Eastern Caribbean - Which line/ship?

[runningnurse]

Hello Cruise Critics! Long time lurker and grateful beneficiary of your advice here delurking to pick your brains!

 

Some background: I'm a (female) nurse in my mid-twenties looking to go on a cruise with my two best friends to relax, get some sun, and basically just forget about school and work for a week! None of us are looking for huge crazy drunken parties, but neither are we looking for a ship that goes to bed at ten pm! We're non-smokers, not heavy drinkers, and love karaoke and acting a bit silly. I've been on two previous cruises - Carnival Victory to E. Caribbean, and Carnival Glory to W. Caribbean. Loved them both, liked the Eastern itinerary more, hence our current choice to go Eastern. Got slightly tired of the "loudness" (both visually and...attitudinally?) of Carnival, but would definitely sail them again and I know I'd love it just as much. However, we've been researching and have come up with the following options/itineraries. Please please pretty please offer any insight into ships, lines, etc. that might help us decide between them...I know we'll love any of them (after all, there's sun on all of them!), but as most of them are unknown quantities, I'm just looking for some comparison. (And yes, I've read...extensively...in the reviews section. I'm looking for comparisons at this point.)

 

Also: We will be going for the least expensive interior cabins available, so suites/balconies/etc. aren't a concern.

 

WHEW. Enough background. The contenders are: (all 7 nights unless noted)

 

HAL - Zuiderdam (Ft. Lauderdale-Gr.Turk/Caicos-SanJuan-St.Thomas-Half Moon Cay-Ft.Lauderdale)

 

Carnival - Triumph (Miami-Half Moon Cay-St.Thomas-SanJuan-Gr.Turk-Miami)

 

Celebrity - Millenium (Ft.Lauderdale-SanJuan-Charlotte Amalie St.Thomas-Casa de Campo-Labadee-Ft.Lauderdale)

 

Princess - Caribbean Princess (Ft.Lauderdale-St.Maarten-St.Thomas-Princess Cays-Ft.Lauderdale)

 

Costa - Fortuna (Ft.Lauderdale-SanJuan-St.Thomas-Catalina Island-Casa de Campo-Nassau-Ft.Lauderdale) *8 nights

 

Norwegian - Norwegian Dawn (Miami-Samona-Tortola-St.Thomas-Great Stirrup Cay)

[Keith1010]

I would not recommend HAL as it will have a fairly older crowd so I would remove that from your list.

 

Celebrity and Princess tend to attract a more middle age passenger. They each provide a nice cruising exprerience but you will see more folks in say 40's and 50's then 20's.

 

You are familiar with Carnival and will find a younger crowd there and you will find a fairly young crowd on Costa.

 

Keith

[Cruisenouvelle]

Don't rule out Celebrity...you'll see a mix of all ages. They all pretty much offer karaoke. Note that you'll likely encounter a lot of smokers on Costa ships, as they are a line that has many European passengers. We almost chose them for our first cruise, but passed. (None of your choices is smoke free, but some are more restrictive than others re: where to smoke on board). If I were in your shoes, I'd try Princess or Celebrity. They're both a bit more upscale than Carnival, offering a nicer cruise experience w/ a few of the nicer little touches.

Whichever you choose, I hope it's a wonderful cruise for all of you!!

[NCTribeFan]

No RCI option? I think RCI and Carnival are fairly equal (I've mostly sailed Carnival because the prices were just too good to pass up).

[wrp96]

No RCI option?

 

That's what I was thinking. She should consider the 8 night Eastern itineraries on RCCL's Jewel of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas. Lots of fun activities onboard ship, but plenty of places to escape if you want some quiet time alone or just to relax. All the cabins on RCCL are non-smoking (after January 1st). They offer fun stuff like karaoke, the Quest (if you want to have fun and be silly, this is the game for you!!), pool games, mini golf, rock climbing wall, but then on the Radiance class you also have the adults only solarium pool area which is nice and quiet for a pool side nap, or the thermal suite in the spa which is extremely relaxing. I'm in my late 20s and really do love what RCCL has to offer.

 

You won't find a lot of neon on RCCL's ships, but you will find tons of glass on the Radiance class for wonderful views out to sea.

[jp2001]

Personally, I like NCL a lot but I have not tried other lines. With NCL, if you meet new people, just can have dinner with them since it's Freestyle open seating, no assigned table with the same tablemates every night. I think it would be a very good option for three mid-twenty girls travelling together (I am now 28 and have sailed twice with NCL, once with a male friend and once by myself and had a great time on both cruises. Also, there is so many dinning options, it's great. You can dine in a new restaurant every night if you want (some are free, other have a surcharge ranging from 10-25$).

 

Let us know your choice.

[runningnurse]

Thanks all for your responses!! The reason RCI isn't on there is solely due to cost. Their only ship sailing during our spring break is Freedom of the Seas, and it's pricey! I would love love love to see that ship and sail on it, but the graduate student budget is going for the other ships.

[wrp96]

What week are you looking at?

[runningnurse]

We're looking at a departure date of either March 8 or 9, and hoping to stay as far under $1000/person as possible as a base price (not including airfare, transfers, tips, excursions, etc.). Freedom of the Seas starts at $949, whereas a lot of the others are in the $500-700 range.

[wrp96]

Have you looked at the 8 night Eastern sailing of Jewel of the Seas on March 8th out of Ft. Lauderdale?

[wrp96]

Of your list though, I'd go with the Caribbean Princess or the NCL Dawn based on your preferences.

[runningnurse]

Unfortunately even the Jewel of the Seas sailing is quite pricey for our given date. WRP, what makes you suggest NCL or Princess?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Also, a question about NCL's Freestyle idea...do you really have a good number of dining options without a surcharge? Are there still "formal nights" or are those determined by dining option?

[wrp96]

HAL and Celebrity are great lines, but they are much more low key especially in activities than other lines. Since you seem to want to try a new line, I'd say Princess and NCL would come the closest to offering you the things you seemed to like about Carnival, also the itineraries for those two ships are pretty good.

 

I can't speak to freestyle as I haven't tried it yet. I do know that NCL has an optional formal night in the main dining rooms, but it is only optional. If formal nights are something you want though, I would definitely lean towards Princess over NCL.

[f7prez]

From your list, I would choose Princess, because I am not a fan of Nassau or San Juan.

[caviargal]

From your list, I would choose the Caribbean Princess. Large ship with lots of activities and nightlife options, more upscale and elegant than Carnival and NCL, adult only pool, Anytime Dining.

 

I would not recommend NCL as I think they suffer in the food and service department, I don't like the very casual atmosphere and they attract a lot of families.

 

I would not recommend Celebrity or HAL based on nightlife as I find both to be subdued.

 

I would recommend RCI over the rest for your group but I understand about the pricing.

 

Of the list, I would cast my vote for the Caribbean Princess.