Karen Segboer wrote:
> linsifer@ (Linsifer) wrote:
>
>
>>And, who knows, Karen....Carnival might be next! :-)
>
>
> Hey, ya never know :-)
Karen,
I think there are cycles of what people need in a cruise (or any type of
leisure excursion). You are at a very advanced place in cruising. You've
done Deutschland, Radisson, Cunard multiple times, have a rich
experience in doing liners, so now you are "ready" to spread your wings
and appreciate what's in the mainstream.
I'm not there. My wife and I want smaller, fewer options to choose from
and the options available to our tastes and lifestyle, mostly
non-Caribbean itineraries and there are a few that we are interested in
doing. We are on the search for our line, HAL and Celebrity have only
bits and pieces of it and we don't like their current product direction.
Yes, we enjoyed Explorer of the Seas for sure, but we don't see
ourselves on that type of ship for awhile. And I would say the best way
to describe the Celebrity Constellation was mostly lacklustre, that's a
ship I didn't care for. New in ships doesn't interest us, character
does. With Carnival, if anything, Claudine dislikes their ships even
more than I do, and that's enough to keep us away. I personally have the
feeling that Carnival does as well if not better at its defined style of
cruising than RCI does, and probably best in the mainstream.
However, once you have done lines of various sizes, shapes, lineage, you
have perspective and I think you search less. I think you were searching
for awhile and felt comfortable going back to Cunard. Now, less search,
and have fun on the mainstream. If anything, the mainstream lines do
what they do well without the lofty promises and therefore higher
passenger expectations of lines that identify themselves as higher rung.
Ben S.
My VOYAGER OF THE SEAS (9-19 thru 9-24) Review 
