Debating on 5 RCI ships & itineraries. Which is best for water lovers?

[beachbabie393]

For those who have been on these ships, could you tell me which are better all around? (Food, service, amenities, activities, port locations, etc.) I can look on RCI's website all day for the facts, but I'd really like opinions from people with first hand experience as to which ships any one person might think were superior to others. (By the way, we are 24 and 20 and very into swimming/water activities, shopping, and casinos)

 

I am thinking about (all in March 2009):

Vision of the Seas: leaving from Santo Domingo and going to St. Maarten, Dominica, Venezuela, and Aruba

 

Independence of the Seas: leaving from Fort Lauderdale and going to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Labadee

 

Serenade of the Seas: leaving from San Juan and going to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados

 

Adventure of the Seas: leaving from San Juan and going to Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas

 

Freedom of the Seas: leaving from Miami and going to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten

 

I guess since all pretty much go to St. Maarten and/or St. Thomas, which other ports are better for the water-loving, adventurous type: Venezuela, Aruba, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, or Curacao?

 

Thanks for the help! :)

[TravelerThom]

You didn't indicate how much, if any you have cruised or traveled, and that would make a large difference in my answer, but here goes [note that these are my OPINIONS (but based on actually having been to most of these locations), I'm sure that other people's will vary]. Williemstad, Curacao is one of my favorites if for nothing other than the floating bridge that has to be moved to let the ship in. Willemstad (and San Juan) give the best feel for how towns were in the Caribbean before tourism arrived [not that they don't have tons of touristy stuff]. All of the places on your list will have great beaches, but most will involve at least a taxi ride to get there. Labadee is an RCI private "island" [actually it is a peninsula with a big (not-visible) fence to make it private] with nice beaches [but not very good snorkeling] and a Haitian market - it is entirely water sports as soon as you step off the tender. Most of these island have casinos, but given the somewhat limited time in any port, the amount of things to do in port and the fact that there is a casino on the ship [admittedly the ship casino is not open while you are in port], you would have to be almost entirely focused on casino action to make any effort to go to one of the island casinos.

 

Are you aware of the differences in the ships themselves? Vision [which I am going on in March - specifically for the itinerary to islands that most ships don't get to (since I get to the other islands a lot)] is an older, smaller ship - but only 10 years ago it was brand new and one of the biggest out there, and the reports I read indicate that it is well maintained and has a great crew, so all of this is relative. Serenade (and its Radiance class sisters) is a favorite of many who think it an ideal size. When you get to Adventure you now have a shopping mall [aka Promenade (not that shopping doesn't exist on all ships - believe me ships are happy to provide opportunities for you to spend money)] down the center of the ship, an ice skating rink and other bells and whistles, and Freedom & Independence add on a flow-rider water surfer. All that said, there will be more than enough to do for a week on any of these ships, so unless you you desperately want something specific [such as surfing] I won't worry about it.

 

Obviously some of these ships are easier to get to than others [there are more flights to Florida than Santo Domingo]. My own opinion is that unless there is something specific on one of the ship or on one of the itineraries that you really want to have, I'd just look at convenience and pricing, and save the extra dollars for adventures on the islands, or the casino or whatever. What ever you decide, ENJOY.

[silentbob007]

Thom gave you some good information above ... I think all of the itineraries sound very good for what you want, however getting to those places may be the deal-breaker. Traditionally, flights to San Juan and Santo Domingo are going to be much more than flights to Florida (though during spring break, who knows, which is sometimes why those cruises tend to be a little less expensive.

[138east]

It sounds like you might like a port intensive cruise. I've been on the Adventure and the Serenade. I loved both, but I particularly liked the itinerary on the Serenade. I don't know if they've changed the route, but you have a chance of spending your 1 sea day cruising back to San Juan through the islands. On the Adventure, the sea days were spent crossing the Caribbean to get to and from Aruba and Curacao.

 

St. Martin and St. Thomas are the two big shopping ports. There are lots of shops by the pier in Antigua and St. Lucia has very nice shops at the terminal. Don't know about casinos other than the ship and San Juan. All the islands have lots of swimming and water activities.

[liltom45]

If you love the water then I would go on the Serenade. It has nothing to do with the ports of call but more with the ship. The entire Radiance class has windows everywhere and just about wherever you are you see water. We loved being on the Brilliance, a sister ship of the Serenade. Have a wonderful cruise.

[MedicKen]

Beachbabie,

Commenting on only one of your criteria, and not the most important to you however, port of embarkation. DW and a bunch of us sailed on Legend OTS last Jan out of Santo Domingo. After that experience we vowed to NEVER have an embarkation port outside the US, unless imposible. To add to that I echo another comment about the cost and availbity of flights, easier to get to Miami (or even Ft Lauderdale like us) than the other ports outside the US. Do you have any thoughts about sailing out of Baltimore? OK I'm getting windy. As you can see by the signature we are doing Freedom OTS Feb 1. I'll try to do a review on out M&M board when we get back.

[carmelninetysix]

In St. Thomas either go to Magen's Bay or go on an RCCL excursion to St. John that will take you to Trunk's Bay! If you decide to go to Magen's Bay be sure and get there early in the morning because by 1:00 or 2:00 it gets very crowded! St. Lucia has tons of beautiful beaches and wonderful RCCL excursions! In Barbados we loved Mailbu beach the water is so clear and you can take a tour of the Mailbu Rum facilty facility and you will get a complimentary drink when you return to Mailbu beach it's right there a five minute walk or less! Antigua has 365 beaches do a liitle reserch and take a taxi and use the men wearing the white shirts and long blue pants because they are Antigua's authorized taxi company and they will not rip you off but others may!!! You may want to stay at a Resort in San Juan before and after ypur cruise we loved the El Conquistdor Resort but I can not remember the name of the Rsort we stayed at before our cruise!!! This makes me want to sail on the Serenade and to visit all these beautiful Islands once again! I will have to wait a few more years because in December 2009 we are sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale and then next year Hubby wants to sail out of Boston on a Canada/New England cruise with RCCL!!! Enjoy whatever you decide but we loved all these Islands and on my Hubby's favorite class of ship!!! The Serenade is absolutely beautiful!!! Happy Sailings and Bon Voyage!!! Sincerely, Melissa

[wrp96]

For water activities, the Serenade and Adventure would have the most. San Juan for example, is more about shopping, touring Old San Juan and the forts, exploring a rain forest etc.

[honeywell]

Independence on the 8-night itinerary gets my vote, for obvious reasons. It is my next cruise!

[beachbabie393]

Thanks everyone for replying. I guess I should say that I have been on 6 cruises in the past. St. Thomas is my favorite island. For some reason, since I'm going without my parents this time, I am a little weary of just choosing any itinerary/ship. Don't know why though? I've been to Labadee, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and maybe some others when I was younger. I've also been on the Grandeur of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.

 

Is leaving out of San Juan a hassle? To me, Miami is a hassle just because of the number of ships that are always there, leaving the same day. I already have flights picked out to all the embarkation ports, so that's not realy a problem.

[Littlebrookfarm]

If I were you I would pick either Serenade or Adventure.......the ports are all awesome and we are also water/beach lovers and you can't really go wrong with either one of these. San Juan isn't all that bad to get in & out of and the ships sail later in the evening to give you plenty of time to get there and board the ship. My 3rd choice would be the Independence because of all the extras on that ship - the Flowrider is a blast! I picked that one over Freedom solely because of the stop in Labadee...

[TravelerThom]

Thanks everyone for replying. I guess I should say that I have been on 6 cruises in the past. St. Thomas is my favorite island. For some reason, since I'm going without my parents this time, I am a little weary of just choosing any itinerary/ship. Don't know why though? I've been to Labadee, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and maybe some others when I was younger. I've also been on the Grandeur of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.

 

Is leaving out of San Juan a hassle? To me, Miami is a hassle just because of the number of ships that are always there, leaving the same day. I already have flights picked out to all the embarkation ports, so that's not realy a problem.

SJU San Juan airport has a reputation for being a zoo on ship days. Of all the airport I'd say that FLL Fort Lauderdale is the easiest to get thru and a breeze to get to/from Port Everglades [roughly ten minutes and $15 for a taxi; don't bother with RCI transfer bus as it is that much per person and you will have to wait until the bus fills]. Looks like Independence out of FLL may be starting to look like the best [i HOPE it is a good choice:confused: - I'm on it next week:p].

 

Thom

[wrp96]

I personally think of FLL, MIA, and SJU, FLL and SJU are tied for terribleness, with MIA only slightly better.

[jb008]

In the last two years I've snorkeled in Princess Cay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Bonaire, Aruba, Coco Cay, and Nassau. Aruba was one of my favorite snorkel spots of all of them! As far as I remember Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are all very close to each other and share very similar aquatic life and are supposed to be great snorkel/dive spots.

 

As a younger pair though you might prefer the 5-port itinerary out of San Juan on Serenade. You'll get a nice blend of places to do tours and beach time (e.g., St Thomas) and I'm sure at least one of those islands has some beautiful snorkel sites. DW and I, much prefer a 5 port-1 sea day itinerary to a 4 port-2 sea day itin. on the 6 day cruises. Usually with more ports you have a wide variety of "stuff" to see and do. We use sea days to lounge, but 1 day per vacation is usually sufficient. A 5 port itinerary is why we chose Crown Princess last April (4/08) over a Royal Caribbean ship of similar size and a few more amenities but had 1 less port.

 

If you're willing to look at another line, Princess has one of their larger ships trolling the Southern Caribbean out of San Juan that might have a nice blend for you. I think it's their Southern Caribbean Explorer itinerary. I wrote a long review about the itinerary and a sister ship from last April (http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=14652936) if you're interested. They've since switched out Dominica for St. Kitts though FYI.

 

I agree that all the airports get mobbed. I personally found FLL and SJU to be perfectly bearable, but we took the earliest flights available out of JFK (partly because NYC airports are notorious for being delayed as the day goes on) and we weren't rushed at the airports. By March, depending on where you're flying out of, weather may or may not be risky enough to warrant flying in a day ahead and staying at an airport. We just did a cruise out of Port Canaveral, and because of winter weather (and flying out of Rochester, NY) we came in the night before. That saved our behinds, as there were terrible delays and delayed luggage due to weather air travel.

[FNDelta]

I had a similar question as well and eventually picked the Serenade for March 7-14. I can wait to go and i love the easy itinerary.

 

And as a side note, you can get plane tickets to san juan for 323 which is only $30 more then Fort Lauderdale

[beachbabie393]

I had a similar question as well and eventually picked the Serenade for March 7-14. I can wait to go and i love the easy itinerary.

 

And as a side note, you can get plane tickets to san juan for 323 which is only $30 more then Fort Lauderdale

 

Where are you flying out from and on what airline?