Dazed and Confused

[drogers100]

I have been reading this board for awhile trying to figure out which itinerary and cruise line to book on for a first time cruise for 2. At this point I have decided between the Zuiderdam for the first week in Oct sailing to the Eastern Caribean out of Fort Lauderdale. For the second Itinerary it would be either NCL Crown or Celebrity Zenith out of Philadelphia for Bermuda both in the first week of Oct.

 

Traveling on the Zuiderdam would require a flight (I am located in the DC area) and with the budget I have I could still afford a balcony cabin. If I book on either of the cruises out of Philadelphia I can drive and it will not require a flight. Both of these cruises do not have balcony rooms unless I book a suite (to far out of my budget), however I will book an oceanview. The Horizon is priced anywhere from $300 and up more than the NCL Crown. Is it really worth the extra money? The problem with the NCL cruise to me is the Freestyle dining (kind of looking forward to the formal dining).

 

If anyone could provide my with some recommended guidance I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks Derrick

[Wennfred]

Since the key word is budget, and a First time Cruiser, why not go with an Inside cabin, save yourself a ton of bucks, also there will be other things you will be doing with the money you will save with going inside, from excursions, bingo, casino, drinks, gifts, spa, tips, Pre and Post hotel stays, Parking and the list goes on... Once you experience what a cruise is like you can then save up for that balcony. This has been posted many times about what would you prefer, to cruise 2 or 3 times a year inside or 1 time a year in a balcony lol, lots would say inside. The difference is you can open your door go out and check out the view. Thats something I do by going upstairs and do.

 

Balconys are cool dont get me wrong, I have done 2 so far, but during those 2 times we spent a total of probably 15 minutes out there :o we are also not into having breakfast out side like others, inport thats cool but out at sea its pretty windy.

 

One of the coolest itinerary I would recommend for a first timer is the one out of NYC since you live close, on the Carnival Legend, The Legend is a Carnival Spirit Class ship, its one of the most perfer types of ships due to its size and the amount of passengers onboard and I heard its a nice one from the reviews I have read on this board. Not to far from where you live, you can drive down.

 

This one leaves NYC, you pass the sweet lady Liberty, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Tortola, The Caribbean has that awesome atmosphere, one that you will never forget.

 

The Oct rates are 799. for inside and 1079. for the balcony.

 

Good luck with your first cruise!!! where ever you do go you will have a blast.

[balanceok]

Go with an Inside Cabin and maybe you can do both!

 

Exploring various itineraries is what makes cruising fun for us. The more you can cruise the more you will enjoy.

 

But given the choice of the two you listed, I would cruise the Eastern Caribbean.

 

Good luck.

[DEL67]

Derrick:

 

We have not sailed on the Crown, but we have been on the Zenitgh and Zuiderdam and enjoyed both.

 

Here are a couple of additional things to think about when making your choice:

 

- Ship. Both the Norwegian Crown and Zenith are older ships and do not have all the featutres of a newer ship such as the Zuiderdam. Personally, I like older ships, but there are differences.

 

- Cabin. We do not spend much time in our cabin so we choose based on the price differential. Like Wennfred, I would take an inside cabin if it fit my budget better. Balconies are great, but I do not believe that they make or break a cruise. So, if you decide on Bermuda, why not reserve an inside or outside instead of a suite and save the difference to use elsewhere.

 

- Itinerary - A Caribbean itinerary has more variety then Bermuda.

 

- Seas - October is in the middle of hurricane season so you could hit rough seas in the Caribbean. However, in my experience the waters igoing to/from Bermuda Triangle are almost always rough.

 

- Driving vs. flying - As far as I am concerned, driving to a port is much less stressful than flying. In addition, when flying it is usually better to fly in the night to avoid the possibility of missing the ship due to flight delays. Of course, this adds to the vacation cost.

 

- Celebrity vs. NCL. Personally, I would take Celebrity any day over NCL. I have cruised on both (and HAL, RCCL, and CCL) and think that the food and service are significantly better on Celebrity. We also like the formal dining and believe that you get better service when you have assigned tables. However, you did not mention your age. Both Celebrity and HAL attract an older clientele than NCL. This is especially true when school is in non-peak months such as October.

 

One more thing. Since you are in DC, have you thought about Norfolk? You could drive there and the Carnival Triumiph is doing a 6 nght to the Bahamas on 10/9. Its not my favorite itinerary, but the Triumph has balconies.

[JGR01]

First comment .. Bermuda is BORING and VERY expensive. It may be fun if you golf. Many cruises will stop at TWO places in Bermuda .. Dockyards and Hamilton (or another place near the airport). Don't get me wrong there are things to enjoy on Bermuda .. but shopping is not one of them! The food in Hamilton (walking distance from the ship) puts dining in NYC to shame price wise (VERY $$$)! And there are no fast food places (sans one Kentucky Fried) for a quick stop. Plus one of the mainstays of shoppings Triminghams is going out of business this spring (or has). :(

 

I totally disagree about inside vs balcony. I have taken maybe 10 cruises. 6 with balcony and 4 without. The last two without balcony were last minutes (book Thurs leave Sunday) trips. I HATED them.

 

I plan my cabin/suite very carefully. I want to WALK up to the sun/open decks .. and avoid the elevators. Normally then you will walk down to dining rooms and such. Last cruise I was on deck 4 and deck 11 was the first open-air deck (there was a promonade on 7). I had to wait in the elevator lines to go up! Not fun! I also want to be near an elevator bank but not right on top of it!

 

Balconies. I like to be able to get some fresh air into my cabin .. whether I sit there or not .. and the sound of the ocean rushing past is definately high on my nice-to-have list. Everyone says 'you will not spend time in your cabin.. go inside and cheaper'. WRONG. When you have a nice cabin with balcony .. you will spend LESS time at the busy (noisy) pool area or the other areas where people congregate. I find a balcony a requirement! The size of the cabin then attached to that balcony becomes the next issue. Bigger is nicer so you have more than just the bed to lay on when in the cabin. My best cruise was a suite with living room (sofa, two chairs plus work desk) and toilet/sink room plus tub/shower/sink room.

 

If you take LESS than you want .. you will wonder what it would be like to have had more. Take an inside cabin . then you will need to use the TV camera to see if it day or night sunny or rainy or what the weather is! Then you will have to find a place to 'live' on deck or someplace to read your book (the library was full of snoring men on one cruise!). To me the balcony ADDS to the experience with private space .. something rare on ships.

[drogers100]

Thanks for the replies so far, the one thing that I forgot to mention is that I am 42 and my wife is 37. When I mention budget it is not like I have fixed amount to spend (not exactly sure of the amount as of yet) but I just want to be wise with what I spend. Having never been on a cruise we just want to make sure we spend wisely. Several of you have mentioned inside cabin instead of outside, that is an intersting thought. Many of the people I know who have been on a cruise or several cruises highly recommend the outside cabin but I will give it some thought.

 

Thanks again, Derrick

[online2much]

Derrick, if you decide on the Zuiderdam, we'll see you onboard! I think there are 10 or 12 CC members so far. The price is very reasonable for the October sailings, possibly due to it being just after the peak of the hurricane season. If there is a storm out there the itinerary may change to the southern or western caribbean depending on where the weather is.

[KruznKel]

Well I planned well just decided that we were going on a cruise in Jan of this year for March 06.. and for us I booked a CAT11 on the Victory.. I did that because it maybe my only cruise or it maybe the 1st of many.. but in any case I wanted to experience what I never have... budget is a big part as well.. but when we have 11mths to pay for it .. it was not an issue.. the pros of planning very early... I also have booked my air/hotel already and that will be paid.. as for money on the ship for excursions/gifts/drinks and such that will be all gravy since the trip will be all paid for 3mths before we leave!!! Oh and we chose Eastern...