Help deciding on a cruise

[Canadianmama3]

I’m looking ahead to 2022 and researching cruises for me, my husband and my son that will be 11 then.  We are looking to go away in February. 
 

Because we will be pulling our son out of school we are looking at a shorter cruise so we can also have a day or two in Florida pre cruise.  
 

What are people’s opinion on a 4 night on independence or a 5 night or Mariner? 

[drsel]

Both are great Cruise ships.
see which ports you prefer and the cost per night

[LuCruise]

Both are great. Similar ships.  Independence has a separate kids pool and slide/ splash area (although he is probably too old for it). Both have Sky Pad, waterslides, laser tag that he'll love. I also liked the shows better on Indy with Grease and Once Upon a Time but that's a personal preference.  Having said that if Mariner is doing a 5 nighter, then the additional day is a plus factor.

[taglovestocruise]

4 hours ago, Canadianmama3 said:

I’m looking ahead to 2022 and researching cruises for me, my husband and my son that will be 11 then.  We are looking to go away in February. 
 

Because we will be pulling our son out of school we are looking at a shorter cruise so we can also have a day or two in Florida pre cruise.  
 

What are people’s opinion on a 4 night on independence or a 5 night or Mariner? 

Skip the extra nights in FLL. and check out a Oasis class ship. 

[Crazy planning mom]

10 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Skip the extra nights in FLL. and check out a Oasis class ship. 

Disagree about skipping a night or 2 in Fort Lauderdale.   It's always prudent to fly in a day  ahead and flying from Canada in February, I would do 2 days ahead. 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Crazy planning mom

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, Canadianmama3 said:

I’m looking ahead to 2022 and researching cruises for me, my husband and my son that will be 11 then.  We are looking to go away in February. 
 

Because we will be pulling our son out of school we are looking at a shorter cruise so we can also have a day or two in Florida pre cruise.  
 

What are people’s opinion on a 4 night on independence or a 5 night or Mariner? 

We did a three night cruise on Mariner a little over a year ago.  She is a great ship and has lots of great stuff for kids.  I haven't been on Independence but Freedom class and Voyageur class are very similar in layout.

[Canadianmama3]

56 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Disagree about skipping a night or 2 in Fort Lauderdale.   It's always prudent to fly in a day  ahead and flying from Canada in February, I would do 2 days ahead. 

Exactly.  We never know when a flight could be delayed because of bad weather in February.  So we would definitely do the day before but would be better with 2 days.  Last cruise I went on with my kids we flew to Orlando 2 days before the cruise, the next day many flights were cancelled because of snow storms.  And because we are pulling our son out of school for a week, we need to do a shorter cruise.  
 

It sounds like both ships are comparable.  So we will just have to decide how many days.  I think both are sailing out of Port Canaveral so we may want to add a day at universal or something.  

[homedepot124]

Like someone else said, both are great ships.  Indy is a little bigger.  If either one goes to Coco Cay I would select that one.  Coco Cay would be a great day for an 11 year old. 

[Cruise a holic]

17 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Skip the extra nights in FLL. and check out a Oasis class ship. 

If you can swing it- consider the Oasis class ships- so much nicer and more to do!  Enjoy your cruise.

[PhillyFan33579]

11 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

If you can swing it- consider the Oasis class ships- so much nicer and more to do!  Enjoy your cruise.

I agree with these posts but it sounds like they don’t coincide with the OP’s plans. Plus there are still plenty of things to do on both Mariner and Independence. 

[Canadianmama3]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

If you can swing it- consider the Oasis class ships- so much nicer and more to do!  Enjoy your cruise.

It’s more about timing.  We want to go in February to avoid spring break and get a break from the cold at home.  We will be taking our son out of school and want to limit that to one week.  Because of possible weather delays with flights we want to be in Florida one or two days the cruise.  So we decided a 4 or 5 day leaving on a Monday is best for us.  So that leaves out the oasis class ships. 
 

We have also been on smaller ships before (last one was brilliance) and we do enjoy them. 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Canadianmama3 said:

Because of possible weather delays with flights we want to be in Florida one or two days before the cruise.

Simple solution, take a Friday night or Saturday morning flight and cruise Sunday-Sunday.

[Canadianmama3]

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Simple solution, take a Friday night or Saturday morning flight and cruise Sunday-Sunday.

 

Why do people assume we haven’t thought about stuff like this.  Flying internationally we need to be at the airport about 3 hrs before, plus the drive to Toronto during rush hour could take 2 hours, which would mean our son leaving school early.  No thanks. Not what we want to do.  
 

And enough with the “it’s not a real cruise crap”.  We have been on cruises, we also do all sorts of other vacations.   This is something we are considering because it fits our schedules for that time of year.  I asked for opinions on the two ships since I haven’t been on either.  Not a lecture from people about how we “need” to cruise on a bigger ship or go for 7 nights.  That’s not what I asked. 

 

 

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, Canadianmama3 said:

Why do people assume we haven’t thought about stuff like this.

Because you didn't put it in the OP - you wanted input, sometimes you get some which you didn't ask for - par for the course on CC.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Biker19

[Canadianmama3]

15 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Because you didn't put it in the OP - you wanted input, sometimes you get some which you didn't ask for - par for the course on CC.

I actually did put in my original post that we were specifically looking at a shorter cruise and I even explained why.  I also gave 2 options that I asked for input on.  

[Cruise a holic]

1 hour ago, ronbe65 said:

The Independence is a beautiful ship (even after "renovation"). I would recommend it any time. However, a cruise shorter than 7 days is not a "real" cruise.

As a short getaway - yes, it's OK if the itinerary includes Coco Cay. But... February is too early for Coco Cay.... For February you'll need something like Sent-Thomas, Grand Cayman, Labadee.

Without these stops the cruise will not worth money.

Happy cruising!

We were at coco cay this past January- our last cruise-- The weather was just perfect!  And the water perfect temperature.  Boy do we miss it.

[kimlet]

I have been on the INDY many times and its great. The teen rooms are good and lots of things to do.

[lovemylab]

As a fellow Canadian I totally understand wanting to fly in 2 days early in February.  

 

Both ships get great reviews so I'd choose based on itinerary/price.  I just had a quick look at the itineraries and if it were me, I'd choose the 5 night Mariner that goes to Coco Cay.   I like that it's a day longer and also goes to Cozumel (which I prefer over Nassau) and has 2 sea days.  As an added bonus, they have a sailing that leaves on Family Day so if you opted for this one it would mean less school your son would miss (and less vacation days the adults would need to use).  

[APDMOM]

Personally, I would choose 5 days on Mariner.  Since the ships are very similar, one day extra always wins for us.  🙂

 

What kind of cabin are you looking at?  We love both Freedom and Voyager class for the corner aft cabins on deck 7, which you can usually only book for 3 people.   It is the cheapest balcony class on these ships, but great in size.  The cabin is regular, but the balcony is huge. Enjoy planning!

[Canadianmama3]

4 hours ago, lovemylab said:

As a fellow Canadian I totally understand wanting to fly in 2 days early in February.  

 

Both ships get great reviews so I'd choose based on itinerary/price.  I just had a quick look at the itineraries and if it were me, I'd choose the 5 night Mariner that goes to Coco Cay.   I like that it's a day longer and also goes to Cozumel (which I prefer over Nassau) and has 2 sea days.  As an added bonus, they have a sailing that leaves on Family Day so if you opted for this one it would mean less school your son would miss (and less vacation days the adults would need to use).  

Thanks for understanding the wanting to be there a couple days early. And we also enjoy spending time in Florida. 
 

I’m leaning towards the Mariner because of the extra day. And it’s a toss up between Nassau or Cozumel being a more preferred port.  We’ve been to Cozumel before with my son and we like it, but my son hasn’t been to Nassau (my husband and I have) and if we go there we may take him to Atlantis which I’m sure he’d love it. 

[Canadianmama3]

39 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

Personally, I would choose 5 days on Mariner.  Since the ships are very similar, one day extra always wins for us.  🙂

 

What kind of cabin are you looking at?  We love both Freedom and Voyager class for the corner aft cabins on deck 7, which you can usually only book for 3 people.   It is the cheapest balcony class on these ships, but great in size.  The cabin is regular, but the balcony is huge. Enjoy planning!

I haven’t made up my mind on what type of cabin.  But it will probably be a balcony cabin.  Although I noticed it is letting me pick a family promenade view on independence, which would be great for the space.  We have been in a family ocean view on Brilliance and we were amazed at the space.  The kids love the bunk area. 

[Jimbo]

I give you credit, not alot of people looking at booking a cruise right now, mostly anyone looking at a cruise date in the future are only doing it because they have money tied up in a canceled cruise they have to move to something. More Power to you, but I'm not loooking to book anything until I see what the "New Cruising Lifestyle" looks like? Lots of unknowns !

Edited July 6, 2020 by Jimbo

[Canadianmama3]

7 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I give you credit, not alot of people looking at booking a cruise right now, mostly anyone looking at a cruise date in the future are only doing it because they have money tied up in a canceled cruise they have to move to something. More Power to you, but I'm not loooking to book anything until I see what the "New Cruising Lifestyle" looks like? Lots of unknowns !

I’m only looking at 2022.  I’m hopeful there will be either a vaccine or reliable treatment by then.  Or that people will actually get their act together and do what’s needed to stop the spread.  In Canada we have been successful at really really slowing the spread, so I’m hopeful it can be done if people want to do it. However you couldn’t pay me to step foot in Florida right now. 
 

Any cruise I would book now would be a fully refundable deposit and I would cancel if things are not better by the time I had to book airfare or pay my balance.  We already have a Disney trip that’s been postponed until next year, I’ve cancelled it twice already .  Lots of money tied up in flight credits.  

[APDMOM]

37 minutes ago, Canadianmama3 said:

I haven’t made up my mind on what type of cabin.  But it will probably be a balcony cabin.  Although I noticed it is letting me pick a family promenade view on independence, which would be great for the space.  We have been in a family ocean view on Brilliance and we were amazed at the space.  The kids love the bunk area. 

Family cabin is definitely a great option too!  

[lovemylab]

1 hour ago, Canadianmama3 said:

Thanks for understanding the wanting to be there a couple days early. And we also enjoy spending time in Florida. 
 

I’m leaning towards the Mariner because of the extra day. And it’s a toss up between Nassau or Cozumel being a more preferred port.  We’ve been to Cozumel before with my son and we like it, but my son hasn’t been to Nassau (my husband and I have) and if we go there we may take him to Atlantis which I’m sure he’d love it. 

 

In that case maybe go with the Independence and spend an extra day in Florida?