collomd

@Flatbush Flyer I think you're right about the teenager part, I am fairly sure my daughter would be happy on any of these lines. Oceania looked interesting but we're sort of limited on our time/dates for this trip, and they seem to have more longer itineraries than we're planning for this trip. If things work out with this trip, we may look at doing a Mediterranean cruise next year, and then who knows maybe a Polynesian trip.

NCL came recommended by another couple we know, but I am reading that they have a lot of additional charges (more than the usual), and can feel like they are Nickle and Dime-ing you? Does that sound accurate? Ideally we would get one of the "packages" and this would be less so? MSC was new to me, and don't mind the European vibe, I will look into it.

Yeah, I agree - we really aren't too worried about the toys on board, just want good food and drinks on board and ability to use the pool or whatever. What is the best way to determine the size of the ship when searching and what's considered a "smaller" ship?

Well last time the nice ship couldn't overcome the crowds, people, etc. - my family would be extremely unhappy if we tried it again and had the same issue. At least if we go with a different line and we don't enjoy it, we can say that we aren't really cruise people. If we tried RCI again, and had the same issues, we'd always be wondering.

A bit of background: around 6 years ago we did our first and only cruise (on Royal Carribean) , with my daughter and parents (who have done many cruises). We were not enamored with it but are considering giving another cruise a try. Some of the reasons that we didn't love our last cruise: the crowds, long waits to embark, and a fair number of pushy/rude passengers. Food in the sit-down restaurants was good, buffet was ok. We have chalked some of that up to the fact that it was a Spring Break season trip, and potentially the cruise line. We are looking to do a Caribbean trip around December 10 (myself, wife and 19 yr. old daughter), and we are debating an all-inclusive (which we have been doing since our last cruise) vs. a cruise. Hopefully this is prior to when most elementary and high school students are not out school yet, so we hope that will help. We will be drinking but are not late-night hardcore partiers. We would like to be able to enjoy the pool on at sea days (we couldn't get near the pool through the mass of humanity on our RC cruise). We are looking at Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, and Celebrity, and currently avoiding RC/Carnival/Disney. We don't love being scheduled, but realize you have to be to a certain degree. Any suggestions on how to decide between these cruise lines? We prefer sit-down dinners vs buffet, but not necessarily formal ones. Is that week (Dec 10) a good one for lower #'s of passengers/crowds? What would have a fun feeling but not be too crazy or full of retirees? Any help, suggestions would be appreciated...