Please help me pick a ship !

[sragu01]

Hi. My family is trying to plan our first cruise in July 2011, but my head is spinning trying to compare the ships. We are a family of 4 (2 40-somethings, a son-16 and daughter-12). We would prefer a Caribbean itinerary. Can anyone suggest a ship that would be good for a family such as ours? Also, can you tell me why you think your suggestion is a good one. Any help you can give us is so very appreciated.

[Irishlinny]

Does it matter where you sail from? Sometimes that helps narrow it down some, since so many ships do the Car. itinerary. Do you have any preference for Eastern or Western ports? Does your family like alot of active things to do in port, or mainly just beach time and shopping? If you can share a little bit more about where you're travelling from and what you like to do, we may be better able to help you!:)

[flalady29]

I think any ship is a good choice, I have only sailed the Fantasy class(smallest of the fleet) so far until March when I sail on the Dream. I have read here on cc that a lot of people really like the Spirit class ships- Spirit,Pride,Miracle, and Legend due to the lay out of the ship. I'm sure which ever ship you choose you and your family will have a great time. There is nothing like your 1st cruise you will be hooked.

[sragu01]

We are located in the midwest and have been looking at the ships that leave from Port Canaveral but would be open to any port in the US. We enjoy the beach, but would also look at more adventurous excursions depending on the port. We are open on the itinerary but were trying to avoid the Bahamas if possible since we have aleady been there. Since we are wanting a 7 day cruise, we were looking at the Dream, but kept reading poor reviews. Hope that helps you help us. Thanks so much.

[singwithjoy]

I prefer Princess cruises to Carnival. Carnival has gaudy colors and decor.

Plus the push drinking heavliy and partying hearty way too much.

Princess has something for everyone. Plus movies by the pool all day and night. Anytime dining. Two buffets to choose from. Lots of shows and activites all day and night. July is way too hot in Florida. I know I live here. Try spring or fall. But not during hurricane season.

[Irishlinny]

Well, I guess you have to fly! LOL! In light of what you have told us, I would recommend the Legend (Spirit class) out of Tampa...she does a Western Itinerary. The ship is great and not overly huge or crowded, which is nice for your first cruise. The layout is less confusing. We have sailed the Legend 3 times in 4 years because we love it so much! Staff is consistently good, food is good and the ports are very different from one another. Many activities available in the ports...swimming with sting rays in the wild, cavetubing, ziplining, dolphin swims, holding monkeys, snorkeling and many good beaches.

I will disagree with Singwithjoy's comment about the "partying hearty" thing...really not like that at all. Carnival has definitely swung over to being for families. While you may get some partying on the shorter cruises, the longer cruises are not like that at all. They are still known as the Fun Ships, but definitely not because they promote heavy drinking. Carnival also offers Anytime Dining and has a wealth of foods to choose from in the buffet area. 24 hour pizza and ice cream, too! And the price is much more reasonable than on Princess. That's why we have cruised Carnival 6 times and have 2 more scheduled for next year! If it ain't broke, we don't try to fix it!

 

Good luck with your selection...no matter what you choose, I'm sure you will enjoy it!:D

[PROCRUISE]

I prefer Princess cruises to Carnival. Carnival has gaudy colors and decor.

Plus the push drinking heavliy and partying hearty way too much.

Princess has something for everyone. Plus movies by the pool all day and night. Anytime dining. Two buffets to choose from. Lots of shows and activites all day and night. July is way too hot in Florida. I know I live here. Try spring or fall. But not during hurricane season.

 

I don't bash any cruise line, and since we haven't experienced Princess yet, I won't start. I've never been on a CCL ship and seen any more drinking than on NCL and HAL. The decor is very bright, cheerful, and certainly not subdued but we find it fun, and we're much older. CCL also has ships with outdoor theaters, multiple choices of buffets, great shows, and is rated very high for food quality in the MDR. So, the choices are endless with regards to CCL and every other cruise line you might want to look at like RCCL too. One thing CCL does have is very reasonable pricing. If you were to go on The Dream, by all means go with a cove balcony for a real experience! Personally, I love The Legend out of Tampa. Can't really nail down the reason, aside from loving the color of purple, but it remains my favorite CCL vessel. Have fun deciding!

[mississauga]

I prefer Princess cruises to Carnival. Carnival has gaudy colors and decor.

Plus the push drinking heavliy and partying hearty way too much.

Princess has something for everyone. Plus movies by the pool all day and night. Anytime dining. Two buffets to choose from. Lots of shows and activites all day and night. July is way too hot in Florida. I know I live here. Try spring or fall. But not during hurricane season.

 

 

Princess will not have any ships in the Caribbean in July 2011. The newer ships on Carnival also have seaside movies ( big screens on Lido deck ). The buffet areas on Carnival are much larger than Princess.

 

We just did a b2b cruise on Carnival Dream followed by one on the Ruby Princess and I can you that there were way more activities and much better shows on Carnival than Princess. These are the 2 newest ships on each line so IMHO, the best 2 ships to compare. We love Princess as much as Carnival so this is not opinions from a Carnival cheerleader. Your experience on Carnival does not sound current. The Carnival Dream is not gaudy like some of the older Carnival ships. As a matter of fact, the spa cabins on the Dream are more tastefully decorated than any Princess cabin I have been in.

 

If you read the reviews on the Princess board, you will find that the Anytime Dining is now a mess. We have always had a good experience with anytime on Princess but this time we had traditional so cannot comment on why it is now different. However, it could be because Princess has now added a 5:30 early traditional seating in one of the anytime dining rooms so if you want to eat between 6-7pm, there are not as many tables available in the anytime dining room. Carnival now has Mytime on their ships too and the 2 cruises which we had the Mytime, the experiences were excellent. IMHO, Carnival's method of doing is much better although for us, the results were the same on both Princess and Carnival...never any waiting.

 

To the OP, the Dream is a beautiful ship. We have been on it 2 times and love it. If you happen to cruise when Butch Begovich is the CD, you will have a fantastic time. He is very energetic and his staff love working with him so that makes them all better hosts too. A very nice young man. The Western Caribbean will give you lots of ports with beach time.

 

Enjoy your cruise whichever one you choose.

[Captain Carnival]

The LEGEND (7-nights) Western Caribbean out of Tampa!