caroline2007

hello, my big family are going on this adventure of the seas 7 days cruise from New york. There is one day stop at Orlando. We have kids 4 & 7, also have seniors. I don't know what should I do with that one day at Orlando.

Any suggestion would be appreciated! thanks!

Thanks to all reply.

I am looking at June 2018 cruise.

I thought final payments is within 60-90 days before cruise, the price not going down, instead it is going up almost every week.

So I guess people really like to cruise in June.

As first time cruiser, I have no idea about the price. So I am watching some cruise price for 3 months.

I did some research and some people said the price will be cheaper when it’s close to 60-90 days before the cruise date. So I waited!

finally it’s within 60-90 days already, but the price increased about $1000-$1500 already! And no good cabins choice any more.:eek::loudcry:

Does that mean no more chance the price will be cheaper again?

Also about the guarantee cabins, if the choice of the cabins is already not good, will guarantee cabins be better than that? I doubted but just want to know your experience. Thanks

The pride is a great ship it has better ports of call and is a lot cheaper to go out of Baltimore hotels with parking and transfers are less money if your budget minded more bang for your buck we have gone out of all three ports love Baltimore very easy

 

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Carnival Ecstasy， have you taken this one before? I listed this because it’s much cheaper.

The pride is a great ship it has better ports of call and is a lot cheaper to go out of Baltimore hotels with parking and transfers are less money if your budget minded more bang for your buck we have gone out of all three ports love Baltimore very easy

 

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The parking and transfer cost pretty much similar. Carnival pride actually is a little pricey :')

Carnival Pride: Eastern Caribbean - Starting in Baltimore with stops in Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, Freeport

RCL - bahama - Starting in Cape Liberty with stops in Port Canaveral, Cococay, Nassau

Carnival Ecstasy - Starting in Charleston with stops in Princess Cays, Nassau

Baltimore port is closer to us.

My concern is each cruise has couples of days cruising on the sea. Which ship has the best entertainment so we won't feel bored at the ship?

I have families with kids and seniors.

thank you so much!

WOW! you are really good!

It IS Carnival! ;p

I haven't booked yet, so I'm confused, why people would like to book the 4c with the higher price even though it says free upgrade to 4k? why they won't just book 4k at the lower price?

so confusing

Prices vary all the time, its not necessarily an upgrade based on price but on stateroom category.

 

Guessing you are looking at Carnival where a 4c room is a basic interior room whereas a 4k would be considered an upgrade, regardless of price, because it is an obstructed view room

I saw it on some cruise saying:

Free upgrade: Buy a Room Type Code 4C, get a Room Type Code 4K.

what does that mean?

does that mean I bought Room type code 4c and I can get another room type 4K for FREE?

At the beginning, I thought 4c is cheaper than 4K, so it's like you pay 4c price to get higher priced 4K. But actually, 4K room is cheaper than 4c. I'm totally confused. :confused:

I much prefer the ports in the Eastern cruises. The problem is with your short cruise length. The best itineraries will be at least 7 days.

 

I wouldn't recommend any of the 3-4 day mass market cruises. Except for Disney, they tend towards rowdy party cruises. Not something I want my kids to be surrounded by. The 5 day ones are marginally better.

 

Cruise Critic has a cruise finder. Maybe it will help with your options. https://www.cruisecritic.com/smart-deals/?port=122&depcity=342&sort=length

it's family decision that we would like 4-5 days cruise instead of 7 or longer. :)

I used the search engine from cruisecritic, but I'm still not sure which one is better.

I just hope anyone who took this kinds of cruise can give me some suggestions which can help me to make up my mind.

thanks!

Honestly, I will not book a cruise that goes to the Bahamas. Half Moon Cay is amazing but Nassau & Freeport are a waste of money for me. Some other people like those stops but they're definitely not for us. If I pay a lot of money to go on a cruise I want to go somewhere nice and enjoy it. The Caribbean I enjoy however.

yeah, I did some research, people all think Half Moon Cay/Co co cay are nice and good, and Nassau is the worst. The reason I include Bahama is I've never been there. So more like bucket list thing.

I agree, I've been to west Caribbean. It truly a beautiful and cheap place to go.

I have no idea about east Caribbean, is it same as West Caribbean? Don't want to climb up and down and walk too much due to I have kids and seniors.

thanks!

I plan to do the 4-5 days cruise. Bahama or Caribbean (not west Caribbean, I've been there before).

Doesn't matter where to deport. If you have been one recent years, would you please recommend some ship? please provide the ship name as well. thanks!

Although you didn't mention the cruise line or ship/sailing , monitor that cruise line for the next Sale to see if your planned cruise is included.

Sales pop up all year. When you see what you like at a price you like , book it .

Especially if it is a refundable deposit.

It’s not refundable deposit. That’s why I want to think through before making that decision. :(

The cruise line is royal Caribbean for Bahamas cruise

I sign up for cruise line emails and this gets me notified of sales as soon as posted....rather than having to check all the websites when I remember to.

Where to sign up the cruise line emails?

week ago, I compared the price and location. after I thought through about how I can get there and how it works. Then I'm about to book the cruise. The price changed! $700 more than the quote! :o But the old price is not that cheap either. pretty much different same ships all have that similar price.

The problem is I searched and compared and finally made up my mind for this ship and the price changed and all my plan in my mind is going to be wasted. :loudcry:

Experienced cruiser/agent, do you know whether the price will decrease again or it will be higher and higher?

thanks!

I would go out of Baltimore, Charleston, even NY if I had to drive. Driving down in anticipation doing the field trip is fun and would be a blast as you're gearing up. BUT REMEMBER, you have to make that drive back after the cruise when everyone is tired and just wants to get home.

unfortunately, the ships from SC in June is all Carnival. No ship for Bahama from Baltimore in June. Only one ship from NY in June is kind of sold out for interiors. The price is doubled than the one we are going to take from Miami. :')

I wish the cruise ship can provide more options for us North folks. ;p

The ice shows are wonderful entertainment - no doubt about that - but you are only going to see one one-hour show. There is also very little open skating on a small rink. Rock climbing walls are fun, but available on several ships.

 

Wouldn't base an entire cruise on those two things. You just aren't going to use them that much.

Thanks for this important information! I chose this ship mainly because these two things. :') I thought because we have one whole day cruising on the sea, I gotta find a way to make them enjoy the time on the ship.

I also choose Royal Caribbean because it seems Carnival is always party boat which I don't think it's suitable for my toddlers and seniors.

Thank you all for so much information and suggestions. The reason I picked a ship from Miami, because that ship has wall climbing and ice rink which doesn't offer from other ships from other ports. :(

also I have to choose the month when the school is over and early of the hurricane season, the one from Baltimore is $2K more than the one deports from Miami, so I guess it left me the choices of either flying over there or taking the train.

If it were me, I would check train ticket prices. I would definitely go for as long a cruise as I possibly could, both a) just because more is better, and also b) to try to avoid the long-weekend party boats. And I would sooner than later get the elders involved in the discussion. Would they really want to go to a random beach behind barbed wire on some “private” island rather than to a port with some chance of getting a glimpse of the local culture? Think carefully about what you want from this cruise and how the various itineraries might meet your needs and expectations. Oh, and if you do wind up in Miami with an extra day, definitely consider driving down through Homestead into the Everglades Park. Walk some boardwalks in a few swamps, see some exotic birds and some alligators...

Whatever you decide, it is all good. Put aside any thought of the options you did not choose and enjoy what will be a memorable Family trip.

I didn't know there there is a train! I will check later. Thanks!

I would select the longer cruise from a port close to home. A 4 day cruise is short and it will go by fast. Fellow passengers on short itineraries almost always seem to be rowdier, trying to pack as much vacation as possible on the shortened amount of time. And ships relegated to short itineraries tend to be the older ones in the fleet.

 

The long drive will be tedious, specially considering that you’re traveling with seniors and toddlers. This will dampen the enjoyment of your vacation, both at the beginning and end of your vacation. The drive is boring, with not many attractions along the way.

 

Finally, the only reason why I would consider driving all the way to South Florida would be to sail on a longer itinerary on one of the various cruise lines’ newest ships, and to destinations that would make the drive worth my while. But to visit the same Bahamas destinations, it makes little sense to me to drive that far.

 

About Carnival vs. Royal: it really boils down to personal preference. With a multi generational group, I think that Royal may be a safer bet, specially for the seniors who may welcome a bit more refined looking ship and more sedate experience.

 

 

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Thank you so much! :*

IMO you are not allowing enough time the second day driving. You need to be parked in Miami no later than noon. All aboard is two hours prior to sailing so keep that in mind. Instead of sailing out of Miami have you looked at CCL cruises out of Norfolk, Charleston or Jacksonville? They all go to the Bahamas though they are typically five days.

BTW, thanks for reminding me about the boarding time. I saw the itinerary says 4pm, so I guess we should be able to get there before 2pm.

IMO you are not allowing enough time the second day driving. You need to be parked in Miami no later than noon. All aboard is two hours prior to sailing so keep that in mind. Instead of sailing out of Miami have you looked at CCL cruises out of Norfolk, Charleston or Jacksonville? They all go to the Bahamas though they are typically five days.

I checked Charleston and Jacksonville and those ships' review are not that good, Norfolk doesn't have any Bahama cruise in this year.

unless any cruiser here have any experience departing from those ports can give me some good suggestions of the ship?

This is my parents' first cruise so I would like it to be a good experience for them.

hello, I would like to hear some suggestions! thank you!

We live at Washington DC. Plan a cruise with 2 seniors, 2 adults and 2 young toddlers. I thought driving will save some money, but I'm kind of concerning about driving all the way to Miami. Is it worth of doing it as a field trip? Plan to leave Sunday and take a break in the middle, then drive on Monday to arrive at Miami around afternoon to hop on the cruise. For 4 days cruise, we will be back on Friday morning. I'm not sure whether anything is worth to take a day at Miami yet. If not, we will be heading back on Friday and stop at the middle, then drive on Saturday back to DC.

The other way is cruise longer time and all the way from Baltimore to Bahama cruise.

If I counted driving and hotel, the price difference is about $300-$500.

I still need experienced traveler to give me some suggestions. Thank you!

Regarding the cruise: I got quote for Carnival and Royal Caribbean for Bahama cruise. Carnival is about $200 cheaper in total. But Royal Caribbean has lots of new stuff such as Ice skating and wall climbing. I need experienced Cruiser suggestions. Is it worth that $200 more. Also Carnival stops at Half moon bay and Royal Caribbean stops at Cococay. I did research lost of people think Half moon bay water is clearer and the sand is more beautiful than Coco Cay.

So many details and questions. Thank you for all your suggestions!