Help! New Island, New Ship or Perfect Day?

[5thgirl]

It's been a while since my last cruise. Wanna get back in the swing of things and having a hard time deciding what to prioritize. My family members all kinda want different things. It's either 1) try an Oasis class ship (we've done Voyager and Freedom class), 2) go to St. Lucia, the one island we've always wanted to do but never got to, or 3) go to Perfect Day Coco Cay with Water Park once it opens.  Not all itineraries include all three of these so tryign to decide....decisions decisions...who has experience with the first 2 that can give me any insight on pros/cons? Thanks in advance!

[ShillyShally]

I don't expect "perfect day" to truly beat an on land water park and be pricey to boot.  The key perk is food being included and drinks of you have a beverage package.

 

Even though I expect going forward we'll choose for ship more than destination, there are some island ports we still want to hit/explore so I'd vote either #2 or #1 as that class is a fun one to experience after the 2 classes before it.

 

Which ship goes to St Lucia?

[5thgirl]

9 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

I don't expect "perfect day" to truly beat an on land water park and be pricey to boot.  The key perk is food being included and drinks of you have a beverage package.

 

Even though I expect going forward we'll choose for ship more than destination, there are some island ports we still want to hit/explore so I'd vote either #2 or #1 as that class is a fun one to experience after the 2 classes before it.

 

Which ship goes to St Lucia?

Freedom goes to St Lucia in August, so only kills one of the three on the list...Harmony goes to Coco Cay also, which kills 2 on my list, but budget is also a factor for me..

Edited March 18, 2019 by 5thgirl
spelling

[ShillyShally]

2 minutes ago, 5thgirl said:

Freedon goes to St Lucia in August, so only kills one of the three on the list...Harmony goes to Coco Cay also, which kills 2 on my list, but budget is also a factor for me..

Has Freedom been AMPed yet?  I will say Liberty was my favorite but I LOVED the new AMPed features on Independence so that would make that class new again 🙂

 

All things considered I don't know that any ship is worth the premium if the budget numbers sway largely!

 

August too can be tricky as it's hurricane season so I wouldn't have my heart set on any port so maybe choose for ship!

[DancerMama25]

I think Freedom goes to St. Lucia.   I don’t know which others.   But I don’t *think* any Oasis Class ships do.   I suppose that wouldn’t be too hard to check into.

[cruisegirl1]

I suggest the ship or island stop over Coco Cay. 

 

enjoy. 

M

[5thgirl]

Yeah, I am loving the idea of the water park for my kids, but it does come with an extra cost. Any experience with St. Lucia? I heard it's one of the best islands out there.

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, 5thgirl said:

Yeah, I am loving the idea of the water park for my kids, but it does come with an extra cost. Any experience with St. Lucia? I heard it's one of the best islands out there.

 

Check out the port of call forum:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/138-st-lucia/

[OCruisers]

43 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

 

August too can be tricky as it's hurricane season so I wouldn't have my heart set on any port so maybe choose for ship!

 

Good advice for an August cruise!  

Best to pick the ship of your choice .... rather than the itinerary!  

[John&LaLa]

The pictures coming in from Coco Cay look pretty cool.

[ShillyShally]

Just now, OCruisers said:

 

Good advice for an August cruise!  

Best to pick the ship of your choice .... rather than the itinerary!  

We sailed during Katrina - and never knew!  No disruption of ports, no bad weather, but disembarked to some awful news footage 😞

 

And my boss in 2017 got stuck for almost an extra week on a cruise due to weather, and had port changes.  

 

You truly just never know anytime during hurricane season!

[siempredescalzo]

Is your heart set on an August cruise? If you are ok with sailing in January, Anthem has some 11 night cruises that go to St Lucia out of NJ.  Anthem isn't an Oasis class ship, but Quantum is much newer than any in Voyager or Freedom classes. 

[ShillyShally]

10 minutes ago, siempredescalzo said:

Is your heart set on an August cruise? If you are ok with sailing in January, Anthem has some 11 night cruises that go to St Lucia out of NJ.  Anthem isn't an Oasis class ship, but Quantum is much newer than any in Voyager or Freedom classes. 

Ohhh good to know! Not OP but NJ is driveable and I've wanted to try the Quantum class and that's a slow time at work!

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

The pictures coming in from Coco Cay look pretty cool.

They do, and there is something tempting about being able to use drink packages there as well as reserving cabanas, etc, though I think those aren't guaranteed to be built in the first wave?

 

<--Would love to do the water park but my body and recent knee surgery have put limits on what I should do 🙂

[John&LaLa]

13 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

They do, and there is something tempting about being able to use drink packages there as well as reserving cabanas, etc, though I think those aren't guaranteed to be built in the first wave?

 

<--Would love to do the water park but my body and recent knee surgery have put limits on what I should do 🙂

 

I think the cabanas at the free pool are up already. Oasis Lagoon.

[siempredescalzo]

1 hour ago, ShillyShally said:

Ohhh good to know! Not OP but NJ is driveable and I've wanted to try the Quantum class and that's a slow time at work!

 

Yep, being driveable was also my reasoning for booking that sailing! And couple that with me having a January birthday and it makes a nice “treat yourself” birthday cruise to the Southern Caribbean for me on a class I haven’t tried yet without having to fly to PR! 

[cb at sea]

I've always enjoyed the private islands, but not so much since they've become "commercialized"....used to feel like a laid-back day....now, it's an amusement park....been there, done that.....

[ShillyShally]

33 minutes ago, siempredescalzo said:

 

Yep, being driveable was also my reasoning for booking that sailing! And couple that with me having a January birthday and it makes a nice “treat yourself” birthday cruise to the Southern Caribbean for me on a class I haven’t tried yet without having to fly to PR! 

Sure is tempting!  Now to find dog sitting for that long, or, hmmm, youngest does graduate college in May - let's see if I can entice him to live at home the first year... It is an expensive area 🙂

[ShillyShally]

30 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

I've always enjoyed the private islands, but not so much since they've become "commercialized"....used to feel like a laid-back day....now, it's an amusement park....been there, done that.....

I loved Coco Cay my only time there in 2012 because it was more rustic and just beach, I preferred it to Labadee.  Now I'd likely get off to check it out but I'm not sure I'll plan on staying off.  

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I think the cabanas at the free pool are up already. Oasis Lagoon.

 

Cabanas are only at the beach right now.  Nothing by the pool yet.  Very little shade at the pool area at all actually.

[AshleyDillo]

7 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

I loved Coco Cay my only time there in 2012 because it was more rustic and just beach, I preferred it to Labadee.  Now I'd likely get off to check it out but I'm not sure I'll plan on staying off.  

 

The beaches near me in north Florida are what we call rustic and I saw some similar foliage on Coco Cay. I never saw it before the new evolution...but it is definitely no longer like that.  Much more resort-like, especially with the pool.  Very, very, very clean though.  

[5thgirl]

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'm leaning towards choosing by ship as my main priority in choosing the itinerary. 

[gatour]

Although you have already decided here are my thoughts.

I have done all three (Coco Cay obviously pre Perfect)

 

St Lucia is a very pretty island and I thought the excursion that we did was good.  In fact a few years after we had port call there we spent a week there at a Sandals.  One day we basically took the same tour that did during the cruise.  I like go new islands.

 

The ship:  Since you have kids, this would be a good choice.  Harmony has slides (for free) and there is a lot to do.

 

Coco Cay:  Since I live in Florida where waterparks are around every corner the new water park really doesn't interest me.  Like someone else said I liked it when Coco Cay felt like a desert island, where you can just chill.  So I would not book a cruise just to see it.

[5thgirl]

12 minutes ago, gatour said:

Although you have already decided here are my thoughts.

I have done all three (Coco Cay obviously pre Perfect)

 

St Lucia is a very pretty island and I thought the excursion that we did was good.  In fact a few years after we had port call there we spent a week there at a Sandals.  One day we basically took the same tour that did during the cruise.  I like go new islands.

 

The ship:  Since you have kids, this would be a good choice.  Harmony has slides (for free) and there is a lot to do.

 

Coco Cay:  Since I live in Florida where waterparks are around every corner the new water park really doesn't interest me.  Like someone else said I liked it when Coco Cay felt like a desert island, where you can just chill.  So I would not book a cruise just to see it.

Thanks gatour! That helps firm up my decision.  Probably better to see some reviews of Perfect Day @ CC first and try it out next year.  If only I could find an Oasis class ship that goes to St Lucia in August......