Spring Break Cruise - Avoiding College Crowd

[CruiseRook91]

Hello Fellow Cruisers,

 

My fiance and I are looking at booking a cruise for March of this coming year. She is a teacher so we don't have much of a choice of when we take vacations. We are young, mid 20's, and love to have a good time but I cannot stand the crazy party booze cruises that we remember from being in college. I have two cruises picked out that I would love to do and was hoping for some advice on which would be better (or any other options).

 

Option 1 - Allure of the Seas 7 nights out of Ft. Lauderdale

 

Option 2 - Adventure of the Seas 7 nights out of San Juan

 

I am sure the Adventure will be much better for purpose of not being with all the college spring breakers but the Allure is very tempting. We would love to leave out of Florida since we are Orlando residences.

 

Thanks!

 

Sam

[firerecruit71295]

Hello Fellow Cruisers,

 

My fiance and I are looking at booking a cruise for March of this coming year. She is a teacher so we don't have much of a choice of when we take vacations. We are young, mid 20's, and love to have a good time but I cannot stand the crazy party booze cruises that we remember from being in college. I have two cruises picked out that I would love to do and was hoping for some advice on which would be better (or any other options).

 

Option 1 - Allure of the Seas 7 nights out of Ft. Lauderdale

 

Option 2 - Adventure of the Seas 7 nights out of San Juan

 

I am sure the Adventure will be much better for purpose of not being with all the college spring breakers but the Allure is very tempting. We would love to leave out of Florida since we are Orlando residences.

 

Thanks!

 

Sam

 

I would say the one from PR would definitely have less "spring breakers" but I think the fact that you are going to be sailing RC and a week long cruise to boot... you shouldn't have much to worry about... It wont be that "wild and crazy"

 

I see you said you live in Orlando... Anything out of Port Canaveral? Usually cheaper and closer to home for you. Just a thought.

[andrew2346]

There are going to be PLENTY of families on any cruise during that time frame. From our area flying into FL or SJ is about the same price. We took our kids on spring break and trust me...lots of kids. It was not a booze cruise however at all. So if the kids are not an issue I would say go with whichever you prefer

[Thorben-Hendrik]

I think Allure will generally attract a more party oriented crowd -especially during that time-frame!

[CruiseRook91]

I appreciate all the advice so far. Not too much going out of Port Canaveral that was catching my eye. I don't mind kids, that comes hand in hand with RC and Carnival rather than Celebrity or Princess.You have to know that is going to be a part of the cruising atmosphere in some cases. I just am not a fan of crazy partying college kids...even though I was one not long ago haha

[John&LaLa]

I appreciate all the advice so far. Not too much going out of Port Canaveral that was catching my eye. I don't mind kids, that comes hand in hand with RC and Carnival rather than Celebrity or Princess.You have to know that is going to be a part of the cruising atmosphere in some cases. I just am not a fan of crazy partying college kids...even though I was one not long ago haha

Oasis will go out of PC during that time frame. I'd take it out of PC before I did the drive down to Ft Lauderdale.

 

We are on Allure during that month, but only because the wife wants to see Mama Mia

 

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[CruiseRook91]

Oasis will go out of PC during that time frame. I'd take it out of PC before I did the drive down to Ft Lauderdale.

 

We are on Allure during that month, but only because the wife wants to see Mama Mia

 

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Yeah I did a second look and saw the Oasis which would be nice since we could avoid travel. I also saw the Harmony out of FLL which is a bit out of the budget, but I mean, its the mega-ship. Tough to resist.

[JustUs275]

I teach as well, so we took a spring break cruise on Vision out of Tampa in March 2016. I had the same concerns as you, remembering back a few years ago to our first cruise on Monarch in mid May - 4 day cruise, yes it was crazy for sure! :eek: The Vision is an older, smaller ship and we didn't notice crazy partying. DH wasn't fond of the small ship size, but I thought it was wonderfully relaxing. So if you are open to a smaller ship, it looks Rhapsody is sailing out of Tampa in March.

[CruiseRook91]

I teach as well, so we took a spring break cruise on Vision out of Tampa in March 2016. I had the same concerns as you, remembering back a few years ago to our first cruise on Monarch in mid May - 4 day cruise, yes it was crazy for sure! :eek: The Vision is an older, smaller ship and we didn't notice crazy partying. DH wasn't fond of the small ship size, but I thought it was wonderfully relaxing. So if you are open to a smaller ship, it looks Rhapsody is sailing out of Tampa in March.

 

I've done most of the ship classes and I really stopped really enjoying anything below the Voyager Class. We did a really quick one on the Majesty this time last year which was fun but I felt like I didn't have much to do to be honest. It was a great crew and good time but I like the variety that bigger ships bring.

 

I hate how snobby that makes me sound...

[JustUs275]

I've done most of the ship classes and I really stopped really enjoying anything below the Voyager Class. We did a really quick one on the Majesty this time last year which was fun but I felt like I didn't have much to do to be honest. It was a great crew and good time but I like the variety that bigger ships bring.

 

I hate how snobby that makes me sound...

 

Haha - not snobby at all, it's just a matter of preference. Our favorite so far is the Freedom class, but we are trying Oasis for the first time in November and we are pretty excited about that! Not sure that it will be our favorite class, but we are certainly going to have a great time! Enjoy your cruise :)

[jamesr3939]

Either of those should be fine. We have done two March cruises with my DB & SIL as both are educators. March on Oasis wasn't an issue. Yes, there were plenty of kids but nothing out of hand. The other was out of Galveston, which worried me a little more. But again plenty of kids, probably more college age kids. But still not an issue.

 

You have to remember that it's still 21 yoa to drink and RCCL is very tight on that and even more so during Spring break.

[CruiseRook91]

Haha - not snobby at all, it's just a matter of preference. Our favorite so far is the Freedom class, but we are trying Oasis for the first time in November and we are pretty excited about that! Not sure that it will be our favorite class, but we are certainly going to have a great time! Enjoy your cruise :)

 

Freedom is my favorite class of ships. We did the Oasis and it was great but they are SO BIG, I think the Freedom is the perfect size for "Mega Ship."

 

I think the Allure is going to end up winning this battle. Out of Orlando, 7 days, the itin isn't great but I'll survive.

 

Just won't have money to do anything else :p

[cb at sea]

You really don't have masses of college kids on a cruise. You have to be a certain age to cruise without parents or "real" adults...and college kids generally can't afford a week long trip. You will find lots of families with kids whenever schools aren't in session....but the overall number of passengers is finite....so you won't be overwhelmed. No worries!

[Russ Lomas]

Either of those should be fine. We have done two March cruises with my DB & SIL as both are educators. March on Oasis wasn't an issue. Yes, there were plenty of kids but nothing out of hand. The other was out of Galveston, which worried me a little more. But again plenty of kids, probably more college age kids. But still not an issue.

 

You have to remember that it's still 21 yoa to drink and RCCL is very tight on that and even more so during Spring break.

I totally agree with the comment above. My wife and I both work in education and cruise every March break (for the past 7 years and got the next two March breaks already booked as well). I doubt you will see the partying drinking crowd on either of those ships. They tend to go for the cheaper and shorter cruises since even if they are 21 and purchase the alcohol package, they must do so for the entire 7 days of the cruise. I doubt there will be many spring breakers flying to San Juan and from sailing the Oasis and Allure during that time period, there were not many college party crowd people either. LOTS of families (including our family). You will love both ships and itineraries. Like I said we loved the Allure and have March 2019 booked on the Freedom out of San Juan.

 

Enjoy your March break. A cruise that week feels like a trip from heaven since you have that to look forward to and not just the finish line (the last day of school).

[kmorg1234]

Both would be amazing trips, but I would favor the Allure. The ships sailing from PR, esp the Adventure, are known for the Quinceanera parties- the over the top Latino parties for the 15 year olds. They bring huge parties on board to celebrate, and while it is all quite fun, festive, lively, exciting, etc, I found that the teens pretty much took over the ship. Not the college/high schoolers on spring break, and they were lovely young ladies, not really a drinking crowd, but not what I was looking for for my vacation. I have nothing against them, but I also prefer a less "enthusiastic and continually energetic" crowd when I am in laid back mode. Just my 2 cents worth, from experience.

[suncruiser]

You really don't have masses of college kids on a cruise. You have to be a certain age to cruise without parents or "real" adults...and college kids generally can't afford a week long trip. You will find lots of families with kids whenever schools aren't in session....but the overall number of passengers is finite....so you won't be overwhelmed. No worries!

 

 

 

We were on a 5-day Empress cruise the first week of March 2017 and over 80% of the passengers were college students - couldn't get near any bar or the sun deck/pool the entire time. The kids were nice and not crazy drunk but we are in our 60s and had no previous knowledge the cruise was marketed specifically to colleges. I must say, though, the kids were the best dressers in the dining room.

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

Yeah I did a second look and saw the Oasis which would be nice since we could avoid travel. I also saw the Harmony out of FLL which is a bit out of the budget, but I mean, its the mega-ship. Tough to resist.

Oasis, Allure, and Harmony are kinda the same

 

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[CruiseRook91]

Would anyone recommend Celebrity? I like the idea of them being more adult themed and relaxing, heavy focus on the ports. But I could see myself getting bored...

 

**Goes to look at Celebrity Forum**

[Merion_Mom]

Hello Fellow Cruisers,

 

My fiance and I are looking at booking a cruise for March of this coming year. She is a teacher so we don't have much of a choice of when we take vacations. We are young, mid 20's, and love to have a good time but I cannot stand the crazy party booze cruises that we remember from being in college. I have two cruises picked out that I would love to do and was hoping for some advice on which would be better (or any other options).

 

Option 1 - Allure of the Seas 7 nights out of Ft. Lauderdale

 

Option 2 - Adventure of the Seas 7 nights out of San Juan

 

I am sure the Adventure will be much better for purpose of not being with all the college spring breakers but the Allure is very tempting. We would love to leave out of Florida since we are Orlando residences.

 

Thanks!

 

Sam

 

Sam, when you say that she is a teacher, I assume that you mean somewhere in the K-12 range?

 

Unless she teaches in a very unusual school, her spring spring is unlikely to overlap with college spring breaks. Those are usually earlier than school spring breaks.

[firerecruit71295]

We were on a 5-day Empress cruise the first week of March 2017 and over 80% of the passengers were college students - couldn't get near any bar or the sun deck/pool the entire time. The kids were nice and not crazy drunk but we are in our 60s and had no previous knowledge the cruise was marketed specifically to colleges. I must say, though, the kids were the best dressers in the dining room.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I would say the main reason you saw this was because it was a 5 night (cheaper than a 7 night) and it was Empress (by far the least expensive ship to sail on)

 

As others mentioned... Week long on a mega ship and with strict drinking age tends to put a damper on the "spring breaker" crowd

[cruiseguy1016]

In my experience the cruise from San Juan would be the better choice. Generally, the college students looking for a spring break booze cruise will drive (to save money) to the departure port. You will find a lot of students cruising out of the Florida ports. San Juan requires flights which requires spending more money. We have cruised out of San Juan several times during spring break season and I have never noticed a large number of college aged students on the ships.

[Ourusualbeach]

I totally agree with the comment above. My wife and I both work in education and cruise every March break (for the past 7 years and got the next two March breaks already booked as well). I doubt you will see the partying drinking crowd on either of those ships. They tend to go for the cheaper and shorter cruises since even if they are 21 and purchase the alcohol package, they must do so for the entire 7 days of the cruise. I doubt there will be many spring breakers flying to San Juan and from sailing the Oasis and Allure during that time period, there were not many college party crowd people either. LOTS of families (including our family). You will love both ships and itineraries. Like I said we loved the Allure and have March 2019 booked on the Freedom out of San Juan.

 

Enjoy your March break. A cruise that week feels like a trip from heaven since you have that to look forward to and not just the finish line (the last day of school).

 

Absolutely agree with the above. We've done 6 cruises at Marchbreak (DW also teaches) and the only time we ever noticed a lot of college age kids drinking was on a 4 day cruise on Enchantmemt.

 

I would go for Allure or Oasis.

[cruiser123!]

We were in HI during spring break last year. No issues w/ spring breakers on that cruise. We're opting for the Jewel out of PR (AOS's balcony and suites were sold out when we booked, otherwise we would have gone that option). I don't see a lot of college kids going for that one either. They'll stay close to the beach towns in FL.

 

Plus, RCCL is a lot more expensive than a Carnival cruise. THAT one I could see spring breakers on.

[danoconnl]

we've cruised 3 out of the last 4 spring breaks(March)(skipped last year for an all inclusive for my senior in high schools spring break trip). Liberty, Liberty and then Independence, so all Freedom Class ships. Last one we were on the sun deck on top of the bar and a group decided to congregate there. Got a little crowded, and they were having fun, but it wasn't a big deal, and they were very respectful of our space. Other than that I don't remember any issues, maybe a little wait at the bar for a drink, but I haven't been on a non spring break cruise since they added drink packages, so I can't compare.

 

We don't hit the night club so I don't know how that was.

 

Quite a few in the casino when I played, but they were nice , tho a little arrogant(ahh youth).

 

Bonus I did notice, if you are a decent to early riser, later in the cruise there are alot of chairs open around the pool as alot of the college kids take a while to get up.

[4ready2cruz]

Would anyone recommend Celebrity? I like the idea of them being more adult themed and relaxing, heavy focus on the ports. But I could see myself getting bored...

 

**Goes to look at Celebrity Forum**

 

We cruised Celebrity Silhouette this past spring break (week of Easter) with our older teenagers. Have not sailed RC yet but will in December so I can only compare it to Carnival. We have also done Carnival at spring break (also 7 days Easter week). Celebrity definitely has a more laid back, adult vibe. There were more children since it was spring break and overall they were well behaved (a few renegades but that was to be expected) but not many college kids. There are not a lot of activities on Celebrity but we were looking t relax so we were not bored (kids had fun too but they also like to relax)

 

Our Carnival cruise definitely had more children, but also not a lot of college aged kids. So I would lean towards agreeing with those with more cruising experience that the college kids are going on the shorter booze cruises for spring break.

 

Someone else mentioned that depending on where your wife teaches, the spring breaks for colleges and k-12 do not usually align. You should Google college spring breaks. There is a website out there that lists EVERY college in the US and their respective breaks for the coming year.

 

Also, if your cruise does align with a college spring break you will probably encounter more college kids in FLL (not necessarily cruising) than San Juan.

 

Enjoy your cruise!