Which cruise line?

[apech782]

I'm sure this is a question you all get a lot! I have looked at several reviews, but would like some opinions on which cruise line best suits what my boyfriend and I are looking for.

 

We have cruised once before. We did a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Legend and we really enjoyed ourselves for the most part. We were originally looking to go with Royal Caribbean, but ended up deciding to save money and go with the cheapest stateroom category on Carnival, and go all out on our excursions. I found that I didn't enjoy the cruising experience THAT much, but we loved our days in port. All the research I had put in really paid off :)

 

What I liked about our cruise with Carnival: the comedy shows, the food was pretty decent (especially that chocolate melting cake), the excursions we chose (all through Carnival) and the crew was always very helpful and nice.

 

What I didn't like so much: the obnoxious drunk partiers, the loud decor, the shows other than the comedy shows, and how crowded it was - we never used the pools.

 

I am 29 and my boyfriend is 41. We aren't looking to cruise for the drinks and lounging daily on the beach, but more for adventure and entertainment (and great food!).

 

What we know for sure is that we want to try cruising out of San Juan this time. We will stay for a couple nights prior to cruising. It looks like our choice is between Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess. I would cruise Carnival again, am leaning toward Royal Caribbean, but don't know much about Princess Cruises. I was hoping to get some recommendations on which of these cruise lines seems best for what we are looking for. :) Any other tips when it comes to cruising out of San Juan would be appreciated as well!

[will773]

It sounds like you are more of a Royal Caribbean person. In my opinion, their ships are better designed and more aesthetically pleasing. Googling any of their ships will show you this.

[tak81288]

I'm all for trying different cruiselines. If you are cruising out of SJU, one thing to keep in mind is that many of those cruises are port intensive with only one sea day. (I am assuming you are looking at 7 day southern itineraries) Unless you plan on getting back to the ship early or staying on the ship for port days, Im not sure how much time you will have to really enjoy the ship.

 

With that being said, I would try out RCL just to try something different and you are leaning towards them....However, if its a port intensive itinerary and you plan on maximizing time in port again since you really enjoyed that part, I would choose by price unless the prices are close. I would only spend more money for the ship if I actually had several days at sea to really be on it.

 

This is just my opinion and I'm sure you will have fun on whichever one you choose though.

[Keith1010]

At this stage of your lives and your cruising I would go with RCI. In a few year then I would try Princess.

 

Keith

[Essiesmom]

You should also consider Celebrity Summit from San Juan, depending on when you want to go. Summit is about the same size as Legend, but may seem less crowded. I rate Celebrity food better than either Carnival or Princess, although I like Carnival food better than Princess. EM

[apech782]

Thanks for all the great advice. I am sure we'll have fun no matter what we choose :) I figure we won't be spending but one at sea day on the ship, so what's going to be most important is maximizing our time in port. I think we will end up trying out RCCL this time. We are looking to cruise in just a few months, so I think it's about time to book already!

[PrincessE]

I'm a huge Princess fan. My husband and I love to sail out of San Juan. We choose Princess for a variety of reasons, but probably the biggest reason is we feel they have the best itineraries out there.

 

The cruises out of San Juan are port intensive, but that's why we book them. We do our shore excursions through the line and we love the way Princess does shore excursions.

 

The food on Princess is excellent too. We're not partiers so we will never book Carnival. Also worth mentioning - Princess has bigger cabins than RCI and a better space ratio. RCI will put on more passengers than Princess will for the same size ship.

 

I'm 40 and my husband is 47. I've been cruising with Princess since I was 24 years old and I love it.

[Jimnbigd]

If you go with Royal Caribbean, I'd go with the voyager class Adventure of the Seas. It has more to do, including an ice rink.

However, it does not sail from Puerto Rico year round. When are you thinking of going?

[apech782]

If you go with Royal Caribbean, I'd go with the voyager class Adventure of the Seas. It has more to do, including an ice rink.

However, it does not sail from Puerto Rico year round. When are you thinking of going?

 

February 18th or 19th.. that is when I have time off, so we are really trying to plan a cruise leaving exactly that weekend :) I really want to get this thing booked soon, although last year I looked into EVERY POSSIBLE THING before booking only 3 weeks or so out and all worked out just fine. Probably just more expensive to have booked airfare so late.

[cruz guy]

I would be very careful to choose a time and ship that is there is a very strong demand for and filling up well.

 

What happens is that for the cruises out of San Juan, airfares are going higher, and with the economy and many ships now going out of Florida and Galveston, the cruises lines are having trouble filling all the cabins on the ships based in San Juan. When that happens, the cruise lines run super cheap deals for the locals just to fill the ship. That results in a completely different passenger base and different cruise experience, an experience that many avid cruisers have complained about.

The Adventure of the Seas (RCCL) has been particularly hard hit by some of this.

 

Before booking a ship, go onto each of the boards (RCCL, Princess, Carnival) and do a search. That will give you an idea as to which months and which ships are more prone to this.

 

The Caribbean Princess and RCCL's Serenade will no longer be based in San Juan after this year.