CDA3387 Posted March 18, 2014 #1 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) I know this question has been asked about a million times, but all the posts I could find were from a couple of years ago. Either in December 2014 or January 2015, 2 of my buddies and I are planning a cruise to go on. As we all are 23, we didn't want to spend more than about $800-900 for a cruise which can include airfare. We live close enough to NYC where we could forgo the airfare if we really wanted. I was looking at some Western Caribbean cruises with RCCL and Carnival and a few eastern ones with NCL and I was wondering what would be the best cruise line for the 3 of us to be around people closer to our age and to enjoy more of a party atmosphere and to go Eastern or Western Caribbean. I've been on only one Eastern cruise with RCCL this past year and I loved it. Thanks for your help. Edited March 18, 2014 by CDA3387 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted March 18, 2014 #2 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Cruisng over the new year would be perfect for you guys...except you would need to at least double your budget for the cruise alone. Cruises that include Christmas Day or New Year's Day (or both) are the most expensive of the year. And $800 would not even pay for the airfare to Florida then. You can ususally get a great price for January--because kids are back in school and very, very few working people can get vacation time at the beginning of the year. So even on NCL, RC or Carnival the passengers could skew a bit older. You may want to take a chance on cruises starting the first few days of January that may have students from colleges that do not restart classes until around January 10. I have cruised mid-December a couple times and was surprised how many kids were onboard. Though I haven't been on RCCL in many years, they do have the best reputation of drawing all different ages and interests and having plenty to do for all of them. Edited March 18, 2014 by fishywood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDA3387 Posted March 19, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Cruisng over the new year would be perfect for you guys...except you would need to at least double your budget for the cruise alone. Cruises that include Christmas Day or New Year's Day (or both) are the most expensive of the year. And $800 would not even pay for the airfare to Florida then. You can ususally get a great price for January--because kids are back in school and very, very few working people can get vacation time at the beginning of the year. So even on NCL, RC or Carnival the passengers could skew a bit older. You may want to take a chance on cruises starting the first few days of January that may have students from colleges that do not restart classes until around January 10. I have cruised mid-December a couple times and was surprised how many kids were onboard. Though I haven't been on RCCL in many years, they do have the best reputation of drawing all different ages and interests and having plenty to do for all of them. I should have been more specific. I meant that amount per person not total. I saw a couple of cheaper cruises that were 350-500 pp before taxes. We didn't want to overpay for cruises, so we said no to anything during Christmas week-New Years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted March 19, 2014 #4 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Do NOT discount older folk...we have been around the block and we KNOW how to party! No kidding! We might be older than you, but we've been practicing for years! So, don't worry about the age range...find the cruise you can afford, and go for it. You will find plenty of "like-minded" folks....they may not be your age, but they will have your same mind-set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDA3387 Posted March 20, 2014 Author #5 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Do NOT discount older folk...we have been around the block and we KNOW how to party! No kidding! We might be older than you, but we've been practicing for years! So, don't worry about the age range...find the cruise you can afford, and go for it. You will find plenty of "like-minded" folks....they may not be your age, but they will have your same mind-set! When I went on my cruise in January, I found that out but nothing is wrong wit being around more younger people right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted March 20, 2014 #6 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I think RCCL is by far best line, as you have been told Christmas and New years are the most 2 exspensive weeks, weeks before Christmas are normally very cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandlockedCruiser01 Posted March 20, 2014 #7 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I had good experiences on Carnival's 4-day cruises. Both of them had a lively atmosphere, with a lot of people staying up late, dancing, and just having a good time. What helped is the ships staying late in port one night, causing the nearby tourist bar to be taken over by partiers from the respective ship, wearing balloon hats. All that said, people did seem to respect boundaries, both social and legal, when it came to drunken behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzc8n4 Posted March 20, 2014 #8 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I know this question has been asked about a million times, but all the posts I could find were from a couple of years ago. Either in December 2014 or January 2015, 2 of my buddies and I are planning a cruise to go on. As we all are 23, we didn't want to spend more than about $800-900 for a cruise which can include airfare. We live close enough to NYC where we could forgo the airfare if we really wanted. I was looking at some Western Caribbean cruises with RCCL and Carnival and a few eastern ones with NCL and I was wondering what would be the best cruise line for the 3 of us to be around people closer to our age and to enjoy more of a party atmosphere and to go Eastern or Western Caribbean. I've been on only one Eastern cruise with RCCL this past year and I loved it. Thanks for your help. Carnival and NCL tend to be lower cost cruises catering to younger people. I did a quick scan on ************* dot com and it seems that Carnival is cheaper at the moment. Carnival Glory and Splendor are doing 7-day cruises out of Miami for $369 the weekend of Dec 6-7. The Carnival Dream is doing a 7-day cruise out of New Orleans (I suspect you would really enjoy Bourbon Street) for $379 on Dec 7. I would not try to cruise out of New York in the winter, and would suggest flying to the site of your cruise a day or two in advance to minimize the possibility of a travel problem that will cause you to miss the ship. You can generally book airfare on your own much cheaper than booking through the cruise line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDA3387 Posted March 21, 2014 Author #9 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Besides RCCL which I've been on and I loved...which would anyone recommend more..NCL or Carnival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassyGame Posted March 22, 2014 #10 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I've only been on Carnival before, and I enjoyed it. It wasn't a standard cruise, but I liked the cruise line in general. The one I went on was a concert cruise put on by Sixthman - if you like going to concerts and music festivals, you should check them out! It was basically one giant party. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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