| Choosing
a cruise line used to depend a great deal on your budget and,
although that is still true, the competitiveness of the cruise
business has resulted in a much narrower price range in the
premium and mainstream lines. Service and food will vary from
one line to another, but this also can vary among the ships
of a fleet, and even from one voyage to the next on the same
ship, which goes to show the influence a good hotel manager
or head chef or cabin steward can have on your cruise experience.
Generally
speaking, a ship is rated according to its level of accommodations,
facilities, maintenance and passenger service. There are many
other factors which come into play when cruise critics rate
ships, right down to the type of ingredients used in the kitchen
(fresh versus frozen, etc.). One factor is the measurement
of volume a ship has to the number of passengers on board
and is known as the passenger / space ratio. This measurement
of overall spaciousness is determined by taking the ship's
tonnage (i.e. size) and dividing this by the ship's passenger
capacity. The higher the ratio number, the more space there
is on board per passenger. A ship carrying 2,000 passengers
will feel relaxed and uncrowded if it has a high space ratio.
Today's large ships almost always have a ratio of 35 (about
3500 cubic feet per passenger) or better and many are in the
range of 40.
The
following profiles of a selection of cruise lines are designed
to quickly familiarize you with the various brands. We hope
that after reading this, you will be able to narrow your choice
to two or three lines and use this as a starting point when
you visit a travel agent or the cruise line's website. An
agent can give you important detail about each ship, itineraries
and cabin choices and, although it pays to shop around to
determine what pricing is being offered, experienced cruise
agents are usually aware of the best deals available - both
early bird specials and last minute promotions.
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