Graduation Present Help

[mixedcutie23]

Hello. I need help figuring out which cruise line to go with. Im purchasing this as I have said before as a college graduation gift. I know that i want to go to the carribean, the second week of may. So far I have narrowed it down to Royal Carribean (5 day cruise), and Carnival (7 day) cruise. Now the issue is not money, cause I have been saving for this trip for a little while. What I want to know is which will have more of a "partyish" atmosphere-Carnival or RCL? The two of us by the time we sail will be 24, and 22. Also which line will have clubs on deck that play mostly hiphop? I have heard Carnival is more of a party ship? Is that true or will RCL be ok enough?

[CaptData]

The shorter the cruise the more party hardy type is on. You do not mention which ships you are considering. Also some of the Voyager class one are great too.

[mixedcutie23]

Thank you for responding. The cruise ships that I am looking at are the carnival mircale, leaving on 5/8/05 going to belize, cayman islands, costa maya, and cozumel (7 day). The RCL ship is the empress of the seas- leaving on the 9th going to kew west, cozumel, and costa maya. Hope that helps some.

[CaptData]

Find a Carlos and Charlies in Coz. This is a bar with a party type atmos. Just remember to get back on time or the ship will leave without you. If you go to Grand Cayman do the Sting Ray tour or a party boat. Things like Jolly Rogers ect. Look for the ones with booze on board. The Ports of Call will help you find which ones are the party type places (they are usuall more expensive). Paridise Island had free drinks all day on the beach.

 

If you do party, please respect other pax and do not give drinks to minors on board. There will be other grads on board for you to get to know. Go on roll call boards and see who is going. Since one is 24 and the other 22 check to see what the cruise line police regarding age in cabin (some is one must be 25), unless you are married to each other.

 

Oh, one thing, tell which ship and when you are going, I do not want to be there for collage age party. I like mine a little more fun and full of memories. Thank you.

[kitty9]

CaptData, these posters are fine age-wise because the age to cruise alone is 21, not 25. They will not have to have a 25 year old in the cabin with them.

 

As far has hip hop music is concerned, I don't think you're going to find that on any ship, not even Carnival. That's just not a popular sound that's on cruise ships. Rock, country and Caribbean island music is what you'll find, unless you find a cruise that's themed for another kind of music.

[nwindiana]

Kitty9

We just received docs Saturday and all over they state if you are under 25 you must be in stateroom/adjoining with a passenger 25 or older. This is Carnival policy. I had posted earlier this morning on Carnival that I was upset because the documents also state all over that you must be 21 years of age to be served. I booked the trip with Carnival and specifically asked if my daughter who is 20 will be able to drink. The Carnival PVP told me she would be able to with no problems and now the docs say that she can not.

 

I know drinking on RCL is 18 for beer and wine. I have cruised on both lines and find that Carnival is more of a younger crowd. I had already booked RCL when my daughters decided they wanted to go so I changed it to Carnival because they are all in their early 20's and I want there first cruise experience to fun.

[serene56]

Linda; I am sorry you are getting wrong information by calling Carnival. You can call 5 times with the same question and get 5 different replies. But now you discovered cruise critic and these fine people will more then likely give you the correct answers.

 

How the age works on Carnival--if one person in a cabin is under 21 a person in the cabin needs to be 25. So the original poster is fine since both will be over 21. (if you have 4 teens and only 1 is under 21 one of those 4 people better be 25.)

 

In all of Carnival brochures it will tell you that the drinking age is 21. Roayl does do beer and wine for 18 and up-but not in ports.

You can buy your daughter her drinks. Get to know the waiters- then after a few hours the waiter will serve her by herself. My sons were Marines when we sailed but they were not 21 yet. After the first night they were able to get themselves served without me. I dont know if its because of a Military id or not.

[nwindiana]

serene

 

Thanks for the info. Actually when we booked, we booked two cabins, one for the girls and one for us (our 25th anniv). The Carnival guy booked sep rooms and never said anything about the youngest being under 21 and the oldest is only 23. My docs show us in separate rooms but they are just grtee so maybe they are going to give us connecting rooms because of the youngests age.

[wallie5446]

mc/23,

You do not say what part of the country you are from, but another ship to consider, IMHO, would be the RCI Rhapsody out of Galveston, TX. I think it would give you the best of both worlds. We were on the Empress 10+ yrs ago and have yet to try Carnival. Our 21 yr old Daughter danced in the lounges till 2 or 3 in the morning on Rhapsody.

[kitty9]

nwindiana, I think you're reading your documents incorrectly. Here's an excerpt from Carnival's website about age requirements. You will see that the age to cruise alone is 21, not 25.

 

How old do you have to be to travel alone?

Guests are required to be 21 years old (on embarkation day) to travel. Guests under the age of 21 must be accompanied in the same stateroom by a parent or guardian 25 or older. The exceptions Carnival will make to this policy are:

 

Married minor couple - The booking must be documented that the couple is married. The couple must have proof of marriage at embarkation or they will be denied boarding without the benefit of a refund.

 

Domestic Partners/Same-Sex Union minor couple - The booking must be documented that the couple are legal Domestic Partners/Same-Sex Union. The couple must have legal proof of partnership/union at embarkation or they will be denied boarding without the benefit of a refund.

 

 

Unfortunately, whenever you call any cruise line, you get different answers to the same questions. If your travel agent had given you a brochure of Carnival, you would have been able to read that the drinking age is 21. And, it is enforced.

[jerseygirl3]

I would go with Carnival. The cabins are going to be much larger on Carnival than on Empress of the Seas. We did a cruise last year with our four sons (ages 19-22) and they brought four of their friends, and they had the time of their life. We went the last week of May, after our oldest graduated from college. We plan to do the same when the next one graduates (in 2006). I would definitely recommend Carnival.

[nwindiana]

jerseygirl.

We your underage sons able to drink on the ship?

[serene56]

My docs show us in separate rooms but they are just grtee so maybe they are going to give us connecting rooms because of the youngests age.

 

 

When we booked gaurantee on the Victory with my 3 kids.. the youngest being 19 the oldest 22 they stuck the kids on the Riveria deck and us on the upper deck. They were not located anywhere near me but I have heard that Carnival tries to keep the families together today.

[FlorenceItaly]

I have sailed Mariner and the Rhapsody of the Seas within the last 30 days, and the crowd is older. I am 42, and my dh is 56. I made comment to him that we will have to go on Carnival in one of our future cruises as I prefer a little bit more livelier cruise. I believe a person in their 20's would find more people on Carnival their age.

 

Marie

[mlbcruiser]

We have cruised during March every yr. for the past 8 yrs. (w/some Feb. and Sept/Nov cruises thrown in.) Our youngest daughter is now a soph. in college and was always w/us in March in the past, along w/other kids her age, and older and younger ones w/their parents. Mostly we've gone on RCCL, but did Carnival's Destiny and Pride when they were new. I would have to say RCCL's Voyager class ships are the best for your age. Their discos are pretty cool looking & there is so much to do, like inline skating, the rock walls, basketball, ice rink, promenade, etc. etc. etc. Not that Carnival isn't fun, but just doesn't have the same facilities and their dance venues just aren't as cool looking. Also, the RCCL cruise staff seemed to be better organized and their deck parties better, etc., than on Carnival. (I am sure many will disagree w/that, & know it depends upon the ship and whose on it sometimes, but I asked my friend's and daughter's opinions, and they agreed w/me.) I'd say the W. Carib. is the best itinerary for 20 somethings BECAUSE of the Carlos and Charlie's, Senor Frogs, and so forth, plus most "sightseeing" is beach stuff and partying. Frankly, there will be young adults your age on the ship, but we noticed last yr. that really, there aren't a whole lot of them. For some reason (money, jobs, not wanting to be w/parents?, whatever), other than honeymooners, your age group - at least at that time of year, doesn't exactly overrun the ships. Maybe there are more in June, though, after college graduations. I would think so. Having said that, if you only meet a FEW people your age (and you will) you will have a great time! It's really a great vacation (and you don't have to drive home!). Even a 3 day one (where there usually ARE more people your age) is fun. Again, maybe being able to afford a cruise of 3 vs. 7 has something to do w/it. Anyway, no matter which you choose, you'll have fun.

[hajekfam]

We sent our daughters - one graduating from high school and one from college - on a cruise as a graduation present. This was in 1995 (you only had to be 18 to cruise alone back then). We cruise Celebrity because it is a good match for us. However, our TA recommended Carnival for them because of the more lively atmosphere. They were supposed to do Eastern, but a hurricane came up and the ended up doing Western.

The one thing I did tell them was to make sure they made it back to the ship in time for departure because we would not pay to have them meet back up with the ship. They ended up hanging around with some of the crew (entertainment staff) when they didn't have an excursion. When the crew left for the ship, so did they.

They did have a great time and were able to do things together but also follow their own interests.

I would suggest talking to a TA about which cruise would be better. I know I can rely on my TA's advice.

[mixedcutie23]

To all that have posted thanks for the info. I was asked what part of the country i was from, graduating part would be NCish by may. What cruise lines are done mainly on the west coast, being that i am from cali?

[MszKitty]

To all that have posted thanks for the info. I was asked what part of the country i was from, graduating part would be NCish by may. What cruise lines are done mainly on the west coast, being that i am from cali?

Cruises that depart from California (LA area) are pretty limited....Royal Caribbean and Carnival (and I think Princess). They both have the 3 and 4 day cruises down to Ensenada. They also have the 7 day cruises down to Puerto Vallarta, Matzatlan, & Cabo San Lucas. Thats pretty much it for us Californians. If we want to go anywhere else, we have to fly.