Please Help Me Choose Cruise ...

[Scarlet Knight]

Folks,

 

Would like to go on a cruise with my wife & kids (2 girls - 21 & 19) - ok, I know they are not kids! And came up with the following 3 options. Please give me your thoughts...

 

1) Celebrity- Infinity

 

6 Days Caribbean-Eastern

1 Sailings: Jan 2 2006

 

Inside $760

OceanView $850

Balcony $1050

 

Day Port

1 Fort Lauderdale

2 At Sea

3 San Juan/Puerto Rico

4 Saint Thomas

5 At Sea

6 Nassau

7 Fort Lauderdale

 

==================

2) Norwegian Jewel

 

7 Days Caribbean-Eastern

1 Sailings: Jan 1 2006

 

Inside $849

OceanView $879

Balcony $1129

3/4 Addtl $469

 

Day Port

1 Miami

2 At Sea

3 San Juan/Puerto Rico

4 St. John's/Antigua

5 Saint Thomas

6 At Sea

7 Great Stirrup Cay

8 Miami

 

========================

 

3) Royal Caribbean: Adventure of the Seas

 

 

6 Days Caribbean/Bahamas

1 Sailings: Jan 2 2006

 

 

Inside $649

OceanView $899

Balcony $999

 

 

 

Day Port

1 San Juan/Puerto Rico

2 At Sea

3 Oranjestad/Aruba

4 Oranjestad/Aruba

5 Philipsburg/St. Maarten

6 St. Thomas/Charlotte Amalie

7 San Juan/Puerto Rico

 

 

Also, any good thoughts on best way to accomodate the 4 of us? (e.g., two connecting cabins vs. larger single cabin for 4)

[claud925]

I'd go with #1, because:

 

#2: don't care for NCL - their food; service is fair, at best (IMHO).

 

#3: Embark/disembark from San Juan? No, thanks .... (plus, it's too port-intensive) - again, just MHO.

 

I feel Celebrity gives you the best bang for your buck - great food and superb service. Plus, this itinerary has a nice mix of port/sea days.

 

As for cabins - go with 2, rather than a large single, because: you'll get TWO bathrooms! With 3 women traveling with you, you may find this most advantageous.;)

 

Good luck with whatever you decide, and have a great time together.

[serene56]

Adventer of the sea- for the daughters. Celebrity may be too old for them and they may get bored.

 

Have you factored in the cost of an airfare on the dates you are sailing.

Holiday season-- rates will be high. Price airfare.. then decide which will be better.

[wrp96]

I'd go with option # 3. RCI's Voyager class has so much to offer all ages. Plus I think it has the best itinerary of the 3, with the stops in Aruba, St. Thomas, and St. Martin vs. a stop in San Juan or stops in San Juan and Nassau. Aruba, St. Thomas, and St. Martin just seem to have more activities and be more tropical than the other port stops. While I think San Juan is fine for an embarkation port, it just doesn't have any beach opportunities which is part of why I cruise - although it does have decent shopping.

 

Now, if you like the idea of Freestyle cruising, then option # 2 would be my 2nd choice because of the stops at Great Stirrup Cay and Antigua in addition to the St. Thomas stop.

 

 

FYI - the 2nd Aruba day on Adventure is actually a Day at Sea because the ship stays until 1:00 am before it leaves.

[Queenk2]

I think the girls will like Adventure better. It is after the holidays so there will be few people their ages on Celebrity, or for that matter..even RCCL, but the iar will be bundle to San Juan

[Kudos2Fly]

I have only been on two cruise lines, Celebrity was one. They seemed a little boring for me at 31. Not enough places to dance ;). I would go with #3. I haven't been on NCCL yet, but that would be my choice.

 

Kim

[Shifra]

Yup, Adventure of the Seas is my choice considering your kids. If it was just you & spouse than my pick would be Celebrity.

 

Happy Cruising! :D

[Scarlet Knight]

Thanks for all of your advice. Any thought on good travel agents. I tried a few of the online services, expedia, travelocity, etc - and get pretty identical costs.

[DEL67]

I agree with most of the others. Go on the Jewel or the Adventure. Celebrity is more formal and attracts older passengers so it would not be fun for your "kids."

 

I like Aruba so I would prefer the Adventure's itinerary and it is less expensive; however, you need to factor in potential additional expense to get to San Juan.

 

As fore one cabin versus two, two would be more comfortable for you all; however it could add significantly to the cost and you probably would not be spending a lot of time in your cabin.

[wrp96]

Thanks for all of your advice. Any thought on good travel agents. I tried a few of the online services, expedia, travelocity, etc - and get pretty identical costs.

 

That is because RCI doesn't allow discounting of their prices by TAs. So what you should do is find a TA your comfortable with, or just book w/ RCI directly. Some TAs will give you added extras to make up for the fact that they can't offer a lower price. One thing w/ RCI, is that if the price drops after you book, they will almost always allow you to call up and get the new lower fare, so after you book just keep an eye on the fares and call whoever you book with to see if you canget the lower fare.

[celbercrz333]

Scarlet,

Call the cruise line direct and tell them what specials you saw on those online travel discount sites. They will outdo either price or upgrade you a level or two. We didn't use a ta for either of our cruises. We called Carnival who asked us questions that would qualify us for a discount (ie..military, any cruise line connections, etc.) and we only had BJs wholesale and they said their deal would be better. They gave us same price as an e-mail offered us from other source but we got upgraded 2 levels on the ship for doing it early. Celebrity asked if we were celebrating anything.......our 25th anniv. and they invited us to an anniversary party....free champagne & cake!

[Dem920]

We went on Adventure last summer from San Juan and loved it. The food was great and the crew couldn't have been nicer. There will be plenty for the girls to do, we had a bunch of kids that age with us last summer and everyone had a great time. Just my opinion. I agree kind of port intensive but the ship was amazing. We tried teh rock climbing and ice skating. I agree though you should factor air fare in.

 

-DEM920

[letsgosomewhere]

We took my 21 and 17 yo kids to the So Caribbean on the Grandeur 1-6-01 and it was Fabulous. Only complaints being unattended kids probably from Puerto Rico, (speaking no English) in the adult-only spa, jumping into the whirlpool! I was the only one to speak up out a room full of adults and RCI staff. After I did it, others did, too. But the trip was wonderful and we had a suite, which worked, but, again I agree with the 2 bathroom, and 2 women doing hair and makeup problem. The suite was inconvenient also, when my DS and DD coming in from the club at 3 am (yes the 17 yo got drinks everynight!) and my hubby and I trying not to be disturbed by them. We all had a wonderful time. I'd go with RCI. (a funny aside, my son after a few nights, asked who was putting the crummy melted chocolate in his bed, and it wasn't funny. So we told him he had a chocolate placed on his pillow each night from the room attendant, and being drunk and sleepy , he slept on the candy , each night!! LOL

[cntrydncr1]

I think the AOS is great for the kids and the ports are nice too. We rented a car in Aruba and drove the whole island. You can do anything you want and cheaper that way. I love the ports on that itinerary also. St. Maartin beaches are so nice. They will love it!

 

Try *****.com. I use this to get quotes. Since RCI won't let anyone discount you get to see just what kind of perks you can be offered for your business. I then call my local TA and get them to match the prices.

 

Enjoy.