Help on picking a cruise

[markjj99]

Hi, my wife and 2 children need help on deciding our first cruise. Our options are:

 

-Thanksgiving November 2014 (Allure of the Seas) Eastern Caribbean- Nassau, St.Thomas, St.Maarten

 

-Thanksgiving November 2014 (Oasis of the Seas) Western Caribbean- Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel

 

-June 13, 2015 eastern caribbean (Oasis of the Seas)

 

On the June 13, 2014 cruise we could afford an owners suite for 10,000 but on the 2 thanksgiving cruises an owners suite is 15,000 and we would have to get a grand suite for 12,000. Should we wait and do owners suite next summer or is a grand suite perfectly fine? Thoughts? Also, if we do thanksgiving, do you think eastern or western, we might do western because oasis runs a little cheaper than allure. Thanks.

[helen haywood]

How old are your kids?

[DonnaK]

Of all those ports mentioned, I love Labadee, so I would pick the western itinerary.

 

Have you priced two connecting cabins, instead of one suite?

Edited June 24, 2014 by DonnaK

[Ourusualbeach]

There are grand suites with a connecting balcony cabin as well as junior suites with a connecting balcony. Personally I would go the 2 cabin route as it would offer 2 washrooms and you could treat the balcony cabin as a second bedroom.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Ourusualbeach

[steveru621]

Definitely St.Thomas, St.Maarten. Nassau is kind of a throw away, but Falmouth and Cozumel can't compare to St.Thomas, St.Maarten. Outside of traveling on Thanksgiving, November is my choice. Then do both and go June 2015!

[markjj99]

Thanks for all of the help guys and my kids will both be 15. We are now going to consider having a grand suite connected to a balcony, does anyone have any experience with a grand or owners suite? And, either itinerary is fine really the ship is the destination

[MichaelCMTX]

Thanks for all of the help guys and my kids will both be 15. We are now going to consider having a grand suite connected to a balcony, does anyone have any experience with a grand or owners suite? And, either itinerary is fine really the ship is the destination

 

It may be a bit different on an Oasis class, but we found a GS to be comfortably roomy for the 2 of us and an OS to border on excessive. You could travel with 4 in a GS, but you'd enjoy the trip more in an OS.

 

The cabin will get a little smaller every day of the trip.

[petel]

Thanks for all of the help guys and my kids will both be 15. We are now going to consider having a grand suite connected to a balcony, does anyone have any experience with a grand or owners suite? And, either itinerary is fine really the ship is the destination

 

IMHO: GS with 2 15 year olds is NOT something I would volunteer to do. Get the second cabin and enjoy :)

[markjj99]

LOL Petel. We have eliminated thanksgiving as a possibility and will either sail June 6, 2015 (Western), or June 13, 2015 (Eastern), both on the oasis, in an owners suite. The GS looked cramped. Now the question is Western vs. Eastern, any thoughts on that?

[petel]

LOL Petel. We have eliminated thanksgiving as a possibility and will either sail June 6, 2015 (Western), or June 13, 2015 (Eastern), both on the oasis, in an owners suite. The GS looked cramped. Now the question is Western vs. Eastern, any thoughts on that?

 

 

Every cruise we have taken has led to another and another and .........you get the picture. Both have their appeal but I think there will be more interesting things for the 15 year olds on the Western. Be sure they swim with the dolphins no matter which way you choose first. That (IMHO) will be a life changing thrill for how they think about the intelligence of animals. Either way you can't go wrong. We;ve done both many times and have never been board. Just be sure to plan on the other one some time in your future. :)

[Ourusualbeach]

Just looked at the pricing for Oasis on June 6 and 13 and for both of those you could get a Crown Loft suite for the same price as an Owners suite. 2 bathrooms and the second level for a bit more privacy. Still over 500 sq ft.

[markjj99]

Yea plus we were thinking that we might do western just to see labadee and we have shown our kids the owners and crown loft suite and despite having 2 bathrroms, they prefer the owners.

[petel]

Yea plus we were thinking that we might do western just to see labadee and we have shown our kids the owners and crown loft suite and despite having 2 bathrroms, they prefer the owners.

 

Kids are right IMHO. The view from the CLS did not impress me much. Besides the stairs it just wasn't all that great. The OS has the dinner table missing in the GS and CLS.

If you have teenagers in a room privacy is what you get when they are gone and forbidden to return until _____ (fill in the time) :p

Enjoy:)

[marci22]

Another thing you could do is to get an inside cabin for the kids across the hall from your OS. Often the 3rd and 4th are priced very high on these ships and it can be cheaper or about the same price to put those 2 people in their own inside cabin.

 

Minor children will still be able to go into the CL with you.

 

btw I don't think a GS is 'cramped' if you have another room for sleeping. It's a nice size!

Edited June 25, 2014 by marci22

[PolarisKale]

Yea plus we were thinking that we might do western just to see labadee and we have shown our kids the owners and crown loft suite and despite having 2 bathrroms, they prefer the owners.

 

IMHO, if you have a TA who is a Royal Caribbean Expert or Expert Plus, you might want to talk with them about waiting a while before booking. Savings could be huge.

 

Here's my very quick summary of the ports:

Nassau: With the kids, your choices are pretty much to swim with the dolphins or pay a lot to go to a resort (Atlantis). Granted, the Atlantis is uber nice, but why go on a cruise just to go to a resort? A decent amount of the excursions have alcohol included, so you might want to wait on those.

St Thomas: Has one of the top beaches in the world (Megan's Bay). It's not crowded like you'd expect, just very beautiful. Not sure 2 15 y/os would be thrilled with calm & peaceful, but stranger things have happened. Aside from Megan's Bay, go snorkeling, take a catamaran, go shopping, go to St John's... tons of options.

St Maarten: A beautiful beach. Typically you'll rent a spot in the sand by spending $XX at the bar. Perfect shopping destination. Or go over to St Martin and enjoy the "clothing optional" beach. :eek:

Labadee: It's ... nice. Go in knowing that it's Royal Caribbean's private island (under lease through 2050). Think of it as basically a land extension of the ship. There is ship food, equipment you can rent, and beverages you can purchase with your SeaPass card - which can be very convenient. Just don't expect anything lavish. There's a lot of ... "enthusiasm" from the vendors along the walk to the beach, so consider taking the tram/trolley ride over to it. As to your comment I quoted above, I don't think Labadee should weigh too heavily in an itinerary decision if you find something you really want to do at another port of call.

Falmouth: I call the port, "The shopping mall that Royal Caribbean built." Definitely plan on a shore excursion. In Falmouth with 15 y/os, I'd highly recommend Dunn's River Falls. You also have the zipline, horseback ride 'n' swim, river tubing, etc. to consider.

Cozumel: A nice walking port. Take a taxi to the far end and walk back, wrapping up your day at Margaritaville on the other end. There are also a good amount of excursion options in Cozumel.

 

Personally, I would suggest you take the kids on Western and come back by yourselves to experience Eastern sometime. Either way, you're in the Caribbean! How can you go wrong? :D

[FLACRUISER99]

Hi, my wife and 2 children need help on deciding our first cruise. Our options are:

 

-Thanksgiving November 2014 (Allure of the Seas) Eastern Caribbean- Nassau, St.Thomas, St.Maarten

 

-Thanksgiving November 2014 (Oasis of the Seas) Western Caribbean- Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel

 

-June 13, 2015 eastern caribbean (Oasis of the Seas)

 

On the June 13, 2014 cruise we could afford an owners suite for 10,000 but on the 2 thanksgiving cruises an owners suite is 15,000 and we would have to get a grand suite for 12,000. Should we wait and do owners suite next summer or is a grand suite perfectly fine? Thoughts? Also, if we do thanksgiving, do you think eastern or western, we might do western because oasis runs a little cheaper than allure. Thanks.

Why don't you suffer:eek: and book two connecting OV balcony cabins to see if you like cruising?

[marci22]

Why don't you suffer:eek: and book two connecting OV balcony cabins to see if you like cruising?

 

If he thinks a GS is cramped I think 2 JS would be the upper limit of suffering.

[OCruisers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the Wonderful World of Cruising! :D

We love St. Maarten so we'd pick Allure for Thanksgiving. :)

LuLu