My husband and I are in our late 60s, youthful but not partiers. (I enjoy a party more than the husband.) I sailed on the Vista's inaugural cruise with two neighbor ladies, and enjoyed it, except for the smoking in the casino. Husband and I took the 7-night Mexican Riviera trip on the Oosterdam in 2019 and very much enjoyed it. We are finally ready to cruise again, with COVID hopefully mostly over, and are looking at a transatlantic in November 2023. We're booked on the inaugural Carnival Jubilee, 18 nights from Southhampton to Galveston. I've just found a 14-night Rome to Ft Lauderdale on HAL Nieuw Statendam at the same price except it includes WiFi, drinks, $200 onboard credit, and 2 shore excursions -- so, actually quite a bit cheaper. Now I can't decide which I'd prefer. Husband says, "It's a no-brainer" -- choose HAL. But I'm thinking the sedate lifestyle of an HAL cruise might not be very interesting for 14 nights (as opposed to the 7 on the Mexican Riviera cruise). On the other hand, dealing with 5,400 passengers plus crew for 18 days may get nutz. I realize these are two very different ships, very different styles. I've thought about booking a short Mexican or Alaskan cruise on a Carnival ship just so husband can see if he likes it, but the ships that ply those routes are much smaller. Will we get the feel?
Which would you choose for the TA, and why?
