cruise ships

[jennifer lynch]

What's the best cruise ship to do a 12 day southern carribean with family and friend's.That offer's more .sincerly:jennifer lynch

[CruiserBruce]

There is no one "best" for everyone. The itinerary is important, the ports, the sailing dates, and several other things.

 

Southern Caribbean cruises can be of several lengths. If they sail from San Juan, they can be as little as 7 days. If from Florida, 10 or 11 days is common. 12 days is not common, but I suppose it can happen. Why did you pick 12 days?

 

Is it possible for you to meet with a travel agent who has solid cruise knowledge? That would be very beneficial.

[Zach1213]

Offers more than...?

[cb at sea]

Any of the "mainstream" lines will suit.  If you have kids between 8 and teen.....then you'll probably want a larger, newer ship that has all the "bells and whistles".  If you have very young kids, then none of that matters to them.  Only a few cruise lines/ships have "nursery" service (so if you have a child under 2, choose carefully, if you need that service).  NO SHIP'S pool allows diapers...again, choose carefully.  Some ships have baby "splash zones" for the diapered ones.

 

Really, you need to figure out what is important to you...do you need bumper cars, ice skating shows, zip-lines, etc....on the ship, or are you cruising to see certain ports?  What are your ages?

 

Most of the mainstream lines are more similar than different.  Carnival, NCL and RCI have the newer, larger "bells and whistle" ships.  Princess, Celebrity and HAL also offer a good product, but they are a bit more "low key" with regards to onboard activities.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, jennifer lynch said:

What's the best cruise ship to do a 12 day southern carribean with family and friend's.That offer's more .sincerly:jennifer lynch

Define "best".

 

Cost?  Amenities?  Ports?  Activities?  Food?

 

It's really your call.

 

I'd suggest you figure out what itineraries are appealing to you by checking the various cruise line offerings.  Once you've done that, narrow down to the ones that have the ports that are most of interest to you.

 

We've done the Southern Caribbean on both Disney and Princess.  Loved them both.

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

Southern Caribbean from San Juan offers more stops - as well as a cbhance to spend a day or so in San Juan before or after.  Celebrity offers several.

[cabin4three]

Are you more interested in the destination or what facilities the ship has? 

Do the people you are going with want tranquility, luxury, formal evening wear, dancing along the corridor, wave machine, water park, lectures and learning a new skill.

It's all available, just not on the same ship.

Are you heavy drinkers, are most teetotal, many cruise lines offer drinks packages, some better value than others, some cruise lines make all adults in same cabin buy the same package ( this doesn't work for us).

Is price a factor? Don't forget to add gratuaies in when comparing, some cruise lines include them in the fare prices others add  12 _ 20 USD a day per person, can vary a lot so look at their websites.

Tell us what you think you want and you will have lots of answers 😃

[Turtles06]

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[spookwife]

12 hours ago, jennifer lynch said:

What's the best cruise ship to do a 12 day southern carribean with family and friend's.That offer's more .sincerly:jennifer lynch

quite possibly the vaguest question ever.

 

define 'best'

define 'offers more'  

 

you need to find a reputable travel agent( and no we cannot name any or make suggestions on Cruise Critic)  and explain to them what you want in terms of amenities, cabins and port visits as well as your budget.   you may want  a  Macy's level cruise but only have a Target Budget.  

[Nic6318]

12 hours ago, jennifer lynch said:

What's the best cruise ship to do a 12 day southern carribean with family and friend's.That offer's more .sincerly:jennifer lynch

 

Hi Jennifer

 

Welcome to cruise critic

 

Decide what is important for yourself, family, and friends. Is it the ports of call and what you can see and do there, or is it the ship itself that must keep you entertained? Decide on price range, some ships/have a wide choice in price range, or do you want to be on a more exclusive cruising experience? 

 

So it's, where do you want to go? when do you want to go? what do you want to do when you get there? how much do you want to spend? what kind of ship do you want to be on?

 

Try and answer some of these questions for yourselves and then ask specific questions? Don't commit yourself to paying for anything until you understand exactly what you are buying and what restrictions might be involved. This is a good site to do your research before making those commitments.

 

The process is a big part of the fun for many of us. It does take some time, so If you are one who prefers it to all be presented to you, you might consider finding a travel agent who specializing in cruising. You would still need to have the answers for the questions I posed.

 

happy cruising

[Mike981]

FYI on flying to San Juan, it is my least favorite airport experience by far. Last time we stayed an extra day and flew out Monday to miss the chaos at the airport.

[Zach1213]

22 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

FYI on flying to San Juan, it is my least favorite airport experience by far. Last time we stayed an extra day and flew out Monday to miss the chaos at the airport.

 

Try Kinshasa at 12:30am complete with people expecting bribes just to check you in 🙂 San Juan is a cake walk, in my opinion. I'll take it over nasty FLL any day! (Though I have arrived at the new-ish FLL terminal, I've yet to depart it).

[George C]

I also would avoid San Juan, as for ship depends on what you are looking for and ages of people , we like the larger rccl ships for the entertainment options. 

[Mike981]

5 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Try Kinshasa at 12:30am complete with people expecting bribes just to check you in 🙂 San Juan is a cake walk, in my opinion. I'll take it over nasty FLL any day! (Though I have arrived at the new-ish FLL terminal, I've yet to depart it).

I've never been to the Congo, sounds lovely. 🙂
It's been 20 years since I cruised out of FLL, I will see it again this January.

[marco]

Airfare to PR is  usually considerably more than airfare to Fla.   Consider that in the total cost of the trip. Also, many more options in Fla departures, be it FLL or MIA.

Edited May 17, 2019 by marco