RedLife

22 minutes ago, SG65CB said:

Based on those ship choices it might come down to what type of activities you enjoy while in port. Beaches? Tours? Adventures? Other?

 

ABC islands guaranteed good weather in January. Oasis class good weather except CocoCay has a chance of being cool and Florida departure could be 75 could be 60.

 

You'll probably see lower prices in January and early February, so your credit would go further.

This trip will be my 72 year old mom and I, so likely tours and beaches - though I love adventure if we had a group. She loved Harmony (minus some not so nice weather) but we went on Seranade 15 years ago and she was not impressed- though ships had very little back then compared to the revamps now. We just want to get out of the horrible winter here when we go and have a great vacation. 

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

Where have you already been?  Where would you most like to go next?  How much do you enjoy sea days?  Are you flying or driving to port?  

We've only done Eastern Caribbean so any ports would be new. I enjoy both ports and at sea days, no preference as I just love the sun. We are flying from Montana so expensive and LONG day of flying whether we leave from Florida or San Juan. Both are similar cost as San Juan would cost more to fly but leas price difference for cruise. 

Narrowing down my pick & need HELP again

We got it narrowed down to Freedom, Explorer, or Odyssey to ABC islands (odyssey likely not a possibility since won the cruise and it will be new within a year)

OR

Oasis class ship to Westerm Caribbean (Costa Maya, Cozumel, Roaatan, CocoCay)

Which to choose? Ports or ship? And we were thinking January? Good time to go?

6 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I'd look at Odyssey of the Seas. They offer 6 night Western and 8 night Southern Itineraries out of FLL.  She is big and brand new with unique itineraries.  You'll have to cough up a little bit of money on top but I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

That's the one we cant do with the cruise she won - ship cannot be less than 1 year old 😞

5 hours ago, Heatherco said:

I would also suggest looking into the Explorer.  Smaller and older than Harmony, but it is being renovated this coming month.  I am sure it will be even better after it is “Amped”.  

 

We just did the southern itinerary two weeks ago and it was fantastic!  Loved it so much I just booked it again for next February.

 

It is 9 nights which was awesome.  We are from Massachusetts and also like to escape the cold.  I figure if I have to pay for flights, I want to maximize the time away.   

 

Another thing we loved is the ports and the fact the ship is actually in each port all day.  Aruba is like a 13 hour port stop.  Plenty of time to do things and not rush.  And the last two days are sea days which was such a relaxing way to end the trip.

 

I think this itinerary is one of the best they offer.  Wish they did more 9 nighters with long port days.  

 

Whatever you choose, have fun planning!

We feel the same when flying - need to make it worthwhile. Looked at Freedom but our airfare would be over $1000 per person instead of $450 which is a little much for us to justify for a free cruise. I see explorer though the 9 night isnt showing much availability unfortunately. We were hoping dec-Feb sometime and it's only showing a fee dates for that one 😞 thithings shouldn't be so hard! Lol

I am finding this so hard everyone! I have found this daunting just to pick one. We have decided...

7+ nights

Southern or western Caribbean 

Likely sailing Dec-Feb sometime 

Questions we have stem around different ships. Will a smaller ship feel far more crowded than Harmony? They are smaller though the amount of people on board dont seem all that much smaller. 

1 hour ago, jakeil7 said:

Do you object to San Juan as a destination port or a departure port?  If it’s just the former, you might want to consider sailing out of there and visiting some islands you don’t get to visit on a Florida departure.  It also gives you a chance to see some sights in PR that are not easy to do from a half day in port. 

We have just done San Juan and SXM multiple times so were hoping for a change by avoiding those ports this trip. I love both and sailed out of PR 2x and have stayed 2 weeks on SXM but out of our 4 trips to the Caribbean in my life we have went there each time. Trying to branch out a little!

We just got off Harmony of the Seas last Sunday and loved it. My mom won a cruise for 2 up to $1250 to use in the next year by playing bingo. We can pay the difference if it costs more. Our needs are sailing 5+ nights Jan/Feb to somewhere warm as we are from Montana. Not worried about where except we would like to avoid Puerto Rico & Sint Maarten as we have been to each a number of times. My mom will be 72 (not very active) and I am 40 (very active). We are worried about another ship being a let down as Harmony was beautiful and did not feel crowded with so much to do. Any recommendations as to good ships/itineraries or should we stick with HOS?

Than you so much! 

Im trying to find the roll call for a cruise I just returned from. Any suggestions how to find it?