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Ship Recommendations


jessiec33

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After a year of research I had found the perfect ship for our first cruise, the GEM, with the perfect itinerary for my family, FL and Bahamas, out of our preferred departure port, New York in March 08. :D

 

Now due to a scheduling conflict with my husband's job we need to cancel it and the GEM is not available when we can go in May. :(

 

We have found other options leaving from the north the itineraries are all alright with us but we want to make sure we pick the right ship for us. We are a middle class family with two boys 6 and 9. We would prefer the freestyle type cruising but we would like a nice ship with lots to do and preferably a water slide. A lot of formal nights would not be a good fit for us, we are jeans and tshirt folks. Also looking for a good kids club and casino with Texas Hold Em Tournaments.

 

It looks like our ship choices are RCCL Explorer of the Seas, NCL Spirit and Carnival Miracle.:confused:

 

Also, is it likely to be too hot in the Carribean in May?

 

I would love any recommendations! Thank you.

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I don't think you can go wrong with any of those ships! They each offer great activities for the kids and adults.

 

Are they all going to the same ports? What about price differences? If they're all about the same in these regards, I'd probably go with RCCL. There's more for kids to do, especially active boys.

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We have been on the NCL Spirit and NCL Dawn out of NYC with our 2 kids, age 13 and 9. We love both ships and really like Freestyle Dining with the kids.

 

My kids prefer the Spirit because of the HUGE arcade and the pool area in the back. We like the Dawn cabins better for 4 but we were in a suite on the Dawn and an inside on the Spirit. The 3 lower beds and one upper beds are tight for us and this year we are sailing on the Spirit again in a suite with an adjoining balcony.

 

We have sailed in August for the past several years and yes it was hot but not unbearable.

 

My wife and I have sailed RCCL, Carnival, and Cunard before kids. We have only sailed NCL with our kids and I am sure that we will be going on other lines but Freestyle has been a great way to have family time and some special dinners for 2!

 

Good luck with your decision.

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