Suggestions for an Australian visitor

[AussieNewbie]

Hi there, I would love to go on a caribbean cruise while visiting Orlando in April 2011. There will be 2 Australian single friends going on the cruise and I would be very grateful for any recommendations of cruise lines, ships, routes etc for us. We are approaching 50 years of age so don't particularly want a cruise with lots of kids, and also not a cruise with oldies either. Also, which would be easier to get to from Orlando: Miami or Fort Lauderdale? This could also influence which cruise we take. Or is there a port that is better for leaving from Orlando? Is the eastern caribbean better/nicer than the western caribbean or vice versa? Thank you so much :D

[RuthlessBunny]

Port Canaveral is the closest at 45 minutes away. Also, it's the home of the Space Center, which you MUST save a day to tour while in the States. Also it is the home of Ron Jon Surf Shop, which is a great place to get souvenier shirts and clothing (really high-quality and fun!)

 

Tampa is about an hour away. I've never been to Tampa so I have no opinion of it.

 

Ft. Lauderdale and Miami are about 4 to 5 hours south via Florida's Turnpike, so it just depends on how much driving you want to do.

 

Disney Cruise Line departs out of Port Canaveral, obviously that is very kid/family oriented. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norweigian are all family oriented, with lots of activities (rock climbing walls, bowling, wave pools, etc.) In April you may be innundated with children due to the Easter/Spring Break holidays.

 

Holland America is more sedate. DH and I (in our 40's) really enjoyed our restful and relaxing cruise on HAL.

 

My opinion of the islands:

 

Puerto Rico: Awesome, interesting and historic. Need more than 8 hours in port to appreciate it.

 

Barbados: Gorgeous and very friendly folks. Toured the Mount Gay rum factory and made lots and lots of friends (mostly the folks who worked there who offered to take me home so their moms could make me a fish dinner).

 

St. Maartan: Sort of a Disney version of a Caribbean island. Don't get sucked into buying jewelery there, but fun to walk around and compare the French with the Dutch cultures.

 

Key West: Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. Very touristy, but take the Conch Tour and check out Hemmingway House (and the 6-toed cats!) Then get back on the ship.

 

Bahamas: Don't get off the boat. The place where you 'swim with the dolphins'. Like I said, don't get off the boat.

 

DH and I are taking a NCL cruise to Roataan, Honduras, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico. There's cave tubing in Roataan, that sounds like fun.

 

Have a great time!

[getoutthere]

JMO, your best bet would be to leave from Orlando as it is the closest. There are a lot of ships and cruise lines that sail from there.

 

My personal favorite is RCCL. If you choose a smaller ship you probably won't have as many kids, I would think. But honestly, I have cruised with my kids and without, and the times I have been without them I have not been bothered by kids much. It is nice to have the adult only pool area.

 

I have done Western lots of times and Eastern only once. I found Eastern to be prettier in terms of snorkeling and scenery. But I have had tons of fun on Western as well. I am not much help on helping you choose, but let me know which you do and I can give you a lot of ideas on things to do.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[AussieNewbie]

Thank you all for your advice. We have a lot to think about. But the departure point seems to be decided already, it will probably be Port Canaveral as its the closest to Orlando and we dont have private transport. Also, the visit to Kennedy Space Centre has swayed me as well!! So, its just a matter of finding the cruise lines that depart from there and do some research on their cruises. Thank you again.

[Capt_BJ]

For you I'd recommend the short RCCL out of PC . . .

[New2cruisen]

Guess you posted two of these threads, I responded to the other one you posted so I will cut and paste my response here too:

 

I am new to cruising but have done a tremendous amount of research prior to selecting my cruise. I choose to take the Carnival's Dream in March 2011, out of Port Canaveral since it had the 7 day Carribbean cruises at a great price along with excellent reviews. There is a discussion topic for reviews about the Carnival Dream on this website. I have heard good and bad things about the Western cruises. Mexico doesn't interest me as much as St. Thomas and St. Martin so we choose Eastern. Port Canaveral (Cocoa Beach) is only 45 minutes from the Orlando Airport and there are shuttles.

 

Check out this thread, it has loads of info about Port Canaveral that will help. Go to post #295 on page 15

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...119114&page=15

 

If you book with Carnival at least 5 months in advance you are guaranteed the best price. So if you find a better price for the same sailing and stateroom Carnival will adjust your price down too. It's called the "Early Saver" program. You can find more info on Carnival.com

 

Hope this helps!

[New2cruisen]

Guess you posted two of these threads, I responded to the other one you posted so I will cut and paste my response here too:

 

I am new to cruising but have done a tremendous amount of research prior to selecting my cruise. I choose to take the Carnival's Dream in March 2011, out of Port Canaveral since it had the 7 day Carribbean cruises at a great price along with excellent reviews. There is a discussion topic for reviews about the Carnival Dream on this website. I have heard good and bad things about the Western cruises. Mexico doesn't interest me as much as St. Thomas and St. Martin so we choose Eastern. Port Canaveral (Cocoa Beach) is only 45 minutes from the Orlando Airport and there are shuttles.

 

Check out this thread, it has loads of info about Port Canaveral that will help. Go to post #295 on page 15

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...119114&page=15

 

If you book with Carnival at least 5 months in advance you are guaranteed the best price. So if you find a better price for the same sailing and stateroom Carnival will adjust your price down too. It's called the "Early Saver" program. You can find more info on Carnival.com

 

Hope this helps!

 

When I tried the link above it didn't work so here is the link again.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1119114

[New2cruisen]

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