Tell me about Caribbean cruises (non-DCL)

[minkydog]

I offered to take the kids on a month long cross-country camping trip, but they say they really want to go on a cruise. Let's see, hmm...10 days driving to Washington vs. 7 days sailing around the Caribbean slurping up sangria

I'm going to throw myself on the sword so my wonderful hubby and kids can go on the great big boat. But which boat? The kids will be 17 & 23; they have definitely ruled out DCL. Hopefully we can get adjoining rooms--I want a balcony; the kids can sleep in an itty bitty black hole

So give me some cruise line suggestions for 7 days in the Caribbean. Tell me why you liked the western Carib or the eastern Carib. Which ports did you like? DH & I are laid-back. We're not very physically active and we're not crazy about spending 7 days at the beach. But the kids are very active, want some thrilling activities and enough young adults on the ship that they can have some fun. We go to bed early, they stay up late. You get the picture.

Halp!

 

[KathyTX]

First- When are you planning to cruise?

About the adjoining rooms- you're not going to get a balcony room for you that adjoins to a little inside room for the kids. Balconies will be beside other balconies, inside rooms beside other inside rooms.

But you could probably find those across the hall or very nearby each other.

Lines you may be interested in would include Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Holland America, Carnival. Of those, Carnival will be the most affordable. Royal Caribbean has a lot of "active" activities. Holland America is a little more sedate, but even our teenager has had a blast on their ships. And they have an AWESOME private island.

What kind of stuff does your family like to do- will you look for a ship with LOTS of rowdy fun activities? More interested in nice surroundings and a little quieter ship? Looking for lots of entertainment, or looking for more time on your own by the pool?

From your comments, I'm thinking Royal Caribbean or Princess might be good lines for you. And they both have lots of ships that sail the Caribbean.

But there are very few ships in the Caribbean in the summer months. The "season" there for cruise ships is really winter and the cooler months. If you're traveling in the summer, your choices are pretty limited (but Royal Caribbean might be able to accommodate you.)

 

[Starbrite]

I'm biased to Carnival...that's all I've been on. So that's my vote

IMO - I'd say Western is more active. Ziplining, Cave-Tubing, Horseback riding, 4-Wheeling, Mayan Riuns, etc.
Eastern has more of a laid back feel - Calm beaches, shopping, catamaran excursions.

I love them both & couldn't choose one over the other.

Western ports are much poorer than Eastern. There are no Coach stores & big shopping plazas. I felt safer going off on my own in the Eastern ports. Western ports I always stayed with a ship-sponsered excursion.

 

[Poohlovr]

Some of the Carnival ships (Spirit class, definitely) have a few balcony cabins far forward that connect to an inside. A lot of people will tell you that it's too rough sailing that far forward; personally,I've never had a problem. You might find that two balcony cabins are much more affordable than you might expect.

I think Western is probably more "active" that Eastern. Lots of places to do cave tubing and canopy ziplining. Lots of ruins to explore. Dolphin swims. Scuba diving and snorkeling.Hiking in the rain forest. We loved the islands on the Western route.

I almost always cruise on Carnival. I've been on other lines and saw nothing that was better than Carnival; Carnival was a lot cheaper. I opt to go with "more bang for my buck".

Carnival does sail the Caribbean routes during the summer, as well as Royal Caribbean.

I suggest you check out www.Cruisecritic.com to learn more about the different itineraries and the different cruise lines.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

My recommendation would be Royal Caribbean, and the best ship for teens would be Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. There are lots of things to do both Eastern and Western.

You can get a lot of info from CruiseCritic.com. There are different boards for each individual cruise line, and also there are boards for activities at each port of call.

You'll have a great time no matter what you choose.

 

[Kteacher]

I agree with the above poster. We took our 2 younger kids on a RCI cruise in April '08. They were 16, and 18 then. We had a balcony cabin, and they were directly across the hall from us. I chose the western caribbean route because the stops there are usually more geared to active excursions than the eastern route. Western itineraries usually include Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. My kids loved it! Cruise critic has a lot of great information. Happy planning

 

[EthansMom]

I'm going to agree with other posters... RCL is a great line for families with older teens. Research their ships. The newer ones have rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, and sometimes wave surfing onboard.

We've cruised RCL several times with our younger kids and they love it.

Also, look at ports other than just Miami... many of the cruiselines leave out of places other than just Miami.

Good Luck!

 

[Bren's Mom]

Another vote for Royal Caribbean.

If you want a balcony, here's my 'best kept secret' for ya...

Choose the Navigator or any of the sister ships in that class. See if you can get an E1 (least expensive balcony) AFT CORNER stateroom. These are AWESOME. Same size as a regular balcony stateroom but with views of either port/starboard AND aft and the balcony is 3-4 times the size of a regular one. We held a cocktail party out on ours one night! You will fit all 4 of you out there if you want for a meal or snack or whatever.

And get the kids an interior room nearby.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I love cruising! My parents are huge cruisers and I grew up going along with them. Let me tell you, outside of perhaps Disney World, there is no more fun trip for a kid. They will be busy 24-7 and you won't hardly have to lift a finger. You can sit by the pool all day drinking Mai Tai's while they have scavenger hunts, checkers tournaments and private movie screenings. They will get up early and go to bed late, and not bother you 90% of the time. Then when you're in port, they'll get educated about a foreign country. Dinners are excellent and you never have to worry about where you'll eat, or where you'll be spending the night, or how you're going to re-pack everything into your suitcase. You just wake up every morning with some new port through your window. Too fun!

As to where to go in the Caribbean, I say Western. Never been all that fond of the ports in Eastern. They're fine if all you're looking for is a series of nice beaches, but I'm a get out and explore type person, not a sit on the beach type person. If you're all about beaches, though, why not consider the Bahamas? They tend to be cheaper, and I think the beaches are nicer. As for Western ports, Grand Cayman should not be missed. Cozumel is...eh...but it is the gateway to the Mexican Riviera where you can find ancient Mayan ruins (Tulum, Chichen Itza) and giant eco-parks (Xcaret, Xel-Ha). Don't go to Cancun...it's a city with a beach....nothing special. Jamaica is nice. I've never been to Montego Bay, but if you go to Ocho Rios don't miss hiking up the waterfall. It's traditional. Most Caribbean lines have private island stops as well, and those are always fun and relaxing.

RCL is a good line, so is Princess, and I've done Norwegian before without any problems. I don't know if I'd bother with a balcony, unless I had boku bucks. Cruises are made so that you spend as little time in your room as possible. However, an outside cabin is preferable. Unless someone in your family tends to get seasick, then you might want an inside. They're a bit more centered. Just a note, if you do have someone who gets seasick, even though you rarely feel much on one of the big ships, it might be a good idea to get one of those prescription patches. Also, beware the tender from Cozumel to the mainland, it can get a bit rough.

 

[Darcy03231]

Our family cruises a lot (avg 2-3 x per year). With the ages of your children I would recommend either Carnival or Royal Carribean and do the western Carribean. My kids (15, 17, 21 & 24) prefer Carnival over the other lines (we've sailed Carnival, Royal Carribean, Celebrity, Princess, and Norwegian).

Eastern Carribean has beautiful beaches, snorkeling, catamaran trips etc. Our typical shore excursions are the beach, snorkeling, catamaran trip, and exploring the island.

Western Carribean tends to be more active for us. Typical shore excursions are snorkeling, river tubing, zip lining, horseback riding, kayaking, visiting the Mayan ruins, jet boats, etc.

Southern Carribean tends to be a mix. In order to do the Southern route you either need to take a longer cruise or cruise out of San Juan, PR.

Whatever you choose have a great time!

 

[OhMari]

I just booked with Dream Unlimited-Thank you Ronda-and I am taking my 2 dd's and one of my dd's friends. I know absolutely nothing about cruising but we are going to give it a try. We are doing the Royal Caribbean, Western Side. I'm starting to pay for the excursions like zip lining, snorkeling and the girls want to swim with the dolphins. I am also going to pre-pay for the 2 resturants that have a fee of $20 and $25. So I am learning about this as I go along. We are flying into Orlando and RC just relocated to Port Canaveral. We are going Aug. 15-23. If you happen to book for those dates give me a PM.

 

[LoraJ]

I've sailed on Princess, Carnival and Royal Caribbean and enjoyed all of my cruises. your kids may really enjoy the larger Royal Caribbean ships. I'd like to try out one of those ships sometime.

I agree about going to cruisecritic.com. You will get lots of great advice there.

As for ports, I enjoy the mroe exotic ports. I really want to do one that goes to Belize. We just did a Southern one sailing out of San Juan and the islands were beautiful!!

 

[minkydog]

You guys are the best! I knew I'd get what I want.

We're planning to go June 2010 for 7 days. The 17yo is in her junior year of HS, so there will be NO VACATIONS during the school year. It's looking like Western Caribbean would be the best choice for us. I like the beach fine, but you know? We can go to Destin and stay on the beautiful sugar-white sands. I'm not hugely physically active, but I'd like to maybe take a cooking class, see a museum, ride out to some ruins, take a jungle tour, YES even a cave float! DH has some heart/lung disabilities so he's pretty limited on activities. For instance, he'd love to see Dunn River Falls, but if it involved any actual hiking he couldn't do it. Snorkeling is out for the same reasons--no stamina, can't breathe. So I imagine he & I will be doing some more sedate things and a little lying on the beach. The kids on the other hand will be up to their thrill-seeking eyeballs.

I'm not sure which port we will leave from. Port Canaveral is about 8hrs from us and Port Everglades is about 13hrs. I see that some of the Carnival cruises go out of Mobile, which might be good. Don't know how big the ships are, though. I get very seasick, which is why I think a balcony would be a good idea for me. I plan to bring all the anti-nausea drugs I can get my hands on.

Y'all have been marvelous. If you have other suggestions I would be glad to hear them. We are cruise virgins and we don't even know what we don't know.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Cozumel has a GREAT cooking excursion, 2 of them actually. One is through the ship, the other is privately booked. Both are great fun! DH and I split up in this port on our last trip...I did a private cooking class with some others I met online at cruisecritic before the cruise...dh did a 'Jungle ATV Tour'. He LOVED it, but be warned they don't go slow and they DO get dirty! After our class I felt perfectly comfortable shopping on my own in Cozumel before returning to the ship.

Grand Cayman has fabulous snorkeling about a block from the pier. Once off the ship you turn right and go 1 block. There's a little shack there to rent fins/masks, etc. Not expensive. And then right there are steps into the water. You have a beautiful view of the ships. If your dh was inclined to try a little snorkeling this would be a good place to do it. If he decided it was too much there are tables right there out of the water, he can get a drink and sit and watch the action. (And warning, if you buy 'fish food' there will be LOTS, like hundreds, of fish all around you...it was cool but you need to be prepared!) GC was our favorite Western port.

Jamaica, I'm not a big fan. I will not shop there on my own, in fact I prefer to stay on the ship. I love haggling but do NOT like the overly pushyness I find there. We did do Dunns River Falls but it would NOT be for your dh. Just getting to where you can see people coming up from the Falls 'trip' is a strenuous walk. I'd have him skip that. It was really cool, though, and would be fun for the kids.

You don't have to book everything before you go, you can leave some things until you're on board. The kids might find friends and want to do some different excursions because of that. Or you might find you want to stay on board the ship at one port. I *love* this because you get GREAT spa deals and NO ONE else at the pool!

 

[Starbrite]

DH has some heart/lung disabilities so he's pretty limited on activities. For instance, he'd love to see Dunn River Falls, but if it involved any actual hiking he couldn't do it.

Dunn's has a nice walkway & staircase along side of the falls if he's up to it. It's not as strenuous (sp?). My mom has a bad knee & couldn't climb the falls, but she went with me & took the stairs. They had benches, shops & drug dealers along the way Obviously it's not the same, but a great way to experience it.

 

[minkydog]

My mom has a bad knee & couldn't climb the falls, but she went with me & took the stairs. They had benches, shops & drug dealers along the way

I know you are not kidding. DH & I did some medical missions in Jamaica about 10 yrs ago and I couldn't believe how many times we were accosted to buy drugs just walking down the street, right out in front of God and everybody. I'm a city girl so I've been around the block a few times, but this kind of open drug dealing just took the cake!

 

[EthansMom]

I just booked with Dream Unlimited-Thank you Ronda-and I am taking my 2 dd's and one of my dd's friends. I know absolutely nothing about cruising but we are going to give it a try. We are doing the Royal Caribbean, Western Side. I'm starting to pay for the excursions like zip lining, snorkeling and the girls want to swim with the dolphins. I am also going to pre-pay for the 2 resturants that have a fee of $20 and $25. So I am learning about this as I go along. We are flying into Orlando and RC just relocated to Port Canaveral. We are going Aug. 15-23. If you happen to book for those dates give me a PM.

Often, you can save a lot of money by making your own arrangements for shore excursions instead of going with the ones offered through the cruiseline. http:/www.cruisecritic.com has great info on taxi prices, links to book things on your own, etc... At most ports, the local gov't has prearranged prices the taxis are allowed to charge. Also, then you can stay for longer or shorter periods of time instead of being locked in to being with your group.

 

[OhMari]

Often, you can save a lot of money by making your own arrangements for shore excursions instead of going with the ones offered through the cruiseline. http:/www.cruisecritic.com has great info on taxi prices, links to book things on your own, etc... At most ports, the local gov't has prearranged prices the taxis are allowed to charge. Also, then you can stay for longer or shorter periods of time instead of being locked in to being with your group.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[S. C.]

I know you are not kidding. DH & I did some medical missions in Jamaica about 10 yrs ago and I couldn't believe how many times we were accosted to buy drugs just walking down the street, right out in front of God and everybody. I'm a city girl so I've been around the block a few times, but this kind of open drug dealing just took the cake!

We was on a cruise to Jamaica in 1998 and the first thing someone wanted us to buy was drugs. Right outside of the falls where they have the souvenirs.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

We cruised DCL and RCI, and the boys liked RCI better! I would stay with the Voyager class or above.

We booked all our tours privately. Rays, Reef and Rum (Island) that is - was a great tour in Grand Cayman. Ocho Rios (Jamaica) was great as we went with Mark Morris - probably the kids' favorite.

You know what - my review of our whole Western is still up on Cruise Critic. I have some pictures too. It starts with WDW, of course, but you can wade through to the cruise parts!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=689342