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| Above, a cruise ship docked at Freeport, Bahamas. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Up to now, I have been on three cruises in my life.
The first was with Celebrity in 2001 with my mom and daughter to Alaska. The second was with Royal Caribbean for a cruise to Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba in 2019.
The last was two months ago (already?!) with Norwegian to the Bahamas.
While all were enjoyable, cruising is not my favorite way to travel. I caught some viral bugs with the trips to Alaska and Cuba. I came out unscathed with the cruise to the Bahamas. Considering how many people are packed onboard, it should come as no surprise that one may catch a bug, especially in this era of COVID-19.
I prefer smaller ships (about 2,000 passengers tops) as I don't like crowds. The new mega ships may be nice with a lot of amenities, but I am not thrilled to sail with 3,000 to 5,000 people. I am perfectly satisfied with a smaller ship with good food, plenty of bars, hot tubs/swimming pools and a casino (I've come out ahead on the cruises to Cuba and Bahamas).
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| Above, the casino during the Key West/Havana cruise. I came out ahead here playing roulette. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
But, if one is thinking about taking their first cruise, The Points Guy has a guide to 20 popular cruise lines.
They begin their guide with:
Thinking about booking your first cruise? The sheer range of choices can be daunting. There are more than two dozen lines marketing to North Americans — no two alike.
The list of brands includes everything from giant companies such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line, which are household names, to lesser-known small-ship operators such as Windstar Cruises.
Some of the brands — Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, in particular — operate massive vessels that are like giant floating resorts with multiple pool areas, deck-top water parks and other over-the-top amusements. Others specialize in intimate, boutique hotel-style ships.
Some lines, such as Carnival, are aimed at a budget crowd. Others operate vessels that are as luxurious as any upscale resort found on land. A few small luxury players such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises have ships with lavish suites that'll cost you as much as $11,000 a day.
Where should you start your search for the perfect cruise for you? Below, you'll find our quick guide to some of the most popular cruise brands. As you'll see, it's not meant to be an in-depth review of the lines. It's just a short overview — enough to give you a sense of which particular cruise operator might best appeal to you.
Once you've narrowed down the choices to a few brands that you think best fit your style, do a deeper dive into them and their specific ships, their itineraries and home ports and their comparable costs (either on your own or with the help of a cruise-savvy travel agent). Note that TPG has many in-depth guides to individual lines, which you can find by clicking on our cruise line hub pages linked in each segment below.
To read more, go here.
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