I'm so excited to be back on CCL that I can't make up my mind!!

[a3593]

Hello everyone! My family's last couple of cruises have been on Royal Caribbean, and we truly miss Carnival. We can't wait to be back! There are a few pros to RCCL, but in general we've decided that we prefer Carnival. With that being said, which ship/itenerary would you suggest? 

 

6 Night from Norfolk, Sunrise. Half Moon Cay, Nassau, Grand Turk.

 

8 Night from Miami, Horizon. Aruba, Bonaire,  Curacao, Dominican Republic.

 

We've been to all of these ports, and would like to return to both Bonaire and Half Moon Cay. Norfolk would mean no airfare; its an easy drive. As far as what we like, both ships are similar, but the Horizon is nice, new, and cool. 😊The fact that one cruise is longer doesn't quite matter, because we can extend the vacation with a few days in VA beach if we choose the shorter one. What's your opinion?

 

[Tapi]

Horizon for sure. 

[JaniceB]

Driving to a close port is a great plus and the Sunrise will be a "new" ship.  I would have a hard time because I like both itineraries.

[a3593]

Fyree39 and Tapi, thanks! Why do you say Horizon?

[pyropoodle]

I would always choose more days if I could.  I'd rather be on a boat than not on a boat.  

[Tapi]

38 minutes ago, a3593 said:

Fyree39 and Tapi, thanks! Why do you say Horizon?

The itinerary on the Horizon is what does it for me. It’s more unique and I’d rather jump on the opportunity to sail to places not as frequently visited than to sail to same old Nassau for the sake of convenience or price. 

 

I’m also a fool for newer ships. Granted, Sunrise will be going through a major renovation, but she still won’t be new. I have sailed on ships that have gone through significant revampings, and although they indeed looked great, they still lack that new ship feel. There’s so much you can do with an older ship.

 

You mention that if you sail on the cruise for Norfolk you’d supplement your vacation with a 2 night stay in Virginia Beach. If it were me,I’d be cursing myself during those 2 nights thinking that I’m not sailing on my preferred ship, preferred itinerary, and my cruise will be 2 nights shorter. 

 

 

[a3593]

Hmm, great points, thanks Tapi!

[PhillyFan33579]

For starters, I wouldn’t say both ships are similar.  Horizon is significantly larger than Sunrise and has several features that Sunrise won’t have.  On the other hand, Sunrise will have the large atrium with glass elevators, which Horizon doesn’t have. 

 

Since you you don’t seem too concerned with the ships or the ports, I would pick Sunrise based on the easy drive.  We live in Florida and only sail out of Florida ports.       It doesn’t make much sense to me to fly to another port when there are 5 ports within 4 hours of our house, even if it means we often sail on the same ships multiple times. 

[schazzy]

It really depends on what is more important to you.

 

If it was about ship and departure port and just looking to cruise, I personally would go with the Sunrise for two reasons. First, as we don't like flying at all, we like to cruise out of ports we can drive to. Second, I'm not ready to do a ship as big as the Horizon, the smaller ships still have everything I need to enjoy my cruise and the Sunrise will have some of the newer features after her overhaul. We are cruising on the Sunshine (same size as the Sunrise and was overhauled too) for the first time and it'll be the biggest ship we will have cruised on and I'm really excited.

 

If it came to really wanting to do a certain itinerary, I would lean towards the Horizon, We've been to the ports that the Sunrise visits and we loved HMC and GT, but haven't done the ABCs or DR yet. That being said, We have a cruise booked on RC next year to do the ABCs and it will involve us driving to Fort Lauderdale in which we are having some second thoughts about. 

 

     

[MeganGC1983]

Horizon. Love Aruba and Curaçao. New ship. 8 days. 

[BoDidly]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

The itinerary on the Horizon is what does it for me. It’s more unique and I’d rather jump on the opportunity to sail to places not as frequently visited than to sail to same old Nassau for the sake of convenience or price. 

 

I’m also a fool for newer ships. Granted, Sunrise will be going through a major renovation, but she still won’t be new. I have sailed on ships that have gone through significant revampings, and although they indeed looked great, they still lack that new ship feel. There’s so much you can do with an older ship.

 

You mention that if you sail on the cruise for Norfolk you’d supplement your vacation with a 2 night stay in Virginia Beach. If it were me,I’d be cursing myself during those 2 nights thinking that I’m not sailing on my preferred ship, preferred itinerary, and my cruise will be 2 nights shorter. 

 

 

You just saved me from typing on this little keyboard called a phone. Great points.

[hockeyguru32]

4 hours ago, a3593 said:

Hello everyone! My family's last couple of cruises have been on Royal Caribbean, and we truly miss Carnival. We can't wait to be back! There are a few pros to RCCL, but in general we've decided that we prefer Carnival. With that being said, which ship/itenerary would you suggest? 

 

6 Night from Norfolk, Sunrise. Half Moon Cay, Nassau, Grand Turk.

 

8 Night from Miami, Horizon. Aruba, Bonaire,  Curacao, Dominican Republic.

 

We've been to all of these ports, and would like to return to both Bonaire and Half Moon Cay. Norfolk would mean no airfare; its an easy drive. As far as what we like, both ships are similar, but the Horizon is nice, new, and cool. 😊The fact that one cruise is longer doesn't quite matter, because we can extend the vacation with a few days in VA beach if we choose the shorter one. What's your opinion?

 

No brainer 8 day Horizon

Edited February 7, 2019 by hockeyguru32

[a3593]

Thanks everyone. Looks like the Horizon is winning....

[BENHANDEL]

More days....more stops....horizon...no question.

 

Loved the ship. Loved the food options. Especially Jiji-that would tip the decision all the way. 

[louanne93]

3 hours ago, a3593 said:

Thanks everyone. Looks like the Horizon is winning....

 

I just wanted to say "Welcome Home!" 

 

I also enjoy not having to fly to port! I like the idea of a cruise mixed with the beach! We are doing a 5 day cruise out of New Orleans with 2 days after in New Orleans! Either way you will have a blast!

[xDisconnections]

8 hours ago, JaniceB said:

Driving to a close port is a great plus and the Sunrise will be a "new" ship.  I would have a hard time because I like both itineraries.

You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still lipstick on a pig. At the end of the day, it will always remain as the poop ship. It’s far from being a new ship.

Edited February 8, 2019 by xDisconnections

[bakersdozen12]

Definitely Horizon. Better ship, 2 more days, and a better itinerary. 

[boomhower]

Longer cruise is an easy choice. 

 

[Cafedumonde]

Hate to be boring but... Horizon for the itinerary 

Edited February 8, 2019 by Cafedumonde

[a3593]

1 hour ago, louanne93 said:

 

I just wanted to say "Welcome Home!" 

 

 

I am SO glad to be home!

[louanne93]

2 minutes ago, a3593 said:

I am SO glad to be home!

 

I bet! I couldn't wait to get back on Carnival after our Princess cruise. We liked it, and are going again next Thanksgiving but only because we have a group of 10 of us so we are our own entertainment!

[CoolOne56]

Horizon hands down!!

[CRocks]

You don't say what time of year you'd be sailing. Unless it's in peak summer months, the first + last days on a cruise outta VA could be pretty cool at sea. For me, that would be a deal breaker on just a 6 day cruise.

[pacruise804]

On 2/7/2019 at 10:58 AM, a3593 said:

Hello everyone! My family's last couple of cruises have been on Royal Caribbean, and we truly miss Carnival. We can't wait to be back! There are a few pros to RCCL, but in general we've decided that we prefer Carnival. With that being said, which ship/itenerary would you suggest? 

 

6 Night from Norfolk, Sunrise. Half Moon Cay, Nassau, Grand Turk.

 

8 Night from Miami, Horizon. Aruba, Bonaire,  Curacao, Dominican Republic.

 

We've been to all of these ports, and would like to return to both Bonaire and Half Moon Cay. Norfolk would mean no airfare; its an easy drive. As far as what we like, both ships are similar, but the Horizon is nice, new, and cool. 😊The fact that one cruise is longer doesn't quite matter, because we can extend the vacation with a few days in VA beach if we choose the shorter one. What's your opinion?

 

 

My initial thought was like most that the longer, more unique ports make it the "obvious" choice.  Easy drive with no airfare (depending on how many are in your party could make a big price difference), ship size, and times in port might sway me to reconsider though.  The good news is your family will be together at great stops on either itinerary so I don't think you can make a bad decision.

 

Something to consider with flying is your 8N becomes 9-10 nights since it would be wise to fly in at least one day in advance, plus you might need an extra day on the way home depending on flight times to be ready for work the next day.

 

If I know we will cruise a lot (so the 6N itinerary is likely to be a repeat), time and budget are not issues, and everyone can handle the larger ship I would probably still do the 8N since I would find it harder to fit that length of cruise in all the time.

[a3593]

Ya'll, we cant pick one. Both have pros. So, we've decided to do both!! 😁😁

 

My daughter will be graduating from college late this year/next spring, and we want this to kind of be her celebration cruise. If we leave from a port in driving distance, more friends and family will join us. So, thats next summer, and we will do the Mardi Gras in 2021!

 

The worst part is the waiting. When I tell you we are overjoyed at the prospect of returning to Carnival, that's an understatement. Extreme excitement. I really want a Guy's burger, or a few, right now.