Suggestions Please!

[Pshaff]

Hi everyone! My sister and I are going to go on our first cruise, I have a question, Carnival Vs Royal? Just a 4 day cruise.

[cb at sea]

Either/or! They are more alike than different! Shorter cruises usually use the smaller, older ships...not to say they aren't great ships, but, just letting you know that! Carnival's cabins are larger than RCIs, as far as a standard cabin goes.

[kelkel2]

I agree with the previous poster. Especially for shorter cruises, the two cruise lines are more similar than you would think. But yes, Carnival has some of the largest cabins in the industry. I think I would choose based more on the ports or home port that is more convenient to me, or one that is cheaper to fly, rather than choosing based on the two cruise lines.

[dorisis]

If this is your first cruise pick the itinerary you like best.

[Keith1010]

I don't think there is a big difference for a four day cruise.

 

They tend to be more like party ships on the shorter cruises.

 

Keith

[MCC retired]

Both cruise lines are perfect for First timers .

As stated , shorter cruises tend to attract the party types .

Also these cruise lines generally have their older ships on these short cruises.

 

OP is a long way from any of the cruise ports . I would go for a 7 nighter to make the transportation more worthwhile and give you a larger selection of ships and itineraries.

[Treven]

Yes, being a Hoosier, you're going to fly to whichever port so you'll be better off going with a 7-day cruise. Not only is the longer cruise more cost worthy, those really will give you a better sense of what cruising is like. The 4-day cruises, as has been posted, are more booze croozes than anything else.

[kusuriurikun]

Yes, being a Hoosier, you're going to fly to whichever port so you'll be better off going with a 7-day cruise. Not only is the longer cruise more cost worthy, those really will give you a better sense of what cruising is like. The 4-day cruises, as has been posted, are more booze croozes than anything else.

 

You make an assumption that a 7-day is an option--depending on employer, number of vacation days, and/or actual location in Indiana this might not be the case. Just gently noting.

 

(I was in similar straits with my first cruise, so I took a four-day as that's what I could get with the destinations and cruise line I was interested in. I only had a week of vacation I could use; even air travel from KY is likely to be a full-day affair (there are only two direct flights from SDF to Orlando) and pretty much any option to get to a port other than Orlando or Baltimore will involve at least one, and possibly multiple, layovers. Any options with more direct flights involve at least an hour, and usually more, hours of driving time--honestly I'm best off flying to Chicago or Baltimore and flying where I want to go from there. If the OP is from southern Indiana they're probably in the exact same boat (pun intended) and are going to have 7+ hours in airports or in air just to get to where they're going--and this is not counting possibly having to drive upwards of an hour to get to an airport. Ah, the joys of living in Flyover Country and being hours from the nearest hubs not labeled "UPS" or "FedEx"...:rolleyes: So I did what I could, which is take a four-day in late September on Enchantment OTS and use the spare non-travel, non-ship day to visit KSC. :))

 

If you can do a seven-day, awesome (and next year and afterwards this will be an option, and better yet it'll be an option we know we'll like)--that said, if you can't because of work schedules (and dear readers, keep in mind that this may not be a thing the OP can control) it's not the end of the world, and yes, "shorties" can be fun cruises and even (dare I say it) relaxing cruises!

 

For those concerned about the "party vibe"--four-days within the week (rather than on the weekends) do tend to be less "party boats" and you can also mitigate this by going when schools and colleges are in session (avoid March and April if you don't want a party boat lol). I never noticed a huge "LET'S GET DRUNK ONNA BOAT WHEEEE PARTY HARDYYYY WHOOO" sort of thing on Enchantment OTS on a 4-day in late September, but do be aware going on a weekend cruise on (say) the Carnival Ectasy on a 3-day weekend cruise in the middle of March is likely to be a more energetic atmosphere; Your Mileage May Vary.

 

(This said--in a year or two when I'll have enough vacation to do a 7-day AND get to the port and back with stored vacation time...it will be interesting to compare and contrast Enchantment with, say, something in Freedom or even (OMG) Oasis class. Or maybe something else? At least a larger ship and a different destination because we know now we don't hate being at sea for a few days, actually like the experience, and don't get bletcherously ill on a ship. The Enchantment cruise was, for us, "usability of cruise as a potential method of vacation" testing, and I know the experiences will be different on a larger ship. That's ok. I look at this as a sampler plate to see what I like best :D)

[cardbucfan]

Another option is Tampa and there are non-stop flights between Tampa and both Indianapolis and Louisville (DH's family lives in Southern Indiana and we always fly in and out of Louisville).

 

Tampa has short cruise on Carnival (awful ship though) and 7 days on RCCL, NCL and Carnival.

 

Super easy airport to navigate and close to the port.

 

Good luck and have fun whichever you choose!

[MtnDweller]

I agree with the previous poster. Especially for shorter cruises, the two cruise lines are more similar than you would think. But yes, Carnival has some of the largest cabins in the industry. I think I would choose based more on the ports or home port that is more convenient to me, or one that is cheaper to fly, rather than choosing based on the two cruise lines.

 

This is exactly what we're doing. We're first time cruisers and were torn between CC and RCI. RCI was a little more appealing, but CC has a port that's only a 4 hour drive. So, CC won out..........this time. ;)

[Treven]

Another option is Tampa and there are non-stop flights between Tampa and both Indianapolis and Louisville (DH's family lives in Southern Indiana and we always fly in and out of Louisville).

 

Tampa has short cruise on Carnival (awful ship though) and 7 days on RCCL, NCL and Carnival.

 

Super easy airport to navigate and close to the port.

 

Good luck and have fun whichever you choose!

It's just too bad EVV doesn't have International status. It would make travel SO much easier for the folks in that area.

[sail7seas]

Pick the ship that goes to the ports you most want to see.

[Treven]

Pick the ship that goes to the ports you most want to see.

:D That's probably the easiest way to decide on a ship/cruise.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Treven

[JimAOk1945]

Hi everyone! My sister and I are going to go on our first cruise, I have a question, Carnival Vs Royal? Just a 4 day cruise.

 

Pick the cruise based on the itinerary that offers the ports you most want to see. If possible, go on a 7 day cruise to make the expense worthwhile, even if it means postponing your plans until a later date. You will get a much better experience than a short cruise that attracts the "party crowd."

 

Cruising is a great way to travel and see the world. Take some time to do research and plan carefully to make your trip memorable.

Edited October 19, 2015 by JimAOk1945

[OCruisers]

Either you are considering will be fine for a 4 day cruise.

 

Look forward to having a great time. :)

[pris993]

We did a 4 day cruise only once, 25+ years ago, at the time RCCL was using a ship to market cruising - we had a great time, food, service and entertain were all great... the ship was new a the time.

 

Besides taking the cruise with ports you would enjoy the most, look at taking newer vs older ships if you can.

[big al]

Hi everyone! My sister and I are going to go on our first cruise, I have a question, Carnival Vs Royal? Just a 4 day cruise.

 

Need more info..when are you going? Does it matter what port you want to leave from? Are you drinkers & partiers? Cruise agent here..I like the RCI Liberty Of The Seas for 4 nighters...Flowrider, ice -skating shows, adult pool areas with canti-levered hot tubs that stick out 12 ft , 112 ft up from the water for the best views on the 7 seas...nice cabins & great balconies ( a balcony is the way to go IMO)...

 

Big Al

[WOWCruising]

Looking for suggestions on shore day passes at resorts....anybody know where I should start?

[kelkel2]

This is exactly what we're doing. We're first time cruisers and were torn between CC and RCI. RCI was a little more appealing, but CC has a port that's only a 4 hour drive. So, CC won out..........this time. ;)

 

We cruised for the first time for our honeymoon. Once we decided that's what we wanted to do, we got more insight than we asked for and more opinions than necessary about what line was best. After a while I just tuned them out. Our wedding was a saturday, I wanted Sunday to travel and i wanted to cruise leaving on Monday. It's not easy to find a Monday cruise. So, instead of listening to everyone's opinion about what line is best, I just picked what worked best for our timeline and our plans, and also for what we could afford with airfare. We ended up with a 5 day out of Galveston. I would have loved a longer cruise, but I wasn't convinced I wouldn't get sea sick. We had a great time.

Sometimes it's easiest to pick the important things, like what port you can get to the cheapest. The other things will fall into place!

[big al]

Looking for suggestions on shore day passes at resorts....anybody know where I should start?

 

On these message boards, go to"ports of call" and click "caribbean", then go to each individual port...there you either will see posts on day passes at resorts, OR you can put a post yourself like "need day pass at beach resort in XXX"...I know many ( I'm a cruise agent)..did you have some ports in mind?

 

Big Al