3 ships to choose from, help?

[gumballz]

My DD and I are planning a graduation cruise for her. She graduates in December of 2006 so we'd like to sail to the Caribbean in January 2007. We can't decide which itinerary and which ship.....so for all of you 'professional Carnival cruisers'......let's hear your advice please.

 

The ships we're interested in sailing on are the Triumph, Victory and the Glory. We can't decide on whether we want to take an Eastern Caribbean or a Western Caribbean. We've never been to either (I'll be in the Bahamas in April....but that doesn't really count as Eastern or Western).

 

Our main interests while we're on the cruise are seeing/visiting gorgeous tropical beaches, doing some relaxing snorkelling and doing a little shopping.

 

Any advice will be welcomed! Thanks!!

[dosp]

YES!!!

 

Excellent choices!

 

You don't say if you've ever cruised before, but if you haven't...YES!!!!

 

Carnival, Royal Caribbean offer great choices.

 

Personally, I prefer Eastern, but even that is up for grabs.

[greg randall]

nassau, st. thomas and st.maarten...those are great. st thomas is beautiful..st. maarten is paradise..merigot in st. maarten is fabulous. wonderful shopping. ihave done the other side...if the weather is bad you cant tender n the caymans..cozumel has a dock that is out of service..no way iwould do that again..its a crapshoot...i say take the glory and have no worries.

[hipquest]

I have not been on the Victory or Triumph only the Glory eastern. I have been to Mexico on land vacations. With that said I would choose an eastern route. The eastern Caribbean has many beautiful beaches and lots of choices for snorkling. The prices on the islands are cheaper, in my experience.

[Lakeman953]

Hi There

Me and my wife are going on Triumph April 8th on the Eastern. Ports will be San Juan, St Thomas and St. Martin and I have done tons of Research on Islands and Ships.

The Triumph was Dry Docked at the end of 05 So it should be a Nice Clean Ship.

And for great snorkling spots are beutiful beach's I have learned that St. Thomas has so many beutiful beach's. Hopefully this might help you as Well. http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=Visitor's+Center%3AAttractions&p=1105686615

St. martin is basically just as Beutiful with tons of snorkling sights. We are doing the Rhino Riders Snorkling Adventure There.

Well good Luck in your chose.

[VentureMan_2000]

Great choice of ships. Glory is the newest of the three, which means it's more expensive. I'm going to try out the Victory in May. Sounds like a wonderful ship.

 

I would think the Eastern itinerary would be the nicest... especially since the western itinerary will not be back up to par until next fall.

 

I'm assuming when you say graduate... you mean Highschool. If that's the case, there might be more fory your daughter to do on the Glory... better dance clubs and such for teens. No drinking until 21 years of age on the ships.

 

If you are talking grad from college, then any of the ships would be a great choice.

[brenda908]

we just cruised the Liberty's western course....ship was awesome, ports disapointing. January weather is unpredictable...was cut short in Cayman, never made it to Cozumel and when we docked in Costa Maya we weren't allowed off the ship....all due to weather. We cruise alot in january, 1st time this has happened but enough to make me not go again this time of year. Only good port we saw was freeport...I'd say go Eastern, although I feel it's more comercialized.

[Knights on the Beach]

We've been on all three ships and loved them all and would do them again in a heartbeat, although I'd say the Glory was my favorite.

 

You can find very good shopping in St. Thomas, St. Martin, Cozumel & Ocho Rios.

 

Out of all your possible ports, we've snorkeled in the Bahamas, St. Thomas (and St. John on a tour from St. Thomas), Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Surprisingly, we had the best snorkel experience in Cozumel (saw tons of colorful fish).

 

If you're looking for gorgeous tropical beaches, you will find more of those in the Eastern Caribbean. St. Thomas and St. Martin both have beautiful beaches. There are also pretty beaches in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, but I think they are a bit nicer in the Eastern Caribbean.

 

I'd say our Eastern Caribbean cruises have been more relaxing (a lot of beach time, a little shopping, having a few drinks and enjoying the scenery), while our Western Caribbean cruises have been more active (horseback riding in San Juan, climbing the falls and river tubing in Ocho Rios, kayaking and jumping on the water trampoline in Cozumel, etc.).

 

One other thing to consider is which port you want to cruise out of. Port Canaveral is easier and not nearly so hectic as Miami, although nothing beats the view you get when your ships sails out of the Port of Miami. Can you get cheaper airfare to Miami or Orlando?

 

Since you've never been to any of the ports, and haven't been on any of these ships yet, I don't think you can make a bad choice. :)