We are overwhelmed-please help!

[jrjac]

We are very much interested in choosing RCCL for our next cruise. However, it is a bit overwhelming choosing the ship that best fits our needs and desires. First and foremost, we are looking for the most onboard family activities we can find! The food is also on top of our list! Obviously taste is important. Yet variety and a touch of the "unusual" are important, too. Also looking for a nice "mix" of people. I do hope RCCL is what we are looking for! :o

[kenandlaura06]

Narrow it down by route/ports first. Western or Eastern Caribbean? How many nights? Where would you like to sail out of? Focus on that rather than the ship.

[VCruisers]

What types of activities are you looking for? and what are the ages you are catering too? This will better determine the ship line to look at. RCCL is going to be comparable to a Marriott Hotel, etc. As for the activities they do a nice job for younger to older/mature adults.

[yogimax]

Food will be pretty standard on any of the ships. Your best differential is "variety" and a "touch of the unusual." By all means select the Voyager class of ships. You'll enjoy a first rate ice show, rock climbing wall, great promenade. We have sailed on Voyager of the Seas 4 times and had a blast each time

[Jimbo]

Voyager Class ship.........

 

Adventure of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas,Mariner of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas

 

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/home.do;jsessionid=00006Kykhg_UKb5B6C7rOGLqF2N:v29bc6gq?shipClassCode=VY&br=R

 

 

or the new ship that come out in June of 2006...........Freedom of the Seas

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/home.do;jsessionid=00006Kykhg_UKb5B6C7rOGLqF2N:v29bc6gq?shipClassCode=FR&br=R

 

Jimbo:)

[mdeane]

I second that!!! Voyager Class Ships.... something for everyone. We like the food as well. What's not to like???

[jrjac]

Thanks for your input! It is much appreciated! To answer the questions from one...we have already decided on the Eastern Caribbean-7 nights-out of Ft. Lauderdale, hopefully-if not then Miami. To answer the age question...our son will be 9. One more question? Please? The staterooms-obviously one comfy for 2 adults and 1 child and most definitely with a balcony. Any suggestions for the Voyager? Thanks again!

[mdeane]

If you can swing it, I definately recommend the Junior Suite. Especially for 3 of you. It has lots of room with walk in closet and bathtub with nice bath.

The balcony is great. This is our favorite even though we have had larger suites. It is worth the extra $$$.

[TrentS]

The Voyager class ships don't sail out of Fort Lauderdale, but if you want one from Florida they do sail out of Miami, and Port Canaveral (Cocoa Beach area).

 

I would DEFINITELY go with a Voyager class ship (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator, Mariner) and also definitely do the Eastern Caribbean as IMO it's just so much nicer than the Western.

[mdeane]

I agree with TrentS. Completely. Mariner goes out of Canaveral.

[spocruiser]

We took our first cruise on the RCL's Jewel, a Radiance class ship, in April. We didn't have quite the dilemma you face in choosing lines as our available schedule, geographical location in the NW and desire not to cut it too close with arrival and departure times from the port of departure ultimately led us to just one cruise that worked so much better for us.

 

Lucky us! Without much research, we ended up with a great ship and line. We were very pleased with both RCL and the Jewel. Your 9 year old will have a lot of fun in the Adventure Ocean program. My boys, ages 9 & 11 enjoyed their time there. As a family, we played miniature golf each evening, tried shuffleboard during the day, swam in the pool, hit the Solarium Cafe for Crepes or the Seaview Cafe for the dessert of the day, milkshakes or other goodies, went to shows (the prop/visual comic was very family friendly and both boys thought the comic, whom they saw on the ships TV the night after the show, was funny). We were in port four of our six days, so there were many events we likely could have done on ship, but did not (the rock climbing wall looked fun and appeared to be very well run) given time constraints.

 

 

My sons ate with us in the main dining room almost every night and both were treated very well despite one having a kid’s menu/chicken finger preference and the other loving to try new and different meals off of the main menu. We liked the Windjammer Cafe. We were very glad we also tried room ice (a narrow menu, but convenient and quick). I would really recommend Chops on some evening your son is enjoying the kids program and eating in lunch or breakfast in the main dining room at least once.

 

We look forward to trying a Voyager Class Ship. I don't think you can wrong with RCL for a family trip.

[mringenoldus]

We took ages 7-52 on the AOS (Voyager Class) and everyone had a blast! All the programs were well run and the food was just fine!

[bplazo]

My daughter loves the Voyager class ships. There is alot of activites for them to do. I would like to add that on our first cruise my daughter was a little bit lonely, she was not to outgoing and did not meet alot of kids. On our next two cruises we had her friend come with us and what a differenceit made. If that is not possible its important that they go to the get together the first night to meet kids there age.