Newest/nicest all-round ship that isn't a MEGA?

[LSKC]

Drawn to all the newness and options that a Mega ship (anthem, harmony are two we are looking at) offers but they are so big and probably much more busy than a bit smaller scale ship.

This leads me to wondering if there are some newer non-MEGA size ships that are still very impressive, on the new side and maybe offer more port stops (like the southern caribbean, etc)

 

Things we are looking for:

1) great food (will get the specialty dining package)

2) we will just be booking a balcony cabin

3) good shows/things to do on the ship

4) on sea days, a less crowded (reserving seats at 7am is not my idea of a vacation) pool deck

5) shiny-new ship would rate higher than an old one for us

 

*should mention we are in Ontario. The only port we could drive to is NY. We are open to that or flying into FL or San Juan even if the price works in our favour. :) Thanks!

[Clarea]

Southern Caribbean smaller ships would be Jewel from San Juan and Serenade from Ft. Lauderdale.

[schmeed]

Anthem and Ovation are the newer ships that aren't MEGA. I like Jewel of the Seas (Radiance class). Also, Freedom is in the Southern Caribbean this fall (sailing out of San Juan). It's a big ship, but not MEGA anymore. It was the largest ship in the fleet previously.

 

You may want to check out Celebrity. Royal Caribbean's sister line. They are considered a little more upscale and they don't have the MEGA ships.

[fredflint]

Don't forget to check the last time the ships were upgraded, many ships with recent drydock have newer dining options and sometimes have larger cabins too!

[Merion_Mom]

Don't forget to check the last time the ships were upgraded, many ships with recent drydock have newer dining options and sometimes have larger cabins too!

They don't increase the size of the cabins in a drydock. :confused:

[Ken at the beach]

Celebrity Edge.

[schmeed]

They don't increase the size of the cabins in a drydock. :confused:

Correct, but they do add new cabins...such as the panoramic oceanview on Freedom class, which are larger.

[Ken at the beach]

They don't increase the size of the cabins in a drydock. :confused:

In fairness they have added new cabin categories which have been larger than other similar cabins. I’m thinking specifically of the deck 12 panoramic view cabins that have been added to Voyager class ships

[2chiefs]

As another poster suggested, you might try Celebrity. We went on a short 4-day cruise on Reflection out of Ft Lauderdale in December to check it out. We liked it so much that we booked a 14-day cruise on the Reflection this coming December. They do the Southern Caribbean routes a lot. While we are on one of their last 14-day cruises (I think the last 14-day is January 2019), the Reflection has lots of 11 or 12 day cruises out of Ft Lauderdale doing the Southern Routes. The Reflection is a Solstice class ship and I think carries about 3000 guests which makes it a large ship but not a mega ship.

 

Keep in mind that Celebrity is more laid back if that's your style. You won't find zip lines, flow riders, etc..(less kids!)

Some folks say Celebrity is a step up from Royal but we didn't feel that way. We didn't think the food was better. The fares seem a little higher but reasonable in our opinion.

 

We like both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and will probably cruise both in the future.

[2chiefs]

As another poster suggested, you might try Celebrity. We went on a short 4-day cruise on Reflection out of Ft Lauderdale in December to check it out. We liked it so much that we booked a 14-day cruise on the Reflection this coming December. They do the Southern Caribbean routes a lot. While we are on one of their last 14-day cruises (I think the last 14-day is January 2019), the Reflection has lots of 11 or 12 day cruises out of Ft Lauderdale doing the Southern Routes. The Reflection is a Solstice class ship and I think carries about 3000 guests which makes it a large ship but not a mega ship.

 

Keep in mind that Celebrity is more laid back if that's your style. You won't find zip lines, flow riders, etc..(less kids!)

Some folks say Celebrity is a step up from Royal but we didn't feel that way. We didn't think the food was better. The fares seem a little higher but reasonable in our opinion.

 

We like both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and will probably cruise both in the future.

 

One other suggestion since you are from Canada and have to fly anyway. The Royal cruises out of San Juan are generally less expensive than those out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale and since the cruises start further south, they have some very nice itineraries on Southern routes. The Adventure of the Seas is there now. Recently renovated, it is a large ship but much smaller than the new mega ships. We love it. She will be replaced in San Juan by Freedom of the Seas later which is a little larger than Adventure but similar in layout. The Canadian folks we befriended on our cruises out of there generally booked 2 cruises back to back with different itineraries. (two cruises for one flight).