Which would you pick?

[LisaT91403]

I haven't been on anything other than an Oasis-class ship since they first started sailing, but we are looking to do a quick 3 or 4 night for the sole purpose of visiting Coco Cay in December or early January.

 

If you were picking between Navigator our of Miami or Mariner out of Port Canaveral, which would you pick and why? I realize both are very old ships. Do you like one better than the other? Thanks.

[iahawkfan21]

They are older, but were just refurbished last year and are looking great.  Navigator is slightly “newer” so that’d be my suggestion but you really can’t go wrong with either.  Coco Cay is pretty impressive.

[Ourusualbeach]

Miami is easier transportation wise and will be warmer than Port Canaveral in December and January.  

[dplusd]

Both are Voyager class ships and are equally nice.  Assuming you are flying to port, I would choose Miami for ease of transfers.

[Norwich Cruiser]

Agree the Miami Port departure is far easier than Port Canaveral

Both are Voyager class design very similar excellent ships..

[Cruisin_n_Boozin]

+1 Navigator

[Clarea]

Mariner in a heartbeat.  Much better fitness center, still with free sauna and steam rooms.  Much less crowded port area, less expensive hotels, nice restaurants, several rental car agencies that have free shuttles to/from the cruise terminals.

[LisaT91403]

Thanks for the replies!

 

So in doing the research, I found an Allure sailing that seems like a really good deal. It also goes to Coco Cay. I haven't been on Allure since her inaugural season, and I realize she's due for a big refurbishment in a couple of months. So, in essence, maybe it's the "oldest" ship when comparing to Mariner & Navigator? Just wondering how long in the tooth it might be at this point. Anyone been on recently? Will we be disappointed after having sailed Harmony & Symphony already?

 

7 nights in an OVB on Allure would be the same cost as 4 nights in a JS on Mariner/Navigator.

[SRQbeachgirl]

I don't care what the ship looks like, I would take 7 nights over 4 every single time.

[parrotfeathers]

Just returned from Navigator.  It may be old in years but not in appearance.

Great ship.  Miami is a great port.  I love shorter cruises.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Miami 

 

Check on flights, hotels and transportation to and from airport to hotel/cruise pier and take it from there.

[George C]

Have not done mariner but love Navigator have cruised her 3 times and loved each trip . I know navigator was refurbished recently not sure about mariner. 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

Mariner, no question. Why you ask? I live in Orlando and can literally be at the ship in 1 hour.

[LuCruise]

Love both....but I give the heads up to Navigator.  I love what they did with the decks in the amplification (pool, different types of seating, happy and cheerful).  El Loco Fresh is also a bonus.

 

But it depends on what you want

• both have Laser Tag (although when we were on Mariner, it had better hours...but that was a year prior to Navigator so not sure if the hours have changed)
• Mariner has SkyPad (my kids favorite activity)
• Navigator has different and fun slides
• I prefer the production shows on Mariner (just because ballroom style is not my thing, which is on Mariner)
• Port Canaveral vs Miami may be a factor as well

Otherwise, they are similar ships...both Voyager class, same itinerary 

[taglovestocruise]

16 hours ago, LisaT91403 said:

Thanks for the replies!

 

So in doing the research, I found an Allure sailing that seems like a really good deal. It also goes to Coco Cay. I haven't been on Allure since her inaugural season, and I realize she's due for a big refurbishment in a couple of months. So, in essence, maybe it's the "oldest" ship when comparing to Mariner & Navigator? Just wondering how long in the tooth it might be at this point. Anyone been on recently? Will we be disappointed after having sailed Harmony & Symphony already?

 

7 nights in an OVB on Allure would be the same cost as 4 nights in a JS on Mariner/Navigator.

Mariner had always been our favorite ship until we first cruised Oasis Class.  We have been on Oasis, Allure and Symphony.  Allure is now our favorite, we have a 21 night B2B booked on Allure for Oct./Nov. 2020.  Looks like you are Diamond, only a few months left before the awesome DL is ripped out and moved to the basement.  I would have no concern that Allure would be in excellent shape even on it's last sailing before refurb. happy cruising 

[LisaT91403]

18 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Mariner had always been our favorite ship until we first cruised Oasis Class.  We have been on Oasis, Allure and Symphony.  Allure is now our favorite, we have a 21 night B2B booked on Allure for Oct./Nov. 2020.  Looks like you are Diamond, only a few months left before the awesome DL is ripped out and moved to the basement.  I would have no concern that Allure would be in excellent shape even on it's last sailing before refurb. happy cruising 

I have been on all 4 Oasis class ships. Curious why you like Allure the most? I think my son would miss the slides if we went back to Allure.

[taglovestocruise]

1 minute ago, LisaT91403 said:

I have been on all 4 Oasis class ships. Curious why you like Allure the most? I think my son would miss the slides if we went back to Allure.

We are in our late 60's so slides are of little concern.  Love the 2 story DL and found the staff everywhere on the ship to be the friendliest and most accommodating.  Might be possible that Allure sails with fewer kids. Spent 12 nights on Symphony last Nov. with only a handful of kids onboard but still wanted to book Allure for 2020. Other than that I can't say,  I just like allure.  happy cruising

[torpeedo]

Well I think if you're coming from LA I would would definitely go for the balcony on the Allure. Maximize your time and make the trip worthwhile.  Ship has much more to offer than the Mariner or Navigator.  

We just got off a 3 and 4 night Mariner cruise.  We cruised with the Navigator beside us so we saw the Navigator and spoke to some on the ship.  Not having kids or doing any of the big activity things, it appears the Navigator is a better choice for activities from our observations and feedback from those on Navigator.  Nothing wrong with the Mariner but the Navigator seems to have more.

Whatever you choose, have a great time!!

Edited November 6, 2019 by torpeedo

[superduper123]

Not wanting to derail this topic too far, but several comments have been made that cruising out of Miami is easier/ better than Canaveral. Curious as to why? I've cruised from Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa, but never Miami. Actually, I intentionally avoid Miami cruises because I've thought they would be too crowded, chaotic, and harder to navigate my way around. ( I live in Florida, so drive to the ports.)

[LisaT91403]

32 minutes ago, torpeedo said:

Well I think if you're coming from LA I would would definitely go for the balcony on the Allure. Maximize your time and make the trip worthwhile.  Ship has much more to offer than the Mariner or Navigator.  

We just got off a 3 and 4 night Mariner cruise.  We cruised with the Navigator beside us so we saw the Navigator and spoke to some on the ship.  Not having kids or doing any of the big activity things, it appears the Navigator is a better choice for activities from our observations and feedback from those on Navigator.  Nothing wrong with the Mariner but the Navigator seems to have more.

Whatever you choose, have a great time!!

Thanks for the info! If we did a 3/4 night, we would hop over to Atlantis for 2 nights as well. My kid likes waterslides 🙂 We would probably use the Nassau day on the cruise to stay on the ship and enjoy the slides and so forth with less of a crowd.

 

So with either option, we'd still be gone for about a week.

[FireEMT978]

4 minutes ago, superduper123 said:

Not wanting to derail this topic too far, but several comments have been made that cruising out of Miami is easier/ better than Canaveral. Curious as to why? I've cruised from Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa, but never Miami. Actually, I intentionally avoid Miami cruises because I've thought they would be too crowded, chaotic, and harder to navigate my way around. ( I live in Florida, so drive to the ports.)

I'm not sure about costs for the OP.

But, from Minnesota, flights are MUCH cheaper to Orlando. Lodging is much cheaper. And IMHO, it is easier to move around Orlando. We just got off the Harmony on Sunday 11/03. So easy to shuttle to Port Canaveral. And, we flew back home the same day. I try to avoid MIA and FLL, due to the cost. But, my daughter and I are sailing out of Miami on Oasis in December. 

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, superduper123 said:

Not wanting to derail this topic too far, but several comments have been made that cruising out of Miami is easier/ better than Canaveral. Curious as to why?

Mostly the closer access to the airports and potentially more flight choices. For anyone that drives, the port itself is fine, getting there maybe a bit less so, compared with PC.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, superduper123 said:

Not wanting to derail this topic too far, but several comments have been made that cruising out of Miami is easier/ better than Canaveral. Curious as to why? I've cruised from Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa, but never Miami. Actually, I intentionally avoid Miami cruises because I've thought they would be too crowded, chaotic, and harder to navigate my way around. ( I live in Florida, so drive to the ports.)

It the ease of getting to/from the port when you are NOT driving. A port like PC is logistically far from MCO or MLB. TPA and FLL don’t have non-stop flights for us.