What cruiseline would you suggest?

[cruzluver]

My husband and I plan on going on an Eastern Caribbean cruise mid October. This will be our 6th cruise and our second without our daughter. We have sailed with Carnival in the past and don't know if we'll be satisfied on the other cruiselines. We have been looking at Caribbean Princess (Princess),

Mariner of the Seas (RCCL) and Glory (Carnival). We have also thought about Western Caribbean on Conquest. Our age is 40 and 42. We just like to hangout and relax. We sometimes join in activities and somethimes just sit back and enjoy our time on the deck watching the water. We need suggestions on the which ship and cruiseline if you have been on these and we are open to suggestions as to the difference in the cruiselines and friendliness of the passengers and crew. Thank you in advance for your help.

[voyageur]

I personally haven't been on Princess, but heard it's absolutely wonderful... one step up from Carnival. My brother always travels on Carnival and would never change. If you just like to "hang out" and wouldn't miss the evening shows, and shopping onboard. I would definitely suggest trying Windstar or Star Clipper, especially if you like snorkeling, and water related things. We went on the Royal Clipper for our honeymoon a couple years ago and loved it. But it's much quieter and you go to much smaller ports. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed being on a smaller ship. Embarking and disembarking took all of 2 minutes. (no line ups for customs) (We're both 42)

[Happy ks]

Depending on the ship, I think you would be pleasantly surprised at how nice other lines are. I've only taken one Carnival cruise and probably will not take another. But, I'm not critical of them, they wouldn't be the largest line afloat if no one liked them. We prefer a more subdued atmosphere and are not into partying. We also do not limit ourselves to one line and our goal is to cruise as many lines as we can before our turn is up.

 

From what you write, you might try Celebrity. They tend to attract a more middle age type of crowd (my opinion only) a subdued, understated elegance and wonderful service. I haven't sailed on a Princess ship yet (I will) but that would probably be my second suggestion. I've only sailed RCCL on Monarch, an older ship, but what I read about them, they sound pretty much like Carnival as far as experience. RCCL ships are a bit more subdued in their decor, I just don't think that I would be happy on a mega ship. I don't need all that extra stuff going on. We cruise to relax and enjoy the sea, like you wrote, not shop or participate in silly games.

 

One of my favorite things I liked about Celebrity was their lack of announcements, it just seemed more respectful, not hawking at you all day. We were also, surprisingly, very happy with our one NCL cruise. We did not expect a lot from them and I read negative opinions, but we very much enjoyed our cruise with them.

 

So, my suggestion would be to concentrate on where you want to go, then decide which line according to who is going there.

[ineedacruise]

I have cruised on Carnival and they just were not my cup of tea. To me it seemed like one big party from port to port.

I also have cruised on Celebrity and it is a much quieter crowd and is perfect for relaxing. The problem with Celebrity for us though was that there were not many activities for the kids and they were a bit bored.

We are now booked on the Voyager of the Seas in hopes of meeting a middle ground between what the kids want, and what we want.

We all love cruising but would like to find the perfect class and line that suits all our needs and stick with them.

[ElCruiso]

My wife and I have done 13 Cruises in the past 2 1/2 yrs. Carnival and Norwegian are the only one's we'll ever be going on from now on. Both appeal to us Holland America has beautiful ship's but the majority of passengers are in their waining years and everything quiets down pretty early. Royal Carribean is just plain boring. In all fairness we haven't tried Princess, but their rates are higher and why take a chance. We're HAPPY with Carnival and Norwegian.:cool:

[Shifra]

Ditto to what Happy ks said.

As you can see there are many different opinions.....so here goes mho :) Since you are travelling without the kids my vote is Princess or Celebrity. I love both lines for very different reasons. It depends on what type of cruise you enjoy. If you are looking for another Carnival type cruise then you might not enjoy these lines. You might try Rccl which is carnival type with a twist of sophistication. :)

[cherdon]

We have cruised on Windstar three times. We really enjoy the relaxing. They do not have shows, games, etc. Also, no dinner seatings or formal nights. The ports are usually smaller. The average age is probably 50 withonly 150 or 300 passengers. We were one of the youngest(36) on our first cruise with them in 1996.We just returned this month from windsurf and I think there were alot more passengers 35 -55. We thought about going NCL but, we do love windstar and the intinearies. We were at sea only one day on the Mayan riviera itinarary.We had read about crowded decks, pool chair hogging, not being able to bring your own wine, beer etc. on the larger ships. So, it was windstar again and we had a great time. We might consider alittle larger ship next time. Any suggestions?

[cruzluver]

I want to thank you all for the information you provided and suggestions you gave. We have decided to go Princess with the Caribbean Princess as our choice of ship. I have read alot of good things about this ship, plus, we saw her last year docked in Cozumel on her way to Ft. Lauderdale and thought she was stunning.