Looking for input on final decision

[Rolandtgs]

Hi to all of you experienced cruisers.

 

I have been reading through many reviews on this site trying to decide which cruise line to choose.

Of course everyone is different in what thier likes and dislikes are, so I have been bouncing between a few different ships.

 

I have only been on one cruise (1996 on Celebrity, Western Caribbean), and my wife has never been.

 

We are not looking for a crazy party / drinking ship. We are looking for more relaxation and some fun (and really good food of course). I will have just turned 40 (gah!) before the cruise, and my wife is early 30's, so a ship of people around our age is prefereable, but we will most likely be spending most time on our own (except meals and maybe night life).

 

So, my question to you, based on the above, what cruise line should I be looking at? Now, I have pretty much dropped Carnival as the reviewers seem to describe it as the "party" ship and I was hoping to stay under the 3000 passenger mark. Disney is too expensive, maybe next year. I had almost settled on Holland America until my TA mentioned that would be a much older crowd than us.

 

We are travelling in the first week of December, to either East or West Caribbean. The following ships are what we are looking at;

 

Holland America - Zuiderdam or Westerdam

Princess - Grand Princess

Norwegian - Sun or Dawn

Costa Cruises - Costa Fortuna (although this is over 3000 passengers)

 

Sorry for the long drawn out question, but I thought that more information would be a help.

 

Thanks all!

[eh2zed]

There are pluses and minuses on all the lines you have chosen. We are regular HAL cruisers. On a Caribbean cruise HAL passengers will not be as old as on more exotic itineraries. HAL is more formal than NCL. The HAL ships have the fewest passengers. Princess is quite similar but generally ranked a half star below HAL. You will have a good time on any you have shortlisted.

[clackey]

Hola amigo,

 

I'm 56, drink very little, love music and like to have a good time. We have taken one cruise with RCCL, one Princess and have the fifth booked with CCL. Which do I prefer? Loved them all. Princess was probably the most sedate, RCCL was pretty mild and it was a 5 night springbreak cruise. Carnival is a ball. I don't know why it gets such a bad rep. Every ship that we have been on had its share of drinkers and we have not had any problems. I think the Carnival slogan is right when they call them the "Fun Ships".

[JanineM]

We're mid-40s without kids and like Royal Caribbean. We prefer Celebrity for the better food, but the crowd is definitely older, especially on longer cruises (like 10 nights).

 

I suggest you look at Royal Caribbean ... they are absolutely not just a family cruiseline!

[Rolandtgs]

Hi all;

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

I had considered Royal Caribbean along with my other selections, but since it is quite a bit more than the others, we tossed it. All of the others are around $900 CDN, and RC is $1500.

I may need to take another look at Carnival. We are spending a few days in Orlando prior to the cruise, so it would be more convenient since Carnival Glory departs from there. Still not too sure about the huge number of people that they put on those bigger boats.

 

I think I am suffering from information overload. I should just throw a dart to decide.

[cherylandtk]

Just my 2 cents--I think you would be happiest on Princess or HAL. More closely matches your Celebrity experience than the other two lines. All will give you a fine time, but the overall ambience and demographics are a better match.

 

Suggest you search online for cruiseline pictures and downloadable brochures. Take a look at the public areas (ship is not as important as line) and see which ones aesthetically appeal to you the most.

 

Carnival is not as much a drunken party as one would think, and neither is HAL a bunch of old geezers.

[Payd]

Hi all;

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

I had considered Royal Caribbean along with my other selections, but since it is quite a bit more than the others, we tossed it. All of the others are around $900 CDN, and RC is $1500.

I may need to take another look at Carnival. We are spending a few days in Orlando prior to the cruise, so it would be more convenient since Carnival Glory departs from there. Still not too sure about the huge number of people that they put on those bigger boats.

 

I think I am suffering from information overload. I should just throw a dart to decide.

 

I know that you said you have ruled out Carnival. We have been sailing on Carnival because it "should" match our demographic best. DH is early 40's, I'm still mid 30's. We haven't seen a real party crowd on Carnival yet. I'm told the short 3, 4, 5 day cruises are a livelier crowd. Our last two cruises have been very sedate and full of lots of the older crowd.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Payd:)

[Rolandtgs]

Well, I have been lurking through many threads and from the replies from my question (thanks again all) and especially a thread which was a Carnival vs Royal Caribbean, I have brought Carnival back into the mix.

In fact, I think I have decided to go with Carnival.

Western Caribbean (actually, mostly Mexico) leaving on Dec 1 from Port Canaveral. This port is going to be much more convenient since we are going to be checking out the outlet malls and a couple of amusement parks prior to the cruise.

I have found some really great information on this site. Now to go back and re-visit the first time cruisers tips.

 

Thanks Again

[#1TravelMom]

Princess gets our vote. 20+ cruises-Princess is our favorite. I like freshwater pools-I know this is not important to some. We really like the anytime formal dining-one of our main reasons we love Princess. We've always found lots to do and definately a mix of ages.

[appaloosa]

We are not looking for a crazy party / drinking ship. We are looking for more relaxation and some fun (and really good food of course).

Hi Roland,

I more or less have the same itinerary in mind when I was trying to decide which cruise line to choose. Although I'm not an experienced cruiser, you may be interested in reading my post HERE.

 

Good luck!

Cheers,

~app

[celbercrz333]

I haven't done any of those lines. We've done both Carnival and Celebrity. We liked Celebrity a lot. Keep in mind that attitude is everything in life and getting there is only half the fun. Where you wind up can be a real party place. The ships have things for every age group and some things you may not want to do (Bingo for instance), while dancing or playing the casino games might be more to your liking. Or going to a comedy club on board. Ships, as you know have lots to offer. I would suggest, if you haven't already done so, going to each cruiseline's website and seeing what is on each deck of the ship. I know how you feel turning 40, I turned 50 this year. At least you can't say this: Not only does my mom belong to AARP, so do I!