cruise ideas?

[nephthys43]

ok... so, long story short, my bf has been having a really hard time with life lately. i know he really wants to go on a cruise. i've mentioned a disney cruise, but they are way more expensive than other cruise lines. we wouldn't be able to go until jan/feb. does anyone know which cruise lines are good and which ones to stay away from?

 

[DawnCt1]

ok... so, long story short, my bf has been having a really hard time with life lately. i know he really wants to go on a cruise. i've mentioned a disney cruise, but they are way more expensive than other cruise lines. we wouldn't be able to go until jan/feb. does anyone know which cruise lines are good and which ones to stay away from?

Everyone has their favorites. Some people LOVE Carnival. I would not like Carnival. My preferences are Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. I have heard good things about Princess but haven't cruise them. Costa is a European line that attracts a lot of European vacationers, which translates into a larger smoking population. I would avoid that.

 

[Darcy03231]

I like Carnival, Royal Carribean and Princess. Of the three, Carnival is usually the least expensive. A good place to start researching prices and itineraries is www.vacationstogo.com.

 

[Heidict]

I have gone on a couple of RCCL and loved them. We always travel in the off months (Dec, Jan and Feb) and find that there is a minumal amount of children on board yet has a good mix in ages of the other passengers. I'm open to trying other cruise lines, but haven't yet. I seem to hear that Carnival ships can be a bit more on the "guady" side, but the newer ships that they have are supposed to be much nicer and subtler decor. So, if you go on Carnival try to get on one of the newer ones.

They have tons of places to eat and the food is generally good to excellent. They have good nights clubs and other things to do during the day.

A good site to go to is boards.cruisecritic.com. Tons of people with an amazing amount of invaluable information. You can go the forums according to cruise line and ask away with any questions imaginable. I am on there and I think DawnCt1 is also.

Do you know what port you would like to sail from or are there any islands in particular that you are interested in?

 

[nephthys43]

A good site to go to is boards.cruisecritic.com. Tons of people with an amazing amount of invaluable information. You can go the forums according to cruise line and ask away with any questions imaginable. I am on there and I think DawnCt1 is also.

Do you know what port you would like to sail from or are there any islands in particular that you are interested in?

oh no! another forum board to steal all my time...

we're thinking of heading to somewhere in the caribbean. the only port i don't want to sail out of is NY. too much time wasted getting to the destination.

 

[mommasita]

I have done DCL (see siggie) and tried Princess last year to save time/money on flights for 5. We sailed out of NY, and LOVED IT....

Kids loved Princess, adults also..

My next cruise will be on RCCL, dying to try those new ships...

Cruise critic is a great place to read and get info.

 

[mrsmom]

People always talk bad about carnival , dh and i went on the carnival glory last Nov and had a great time. we aren't big gamblers or drinkers and and we met wonderful people. I didn't see any drunks . We had a balony room which was well worth the money. check out www.cruisecritic.com. we are going on the glory again next Nov. Have fun planning!
Kim

 

[MagicalMom]

We really like Royal Caribbean. We haven't tried any of the others since we are so comfortable with RC. Do you know where you want to go?

 

[Chattyaholic]

People always talk bad about carnival , dh and i went on the carnival glory last Nov and had a great time. we aren't big gamblers or drinkers and and we met wonderful people. I didn't see any drunks . We had a balony room which was well worth the money. check out www.cruisecritic.com. we are going on the glory again next Nov. Have fun planning!
Kim

ITA! I had heard so much about Carnival being a "party" cruise line, and there would be drunks all over. We had a GREAT time on our 4-night Fantasy cruise a few years ago, we paid just $299 each for an inside room. Never saw anyone obnoxiously drunk, and we stayed up late each night for the adult entertainment so it's not like we went to bed at 9:00 and just didn't see them. I had heard the ship was "dirty" and I actually looked for this "dirt" on our cruise and never did find it. The ship was fine, although older, the food was great (service could have been a little better), the entertainment was great, we loved it for a shorter cruise.

Dawn said she wouldn't like Carnival, but I don't think a person should knock a cruise line unless they have actually tried it.

Royal Caribbean is great too, we enjoyed our Mariner cruise even more than our Disney cruises.

We're going on the Carnival Glory in January, looking forward to it.

 

[birdiesunshine]

I love RC. We cruised out of Puerto Rico and did the southern caribbean. It was one of my favorite cruises and we got a balcony for $900 pp.
We cruised to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Curacos & Aruba. Royal Caribbean is my new favorite cruiseline. I like Celebrity too.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Can't make any personal comments about Carnival, as I've never done it, but I will agree that it's your best bet for a "value" cruise. RCCL and Princess are both excellent, though pricey. Norwegian, which hasn't been mentioned yet, is about at the same quality level as Princess, but can be considerably cheaper.

 

[DawnCt1]

ITA!
Dawn said she wouldn't like Carnival, but I don't think a person should knock a cruise line unless they have actually tried it.

Royal Caribbean is great too, we enjoyed our Mariner cruise even more than our Disney cruises.

We're going on the Carnival Glory in January, looking forward to it.

I think that I started out my comments with "Some people LOVE Carnival". I have one friend who always sails Carnival and wouldn't go with another line.
I have more friends that wouldn't sail Carnival again. Everyone has their preferences. Based on comments from people who generally like what I like, I wouldn't like Carnival. That is not knocking Carnival. Obviously they are a very successful cruiseline but they aren't for everyone. Some people do not like Celebrity. They like the pool announcements on RCCL, etc. That is why there are so many cruise lines and most of them are doing well. I have another friend who sailed the Caribbean on Costa. With a large European clientelle, they were lots of smokers on board. More than she had seen on any other cruise line. She wouldn't sail them again either.

 

[DawnCt1]

Can't make any personal comments about Carnival, as I've never done it, but I will agree that it's your best bet for a "value" cruise. RCCL and Princess are both excellent, though pricey. Norwegian, which hasn't been mentioned yet, is about at the same quality level as Princess, but can be considerably cheaper.

We sailed NCL several years ago and I was very unhappy with the cruise, the food and the ship. I didn't mention it because it was a 4 day cruise and during that time, the shorter cruises just weren't up to par with the 7 day cruise, even in the same line. It was such a poor experience however that if I really felt that NCL was on par with Princess, I probably wouldn't sail Princess either. I am hoping to do a Princess cruise to Alaska someday. I have heard that Princess does Alaska very well.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There are ways to keep the costs of a Disney cruise down if you really love Disney and want to sail with them. Like which week you travel, booking an inside or "secret porthole" room (free window), booking early and limiting shore excursions - to start. Lots of info on the cruise board here. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Just2554]

Well, I personally agree with those who have said they wouldn't offer up Carnival as one of their choices. We've done alot of cruises and would never do another Carnival one, despite how cheap they can sometimes be.

However, no one has recommended Norwegian Cruise Lines and I just HAVE to. They are our favorite cruise line (aside from Disney of course) and we love the NCL Dawn in particular. It's destinations change constantly and you can get very decent prices for the Dawn and all the NCL chips in general. Also, if it's only going to be you and your boyfriend, NCL is great because they have freestyle dining, meaning that you can eat in whatever restaurant at whatever time you choose each night.

Good luck in your search!

 

[hydster]

We've done Disney, Royal Carib, Carnival, Princess, Norwegian and Celebrity and Windjammer.

The 2 I will NEVER sail on again are Disney and Norwegian. You couldn't pay me to take a cruise with them. 2 of the worst cruising experiences ever!

I think picking a cruiseline the first time is like a crapshoot.

 

[minnie56]

I sell Cruises and have been on most of the lines. Many people enjoy Carnival and they are easy on the budget. The experience with them most often will correlate to the ship and it's age etc...for example, the Liberty is a new ship and really quite lovely. If budget is an issue, you might select a reasonable cruiseline and the best ship they have to offer.

Royal Caribbean, also an great line with much to do for the younger crowd. Princess, nice line as well, again one of the newer ships ex: Caribbean or Crown Princess with Movies under the Stars has a lot to see and do and my 2 DD's have enjoyed both of these lines.

You might consider a cruise in the slower season or sometimes even last minute will see cabins open up and good prices. Good Luck, whenever you go you will love your vacation.

 

[nephthys43]

so... i was talk to bf last night about it, and his only request is a balcony room (he doesn't even care where we go as long as it's warm). ::sigh:: of course the cruise i was looking at didn't have any available, only window rooms. so back to the drawing board.

 

[nephthys43]

we're not big drinkers, but bf does like to play poker. i'd like a decent spa. and the balcony thing... like we're going to be spending our time in the room hanging out on the balcony...

 

[Darcy03231]

One of the most inexpensive cruises we've been on with a balcony cabin is Carnival Destiny out of San Juan, and, the airfare for us was less expensive to San Juan than it was to Florida!