Which cruise would you choose?

[micmacmissy]

Family of four - sailing this June or July.  Kids are 16 and 18 and are not the kids-club type.  We have two options - love to hear others weigh in!

 

Freedom (San Juan to San Juan) - every day a different southern Caribbean port with one sea day at the end.  (Basseterre , St. Kitts & Nevis | St. Johns , Antigua | Castries , St. Lucia | Bridgetown , Barbados | Philipsburg , St. Maarten).

 

-or-

 

Celebrity Equinox (from Miami) - to Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Cayman with two sea days.

 

The Freedom itinerary looks great, but we do want time to relax.  But we do love Key West, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman - never been to Costa Maya before.

 

Price is roughly the same...anything else to consider?  Crowd sailing from either port in July?  I know it will be family heavy.  We have been on Independence and Allure as a family, and we've been on Celebrity, but never as a family - kids will not miss rock walls and that sort of thing.

 

We have only ever cruised out of Fort Lauderdale before, which is easy and comfortable.  What else should I consider?

[piescruises]

There will be more kids on the freedom that they can find outside the kids club and hangout all over the ship. Have you considered princess? Would you go back on allure, or try harmony or symphony?

[Robo1098]

I haven't been on Celebrity but I've been in Freedom a couple times. Looking at both ships though it looks like there is more for the kids on Freedom and the ports seem more appealing on Freedom. Do you have to fly either way? 

[piescruises]

Have you considered the abc islands cruise on freedom with more sea days?

[micmacmissy]

9 minutes ago, piescruises said:

There will be more kids on the freedom that they can find outside the kids club and hangout all over the ship. Have you considered princess? Would you go back on allure, or try harmony or symphony?

 

Allure was a great cruise - but we felt disconnected from the water.  And the solarium chair hogging situation was ridiculous.  Don't get me wrong - we loved it, and it was relaxing, but not in a hurry to get back on a ship that big again.  Felt like we never got to see the water unless we were on our balcony.

 

And I have not considered Princess -  should i?  If so, why?

Edited November 19, 2018 by micmacmissy
typo

[micmacmissy]

8 minutes ago, Robo1098 said:

I haven't been on Celebrity but I've been in Freedom a couple times. Looking at both ships though it looks like there is more for the kids on Freedom and the ports seem more appealing on Freedom. Do you have to fly either way? 

 

Yes, we are flying either way.  Kids won't do typical kids stuff - they're more hang with their parents, read, enjoy good meals kind of kids.

[micmacmissy]

4 minutes ago, piescruises said:

Have you considered the abc islands cruise on freedom with more sea days?

 

Doesn't work with our dates.  (But hello Stamford!  I grew up in Norwalk.)

[piescruises]

They have sailings in July on the caribbean princess it’s more upfront by a bit but the gratuities are less.

[piescruises]

The caribbean does have a western sailing the week of july 6

[zdad59]

Between the two you cited, I would choose Freedom, based solely on the itinerary.    I much prefer eastern/southern routes to Western ones.   We have done that route out of San Juan on Adventure of the Seas and really enjoyed it.  We also pre-gamed for two days in Old San Juan.    If you have the time, I recco that also.

 

That being said, my Feb cruise is a Western route.   If you have done neither, then eastern is the way to go in my mind.

[piescruises]

tell me the ports you’ve been to and which ones you’d go back to

[asalligo]

Easy choice for me Celebrity Equinox (from Miami) - to Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Cayman with two sea days.

 

Port intensive cruises make me feel like I need a second vacation.

[runner15km]

The X factor ! 🙂 

 

[oddly excitered]

Celebrity service and food at royal prices?I really want to try X and would not be a question in my mind!

[piescruises]

How about caribbean princess itinerary: Fort Lauderdale, At Sea, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, Cozumel, Mexico, At Sea, Fort Lauderdale Florida

[cruisinfromtampa]

Of the 2, Freedom.  We love Southern/Eastern cruises.  Did that itinerary on Adventure 18 months ago, and absolutely loved it.

[Big_G]

We've sailed Freedom (X4) and Equinox (x2). As much as we like Equinox, Freedom wins this one by itinerary and activities. It would be tougher to decide if the itineraries we're reversed. I'll admit we've done the western so many times now it's just getting old but southern is our favorite and Freedom is more active than Equinox. Combined Freedom wins. I would make St. Kitts a sea day if you're looking for another day on the ship.

[piescruises]

How about princess?

4 minutes ago, Big_G said:

We've sailed Freedom (X4) and Equinox (x2). As much as we like Equinox, Freedom wins this one by itinerary and activities. It would be tougher to decide if the itineraries we're reversed. I'll admit we've done the western so many times now it's just getting old but southern is our favorite and Freedom is more active than Equinox. Combined Freedom wins. I would make St. Kitts a sea day if you're looking for another day on the ship.

 

[PhoenixCruiser]

Freedom - more activities for everyone and the ports are great.

 

[piescruises]

Just now, PhoenixCruiser said:

Freedom - more activities for everyone and the ports are great.

 

What about Princess?

[PhoenixCruiser]

2 minutes ago, piescruises said:

What about Princess?

 

If it was just a couple perhaps Celebrity or Princess.

[akcruz]

I would do Freedom for itinerary, but if you are concerned with cost have you checked out airfare differences?  Flying to San Juan is usually a lot higher.  Ad for so many port stops, pick one or two to do a beach day or stay on the ship.  No need to do big excursions in all ports.

[lazydayz]

Given you don't want a port intensive cruise or need a lot of activities for your family to enjoy a cruise, I would recommend the Celebrity choice for you.  Food is usually better, cabins are a little nicer, etc. My only complaint with Celebrity was after 10:00, the ship is very quiet, unless you are in the casino or at the casino bar. 

[micmacmissy]

5 hours ago, piescruises said:

tell me the ports you’ve been to and which ones you’d go back to

Been to:

Key West

Grand Cayman

Cozumel

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

Bahamas

Falmouth

San Juan

Calica Mexico

 

Would not be thrilled to go back to either Bahamas or Falmouth.  I'd go back to any of the rest, though.  We've only been on 5 cruises total.

 

Loved 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman, loved Nachi Cocum in Cozumel.

We're big on beaches, paddleboarding, kayaking, etc.

[BermudaBound2014]

I've been on all three lines you are considering. My personal choice would be Celebrity. We absolutely LOVED our trip on the Equinox last June. One of my all time favorite cruises. However; this itinerary is the worst of your choices. The seaweed condition that has moved into Costa Maya area, makes that stop much less appealing. This would not be my first choice traveling with children.

 

The best itinerary is the Freedom hands down, but have you priced airfare into San Juan? For sure do a day before and a day after in San Juan. While I haven't been since Hurricane Maria, based on everything I can tell, Old San Juan is up and running and is a great town for history lovers (IMO).  I would think this cruise prices significantly more due to airfare but I reserve the right to be wrong.

 

The Caribbean Princess is a solid ship/line. I like the layout and I think Princess does a very nice job overall. Freedom would still be better for kids. Fort Lauderdale should be inexpensive in terms of air. The itinerary is decent especially if you've never visited Roatan or Belize.

 

You can't go wrong with any :).