Picking a cruise line...

[jacav]

Hi there- I am at the beginning stages of planning a cruise for December 2023 and I haven't cruised in a long time.  I cruised Carnival in the late 90's and I cruised Norwegian in 2002, so it's been a while.  I am looking to book a trip with my sister and our adult kids- It would be me (50) my boys (21 and 22) and my sister (54) and her daughter (21).  There are others who have expressed interest, but trying to find a date that works for everyone is like trying to herd cats, so my plan is to find a cruise, book it, and if others would like to join they can book it themselves.  

 

The issue I'm having is deciding upon which cruise line to go with.  The prices seem to be all over the place and there are so many websites offering deals that it's a bit overwhelming.  My sister lives in Ft Myers, my niece goes to University of Tampa and my boys and I are all in MA so we would be looking to leave out of one of the Florida ports.  

 

Is there a cruise line that I should focus on or one I should avoid with the group/ages we have going?  

 

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any input immensely.

[crystalspin]

Hi and welcome back to posting on CC!

 

If you go to the top banner and click "Find A Cruise", you can filter by "Florida: ALL" and "Dec 2023". I got 291 hits!

https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?depcity=342&startDate=2023-12

 

There is also a Florida Departure sub-forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/

that will mostly be of interest once you pick a port (for things like hotels and parking), but may help choose one, too.

 

Then there are Destination or "Ports of Call" forums for Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Caribbean (three different sub-forums there). Find them on this directory:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2-ports-of-call/

 

I can't offer a cruiseline recommendation for your group as I have not really tried too many lines and none with your age-spread! But you can get some ideas of what is available from the Find a Cruise link -- and then each of the major and moderate lines also have their own sub-forum for specialized Qs:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/4-cruise-lines-“a-–-o”/

and

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/11-cruise-lines-“p-–-z”/

 

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Hlitner]

I can think of some questions that would help.  What kind of budget?  How many days?  Do you have preferred ports?  You also need to consider that there can be huge variances not only between ships and cruise lines but within a ship.  Many of the cruise lines have some "ship within a ship" optionso which can offer a completely different experience than being in a normal cabin.  For example, Celebrity offers their so-call "Retreat" Suites that come with many amenities.  It is similar on many other lines.  

 

Choosing a cruise has actually become a lot more complicated because can of the various amenities that are attached to certain categories.  You mentioned Norwegian and NCL now has a "ship within a ship" experience called Haven Suites.  The differences between the lower category cabins and the Haven Suites are quite dramatic with separate dining venues, private sun/pool deck, private lounges, etc.  

 

Hank

[Essiesmom]

Since you have t cruised in 20 years, I would approach it as if it is your first cruise.   Most of the ports you visited that long ago will be quite different/more developed now.  Whatever ships you were on are probably no longer sailing, and their replacements are much, much larger.  Tampa might be the best port for your sister, but ships sailing from there are smaller, due to the height of the Skyway bridge.  Port Canaveral would be a good option.  With the ages of the kids I think the Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships would be good options for energetic activities.  Time is going to be a problem if the college kids are in school up until the holidays. Prices are lowest between Thanksgiving and the start of the Holidays.  At that point, prices soar with lots of families traveling.  MSC might be another option because they often have very good prices.  
   One more thought.  Don’t let anyone convince you that you have to have a suite or a balcony, or ‘ship within a ship’.  Book insides and get out and enjoy that floating world you are paying for.  EM

[ontheweb]

You might consider finding a good travel agent who specializes in cruises. Give him or her all your data on budget, what interests you and the other family members, etc. and ask for suggestions.

[jsn55]

I've faced situations like this in the past and I lay out a spreadsheet of the factors that are important to us ... such as how many dining venues, what's included in the cruise fare, evening entertainment, that kind of thing.  I look at 5 or 6 scenarios and 'fill in the blanks'.  Once that's complete, the choice is usually obvious.  You have a LOT of variables to consider, so the quicker you decide on an embarkation port and dates, the better.  I agree that booking Christmas needs to happen ASAP.  Look at prices carefully, you may get better value on certain sailings, so being flexible in dates might be helpful.  Both of you should ask 'everyone' if they have a good travel agent that's a cruise expert.  An agent would make everything much easier for you both.  Once you get a handle on all the variables, come back with specific questions for us.  Cruising at Christmas is SO worth it, just magic to be out at sea celebrating the holidays.  

[bonsai3s]

We would recommend one of Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ship. For December 2023:

 

Wonder of the Seas - Port Canaveral,

Symphony of the Seas - Fort Lauderdale,

Oasis of the Seas - Miami, and Allure of the Seas - Port Canaveral.

 

* Watch a review of one, or all of these sister ships on YouTube to get an idea of what to expect. Happy sailing.

[Mary229]

We do quite a few extended family trips with up to 40 people.  We find Princess and Royal offer the variety of entertainment, dining and budget needed to please a large group.  Admittedly it is a lowest common denominator approach but it works. 

[Honolulu Blue]

14 hours ago, jacav said:

Hi there- I am at the beginning stages of planning a cruise for December 2023 and I haven't cruised in a long time.  I cruised Carnival in the late 90's and I cruised Norwegian in 2002, so it's been a while.  I am looking to book a trip with my sister and our adult kids- It would be me (50) my boys (21 and 22) and my sister (54) and her daughter (21).  There are others who have expressed interest, but trying to find a date that works for everyone is like trying to herd cats, so my plan is to find a cruise, book it, and if others would like to join they can book it themselves.  

 

The issue I'm having is deciding upon which cruise line to go with.  The prices seem to be all over the place and there are so many websites offering deals that it's a bit overwhelming.  My sister lives in Ft Myers, my niece goes to University of Tampa and my boys and I are all in MA so we would be looking to leave out of one of the Florida ports.  

 

Is there a cruise line that I should focus on or one I should avoid with the group/ages we have going?  

 

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any input immensely.

Hello!  I don't have a lot of advice for you and your group, but here's my two cents:

 

• I second the advice to try to find a good travel agent that specializes in cruises - but not one that specializes in a single cruise line.  Good luck finding one.
• Think hard about what your group likes and wants to do on this cruise.  Love good comedy?  There's a cruise line for that.  Like Broadway(ish) shows?  There's a cruise line for that.  Are you a bunch of foodies?  There's a cruise line for that.  Desire rock climbing walls, escape rooms, rollercoasters, paintball, and/or go-karts?  Pick the ship that has the features you want.
• Though I don't think itinerary is going to matter much for this trip, there are differences in what each island has and what there is to do and see.  There aren't any Mayan ruins in the Bahamas, for example.
• I think the youngsters are going to be the harder ones to please on a cruise, so listen especially hard to what they want
• I'll be mocked as a heretic by the old salts and fanfolks, but I think the mainstream cruise lines and ships are all more alike than different.  They'll all show you a good time if you let them.  Choosing by price isn't the WORST thing in the world.

 

Good luck choosing, and have fun!

[Mum2Mercury]

On 11/30/2022 at 3:34 PM, jacav said:

... The issue I'm having is deciding upon which cruise line to go with.  The prices seem to be all over the place and there are so many websites offering deals that it's a bit overwhelming ... 

I don't have a real suggestion about which of the major lines you should choose, but -- if you're planning to "return" to cruising, I suggest you do a lot of reading and decide for yourself which of the big lines you want to claim as "your own".  Why?  Because sticking with one cruise line means you'll build up points /days and will earn financial rewards. 

- Personally, we have decided we'll stick with Royal because we'll get to "Diamond level" and will get 4 free drinks/day (as much as we'd ever drink anyway).  If we were to split our cruises across other lines, we'd never get to that level on any of the cruise lines.  

- We also bought 100 shares of RC stock so we get On Board Credit every time we sail; we aren't going to buy into allll the lines.  

 

Consider that prices go up and down.  If you're thrifty (or stingy like me) you can watch and call in for a price drop.  For example, we signed up for our 3-day short cruise next week because it was only $99.  It went up-up-up before Thanksgiving to something like $675, and now it's $535.  

There's a website that tracks historical costs /gives you hints about what you might find.  You probably know that this website doesn't allow other websites to be mentioned by name ... but look up Cruise + the name of the thing you wear on your wrist to tell the time.  

21 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I've faced situations like this in the past and I lay out a spreadsheet of the factors that are important to us ... such as how many dining venues, what's included in the cruise fare, evening entertainment, that kind of thing.  I look at 5 or 6 scenarios and 'fill in the blanks'.  Once that's complete, the choice is usually obvious.  You have a LOT of variables to consider, so the quicker you decide on an embarkation port and dates, the better.  I agree that booking Christmas needs to happen ASAP.  Look at prices carefully, you may get better value on certain sailings, so being flexible in dates might be helpful.  Both of you should ask 'everyone' if they have a good travel agent that's a cruise expert.  An agent would make everything much easier for you both.  Once you get a handle on all the variables, come back with specific questions for us.  Cruising at Christmas is SO worth it, just magic to be out at sea celebrating the holidays.  

I'm very analytical myself, and I do admire a good spreadsheet.  

 

I disagree about cruising at Christmas.  We sailed a holiday once and said "never again"; the price was high, and the ship was crowded.  

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

...

 

I disagree about cruising at Christmas.  We sailed a holiday once and said "never again"; the price was high, and the ship was crowded.  

Agreed -- we did one Christmas sailing -- the very convenient Cunard QM2 from Brooklyn to the Caribbean for 12 days Dec. 2019-Jan. 2020. Easy to get to, decent itinerary, good to escape winter cold for a bit -- but over-all a bit of a depressing way to celebrate the holiday:  so many people looking for others to provide the "Christmas spirit" for them.

[SRQbeachgirl]

With your age ranges, I would suggest looking at Carnival's two newest ships - Mardi Gras and Celebration. The Mardi Gras will be sailing out of Port Canaveral and Celebration out of Miami. They are sister ships, so the biggest difference between them will be itinerary and home port. The ships are beautiful (they're also HUGE) and have tons of dining and entertainment options. 

 

The Oasis class on RCI would also be an option, but you will likely get the biggest bang for your buck with Carnival. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by SRQbeachgirl