May 2018, any FL Port, Best entertainment??

[BoiseBeth]

Trying to plan extended family (all adults) cruise for my mom's 80'th birthday. We're having a heck of a time meeting all our criteria. Any ideas?

 

May 2018 preferred

Any FL Port OR Charleston, Mobile, OR New Orleans

(some family members need to drive to port)

5-6 days (not 2 Sundays due to time off constraints)

Prefer no Bahammas ports

Carnival isn't a popular choice with this non-partying family, but our options seem too limited without including it.

What are options for a ship rated HIGH for adults in ENTERTAINMENT & Activities?

[Grandma Dazzles]

You are limiting yourselves with the 5-6 day criteria. So much easier to find a 7-day cruise. For first class entertainment it's hard to beat Royal Caribbean's Oasis class of ships - Oasis, Allure or Harmony. Would also recommend the Freedom or Voyageur class on RC for good entertainment.

[BoiseBeth]

Sigh. I know. I would MUCH rather go on a 7 day but I'm being forced to COMPROMISE (ew). Lol. I've never been on RC and I'd LOVE to go on a ship with an ice rink & show or one that has a full Broadway musical! But, I did get them to expand from Tampa & Port Canaveral ports only to Miami or Ft Lauderdale, so that's progress. [emoji4]

 

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

For spectacular shows,

(Picture high diving, acrobats, Broadway musical, ice skating, comedy show, etc.)

the best ships are:

RCCL

Oasis

Allure

Harmony

 

 

 

For nightly music and dance shows, the best ship is:

MSC Divina - a different show every night with Broadway Caliber performers - absolutely amazing!

[BoiseBeth]

Those all sound amazing, but none of those ships do 5 day cruises. 😭

[Hlitner]

Those all sound amazing, but none of those ships do 5 day cruises. 😭

 

So here is the sad fact. If entertainment (for the family) is a priority then you really need to go on one of the huge mega ships such including RCIs Oasis Class and NCLs mega ships. Because of their huge size, and economies of scale, the cruise lines can provide pretty decent entertainment options. But those ships are generally doing 7 day (or longer) cruises. Once you go to fewer then 7 days your options become somewhat limited. Most cruise lines put their older ships on the short cruise market and those vessels are somewhat smaller and lack the facilities (or economies of scale) for really decent entertainment. So the choice is up to the OP. If taking a shorter cruise they are going to have a trade off in overall entertainment options and quality.

 

Hank

[BoiseBeth]

You are correct. Our priority has to be Port and length. And I just want to know what might have the best entertainment within those limitations. Does Carnival have good shows? Food? Is it too much of a party crowd for non-partiers? Is Disney too "kid-focused" for a group of adults? Or worth a shot?

 

It's hard to read all the reviews and know what's great, what's good enough and what might be "less than". Is a 70% approval rate great?! But stay away from 50%?

 

We're definitely positive people who will be happy to be sailing together and celebrating. I'm not one to let any couple of negative aspects of a ship ruin my vacation or sour my mood! The options become overwhelming but my mindset is there's no such thing as a "bad" Caribbean cruise (one of those once in a million breakdown situations being the exception)!

 

 

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