Cruise Line Matchmaking Request

[demoiselle]

Greetings!

 

My husband just finished our first ever cruise, on Carnival Fascination out of San Juan. We always doubted whether we would enjoy cruising and were delighted to find it was one of our best, most restful and enjoyable vacations. We want to do it again.

 

However, we felt very aware that we are not the ideal customers for Carnival. We would sail them again, but I think that we might fit another line better. Can anyone help us find a good match?

 

On Fascination, we found the accommodations good and the food mostly good, though my husband prefers vegetarian food and found the selection a bit thin.

 

Whereas the music was loud, we would prefer some soft jazz in the evenings.

 

The bars were too loud and smokey (we are driven away by smoke drifting from neighboring areas) for our chosen evening activity, curling up with a book or for intimate conversation.

 

We didn't mind the size of the ship, which I gather some consider small, but in the evenings the main deck with the bars was too crowded with people and kids for us. We spend very little on extras (like alcohol, coffee, or alternate dining).

 

We like ballroom dancing and tango, and would like to do it every night, but Fascination mostly had hustle music and latin, and no dance floor.

 

We didn't go to a single show, but might if the offerings were more to our taste. We are destination-oriented.

 

We live in NYC. Norwegian sails out of port here and has the right price, but I get the sense that it is a line catering to a similar audience as Carnival. We kept running into a Viking ship in port, and it seemed to be up our alley, but twice or four times the price, so beyond our current means.

 

We are a couple in our early to mid 30s.

 

What cruise lines should we explore?

Edited January 16, 2017 by demoiselle

[SuiteTraveler]

I would suggest you consider Princess or Celebrity initially.

 

NCL tends to have lots of families onboard and the casino on ships out of New York is ever so smoke filled - GAG!

 

I think you might like Cunard which does sail transatlantic or to Canada and Boston out of New York. They have a lot of ballroom dancing and are more sophisticated.

 

Another line I think you might like would be MSC - especially if you book in the Yacht Club - which is not all that expensive and makes your cruise 100% all-inclusive. The shows on these ships are awesome - Broadway caliber performers.

[Cruisingwithoutthekids]

You should look at Celebrity. In particular the Summit out of San Juan might be a cruise you would enjoy. They have some great itineraries. We have found them to our liking. The shows can be hit or miss but the rest sounds like it would check off the items you are looking for in a cruise line.

 

 

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[demoiselle]

Thank you for the suggestions! MSC looks like it would be wonderful, though the Yacht Club may be a bit above our budget right now, especially if we have to fly to the departure port. Princess and Celebrity were both cruise lines I wondered about.

[LHT28]

Princess & Celebrity might work but check the smoking policy & areas where people can smoke if that was an issue

 

Or step up to a premium line like Oceania & Azamara

 

the Luxury lines are smaller ships with less commotion in the evenings

 

Maybe talk to a cruise specialist to determine what line suits your wants & needs

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

[MJSailors]

I have to agree with those suggesting Princess or Celebrity.

We have been on the Breakaway,( NCL out of NYC ) and the smoke coming from the casino truly affects the three decks in the atrium area (6,7,8 ).Public spaces tend to be crowded for entertainment and activities.

Kudos to Celebrity 's smoking policy which does not allow smoking anywhere

inside the ship including the casino.

However, we have found some of the Celebrity ships to be dark and older looking ( ex.the Summit ) compared to the Princess ships that have bright and very pretty atrium areas.

Princess does not allow smoking inside except for the casino and a cigar room (Churchill's ). There are designated smoking areas on the open deck on the Promenade deck level.

There are several venues for enjoying music during the day and at night.

Crooners bar is a popular place to enjoy mellow music in the evening.

Princess has cruises out of Brooklyn to New England and Canada,as well as a repositioning cruise to the Caribbean,arriving in Ft Lauderdale at the end of October - a very pleasant 10 day cruise.

Summit sails out of Bayonne ,NJ in the summer to Bermuda,then has Canada ,New England cruises,the goes out of San Juan for the winter Caribbean cruise season. At least for now.However,as I said the Summit is an older ship.

You may want to check Cruise Critic reviews of the ship before you book a cruise on the Summit.

Wishing you happy cruising !

[demoiselle]

Thank you so much! Your commentary about smoking on the ships is much appreciated. I can tolerate it to some degree, but even smoke drifting from other areas makes my husband flee immediately. It really limited our ability to enjoy the bars and lounges.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Princess & Celebrity might work but check the smoking policy & areas where people can smoke if that was an issue

 

 

 

Or step up to a premium line like Oceania & Azamara

 

 

 

the Luxury lines are smaller ships with less commotion in the evenings

 

 

 

Maybe talk to a cruise specialist to determine what line suits your wants & needs

 

 

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

 

 

Plus 1 on Oceania or Azamara where you get real value for your money. On O in recent years, we have seen more and more 30s-40s younger professional couples. Note - stellar food (including veg.), highly restrictive smoking policy, ballroom dancing nightly.

 

 

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[Liz54]

I would also look at Holland America. Some will say its passengers are too old but others swear by the quiet pools, the cooking and wine events by America's test kitchen, very good food and service, designated movie theatre, classic ocean liner design etc.

 

Will usually cruise Princess, but are trying HAL for those reasons!

[tld129]

We are around your age and took our first cruise on Celebrity Equinox last summer. We loved it! The food was decent and service excellent. We're booked on NCL Epic this summer. We're a little concerned we won't enjoy the ship as much, but the dates, itinerary, and pricing worked best for us.

 

 

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[Scrapnana]

Consider Cunard. No smoking in bars, casino, balconies, etc. Huge dance floor for a ship and lots of live musicians playing different types of music.

[SPacificbound]

In addition to looking at different cruise lines, look for longer cruises. The demographics of a 5 or 7 day cruise will change for a 14+ day cruise.

 

RCL, Celebrity, Princess, MSC.

 

Cunard if you are really into to dressing very formal in the evenings.

 

We have not tried Azamara but will probably do so after our 2017 mega trip. The bucket list is getting quite empty. :D

 

We are blessed.

[Dancer Bob]

Most of these posts are just plain wrong. Holland America- no! I'm only 67, I hope I've got 30 more years before I fit in there. Anyway, latest information, their refurbished ships, my travel agent says he won't book dance groups. Celebrity and Princess a bit more lively, but don't expect much dancing, either ballroom or tango. NCL and RCL, more or less direct competition to Carnival.

I'm guessing at your budget from NCL and MSC prices, amount of vacation from your ages, and I assume you mean Argentine Tango.

Cunard is probably out of your budget and the music is unreliable- my last experience on Queen Elizabeth excellent tempos, but other times everything was awkward and inconvenient. MSC Divina has tile dance floors, the music was also unreliable.

Costa is best if you can travel off-season. Avoid European school vacations, most travel agents are completely ignorant of Costa.

A specialist travel agent might be a good choice. Many are expensive, the one I travel with mainly does dance weekends in the Catskills but one cruise per year. She's already booked Costa Deliziosa for Jan 2018.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Dancer Bob

[demoiselle]

Most of these posts are just plain wrong. Holland America- no! I'm only 67, I hope I've got 30 more years before I fit in there. Anyway, latest information, their refurbished ships, my travel agent says he won't book dance groups. Celebrity and Princess a bit more lively, but don't expect much dancing, either ballroom or tango. NCL and RCL, more or less direct competition to Carnival.

I'm guessing at your budget from NCL and MSC prices, amount of vacation from your ages, and I assume you mean Argentine Tango.

Cunard is probably out of your budget and the music is unreliable- my last experience on Queen Elizabeth excellent tempos, but other times everything was awkward and inconvenient. MSC Divina has tile dance floors, the music was also unreliable.

Costa is best if you can travel off-season. Avoid European school vacations, most travel agents are completely ignorant of Costa.

A specialist travel agent might be a good choice. Many are expensive, the one I travel with mainly does dance weekends in the Catskills but one cruise per year. She's already booked Costa Deliziosa for Jan 2018.

 

Greetings, Dancer_Bob! Thank you for your feedback. I think I know the dance-weekends-in-the-Catskills group of which you speak.

 

You probably have a good grasp of our hypothetical budget, too. We're on the cusp of moving from 3 to 4 weeks of vacation per year, and want to be able to afford to go to interesting places for all those weeks, while still taking dance classes weekly. In order to feel able to do both, we'd probably need to be conservative about how much we spend on each trip.

 

Yes, we dance a lot of Argentine tango, which is our favorite. We also enjoy swing (Lindy Hop). We can hover around advanced-beginner, low-intermediate for other dances, mostly American style/social ballroom and latin. Quickstep and Viennese Waltz remain a bit beyond our comfort. We know some hustle, but my husband doesn't care for it (too bad for me).

 

Costa as a suggestion surprises me--isn't it basically Carnival?

 

Talking to my husband, we'll probably end up keeping an eye on good deals for Celebrity and Princess (especially if there are deals out of NYC's port) and MSC. Frankly, we were overall satisfied with what we got for the price on Carnival, so we may end up sailing on them (or NCL) again if we see a good deal!

 

The biggest unfilled desire for my husband is probably drift from smoking and a wish for more vegetarian food (though he's not actually a vegetarian).

[demoiselle]

Most of these posts are just plain wrong. Holland America- no! I'm only 67, I hope I've got 30 more years before I fit in there. Anyway, latest information, their refurbished ships, my travel agent says he won't book dance groups. Celebrity and Princess a bit more lively, but don't expect much dancing, either ballroom or tango. NCL and RCL, more or less direct competition to Carnival.

I'm guessing at your budget from NCL and MSC prices, amount of vacation from your ages, and I assume you mean Argentine Tango.

Cunard is probably out of your budget and the music is unreliable- my last experience on Queen Elizabeth excellent tempos, but other times everything was awkward and inconvenient. MSC Divina has tile dance floors, the music was also unreliable.

Costa is best if you can travel off-season. Avoid European school vacations, most travel agents are completely ignorant of Costa.

A specialist travel agent might be a good choice. Many are expensive, the one I travel with mainly does dance weekends in the Catskills but one cruise per year. She's already booked Costa Deliziosa for Jan 2018.

 

Dancer_Bob, Costa looks like a possibly good match for us . . . but I'm unnerved by the many negative comments! Any insights?

[luv2trvlnow]

 

Costa as a suggestion surprises me--isn't it basically Carnival?

 

 

Why do you think Costa is basically Carnival? Is it because it is owned by Carnival Corporation. If that's the case you will have to rule out Holland America, Princess, Cunard, P & O, AIDA, and Seabourn. They are all owned by Carnival Corporation. Each line is run differently, focusing on a different segment of the cruising public.

[demoiselle]

Why do you think Costa is basically Carnival? Is it because it is owned by Carnival Corporation. If that's the case you will have to rule out Holland America, Princess, Cunard, P & O, AIDA, and Seabourn. They are all owned by Carnival Corporation. Each line is run differently, focusing on a different segment of the cruising public.

 

I'm not ruling anything out based on who owns what cruise line--and I enjoyed Carnival and would book with them again, even though I didn't feel like I was an ideal patron.

 

I am very, very new to cruising and am just learning the reputations of different cruise lines. The guidebook I had with me on the trip said Costa was a Carnival-like experience with an Italian flair. It surprised me that it was recommended to me because I asked for advice partly because hubby and I like social/partner dancing, and Carnival didn't really have enough opportunities for us.

 

It looks like the book I had mischaracterized Costa.

[SPacificbound]

I'm not ruling anything out based on who owns what cruise line--and I enjoyed Carnival and would book with them again, even though I didn't feel like I was an ideal patron.

 

I am very, very new to cruising and am just learning the reputations of different cruise lines. The guidebook I had with me on the trip said Costa was a Carnival-like experience with an Italian flair. It surprised me that it was recommended to me because I asked for advice partly because hubby and I like social/partner dancing, and Carnival didn't really have enough opportunities for us.

 

It looks like the book I had mischaracterized Costa.

 

Cunard for the dancing.