beckzay

Can you tell me about your experience leaving Baltimore (even NYC) in late April? How was the weather?

I'm trying to decide between the Pride (out of Baltimore) and Sunshine (out of Port Canaveral), and I really don't want to spend the first 2 days inside on the Pride.

Thank you everyone! This was my concern. We'll be cruising with 4 new cruiser (who are our young adult children)and the last thing I want is for them to be seasick the whole time. My husband and I don't get seasick but I don't know if they do or not yet.

What can you tell me about the scenic ov rooms at the front of the ship on the sunshine and movement? We've only sailed midship and aft, never way up front. I've read it's pretty rocky. Also, I can't seem to find any pics or info about the ones that sleep 4 and the layout?

I've been keeping my eye on this itinerary and it still isn't showing anything for Jamaica specifically. It shows Escape and Getaway doing the W.Caribbean route but not stopping in jamaica? Do you think that NCL is just not going to Jamaica next year?

I would say go out and make some new friends, just like your teens are doing. There are so many great, interesting people onboard :)

I've googled and used the search feature here but I still can't find any pics or videos of the Grand Suites on the Sunshine. Are they similar to the grand suites on other carnival ships? Does anyone have any info they can share?

Definitely take the Pride with 2 extra days. No question! :D

 

I've been on both ships, and actually prefer the Sunshine, but I don't think a 5-day cruise is worth all the cost and hassle of getting to the port and back.

 

Now that we've got that settled, I can't wait to hear how you're going to surprise DH. What's your plan? Need some ideas? Do you think you can keep it a secret right up until you drive up to -- and first see -- the ship??? :D

MaryEllen, I haven't thought about that yet :) I know I can't keep it a secret until we see the ship because it's an 8 hour drive and I'm sure he'll be just a little curious where he's driving to, lol. But maybe I can think of something. And we won't actually be sailing for a couple weeks after his b-day so I don't think I'll be able to keep it a secret. It's going to be hard enough keeping it a secret for over a year since I'll be depositing in the next couple weeks.

I'm open for suggestions though!

You don't mention what time of year. I'd say definitely the Pride unless it's in the middle of winter. I can't imagine what the Sunshine has that would be of more entertainment to that age group. Also driving allows for a bit more flexibility.

Both the last week of April

The sunshine does go out of NYC at the end of June, which we would choose in a heartbeat, but it's ridiculously expensive :(

I guess it's a stupid question?

I'm surprising my husband for his 40th birthday next year with a cruise. So, since I can't ask him for opinions I need everyone's advice here :)

We'll be a group of 5 or 6. Me, my husband, our children (ages 23,23 and 16). One of the 23 yr olds might bring his girlfriend too. Our children have never cruised so they can't give me advice on which they would prefer since they don't know what to expect. This trip needs to be budget friendly...since I'm hiding it from my husband and paying for it on my own. Right now, here are my choices:

Pride...sailing from Baltimore, 7 night, 3 sea days, 3 ports (GT, HMC and Freeport)

Sunshine...sailing from Port Canaveral, 5 night, 1 sea day, 3 ports (Nassau, HMC and Freeport)

Both require a hotel the night before. However, we would fly to Port Canaveral (3 hr flight...usually a non-stop from Boston) but drive to Baltimore (8 hour drive).

Both are pretty much exactly the same price after figuring in airfare of around $300 pp round trip, but it's too early obviously to see prices. It's usually right around there though.

So, do we pick a shorter cruise on a ship that can offer the "kids" more or is the Pride alright for them? My husband and I have sailed on the Miracle from NYC before and the ships are almost identical. We liked it, just worried there's not enough to keep the young adults and teenager occupied for 3 sea days. I know they would prefer the Sunshine because they are active and adventurous but like I said before, they wouldn't know any better if they didn't have a fancy sports deck ;)

I know that either option would be great, and I would gladly sail on either ship/itinerary, but I just want to be sure the "kids" enjoy themselves.

What do you think would be our best option?

Does anyone have any more advice? I'm also looking at similar options right now.

Pride out of Baltimore: requires no flying for us, 7 night, 3 sea days

Sunshine out of Port Canaveral: airfare costs, 5 night, 1 sea day

Both are pretty much exactly the same price and both would require a hotel stay the night before. Obviously the Pride is "easier" without having to fly, etc. but will it keep my young adults and teen children occupied enough? This will be their first cruise.

I need someone to talk some sense into me.

 

Currently planning a cruise in May 2017 and we've narrowed it down between the Pride out of Baltimore or the Vista out of Miami. While technically the Vista is cheaper for the cabin, once we factor in flights, hotel, excursions, etc., we're looking at $1,300ish more than the Pride. Seems like the Pride would be the clear winner, right? But that's not how life works. Both DH and I would love to cruise on the Vista and the ports of call are way more interesting to us (better excursions in our opinion). But we are on a budget and can only afford so much, which is part of the reason we book way in advance and make payments. We'd be happy with either and want to try the Pride but the Vista is so tempting. What to do, what to do?!

 

Pride out of Baltimore

Cost: $2,300 (cruise fare + hotel + parking + excursions)

Ports: Grand Turk, HMC, Freeport (8 days; 3 sea days, 3 port days)

Pros: Less expensive, drive-able port, can get a 4K (we want to try one!)

Cons: Not as excited about the ports/excursion options (we're not the best beach people).

 

Vista out of Miami

Cost: $3,500 (cruise fare + flights + hotel + excursions)

Ports: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios (6 days; 2 sea days, 3 port days)

Pros: IT'S THE VISTA, better excursion options

Cons: Expensive, poor flight offerings (always happens when flying out of our airport, ugh).... that's it. The cost is the big factor.

 

 

So again... someone please talk some sense into me and tell me I should book the Pride over the Vista, before I actually book the Vista.

I just wanted to say, that I am in this same EXACT prediciment for our family! I'm trying to decide between these 2 exact cruises also so I'm so happy to see the responses. Thanks!

Thank you! I never even thought about renting a mini van :) That seems like it would be the least expensive and easiest option.

That's an option I didn't look into. I'll have to check it out. And How would we get to the port from the rental car location? Taxi maybe?

We're coming from central NH. We have an Enterprise about 20 min away, but all other companies are at the Manchester airport which is about an hour and a half away.

This thread is a wealth of information! Thank you so much! I have a question that you hopefully can give me some advice on...

I'm in the process of choosing a cruise and part of that process is comparing costs of flying/driving/parking for each option. Our #1 choice right now is the Sunshine out of NYC in June 2017. My husband and I have sailed out of NYC before with 2 other couples (no kids) and we drove down the day of the cruise in one minivan and split the cost of the expensive parking. This time, it will be just us and our young adult children plus our son's girlfriend. So, 6 of us. Our car only seats 5. We plan on driving down the day of unless we can find a cost effective way to come down the night before (if that's a better option).

So, it won't work to drive down in 2 cars because that's SO much money to park! We have family right outside of Hartford, CT where we could either stay the night before or we could catch a bus or train from Hartford? If we take a bus or train in, where does that leave us? How do we get to the port from there? What about on the way back? Is it easy to get back to that bus or train location?

What is our best option do you think?

Just my 2 cents .... For a great 1st cruise with the "kids" I'd choose E. Caribbean over Bermuda in a heartbeat. :) While we thought Bermuda was very pretty there really aren't many things about it that would excite your "kids". I think they'd much rather experience the different arrivals and sail-aways in the E. Caribbean as well as the greater variety of things to see and do ashore.

VERY good point!

Thanks everyone! That's why I love this board so much...you can get first-hand, honest advice :)

If the Pride was significantly less expensive I think I would book that, but it's pretty comparable to the Breakaway. Itinerary doesn't really matter much, because either one would be awesome for us and the "kids" (Bermuda or E.Caribbean)

Looking a little further into it, the Vista for our desired time frame is pretty cheap! I'll have to consider that sailing now too....

Thanks again for all your advice!!!

These young adults are not kids. Why not ask them which ship they would prefer. They will not be "hanging" around with you very much. Let them decide what they want out of their vacation.

We have :) They have no idea what to expect so they said any cruise would be awesome. I'm just trying to give them the best first experience, lol.

Is it weird that I don't want to take my kids on mega-ship for their first cruise? Am I overthinking this and just being stupid? While the Vista is incredibly tempting, I'm thinking that their first experience should be on something smaller. They are all older anyway (23 and 16 at time of sailing) but I would really love them to love it and cruising in general.

I'm not tied down to any line, but my husband and I have sailed Carnival several times and really like the experience and openness of the deck spaces. NCL's Breakaway is priced right and leaves out of NYC, the Anthem also leaves out of NJ and the Pride leaves out of Baltimore. We're trying to save money and not fly since it's during spring break and around $500 pp to fly to florida (or galveston, NOLA, etc.). Sorry, I know I'm rambling but it helps me organize my thoughts so i can get opinions from you all.

Do you think the Pride is a good choice for our family? The "kids" are active and will definitely utilize the water slides and mini golf, but do you think that there is enough to do? The Breakaway's outdoor sports decks looks amazing but I'm just so worried about the super crowded and enclosed looking deck space areas. My dream cruise would be on the Breeze because it looks like the best of both worlds but it's out for this sailing since we'll be cruising during the peak of air fare prices.

Has anyone sailed both the Pride and the Breakaway with teens/young adults? Which did they prefer?

Great! Thank you :)

Can't wait to read more! Come back soon :)

I've never sailed NCL so sorry if this is a dumb question. I'm looking to book a cruise for next April, May or early June of 2017 and I'd really love to do the western Caribbean itinerary but I'm specifically looking to stop in Jamaica and Grand Cayman. The NCL website doesn't show that as an option. Is it true that they won't be doing that itinerary during that time or is it just too early and maybe they haven't released dates yet?

Consider other cruise lines sailing out of NY. Have sailed out of NY twice and loved sailing down the Hudson.

I'm looking at the Breakaway, I just don't love my options for ports. Bermuda in May doesn't sound all that great (we love beaches and water and it will probably be cold) and the Florida/Bahamas itinerary doesn't excite me much (been there, done that). Plus it's kind of expensive.

I've also sailed down the Hudson and past Lady Liberty...it's amazing. This will be my kid's first cruise so that would be so cool!

What about sailing out of Baltimore ?

I might consider the Pride. Although Baltimore is a 12 plus hour drive for us.

I would look at their website who knows that might have changed

Thank you, I did and it wasn't showing anything out of NYC when I want to sail (April or May 2017) so I wasn't sure if it was just too early or if they even sail out of NYC in the spring. Looks like we'll have to fly unfortunately.