Help choosing our next cruise!

[lilybug23]

Ok, so my DH and I just got back from our frist cruise. We sailed on the Dream 7/24/2010 and we are now COMPLETELY ADDICTED! We had not been home for 2 hours and I was on the computer searching for another cruise! We did the Exotic Western Caribbean. We would like to do Eastern this time, but we are having a hard time choosing a ship. I think we spoiled ourselves starting out on the Dream. :) One thing we did not like is that we thought it was a bit overcrowded and there were to many rude teenagers. Can anyone suggest a ship and time of year to go that would best suit our needs? We can cruise anytime of year... that is not a problem. We just want a more relaxed itinerary! Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance! :D

[tnincy]

i have liked all the ships we have been on. i think they all have their unique charm. i honestly don't think you can go wrong with any ship. any ship is better than being on land. :D you will encounter rude people on every cruise. it is best to just ignore them altogether. as for travel time, we always travel while school is in session. sept-april.

we did the eastern on freedom.

[luvmysox1]

Victory has a great southern caribbean internary. I know u said eastern but this one was awesome.

[firefly333]

I would LOVE to do southern, the one that goes to costa rica and near enough panama that you can do a excursion that includes the panama canal.

 

I love Eastern too. We had a ball in St. Thomas especially.

 

Do you have a port you want to leave from??? thats how I choose. 90% of my cruises are from a convenient port.

[golfadj]

Go thru the port of call pages or look at a travel book and decide where you want to go and than decide on convenient port to narrow things down.

 

Do not over think your next cruise just plan to go lots of places in the future.

[lilybug23]

I would LOVE to do southern, the one that goes to costa rica and near enough panama that you can do a excursion that includes the panama canal.

 

I love Eastern too. We had a ball in St. Thomas especially.

 

Do you have a port you want to leave from??? thats how I choose. 90% of my cruises are from a convenient port.

 

 

It really doesnt matter what port. We drove to port canaveral and it was torture! i wont do that again. We will be flying next time

[tnincy]

It really doesnt matter what port. We drove to port canaveral and it was torture! i wont do that again. We will be flying next time

 

really? we think port canaveral is one of the easiest we have left from. now ft lauderdale was a traffic nightmare. port of tampa is easy for us because we live close by and are always dropped off.

[chachi]

really? we think port canaveral is one of the easiest we have left from. now ft lauderdale was a traffic nightmare. port of tampa is easy for us because we live close by and are always dropped off.

 

I think the poster meant because they were coming from Ohio. That is a long drive.

[lilybug23]

really? we think port canaveral is one of the easiest we have left from. now ft lauderdale was a traffic nightmare. port of tampa is easy for us because we live close by and are always dropped off.

 

 

Port Canaveral was amazing to get to! That was the easy part.. it was the drive from Ohio to Florida! 16 hours! ugh! It was a very smooth embarkation process.

[firefly333]

It really doesnt matter what port. We drove to port canaveral and it was torture! i wont do that again. We will be flying next time

 

See, it does matter. I would cross off Port Canaveral because the airport is so far from the port.

 

FTL, Ft. Lauderdale the port is 10 minutes from the airport.

 

Im flying to Miami, and we got the 5 star Intercontinental on that $84 deal plus taxes ($96.XX), and we are doing Liberty of the Seas in Oct.

 

First time out of Miami. I think nothing is as easy as Ft. Lauderdale.

[tnincy]

I think the poster meant because they were coming from Ohio. That is a long drive.

 

 

that would make sense. guess i need a little more coffee.:o

[Tangocherie]

May I suggest you go to the Feature section of Cruise Critic and choose the article called "Best Time to Cruise". It will give you tips you'll find usefull in planning your next cruise. By the way, I know how you feel, I got addicted after my first cruise in Jan '06 on the Inspiration. Have fun planning!

[hazeleyez3]

Ok, so my DH and I just got back from our frist cruise. We sailed on the Dream 7/24/2010 and we are now COMPLETELY ADDICTED! We had not been home for 2 hours and I was on the computer searching for another cruise! We did the Exotic Western Caribbean. We would like to do Eastern this time, but we are having a hard time choosing a ship. I think we spoiled ourselves starting out on the Dream. :) One thing we did not like is that we thought it was a bit overcrowded and there were to many rude teenagers. Can anyone suggest a ship and time of year to go that would best suit our needs? We can cruise anytime of year... that is not a problem. We just want a more relaxed itinerary! Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance! :D

 

If you want a more relaxed itinerary I would do Eastern. Many do St. Thomas, St. Martin, and either a private island or the Bahamas, and you will have a few sea days.

 

A lot of the Southern are very port intensive.

[elcuchio24]

If you end up wanting the do Eastern, I would suggest Liberty. Great ship, great itinerary (SJ, St. T, Grand Turnk, HMC)

[tiggerman101]

Miami, Ft Lauderdale and Jacksonville are all easy to get to from the airport. I have done all three more then once. I am pretty sure Tampa is as well, but I have never sailed from there. I would start plugging in cruises departing from Miami and Ft Lauderdale on the Carnival site and see what excites you. Like you, we can travel at any time during the year and believe me, this is a great benefit. For awesome deals check out early December and at the beginning of the year. For me, cruising the Caribbean Feb-April is great weather wise (avoid the crowded Sprig Break time). However, you can see by my signature that we cruise year round.

 

BTW- The Victory out of San Juan is an amazing cruise and easily on of my favorites.

[runcassrun_07]

We are from Good ol' OHIO too! If you are choosing Eastern I'd suggest the Liberty too. It is usually one of the cheapest ships which is pretty big and one of my favorite ships. We fly to either FLL or MIA in Sept. or Dec., depending on when the cheapest flights and cruises are out there. Also there aren't many kids onboard at this time of the year.

[SKeighley]

Port Canaveral was amazing to get to! That was the easy part.. it was the drive from Ohio to Florida! 16 hours! ugh! It was a very smooth embarkation process.

 

My DH and I drive down to Fl all the time to cruise and we live in Mass. We make an enjoyable journey of it. We take a couple of days to get to fl and stop and enjoy the different sites on the way. Most of our cruises have been in Feb or early March so yes we have run into some snow, but are use to driving in it.

Next cruise is March 2011 out of Charleston SC. Can't hardly wait.

[timeforabreak]

Aaaaaahhhh, your addicted, it only gets better! You won't be able to stop yourself from booking cruises now. I imagine you'll end up trying a little of everything and determining exactly what you like. I would encourage you on one of your future cruises to consider driving (or flying of course) to New Orleans to cruise out of there. It is a great city with plenty to do for a couple of days pre cruise or post cruise. Don't make any decisions about your favorites until you've cruised out of San Juan on a Southern Caribbean itinerary. Most of all, book, book, book and you will never regreat a moment of it!!!