Really need some opinions on which cruise...

[momof4girls]

ok. I know to some this will seem like a “duh” decision because the general consensus is “more days is always better”.

 

I am planning a surprise cruise for our 25th anniversary in March 2019. We got married during spring break, so all our celebrations usually happen during the same time. So yes, higher prices and more kids.

 

There are two cruises I can book, and based on my budget, this is what it would look like:

 

Carnival Sunshine 8-day

Oceanview room

Grand Turk

San Juan

St. Kitts

St. Maarten

 

Carnival Breeze 7-day

Balcony room

Cozumel

Belize

Mahagony Bay

Costa Maya

 

Now before you tell me your opinion, let me give u a little background on us to help you decide. :)

 

The ship and all that it has to offer, is the first reason why we love cruising. The ports are second to us. Our favorite ships at this point, have been the Magic and the Dream. We really enjoy the Dream class. We’ve been to Cozumel and Mahogany Bay. We never get off the ship at the Belize stop. Never stopped at Costa Maya or anywhere on the Sunshine cruise.

 

We usually enjoy the beach when we do cruise, but that may be because we always have the kids with us and they beg to go to the beach. We’ve never cruised without our kids! I’ll freely admit that I’m not one to spend a lot on excursions, so we wouldn’t be likely to do anything like that at any ports.

 

We’ve never been on either of these ships, so that part is new to us no matter which we choose. It will be spring break so is there a better choice based on that?

 

Please help me decide! I was all set to take the Breeze cruise since we have always wanted to try that ship, but the idea of cruising without kids for a special celebration has me wondering if we would finally get to enjoy a nice serenity area along with seeing places we’ve never been.

[bride928]

Breeze

[klfrodo]

4 kids? :o You've had enough serenity. You two don't need anymore alone time. :evilsmile:

 

Breeze it is

 

Cab to Mr. Sanchos beach Club

Get off the ship and do something in Belize. Wonderful people and countryside.

Beach it at Mahagony Bay

Never been to Costa Maya. Check out a little Myan history maybe

[OCruisers]

How important is having a balcony to you?

[momof4girls]

How important is having a balcony to you?

Well, we’ve sailed in both oceanview and balcony rooms. Of course we love having a balcony, but it’s not a deal breaker. I just can’t do an inside

[momof4girls]

4 kids? :o You've had enough serenity. You two don't need anymore alone time. :evilsmile:

 

Breeze it is

 

Cab to Mr. Sanchos beach Club

Get off the ship and do something in Belize. Wonderful people and countryside.

Beach it at Mahagony Bay

Never been to Costa Maya. Check out a little Myan history maybe

 

LOL! Nice;)

[nwo4life]

I'd choose the Sunshine.

 

 

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[lcpagejr]

Breeze hands down!!! #1- Same class of ship you are accustomed to and like!! #2- The extra outside seating on the Promenade for food and drinks is wonderful #3- Ship is 15 years younger #4- Your getting a balcony....which you will be able to enjoy without the kids tagging along.

[13cheermom]

We've actually done both ships and itineraries before and enjoyed both. Both ships have all the extras onboard to enjoy, however some claim Sunshine is crowded (we went in October & April), same crowd level but we just adjusted our timing of things while onboard. Breeze is larger ship but more people also, but again we never felt crowded while onboard. We have booked Breeze again next year for 14-day Journey cruise to ports we've never been before. So both ships are on our favorite list! Since its an anniversary cruise might suggest a spa room on Breeze. Make sure you tell them about celebrating an event, we actually received free dinner in Cucina one night as well as free bottle of wine and spa services to help celebrate the event while on the Sunshine. Good luck deciding!

[Drazil65]

Breeze with a balcony...but I will say that the sunshine OV are larger than normal...they are (or most of them are) 220sqft vs a reg OV at 185 sq ft so roomier and that cruise is one day longer...we cruised for our honeymoon for 8 days (on RCCL) and it was wonderful....it was that cruise that hooked us and been cruising ever since (several lines throughout the years)...we will always be on the balcony team (or OS) and love the newer ships like the Dream class

[momof4girls]

You guys are making me feel better about my decision. Thank you! I do have plans to cruise the Sunshine some day, but I think this time around we will stick with the Breeze. I’ve always wanted to try LFK in Roatan, so now that we don’t have kids along, I think we’ll go there.

 

I’ll have to research Belize. We were all VERY sunburned from our Cozumel stop, which is why we stayed on the ship the Belize day.

[originalgeek]

You guys are making me feel better about my decision. Thank you! I do have plans to cruise the Sunshine some day, but I think this time around we will stick with the Breeze. I’ve always wanted to try LFK in Roatan, so now that we don’t have kids along, I think we’ll go there.

 

I’ll have to research Belize. We were all VERY sunburned from our Cozumel stop, which is why we stayed on the ship the Belize day.

 

On our anniversary cruise a year and change ago we LOVED Butts-Up cave tubing in Belize. Great people, great excursion and way cheaper than a similar Carnival tubing excursion. Folks say there isn't much to do in Belize port so if you get off the ship you should go off somewhere - the other choice is Mayan ruins and that's on my list for next time we get to Belize.

[carrieluvsgreg]

ok. I know to some this will seem like a “duh” decision because the general consensus is “more days is always better”.

 

I am planning a surprise cruise for our 25th anniversary in March 2019. We got married during spring break, so all our celebrations usually happen during the same time. So yes, higher prices and more kids.

 

There are two cruises I can book, and based on my budget, this is what it would look like:

 

Carnival Sunshine 8-day

Oceanview room

Grand Turk

San Juan

St. Kitts

St. Maarten

 

Carnival Breeze 7-day

Balcony room

Cozumel

Belize

Mahagony Bay

Costa Maya

 

Now before you tell me your opinion, let me give u a little background on us to help you decide. :)

 

The ship and all that it has to offer, is the first reason why we love cruising. The ports are second to us. Our favorite ships at this point, have been the Magic and the Dream. We really enjoy the Dream class. We’ve been to Cozumel and Mahogany Bay. We never get off the ship at the Belize stop. Never stopped at Costa Maya or anywhere on the Sunshine cruise.

 

We usually enjoy the beach when we do cruise, but that may be because we always have the kids with us and they beg to go to the beach. We’ve never cruised without our kids! I’ll freely admit that I’m not one to spend a lot on excursions, so we wouldn’t be likely to do anything like that at any ports.

 

We’ve never been on either of these ships, so that part is new to us no matter which we choose. It will be spring break so is there a better choice based on that?

 

Please help me decide! I was all set to take the Breeze cruise since we have always wanted to try that ship, but the idea of cruising without kids for a special celebration has me wondering if we would finally get to enjoy a nice serenity area along with seeing places we’ve never been.

 

 

 

I would personally pick the Breeze over the Sunshine but only for one fact- The Sunshine has not Thalassotherapy pool in its Cloud 9 Spa. We love that feature of the Dream Class ships that we have sailed on and if the price were similar, that is the way I would go...

That said- if I removed the spa from my decision, I would probably pick the Sunshine itinerary. The southern Caribbean is so beautiful! (Remember, I have not been there since the recent hurricane... so that should be considered as well- however you are talking way out so, the rebound should be in full swing by then...)

In Grand Turk you could get your "beach fix" as the dock is right by a beach and Margaritaville with a huge pool and swim up bar.

San Juan is full of history, and the port is in town.

St. Kitts (I have not personally been to this location....)

St. Marten- I am pretty sure this is a tender port. Also, I remember riding another boat into the town/beach area. For us this was a great stop because one of the ships photographers came off with us and did a family photoshoot on the beach. It was tons of fun and the pics were amazing... alert- you don't have to buy, but you will want to.... after the photos we were near town and we walked around shopping and such.

 

On the other itinerary you have Cozumel and Mahogany Bay, which you have visited before so I won't go into detail about those.

Belize is a port where you really have two options, book a tour or visit just the port area (or stay on the boat). We have been there three times and booked a tour twice. Once we saw ruins... I wouldn't do that one again. Second time we booked a cave-tubing/zip lining excursion thru Jaguar Paw Resort. It was AMAZING!

The third time we relaxed within the port gates by making customized chocolate bars and enjoying free wifi at a little bar on the water. This is a long tender port (you can barely see the ship from shore). There is no beach near the town.

 

Costa Maya - we like this "sleepy little beach stop". We take a taxi or the city bus from the port to the beach and get a $20 massage. There will be ladies all up and down the beach in front of the beach bars offering their services. After the massage, many of the beach bars offer free wifi with purchase so we just relax, order drinks connect with family at home and mosey back to the ship.

 

Like I said- I would personally choose the Breeze, but you won't go wrong with either.

[easyboy]

Would choose Breeze balcony

 

 

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[jordanaire]

I would personally pick the Breeze over the Sunshine but only for one fact- The Sunshine has not Thalassotherapy pool in its Cloud 9 Spa. We love that feature of the Dream Class ships that we have sailed on and if the price were similar, that is the way I would go...

That said- if I removed the spa from my decision, I would probably pick the Sunshine itinerary. The southern Caribbean is so beautiful! (Remember, I have not been there since the recent hurricane... so that should be considered as well- however you are talking way out so, the rebound should be in full swing by then...)

In Grand Turk you could get your "beach fix" as the dock is right by a beach and Margaritaville with a huge pool and swim up bar.

San Juan is full of history, and the port is in town.

St. Kitts (I have not personally been to this location....)

St. Marten- I am pretty sure this is a tender port. Also, I remember riding another boat into the town/beach area. For us this was a great stop because one of the ships photographers came off with us and did a family photoshoot on the beach. It was tons of fun and the pics were amazing... alert- you don't have to buy, but you will want to.... after the photos we were near town and we walked around shopping and such.

 

On the other itinerary you have Cozumel and Mahogany Bay, which you have visited before so I won't go into detail about those.

Belize is a port where you really have two options, book a tour or visit just the port area (or stay on the boat). We have been there three times and booked a tour twice. Once we saw ruins... I wouldn't do that one again. Second time we booked a cave-tubing/zip lining excursion thru Jaguar Paw Resort. It was AMAZING!

The third time we relaxed within the port gates by making customized chocolate bars and enjoying free wifi at a little bar on the water. This is a long tender port (you can barely see the ship from shore). There is no beach near the town.

 

Costa Maya - we like this "sleepy little beach stop". We take a taxi or the city bus from the port to the beach and get a $20 massage. There will be ladies all up and down the beach in front of the beach bars offering their services. After the massage, many of the beach bars offer free wifi with purchase so we just relax, order drinks connect with family at home and mosey back to the ship.

 

Like I said- I would personally choose the Breeze, but you won't go wrong with either.

St. Maarten is NOT a tender port. Ship docks alongside the pier. Our favorite port of call ever.

 

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[momof4girls]

Thank you so much for all your help! If we stick with the Breeze I definitely think we should do something in Belize this time around! Going to look at the suggestions

[mrak]

Been on both itineraries and they are both great but Breeze is hands down my favorite Carnival ship. If the ship is your priority, go with the breeze and definitely make a trip to LFK. I’ve been there twice and it’s amazing.

 

 

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[Quilcruisers]

Is goffs key in Belize? If so, I would go just for that. Aside from that, I loved the breeze but would love an 8 day cruise and Oceanview is fine with me. If you get a balcony, I would try one port side for views of the islands . In that case I would prefer the views from the sunshines port as opposed to the breeze ports.

 

 

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[nchikk]

Because of the ports, Sunshine. But what do I know?

[dmdiver]

I love Breeze, especially the outdoor seating at the Red Frog Pub. I've never sailed Sunshine, although I may someday. One thing to note, though, is while Breeze has a nice serenity area, there is no adult only pool. The conquest-class ships have an adult aft pool - in case you see one of those you like.

[SkyMaster]

I too, would select BREEZE. No problem.

 

"SKY"

[jsglow]

Honestly, both choices are great. In your shoes with your preferences I think I'd go Breeze. But I'll promise you you'll love either. Is airfare a consideration at all? Seriously, it might be that close.

 

PS. Never been on a Dream class boat but enjoy that itinerary. Just did the exact Sunshine route last Spring and have been to all those islands several times. All good.

[carrieluvsgreg]

St. Maarten is NOT a tender port. Ship docks alongside the pier. Our favorite port of call ever.

 

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Thanks for the clarification... it’s been a few cruises ago and some of them begin to run together. I knew we boarded a small boat with our photographer but I thought we boarded a tender boat with her too. [emoji51]

 

 

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[jsglow]

I do note Jen that you've been on Dream Class or Fantasy Class (with the old Triumph thrown in for good measure). The updated Conquest Class ships and the completely redone Sunshine are very nice boats. So don't be steered away by that.

[momof4girls]

Honestly, both choices are great. In your shoes with your preferences I think I'd go Breeze. But I'll promise you you'll love either. Is airfare a consideration at all? Seriously, it might be that close.

 

PS. Never been on a Dream class boat but enjoy that itinerary. Just did the exact Sunshine route last Spring and have been to all those islands several times. All good.

 

We will be flying to Orlando for either cruise. Both leave on a Saturday so we’ll fly in on a Friday. However, flights usually cost more on Sunday over a Saturday, so that brings the price of the Sunshine cruise up.