Advice for complete newbies please

[the stevensons]

Hi-just discovered this wonderful forum as i am usually to be found over on the florida forums.

 

We have never cruised before although my hubby and i will be going on a disney cruise in october-we are DVC members and booked it on points. We try to go to florida twice a year as we love it. Anyway a couple of days ago we booked some miles plus money flights for feb 13-ourselves and another couple. We are hoping to fit in a cruise of perhaps 4-5 days during this trip. However i think we should of perhaps booked the cruise first as we are having issues finding a cruise that fits. We fly out on sunday 17th feb and home on tuesday 26th feb.

 

we know zero about cruising and are really just looking for advice on a good cruise for couples-not too formal and not disney (our friends dont get disney like us) Dont really like the look of carnival as i thought the ships looked a bit "gawdy" although i could be being unkind there.

 

I have seen a 4 night bahama cruise from pc with royal carribean that fits but would be interested in any other recomendations. Also should we book direct or is there any benefits to going through an agent?

 

Thanks (will be back soon with a zillion ?)

[kitty9]

For first timers, I would recommend a good local travel agent. Some agents will also give perks like on board credit that you won't get by booking directly through the cruise line. Sorry, but we cannot discuss the names of agents or agencies on these boards.

 

The one problem with short cruises is that they can tend to be rowdy, drinking cruises---people trying to stuff 7 days of cruise partying into three or four days. Also, the ships that do the short cruises tend to be the oldest of the fleet and don't have the amenities of the newer ships.

 

Short cruises CAN give you an idea of what cruising is about, but they are really a lot different than taking a longer cruise. A lot of ships can come off as being gaudy, but that shouldn't affect your choices. A better way to judge a cruise is food and service rather than a decorating scheme of a ship.

 

You can look at Celebrity, as they offer 4 and 5 day cruises that aren't the party hearty crowd. They have very good food and service and their ships might not be as tired looking as older ones tend to be.

[skandls]

The 4 day M-F cruises tend to be less party than the weekend ones. Royal Caribbean does some nice cruises. Most of the time the short cruises (less than 7 nights) are on the older ships. The ship is older without many of the 'bling' on newer ships. But the prices are usually pretty good on the 'vintage' ships.

[drewlin]

One of the best cruises that we have been on was a 4 night cruise (taken during our 14night Florida holiday)on RCI's Enchantment of the Seas. The food was wonderful and we certainly didn't see any drunkeness or rowdy passengers.