Help me choose an itinerary! Carnival Miracle vs MSC Poesia

[genegri]

There is much knowledge here on CC and I hope you can help me choose a cruise. :D

 

I found two Southern Caribbean cruises that fit our schedule. Could someone give me your opinion about them? Any input about the ships and ports is much appreciated!

 

Cruise option 1 - Carnival Miracle:

 

Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 4:00 PM

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos - 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Day 4 - Catalina Island, Dominican Republic - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 5 - Oranjestad, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles - 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Day 6 - Curacao, Netherland Antilles - 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Day 7 - At Sea

Day 8 - At Sea

Day 9 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - 8:00 AM

 

Cruise option 2 - MSC Poesia

 

Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida -- 7:00 PM

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - At Sea

Day 4 - Willemstad, Curacao, Netherland Antilles - 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Day 5 - Oranjestad, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles - 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Day 6 - Cartagena, Colombia - 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM

Day 7 - Cristobal, Panama - 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM

Day 8 - At Sea

Day 9 - Montego Bay, Jamaica - 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Day 10 - At Sea

Day 11 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - 7:00 AM

 

A little background about us: just me and DH, both 30 years old, no kids. Love rainforest, nature trails, snorkling and historical sites. Not exactly into shopping but don't mind it either.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Essiesmom]

Although the itineraries have a lot of similarities, the cruise lines are very different. Before I book on MSC, I would go to the MSC board and read about the cruising experience, ask what the differences between the lines might be. Also read some reviews of the ship. EM

[okbowler]

I cannot comment on the CCL Miracle as I have never been aboard her, but I have been on the Poesia. It is a beautiful ship, very modern and clean. The entertainment on board was some of the best I have seen at sea. It is marketed heavily in Europe and on the cruise I took last Feb. the passenger composition was probably 75% to 80% non USA. It gives a different atmosphere than on the mass cruise lines in the USA. The food as expected was Italian, not Olive Garden but Italian. Some I liked, some I didn't just like any other cruise. Announcements are done in five languages, can be annoying. Other than the cruise directors crew English is not understood by many, which can be a pain. I thought that the food in the buffet was pretty much the same every day but enough variety so you could eat different things every day. They do not season food as we do in the US. Would I cruise on her again, yes but the price would have to be awfully good. A word of caution, on many of thier cruises children cruise free and you can run into a cruise with 8 or 9 hundred kids from a culture much different than ours. All of this is my opinion, as essiesmom says I would check out the MSC board, to see the range of opinions. Bill

[Lard Greystoke]

There is much knowledge here on CC and I hope you can help me choose a cruise. :D

 

I found two Southern Caribbean cruises that fit our schedule. Could someone give me your opinion about them? Any input about the ships and ports is much appreciated!

 

 

Haven't been on those ships but have been on both lines. I hope my impressions aren't too outdated.

 

I thought that Carnival had more variety of food available more often; you won't starve on either line.

 

There is a variety of entertainment on both lines. MSC skews more toward classical. Because of the many onboard cultures MSC sticks with visual things like jugglers/acrobats, away from language-based things like comedy.

 

Carnival is more aggressive about pushing drinks and otherwise selling. Staff interaction on MSC is professional but more cool.

 

If your idea of "fun" is upbeat and extroverted Carnival might be more comfortable; if you are more quiet maybe MSC. If you are in the middle either one should be acceptable.

[jeph]

It seems like you want your vacation to be about more than just a string of "beach & a little shopping" days. Likewise--for me, it's all about the itinerary, so this one's not even close. They both offer Willemstad, which is lovely and colorful, and has lots of historical museums and culture too. But only the MSC cruise gives you a chance to see the operations of the Panama Canal-- nearly a hundred years on, still one of the wonders of the world, and now growing to handle new megaships-- and Cartagena, the old historic core of which makes it the most beautiful city in the Caribbean basin. And mountainous Jamaica should give you a great nature fix, too.

 

People's observations about the cruise lines, however accurate, would be secondary for me.

[lawyerrose]

Just went on the Miracle with that itinerary in December. She's a wonderful ship; just the right size. Clean, good food, really nice staff, good shows. Loved Aruba and Curacao and the excursion to the cigar factory in DR was interesting. Grand Turk is nice for the beach, snorkeling or diving, and horseback riding in the sea.

Can't tell you anything about MSC, but I'd go back on the Miracle in a heartbeat!:D

 

Rose

[DonnaK]

I have no experience with MSC, however that itinerary visits more ports and is longer. We did not care for our cruise on Carnival Miracle at all, so I can't recommend it to anyone (click on the link in my signature to my review for more details about our negative experiences on Carnival)

[genegri]

Sorry about the late reply. It's been a crazy week. Thank you so much everyone for your input!! I soooo appreciate it. Finally got some time last night and read through all the wonder suggestions.

 

I was leaning toward the MSC cruise at first because like Jeph said the ports seem more exotic. But then I did some research as Essiesmom and okbowler suggested on MSC Poesia and got a little worried about the smoking issue. It sounds like we should stay on the starboard side but now the ship only has port side balconies left in our price range.

 

Still undecided, and on top of it I found another cruise from NCL Dawn that may also work:

 

Option 3 - NCL Dawn

 

Day 1 Miami, Florida -- 4:00 PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 Samana, Dominican Republic -- 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 4 Tortola, BVI -- 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Day 5 Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles -- 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Day 6 Antigua -- 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 7 Roseau, Dominica -- 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Day 8 Bridgetown, Barbados -- 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 9 Basseterre, St. Kitts -- 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Day 10 At Sea

Day 11 At Sea

Day 12 Miami, Florida -- 8:00 AM

 

What do you think about this option? I read up and down last night through the port of call sections of CC but only managed to get myself even more undecided. :p

 

Thank you so much!!! :)

[mafig]

That MSC itinerary sounds very interesting.

 

When is it?

[jeph]

genegri, I can't STAND cigarette smoke, but don't recall having had any problems with smokers when I cruised MSC back in April of 2005. Since then, I would expect even fewer reasons to worry-- in the years since, as the line has become more well-known to the North American cruise traveler, MSC's passenger load has become less European (and since the Europeans are still a bit more likely to be smokers in the first place, fewer of them means more fresh air for the rest of us.)

 

As for the Nor. Dawn, that's a tempting itinerary as well, with many of my favorite eastern caribbean ports included...I can get into details about some of my favorite spots to visit in those places, if that's the cruise you decide to go on. Keep folks posted on what you pick in the end, and many others may offer suggestions as well-- and of course, there's "information overload" available 24/7 on the message boards for the individual ports!:D

[Lard Greystoke]

I was leaning toward the MSC cruise at first because like Jeph said the ports seem more exotic. But then I did some research as Essiesmom and okbowler suggested on MSC Poesia and got a little worried about the smoking issue. It sounds like we should stay on the starboard side but now the ship only has port side balconies left in our price range.

 

Still undecided, and on top of it I found another cruise from NCL Dawn that may also work:

 

 

The NCL itinerary is quite inviting. Re smoking, I doubt if you will find significant differences between Carnival, MSC and NCL. Having sailed the 1st 2, I am a non-smoker and wasn't negatively affected on either line.