Luxury cruise lines - which is your favorite?

[CuriousByNature]

Good morning!

I'm thinking of a post-pandemic travel splurge, and wondering which cruise lines readers might recommend for more of a luxury experience?  I'm aware of Seabourn, Silversea, Regent, Viking (ocean cruises), Azamara, Ponant and also Paul Gaugin in the South Pacific.

What are the pros and cons of each?  The food experience is very important to me, and less so the need for things like a personal butler, etc.  I also don't want an experience that is too formal, or hierarchical - which is why I have never cruised with Cunard, since they still seem to employ a class-based, segregated system.

Thanks!

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Ritz-Carlton has great new ships.  I sailed with them earlier this year and have another one booked with a client next month.

Viking:  Skews older, but superb service and inclusions.  Comfortable rooms.  GREAT spa.

Azamara:  Used to be great, but they got bought out during COVID and haven't bounced back.

Ponant:  Beautiful ships, but terrible service and a general feeling of being unorganized.

Explora: MSC's luxury line just started sailing.  They need a year to shakedown, but the ships themselves look beautiful.

Four Seasons Yacht:  Just announced with renderings, but ships aren't yet on the water.

Paul Gaugin is really looking long in the tooth.  They need to drydock, but don't have plans anytime soon.

[Guest]

I've never been super crazy about the idea of cruises 🚢 even though I've spent many months over the years on a sailboat... all throughout central, and South America. I've sailed from Ecuador to the Galapagos to the Marquesas to the Tuamotu's and ultimately to French Polynesia 🇵🇫 ( almost every island that makes up French Polynesia ) HOWEVER, next month I'm going on a Oceania Cruise with a client for 3 weeks and I'm very excited. I don't have anything to compare it to other than a ketch 44' that had me fishing 🎣 and consuming more rum 🍹 and cokes than I'd like to admit. I'll report back mid November 😜

Edited September 30, 2023 by Vin_Marco

[MikeThomas]

My experience is limited to the Queen Mary 2 for transatlantic crossings and one Ritz Carlton cruise in the Caribbean.  I completed an Atlas Ocean Voyages cruise in the Mediterranean last spring and will be on another Atlas Ocean "cruise" in the Antarctic in January (not sure about the Polar Plunge!)  Ritz Carlton and Atlas are very similar.  New ships, less than 200 passengers.  Beautiful interiors, very luxurious and very good restaurants.  The QM2 is a fun way to cross the Atlantic.  But it is a BIG ship and a bit dated.  Have made some great friends over the years.  The LGBTQIA+ cocktail parties are interesting (they used to call them Friends of Dorothy, but per the current climate that became politically incorrect.)

 

[CuriousByNature]

1 hour ago, MikeThomas said:

My experience is limited to the Queen Mary 2 for transatlantic crossings and one Ritz Carlton cruise in the Caribbean.  I completed an Atlas Ocean Voyages cruise in the Mediterranean last spring and will be on another Atlas Ocean "cruise" in the Antarctic in January (not sure about the Polar Plunge!)  Ritz Carlton and Atlas are very similar.  New ships, less than 200 passengers.  Beautiful interiors, very luxurious and very good restaurants.  The QM2 is a fun way to cross the Atlantic.  But it is a BIG ship and a bit dated.  Have made some great friends over the years.  The LGBTQIA+ cocktail parties are interesting (they used to call them Friends of Dorothy, but per the current climate that became politically incorrect.)

 

On my 2nd or 3rd cruise I noticed gatherings for Friends of Dorothy and Bill W but never thought much about it.  Then the next cruise I noticed that both Bill and Dorothy were on the same cruise as me again.  Who were these people stalking me?  Lol.

I  saw in the daily bulletin that Dorothy's friends were getting together in one of the small lounges, in a quiet and less frequented part of this very big ship, so I decided to investigate.  

When I arrived I peeked in.  There were several pairs of people mingling around, and a few who were solo.  Suddenly two middle-aged women came in behind me and one grabbed my shoulder and said, 'C'mon in with us Sweetie and have a drink!'

I froze. I was caught crashing a gathering for someone I had never met.  As I turned to escape all I could blurt out was "Uh, thanks, but I shouldn't be here - I was just wondering who Dorothy was because we always seem to be on the same ship."

Their laughter followed me as I slinked back down the hallway... later in the cruise a crew member explained who Dorothy and Bill actually were.  🤯

[Marc in Calif]

4 hours ago, CuriousByNature said:

On my 2nd or 3rd cruise I noticed gatherings for Friends of Dorothy and Bill W but never thought much about it.  Then the next cruise I noticed that both Bill and Dorothy were on the same cruise as me again.  Who were these people stalking me?  Lol.

I  saw in the daily bulletin that Dorothy's friends were getting together in one of the small lounges, in a quiet and less frequented part of this very big ship, so I decided to investigate.  

When I arrived I peeked in.  There were several pairs of people mingling around, and a few who were solo.  Suddenly two middle-aged women came in behind me and one grabbed my shoulder and said, 'C'mon in with us Sweetie and have a drink!'

I froze. I was caught crashing a gathering for someone I had never met.  As I turned to escape all I could blurt out was "Uh, thanks, but I shouldn't be here - I was just wondering who Dorothy was because we always seem to be on the same ship."

Their laughter followed me as I slinked back down the hallway... later in the cruise a crew member explained who Dorothy and Bill actually were.  🤯

This sounds like something that would happen to Rose on "Golden Girls"! 

Well, I am a friend of Dorothy. And Blanche. And Sophia, too!

Edited October 1, 2023 by Marc in Calif

[CuriousByNature]

2 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said:

This sounds like something that would happen to Rose on "Golden Girls"! 

Well, I am a friend of Dorothy. And Blanche. And Sophia, too!

Yeah, and when the crew member told me what the Friends of Dorothy is about, I wondered which Dorothy it pertained to - Dorothy Gale or Dorothy Zbornak. 🤣

[borgerback]

On 9/30/2023 at 11:54 AM, BenjaminNicholas said:

Ritz-Carlton has great new ships.  I sailed with them earlier this year and have another one booked with a client next month.

Viking:  Skews older, but superb service and inclusions.  Comfortable rooms.  GREAT spa.

Azamara:  Used to be great, but they got bought out during COVID and haven't bounced back.

Ponant:  Beautiful ships, but terrible service and a general feeling of being unorganized.

Explora: MSC's luxury line just started sailing.  They need a year to shakedown, but the ships themselves look beautiful.

Four Seasons Yacht:  Just announced with renderings, but ships aren't yet on the water.

Paul Gaugin is really looking long in the tooth.  They need to drydock, but don't have plans anytime soon.

Basically quoting so I can easily refind.  

[jeezifonly]

Find me one cruise line that has returned to port without an infectious disease on board over the past year. 
 
That’s the one. 

[uclablueyes]

I’m going on a MSC Cruise this summer. It’s the Euribia and going through Europe so a non gay cruise but I’m sure there are plenty of gay guys looking to get frisky on board. Any advice re: cruising on the ship (no pun intended)? 

[56harrisond]

9 hours ago, uclablueyes said:

I’m going on a MSC Cruise this summer. It’s the Euribia and going through Europe so a non gay cruise but I’m sure there are plenty of gay guys looking to get frisky on board. Any advice re: cruising on the ship (no pun intended)? 

There's a seamen joke here too, but I'll spare you.

Start at the 2:20 mark

 

[corndog]

9 hours ago, uclablueyes said:

 Any advice re: cruising on the ship (no pun intended)? 

Be aware that even if you purchase the ship's internet service, location-based apps like Grindr or Scruff don't really work at sea. Your phone (and the phones of other cruisers) can't reliably determine your location. You may have some luck using the apps while in port and then continuing your conversations once out to sea, but that depends on whether other cruisers do the same.

The ships will often organize LGBT+ gatherings (sometimes listed as "Friends of Dorothy") but, depending on the demographics of the voyage, you may find that most people are traveling as couples or with families.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

1 hour ago, corndog said:

The ships will often organize LGBT+ gatherings (sometimes listed as "Friends of Dorothy") but, depending on the demographics of the voyage, you may find that most people are traveling as couples or with families.

For this reason, I now almost exclusively cruise on gay chartered ships, or with an organized gay small group on a ship.

On 9/30/2023 at 8:19 AM, CuriousByNature said:

...wondering which cruise lines readers might recommend for more of a luxury experience?

I am really fond of OUTbound travel.  I've sailed with them once on a river cruise, and have two upcoming cruises booked with them for their full charter of Azamara Quest.

When I sailed with them on a River Cruise, the changes they implemented with the cruise line really made the entire trip more relaxing, upscale, and worth the extra price.

iamOUTbound – LGBTQ+ Vacation Adventures

IAMOUTBOUND.COM

---

It’s true… an LGBTQ+ cruise that’s NOT a Circuit Party! ABOUT Welcome to a world that is all our own. Each...

 

 

 

 

[Luv2play]

On 7/27/2025 at 1:10 PM, 56harrisond said:

There's a seamen joke here too, but I'll spare you.

Start at the 2:20 mark

 

He talks of being sick from the time he left port but doesn’t specify his illness. At the end he says he doesn’t get sea sick but it’s his first cruise (3 days). Maybe he is sea sick as he talks about the motion of the ship. 

[Luv2play]

On 7/27/2025 at 1:10 PM, corndog said:

Be aware that even if you purchase the ship's internet service, location-based apps like Grindr or Scruff don't really work at sea. Your phone (and the phones of other cruisers) can't reliably determine your location. You may have some luck using the apps while in port and then continuing your conversations once out to sea, but that depends on whether other cruisers do the same.

The ships will often organize LGBT+ gatherings (sometimes listed as "Friends of Dorothy") but, depending on the demographics of the voyage, you may find that most people are traveling as couples or with families.

The guy above on a three day cruise said his Grindr worked fine. Even though he was too sick to partake. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Luv2play

[uclablueyes]

Thanks everybody. I’m boarding tomorrow. I’ll keep everybody posted on how things go. 🤞🤞🤞