Help Deciding on a Cruise

[spelken]

I've went on a Carnival cruise as a college senior and now I'm trying to get my husband to go along on one now.

 

Here's the dilema, what line should we go?

[kitty9]

How much do you want to spend?

How old are you?

What do you expect from a cruise?

Do you mind a ship with lots of kids?

Do you want a huge ship with 3000 passengers or do you want something smaller?

Do you want a party all the time ship?

Where do you want to cruise?

Do you want the best food and service or isn't that important to you?

When do you want to cruise?

Where do you want to cruise?

 

Answer those questions and you will be able to figure out which line best suits your needs. If you can narrow things down a little for us, we can better help you

[smolt]

Welcome to cc You asked a fun question to get started :)

 

The best choice for you depends on you! Some cruiselines tend to have a younger crowd while some lines cater to family groups and others have an slightly older or quieter crowd. You can get a fair idea about 3 of the major lines by watching the television ads they run. One of the ads features a family having a grand time on land and sea. Another has a gentleman remembering being treated like royalty, the third features a party. There in a nutshell you have the beginning of a selection process. I believe that every line will have some characteristics you like. You will enjoy any of them, but one may suit you better than the others. All of them are in competition for vacation travelers so they all meet certain minimum standards for service and accomodations. Decide which of the 3 ads suits you best and you will be well on your way to deciding which cruise to book.

 

Some general thoughts: We like the formal atmosphere of assigned seating in the main dining room and we like late seating to give us time to shower and dress after a day of excursions or sunning near the pool. There are some lines that offer different options. Some lines now feature "personal choice" or "open seating" dining. If that is what you prefer be on the look-out for those ships/lines.

 

We live in the wintery northern part of the country, a winter cruise in the sunny Caribbean is usually our preference. You should think about the time of year you travel and the length of cruise you want as well as where you want to cruise. That will help in the selection process.

 

We are very interested in some of the educational aspects of travel and particularly enjoy touring Mayan ruins. The western Caribbean loop with stops in Belize and Mexico are favorites for us.

 

I guess the best advice I can offer is to look at these boards read about various experiences and imagine how wonderful its going to be when you finally make a selection! Please ask questions freely, cruise folks are friendly and helpful.

 

Enjoy!

[CaptData]

Go get the bookelts from a travel agency or order on line from all the major cruise lines then think about what was said above. Come back with more questions.

[spelken]

Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific.

 

We've actually narrowed it down to one on the Celebrity Zenith or a RC. We decided on a 5 day because we can't get away for very long and since we're buying a house, being conservative on the spending.

 

My concern is that I want to have time to lay on the deck and read but also the option of doing other stuff too. I know if I go on a RC or Carnival, there is going to be plenty of stuff to do. I haven't gotten real feedback about the activities on Celebrity, so I wanted some other opinions.

[caviargal]

IMRE as well in past experiences on Celebrity (just on Mercury this month) I would say that there is significantly less to do day and night than on an RCI cruise. The two sea days we had were pretty quiet. I am not into bingo, shipboard shopping, etc. There were very limited fitness options during the day (and the gym was VERY small as was sauna and steam), there was no "interactive TV", there was an occasional movie in the Cinema, napkin folding, etc.

 

Zenith is a very small ship and will be even more limited.

 

IMO, if you are looking for activity and entertainment, RCI's Granduer or Enchantment (both offer short cruises) would be a much better bet.

[spelken]

Thanks caviargal. That was one of the things that I was thinking, esp since it is a smaller ship.

 

Skeewe, thanks and I'll be visiting.

[PEGGYW]

You really can't go wrong, no one forces you to do anything you don't want to (except maybe a husband). We just went on a Carnival 4 night with friends who didn't always want to do what we we wanted, so we split up. A day at sea is good for deck lounging. We rarely participated in the organized activities-and still really had a great time. Now I am preparing for a 7 night all girls Mexican cruise, so I have made one day at sea a Spa Day, which my hubby would have frowned on. This will be great!

[C-Bass]

Hello Kitty9,

I have the same question. We would like to take a cruise and are trying to figure out which would be best for us:

1. Ideally, under $2000

2. 35

3. Lots of fun combined with lots of rest

4. We don't want to be over run w/ kids

5. I don't know

6. We don't party "all the time" but do like to cut loose every so often

7. Probably Caribbean

8. We'd prefer GREAT food and good service (we are pretty self sufficient so someone at our "beck and call" wouldn't be nessasary).

9. This winter

Any suggestions you all can come up with would be great!

 

How much do you want to spend?

How old are you?

What do you expect from a cruise?

Do you mind a ship with lots of kids?

Do you want a huge ship with 3000 passengers or do you want something smaller?

Do you want a party all the time ship?

Where do you want to cruise?

Do you want the best food and service or isn't that important to you?

When do you want to cruise?

Where do you want to cruise?

 

Answer those questions and you will be able to figure out which line best suits your needs. If you can narrow things down a little for us, we can better help you

[comfixit]

C-Bass

 

Sounds like you would do well on Carnival or RCCL

[smrtypnts]

and you can get list of activities for any ship you want if you visit my website:D

 

So what's your website????:confused:

[C-Bass]

Thanks for the tip. We have checked out all of the main lines - so it seems we have a little bit of info about them all. Because this will be our first, I don't want to be tied to a time schedule. It doesn't look lile you can do anytime dining on Carnival or RC. It looks like you can on NCL and Princess. Do you think those would be good ones for us by looking our info from above? Are there other ones we should look at?

[wrp96]

I'd say Princess would be the better option if you want the "anytime dining" option based on your list above.

[C-Bass]

Thanks wrp96. I'm going to go check out the Princess boards but will check back here in a little bit in case you have any other tips.

 

I'd say Princess would be the better option if you want the "anytime dining" option based on your list above.

[caviargal]

Princess also limits the number of kids per sailing so you will not be overrun, a problem these days on RCI and Carnival.

 

NCL also has anytime dining and lots of choices on their new ships. But, I think Princess will provide a nicer experience overall. I had lunch on Caribbean Princess a few weeks ago and was impressed by the ship. Very nice with large and contemporary public areas, very clean, very good food in the dining room. The movie screen on deck was very cool.

 

You should be able to get a cabin for your price range, perhaps even an outside stateroom.

[sross6019]

Have you looked at RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas out of Galveston? I think she is doing some short cruises. She is beautiful and staff is great. She is about a midsize ship. Look at going in Jan or Feb, the rates seem to be cheaper, because it is after major holidays and hurricane season is usually over with. Also, go talk to a travel agent or AAA (if you are a member). They can give you info and handouts to help you compare. Believe it or not sometimes the looking for part can be as much fun as the crusing part. Enjoy and have fun.

[kitty9]

C-Bass, after 41 cruises, on almost every line, I can give you some direction in this matter. You said great food and service, and from my experience, you don't exactly find that on NCL or Carnival. Princess has better food than the other two, and they do have the open dining option, but my experience on Princess cruises is that they don't have the best service---had to practically tackle waiters in the lounges just to get any drinks and the room stewards left a lot to be desired. To be honest, having assigned dining isn't that big of a deal and shouldn't be a main thing when chosing a cruise line. I personally feel that Celebrity, of all the mass market lines, have the best food and service. Plus, if you cruise while school is in session, you won't find many kids on board. There are loads of kids on RCCI, NCL and Carnival cruises, even during school time. If you have a little extra money, then you can give Crystal a try. Probably the best in terms of food and service and they win the Best Cruise Line awards year after year.

[C-Bass]

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions. I've checked out the other boards and think that we will do Princess or Celebrity. Quick quetion for you all: the Princess board had a poll on there that said 80% + of the cruisers are in the 50 to 80 age range. Do you think this is true? Also, what is the age range for Celebrity cruises? Not a huge deal but good to know.

[smrtypnts]

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions. I've checked out the other boards and think that we will do Princess or Celebrity. Quick quetion for you all: the Princess board had a poll on there that said 80% + of the cruisers are in the 50 to 80 age range. Do you think this is true? Also, what is the age range for Celebrity cruises? Not a huge deal but good to know.

 

I can't speak for Princess - never sailed them. But our first cruise for our 10th anniversary, when we were 38 & 40 respectively, was on Celebrity and we didn't find the crowd to be "old". We sat at a table and everyone was within 10 years of each other. We never had any problems with the service and the food was very good. Being from NY we didn't think the food was outstanding, but it was very good.

[C-Bass]

Thanks smrtypnts. Next question: i feel like we need at least a week to really feel like we are on vac. This will be our 1st cruise and my other half wonders if we should look at 5 days vs. 7 to make sure we like it. What do you think?

[smrtypnts]

Thanks smrtypnts. Next question: i feel like we need at least a week to really feel like we are on vac. This will be our 1st cruise and my other half wonders if we should look at 5 days vs. 7 to make sure we like it. What do you think?

 

We went for broke right up front. 7 days! Never for a minute wished we weren't sailing so long. (Just the opposite!)

 

Go for 7 days!!!

[Patios]

Hi CBass, My wife and I took our 1st cruise 2 years ago when we were 46. We had the same concerns about if we would like it and should we take a 7 day cruise or go for less. We decided to go for a week and went from San Diego (our home town) to Mexico to test if we would like cruising.

 

We leave in December for a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise for our 2nd cruise experience. Now our concern is will a 10 days be enough? I hope you enjoy.....

[Coolmama_1]

Hi CBass, My wife and I took our 1st cruise 2 years ago when we were 46. We had the same concerns about if we would like it and should we take a 7 day cruise or go for less. We decided to go for a week and went from San Diego (our home town) to Mexico to test if we would like cruising.

 

We leave in December for a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise for our 2nd cruise experience. Now our concern is will a 10 days be enough? I hope you enjoy.....

 

Very well said! I totally agree! Enjoy your next cruise

[1cat4jan]

Although I've enjoyed all our cruises, our most recent experience - the Star Princess Baltic Cruise was excellent.

 

Food and service was great - very friendly staff - we did Personal Choice dining - where you go to the dining room whenever you wish and ask for a table - just like a land restaurant. However, I heard you could also request a specific table at a specific time - for each evening - kind of like a "standing reservation."

 

I didn't understand that concept - because if you wanted to eat at the same time at the same table each night - why wouldn't you opt for "formal" seating?

 

Thought the food on Princess was better than it was on my two Celebrity cruises. We have also been on Carnival in the mid-90's - specifically for the "looser" atmospher - and we've been on RC in the early 90's. All these trips were great, but since the cruises were so long ago, I can't recommend these lines as they currently exist.

 

Recently, we have been on NCL three times. The food on one was great, one was good, one was not so good. However, the ships and cabins were well take care of - the staff pretty good. We are real fans of the very relaxed dress codes and anytime dining that NCL offers - wish they were a trifle more upscale.

 

Keep in mind - time of year will determine passenger mix.

 

I would choose Princess over Celebrity if you want a younger "experience." I would choose Carnival if you want a "fun ship."

 

We've been on 10 cruises - all were great in their own way. The secret to a wonderful cruise is attitude. Even if things go awry, if you approach the situation with a sense of humor - you will have a good time.

[C-Bass]

Thanks everyone! We finally mad our decision and Princess it is! Western Caribbean in Feb!