Recommended cruise line for Honeymooners in the Caribbean?

[Xcitdcruiser]

Some 9-11+ day cruises from Miami or Ft Lauderdale do Southern routes. You could get as far as Aruba or even Columbia on some. I think doing your research and booking early will save you money on a March cruise. Also an 11day cruise will not have as many families and it will have almost no college age kids on their own as it is just too long and a little pricier then they like. There is a review section as well that you can look at if you have narrowed down a few ships.

 

Thank you for your suggestion! There is simply so much form search results its overwhleming - this forum has been great! Starting to think it may be worth spending a little extra for that longer trip. Southern C with Celebrity is making its way onto my wish list!! :D

[beachchick]

March is a busy month as US college students and Canadian elementary and High schools have there spring break during this month. If you want to minimize your chances of sailing with loads of students then a longer than 7 day cruise or a cruise that departs from San Juan might be good to look at.

 

NCL has suites with Butler Service and meals at all the specialty restaurants are included. Others will be able to help you more with the particulars but it's a thought.

 

I need to correct this. Full suites (not minis) on NCL do have butler and concierge service. They do have breakfast and lunch complimentary at one of the specialty restaurants (usually Cagney's); this is a perk only for suite passengers (no friends or other "guests") and NCL-designated VIPs. However, there are no suites that have "all the specialty restaurants included," not even the Garden Villa. Often the higher end suites have a specific dinner or two included, and on Epic, all full suites have a separate restaurant and lounge available for all meals. However, none of the standard specialty restaurants with surcharge are included. Suite passengers can always have their butler order, deliver, and serve meals in their suites, but if it's dinner and if it's from a specialty restaurant, then they will be charged the same fee as any other passenger.

 

beachchick

[Karysa]

I need to correct this. Full suites (not minis) on NCL do have butler and concierge service. They do have breakfast and lunch complimentary at one of the specialty restaurants (usually Cagney's); this is a perk only for suite passengers (no friends or other "guests") and NCL-designated VIPs. However, there are no suites that have "all the specialty restaurants included," not even the Garden Villa. Often the higher end suites have a specific dinner or two included, and on Epic, all full suites have a separate restaurant and lounge available for all meals. However, none of the standard specialty restaurants with surcharge are included. Suite passengers can always have their butler order, deliver, and serve meals in their suites, but if it's dinner and if it's from a specialty restaurant, then they will be charged the same fee as any other passenger.

 

beachchick

 

No worries. Thanks. I knew they had suites with special perks but not the particulars so I was hoping someone would come along and help me out.:)

[mabones]

Thank you for all your responses! Taking all of this 'onboard' it sounds like Celebrity, RCI & Princess may be the front runners. I've just had a quick look at RCI & all of their lower end priced balconies are sold out!! How far in advance should I be booking a cruise for March 2014??

I didn't realise it's spring break in the US at that time - I did notice that prices towards the end of March are slightly cheaper, is that because vacation time is over?

 

In terms of waiting until Nov / Dec - it's just sooooo faaarrrr away!! We'll be getting married (Yipee!!) NYE 2013/2014 & then planning to wait for my 30th B'day in Feb so we can celebrate the two.

 

Well, if your birthday is in February, then the 1st couple weeks usually have less children. I have never sailed Celebrity, but RCI is really nice as well as Princess. Princess does tend to have an older crowd, but it can be just as lively as RCI. The food is excellent.

 

I prefer the Eastern & Southern. I still have more Islands to explore in the Southern. Have you ever considered a Repositioning Cruise? You can get a great deal on those.

[Jimnbigd]

You mentioned flying from LAX. Do you live in the Los Angeles area? If so, why not just take a cruise from there. The savings in airfare might be worth it. Maybe the Carnival Miracle Feb. 9, 7 nights, from Long Beach-- puts you on the ship for Valentine's Day. When is your birthday? Do you want to be on a ship then? You could even try a short cruise, like the Carnival Inspiration March 3 (4 nights), again from Long Beach. I don't know if you can fly, stay in a hotel the night before the cruise departs, and do a 7-day cruise in the Caribbean, for $1400 apiece total. If you have never cruised before, you might start with this 4-day cruise. That way if you hate it, you have not spent a lot of money or time. And if you love it, you can start planning and saving for your next one, including from the Caribbean.

[printingchick]

the radiance class ships from rccl are beautiful and have a lovely solarium area just for adults. i think the food options are more varied than celebrity. i also prefer the western to the eastern but the southern is my favorite. if you choose the western be sure it includes cozumel and grand cayman....

 

I would recommend Celebrity or a Radiance class ship departing from San Juan. The flights are likely to cost more than to Florida, depending on where you live, but the cruises are a little less costly than those out of Florida and you'll visit more ports of call.

 

I traveled on a Radiance ship in 2010 with my adult daughter and we had probably 10 kids under the age of 13 on the ship. It was still a FUN crowd (she found people her age - early 20s), but not a FAMILY crowd.

 

I've never sailed a Radiance Class ship out of Florida, so I can't say if the less-family oriented pattern holds there, but I suspect families tend more toward the line's larger ships, that offer things like the FlowRider, H2O Zone, ice rink, etc.

 

ENJOY!!!

[Karysa]

 

Thank you for your suggestion! There is simply so much form search results its overwhleming - this forum has been great! Starting to think it may be worth spending a little extra for that longer trip. Southern C with Celebrity is making its way onto my wish list!! :D

 

Sounds great so far, what ports is she visiting?

 

PS : to save typing, if you want to quote another poster you just simply press the "quote" on the bottom right of their post and then it will appear above where you type tour reply.

[printingchick]

PS: The Radiance Class cruise out of San Juan that I mentioned sailed the first week in March. I think you really only get inundated by families later in the month. Not sure what your dates are. I do suspect that a San Juan departure deters some families. I used to think it was too far/too expensive/too difficult, until I really researched it. I discovered I could get non-stop flights from Boston (my area) and it took only about an hour longer than flying to Florida. Because the cruises leave later, it's possible to fly on the day of the cruise, saving an over-night stay. (It's less stressful to fly the day prior, but barring any MAJOR delays, the evening departure makes same-day flights POSSIBLE.) I like visiting more ports than you can reach going from Florida. However, some people prefer more sea days...everyone has their own preferences.

[Xcitdcruiser]

Well, if your birthday is in February, then the 1st couple weeks usually have less children. I have never sailed Celebrity, but RCI is really nice as well as Princess. Princess does tend to have an older crowd, but it can be just as lively as RCI. The food is excellent.

 

I prefer the Eastern & Southern. I still have more Islands to explore in the Southern. Have you ever considered a Repositioning Cruise? You can get a great deal on those.

 

Repositioning cruise - interesting..... do the cruise lines offer this directly? I think i may have missed this as i've been only searching for Caribbean.

 

Still amazed that RCI has sold out of lower priced balconies for March 2014!! Our dates are flexible atm, so will look into Feb dates.

[Xcitdcruiser]

You mentioned flying from LAX. Do you live in the Los Angeles area? If so, why not just take a cruise from there. The savings in airfare might be worth it. Maybe the Carnival Miracle Feb. 9, 7 nights, from Long Beach-- puts you on the ship for Valentine's Day. When is your birthday? Do you want to be on a ship then? You could even try a short cruise, like the Carnival Inspiration March 3 (4 nights), again from Long Beach. I don't know if you can fly, stay in a hotel the night before the cruise departs, and do a 7-day cruise in the Caribbean, for $1400 apiece total. If you have never cruised before, you might start with this 4-day cruise. That way if you hate it, you have not spent a lot of money or time. And if you love it, you can start planning and saving for your next one, including from the Caribbean.

 

It's a good theory - except we are flying over Australia & LAX is the major airport (hence LAX the starting point). I originally wanted to do an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean, but a cruise seemed to be better value over all. And if we are coming all the way over, I want more than a few nights on the cruise! :p

I've had a look into Carnival, but really don't think that would be for us. It doesn't look like other cruise lines sail out of LA ...

[Xcitdcruiser]

Sounds great so far, what ports is she visiting?

 

PS : to save typing, if you want to quote another poster you just simply press the "quote" on the bottom right of their post and then it will appear above where you type tour reply.

 

Thanks! "Quote' button applied! :)

[Xcitdcruiser]

PS: The Radiance Class cruise out of San Juan that I mentioned sailed the first week in March. I think you really only get inundated by families later in the month. Not sure what your dates are. I do suspect that a San Juan departure deters some families. I used to think it was too far/too expensive/too difficult, until I really researched it. I discovered I could get non-stop flights from Boston (my area) and it took only about an hour longer than flying to Florida. Because the cruises leave later, it's possible to fly on the day of the cruise, saving an over-night stay. (It's less stressful to fly the day prior, but barring any MAJOR delays, the evening departure makes same-day flights POSSIBLE.) I like visiting more ports than you can reach going from Florida. However, some people prefer more sea days...everyone has their own preferences.

 

San Juan cruises are cheaper, but seeing as it apears we need to get to Miami anyway (coming form LAX) the extra airfare from Miami to San Juan evens out the cost - & if we get prettier ports by going southern we may just make the most of it by staying a couple of nights in Miami & San Juan.

 

I've re-looked at RCL - Radiance Class - the balcony rooms state prcies from $900 but everything is sold up until prices from upwards of $1800!! Would they really have sold out? Did they even exist? Or is there another website can offers these rooms?

 

And thank you to everyone who has responded!!:D

[LHT28]

It's a good theory - except we are flying over Australia .

Another good reason to put your Country of residence in your profile so people do not assume you are from the USA ;)

[Xcitdcruiser]

Another good reason to put your Country of residence in your profile so people do not assume you are from the USA ;)

 

Done! Didn't realise that was a possibility! :)

[beachchick]

No worries. Thanks. I knew they had suites with special perks but not the particulars so I was hoping someone would come along and help me out.:)

 

I'm glad I didn't come off as...snooty? snippy? know-it-all? I did mean it solely as information, not as "you're wrong.":)

 

beachchick

[Jimnbigd]

[quote name='Xcitdcruiser']It's a good theory - except we are flying over Australia & LAX is the major airport (hence LAX the starting point). I originally wanted to do an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean, but a cruise seemed to be better value over all. And if we are coming all the way over, I want more than a few nights on the cruise! :p
I've had a look into Carnival, but really don't think that would be for us. It doesn't look like other cruise lines sail out of LA ...[/quote]
Are you flying from Australia? There are cruises out of Melbourne, Sidney, and Brisbane. I'm just trying to save you some money.
Plus you are going to be rather tired the first few days from jet lag for a USA departure cruise, I would guess.
Cheapest non-Carnival from the USA might be the Norwegian Dawn from Tampa, Florida. Feb. 9 & Feb. 23 are both a good price. Goes to the Western Caribbean.
Looks like you can get a suite for under $1000 USA on the Dawn.
Flying from the USA in February or even March, you can have winter weather delays. Be sure to fly out at least a day before the cruise departs.