South Caribbean Cruise: Aug 2011-Carnival or RC?

[Chris11sweet]

Sorry for long post in advance.....My boyfriend and I (32yo and 35yo, professionals, childless, from Columbus Ohio), & possibly 2-3 other couples have decided to do a last minute trip to somewhere warm and with beaches! We are thinking a southern caribbean cruise bc it has been on my list of islands I want to go. We are decently traveled....US (California, Colorado, Hawai, Vegas, Florida) London, Greek Islands, Italy, Estonia, Ireland, Mexico (several times staying a nice AI's in Cancun, Playa del carmen and Rivera maya) and Caribbean(Jamacia, St Maarten, Aruba, Bahamas, Florida Keys/Miami). We have to go on this trip I August because Dan has law school to finish and won't have another vacation until late next winter, otherwise, we'd do this cruise in the fall or NOv/Dec. We understand it will be hot...hope weather will be rain free and sunny?!

SOOOOO, I want to do a southern caribbean cruise mainly bc of the nice islands to see. Also, the only cruise I have done for comparison is NCL Pride of hawaii 5 yrs ago and like it. Since its August, there are only 2 cruises available...1) Carnival Victory and Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas. I hear that Carnival is the "fun ship" is that mean it is too geared for children and not for us? The ship is a few years older than RC. Royal Caribbean is a few hundred more expensive, a bit smaller (90, 000 tons) and a few yrs younger? Worth it? And lastly These bothe have the exact same port stops with the exception of Carnival goes to St Thomas and St Kitts while RC goes to St John and St Croix? Don't know much about those islands.

So you know our priorities:

As far as on the boat: food, cleanliness and quick embarking of the boat, gym quality are on the top of the list.

As far as ports: nice beaches, scenic islands and activities-we will either chill at a beach or do fun-activity excursions .

 

Can you make suggestions please!!!!! thanks in advance!!!!

Sweetness

[Loving My Life]

There are many people with more experience, but since nobody else has responded, I will share my meager thoughts/experiences:

 

• Hurricane season runs from June to November. Keep that in mind when planning an August cruise. Be flexible--if there is a storm, the order of ports might be rearranged, ports might be skipped entirely, and/or other ports might be substituted.
  
• August is also peak travel time for families of school aged children. The cost of air fare to San Juan may be prohibitive for some families, but realize there will be more children than during the school year.
  
• Carnival and Royal Caribbean both seem to cater to the same groups (eg: families with young children, young-to-middle-aged active adults, etc). CCL and RCI are more alike than different.
  
• From what I have read here over the past few years, RCI has much more of a WOW factor--more visually appealing than CCL ships, and more activities on board (eg: rock wall, bowling, ice skating, etc). I don't know anything about this particular RCI ship so research to see what activities are available on this ship.
  
• The itineraries are similar with just a couple differences. The ports of call boards on CC are a great source of info on excursions. Look up each of the ports and see what is available and what looks good to you.
  
• I have taken 2 Carnival cruises and loved both but if there is only a few hundred dollars difference, I would probably choose RCI because a) I've already been to St. T and would want to go somewhere different, although I did love St.T-the beaches are beautiful; b) the RCI ship is newer and more impressive/appealing; and c) I want to try all of the cruise lines and I haven't been on RCI yet.
  

 

Good luck with your decision! I'm sure you'd have a great time on either of them.

[firefly333]

Iv read RCL is not offering this southern in 2012 .. so if you like the cruise, Id pick this one. But then Im not sure Carnival is offering the same cruise either.

 

Both lines cater to families, so both will have a lot of children in august, since its before school starts.

 

I prefer RCL for their ships, but both will have nice cruises. St. Thomas on the Carnival cruise, can be reached from many eastern cruises, so its not as special as the RCL route to me.

 

Carnival Victory is a prerunner to Conquest class and the biggest drawback is its a larger ship but they did not add buffet area, so one buffet area the same as fantasy class, but many more people using it. (conquest class they doubled the buffet size).

[Cruzaholic41]

I'm not aware of any large ship going to St. John. Are you sure it isn't St. John's Antigua?

 

Either way, those itineraries are very, very similar. Form either one (St. Thomas or St. Croix), I highly recommend a trip over to St. John for the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.

 

As far as ships, a few years here and there doesn't really make a difference. However, I can say from having been on both ships that Serenade is leaps and bounds a prettier ship - by design. She has large glass windows, including elevators that face out to sea. The evening nightclub is way up high in the Viking Crown Lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the pool deck and open ocean. Serenade also has a beautiful glass-enclosed adult's only Solarium with pool and jacuzzi.

 

I think it's obvious what ship is my preference. Definitely the Serenade.

[Marie51]

I have been on both of these ships...once on the Seranade and twice on Victory. Seranade wins hands down so that would be my choice if the extra cost is not a factor.

[Jimnbigd]

You may very well find that both ships are already full. If you have to wait, try the RCCL Adventure of the Seas instead. It is a larger Voyager class ship including the Royal Promenade and an ice rink, plus a great gym. Beside, I'd want to get out of Ohio in the winter -- the only risk being weather delays. But if flying to San Juan you probably want to fly in a couple of days before just to tour San Juan. Does he get more than a week off in the winter? And when? Christmas and New Years cruises can be very expensive.

[cruiseaholic777]

RCCL is the better cruise line. As far as St. Johns, you have to shuttle from St. Thomas. Carnival is ok but i will not sail with them again. You get what you pay for. :rolleyes: