👉 https://davidcruises.com Code YOUTUBE25 for 25% off! — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — After fourteen years working Guest Services on cruise ships — across mainstream, premium, and luxury lines — David Calloway has seen which cruise lines consistently create problems for passengers, and which ones almost never do. In this video, he ranks the 7 lines to avoid and the 5 that are actually worth it, based not on reviews or press trips but on thousands of real passenger interactions from the other side of the desk. If you're planning a cruise in the next year, this is the video to watch before you book. #CruiseTips #CruiseLines #CruiseAdvice — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 🚢 GET THE FULL PLAYBOOK Everything I learned in 14 years on the ships — 47 specificsituations, the exact words to say at the desk, plus 3 bonus guides and a 25-minute video walk-through. 👉 https://davidcruises.com Use code YOUTUBE25 for 25% off — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 📺 ABOUT THIS CHANNEL I'm David Calloway. I spent 14 years working Guest Services on cruise ships — mainstream lines, premium lines, luxury lines. I saw every kind of passenger mistake, every billing trick, every "discretionary" perk nobody knew to ask for. I just left ship life. Now I'm sharing everything cruise lines don't tell you, every single day on this channel. If you have a cruise coming up — or even one in the back of your mind — subscribe. There's a new video every day, and at least one of them will save you money on your next sailing. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 📌 CONNECT Get the full playbook: https://davidcruises.com Email: [email protected] — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Disclosure: This channel features an AI-generated character performing scripts based on real cruise industry research and former crew experience. All information is verified against current cruise line policies and industry practices.
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I've been thinking about this overnight before writing. I'm 70, have taken 8 cruises on Princess, one on HAL. The things I liked better on HAL over Princess are with one crucial exception more important to me than the things I liked better on Princess over HAL. On HAL, I liked the quiet, absence of music from large central venues such as the pool deck and central atrium so that the music--noise to those not listening to it--didn't spill beyond the performance venue, food quality, and lectures. On Princess, I thought the entertainment was superior (other than the absence of lectures and good port talks--on P they just promoted shopping with kickbacks to the line), the decor more beautiful, and the technology--the app and medallion--far superior. Most important to me, however, is the price. For the same itineraries, Princess always prices out far better for me and offers better value for money so I can travel more often. The things I like better about HAL are not generally so important to me that I would travel less often and pay more to take advantage of them. An exception to that will likely be when I plan a Med cruise because the ships Princess is deploying in the Med are all too large for me to have the experience I want. A few observations: 1. A key takeaway from the video is that price doesn't guaranty quality -- RCL and Celebrity. 2. I don't understand why you view the Princess app and medallion as negatives. I find they make the trip much easier and save lots of time dealing with Guest and Restaurant services. If a passenger is uncomfortable with the App, they can still go to Guest Services just like before. So I don't see any downside. 3. I would be really interested in hearing you develop further information and insights about balancing cost and quality. Clearly the most expensive lines offer higher quality. They should. The question is what is worth the cost? For me, the all-inclusuve luxury of Regent is unlikely ever to be worth the cost: I don't enjoy drinking anything but water, tea, and coffee; I prefer to explore ports by foot on my own whenever possible without being part of a group; my tastes in food go to simple preparations of quality ingredients and I eat very little meat, so specialty dining may be enjoyable but is relatively unimportant to me; and while I appreciate good service I don't need pampering (and if they cut the price in half but the crew got to yell at me rather than be polite, I'd take it). My observation is that Princess is struggling mightily to keep the base fare down as prices go up. I think they've had some misses and let quality slip too much here and there. I appreciate, however, that it is really hard to find the right balance and some misses are inevitable. In short, I'd like more guidance than "spend more."
We took a Viking cruise...BEST cruise ever out of 25+ on Princess.
I agree with your HAL segment. After many RC, Princess and Celebrity cruises that declined slowly over time, I’ve only been sailing Holland but you could NEVER get me on a Carnival ship!
Cool video
Celebrity is the best🤷 service amazing.
Let’s be honest about Oceania, as you are mostly paying the higher cost for the better food selection & quality. Once you get to a port you are completely on your own. No port talks, no shopping recommendations, usually no shuttles, no maps, no guides. They think doing a video about the history of a port by one of the cruise directors is sufficient, even if you can’t ask any questions. They don’t even have a knowledgeable person in the port that can answer questions. Truly pathetic service.
MSC SUCKS
To summarize: Don't fly economy. Fly first class instead.