Ship Recommendation?

[pansoup81]

We are planning our first vacation. We are a 34/37 year old couple with 13 yo girl and 6 yo boy. This is our first family vacation and also our 10 year anniversary trip. Never had a honeymoon. We plan on leaving from either Charleston, New Orleans, Galveston or any FL stops (Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are a bit far but willing to consider depending on stops and ship amenities). That being said....What ship would you absolutely recommend. I looked at Sunshine as it appears to have the most.

 

Not having a port preference, ship preference or even 100% date is making this difficult. So Looking for suggestions to narrow it down.

 

Hasbro game seems like something my kids would like as well as the waterslides. the sports thing looks interesting but appears to only be on the Sunshine (as far as cruises leaving the ports I mentioned above).

 

I am open to suggestions. Also, how long does it typically take to get a passport...we would just need the cards and not the full passports so that's what we will get. Just curious what kind of timeframe we are looking at.

 

I really want to see Half Moon Cay. However, it looks like more than likely we will be going in August and September. Are the waters too rough to tender there.

 

Thanks for any information you can give me.

Edited February 14, 2015 by pansoup81

[Alexv500]

We are planning our first vacation. We are a 34/37 year old couple with 13 yo girl and 6 yo boy. This is our first family vacation and also our 10 year anniversary trip. Never had a honeymoon. We plan on leaving from either Charleston, New Orleans, Galveston or any FL stops (Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are a bit far but willing to consider depending on stops and ship amenities). That being said....What ship would you absolutely recommend. I looked at Sunshine as it appears to have the most.

 

Not having a port preference, ship preference or even 100% date is making this difficult. So Looking for suggestions to narrow it down.

 

Hasbro game seems like something my kids would like as well as the waterslides. the sports thing looks interesting but appears to only be on the Sunshine (as far as cruises leaving the ports I mentioned above).

 

I am open to suggestions. Also, how long does it typically take to get a passport...we would just need the cards and not the full passports so that's what we will get. Just curious what kind of timeframe we are looking at.

 

I really want to see Half Moon Cay. However, it looks like more than likely we will be going in August and September. Are the waters too rough to tender there.

 

Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

 

I think the best ship that your whole family would enjoy would be the Breeze from Miami. An 8 day Southern Caribbean to Grand Turk, Aruba, Curaçao, and La Romana would be a great itinerary! The kids would love the waterpark, and this ship has all the latest 2.0 features, newest ship in the fleet. Or if you want to leave from Port Canaveral, the Liberty also does that 8 day southern caribbean. And for the passports it says 3-6 weeks, but I recently got mine and it got here in 2 weeks! Always try to do your passports a few months before Your cruise to allow some time just in case there are delays with the passports.

[pansoup81]

Thank you for the suggestion. I forgot to put we are looking 4-5 day leaving Sunday or Monday because of driving from St louis. But your reply has me intrigued about those two options. Maybe something to think about for next year.

[Alexv500]

Thank you for the suggestion. I forgot to put we are looking 4-5 day leaving Sunday or Monday because of driving from St louis. But your reply has me intrigued about those two options. Maybe something to think about for next year.

 

 

Oh haha for a 4-5 day you could do the Carnival Triumph from Galveston. On a 4 day it goes to Cozumel and on a 5 day cruise you will visit Cozumel and Progresso, MX. The Triumph has some funship 2.0 features such as Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. You should look into this cruise sometimes they have pretty good deals on it too!

[alabamaprincess]

I recommend a five day cruise out of Jacksonville on the Fascination. It has the Waterworks slides, Hasbro Game Show and mini golf. It also goes to Half Moon Cay and has cruises that leave on Monday. I like the smaller size of the ship because it is easier to find everything and less crowded.

I would go ahead and get a passport as soon as possible.

Edited February 14, 2015 by alabamaprincess

[Tapi]

Ships doing 4-5 night itineraries from Charleston, Jacksonville, Tampa and New Orleans are on Fantasy class ships (Carnival's oldest and smallest), so all of those will be similar, except for decor and a few amenities.

 

Always keep in mind that itineraries are subject to change, so if you pick based on itinerary, specially a tender port like Half Moon Cay, be ready for the possibility of missing that port.

 

Sunshine out of Port Canaveral does offer a handful of 5 night itineraries, so I would lean towards that just because the ship has more to offer for the whole family.

[Dazzies]

We did a 5 Day on Sunshine out of Port Canaveral last May with (then) 13 year olds, a 12 year old, and an 8 year old, and we all loved it. Sunshine was a great ship with lots for the kids and the adults. We didn't get off the boat in Nassau and Freeport because we'd been before, but Key West was nice.

[Essiesmom]

Forget the passport cards. They won't get you any more than the birth certificate and ID. They certainly won't get you on a plane from a foreign country in an emergency. Save your money and get full passports as you can afford them. For closed loop cruises, you don't need a passport (although I won't leave home without one). EM

[pansoup81]

I recommend a five day cruise out of Jacksonville on the Fascination. It has the Waterworks slides, Hasbro Game Show and mini golf. It also goes to Half Moon Cay and has cruises that leave on Monday. I like the smaller size of the ship because it is easier to find everything and less crowded.

I would go ahead and get a passport as soon as possible.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. that is one that I was leaning towards. My sister told me about the chance of change of itinerary because of tendering. She mentioned it because of Grand Cayman (another place we looked at) is a tender location. Is there somewhere you can look on carnivals site that tells you whether each place is a tender location or dock. I tried looking but might be over looking it.

[Alexv500]

Thank you for the suggestion. that is one that I was leaning towards. My sister told me about the chance of change of itinerary because of tendering. She mentioned it because of Grand Cayman (another place we looked at) is a tender location. Is there somewhere you can look on carnivals site that tells you whether each place is a tender location or dock. I tried looking but might be over looking it.

 

 

Just tell us all the places you're looking into and we could let you know if it's tender or not. It's tricky finding it on Carnival's site, before it used to tell you but now it's harder to find it

[Alexv500]

Actually I find a link for you that had a list of carnival tender ports: http://www.shipcruise.org/carnival-cruise-ports-of-call-departure-tender/

[portocaller]

The Elation or of New Orleans leaves on Sat, Monday, or a Thursday. Does 4-5 days. It is a good first ship.

 

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[pansoup81]

Actually I find a link for you that had a list of carnival tender ports: http://www.shipcruise.org/carnival-cruise-ports-of-call-departure-tender/

 

Thank you. You are awesome.

[dadof2boys]

Breeze, breeze, breeze, breeze, breeze

[goduckies05]

Glory out of Miami