Which cruise would you choose?

[George C]

Way more activities on rccl , way more entertainment, great ice show , rock climbing wall, flowrider. 

[EeyoreRN]

We are sailing a similar itinerary on Freedom in May.  We can't wait!  I had already decided to choose based on Southern itinerary, and Freedom and Carnival were our only choices that time of year.  Beware, the airfare is pretty ridiculous to San Juan...well much higher than expected for our week (we are traveling over memorial day so that may be a contributing factor). I got somewhat decent fares on Jetblue but expected and hoped for lower.  We are taking advantage of San Juan as a port and spending 2 nights there pre cruise, when hotels are also pretty pricey!

 

Good luck with your decision and bon voyage!

 

 

[cruiselvr04]

Freedom is more teen friendly with flow rider, water slides, basketball court and that kind of thing.  I’d go south for new ports rather then repeating.  It is port intensive and I know that can be tough when you want to relax.  So choose a port to skip or a couple to do just half day excursions on to give yourself more relax time.  Take the kids to see some new places!

 

 

 

[fredflint]

You forget one simple thing 

 

First this cruise is much better pick almost any port and compare and it wins hands down.

 

Don't forget you don't need to get off at every port and usually those who stay onboard mention how easy is it to do anything

 

You could skip St Kitts and in my  opinion  you would not miss much.  St Maarten you can  go to the beach and relax.  St Lucia is just beautiful.  Barbados i was there years ago and visited  a wildlife park with green tailed monkeys that would make the trip worthwhile for me.

Take the better cruise rather than throwaway ports and just do what you want to do.  The kids are old enough to stay on the ship if they want to.

 

Freedom (San Juan to San Juan) - every day a different southern Caribbean port with one sea day at the end.  (Basseterre , St. Kitts & Nevis | St. Johns , Antigua | Castries , St. Lucia | Bridgetown , Barbados | Philipsburg , St. Maarten).

[Jeremiah1212]

I'd go with Celebrity if the lack of younger age geared attractions is not an issue. You can probably get drink packages/WiFi and prepaid tips on Celebrity too. Are you factoring that into the overall cost? On 7 day Caribbean cruises, I've found the overall value for dollar is always better on Celebrity vs. Royal for the past several years.

[Pipo]

Freedom for the kids.

[brillohead]

Are your kids basically 40yo adults in smaller bodies?  Because Celebrity is NOT a young person's cruise line.  

If they literally never care if they never see anyone under the age of 30 and they never want to do anything but sit next to you reading a book, Celebrity is fine.  

For me personally,  I prefer the more relaxed, less formal, more fun-filled product on RCI.  Plus Freedom is my fave class of ship.  

 

[JamesEM]

If the cost of air fare and per cruise stay is not a factor I would go with RCL, more to see and do, great itinerary. 

[BNBR]

15 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

Been to:

Key West

Grand Cayman

Cozumel

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

Bahamas

Falmouth

San Juan

Calica Mexico

 

Would not be thrilled to go back to either Bahamas or Falmouth.  I'd go back to any of the rest, though.  We've only been on 5 cruises total.

 

Loved 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman, loved Nachi Cocum in Cozumel.

We're big on beaches, paddleboarding, kayaking, etc.

 

It's tough to recommend as you have been on Independence.  So you know what a Freedom class has to offer.  You said you have sailed Celebrity as well.  So you know what they have to offer.  It seems really based on what YOU want and only you know.  You have sailed both ships.

 

If it helps your search, I think you would like Costa Maya.  Check out a private day at Maya Chan Beach.  You love beaches/paddboarding/kayaking... this place is AMAZING for that.

 

You should probably just check out excursions and activities at the ports and see which gets you the most excited.  As for sailing Fort Lauderdale or Miami, that should make very little difference.  Miami is easy to get in and out of and the ports are barely 30 - 35 minutes apart.

Edited November 20, 2018 by BNBR

[Big_G]

On 11/19/2018 at 10:28 AM, piescruises said:

How about princess?

 

 

We left Princess about 10 years ago because it was stale. I'm sure they've changed it up by now but we haven't given them another go yet.

[steveru621]

Flying to San Juan will probably be more expensive.

[molsonschooner]

17 hours ago, fredflint said:

You forget one simple thing 

 

First this cruise is much better pick almost any port and compare and it wins hands down.

 

Don't forget you don't need to get off at every port and usually those who stay onboard mention how easy is it to do anything

 

You could skip St Kitts and in my  opinion  you would not miss much.  St Maarten you can  go to the beach and relax.  St Lucia is just beautiful.  Barbados i was there years ago and visited  a wildlife park with green tailed monkeys that would make the trip worthwhile for me.

Take the better cruise rather than throwaway ports and just do what you want to do.  The kids are old enough to stay on the ship if they want to.

 

Freedom (San Juan to San Juan) - every day a different southern Caribbean port with one sea day at the end.  (Basseterre , St. Kitts & Nevis | St. Johns , Antigua | Castries , St. Lucia | Bridgetown , Barbados | Philipsburg , St. Maarten).

we did St. Kitts a couple years ago. We did a tour  that stopped at a beach(sorry, can't remember the name) that was beautiful.

[micmacmissy]

Added wrinkle:  Celebrity Summit to Bermuda, which spends 3 days in port in Bermuda.

 

Are the beaches wonderful?  We've never been to Bermuda, or been on a cruise where the ship stays there.

 

Is there enough to do in Bermuda for almost 3 full days?

Do you miss the pulling into and out of ports each day?

 

Bonus would be we can drive to NY - so no airfare at all.  Thoughts?

[chill6x6]

Of the ones you listed for sure the Equinox for your group.  I might be inclined to go the Carnival Breeze out of Port Canaveral though.  You would swap Key West and Grand Cayman for Mahogany Bay and Belize City...

 

Cozumel- Mr Sancho's or Playa Mia

Costa Maya- Short taxi ride to the Malecon

Mahogany Bay- Beach and stuff to do RIGHT THERE

Belize City- Actually go on an excursion!  Zoo/River!

 

 

[EeyoreRN]

2 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

Added wrinkle:  Celebrity Summit to Bermuda, which spends 3 days in port in Bermuda.

 

Are the beaches wonderful?  We've never been to Bermuda, or been on a cruise where the ship stays there.

 

Is there enough to do in Bermuda for almost 3 full days?

Do you miss the pulling into and out of ports each day?

 

Bonus would be we can drive to NY - so no airfare at all.  Thoughts?

I have sailed on 3 Bermuda cruises from NY. One Celebrity 7-day (long ago, not Summit) and 2 RCI 5-days.  Bermuda is gorgeous and there is PLENTY to do in 3 days. I could spend 3 days in Horseshoe Bay alone and be happy, but there's a lot to do. We say the only thing wrong with those 5-day cruises is that they're too short!  I can't compare to your other itineraries of choice since I haven't done those yet, but you really can't go wrong with Bermuda out of NYC.

 

Happy sailing!

[BNBR]

I don't personally get the point of a cruise that sits at a port for 3 days.  Cruise ships are awesome but they don't make the best hotels.  If just staying Bermuda, surely there are much better resort hotel options. Cruises are fun because you CRUISE.