New Orleans I think...or Texas

[kncnicole]

I have family in both and was wondering if anyone knows of a particularly good cruise departing from either? Thank you!

[nbevins]

new orleans grandeur of seas

galveston splender and rhapsody of seas and grand princess

 

 

all good choices

[hilltopfamily]

recently did a Carnival cruise out of Galveston on the Conquest.....wonderful ship and wonderful cruise. Check into it! we loved it :)

[Steamboatin]

New Orleans by all means.

 

Our merchants need your money badly and will soon go out of business without it.

 

So cone on down to the "Big Easy" and spend your money with us. We need it badly.

 

Come to New Orleans while you still can. And spend, spend and spend some more.:D

[wrp96]

Good cruise depends on what you like and want, also when you want to go. Most if not all will be Western Caribbean cruises, with slight variations in the ports of call.

 

Out of New Orleans the options are:

 

7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL's Granduer of the Seas through the end of April 2007.

 

7 night Western Caribbean on NCL Sun through the middle of April 2007.

 

4 or 5 night Gulf of Mexico on Carnival Fantasy.

 

7 night Western Caribbean on NCL Spirit beginning in November 2007.

 

7 night Western Caribbean on Carnival Triumph beginning in October 2007.

 

Out of Galveston the options are:

 

7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL's Rhapsody of the Seas through August 2007.

 

4 and 5 night Gulf of Mexico on Carnival Ecstasy.

 

7 night Western Caribbean on Carnival Conquest.

 

7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL Voyager of the Seas starting at the end of December 2007.

 

4 and 5 night Gulf of Mexico on RCCL's Splendour of the Seas through April 2007.

 

7 night Western Caribbean on Grand Princess through April 2007.

 

Out of Houston:

 

7-night Western Caribbean on NCL Dream through April 2007.

 

 

Which of these cruises is best depends on you? Do you want a small ship or a large ship? Traditional cruising or freestyle? When do you want to go (you have a lot less options in the summer and fall than you do this spring for example).

 

What I know about the ship choices:

 

RCCL Splendour and Rhapsody are both Vision class ships. Large ships (between 70,000 and 80,000 tons) , but definitely not as large as the current crop of mega ships. Rhapsody and Splendour are about 10 years old. RCCL offers traditional cruising. RCCL's Voyager of the Seas is a post-panamax size ship (very large - 138,000 tons). It is about 7 years old. It is the largest of the ship options.

 

Carnival Conquest is a large ship (110,000 tons). Carnival offers traditional cruising. Carnival Triumph is a large ship but a little smaller than the Conquest (around 100,000 tons). Ecstasy and Fantasy are some of the older ships in the Carnival fleet. They are around 70,000 tons.

 

NCL Dream is the oldest of all the ship options, and the smallest I believe. NCL offers freestyle cruising. NCL Sun and NCL Spirit are newer and larger than the Dream, and were built for freestyle.

 

Grand Princess is also a large ship. I believe it is slightly older than the Voyager. Princess offers traditional and anytime dining.