want to cruise, so many choices

[RA603]

Husband and I want to cruise October 2010, so time is short! We are mid-fifties, not big partiers, but enjoy food and wine and music. I like outdoors, nature, fitness type activities, he likes video games and movies and playing blackjack. We went on a disney cruise when daughter was young so we're not exactly first-timers, but nearly. Looking for 6 or 7 days I think, and a good deal budget-wise. I was thinking maybe the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral? any suggestions? I'm nearly overwhelmed by all the options.

Robin

[cb at sea]

You should probably talk to a travel agent...that way, you can get brochures for ALL the cruiselines that would fit your schedule and preferences. It would be much easier than "surfing" for info online. At a travel agent's office, you'll get not only the written info/deck plans/schedules, but the TA's knowledge!

 

All ships have food, wine and music, but they aren't all of the same quality! Generally, the port stops will be quite similar on every line. All except Disney have casinos.

 

Good luck!

[paul929207]

I agree, find a TA that specializes in cruises and let them help you find the right cruise for you.

[SuiteTraveler]

Food, Wine and Music? You would love the RCL Oasis of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale - truly a ship for foodies with 17 different restaurants. You need to make reservations for the restaurant - never fear - even if the website says the reservations are sold out, once on board, call or go to the restaurants and more reservations will be available immediately. Of course, you can always go to the main dining room or buffet if you don't want to pay extra for the specialty restaurants. In our case, we ONLY went to the specialty restaurants - it was totally worth it to us! Oasis also has a great Casino and more shows and activities than you can possibly do in a week. I recommend that you get an outside cabin or sea facing balconey cabin. The cabins facing the inside of the ship (Central Park, Boardwalk, etc.) are perfectly nice, but not as private - it's more like overlooking a hotel atrium. IMO, the 8th floor is the best deck to be on - there are very few inside cabins, so it is quieter in the halls.

 

150 Central Park - tasting room menu with a celebrity chef onboard. Really great - this young woman won Best Chef in the World in Bahrain. Go twice - early in the cruise and during the second half of the cruise - she changes the menu!

 

Vintages - Wine room and Tapas - FANTASTIC!

 

Iszumi - Great Japanese cuisine. It is located, oddly, near the buffet, but once you are inside, you don't even know it is near that area.

 

Solarium Bistro - best kept secret on the ship - usually not many people go for dinner because they heard it was "healthy cuisine" but the fact is, it's great food and a very romantic place for dinner!

 

Giovanni's Table - fantastic Italian food

 

Chef's Table - special tasting dinner experienced by only 14 lucky people per evening - call RCCL for reservations.

 

Chops - Steakhouse

 

Stuff to do: First off, if you decide to go on this ship, don't worry about the ports - this ship is so good that many passengers NEVER get off the ship at all. There is that much to do. There is mini golf, swimming, ice skating, surfing (2 flowriders), rock wall climbing, zip lining, and just walking around the ship - which is fun, seeing all the areas! The spa is fantastic and well worth visiting. There is a large fitness room. The carousel is free to ride anytime you want. There is a comedy club, jazz club, dance club, ice skating show, broadway show - Hairspray was on when we went on the ship last March and they had some real quality performers in that show - made it very enjoyable. There is the all adults area - the Solarium with lots of hot tubs and pools - a great place to relax. Even just watching the Flowriders is fun!

 

When we got off this ship, my husband and I wanted to go back immediately. It is that much fun!

[sjcruiser]

I always get overwhelmed when choosing a cruise. I tend to look at a newer ship, then itinerary, and pricing, in no specific order. I'm trolling the internet (all websites that list cruises) for deals daily, and I'm signed up for all the cruise lines emails/newletters, even if I've never sailed on the line before. Once I select one or two, that really has my interest, I look up the ship and itinerary on CC to see what others have to say, and I have never gone wrong so far.

 

I have nothing against travel agents, but I don't like dealing with the middle man when traveling. If something goes wrong, you have to call someone, who has to call someone else to rectify the situation.

[allstarzz]

You should probably talk to a travel agent...that way, you can get brochures for ALL the cruiselines that would fit your schedule and preferences. It would be much easier than "surfing" for info online. At a travel agent's office, you'll get not only the written info/deck plans/schedules, but the TA's knowledge!

 

All ships have food, wine and music, but they aren't all of the same quality! Generally, the port stops will be quite similar on every line. All except Disney have casinos.

 

Good luck!

 

How do you go about finding a good TA or any?. None is in my town and many I used are from online searches. I pretty much know more than the CSR at the cruise lines. I haven't come across a TA office in my travels in at least 5 years. Need one because I plan multiple vacations together and could use some help. I can't find a brick and mortar officer....good or bad one. Thanks

 

OP - if you need activies then start looking at RCCL followed by Carnival. However to relax consider Princess. If budget is a consideration then that will narrow down your choice. If you can only travel at certain time, less option. Come up with a list of what's imporant to you then it's easier to eliminate some of the choices.

[DonnaK]

How about Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral? It's not as expensive as Oasis, yet still has a full gamet of RCI activities/amenities

[Essiesmom]

I think you can get what you are looking for on almost any ship. Choose the one closest to you if you are driving, or with the best/cheapest airfare if you need to fly. Port Canaveral is a very easy port to navigate, not it the middle of a big city. And please don't let the loyal Poyals scare you away from Carnival. I am 66 and have ten Carnival cruises, and none were party cruises. EM

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I would suggest that you talk to a TA first.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Husband and I want to cruise October 2010, so time is short! We are mid-fifties, not big partiers, but enjoy food and wine and music. I like outdoors, nature, fitness type activities, he likes video games and movies and playing blackjack. We went on a disney cruise when daughter was young so we're not exactly first-timers, but nearly. Looking for 6 or 7 days I think, and a good deal budget-wise. I was thinking maybe the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral? any suggestions? I'm nearly overwhelmed by all the options.

Robin

 

 

Hi Robin, My fiance and I are on the 7-day Carnival Legend cruise out of Tampa leaving on 10/31/10. We are late 40's early 50's and a majority of folks on our roll call are close to this same age catagory as well. We are big history and archaeology buffs so we chose this itenerary so we could visit a few Mayan Ruin sites from Belize and Cozumel. In addition we are planning to do a Kayak excursion is Grand Cayman. We read a few great reviews about this excursion and found that it includes snorkeling and narration of the local mangrove, floira and fauna for this area. This ship also docks in Isla Roatan, Honduras, for this port we are just planning on snorkeling from the beach and renting a clear bottom Kayak.

 

The Legend has a steak house on board that can be booked for a more upscale dining experience as well. We chose this cruise mainly for the ports but also because of the consistant good reviews of this ship and the ease and price of flying into and staying in the Tampa Bay area for a few days prior to crusing. Carnival is now offering a 72 hour free upgrade special.

 

We would love to have you join us. Cari & Rick :)