Opinions Requested - Trying to decide which ship this time

[IMSAILING]

Hello

 

I've cruised with Carnival 9 times and have never had such a hard time trying to determine which ship to book. While I have cruised before this will be my friends first cruise.

 

We originally booked an interior spa cabin on the Vista (I love the spa cabins - being able to go use the facilities), but after reading several reviews was concerned about comments re crowds and didn't want my friend to have a bad experience on her first cruise.

 

So then I changed the booking to a balcony spa room on the Breeze (been on her twice( - only to find out flights back from Houston to Toronto or even Buffalo are a bit of a nightmare - no good times.

 

Sooooooo - Now I am looking at the Magic out of Orlando. Good Price - decent Itinerary. How does the Magic compare to the Breeze and how far is the port from the airport and surrounding area. We'll most likely come in the day before - but I have only cruised from Miami, Lauderdale and San Juan.

 

Looking forward to peoples opinions.

 

Thanks in Advance

[bUU]

how far is the port from the airport and surrounding area.

Their referring to Port Canaveral as Orlando is pretty misleading in my opinion. The closest airport is Melbourne Airport but of course it's much more difficult and expensive to fly to Melbourne and invariably will require a connection. Beyond that I'm not even sure that Melbourne Airport necessarily has the same kind of shuttle services in the such that you'll find from Orlando Airport.

 

Orlando Airport itself is a good 40 45 minutes away and that's when I'm driving my own car. It's got to be longer for a shuttle bus or any kind of group transportation.

 

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[IMSAILING]

Thank you - the 40 mins part doesn't bother me - I'm one of those people who stay in Lauderdale when cruising out of Miami - so that is fine

[estillcrew]

Hello

 

I've cruised with Carnival 9 times and have never had such a hard time trying to determine which ship to book. While I have cruised before this will be my friends first cruise.

 

We originally booked an interior spa cabin on the Vista (I love the spa cabins - being able to go use the facilities), but after reading several reviews was concerned about comments re crowds and didn't want my friend to have a bad experience on her first cruise.

 

So then I changed the booking to a balcony spa room on the Breeze (been on her twice( - only to find out flights back from Houston to Toronto or even Buffalo are a bit of a nightmare - no good times.

 

Sooooooo - Now I am looking at the Magic out of Orlando. Good Price - decent Itinerary. How does the Magic compare to the Breeze and how far is the port from the airport and surrounding area. We'll most likely come in the day before - but I have only cruised from Miami, Lauderdale and San Juan.

 

Looking forward to peoples opinions.

 

Thanks in Advance

 

I just got off of the Magic, and it was the best cruise to date. We were in a spa balcony too. You can read about our cruise here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2480020&highlight=magic

[drgonzogoo]

Orlando is about an hour and 15 min from the port. Should be easy to find good flights in and out of MCO. We did the Breeze last year, my parents had a spa balcony. It was soooo nice, we had the balcony above the BBQ, that we are booked in spa balcony on Magic the end of this month. Between the spa, the waterslides, serenity, sports deck, red frog if your friend doesnt have fun i feel like it is kind of on them..... :cool:

[mrsfuzzmo]

We've sailed out of Port Canaveral a few times and really liked it!! Sure, it's a bit of a drive from Orlando, but we usually go in at least one day early and stay in Cocoa Beach. Great little beach town with lots of restaurants, shops, and of course beach. There are also some great port front restaurants from which to watch the sail aways the day before you sail (if there are any), Just a really nice experience. You can easily rent a car, or hire a transfer service. We've done both. easy peasy.

[bury me at sea]

I have sailed both the Magic and the Breeze. They are both wonderful ships and I don't think you can go wrong with either.

[Tyme2Cruise]

Just off the Magic in early March. We were in a spa suite and had a great time, we would sail her again. The only negative was the smoke in the casino. Probably the worst I have experienced on any cruise ship. We drive to Cocoa Beach, but do pick up and drop off people at the Orlando Airport. It takes about 45-60 minutes to get to Cocoa Beach. We had dinner at Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar. They have an outside seating area with a singer. The food was good and we had a nice time. We also had fish and chips at Preacher Bar and it was great. :cool:

[Scurvy Seadog]

I've been on the Breeze once and getting ready to sail on the Magic for the third time next week. I'd say the Breeze and Magic are pretty comparable. Same class of ship. I've enjoyed both and plan to to sail on the Breeze again once she repositions to Port Canaveral later this year.

[momof4girls]

For what it's worth, I think you made a wise decision in switching! I'm trying to take my mom on her first cruise and also want it to be a positive experience.

[riclop]

Hello

 

I've cruised with Carnival 9 times and have never had such a hard time trying to determine which ship to book. While I have cruised before this will be my friends first cruise.

 

We originally booked an interior spa cabin on the Vista (I love the spa cabins - being able to go use the facilities), but after reading several reviews was concerned about comments re crowds and didn't want my friend to have a bad experience on her first cruise.

 

So then I changed the booking to a balcony spa room on the Breeze (been on her twice( - only to find out flights back from Houston to Toronto or even Buffalo are a bit of a nightmare - no good times.

 

Sooooooo - Now I am looking at the Magic out of Orlando. Good Price - decent Itinerary. How does the Magic compare to the Breeze and how far is the port from the airport and surrounding area. We'll most likely come in the day before - but I have only cruised from Miami, Lauderdale and San Juan.

 

Looking forward to peoples opinions.

 

Thanks in Advance

They are sister ships , the Breeze being a year newer.

[SNJCruisers]

I would choose the Breeze since it is coming out of dry dock at the end of this month and will have all of the new bells and whistles with the exceptions of the few things that are only available on the Vista and Horizon. But, if you want something that is really nice and you'll be able to escape the pool side crowds, check out this video. The cabins are available in inside, lanai, balcony and suite.

[saharaga]

I want to throw in my 2 cents on the Vista. You can't go wrong with the Magic or the Breeze either. I still have to post my review of the Vista but it was one of our top 5 best cruises. We got off the ship trying to figure out when we could sail on her again. Yes, there were crowds but not any worse than we have experienced on Conquest class ships. The ship is bigger so there were plenty of quiet spots to escape. If there were things we really wanted to do, we planned it for a port day or off peak times.

 

Yes, it can be annoying but crowds are just part of cruising in my opinion.

[jsglow]

Personally, I'd make my decision based on the ports and the relative airfare. We did enjoy cruising out of Texas this last time but it is fair to say the itineraries from there are somewhat limited.