first time cruise booking

[ic1011]

we are looking at 7-DAY EASTERN CARIBBEAN FROM PORT CANAVERAL (ORLANDO), FL on mardi gras

and also 6-Day Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL on vista.

Both of these cruises with carnival sailing april 2026.

We have never been on a cruise and firstly unsure what to do about which ship or itinery to choose. Secondly as we will be flying from the UK , we cannot see any flights for APR 2026 as of yet beacause the flights are only released a year in front. Eo other people have this issue and what do they do?

Is there a big difference between the balcony rooms or a suite between the two ships. We like the look of celebration key stop off and these both go there.

Need to be in april school holidays for UK as wife works in a school with disabled children.

Cheapest flights and direct flights for us go to orlando so we have to factor in the flight cost ( minimum £1300/$1600). 

Is it better to add the prepaid gratuities to booking or do that on the ship. 

Sorry about all the questions and thanks for the answers.

 

[mom says]

If you go online and Google Carnival  Vista vs Mardi Gras, you will find a plethora of comparisons and opinions. It's easy to go down a rabbit hole looking at ship sizes, amenities, and cabin types. And another rabbit hole when weighing the pros and cons of different itineraries.

 

For a first time cruiser, I would usually recommend talking with a cruise specialist travel agent who can fine tune your needs, wants and budget. I prefer to prioritize itinerary, and the amount of time in each port. But others prioritize the ship and its amenities. Without investigating any further, my guess is that the larger, newer Mardi Gras, with its extra day, would likely come out on top.

 

As for flights- they usually come out about 11 months in advance. You can look on Google Flights for next April to get a rough idea. Then next year you can monitor prices for a few weeks to get an idea of current prices before actually booking your flights. Be sure to arrive in Orlando AT LEAST 1 day before embarkation to avoid problems with flight delays or lost luggage. 

 

Re gratuities- it's 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. We always prepay, and then we can forget about it. Or you can opt to have the daily charge added to your on board account and pay at the end of the cruise.  It will be charged to the credit card that you leave on file with them.

[john watson]

I'm not sure how fixed on these two alternatives but to me April 2026 seems a long way out and a 6 or 7 day Caribbean cruise is a bit short for the time spent on two long haul flights.  Booking the cruise is fairly straight forward once you take the decision on which one.  Normally your only at risk on the deposit price early on if air fares go through the roof.

 

If it were me personally I should be looking at P&O as their prices are flight inclusive, not cruise only.  I used to have the school holidays problem for years until daughter got too old for school.  Are you definitely decided on Caribbean?  

 

Regards John

[John Bull]

If you're looking at those two being back-to-back cruises, or combining one with a week or so in Orlando, they may make sense.

But like  @john watson ,we wouldn't fly that far for just a week, especially starting from County Durham.

 

As @mom says you should  talk to a cruise specialist travel agent. We can't name names on Cruise Critic, but dial "cruise specialists UK" into google.

See what their websites offer, but then talk to them on the phone, you'll get an idea of which is most knowledgeable and helpful. 

When you've settled on a cruise, if that wasn't through the most customer-friendly agent phone that agent, tell them what you've settled on and the best price you've been offered and ask them to match it. I leave it up to you whether you bluff them a little, but even if they're marginally more-expensive they'll be the best choice for a first-time cruiser - they can help with things like cabin location, choice of meal sittings, etc ad infinitum.

 

Because you're in the UK and a long way from Heathrow or Gatwick & you're aiming to cruise the Caribbean, if you're merely looking at Port Canaveral as a departure port rather than combining cruising with a land stay in Florida, any cruise specialist should suggest a P&O or Marella fly-cruise, which we consider to be a no-brainer.

Direct flights chartered by the cruiseline (everyone on -board is on your cruise) from a choice of regional airports, smooth & hassle-free transfers from airport to ship - you check in your luggage at your UK airport and you won't see it again until it arrives at your cabin door.

On your last day most ships want their passengers & their luggage off the ship by about 9am to make way for those on the next cruise. On those fly-cruises you have the run of the ship, including restaurants, bars, pool etc (but not your cabin) until your transfers are called.

 

Flights & cruise on separate bookings (even booked at the same time & thro the same TA) mean that if your flight is delayed & you miss the sailing that's your problem. Or if the cruise is cancelled (not uncommon esp on US ships)  you'll be refunded for the cruise but not for your flights.

On a fly-cruise the ship will wait if an aircraft is delayed, or if for whatever reason one element is cancelled you'll be refunded for both elements.

 

P&O offer 15-night cruises with flights out on a friday or saturday and return overnight on saturday or sunday. So you'll have a full day in your departure port (usually Barbados, sometimes St Lucia) on your first or last full day.

Marella offer a choice of 7-night or 14-night cruises or a 7-night cruise plus a 7-night stay (usually Jamaica). 

 

JB 🙂

[Host Kat]

On 7/19/2024 at 8:44 AM, ic1011 said:

we are looking at 7-DAY EASTERN CARIBBEAN FROM PORT CANAVERAL (ORLANDO), FL on mardi gras

and also 6-Day Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL on vista.

Both of these cruises with carnival sailing april 2026.

We have never been on a cruise and firstly unsure what to do about which ship or itinery to choose. Secondly as we will be flying from the UK , we cannot see any flights for APR 2026 as of yet beacause the flights are only released a year in front. Eo other people have this issue and what do they do?

Is there a big difference between the balcony rooms or a suite between the two ships. We like the look of celebration key stop off and these both go there.

Need to be in april school holidays for UK as wife works in a school with disabled children.

Cheapest flights and direct flights for us go to orlando so we have to factor in the flight cost ( minimum £1300/$1600). 

Is it better to add the prepaid gratuities to booking or do that on the ship. 

Sorry about all the questions and thanks for the answers.

 

Hello @ic1011 

 

Welcome to the Cruise Critic website and our message boards! 

 

Since you are in the UK, so much is different there than in the US. Yes, I know. We drive on the wrong side of the road! However, that is not the only thing different. Especially in the travel industry regarding your laws & procedures versus ours. I have moved your new thread to the UK Cruisers forum. That is where you can learn from others just like you! And for chatting about cruising or just about anything else with other UK cruisers, do not forget to check out The Pub forum.

 

The Cruise Critic website and our message boards are both great resources for new as well as experienced cruisers and we are so glad you found us! Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community categories list of the various forums. I suggest you put the page link in your browser's Favorites for quick & easy access in the future. Please read a few threads in the different forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads (aka stickies) on the top of the first page of threads in most forums. You will find very important instructions or information there. 

 

Please remember the following portion from the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships:

Browse Before You Post
Browse a topic first to see if your question has already been asked or answered by someone else. Also, many of the major cruise lines forums have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) topic that has been created by our members. Give that a try first. Browsing is your #1 best resource! Please post your messages in an appropriate topic so that you'll receive the best possible response. It is very time consuming to move misplaced messages that are in the wrong topics.

 

Anytime you need to start a new thread on a forum, first make sure you are in the correct forum for your topic. Word your new thread title in a way to help the members know exactly the information you seek. This greatly helps the members browsing through the thread titles and if they know the information, they will post replies to you.

 

Also, it is best to limit each inquiry message to only one topic such as one cruise line, one ship, one port of call, etc. and of course, on the correct forum. You will get more replies that way. Be sure to mention the cruise line, ship, sail date or port in your inquiry message if that sort of information will help your fellow Cruise Critic members help you.

 

Once you book your cruise, be sure to check if there is an existing Cruise Critic Roll Call thread for your specific cruise line, ship and sail date. If not, feel free to start one! And don't worry about any responsibilities in starting a Roll Call thread. Roll Calls belong to everyone; there is no designated leader or owner. It does not matter who started the thread.

 

Please read What is a Roll Call? Everything you Need to Know and How To: Create A New Roll Call. For more information about our famous Roll Calls, please read the Roll Calls and Our Policy Regarding Facebook and Roll Calls sections in the Guidelines.

 

The specific Cruise Critic Roll Call thread for your line, ship and sail date is the ONLY place on the Cruise Critic message boards where you and your fellow Roll Call thread members are allowed to post personal ads about sharing private tours, excursions or transportation with each other to save money. There is a "captive audience" there since you are all sailing together! Your fellow Roll Call thread members may have important information posted in your Roll Call thread. Especially those that may have sailed your line, ship or itinerary before. Also, they may have already posted share requests that may interest you. Roll Calls are for Cruise Critic members on the same cruise. They get to know one another online before their cruise so there will be all kinds of discussion in the Roll Call thread for their cruise!

 

If you ever need technical help in regard to using the Cruise Critic message board software, go to the Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here! forum. You will see a large amount of "How to..." pinned threads toward the top of the forum's first page. Also, browse through the threads in the forum looking for threads of interest. As with other forums on our boards, you may find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you. 

 

So sorry this is so long, but I sincerely hope this information will be helpful to someone new to posting on our message boards. We are soooo glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[ic1011]

Thanks for all the advice, and regards to P&O Caribbean cruise and fly, they seem to stop in april and only show transatlantic back to the UK. We wanted to go round some islands and as carnival have the new celebration key open 2025 and their itinerary on the dates I posted stopped there , as well as half moon cay and amber cove etc...it looked good. Also looked at MSC world america for same dates with their aurea suite coming in at around £2300. We would not bother with drinks package or speciality dining. 

Looks like £4000 should cover flights and cruise for the 6/8 days. 

Does that sound a good deal as I'm not sure of normal prices and I know they always have some sort of sale , all year round.

Thanks again

 

 

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, ic1011 said:

Thanks for all the advice, and regards to P&O Caribbean cruise and fly, they seem to stop in april and only show transatlantic back to the UK. We wanted to go round some islands and as carnival have the new celebration key open 2025 and their itinerary on the dates I posted stopped there , as well as half moon cay and amber cove etc...it looked good. Also looked at MSC world america for same dates with their aurea suite coming in at around £2300. We would not bother with drinks package or speciality dining. 

Looks like £4000 should cover flights and cruise for the 6/8 days. 

Does that sound a good deal as I'm not sure of normal prices and I know they always have some sort of sale , all year round.

Thanks again

 

 

 

Two things to be aware of..........

 

The hurricane season in the Caribbean runs from June to November, though you'd be very unlucky to catch one outside the peak period of mid-August to mid-October. 

No fun if you're caught in one in a Caribbean hotel, but they're usually well-forecasted, and ships can divert  - usually to another port. Can mess with your itinerary, especially during the peak period.

We cruise the Caribbean sometime Dec to March, partly for that reason, partly because there's a much broader choice of ships, but mainly to get a break from the UK winter.

 

You mentioned Half-Moon Cay and Amber Cove. 

They're amongst a dozen or so resorts owned by cruise lines. Good for a lazy beach day - no walking, no paying for beach loungers, use your cruise card to charge drinks & shop purchases - but more like Florida than the Caribbean, no history or sights or island culture, little or no contact with the locals.  Can be a welcome break on a busy port-intensive cruise, but you wouldn't want to waste more than one day at a private cruiseline-owned property.

BTW Carnival Corporation owns a large proportion of them, but Carnival Corporation means a lot more than just Carnival ships - they include Princess, P&O, Holland-America, and a bunch of others 

 https://thepointsguy.com/guide/which-cruise-lines-does-carnival-own/

 

JB 🙂

[ic1011]

I know that carnival own princess and P&O etc and that royal Caribbean own celebrity etc, so it's down to price and itinery for where to go in the Caribbean. No need for drinks package etc, but as our first cruise, we would want a balcony at least. Looked at ships like MSC world America.. Carnival celebration,mardi gras,& vista..celebrity edge class...sun princess and some of the RC ships ( but RC seem more expensive for same itineries).

We like the look of the private islands as well as the caribbean islands. 

Bit limited to the period of 3 April 2026 arrival and departing back to uk before 19th april ( school term dates). 

P&O stop caribbean by these dates.

Factoring in flights, it looks like £4000 should cover a week away ( or 9 days with flights and hotel the day before cruise).

Gotta save up the pennies.

Does anyone know of real sales and not just the gimmicky year round ones ?

Thanks again

 

 

 

[edinburgher]

18 hours ago, ic1011 said:

Bit limited to the period of 3 April 2026 arrival and departing back to uk before 19th april ( school term dates).

Check Marella/Tui as they operate the Caribbean on these dates.and with everything included and their own flights they make everything very easy.

[LeeW]

Orlando is a long way from the port.  You might want to also look into cruises out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami.  As I understand it, you could even fly to Barbados and take a Windstar cruise out of there (although Windstar is more expensive). 

 

Carnival is kind of a party-type vibe.  And shorter cruises on other lines can be as well.  

You really need to talk to a travel agent that specializes in cruises to match your style with the line.

 

We started on balconies and now most cruises are on those.  Minisuites don't really give you much more, except slightly more space.  And cost a lot more.  Depending on weather a balcony can be a nice place to relax.  

 

Flight bookings won't open until 330 days before the flight (use the return date for this).  But usually you can look at the cruise line booking engines (like EZAir) and they may list flights for your dates.  On those you don't pay until the cruise final payment, and can change your flights if you see a lower price.