HELP! HA Volendam or MSC Lirica for X-Mas sailing??

[Tricia28]

Help!

Holding a quad cabin on HA Volendam and the MSC Lirica for Holiday sailing. Price is the same for a 7 day inside cabin on HA and a 10 day oceanview on the Lirica. Have never sailed either line, only Carnival, RCCL, Princess and Sitmar from the old days. Any opinions? Have to decide by tomorrow! Will be my husband and I along with two boys ages 5 and 9. Both leave from Ft. Lauderdale.

[bigmike7]

Yo-

 

Both have their merits-

 

Me - I would go for the 'Lirica' because I think that you would get more bang for your buck (outside vs. inside / 10 days vs. 7 days)

 

Mike

[cmjaffe]

Tricia...

Have you sailed with HA before... I have (a while ago though).

And we've done MANY sailings on X and RCCL. Traveling w/13yo boy (today) and 9yo girl. We were originally booked on RCCL Splendor for Xmas & New Years since January. When Rita was about to hit we needed to make a decision whether to make final payment. Then we got offer for Lirica. Had always been intrigued by MSC.. and couldn't resist the pricing. We "jumped ship" (we've done 10 cruises each on RCCL and X... and after doing 3 holiday sailings in a row were ready for "something different") Have you cruised with the kids before? It's a great way of spending the holidays (though w/RCCL it wasn't anything "extra special"--- at least on Brilliance the last 2 years it wasn't what I had expected for a holiday sailing). Either choice you can't go wrong, but we got a GREAT deal on Lirica (my "favorite" agency was able to "beat" the others by $150).

Carolyn

[caviargal]

IME, MSC is the closest to Sitmar I have experienced.

 

I prefer the food on MSC to HAL.

[Tricia28]

Thanks for your responses. It looks like we will go with MSC. Sitmar was my first cruise as a girl of 17 (I'm 39 now) and I was hooked on cruising forever. The service we received on the last 9 cruises I have taken have never lived up to Sitmar. They were great cruises, but after sailing Carnival, RCCL and Princess multiple times I feel I may be ready for a change as well. I enjoy other languages and cultures and I am not a picky eater so I think it will be good. I was warned about two things today though. SOmeone told me they felt the ship was beautiful, but small, especially the cabins and I was warned they weren't that good with kids. All I know is that after sailing with Carnival this past August (our 5th time) the youth staff was the worst ever. Few activities and alot of tv and video games. My kids were bored and they actually usually love the ships kids center. I think that with alot of kids on this sailing it should be fun for them.

[cmjaffe]

Tricia,

If your kids are "veteran cruisers" they may get "ho-hum" with the kids programs that are offered on the "mainsteam lines" after a while. That's what happened to mine. They're 13 and 9 and have done 8 and 10 cruises each (mainly X and RCCL, with one Carnival thrown in). That said the last cruise was on Brilliance and older son's group was mainly "hanging out" since the staff was "lazy" (cancelling activities since "they" didn't want to supervise and it was easier to let the kid "talk and play cards"). We found that the ships that had "all the bells and whistles" (ball pits, computers etc.) got to be "glorified babysitters" and the staff over the years enthusiasm has declined. We enjoy our kids' company and go on cruises as a family to be together for "quality time". If they want to join in with the kids "fine", otherwise that's OK too. We're a bit concerned about the cabin situation. In the past when things were small we'd get 2 cabins, we've done small cabins (but when the kids were younger), but found that if we split up with 2 cabins we'd not stay together alot. So we're going to "brave" it in an inside (maybe we'll be upgraded). Going with an open mind and sense of adventure. Also, right now we're still trying to figure out "early or late seating".

Carolyn

[bepsf]

Although the inside staterooms on HAL are larger than the outsides on MSC - I have the feeling that you might have a better time w/ your boys on MSC...

...especially if they like spaghetti and pizza! :D

The evening shows are much better than HAL - don't let your boys miss the magic shows and the aerial gymasts. Daytime, there are lots of things going on w/ the Animation team that will keep them busy with the rest of the crowd up on the pooldeck.

Also try bringing them to Italian lessons in the late mornings/early afternoons! ;)

[Tricia28]

Well, it's official, we will be sailing on the Lirica Dec. 17th. We will have an oceanview quad with our two boys ages 5 and 9. Thanks for your input and Brian, I plan on taking the Italian lessons and as my nine year old is learning to speak French, he will love it too!