Really Need Travel Advice!!!

[jsrj21]

Hello everyone-

I am in need of some help in planning a non-Disney trip for me and my family [DW, DS, and ME]. We have really only vacationed in Disney World but my wife is demanding that we please go somewhere else - specifically a cruise. I need some help in planning a cruise with a 15 year-old along with me and my wife. I was planning a Disney cruise but I thought I'd stay away from anything Disney. Between you and I, I am hoping to take a cruise out of Port Canaveral and then be able to squeeze in a day or two at Disney....

Anyhow, after viewing the websites and all, I am so confused. So many ships and itineraries that I am lost. I guess that just doing a Caribbean cruise would suffice for us first timers - but which one????

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I know that there are tons of you that have been on cruises and have great advice. I still remember the fear I had when I planned my first Disney trip...I am experiencing that all over again. The good thing now is that I have the Dis and its Dis'ers to help me out. I didn't have that back then; just the AAA travel agent!

Thanks again.

Jose

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Have you been on Cruise Critic? That is where I would go.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/

I have never cruised however if I am going to cruise you bet your bippy I am going to go out of the country.

I guess identify how much your budget is first and then go from there.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Jose, I suggest you read all the DCL cruise threads. You will get all the help you need. Just remember that you can enjoy any price range of cruises from 3 day upward. Good luck.

 

[Acklander]

Another recommendation for www.cruisecritic.com

 

[Wishing on a star]

For me, I would LOVE to cruise the new Disney Dream!!!!

If you just have to abandon Disney all together, I would recommend Royal Caribbean with a teen.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

If you're taking a family, I'd go Western Caribbean. I find Eastern ones less then impressive, and honestly, I don't think I'd want to bring a kid to Jamaica (a popular stop for Eastern Cruises and some Western). I also am not a fan of the Bahamas.

Your personal style comes a lot into play with cruises and how long you want to spend on a ship versus at ports. I personally think 7 day cruises are ideal, they get you to 3 - 4 locations and give you some down time on the ships as well (days at sea). From a style perspective, if your family is very outgoing and loud (not in a bad way), a Carnival cruise might be great, but if you're more relaxed or want something similar to Disney quality, you're going to want to move up market to Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Princess or Disney (not in particular order). If you want something really more upscale, look to Cunard or Celebrity, but kids may feel out of place.

I personally wouldn't travel again, ever, on a Carnival cruise, it's not my style and they really are the low end of the cruising world (there are worst, but from the large cruiselines, they are pretty much the bottom).

 

[plutotek]

Things to be considered:

Vacation fund- how much are you able to spend (when comparing, I found DCL didn't come close to meeting Royal Carib or Carnival in terms of money spent vs cruise length)

Destinations- i know Royal will list their destinations under Eastern/Western/Southern Caribbean, so I would look at those ports and see what appeals to you. We did a West cruise and went to Cozumel and Belize. Next, we'll do East

Age appropriate-I've found, again through research (not firsthand) that Royal and Carnival both have shipboard activities that would appeal to your teen, but Carnival might have the edge in that.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I just did a quick search on tripadvisor....
June out of Port Canaveral.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival each have a ship that sails out of Port Canaveral. Try narrowing it down to these two ships, compare itineraries and prices.

IMHO, adding WDW to this defeats the purpose of taking a break from Disney...
I would either go ahead and do the brand new Disney Dream, or consider sailing out of Ft.Lauderdale, where you have the huge new Royal Caribbean ships, the Allure....

 

[MIGrandma]

DH and I have been on a few cruises, plus I went on one with my Mom. We have been on the Disney Magic twice, the Disney Wonder once, twice on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, and then once each on the Carnival Fantasy, and Carnival Glory. We are going to be on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas later this month as well.

We started cruising in 2001 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, so we have never taken children with us, it's always just been the two of us and we have thoroughly enjoyed each and every cruise we've taken. Loved the Disney cruises, but they are pretty expensive and at this point in our lives we just can't justify spending so much more money on them when we enjoy Royal Caribbean and Carnival just as much. In 2-3 years we plan to take our DD, her DH and their two children (the younger one is 2, so we'd like to wait until she's 4 or 5) on a 4-night Disney cruise.

But as I said, we have enjoyed the other cruise lines just as much. They all have wonderful things to offer. And I don't agree with the previous poster who said Carnival is at the bottom. They offer a good product for a good price. And you enjoy the same sun, lounging by the pool, and ports-of-call as the other lines. If you're looking to cruise as inexpensively as possible, Carnival is fine.

We have done the Eastern Caribbean once (St. Thomas, and St. Martin) and the Western Caribbean a few times (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize), plus the Bahamas (Nassau) a couple of times. There are always fun things to do in any port, we enjoy it all.

DH and I are 53 and we enjoy the great food each cruiseline has to offer, the wonderful shows and comedians, the decor of the ships (yes, some are a bit more brightly colored than others that are more subdued), and the wonderful tropical weather. I wish we could afford to cruise more often.

We always cruise out of Port Canaveral. And almost always spend the night before the cruise at the Radisson Resort at the Port.

We used a travel agent a couple of times, but most of the time just call the cruiseline phone number and book it ourselves.

I agree with others, go to cruisecritic.com and you will find a wealth of information. They have specific boards for all the cruiselines, plus boards for other areas of cruising (questions, not necessarily pertaining to one certain ship/cruiseline), and boards on all the ports of call. Lots of good reading!

If you have any questions about Port Canaveral or anything else, feel free to PM me too if you want. Good luck finding a cruise that fits you and your family. I think planning the cruise is half the fun!

 

[5lilfish]

15 yr old out of Port Canveral....Freedom of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). It has ice skating, mini golf, flowrider (surf/boogie board) and rock climbing. It's a great ship.

If you are adventurous..I'd do Western Caribbean. If you want to bum on a beach and/or shop, I'd do Eastern.

Jess

 

[msmayor]

My kids LOVED RCL's Freedom of the Seas...fantastic teen program and lots for them to do both during the day and at night.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I've never been on a cruise, but my parents took my, then, 12 year old on an Alaskan cruise. He absolutely loved it, but he loves to go anywhere he's never been and he's big on history and different cultures, etc. They flew to Seattle and left from there, or somewhere near there.

 

[minkydog]

We just booked our first cruise. I was overwhelmed with the choices and having never cruised before, i just dind't know what I dind't know. So i gave up and contacted my AAA agent. She was fantastic! She really listened to my concerns and was able to hook us up wiht a 5day Royal Caribbean cruise out of Tampa, headed for Cozumel and Costa maya. We'l have a couple days at the end of the cruise to go see the Harry Potter thang at Universal, too.

 

[HeatherC]

Royal Carribean! Freedom of the Seas sails out of Port Canaveral and is one of their largest ships with tons to do. We have sailed with Royal, Princess, Celebrity and Carnival. But when we take our kids we go with Royal Caribbean because their ships are truly amazing.

Their sports decks will keep a teenager occupied all day. They can learn how to surf and even ice skate onboard! There is so much to do that you can never be bored.

I second cruisecritic.com and also suggest using cruisecompete.com when you are ready to book. Different travel agents compete for your business and you will be able to pick the best offer which usually is either an onboard credit, or prepaid gratuities.

For our family, cruising is right up there with Disney. But you have to pick a great ship too since there are so many to choose from.

Have fun planning!

 

[HeatherC]

Forgot to mention that I noticed you are in CT. You could also look into Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas that sails out of NJ.

We just did a 9 night on her over Thanksgiving and thought it was wonderful. Our three kids had a ball!

Best part was that there was no airfare or flying involved. It was 3 hours to Bayonne and we were on vacation!

It is older than the Freedom, but has been very well maintained. It is a Voyager class so also a little smaller.....but still massive!

Hope this helps!

PS. You can do a virtual tour of these ships on RoyalCaribbean.com.

 

[mjkacmom]

We've done 2 NCL cruises out of NYC (20 minutes to the port - can't beat it!), and dd14 had a blast in the teen club. Actually, by day 3, we never saw her, because she was with her new friends (who still keep in touch via facebook - they even met up a couple of months ago). I love the freestyle concept, eating whenever you want, wherever you want. The itinerary isn't the best, but you can go to WDW at Port Canaveral (ds12 loved KSC), and we've been to the Bahamas 3 times now, and did a couple of beach days at hotels, and Atlantis, which is a blast. Next time, Blue Lagoon with the dolphin swim (it looks beautiful).

 

[Gigi22]

OP, I have found that it really pays off to do some research on the different cruise lines before you pick your cruise. Cruise lines market to vastly different clients. IMO you need to figure out if you and your family will be happier with one of the more mainstream cruise lines, at a mid-market price. Then you can look in greater detail at the cruise lines in that market. For example, Carnival Corporation owns a number of cruise lines, ranging from its' own line to Holland America (with a somewhat older demographic) and it even owns a significant amount of the more upscale Cunard--I think Carnival also owns parts of another couple of cruise lines.

You may want to use a local TA who specializes in cruise vacations.

Generally speaking it pays off to avoid booking a cruise on a ship that is in its' first year of service. New ships may take a year to shake down. (I know, everyone wants to be on the brand new DCL Dream in year one--but this is not the norm).

When you book your cabin, you should likely try to get one that is located midships--in the middle of the mass of the ship, near the water level. This will ensure that you experience less motion of the ocean in your cabin, and therefore you should be less likely (nothing is sure) to experience seasickness. To ensure early morning and late night quiet, look at the deck floorplans, and make sure that your cabin is not located adjacent to, or directly above or underneath a public space on the decks immediately above and immediately below your cabin.

Happy cruising!

 

[JLTraveling]

Full-time travel writer and avid cruiser here...

What do you want out of a cruise? Horseback riding on the beach? Climbing a waterfall? Great beaches? Shopping...straw market or upscale jewelry stores? Are you into commando touring in lots of ports, or do you want to mostly relax on the ship? Do you want rock climbing and ice skating on the ship, or karaoke and game shows? What about your teen? Interested in hanging out with other teens or more likely to hang out alone or with you? Interested in history/culture, active pursuits, shopping?

All of these factors go into choosing the ideal cruise experience. We've done a LOT of cruising and consistently found Carnival to be the best. It generally has the biggest "mix" of passengers, as far as age ranges and interests, and it delivers a quality product at a reasonable price. But I have nothing bad to say about any other line, either. I'd probably avoid the more upscale lines such as Crystal or Seabourn for your first one...but somebody mentioned Celebrity in that category, and I disagree. We did Celebrity to Alaska last year, and were very impressed at the lack of snobbery or pretentiousness. It was just as much fun as every other cruise we've taken.

Here are a couple of articles I wrote on cruising. Hopefully you'll find something useful there, and I'm happy to answer any specific questions. Have fun, whatever you decide!!

Cruising for Families

Celebrity Millennium Alaska Cruise

Cruising the Eastern Caribbean

 

[Bren's Mom]

I 2nd (third?) the nomination for Royal Caribbean. All of their newer ships are great, but a Freedom class ship for a 15 yo would be great. As would the Navigator and the sister ships in that class.

Definitely research on cruisecritic. Our last cruise we did a corner aft balcony. Same price as the side balcony but 3-4 times the size (the balcony is bigger, room is the same). That gives you lots more 'space' and that's something important when traveling with a teen I think! LOL

Freedom of the Seas has this itinerary which I think would be great for you. I agree with the pp about Jamaica...I don't like it.

Port Canaveral, Florida; CocoCay, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Port Canaveral, Florida

 

[5lilfish]

I 2nd (third?) the nomination for Royal Caribbean. All of their newer ships are great, but a Freedom class ship for a 15 yo would be great. As would the Navigator and the sister ships in that class.

Definitely research on cruisecritic. Our last cruise we did a corner aft balcony. Same price as the side balcony but 3-4 times the size (the balcony is bigger, room is the same). That gives you lots more 'space' and that's something important when traveling with a teen I think! LOL

Freedom of the Seas has this itinerary which I think would be great for you. I agree with the pp about Jamaica...I don't like it. Port Canaveral, Florida; CocoCay, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Port Canaveral, Florida

Climbing the Dunn River Falls, in Jamaica) with my 3 oldest kids is one of our all-time favorite cruise memories...and we've taken them on 20 cruises. Jamaica isn't a place that I would wander around on my own but I never felt unsafe on our tour.

Jess