I don't believe there is such a thing that can be generalized. There are people who love the mass market cruise lines, there are people who hate them and wouldn't go on them at any cost. There are people who love the Silversea experience, and would pay anything at all for it, and there are others who find it so incredibly stuffy and wouldn't go if it was free.
It's a value decision based on your expectations and needs.
I so agree. A few years ago I took a once-in-a-lifetime cruise and it has now turned into 5 more. I am partial to Princess. It fits my "style". However, I have friends that I pushed towards HAL, because I was sure it was more to their liking. For them, Carnival would have been more "bang for the buck", strictly speaking; but it would have been such a disaster from the standpoint of what they were looking for in a cruise.