HONEYMOON CRUISE: which one take? HELP!

[mrak]

Hello all, we are looking to book a cruise for our honeymoon in May. Unfortunately, our choices are pretty limited in the Caribbean during that time of year. We have narrowed it down to two choices: 7 nt Eastern on the RCI Freedom of the Seas (Coco Cay; St. Maarten; St. Thomas) or 8 Nt Southern on the Carnival Breeze (Grand Turk; La Romana; Curacao; Aruba).

 

We have sailed on Carnival before, and while we had a blast we were thinking we might want something a little more elegant for our honeymoon. From what I have read, the Freedom of the Seas seems to have a good balance of big ship activities and smaller ship elegance. I understand it is not a luxury ship but it is a little more refined than the Carnival ships. On the other hand, the itinerary on the Carnival Breeze seems much more appealing. We are more the "adventurous excursion" type than the "find a pretty beach and lay on it" type (although we do like laying on a pretty beach now and again). Also, I have read some VERY mixed reviews on the Breeze (some loved it others hated it and said the crowds were unbearable).

 

Does anyone have any opinions on this for us? Thank you in advance!

[Bonnie J.]

The Breeze is Carnival's newest ship. It sailed in the Med before coming to the US recently. I haven't met anyone who has sailed on her but on the Dream, Carnival's new ship before the Breeze, people said lines were VERY long. They added another passenger deck but didn't increase the size of public areas. I do like where it is going though. Read her reviews and see how many people felt it was crowded.

Freedom of Sea goes to its own island, Coco Cay. In St. Maartin you can go to, I think its Maho Bay. This is a beach where planes literally land right over you. There is a fence you can hold on to so you're not blown over by the force of the plane landing on top of you.We have never done it but in St. Thomas I thinlk there is a tour called Americas Racing or something like that. It is a tall ship and you can help with the sails etc.

Chck out tours in the ports here on cruise critivc and email us if you have questions about them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you don;t mind the long lines, go with the Breeze -- that itinerary is much better.

[mrak]

The crowds are what I am most concerned with on the breeze. That, and the fact that it doesn't seem like a ship that "wows" you. From pictures it just seems like a somewhat plain-jane ship. To complicate matters, I think we have added another choice to the mix. The Celebrity Summit has a 7 nt itinerary to Bermuda out of New Jersey. Again, with this cruise my main concern is the itinerary. 3 days at sea and 3 days on the boat. Will this be boring? I dont know if Bermuda is exciting enough to really have fun there for 3 days. Not to mention, I feel like you would miss out on part of the cruise experience when you are simply using the ship as a hotel each night. No?

[Twickenham]

The crowds are what I am most concerned with on the breeze. That, and the fact that it doesn't seem like a ship that "wows" you. From pictures it just seems like a somewhat plain-jane ship. To complicate matters, I think we have added another choice to the mix. The Celebrity Summit has a 7 nt itinerary to Bermuda out of New Jersey. Again, with this cruise my main concern is the itinerary. 3 days at sea and 3 days on the boat. Will this be boring? I dont know if Bermuda is exciting enough to really have fun there for 3 days. Not to mention, I feel like you would miss out on part of the cruise experience when you are simply using the ship as a hotel each night. No?

 

Go to Bermuda. It's absolutely gorgeous, and IMO Celebrity is a much nicer line than either Carnival or RCI. Lots to do in Bermuda.

[mrak]

Go to Bermuda. It's absolutely gorgeous, and IMO Celebrity is a much nicer line than either Carnival or RCI. Lots to do in Bermuda.

 

thank you for your reply. Some reviews say that the Summit is a little worse for the wear. THey may just be picky because some recent pics make it seem like a beautiful ship. Have you done a multi-day itinerary in Bermuda? Do you feel like you lose out on some of that cruise experience? Besides the Beautiful beaches, does Bermuda offer an land based adventure like hiking or rivers or anything?

 

Thanks!

[narrow56]

I did Freedom for our honeymoon and it was amazing!! I can't compare to the Breeze...but the Freedom was the biggest ship before Oasis and Allure came along.

[CateW]

The Summit is fantastic, don't believe everything you read.

[Twickenham]

thank you for your reply. Some reviews say that the Summit is a little worse for the wear. THey may just be picky because some recent pics make it seem like a beautiful ship. Have you done a multi-day itinerary in Bermuda? Do you feel like you lose out on some of that cruise experience? Besides the Beautiful beaches, does Bermuda offer an land based adventure like hiking or rivers or anything?

 

Thanks!

 

We did Bermuda on the NCL Gem in 2011. I absolutely loved the fact we were in the same port for 3 days straight, made touring so much less stressful, especially as it's pretty far to travel from one end of the island to the next. This was just 2 months before MamaTwick's knee replacement, so we didn't do anything too active, but I'm sure there are some hiking opportunities.

Summit may be suffering in comparison to the newer Celebrity Solstice-class ships, which are really spectacular. I will let others who have been on the Summit comment, but I wouldn't hesitate to book her myself. In terms of cruise experience, it almost had the feel - for me, at least - of harking back to the days when ships were used as transport, rather than just going in circles.

[mrak]

thank you all for your input. So torn! The 8-day itinerary (and price for a balcony) are so enticing on the Breeze. Anyone have any experience on her?

[mrak]

I did Freedom for our honeymoon and it was amazing!! I can't compare to the Breeze...but the Freedom was the biggest ship before Oasis and Allure came along.

 

The Freedom looks fantastic! But that itinerary looks so boring for us. Coco Cay might as well not be included, and St. Maarten and St. Thomas seem to be all about shopping. That just isn't what we are looking for.

[printingchick]

If you're leaning away from the Carnival ship, I'd go with the Summit. While I'm a Royal Enthusiast, I would never think to describe Freedom as a cross between big ship amenities and small ship elegance. It definitely has the big ship amenities and it will be a fun cruise. But I would not consider it elegant. I found it more FUN than the "Fun Ships".

 

If you want something a little more elegant, I'd vote Summit. If only she were in the southern Caribbean, which would be a five-port/one sea day itinerary. Will you be bored with 3 sea days? That's a call only you can make. I recently took a three/three cruise and have to admit that I found three sea days too much for my taste. I prefer more port-intensive cruises. But others LOVE sea days. Some people don't even get off the ship at some ports of call.

 

Let us know what you decide. And ENJOY!!