Lines the passengers seem to agree are
0:14
rising with the tide and floating above
0:17
all others at the moment so perhaps ones
0:19
that you should consider more than ever
0:21
before here's what I found it's the
0:25
newest of all the mainstream Cruise
0:26
Lines selling for the first time in 2021
0:29
and it's proving to be a hit with almost
0:32
all Cruise passengers who try them even
0:34
Cruise Riders and sites rate them so
0:38
sites like cruisecritic.com gave them
0:41
the editor Choice Awards for Best Food
0:43
and nightlife and the overall passenger
0:46
rating there is an incredible 4.1 out of
0:49
five now I personally was much more torn
0:52
on them as I'll explain but first here's
0:54
what people like most about them while
0:57
they're on the pricier side because they
0:59
operate with the so-called premium
1:01
category so that's lines like celebrity
1:04
Honda America Disney and Princess people
1:07
like me really like that unlike those
1:10
other lines
1:11
virgin is adult only with passengers or
1:14
Sailors as they like to call them having
1:16
to be 18 or over so that's a big plus I
1:19
also agree with people that the more
1:21
all-inclusive fares so the 20 dining
1:24
venues tips Wi-Fi Fitness classes some
1:27
soft drinks like water juices coffees
1:29
and sodas being included is a big Plus
1:31
in fact the only food I had to pay for
1:33
when I was on Virgin was the afternoon
1:35
tea which was pretty good as most
1:37
reviews say I also found the food and
1:40
the food options some of the best at Sea
1:42
certainly for the fair they have Mexican
1:44
Korean Steakhouse vegetarian and I like
1:48
the food Hall concept instead of a
1:49
regular Buffet service I also agree with
1:52
reviews is mostly good and as a very
1:55
young and diverse crew and that's also a
1:58
very different nationality mix that
2:00
you'll find there versus most lines the
2:03
entertainment and daily program are very
2:05
different to other lines with more
2:07
experimental shows sort of big acrobatic
2:09
shows high energy immersion dance shows
2:13
very risque comedians but for fans of
2:16
things like trivia traditional Cruise
2:18
activities they're much less of those
2:20
it's much less appealing from that front
2:22
I also found it
2:24
entertainment wise to be a little bit
2:25
too wacky but based on the reviews I do
2:28
seem to be a little bit in the minority
2:30
now it's actually turned out not to be a
2:32
young person line and the average age
2:34
they've revealed on Virgin is around
2:37
about 50 years old but it is for those
2:39
with a youthful mindset that people who
2:42
like are busy kind of lots of you know
2:44
drinking Fitness activities parties and
2:46
kind of late night activities on cruises
2:48
I'm not really into that camp so
2:50
probably why it was less spot on for me
2:53
Royal Caribbean is also getting very
2:56
strong reviews at the moment with
2:58
overall ratings similar to that of
3:00
Virgin voyages so really high looking at
3:03
why I think that's larger driven because
3:05
this family-friendly line has brought
3:07
out these new Mega ships over recent
3:10
years that are packed with features that
3:12
are exciting and popular with families
3:15
multi-generational groups younger Cruise
3:18
couples and groups of friends their kind
3:20
of action-packed resorts at Sea are a
3:23
bigger draw in many cases than the
3:25
destinations they sell to this certainly
3:27
seems to be the case when I look at the
3:29
reviews cruises seem to love how they
3:32
have lent into the many attractions and
3:35
the choices packed on these ever larger
3:37
ships you know flow Riders water slides
3:39
aqua and ice skating shows and all the
3:42
choices of bars and restaurants plus the
3:45
big Production shows which include
3:47
Broadway shows in some cases so for
3:50
example hairspray on Symphony Of The
3:52
Seas that I was on also which I agree
3:55
with they seem to be able to please all
3:58
budgets and all Cruise types with
4:00
everything from really good value cabins
4:02
like insides and ocean views right up to
4:05
massive luxury suites including what are
4:09
some of the biggest and most costly
4:11
Cabin Suites at Sea you know sixty
4:14
thousand dollars and plus a week now
4:16
it's interesting I find that luxury
4:18
Travelers rate the sweets the food and
4:20
the service as much as value Travelers
4:23
do they their choices and the cabin so
4:25
they seemed to be able to cater for many
4:27
many types of Cruisers now the main
4:29
negative reviews seems to be actually
4:31
about the older ships of which there are
4:33
still many in the fleet they're more
4:35
dated they're like the scale they lack
4:36
the facilities and of course on the big
4:39
ships one of the criticisms is you need
4:41
to accept there's going to be crowds and
4:43
busy venues now I'm not a fan of big
4:46
ships but I do find Royal Caribbean
4:48
really good at what they do with a wide
4:51
range of options for different Cruiser
4:53
types so unlike some large ship lines
4:55
that have been on like MSC cruises I
4:57
feel they offer kind of much more
4:59
variety and they do offer more quiet
5:01
spaces in that busy kind of crowded ship
5:04
experience a line that gets an even
5:06
higher rating and better reviews of both
5:09
of those lines is Disney and I think
5:11
that's because they appeal to a very
5:14
specific crowd now for me personally it
5:16
was definitely not one of my highly
5:18
rated lines but that is because I'm not
5:21
right for the line
5:22
families and adults who love Disney
5:25
films shows characters including the new
5:28
ones they now include like Marvel Star
5:30
Wars they love the Disney Cruise Line
5:34
experience it's a total immersion into
5:37
the Disney World with character meets
5:40
character show based dinners in the
5:43
restaurants every night very slick
5:45
Disney production shows big merchandise
5:48
shops and it is very full-on with Disney
5:51
which wasn't for me now many positive
5:54
reviews by the way also come from adults
5:56
cruising without kids who still love
5:59
Disney and the adult only areas on the
6:02
ship is a big plus for many people now I
6:05
did not share many reviewers enthusiasm
6:07
because I'm not a Disney person and so
6:10
many of the characters and the shows
6:12
kind of went right over my head because
6:14
I wasn't familiar with the stories I
6:16
also found the show pretty crowded
6:18
because of course there are lots of kids
6:20
and families sharing cabins so
6:22
particularly at those kind of school
6:24
holiday times it's really busy but
6:26
Disney is not designed for me but if
6:28
Disney is a love and you have the budget
6:31
because they are rather costly then
6:33
reviews suggest they are very much a hot
6:35
Cruise Line and very hot right now
6:38
another cruise line that is consistently
6:41
getting good reviews and on Cruise
6:43
Critic gets the highest passenger rating
6:46
of any line an incredible 4.6 out of 5
6:49
is the one that I'm also actually on the
6:51
fence about again as I'll explain and
6:54
this one is Viking Cruises like virgin
6:56
voyages it is also an adult only line 18
7:00
plus which is something that reviewers
7:02
rate there are so few adult only options
7:05
and with more lines at all levels really
7:08
attracting families this has become even
7:11
more positive in the reviews for people
7:13
seeking kind of a sophisticated adult
7:15
experience the downsides which some
7:17
critics point out is that it is rather
7:19
costy line even considering fares
7:22
include an excursionary report
7:24
especially dining Wi-Fi beer one and
7:26
soft drinks at lunch and dinner access
7:28
to the spa and often gratuities
7:31
depending on where you're booking but it
7:32
has a pretty onerous early payment of
7:35
full Cruise Fair term versus other lines
7:37
in some regions when you books that's a
7:39
negative but the opposite argument given
7:41
is you're selling that on a ship
7:43
carrying just just over 900 passengers
7:46
the ships are very modern they're very
7:48
stylish there's a really good enrichment
7:50
program the food is good they include
7:52
afternoon tea that I do agree is
7:54
probably one of the best at Sea I think
7:57
though because it's a smaller audience
7:59
due to the cost this does help boost the
8:02
positive reviews and ratings because
8:04
Viking has a really loyal
8:06
fan base lots of repeaters and they
8:09
review the line often and they're very
8:11
fast by the way to defend the line
8:12
however I agree that they are a slick
8:16
and stylish line and the reason I rate
8:18
them less highly than the ratings
8:20
suggest overall is although I've cruised
8:23
them twice I do feel the fares are still
8:25
a little bit higher for what they
8:26
provide and I feel though that the line
8:28
works really well for travelers that
8:30
like a much more curated experience more
8:33
like their River Line and it suits
8:35
independent-minded Travelers perhaps
8:37
less well
8:38
but I may be overthinking it and it has
8:41
of course not stopped me booking another
8:42
one I'm booked and let's cruise with
8:44
them next year so we will see it's
8:45
definitely one that's really hot and
8:47
rated really highly right now I want to
8:50
talk about a line that gets overall
8:51
stronger views among some of the higher
8:55
ratings by the way of the line so again
8:56
that 4.1 out of five so that virgin does
8:59
but this hides a very mixed review based
9:03
on which class of ship and which grade
9:06
you're cruising in and I think this is a
9:07
really interesting example of a line
9:09
that's hot in Parts but not in others so
9:12
choosing which shift and which grade you
9:14
you Cruise in it is really important
9:16
Celebrity cruise reviews but you know
9:19
differ really widely based on which ship
9:21
people go on and what grade so they have
9:23
three classes of ships with the one
9:25
they're focusing on being The Edge class
9:27
so Edge Apex Beyond an Ascent now these
9:30
are really contemporary modern ships
9:32
that very different to the existing
9:34
Solstice and millennium-class ships
9:36
which are much more traditional in
9:38
design and layout and and you know
9:41
overall look now The Edge class have the
9:44
infinite balcony Caverns where they've
9:46
enclosed the balcony in the cabin and
9:49
has a sliding glass window instead it
9:51
makes the cabin bigger but Cruisers
9:54
certainly like me kind of miss the more
9:55
open air balcony so that is very
9:57
divisive in the reviews they have
10:00
features like the Magic Carpet which
10:02
alternates uh you know between being a
10:04
bar restaurant and a tender boat
10:05
platform which people like it also has
10:08
funky venues like Eden and much more
10:11
kind of modern entertainment than their
10:13
competitors now reviews for these new
10:15
ships are generally way more positive
10:18
than for the older Solstice and
10:20
millennium-class ships with people
10:22
including me based on my experiences
10:25
other different classes feeling that the
10:27
new ships are getting kind of the a team
10:29
as it were and the older ships are
10:31
getting much less care and attention
10:33
certainly that's what it feels to me now
10:35
on top of that I can also see reviews
10:38
for those in in the retreat which is
10:40
their Suites so they people in The
10:42
Retreat have access to a lounge a large
10:45
Deck with pool hot tubs a bar the
10:48
dedicated luminai restaurant and those
10:50
reviews are way more positive than those
10:52
people who are not in the retreat now
10:55
not only because it's a really good
10:57
experience which I agree with but also
10:58
because regular Cruisers are really
11:00
frustrated that a large area of the ship
11:02
is then closed off to them and
11:05
critically The Retreat area means
11:07
there's no venue on edge class ships for
11:10
regular Fair guests to look at over the
11:12
front of the ship so in scenic areas
11:14
there is no bar or no deck to look at
11:17
the view up front it's only available to
11:19
retreat guests now I must admit that my
11:22
experience and views of celebrity has
11:24
also been very different when going in
11:26
the retreat versus not with the retreat
11:29
being much more elevated much more
11:32
positive without a shadow of a doubt if
11:34
those are the five lines getting great
11:35
reviews from passengers right now what
11:37
are the ones that are getting the thumbs
11:39
down the worst join me in this video
11:42
where I look at those starting with the
11:44
lowest rated line dramatically lower
11:48
right now see you over there
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