Welcome guest writer Sarah Cinq-Mars! Sarah's a 5th-grade teacher based in North Carolina. When she isn't teaching or being taught the latest slang by her students, she's catching up on the latest true crime podcast, playing with her 12-year-old dog, or checking out the area's newest restaurants.
Since my first cruise in October 2023, I have sailed on five different cruise lines.
As a kid, we only went on land vacations. My parents never spoke about cruises, so they never crossed my mind. When I went on my first cruise, I assumed all lines would offer a similar vibe, but I was so wrong!
I had no clue that there were various classes of ships, staple restaurants, and bars for each cruise line, or that lines that dominated different regions of the world. The sizes of cruise ships and the services offered onboard were completely unknown to me. You could say I was absolutely clueless.
Now, having sailed on five different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Disney, and Carnival, I understand why each has loyal followers.
Royal Caribbean
My first cruise was in October 2023 on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. Keep in mind, I had never seen a cruise ship before arriving in Miami, Florida! Having a fianceé who cruises for a living, I learned a little bit about cruises before I stepped on board, and I’m grateful because there’s so much I would have been unaware of!
I was warned that this was an older, smaller ship compared to some other vessels. I was still excited, though! Having been on more cruises, I now realize that the age definitely showed itself when I saw the cabin.
We were in a standard balcony cabin, which was a huge benefit for a first-time cruiser! Being able to look out as we were sailing was surreal. I did enjoy the amount of space we had in the cabin, except for the small bathroom.
One of my least favorite things about my first cruise was the food. It left a mediocre taste in my mouth when it came to cruise food.
It was something I heard people rave about, but I didn’t think it was anything exciting. To me, the Main Dining Room was very underwhelming. The food reminded me of a regular Chili's or Applebee’s. The meal that I was impressed by, however, was the hibachi restaurant, Izumi. It was absolutely worth the extra charge!
The adults-only area was my favorite spot on Freedom. Although it filled up fast, especially on sea days, it was a relaxing place. As a teacher, no matter how much I love my students, it is very nice to have a space without children. We were able to meet people from all around the world, swim in the pool, and lay in the sun.
I was also impressed with Royal Caribbean's private island. Perfect Day at CocoCay was an awesome experience! I had no idea that these private islands existed when I began cruising. Since the island only allows Royal Caribbean passengers to visit, it was not overly crowded like Nassau.
I thought the food on CocoCay was even better than the cruise ship! I devoured multiple servings of their mozzarella sticks that day and have no regrets!
Carnival Cruise Line
My Carnival cruise was my least favorite by far. We sailed on Carnival Elation, an older ship built in 1998. I was prepared for the decor and the amenities to be less advanced, but I wasn’t prepared for the gross cabin.
The cabin seemed fine until we got a closer look at the bathroom specifically. The floor was not properly cleaned, and the shower head was rusting so much that it fell off the second day! We had a very hard time flushing the toilet, and the shower curtain was also dirty. It didn’t help that it stuck to you while showering as well.
This was also my first time sailing in an inside cabin. I did not mind the size of the cabin personally, but the first thing I noticed was that it lacked proper storage.
We had lined up our shoes in the corner of the room, and we kept tripping on them. I ended up leaving some things in my suitcase because there was nowhere to put them. My other complaint with this inside cabin was that I could never tell what time of day it was!
The adults-only was a bit of a disappointment as well. The unsanitary theme continued to this area on the ship. A good amount of the chairs were stained with black soot that transferred to my pants after five minutes of lying on them.
Additionally, the food was very mediocre on Carnival. I was not happy about the main dining experience at all. One specific night, I ordered a chicken breast meal, which was really bland. Truthfully, I never left the Main Dining Room feeling satisfied. The fast-casual dining, however, was very impressive. Guy’s Burgers and BlueIguana Cantina were great!
In fact, I'd argue that BlueIguana is superior to Royal Caribbean's El Loco Fresh.
Celebrity Cruises
On the flip side, Celebrity is by far my favorite cruise line. I have sailed twice with them, and I have another cruise with them coming up in June. I have sailed with them on Celebrity Reflection and Ascent. My next journey will be on Celebrity Eclipse, an older ship similar to Reflection. My fiancee and I were so impressed with the cruise line that we booked our sailing to Norway while we were on Ascent!
What stood out to me the most was the beautiful cabins. Both Celebrity Reflection and Ascent had gorgeous spacious cabins. Aboard Reflection, we sailed in an interior cabin. This stateroom was insanely spacious, but I felt like they could have designed the space better considering the size.
Instead of putting a lone chair in the corner, there was room for a loveseat to maximize seating options! I also wish that the vanity was a little bigger. It would have been beneficial to have a little more space to get ready for the night.
As for Celebrity Ascent’s cabin, we stayed in an infinite veranda. There have been some heavy opinions over these types of cabins, and I can see why there is some controversy behind it. An infinite veranda is similar to a balcony but it is fully enclosed.
In my opinion, the biggest fault of the infinite veranda was the lack of temperature control when it was open. The room would flood with hot air, even with the air conditioning on. Other than that, I did not mind the concept. The room itself was absolutely stunning. I have absolutely no complaints about the way their cabins were set up, maintained, etc.
Celebrity’s entertainment was nothing short of amazing. All of the shows, whether it was a theatre production or live music in the Grand Plaza, were impressive.
One of my favorite activities was the Murder Mystery Show on Celebrity Reflection, which had the entire crowd laughing until tears were streaming down everyone's faces! However, there are cruise lines with better entertainment, believe it or not!
The food on Celebrity was lovely as well. They have the most impressive buffet I have ever seen, with so many options. We opted for a few specialty dining experiences, too, and they did not disappoint.
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a close second to Celebrity. My fianceé and I sailed on their newest ship, Sun Princess, and it was by far the most beautiful cruise I have ever stepped foot on, next to Celebrity Ascent. I particularly was blown away by our cabin.
We stayed in a Cabana Mini-Suite, and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of space we had. I assumed it was going to be bigger than a standard balcony, but there was so much room! We had our own private deck that was only open to passengers staying in the same suites as us. This was a great place to watch sail away, relax in the private hot tub, and sun tan away from the lido deck crowds.
The suite had a small room in between the deck and the interior living area that acted as a type of sunroom. It was very aesthetically pleasing, but we did not use it much.
I will say that we were so enthralled by the event spaces and activities on the ship that we did not spend much time in our cabin other than to sleep. The event staff on this ship was the best I have ever seen, and we quickly made friends with the event staff after participating in multiple game shows.
However, the service on this ship was disappointing. I felt as though some of the waiters and waitresses were rude at times. The service also took a very long time in some settings. We chalked it up to it being because our cruise was one of the first North American preview sailings, and there was a lot of turnover going on.
One of the waitresses asked for my age when I ordered a drink, which I thought was very strange as my age was shown when my medallion was scanned.
The food did make up for the service. We ate at several specialty restaurants and the main dining area as well. Everything was absolutely delicious. My favorite meal was at Umai, Princess' first-ever teppanyaki restaurant. The chef was hilarious, and I loved my teriyaki chicken.
We purchased the Princess Plus package which was absolutely worth it. It was $60 a day and included Wi-Fi, a basic drink package, gratuities, casual specialty meals, specialty desserts, and more. Even Celebrity’s All Inclusive isn’t even as good of a value!
Disney Cruise Line
My most recent cruise was aboard the Disney Magic. When I stepped aboard this ship, I noticed she was very well-maintained despite her age, which surprised me. Being the same age as Carnival Elation, I found the Magic aged like fine wine. The vessel was pristine. It felt classic and modern at the same time.
It’s hard not to love a Disney cruise because it's magical and feels like Disney World at sea! Whether you are a Disney lover or not, it feels extremely nostalgic and whimsical.
We stayed in an interior cabin, and I found it to be spacious! The stateroom was nautical-themed, and I was surprised to find a full bathtub in the bathroom! However, the best part of the cabin was the bed. It was easily the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in on a cruise. On the flip side, the couch was not up to par; it was very uncomfortable!
The ship felt timeless, regardless of the age. The decor reminded me of a princess’ castle. The staircases, gold-shaded floors, and small details of Disney-inspired decor made it elegant. The dining rooms were especially detailed and beautiful.
The food, however, was not my favorite. The menu was quite adventurous, which surprised me because there will always be a lot of kids on board. I did love the desserts and the bread baskets that we had, though!
The entertainment was also good! I expected that there would not be a lot geared towards adults, but I was wrong. The late-night game shows were hilarious! They were scandalous but not too raunchy. The Broadway-style shows were absolutely amazing, too. We went to every show on board and everything about these shows was perfect.
The only disappointing aspect about this cruise was that Disney does not have an option for a drink package. My fianceé and I usually opt for the drink package, so we are not counting our pennies while on board.
Although I understand Disney is very kid-friendly and they don’t want to risk over-serving adults, it was a bummer to not have the option.
Cruising has become my favorite way to travel
Although Celebrity is my favorite, I am excited to try more cruise lines this year!
I have already booked cruises with Virgin Voyages and MSC and can’t wait to experience more destinations, ships, and amenities!
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
