If not X...who??

[Danno]

Not sure if you consider Constellation a Mega ship. Less than 2000 passengeres. In my book, it isn't. Look at March 2, 2007, Friday, Southern Caribbean. We're booked on this one and from what I have read, everone seems to think it is the best Southern cruise available from Celebrity. Good luck. Hope you find the perfect cruise.

 

I do, but I may not have an option...that looks like a great cruise!! I wasn't looking forward to the M class.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on MSC??

[ocngypz]

I had some clients recently return from the Opera. They said it was the best entertainment they've had at sea. Mixed reviews on food.

 

Now I've had great food on MSC.. and so have my friends.. so...........

the decision in yours.

 

Me.. for 10 night itineraries.. I go HAL.

[flagger]

Ah take one of those Med cruises on Disney next summer 2007. :) Starts booking 4/4/06 They certainly are not a MEGA-SHIP. Or take one of their special 9 or 10 night Southern cruises this year.

[Host Anne]

Danno ~ I know you love to sail. Have you ever considered a sailboat for 7 - 10 days in the Virgin Islands. GREAT trip. A different kind of cruising but a cruise nonetheless....and a really small vessel!!! We're actually seriously considering a VI vacation next winter instead of a cruise! You should check it out!

[Leela]

What a great idea, Anne. Many years ago my family and another one chartered a bareboat Morgan 46 out of Charlotte Amalie. We sailed it ourselves to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and St. Johns. It was a memorable trip! Okay, so we ate melted Velveeta on toast with pepperoni for lunch a couple of times, but there were no lines and no crowds!

[Andy]

I would sail Century again in a heartbeat...but she's doing 4 and 5 day cruises next year :(. It's not worth all the grief of travelling for less than 9/10 days.

 

Hi Dan !

 

I agree with you. We are very unhappy that Century is doing shorter Cruises as well. We also prefer Ft Lauderdale over Miami, as we have had some real ugly embarkations/disembarkations out of Miami.

 

Here are the 2 X options for later this year out of South Florida....

 

1. Constellation - Will be doing an AWESOME 10 night Caribbean (Friday-Monday) sailing from Ft Lauderdale. There is also an 11 night option, but I like the 10 night itinerary better.

 

2. Why not do Century as a Back-To-Back sailing ? You can do it as a 10 night (two 5 night sailings) or, as a 9 night (4 & 5 night combined).

 

I know we plan to do 1 of each next Winter, but we sure wish Century was back in Ft Lauderdale, doing longer sailings.

 

While I agree that the options arent the greatest, I do think there is enough to choose from, without leaving Celebrity. On the other hand, We will be sailing with another Cruise line this Summer, as Celebrity will have nothing to offer out of Florida, and that is a shame.

[sacway]

Danno -

 

We share your pain. Our big constraint is finding shared time on our calendars which is pushing us into holiday travel till one of us gives up & "retires"

 

Looked at the Connie (too big and we can't get excited about the itinerary)

 

Zenith 12/18 (Mon departure -- ugh) has a nice set of ports: Nassau, Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Key West

 

Crystal Serenity 12/22 Fri departure but 14 nights and all the cheap(er) categories are sold out

 

Galaxy 12/22 Fri 11 nights out of San Juan is a true So. Carib cruise on a nice C-class ship, with ports: Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Venezuela, Curacao, Aruba but we did a week out of San Juan last Dec (& you are right it's just too dang far from the Left Coast for just a week, what were we thinking?) San Juan's not that much further than FL.

 

We ended up tagging two cruises.

 

One is the Regatta, as mentioned earlier, by others.

It leaves Thurs 12/21 and returns Tues 1/2 but it's really only 5 vacation days because of holidays. Sails out of Miami, with ports Virgin Gorda; St. Barts; Dominica; St. Lucia; Antigua; Tortola; Dominican Republic; Grand Turk.

 

The other is an off-the-wall idea for you, but has some strengths, it's a 10-day Regal Princess, from Acapulco to San Juan or the other way. We'd be leaving 12/17 (Sun) returning 12/27 (Thurs). Ports: Huatulco; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Panama Canal; Cristobal, Panama; Aruba. It's doing the same itinerary 1/6 and 2/19 and a reverse the other weeks -- that is, you would leave Fri in San Juan and arrive in Acapulco on following Sun -- we prefer east to west, so we just have a relatively short puddle jumper home, but the holiday problem kicks in. The Regal Princess is a classic ship and this is the last year it'll be around the US market, being sent off to Australia later in 2007 I think to make room for more megas for us mega-Americans.

[Danno]

I guess it's Conny or leave X...tough call.:confused:

 

I really wish St.Thomas was not a stop...it's really a waste of a day. The only reason it seems to exist anymore is cheap booze, and smokes for US citizens...hardly a reason to stop at an island...way too crowded these days...decisions, decisions.

 

Flagger...Disney :eek: ???

[Danno]

Me.. for 10 night itineraries.. I go HAL.

 

Could you please call my wife...the food was so bad on or HAL cruise that she swore she wouldn't get on one if it was free...bland, tasteless, overcooked, too sweet, poor table service, rectangular tables, sever staff shortage. And the average age was, well, way above average...I would guess 65+.

 

They have some great intineraries, but I'm not willing to risk $6000 and my only vacation next year...ever seen carrots cooked to pulp :eek: ??

[island pat]

:( We are fans of x and we too are in a delima. While on our cruise in Feb 2006 we booked next years cruise on the millenium but are not impressed with the ports either and are trying to choose another line or cruise just for the sake of cruising on the millenium. Our cruise must be 7 days and in January and X is offering longer cruises or too short a cruise . Thanks for the tips I plan to check out Oceania and am presently checking out RCI but really am hesitant to switch. Does any one know why celebrity is making these changes they do not seem to be for the best. While on my last cruise there was quite a few of us iin the same position.

[babylene]

If the 10 day Constellation fits your schedule...and if your main objection is St. Thomas....what about spending that day in St. John...or...if it doesn't break the bank...what about renting a sailboat that day? Sounds good to me!

[Danno]

It won't sway our decision, but there must be other new, interesting and less crowded ports that X could choose, and leave St.Thomas for good.

 

And I'm sure we'll head to St.John's or charter out a sailboat :D .

[Iamboatman]

Danno,

 

I think Oceania can be a choice and MSC is up and coming with some very good deals. I am not sure that I want to risk my $6,000 on MSC just yet.

 

BUT, if you have a $6,000 budget you can cruise on Seabourn for 7 days and live the life of luxury with no nickel and diming. It has the best service at sea and the staff is extraordinarily well trained to never say "No". If you are willing to give up some of the great Celebrity facilities (spa, production shows, etc.) for luxury, great food, open bar and people that actually conform to dress codes (couldn't resist;) ) it might be with it. I would always take a shorter great cruise over a longer not so great cruise.

 

I have cruised on Seabourn a number of times (Radisson too, but I don't think there is a great comparison there...but it still is a good viable option in your budget!). And, I am booked on both for future cruises.

 

But what do I know...I am booked on the Connie for 12 days next month!:D

[Danno]

Actually the $6000 includes our air, hotel, parking...there are actually some of us who don't live in Florida :D (and wish we did for 4 months a year)

[babylene]

I don't think our American neighbours realize how much more expensive it is for us to travel....although now that our dollar is getting stronger, it isn't as bad. Still...our airfares and taxes are so much higher. When I read about the fabulous airfares they get, boy am I jealous!!

[prosenbl]

We are loyal "X" cruisers but are jumping ship and trying an Oceana cruise this summer - Insignia - London to Barcelona. It seems as if a lot of Celebrity people are very happy with this line. I hope we are not disappointed.

[AtA]

I know I'm being really fussy but I need a 9 or 10 day that leaves Fri/Sat and returns the following weekend (one week off work!!)...and it is a great intinerary on a very nice ship.

Look at Radisson or Silversea. Both have 9 and 10 day cruises. I just did eastern caribbean on Radisson and loved it. It's all suites, and the best is no nickel and diming. In 2007 it is all inclusive, so basically all you'll be paying for is spa services, internet access and excursions...which happen to be excellent on Radisson. Silversea is also excellent from what I've been told.

 

Oceania is not all inclusive and neither is Crystal.

[cmjaffe]

Danno,

We sailed on MSC this December (Lirica 12/18 sailing), did it 'cause it was a "great offer" and we were "looking for a change" (more towards getting a cruise over Xmas and NOT breaking the bank-- we had space already booked on RCCL Splendour and by sailing MSC we saved at least $1,500). All things considered it was a "good cruise", we boarded with minimal expectations and if there were glitches along the way we just did the mantra that most on board were repeating "... for what we paid ........ (fill in the blank). That said, since you're investing your main winter holiday and dear $$ I wouldn't risk it on an MSC sailing. Good luck with your decision.

Carolyn

[Gypsea]

just not your wifes. Saturday 2/3 the Maasdam or Saturday 3/3 the Volendam. Both ten days with different itineraries(Volendam--Aruba Curacao, Panama Canal, Colon, Limon).

 

I don't think you can be partial if you are basing the food on one ship/cruise.

Oceania is awesome if you can afford it, GO!!

[ocngypz]

Could you please call my wife...the food was so bad on or HAL cruise that she swore she wouldn't get on one if it was free...bland, tasteless, overcooked, too sweet, poor table service, rectangular tables, sever staff shortage. And the average age was, well, way above average...I would guess 65+.

 

They have some great intineraries, but I'm not willing to risk $6000 and my only vacation next year...ever seen carrots cooked to pulp :eek: ??

 

 

Well,, admittedly, I don't like cooked carrots at all. Suffice to say, I've never returned an entree plate on HAL, but I have on Celebrity.

 

Bland, I guess you never ordered any of HAL's Indonesian specialties? Celebrity has tried their hand at some ethnic dishes.. and they just miss the mark.

 

The last 10 day I did on HAL was younger than the last 10 day on Celebrity.

Ages will always vary per cruise. I can remember some 7 nighters I've done out of FL on Celebrity... and it was like being at the local senior center.

 

The first thing you want to do, is not book through Canada. All the cruiselines build in hefty spreads when computing the exchange rates. My Canadian clients just pay in USD on their credit cards. They also many times fly from US cities (Detroit and Buffalo being two of the more popular). Some also take care of their onboard charges with cash (USD) to avoid more exchange fees.

 

A 12 night rt from MIA on Oceania in an inside is going to run you oin the neighborhood of $2400pp USD without air. There are very few of these scheduled and the least expensive cabins go quicky.

 

Dare I say anything about NCL's long haul's out of NYC?

 

Or what about west coast sailings??

 

What about Hawaii?

 

You'll just need to get creative.

 

BTW, HAL's Vista class ships have lots of round tables.

[island pat]

Danno we too are from northern Ont. further north then you and we fly to San Juan and have cruised constellation from there for the last 2 years. We fly Air Canada Vacation and they have good connector rates and it usually costs us for both flights $ 600.00 + each. Know its cheaper to head to Florida and we may do that next winter but San Juan is an option.

[cruisePRN]

I was looking at the Oceana 's Asia itinary and it looked very good. I am going on the Marco Polo next January which is a smaller, older ship with exotic ports. I am burned out of the bigger and bigger ships already and need to try something different.

[poetic license]

I am not a fan of St. Thomas, either. But I always look forward to a port day there. Why? We immediately hop the ferry and head over to St. John ... which is gorgeous, not overrun with thousands of cruisers, and there isn't a Diamonds International in sight. The Virgin Islands National Park offers a gorgeous day with pristine beaches, and the roads wind around and up and down all over the island with many interesting little places to explore.

 

CENTURY is my favorite ship, but CONSTELLATION is really beautiful, and frankly not ALL that much larger. Beautiful balcony cabins, some of the best crew in the fleet ... a lot of happy campers. I just don't believe you would come away disappointed.

 

Have fun with the decision making process ... it's a great opportunity to get creative. :)

 

Cheers,

[Danno]

Danno we too are from northern Ont. further north then you ...

 

There is something north of here ;) !!! How far?? Maybe we can carpool to Pearson :D .