Which Ship to choose out of San Juan

[jasmith52]

We are trying to pick a cruise ship for an upcoming Caribbean vacation. Right now we are leaning towards flying to San Juan and getting on one of the (7 day ?) cruise ships.

 

I know this is subjective, but which cruise ship would you choose ?

 

The choices are:

 

Celebrity Summit

Carnival Victory

Royal Caribbean - Serenade of the Seas

Royal Caribbean - Adventure of the Seas

Princess - Caribbean Princess

 

Some issues... Money is a factor but not at the cost of a bad vacation. Reviews of the Celebrity and Princess ships speak of dog-eared ships and rust galore. Are they that bad ?

 

We have been on 10 other cruises on all of the lines listed above. We usually go with an ocean view cabin.

 

Any suggestions/tips ?

[Host Faith]

We love the Southern Caribbean, great choice!

 

Can you tell us a little bit more about who will be traveling with you? Will you be sailing with children? What are your preferences when you cruise?

[jasmith52]

It will be my wife and myself. We are in our 50's but are still very hip - or at least we want to believe that. No children. We both enjoy meeting (interesting) people in the dining rooms. We like a mix of lots going on as well as spots to get away from the hustle - bustle.

 

We tend to like the larger ships and prefer a bit of class but not too stuffy/staid. The mid-grade ships seem to work well for us.

 

We have also been talking about taking a week on one cruise ship, and then also taking another week on another ship. Kind of like back-to-back cruises but switching ships. Is that too many buffets ? We are still just thinking about this plan. Perhaps 2 weeks stright of cruising is too much ? What do you think ?

[TOlson70]

I really liked the Adventure of the Seas for reasons you listed, nice ship, larger, not all lights and glitz, nice MDR, some quiet areas to be had, nice promenade for shopping, socalizing, people watching. Ample deck space.

[khm1]

I have been on three of the 5 ships that you listed: Serenade, Adventure, and Caribbean Princess( aka: CB). I like the Serenade the best. I will be on her again for the third time in February! However, given what you have shared about yourself, I think that Adventure would be best for you.

 

I think that both Adventure and CB have the most of what you are looking for. I had a great time on the CB and loved the itinerary. However, the ship itself and the passengers aboard were not as "classy" as the Adventure. The ship seemed crowded and there was a little too much going on for me. I was turned off by the movie screen at one of the pools. And everywhere I went, I seemed to smell cigarette smoke. Princess allows smoking in their cabins, although this is to be changed soon, I believe.

 

I don't think that you can really go wrong with your choices. Cruising from SJ is my favorite. I have done it 5 times. It is definitely my favorite embarkation port, so far!

[Cruising Photographer]

Another thing to consider is whether you want to be in port every day or have a day or two at sea. We did the Carnival Victory in 2009, every day was a port of call. It was great visiting all the islands, but became too much by the end of the cruise. By the end I couldn't tell you the diffenence between many of them. Also, the last night on the cruise, we witnessed two adults, probably in their 60's, get into a fist fight on the elevator. This was followed up by a lady screeming in the hallway about 4:00 AM. My guess is that she got her bill for the week and freaked out. Interesting passengers if you know what I mean.

[jasmith52]

Thanks for all the responses. Any other comments or comparisons would be appreciated.

 

Cruising Photographer:

 

Wow, fist fights in the elevator. Was that part of the standard entertainment or did you have to pay extra for that scene ? Or was that a scene out of a James Bond movie ? That scene doesn't fit what exactly I had in mind.

 

As for the ports, We don't usually mind where we go, We tend to like a few (not too many) sea days and some stops. I am sure we can find something on every stop. For us though, I am more concerned about the ship and the fellow passenger experience.

 

khm1:

 

We have only been on one Princess ship (Golden Princess) and had a great time on it. What does CB mean ?

[trish1c]

We did the Caribbean Princess. At the time our choices were that, the Victory & the AOS. AOS was 2x the price & we didn't want to sail Carnival. I think you can't go wrong with any of them.

[Host Faith]

I have been on three of the 5 ships that you listed: Serenade, Adventure, and Caribbean Princess( aka: CB). I like the Serenade the best. I will be on her again for the third time in February! However, given what you have shared about yourself, I think that Adventure would be best for you.

 

I think that both Adventure and CB have the most of what you are looking for. I had a great time on the CB and loved the itinerary. However, the ship itself and the passengers aboard were not as "classy" as the Adventure. The ship seemed crowded and there was a little too much going on for me. I was turned off by the movie screen at one of the pools. And everywhere I went, I seemed to smell cigarette smoke. Princess allows smoking in their cabins, although this is to be changed soon, I believe.

 

I don't think that you can really go wrong with your choices. Cruising from SJ is my favorite. I have done it 5 times. It is definitely my favorite embarkation port, so far!

 

 

I agree. We love the Serenade, and have sailed the AOS. Sailing the Serenade again in about a month. I think the Adventure would be more of what you're looking for. :)

[millermadness]

I would stear clear of the Carnival Victory. The ship needs upgrading and there are way too many kids unsupervised. One note, sailing out of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Ricans are very rude and think they are above everyone else. Most of the staff we talked to on the ship echoed this opinion and they hate being assigned to PR dock. :D

[ozark74]

Have been on the Adventure of the Seas once would not go again. Lots of wild rude kids and the food was very bland.

Been on the Summit 4 times and have not had any bad experiences. The food is much better and not as many wild kids.

My daughter and husband have been on the Serenade and had a good time.

[Aviator of the Seas]

It will be my wife and myself. We are in our 50's but are still very hip - or at least we want to believe that. No children. We both enjoy meeting (interesting) people in the dining rooms. We like a mix of lots going on as well as spots to get away from the hustle - bustle.

 

We tend to like the larger ships and prefer a bit of class but not too stuffy/staid. The mid-grade ships seem to work well for us.

 

We have also been talking about taking a week on one cruise ship, and then also taking another week on another ship. Kind of like back-to-back cruises but switching ships. Is that too many buffets ? We are still just thinking about this plan. Perhaps 2 weeks stright of cruising is too much ? What do you think ?

 

Before you give up on the Adventure of the Seas and sailing out of San Juan because of a couple of nasty comments, you should refer to this long-running thread which is full of recommendations:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=691783

[khm1]

khm1:

 

We have only been on one Princess ship (Golden Princess) and had a great time on it. What does CB mean ?

CB is the abbreviation for Caribbean Princess. I am not sure why. If you go to the Princess board, you will see it all over the place.

 

About the above comments about the PR people and kids on board: If you cruise during times when school is on break, there will be a lot of kids. If you sail from PR, you will see Puerto Ricans. I have never had a problem with any specific group of people in all of the cruises that I have taken from SJ. Rude people come any many shapes, sizes, colors, and nationalities. I feel that it is unfair to make generalized comments about any group of people.

 

Sailing out of SJ is wonderful!

[divechick]

My vote goes to the Summit we sailed her in April and looking forward to sailing het again in Feb after her refurbishment not that we had any complaints in April. The food was some of the best we have every had. We meet lots of wonderful people and kids for the most seen but not heard which I can not say about all ships. I do not mind kids when behaved. We have sailed twice with princess twice RC once with Carnival and Feb will be second with Celebrity. Carnival is the only I would not cruise with again too many rude kids and food not as up to standards.

[Cruisin Kay D]

We chose Caribbean Princess for 12/4 due to the itinerary -- Sea day, Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, St. Lucia & St. Maarten. Caribbean Prin is going be in drydock early-mid NOVEMBER. Her 1st cruise is the 11/20 from SJ. We were on this ship 1 yr ago to go the NewEngl/Canada and it was NOT RUSTY!!! I also like Serenade and Adventure OS -- have been 3x on Serenade's sisters Radiance & Brilliance AND have been Adventure's sister Victory OS 1x!!

[Donray]

I would stear clear of the Carnival Victory. The ship needs upgrading and there are way too many kids unsupervised. One note, sailing out of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Ricans are very rude and think they are above everyone else. Most of the staff we talked to on the ship echoed this opinion and they hate being assigned to PR dock. :D

 

When did you cruise on the Victory out of San Jaun last?