Overwhelmed-Need Opinions

[happily single]

Hello All!!

I am in the early stages of planning a RCL cruise. We took our first ever cruise last May onboard the Carvnival Sensation. I agree with everyone who states that ship was a good "introduction to cruising". But now we want more choices and a newer, larger ship. BUT I CAN'T DECIDE!!!!

I am looking into both RCL and NCL the only factor is price. We would LOVE A Disney Cruise, but they are out of the budget.

What I am looking for:

1. I would LIKE to leave from Orlando (Port Carnaveal) but an open to Miami as well
2. Ship MUST have a quick service pizza
3. MUST have balcony rooms (Why do so many ships not have balcony rooms available when I am trying to book?)
4. Fun things for an us (41, 18, 17 and 11) to do

 

[hdrolfe]

You may want to check on cruise critic as well, they have much more active forums (for cruise lines other than Disney any way!) Port Canaveral is more limited in terms of ships, Miami and Fort Lauderdale tend to be busier and offer more options. I have only cruised on Carnival Liberty out of Port Canaveral (which was a very nice ship) but it is out of San Juan now. I would suggest a bigger/newer ship, I believe NCL Epic is going to be in Port Canaveral. I think Oasis of the Seas for RCL, but I'm not sure when that would be. Right now it's Freedom of the Seas which is a bigger/newer ship and looks quite nice. When are you looking to go? Carnival Magic is moving to Port Canaveral in April this year and is a bigger/nicer ship than the Sensation, it will be going under refurb at some point soon as well and probably getting the Guy's Burgers etc. It has the 24 hr pizza. I spend way too much time dreaming of my next cruise and planning them lol, comparing ships and itineraries. Next I'm going on RCL Majesty of the Seas for a 4 night, with a few Disney days around it I'm pretty sure that ship would not meet your criteria though. It was an amazing deal though!

 

[Prose]

We switched from DCL to RCL this year, too - we decided on Allure of the Seas, since it had an itinerary we liked. It sails out of Ft. Lauderdale, but other that that it has everything you are looking for. Either the Allure or its sister, the Oasis, might be good options for you.

 

[happily single]

We switched from DCL to RCL this year, too - we decided on Allure of the Seas, since it had an itinerary we liked. It sails out of Ft. Lauderdale, but other that that it has everything you are looking for. Either the Allure or its sister, the Oasis, might be good options for you.

Thank you. I will look into those ships. The RCL website is not the easiest to navigate, but now I know which ships to look into.

 

[mickeyfino]

I think the Oasis will start sailing out of Port Canaveral later this year. We love Oasis class ships, there is so much to do and the ships are amazing!

Another ship to look into is the Freedom of the Seas. It's not as big as Oasis, but still plenty to do. I think it leaves out or Port Canaveral as well.

Both ships meet everything on your checklist. You can't go wrong with either of them. But yes, do some research on Cruise Critic. Lots of good info there.

 

[bumbershoot]

Freedom has pizza quick service-style. They go out of PC, or at least they are in March. Tons to do.

 

[starvenger]

Oasis class has tons of balconies - some overlook Central Park/Boardwalk. They have pizza - not 24h, but iirc it's open fairly late.

 

[DnA2010]

Another fan of Oasis and Freedom- we had a blast on both!

 

[MickeySP]

Oasis is coming to Port Canaveral soon. It has Sorrrentos, decent cruise pizza.