Which line/ship to the Caribbean

[Beth & Rob]

The "girls" are in the planning stages of a cruise for 08. We've decided on the Caribbean. There will be between 10-20 of us, late 40's to early 60's. Most all have many cruises under our belts.

 

We live all over, L.A., Las Vegas, Oregon, Yuma, Atlanta, etc......

 

I did get one tip about tendering and that was to look more to the Eastern or Southern since there is more docking. I hate to spend so much time waiting in lines to get on/off, so this is a big thing.

 

We want a 7-8 day. Prefer out of Florida, New Orleans or Galveston to keep the airfare down.

 

We are most familiar with Princess, Royal and Holland.

 

We love good food, good service, shows, the casino, nice pools.

 

Hmmm......I think that will be a good start for all you with tons of experience to make suggestions.

 

Thanks so much.

[Aquahound]

IMHO, stick with Royal. The Voyager Class are great ships for large groups. Stick to Miami. Galveston and New Orleans mainly do Western.

 

I would suggest the new Liberty or the Freedom on the Eastern routes. You'll only have to tender in Labadee. But with Labadee, what's the hurry?

[Tmeister]

To me, this would be a toss-up between RCCL and Princess, except for one thing. If your group wants to dine together, you'll have to go with assigned seating for dinner, and on RCCL you know you'll get it. On Princess, there is some assigned seating, but they also try to fill their "Anytime" dining rooms. A few years ago, our party of 6 couldn't get into assigned seating and had to take Anytime dining. Aside from that, I think either line would suit.

[Cruzman]

Well if you want nice pools, go with Princess or Holland America. They have larger and nicer pools that are filled with nice clean fresh water instead of that yucky eye burning salt water. Caribbean Princess, Zuiderdam or Westerdam to the eastern Caribbean would be good choices!

[JolieMadam]

Stick to the Eastern Caribbean....my "girl" friends....I use this term loosely, enjoyed the eastern Carib. much more than the western. Seemed like less tendering as well. Go for Princess, HAL or RCCL...you should find what you are looking for on those 3.

[wrp96]

I vote for an 8 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas or Jewel of the Seas. Absolutely beautiful ships and no tender stops at any of the 5 ports, plus you get an extra day of cruising over a 7 night cruise. Less crowded than the Voyager class ships on RCCL.

[newmexicoNita]

Any of the lines will offer what you are looking for: as mentioned, if you want to eat together it will be a slight problem, but maybe you prefer to do your own thing for dinner; if so, any line will work. In fact you may want to consider the newer NCL ships. They are as nice or nicer than anything on the water right now: mass marketed that is. Of course the largest cabins will be on HAL for certain, but there won't be much night life. I gress you can figure out by now, we all have our own opinions. I would go talk to a cruise specialist and get some brochures. That way you can check out prices, itineraries and ship activities. As for food, remember, it is very subjective and with so many of you, the group will most likely not agree on what is good and isn't. The advantage of NCL is the choice of dining; the ships will offer 8 to 11 resaurants. Some will have service charges, but this you probably already know as most of you are seasoned cruisers. You could even think about Carnival, I am not a big supporter of the line, but many are and the newer ships, again, are quite nice, offer what you are looking for and the cabins are outstanding. My problem with Carnival, I don't think they offer the same service as the others and the ships are inclined to be almost gaudy.

 

NMNita

[madhouseinc]

The "girls" are in the planning stages of a cruise for 08. We've decided on the Caribbean. There will be between 10-20 of us, late 40's to early 60's. Most all have many cruises under our belts.

 

We live all over, L.A., Las Vegas, Oregon, Yuma, Atlanta, etc......

 

I did get one tip about tendering and that was to look more to the Eastern or Southern since there is more docking. I hate to spend so much time waiting in lines to get on/off, so this is a big thing.

 

We want a 7-8 day. Prefer out of Florida, New Orleans or Galveston to keep the airfare down.

 

We are most familiar with Princess, Royal and Holland.

 

We love good food, good service, shows, the casino, nice pools.

 

Hmmm......I think that will be a good start for all you with tons of experience to make suggestions.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Since you all have cruised quite a bit, you could always try something new - MSC is an Italian line with a European flair. I have read mixed reviews but after visiting other web sites - they all have mixed reviews. I am sailing in January and will be posting a review.

[newmexicoNita]

Since you all have cruised quite a bit, you could always try something new - MSC is an Italian line with a European flair. I have read mixed reviews but after visiting other web sites - they all have mixed reviews. I am sailing in January and will be posting a review.

That is a thought. Which ship will you be on? I have just booked clients on the Opera in January. This will be the first time I have had clients cruise MSC. yes, the reviews are very mixed. I am anxious to see how they like the line. They have cruised about every cruise line (mass marketed that is) out there.

 

NMnita