Caribbean cruise recommendation for family group

[RobertHemsley]

Hi All,

 

Sorry for the long post but here goes.

Me (29) and my girlfriend (27) really enjoyed our Mediterranean cruise so much on the Oasis of the Seas with RCL, that we have convinced my family that we should all go on a cruise together in 2020. As my sister's eldest child wont start school until September and her youngest is still young enough to not need a flight ticket, we have decided that Feb/March time would be ideal for a Caribbean cruise. The weather also looks great around this time and we would probably look to sail out of Miami as this gives the best options for flights in terms of prices.

This would also be my sister's and her husbands first ever cruise, and my parents last cruise was 20 years ago.

 

The group (put into staterooms) will consist of

Stateroom 1: Sister(35) Her Husband (35) And their two daughters (1 and 4)

Stateroom 2: Dad + Mum in their 60's

Stateroom 3: Me and my girlfriend

 

Ideally, sailing with RCL again (favorite cruise line) on an Oasis class ship would be perfect but the pricing is just far too much in comparison to other deals on other cruise lines. For some reason, RCL charge full price for young children / infants where MSC do not and NCL have the free at sea offer for guests 3+4 on a discounted rate. I can see that RCL have a kids sail free offer on their US site but not on their UK site.

 

The other options I have looked at are:

• MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside which for the stateroom 1 example above, comes in at £1,500ish. This includes gratuities but does not include any drinks / other packages
• NCL Escape free at sea offer for the stateroom 1 example above, comes in at £2,000 which includes gratuities, unlimited drinks package and Dining or WiFi package

 

Looking for something similar with RCL comes in at £3,000+ without gratuities or drinks for stateroom 1.

 

Do you have any other recommendations on:

• Any other cruise lines / deals to look at?
• How I should make a large booking like this?
• Will  be dissapointed by MSC / NCL options?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by RobertHemsley

[jocap]

Robert- you've fallen in love with Oasis, but you might have to move to something different, without all the activities you've enjoyed, for the sake of price and extras.

I suggest that you talk to a Travel Agent who knows about cruises- there might be one near you, or you can easily find them on the internet- there are several cruise specialists around in the UK.

Also, I suggest that you look at both P&O and Marella -used to be Thomson- cruises, which do fly/cruises  from various UK airports, using chartered aeroplanes. You are in their hands from check in to check out, including transport to/from the ship- you won't see your luggage from Manchester or wherever until it turns up at your cabin.

P&O is tipping free, and does have a drinks package ( but only charges pub prices if you don't drink much); Marella is all inclusive of tips and drinks.

Neither line sails from Miami, though- they fly direct to their starting point in the Caribbean.

Another thing to consider is that both lines keep you on the ship until your return flight is ready for you, which can cut out hours spent in an airport. Neither line touches the USA, so ESTA forms aren't necessary.

[John Bull]

I won't post my thoughts - instead I'll save my typing finger &  just suggest that you re-read Jo's post, cos  it makes a whole lot of sense.

We've done Caribbean fly-cruises with P&O, Thomson, Voyages of Discovery  and Ocean Village. Jo's points about UK-Caribbean fly-cruises applied to all of them.

Closest equiv to Oasis but with the oh-so-easy transfers etc is P&O's Britannia but like all UK ships it's less glitzy.

 

Yes, Jan/Feb is a good time to go.

 

JB