Help with choosing line for honeymoon

[luckychef]

Hey all! We just got back from our first cruise ever on the Carnival Victory & had a great time! We loved cruising and would like to book another for next fall for our honeymoon. We know we want a Caribbean cruise & have begun looking at Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, & Carnival. I know there are several boards and many opinions out there and just wanted a little input. We are a younger"ish" couple (35/37) and although we enjoyed Carnival think that another line might be nice to try. I know specifics help when making suggestions so here are some of the things we liked/disliked to help give an idea of what we're looking for.

1. Very important that there is an "Adults Only" area! Preferably with a pool & hot tubs. One that is not packed to capacity every moment of the day either. Nothing Serene about not being able to find any space to relax or contending with rowdy 21 yr olds partying it up in the "quiet" area.

2. We would really like a ship that has a hot tub/pool that is open late or available 24 hrs. We are night owls and hated the fact the hot tubs closed at 11pm.

3. We enjoy having fun and enjoy our adult beverages but not much of the dance club types. A blues bar or jazz club is much more our kind of scene. Would really enjoy that type of entertainment.

4. Enjoy flexible dining options. We're not always hungry at a specific pre-determined time.

5. Spoiled ourselves with a balcony- Balconies will be a must from here on out :p

6. Enjoy a nice spa (more for me than him)

7. Comedians, casino, and trying to find a quiet spot on the upper decks to watch the water pass by while enjoying a beverage was how we liked spending our evenings.

8. Would like not to feel too "cramped" or "crowded" when in public spaces.

9. We would like the dress code to be casual but enjoy getting dressed up one or two nights. Our idea of "dressed up" is more shirt & tie, less tux. ;)

10. Food quality is somewhat important. I'm honestly thrilled to just have a week off from cooking as it is my livelihood. We like options and enjoy trying new things.

11. We aren't much for participating in contests nor do we need someone else to provide us with activities all day. That's great if you enjoy that, but if we did want to participate it would more than likely be in something educational/enrichment related (i.e. wine knowledge class, languages, art class).

 

Hopefully that gives you enough to go on to make a solid recommendation. This will be our honeymoon cruise, so we're hoping to make it special! Thank you for any advice you may have!

Edited November 24, 2013 by luckychef

[cibumcupio]

Based on what you have written, Celebrity sounds like the best fit for you, EXCEPT for the fact that their hot tubs are not open 24/7. I know Royal Caribbean does have hot tubs and pools open 24/7.

I say Celebrity because:

 

1. They have a very beautiful and large adults only pool and hot tub area called the Solarium.

2. This is the only area where Celebrity doesn't fit your needs.

3. The live music on board tends to be a bit more "classic" and not just hits from the 70's and 80's. For example, a pianist that plays broadway and jazz, a barbershop quartet, string quartet, acoustic guitarist, etc.

4. For this one, it seems like Norwegian would fit well. Though on almost any cruise line, you can still choose My Time Dining for dinner. And there is always 24 hr room service on Celebrity, and of course the buffet. For a honeymoon, I found the 24 hr room service to be particularly useful.

5. Balcony rooms on Celebrity M and S class are beautiful. If you like the spa, you can even try Aqua Class, which gives you among other things access to the Persian Gardens, a unique shower, and a special restaurant called Blu.

6. I haven't had personal experience, but I have heard that Celebrity gets high marks for their spas.

7. I think this you will get on most of the cruise lines.

8. The passenger to space ratio on Celebrity is quite low, especially for the mass market cruise lines. From what I have heard from friends sailing on Carnival and Norwegian, they tend to cram a lot more people into those ships than the other cruise lines. Celebrity ships also have lots of public spaces and many areas with great ocean views. I have heard that Royal Caribbean Radiance Class also does this well.

9. Every cruise line except Norwegian will give you this. I feel like on Celebrity the dress code for dinner is followed quite well. Casual during the day and smart casual or formal on certain nights. People say that there are also less people in tuxes on formal nights than Carnival. More suits and cocktail dresses.

10. This is the main reason why I think Celebrity is the best fit for you. I would say hands down Celebrity has the best food on the mass market lines. You can look through the CruiseCritic rankings for which ships have the best food, and Celebrity takes almost all the top spots. And it definitely has the best specialty restaurants. And if you book Aqua Class, Blu I heard is spectacular. I would say Celebrity is food-lover's cruise. There are also many more sommeliers and at all of the dining venues, and I think either Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast gave them some award for an outstanding wine list, the only one given to a cruise line.

11. Celebrity is also known for having fewer activities. The ship is definitely not dead by any means, but it won't have belly flop contests, lots of dancing late at night, and all the craziness. Celebrity is also known for not having announcements during the day except for the Captain's report once a day. Most other cruise lines will bombard you constantly with reminders for bingo, some sale for watches, etc. For a honeymoon, I think this sounds ideal. The activities they do have are things like wine tastings, trivia, dance classes, crafts, lectures, and cooking demos.

 

So I guess I'm biased too. We had our honeymoon on Celebrity and we loved it. We tried other cruise lines and though they were fun, they were not as pampering as the Celebrity cruise. We also love to eat, and Celebrity's cuisine definitely did not disappoint. So far a relaxing time with good food and a serene atmosphere, I think you will find that Celebrity fits your bill.

[cruiserking]

I would also recommend Celebrity cruises to you. I think you would really enjoy their newer Solstice Class ships like Solstice, Silhouette, Reflection, Equinox, these are state of the art liners with a modern elegant flair.

 

We sailed on one of their older ships the Summit but, really enjoyed the service, food and ambiance aboard the ship. You might also consider Royal Caribbean for the variety of activities they offer. I think their Radiance Class of ships (Brilliance, Radiance, Jewel & Serenade of the Seas) in particular are really beautiful not so many bells and whistles and very lovely lounges and public spaces.

 

You might also consider Holland America Line if you're looking for an easy going relaxing voyage. HAL has truly gorgeous ships particularly newer builds like Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam also Noordam. There is not the same bounty of activities at night as on RCCL but, you won't need to worry about Adults Only sections because HAL does not attract a lot of children.

 

We have sailed on many HAL ships and were Married and Honeymooned on the Noordam for 17-day transatlantic from New York to Rome and had a tremendous time.

 

Good Luck and Congratulations.

 

Jonathan

[boulders]

Hey all! We just got back from our first cruise ever on the Carnival Victory & had a great time! We loved cruising and would like to book another for next fall for our honeymoon. We know we want a Caribbean cruise & have begun looking at Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, & Carnival. I know there are several boards and many opinions out there and just wanted a little input. We are a younger"ish" couple (35/37) and although we enjoyed Carnival think that another line might be nice to try. I know specifics help when making suggestions so here are some of the things we liked/disliked to help give an idea of what we're looking for.

1. Very important that there is an "Adults Only" area! Preferably with a pool & hot tubs. One that is not packed to capacity every moment of the day either. Nothing Serene about not being able to find any space to relax or contending with rowdy 21 yr olds partying it up in the "quiet" area. Royal Caribbean's Radiance class ships are good for this. Avoid Carnival.

2. We would really like a ship that has a hot tub/pool that is open late or available 24 hrs. We are night owls and hated the fact the hot tubs closed at 11pm.

3. We enjoy having fun and enjoy our adult beverages but not much of the dance club types. A blues bar or jazz club is much more our kind of scene. Would really enjoy that type of entertainment.Anything other than Carnival would fit the bill on this one.

4. Enjoy flexible dining options. We're not always hungry at a specific pre-determined time. All mainstream cruise lines would fit the bill on this one.

5. Spoiled ourselves with a balcony- Balconies will be a must from here on out :p

6. Enjoy a nice spa (more for me than him) The cruise lines' spas are run by the same company. You will get the same experience on any ship.

7. Comedians, casino, and trying to find a quiet spot on the upper decks to watch the water pass by while enjoying a beverage was how we liked spending our evenings. All mainstream cruise lines will have this.

8. Would like not to feel too "cramped" or "crowded" when in public spaces.Royal Caribbean's Radiance class ships are mostly glass and are fabulous for seeing outside.

9. We would like the dress code to be casual but enjoy getting dressed up one or two nights. Our idea of "dressed up" is more shirt & tie, less tux. ;)Most mainstream cruise lines will fit the bill on this one.

10. Food quality is somewhat important. I'm honestly thrilled to just have a week off from cooking as it is my livelihood. We like options and enjoy trying new things.Royal Caribbean's Allure and Oasis of the Seas will have the most dining options.

11. We aren't much for participating in contests nor do we need someone else to provide us with activities all day. That's great if you enjoy that, but if we did want to participate it would more than likely be in something educational/enrichment related (i.e. wine knowledge class, languages, art class). The only mainstream cruise line I know that would have something like this would be HAL, but it doesn't fit the bill on the flexible dining option. They do have a very good room service, but their buffet does not have wide open hours. Most mainstream cruise lines, including HAL, will have a flexible dining time for dinner.

 

Hopefully that gives you enough to go on to make a solid recommendation. This will be our honeymoon cruise, so we're hoping to make it special! Thank you for any advice you may have!

 

 

Have a look at Royal Caribbean's Radiance class of ships.

[LHT28]

Cannot think of any lines where the pool are open 24/7

 

If your budget can stretch a bit look at Oceania's larger ships (1250 pax)

air included in the pricing

No formal nights, no childrens programs, quality food, nice space ratio

very few line ups anywhere, yes you may find more mature crowd & not many late night partiers

 

Worth a look for your requirements

 

 

Lyn

[dorisis]

The Love Boats...Princess has most of what you are looking for.

[Lerin]

You didn't say the exact date you are looking at but I'd order the ships like this:

1) Celebrity

2) Princess or Carnival

3) RCL

4) NCL

 

I know you didn't mention, but perhaps you aren't aware of other lines. Windstar meets your criteria quite well, especially for an event as important as a honeymoon. They do not allow children under the age of about 10, and strongly discourage any kids at all. Check them out.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Lerin

[OCruisers]

The Love Boats...Princess has most of what you are looking for.

 

Agree .... Princess will provide you with most of the things you want! :)

 

LuLu

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[hansolosmom]

I know you've gotten a few Celebrity recommendations, but we were on Refelction on a Med cruise this summer and I was not impressed.

They do have some good music on-board

However all the pools and hot tubs close by 9-10pm

Food - I don't think I was better than any other line. Our table mates, 2 well traveled couples, also commented on the average food.

The pool deck was very crowded.

I did like the centrum and martini bar. There's also the Ensemble bar, on our trip, they had an awesome jazz guitar player, only thing was the bar seemed so dark.

 

I would look at Princess we were on them and it's very nice.

They have the Sanctuary which is their adult only area & what I liked about it, is it was in the front of the ship rather than the middle, so not everyone was walking through the area to get somewhere else. (At least it was this way on the Caribbean Princess). I think they had a nice mix of entertainment and activities. There's a lounge up top in the back I have some great wake pictures from up there. A lot of people sat there in the afternoon reading.

 

Royal Caribbean might be a good choice too. I really like the Freedom class. There's a nice mix of age ranges,with lots of activities. I also love the promenade area on the ship, a nice open area with restaurants and bars. Then there's the Viking Crown lounge which is an excellent place to sit and watch the the ocean while listening to music.

Edited November 25, 2013 by hansolosmom