First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
We decided to buy our first cruise:
place - Caribbean, time - December, we found too many nice cruises and now we are confused what is the best for us? We need some help.... :) We have three types: 1) 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas - Labadee, Haiti - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel 2) 8-night Caribbean-Eastern - from Fort Lauderdale with Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas - San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda - Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Martin - Sint Maarten - Nassau, Bahamas 3) 10-night Caribbean-Ultimate - from Tampa with Celebrity Cruises - Zenith - George Town, Grand Cayman - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras - Cozumel, Mexico We have a lot of questions, we are under 30, we would like to see a lot, we like snorkeling, exotic places, good fun etc. It will be our honeymoon, but we want to spend it in active way. We don't want to spend all day on the beach. Do You think 1st cruise for 10 nights isn't too long for first timers?? Is it better to take 7 nights? Is it big diffrence between these lines ( royal and celebrity ) ? Is it really bad to stay at interior room or it's better to pay a little bit more for oceanview? what we should know about additional charges? Is some lines better for "young" people? ( beside disney's ship )? What about shore excursions? Have You tried something? What can You recomend? Is it better to organize our time by ourselves or buy some excursions? We would love to hear everything what You know, every suggestion, specialy from people who tried one of those cruises. It's our first time and we would like to know everything before we book the cruise Thank You soooooo much Eve |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
Personally, we prefer the Celebrity cruises.... as far as the ships go. On the other hand, we have taken a Celebrity cruise similar to the route in your number 3 example, and having done that, I tend to think that the stops on your number 2 example look more interesting. Ed |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
All of those are good. Depending on your budget, I'd get a balcony or oceanview if you can. Nothing like having coffee or a nightcap while watching the ocean go by. For me 10 nights is too long and this is after 8 cruises. It sure is fun but the richness and cost get to you after a little bit. Lots of people like longer but that's just my opinion. Regardless of the ports, for the most part you can always find something to do. Snorkeling on excursions can get expensive so we usually pick beaches with snorkeling available, hang out for a while, and then hit town for some shopping. Look at port times also, even though there may be a lot of ports on an itinerary, the time in ports may limit your options. Personally I hate sea days, there's lots you can find to do on the ship but I prefer to check out the local culture and stop for a beer here and there while walking about. A lot of the same stuff is available on the ship on port days so you don't have to get off if you don't want to. If you think you'll like good full port days then also check out Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan or Crown princess. If you have to fly it's about the same price as flying to Miami. Make sure you check out message boards like www.cruisecritic.com and www.cruisemates.com for reviews and stuff also. It'll make your head spin reading all that stuff but once you decide what you really want to do then it'll be easy to narrow it down to the cruise that fits your taste. wrote in message oups.com... We decided to buy our first cruise: place - Caribbean, time - December, we found too many nice cruises and now we are confused what is the best for us? We need some help.... :) We have three types: 1) 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas - Labadee, Haiti - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel 2) 8-night Caribbean-Eastern - from Fort Lauderdale with Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas - San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda - Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Martin - Sint Maarten - Nassau, Bahamas 3) 10-night Caribbean-Ultimate - from Tampa with Celebrity Cruises - Zenith - George Town, Grand Cayman - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras - Cozumel, Mexico We have a lot of questions, we are under 30, we would like to see a lot, we like snorkeling, exotic places, good fun etc. It will be our honeymoon, but we want to spend it in active way. We don't want to spend all day on the beach. Do You think 1st cruise for 10 nights isn't too long for first timers?? Is it better to take 7 nights? Is it big diffrence between these lines ( royal and celebrity ) ? Is it really bad to stay at interior room or it's better to pay a little bit more for oceanview? what we should know about additional charges? Is some lines better for "young" people? ( beside disney's ship )? What about shore excursions? Have You tried something? What can You recomend? Is it better to organize our time by ourselves or buy some excursions? We would love to hear everything what You know, every suggestion, specialy from people who tried one of those cruises. It's our first time and we would like to know everything before we book the cruise Thank You soooooo much Eve |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
wrote in message
oups.com... We decided to buy our first cruise: place - Caribbean, time - December, we found too many nice cruises and now we are confused what is the best for us? We need some help.... :) We have three types: 1) 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas - Labadee, Haiti - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel 2) 8-night Caribbean-Eastern - from Fort Lauderdale with Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas - San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda - Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Martin - Sint Maarten - Nassau, Bahamas 3) 10-night Caribbean-Ultimate - from Tampa with Celebrity Cruises - Zenith - George Town, Grand Cayman - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras - Cozumel, Mexico We have a lot of questions, we are under 30, we would like to see a lot, we like snorkeling, exotic places, good fun etc. It will be our honeymoon, but we want to spend it in active way. We don't want to spend all day on the beach. Do You think 1st cruise for 10 nights isn't too long for first timers?? Is it better to take 7 nights? If you have never cruised before, I'd do seven nights to be sure you are not miserable for ten. Is it big diffrence between these lines ( royal and celebrity ) ? Royal Caribbean owns both lines, but there is a big difference. Just as Carnival has the "fun ships", Royal Caribbean is the more active ship, with fun and games at the pool, and certainly easier to get bar service. And although I haven't been on either line in over a decade, being that I am an oldtimer who prefers the laid back ambience of Holland America, back in the day Celebrity food was far superior to RCL. Is it really bad to stay at interior room or it's better to pay a little bit more for oceanview? It depends. After 20 cruises I like the outside, but since it is your honeymoon, you may either spend or not spend a lot of quality time in your cabin. Decide how much actual physical space you need. what we should know about additional charges? Just about everything is extra. Be prepared. Have a wonderful life, and spend your honeymoon living that life. -- DG in Cherry Hill, NJ |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
My suggestion... Voyager. Hands down.
My reasons: I've been on about 14 Celebrity sailings and about 10 Royal Caribbean sailings, so I have a decent perspective. Celebrity is my favorite line, but for me, for very specific reasons. And the 2 lines are rather different. But the first place to start is the ships. Zenith is an old, small ship without any balcony cabins. She's nice for an itinerary like Bermuda, when a small ship is important to get into the tight channels. But in the Caribbean, you want BIG, BOLD, SPLASHY. And NEW. Radiance is a pretty class of ship, but NOTHING compared to Voyager class. If you pick Royal Caribbean, do the Voyager, or one of her sister ships. If you look at Celebrity, the advantages it has over Royal Caribbean are the better food and more relaxing type experience. More elegant. More chic. More pampering. But you didn't mention any of those. And the Zenith is the worst of the Celebrity ships. Royal Caribbean's advantages over Celebrity are the more dramatic looking ships, the non stop activities, ice skating rink, Johnny Rockets burger place, etc. It's more into action. Disco open till the wee hours of the morning. Hot casinos. Just a more "happening" type cruise experience. If you really decided that you wanted the pampering and better food of Celebrity, than go with one of the newer ships instead. Otherwise, go with Voyager, or one of her sister ships Explorer, Adventure, Mariner, Navigator. Or even the newer Freedom. That way the ship is the destination. --Tom wrote in message oups.com... We decided to buy our first cruise: place - Caribbean, time - December, we found too many nice cruises and now we are confused what is the best for us? We need some help.... :) We have three types: 1) 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas - Labadee, Haiti - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel 2) 8-night Caribbean-Eastern - from Fort Lauderdale with Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas - San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda - Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Martin - Sint Maarten - Nassau, Bahamas 3) 10-night Caribbean-Ultimate - from Tampa with Celebrity Cruises - Zenith - George Town, Grand Cayman - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras - Cozumel, Mexico We have a lot of questions, we are under 30, we would like to see a lot, we like snorkeling, exotic places, good fun etc. It will be our honeymoon, but we want to spend it in active way. We don't want to spend all day on the beach. Do You think 1st cruise for 10 nights isn't too long for first timers?? Is it better to take 7 nights? Is it big diffrence between these lines ( royal and celebrity ) ? Is it really bad to stay at interior room or it's better to pay a little bit more for oceanview? what we should know about additional charges? Is some lines better for "young" people? ( beside disney's ship )? What about shore excursions? Have You tried something? What can You recomend? Is it better to organize our time by ourselves or buy some excursions? We would love to hear everything what You know, every suggestion, specialy from people who tried one of those cruises. It's our first time and we would like to know everything before we book the cruise Thank You soooooo much Eve |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
I believe people your age would love Voyager. The price of a 7 night balcony
is very reasonable next month. So much on the ship to keep you active and entertained. True the food isn't that wonderful but you can live on it.We cruised on Voyager and weren't happy though we did enjoy the ice skating. We love to cruise and Celebrity is our 1st choice. We are old folks and that probably had a lot to do with it. We are about to take Celebrity Constellation, after that cross the bridge and NCL . January we will cruise with the Zenith, one of our favorite ships (our 6th Zenith cruise) Then B2B RCCL Enchantment, ONLY because our favorite shipboard entertainer is on it. Whatever you choose, if you like it you will probably be hooked on cruising. wrote in message oups.com... We decided to buy our first cruise: place - Caribbean, time - December, we found too many nice cruises and now we are confused what is the best for us? We need some help.... :) We have three types: 1) 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas - Labadee, Haiti - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel 2) 8-night Caribbean-Eastern - from Fort Lauderdale with Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas - San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda - Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Martin - Sint Maarten - Nassau, Bahamas 3) 10-night Caribbean-Ultimate - from Tampa with Celebrity Cruises - Zenith - George Town, Grand Cayman - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras - Cozumel, Mexico We have a lot of questions, we are under 30, we would like to see a lot, we like snorkeling, exotic places, good fun etc. It will be our honeymoon, but we want to spend it in active way. We don't want to spend all day on the beach. Do You think 1st cruise for 10 nights isn't too long for first timers?? Is it better to take 7 nights? Is it big diffrence between these lines ( royal and celebrity ) ? Is it really bad to stay at interior room or it's better to pay a little bit more for oceanview? what we should know about additional charges? Is some lines better for "young" people? ( beside disney's ship )? What about shore excursions? Have You tried something? What can You recomend? Is it better to organize our time by ourselves or buy some excursions? We would love to hear everything what You know, every suggestion, specialy from people who tried one of those cruises. It's our first time and we would like to know everything before we book the cruise Thank You soooooo much Eve |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
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First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
wrote in message oups.com... We decided to buy our first cruise: place - Caribbean, time - December, we found too many nice cruises and now we are confused what is the best for us? We need some help.... :) We have three types: 1) 7-night Caribbean-Western - from Miami with Royal Caribbean - Voyager of the Seas - Labadee, Haiti - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel 2) 8-night Caribbean-Eastern - from Fort Lauderdale with Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas - San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda - Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Martin - Sint Maarten - Nassau, Bahamas 3) 10-night Caribbean-Ultimate - from Tampa with Celebrity Cruises - Zenith - George Town, Grand Cayman - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Colon, Panama - Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras - Cozumel, Mexico We have a lot of questions, we are under 30, we would like to see a lot, we like snorkeling, exotic places, good fun etc. It will be our honeymoon, but we want to spend it in active way. We don't want to spend all day on the beach. Do You think 1st cruise for 10 nights isn't too long for first timers?? Is it better to take 7 nights? Is it big diffrence between these lines ( royal and celebrity ) ? Is it really bad to stay at interior room or it's better to pay a little bit more for oceanview? what we should know about additional charges? Is some lines better for "young" people? ( beside disney's ship )? What about shore excursions? Have You tried something? What can You recomend? Is it better to organize our time by ourselves or buy some excursions? We would love to hear everything what You know, every suggestion, specialy from people who tried one of those cruises. It's our first time and we would like to know everything before we book the cruise Thank You soooooo much Eve I would pick #2, mainly bcs I like those ports, but I do hope to do the #3 cruise at some point. I like Celebrity & did a 10 day one before. It was a good cruise, but I prefer the 7 day. I also went on the 10 day cruise in December.....I was late 30s and was one of the youngest on the ship. We had several passengers die during that cruise which has never happened before. Celebrity is a nice line, a bit more upscale overall, but the ship is not as big or up-to-date as the other lines. So basically it just boils down to personal choice, but given your age and that you've never cruised before, I would pick #2 (I just do not like Jamacia). |
First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
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First cruise - CARIBBEAN - questions
Ed wrote:
Personally, we prefer the Celebrity cruises.... as far as the ships go. On the other hand, we have taken a Celebrity cruise similar to the route in your number 3 example, and having done that, I tend to think that the stops on your number 2 example look more interesting. If I were picking by ports, which I do, I'd prefer the Radiance of the Seas itinerary. I don't know anything about the ships. El Moro (fort and lighthouse) make San Juan the most dramatic entrance of any harbor in the Caribbean There were people at the end of the dock offering a city tour for $10 (way cheaper than the boat tour). There is another fort (San Cristobal) to visit in addition to El Moro, or you can take a ferry over to the Bacardi factory. Charlotte Amalie - there are several places to go to the beach for snorkeling (Coki Beach which is next to Coral World, or over to St. John), and that is where a lot of people go shopping. St. John is mostly National Park, and there are a lot of hiking trails. St. Martin has a very nice zoo type of place, and also Orient Beach is clothing optional. Cozumel and Roatan are mostly known (by me anyway) as places to scuba dive. |
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