Which cruise line should you choose for your next vacation?

As a travel agency that specializes in cruising, I made it a mission to try as many "well-known, frequently sailed" cruise lines as possible this year.

Each cruise line is different, but many consumers don't know what is different about each, or choose to focus on price over experience...what matters most when you travel: the destination, the service provided, the food and atmosphere or the price?

The four cruise lines we were able to check out this year were Royal Caribbean (third sailing with this line), Norwegian, Princess and Carnival. Aboard these lines, we explored Mexico, Honduras, the Bahamas, New England and Nova Scotia and the sailings ranged from 4-8 days.

Let's get into the comparisons of all four:

Royal Caribbean

This sailing with Royal Caribbean was our third with the line, but first onboard an Oasis class ship, Harmony of the Seas. Royal Caribbean is known for its large amount of activities onboard, especially water slides and the FlowRider, making it a great choice for families with children or young teens.

Service and Staff

RC is one of the best for service and staff friendliness/eagerness to assist, although it is no longer the top in my books (read more to find out who is)!

This sailing with RC was surprisingly mediocre for service/staff friendliness. While we didn't run into any rude or irritated crew, the service just wasn't as good as it was on our prior two sailings with the cruise line. Dare I say the larger the ship with RC, the less personable/premium the service?

Restaurants/Food Options

The Oasis-class ships with RC have a ton of food options onboard, and they do a good job of spreading them out so as not to make any one deck seem overloaded with guests. The food quality, however, was lacking on this larger ship in comparison to the Quantum and Navigator classes we had experienced before. Onboard Ovation of the Seas in 2024, the food was TOP notch, especially at Jamie's Italian. When we visited the same restaurant onboard Harmony of the Seas, the same restaurant had a smaller, different menu and did not provide any dish we had to go back for. Overall, RC has a great variety and quality of food onboard, but you should be prepared to not find your favorite dish from one ship on the next.

Bar Service/Beverages

When cruising, most people love to be able to get their favorite drink or try a new one. There's a reason the drink package is an option, right?! Royal never fails to keep the drinks flowing and have friendly bar staff, for the most part. The Bionic Bar is a fun, robotic bar that is worth checking out when on a ship that has one (like Harmony). RC's Deluxe Beverage Package is well worth the money, as it also includes bottled water and they will allow you to take water and unopened canned beer/seltzers back to your room when you are ready for an evening on the balcony!

Ship Cleanliness and Upkeep

Royal Caribbean is great about keeping up with their ship cleaning, maintenance and overall upkeep/renovations. We have been on three different size and age ships, and even the oldest didn't feel OLD.

Norwegian Cruise Line

We sailed Norwegian for the first time this year on a short, amazingly-priced itinerary out of Miami to the Bahamas. This sailing was onboard the Norwegian Gem.

Service and Staff

While the prices of NCL's itineraries can be very tempting, especially with their More-at-Sea program, the service was not worthy of the price. As frequent cruisers, we were expecting the usual smiling faces of crew members ready to welcome you onboard and make your favorite drink, but NCL did not have that. Perhaps it was a one-off on this particular sailing, but we were actually argued with by staff and refused service at the MDR due to dress code, even though we caught on camera the same dress code violations many times over during our short sailing. We saw our stateroom attendant once or twice and were never greeted as welcome guests. Staff friendliness and the service you receive onboard will make or break a great vacation, and in this case, NCL dropped off our list of must-sail brands.

Bar Service/Beverages

During this sailing with NCL, we had the More-at-Sea package, which includes your unlimited drinks, however, NCL does this quite a bit different than others. You cannot get bottled water for free, in fact, they will only hand you a glass of water at the bar when asked. If you want bottled (or on this sailing, canned) water, you have to pay for it. NCL has no issues pouring doubles or a long-pour, which was a change from some cruise lines that are strictly singles. They also would not allow you to take a canned beer or seltzer unopened with you to your room, so if you want them in your room, you'd have to request room service.

Restaurants/Food Options

There were quite a few dining options onboard the Norwegian Gem, however, they were not accommodating to try and get you a reservation if you decided on a whim you wanted to try a restaurant. The hibachi restaurant was a lot of fun and had great food, but the MDR and other casual spots were highly lacking in quality. We were quite excited that the Irish pub onboard, O'Sheehan's, had wings you could get at pretty much any hour...until we tried them. The quality and size turned out to be wings smaller than my pinky finger with not much flavor.

(If you're a foodie and love wings, keep reading to find out who has the BEST wings at sea)!

Ship Cleanliness and Upkeep

NCL did not do a terrible job with ship cleanliness and upkeep, but their older ships, like this one, could definitely use some renovating.

Carnival Cruise Line

This sailing with Carnival was our first. We sailed on Carnival Glory with a short, 4-day cruise to check out the newly-opened Celebration Key, Carnival's private destination on Grand Bahama Island.

Service and Staff

We were pleasantly surprised with the service and staff friendliness onboard the Glory, as with a sailing that is priced well below some of the more premium lines we've sailed, you naturally expect a bit less. We never saw our stateroom attendant, and were not given much courtesy when we called asking for a coffee pot or coffee delivered, but it was overall a friendly enough experience that we wouldn't complain.

Bar Service/Beverages

Carnival is the only cruise line so far we've tried that has a strict 15-drink per 24 hours/guest limit. While many other lines state 15 is the max, it is more of a discretionary thing based on if a guest appears inebriated. Carnival, however, will warn you "1 more" on your 14th drink and refuse to serve you after 15. They have no issues handing you canned beverages or water to take to your room, if you choose to, however. Another thing to keep in mind, if visiting Celebration Key, is that your drinks package does NOT continue onto the island, and they charge a very hefty premium for alcohol on the island (we paid $11.50/Corona the day we visited)!

Restaurants/Food Options

For this short sailing, we opted out of trying all of the "premium" dining choices, but we did splurge on the Emerald Steakhouse, as well as paid for the wings you can purchase from Blue Iguana Cantina. While the steakhouse was very good, the wings at Blue Iguana were absolutely terrible and a huge disappointment. If you are looking for "bar" type food, you are better off standing in line for a Guy's burger or some pizza.

Our biggest issue onboard the Glory was the location choice for all of your free dining options. If you are hungry around lunch time, the buffet, pizza, burgers, tacos, sushi and more are ALL on the Lido deck, clustered in the center of the pools, which equals a messy, wet floor with an almost zero chance of finding a table. Not a smart idea on Carnival's part. The BBQ restaurant on Celebration Key, however, was very good (this is an extra charge).

Ship Cleanliness and Upkeep

Carnival Glory is an older ship, and quite frankly, it's obvious. This ship was recently dry-docked in 2024, but it's hard to see that anything worthwhile was updated during that time. The rooms are outdated and lacking maintenance (we had cabinet doors falling off and fluorescent lights that were barely still alive, plus balcony furniture that looked like it had sat in the sun for 20 years). The cleanliness wasn't much better. Upon first entering our stateroom, a hand towel was tossed to the floor as it was yellow and soiled. This ship is scheduled for another dry dock in 2026, and hopefully they will choose to update this 90's-feeling ship.

Princess Cruises

We had the pleasure of sailing our first Princess cruise this year onboard the Enchanted Princess. While Princess is often thought of as a more expensive, luxury line, it is actually quite comparable with Royal Caribbean and is well worth the price!

Service and Staff

When you have had great service on a prior cruise, you often think there probably won't be better. We were proven completely wrong when we sailed Princess, being huge fans of Royal Caribbean prior to this sailing, but Princess blew all three of the above cruise lines out of the water with service!

Princess Cruises includes either a Plus or Premier package with your fare, which includes your Wi-Fi, some extra casual dining or unlimited dining, depending on the package, 15 or unlimited drinks, 24-hour room service, tax, gratuities and more. From the moment you board with Princess, the service is unbeatable. We did not run into a single crew member that wasn't always happy and providing the best service possible, even when the bars were full during a live music evening! I asked the service desk for a coffee pot, which they did not have enough of, but offered to deliver coffee at my preferred time each morning, and they did not skip a beat. Coffee was delivered at least five minutes prior to my asked-for time every morning without any additional cost! Our stateroom attendant was always sure to greet us by name every day when he saw us and made sure our room and ourselves were always well taken care of.

Bar Service/Beverages

When sailing with Princess, a Plus package will allow you 15 drinks a day, where Premier will allow unlimited drinks a day. Bar service was always good and they have a lot of Princess specialty drinks that are a must try, like the Dirty Banana. Bottled water was easy to come by and if you want to have some drinks in your room before dinner or enjoy a night on your balcony without having to leave for drinks, the Ocean Now delivery service is incredible. On a sea day, you would expect slower service, but it was actually the opposite. We never waited more than 5-6 minutes for an order of drinks to be brought to our stateroom.

Restaurants/Food Options

Princess does a great job of laying out their ships with casual and complimentary food options located in the most convenient spaces with plenty of delicious choices. Princess even had "bar food" at O'Malley's Irish Pub such as their wings that were incredible and made you want to keep coming back for more. Truly, the best wings at sea! The Crown Grill steakhouse was a very good premium dining option with great ambiance and excellent steaks. We really weren't disappointed with any of our food onboard the Enchanted Princess. If you have the chance, definitely splurge on the Balcony Dining experience - it is amazing!

Ship Cleanliness and Upkeep

While we have only been on one Princess ship thus far, I have no doubt that all of their ships are as well-kept as Enchanted was. Princess crew members were constantly cleaning and the ship was always beautiful. Bathrooms were never left dirty and stateroom attendants did a great job keeping rooms clean!

While there are still more cruise lines we plan to experience, our current #1 rated would be Princess Cruises with Royal Caribbean coming in #2 overall but #1 if sailing with younger children or children that want water slides, etc. If you are sailing as a couple and love good food and good service, Princess will be your perfect line.

Here's to more explorations in 2026!