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Princess? RCI? Celebrity? Too many choices!


olemissreb
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I'm hoping to take my grown children on a cruise this New Years. My boys will be 19 & 23 at the time. They have cruised both RCI (when they were 10 &14) and Celebrity (ages 13 & 17). What cruise line would be good for the 3 of us? Doesn't have to be limited to the 3 I mentioned...except Disney is out, just too expensive for my wallet. I've been on one Carnival cruise (short 5 day) and wasn't impressed, but won't rule out that line if the atmosphere is different on a longer cruise.

 

I'm sure my boys would like for there to be things to do at night. I know my youngest won't be able to drink (unless he's off the ship in a country that allows that). I'd like to go somewhere warm so thinking the Caribbean. I have cruised Princess, but that was forever ago and I was one of the youngest on the ship. Just want to be able to hang out with my boys and make memories and not have them get bored.

 

OK - go....

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I can't comment on the different cruise lines because I've haven't tried Princess or Celebrity but I'd say start with your dates and find an itinerary you like (and get an idea of your budget) and then look at what is available. Then look at the options between those lines if there is more than one line offering.

How you are going to get to the port (and which port) might matter as well (can you get a direct flight or drive?).

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I can't comment on the different cruise lines because I've haven't tried Princess or Celebrity but I'd say start with your dates and find an itinerary you like (and get an idea of your budget) and then look at what is available. Then look at the options between those lines if there is more than one line offering.

How you are going to get to the port (and which port) might matter as well (can you get a direct flight or drive?).

 

I'm looking at sailing for 7 days (minimum) in the Caribbean leaving December 29th or 30th (no earlier than December 28th). My youngest would need to be back at school on 1/9/2019. I'll be living in north MS, by then, so we could drive or fly to just about any port. I've looked a little, and there are several itineraries that we could do within budget, but the cruise lines are so different and I haven't cruised them to know which would be best for the 3 of us. Princess? Costa? MSC? RCI? HAL? Celebrity? Carnival? NCL? Just trying to get a feel for the dynamics of the cruiselines to determine which might be the best fit for us.

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We have done Princess and Carnival with our boys (now 14 and almost 20).

 

When people ask about the different lines, I ask them to consider what the cruise line is branding/advertising itself to be. Carnival is definitely the FUN SHIPS. Christmas/NY week will have a lot of families with young adults on board. If you select on of the newer ships (Sunshine, Breeze, Magic, Dream Vista, Horizon etc) there are lots of entertainment options, particularly if they are active. They are going to have the largest number of ships and itineraries available.

 

Princess theme is "Relax. Come Back New." We love that because when we get to take a break, it is just that - a break from school and work. So we are happy to just relax and enjoy our down time.

 

RC is not my line of choice - I saw on their website they were pushing "bragworthy moments" which plays right into all their up charges for the bells and whistles. But it works for a lot of people - but it is not the service with a smile and laugh that you get on Carnival, nor is it more the elegant service you get on Princess.

 

So hopefully, you get where I am headed with looking at what the line "pushes" and how is describes itself. They are targeting people for a reason!

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We took our 21 & 23 year old kids on the NCL Getaway on a 7-day Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago, and they loved it. Going on a larger ship was the key to us all really enjoying ourselves. There was plenty for everyone to do, and we had a nice blend of time together and time to just chill in our own ways. A&Jfamily is right that the different cruise lines do market themselves to different demographics. NCL and RCL seem to be middle-of-the-road - geared to families and active adults, welcoming to children but not focused on them. Within each cruise line, I would choose a larger ship with more activities. We've been on a couple of smaller ones that were fine for us as a middle-aged couple, but our young adult kids would've been bored on them.

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Thank you all! That is exactly what I was looking for. My oldest is a geek and happy to be playing video games all day every day, while my youngest is my athlete - a swimmer year-round and basketball in the driveway. My youngest is going to try out for the University of Kentucky swim team and he's also thinking of possibly playing intramural basketball and baseball! He has to be doing something most of the time, but he also likes his down time. Me? I just want to be pampered!

 

I think I'll look at the bigger ships of Princess, Celebrity and maybe NCL and Carnival (although this one might be loaded with a bunch of really young kids and I'd prefer to try and stay away from that in my old age;p ). Might keep RCI in mind too since it's familiar to both of them. Sounds like HAL would still be too old a demographic and too "stuffy" for the boys. Got to check with them and see what they might like since this will be their Birthdays/Christmas gifts this year.

 

Thanks again for all your help. Being an empty nester is new to me and so is shopping for family vacations with adult children!

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Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose possible departure ports and then the days you can sail. It will show you who is sailing then, and their itineraries. There looks to be good options from Miami, Tampa, NOLA, Port Canaveral,...not so much FLL. They all look like good options. I agree with staying away from HAL. EM

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Go to www.cruisetimetables.com and choose possible departure ports and then the days you can sail. It will show you who is sailing then, and their itineraries. There looks to be good options from Miami, Tampa, NOLA, Port Canaveral,...not so much FLL. They all look like good options. I agree with staying away from HAL. EM

 

Thanks for this. I didn't know about this website. I did find a Princess out of FLL that looked interesting. Who knows what else I can find.

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My son is 24 now and his current favorite cruise line is Celebrity. He would like to try one of the ginormous RCL ships but that more curiosity than anything else.

 

I would choose for cost and ports since it is holiday season and any line will have lots of younger folks and special holiday events.

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My son is 24 now and his current favorite cruise line is Celebrity. He would like to try one of the ginormous RCL ships but that more curiosity than anything else.

 

I would choose for cost and ports since it is holiday season and any line will have lots of younger folks and special holiday events.

 

I love Celebrity. My youngest wanted good food and since we've already been on Celebrity, he opted to try Princess. Who knows though? That could change before I book the cruise!

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I love Celebrity. My youngest wanted good food and since we've already been on Celebrity, he opted to try Princess. Who knows though? That could change before I book the cruise!

 

My 24 year old’s second favorite is Princess and comparable to Celebrity. It is funny, I was at our local movie theater last week when a sixty something woman, talking to her friend, said she preferred NCL. She thought Princess was “too phony”. So, taste is a personal thing.

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Your youngest can drink beer and wine on NCL with your permission, my 19 and 20 year olds liked that.

 

Hmmmm might have to look in to this. Haven't heard good things about food on NCL unless you eat in a specialty restaurant. Will have to ask the youngest what he prefers...booze or good food? ;p

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Hmmmm might have to look in to this. Haven't heard good things about food on NCL unless you eat in a specialty restaurant. Will have to ask the youngest what he prefers...booze or good food? ;p

We enjoyed the food on our 4 NCL cruises, didn’t go to a single specialty restaurant on our last cruise. My 5 kids (ages 14 - 20) ended most nights at o’sheehans, a 24/7 pub/restaurant.

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