Do you know your cruise brands?

Mar 04, 2026 12:03 pm

Hello Travel Friends,

Spring is around the corner; do you have your future travel plans in place? Making your travel arrangements well in advance gives you the best chance for the best pricing. Did you know that all cruise ships now are two thirds booked for 2026?

Do you know your cruise travel brands? What are the differences between the different companies? Which cruise line reflects you style of travel.

There are four main categories of cruise line. Each has their own appeal and audience depending upon what fits your style and travel budget.

Resort or mainstream: Carnival, MSC, NCL and Royal Caribbean. These brands have wide appeal families and first time cruisers because of their value pricing. These brands usually have a lot of water themed activities, a lot of music and theater events, and specialty dining locations. Cruisers on these lines can pay a bare minimum fare and add on additional experiences from specialty dining to beverage packages if they choose.

Premium: Celebrity, Princess Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Cunard and Holland America

These brands are more of the classical cruise and are absent of the water parks and amusement features. Families will sail these brands but mostly they are generational groups. The atmosphere remains lively, there is plenty of entertainment, but the focus is more on quality service. Each of these brands have specialty dining experiences. The pricing for these cruises lines often have tiered pricing from the standard fares to anything from wifi to beverage and dining packages to photos to excursion credits. The shipboard amenities are a step up from the resort category.

Luxury: Azamara, Oceania, Explora, Windstar and Viking

These brands carry around 1000 – 1500 guest so the experience is different. Often these ships do not go round trip, they begin in one city and end in another. They have high quality dining included along with wifi, gratuities and small shore excursion credits. More often than not, they will overnight in a port, have special shoreside events and cooking classes aboard. The cuisine aboard is more like fine dining on land. The entertainment tends to be lower key and subdued allowing for more time relaxing.

Ultra Luxury: Seaborn, Regent Seven Seas, Silver Seas.

These lines are truly all inclusive and are smaller more intimate ships. The entertainment featured is more small nightclub style. Guest aboard these ships is seeking exceptional service, relaxation and an all-inclusive experience. The ships carry 800 – 1000 guest where guest feel pampered with attentive service. Smaller lesser traveled ports are also a feature. These lines do many one-way journeys.

While every brand is different, there is something for everyone. Price point is also feature when choosing a line in which to sail. Do you want to have everything included, or do you want buy only what you will use? It comes down to what you value with your travel experiences. Cruising is not one size fits all vacation. There are many opportunities to experience destinations. I am happy to help you find a cruise line that will reflect your cruising style and desired experiences. Consider what you enjoy and I can help you find the ship that works best for you.