green33

My husband and I are planning a vacation for the beginning of April. We aren't celebrating anything special we just want to have a fun relaxing week. We have it narrowed to a southern Caribbean cruise (probably on Royal Carribean) or a week in Puerto Rico. Our problems:
Cruise
1. We are kind of boring and don't like loud party atmosphere with lots of drinking (too frat like).
2.Our idea of relaxing isn't standing in lines.
3.We are afraid we wont get real look at the islands with only a few hours on each.
4. Everyone we know swears we will love it so it's confusing.

Puerto Rico
1. We are horrible over planners so there wont a lot of relaxing.
2. Much more expensive.

Anyone have an opinion toward either? If we do cruise is RC the best choice (we have no idea)? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

green33

Oh, and we are in our late 20's.

ishkribbl

I am not a cruiser- done it several times to nice places but don't care for it. From what you have said, it doesn't sound like it is necessarily what you want either. I am not sure what you are considering in PR but if you want a peaceful and beautiful location that is not so very expensive you might look at the PR islands of Culebra or Vieques. You would definitely get to see the island in either of those places.

schmerl

We have done both several times and love both.
You can make cruisig whatever you want it to be. If you want to just relax, there are plenty of opportunities for that. Royal Carribean is not a "rowdy" cruise line. We loved cruising the Southern Caribbean.
That being said, we have also loved our stays in PR. Hiking the rain forest, the bio bay, just relaxing on the beach, the good food , etc.
Cruising may be more relaxing for you though sincea lot of the planning is done for you.

KVR

We've done both and really dislike cruising for the reasons you listed and more.

Carnival will have more of the frat party atmosphere. Royal Caribbean will be crawling with thousands of kids. We did Princess in April 2007 and it was more of an adult crowd.

Cruise now will nickel and dime you to death it you let them. Cost of drinks are around $10.00, then there are pictures for formal night, speciality resturants, specialty foods and some activities like bingo, wine tastings, etc. Add in shore excursions and shopping. We ended up spending more on our ship's account than the cost of the cruise tickets. Of course, we didn't have to indulge in all those products, but who wants to cheap out on vacation?

We also don't care about selected seating for dinner. Princess doesn't have that, but we found we had to be firm and direct in order to get our own table in the dining room.

Yes, you will stand in line for everything; the buffet, the bars, getting into resturants, getting on and off the ship. The pools are so small and they will be crowded and only a few lounge chairs will actually have shade.

The 6 - 8 hours you'll get at each stop will only be a glimpse for you to decide when to plan you land vacation there at a later date. That is if the ship even docks at the port of call. Ours skipped Jamaica without explanation.

On our cruises we found we were bored, bored, bored. We also felt trapped. For the people who say they are trapped at an all inclusive resort, they have either never been on a cruise or have no clue.

I've been to Pureto Rico many, many years ago and it was not one of my favorites. Since then we've been to many Carribean Islands and Mexico. Mexico is our favorite as there are many things to do off the resorts and it's one of the lesser expensive destinations to go to. It's also more convenient to get to than most Islands. It really depends on what you want to do on vacation.

ishkribbl

Green33- since you mentioned PR as your main focus, I replied about Culebra on that. We loved it; however, if you are willing to branch out to consider other ideas, I agree with KVR about your considering Mexico- we have had great trips to Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres- want to get to Akumal and back to Tulum to stay (rather than a day trip)- also interested in Isla Holbrox (sp?)- you really ought to do some research about coastal Mexico for what you say you want.
KVR hit the nail on the head about cruising as far as I am concerned. We would much rather rent a car, golf cart or boat (depending on the locale) and be on our own schedule. Peace and quiet and privacy top our list of things we look for along with that deserted beach and gorgeous view.
You don't say (or I missed it) where you are traveling from but I love the out islands of the Bahamas where you could most definitely find a great place to relax on a deserted beach- look at the Exumas, Abacos or Long Island perhaps. Just a suggestion.
Hope you find the perfect spot! Have fun!

clay1992

We are planning this cruise 4/10 from PR on Celebrity Summit, our agent is also a friend who said that Celebrity is not the frat croud, but the 40-60 age range. They are the top rated cruise for food and service and owned by RC. We booked a balacony room for $799.00/7 nights. We have not gone on a trip like this before, but many friends have and say it is wonderful. This trip goes from PR to five islands and has only one day at sea. Airfare was a little expensive, but all in all we hope this will be a great choice.

schmerl

Celebrity is definitely a step above...no frat crowd.

KVR

You never know if cruising is for you until you try it. Celebrity is one of the better cruise lines. Take lots of spending money or and 0 balance credit card.

Hummer911

Geez, so many cruise bashers. I've been on 5 now and have done many other vacations and I'm only 27. I found, especially when visiting a foreign country (yes P.R. is foreign), that the costs add up way more than a Cruise. For the person above that splurged and bought everything, well that's your taste or you got suckered into that stuff. Yes the pictures are expensive, as is the spa, but you don't have to buy that stuff and not be 'cheap'.

If relaxing is what you are looking for, either you do an all-inclusive or a Cruise. Planning a 7 day vacation in another country will drive you crazy. You won't know where to go first, what to do first, and you have to spend money on EVERYTHING. People forget that food REALLY adds up in Puerto Rico and everywhere else for that matter. A $100 hotel for 7 nights doesn't save you much when you are buying $13 chicken fingers or $15 continental breakfasts. Lets not forget taxi rides everywhere unless you want to risk your life renting a car in some of these 'exotic' locales. For relaxing, a 7 night out of Miami to P.R., St. Thomas, St. Maarten for $500-$700 per person cannot be beat. Air fare alone to those islands will cost that. If you are the explorer type that also likes to be waited on and enjoy great meals, the 7 night out of P.R. is the best. Princess / Celebrity / etc. do them and you get about 6 stops with 1 day at sea usually. There is no better way to see 6 countries, be safe, and have all you can eat for under $1000 per person. You could also add a pre or post hotel in P.R. to explore some of the city. Our boat docked in P.R on the 1st cruise scenario above in 'old san juan' and it was a complete dump. Ghettos along the coast, govt. buildings, and a spanish fort with lots of hills. Imagine a crappier verson of San Francisco. And yes, the 'local' restaurants all around Old San Juan were serving up $13 chicken fingers and $25 fish dishes. Save your appetite and go back to your boat and eat Steak or Fish for free with 3 people waiting on you.

With regards to the 'frat' crowd. Unfortunately, Late March/Early April is Spring break season so even the all-inclusives will have par-tiers as 18 + up is all that is needed for 'adults only'. Our 7 night to P.R. and St. Maarten in Mid March was 60% full of Spring Breakers, but it also left out of Miami. Since we're in our Mid 20's we didn't mind it as much and it wasn't 'rowdy' at all. They were much more behaved when compared to a 3 or 4 night bahamas cruise but the price is also 3x more so you get a different 'college' crowd. If you leave out of P.R. you eliminate most of that as college students aren't flying international and if they are, its to stay there in such places as Costa Rica and Cancun, not to then leave on a boat and especially not on a Princess/Celebrity cruise.

Waiting in Line: For buffets, yes, there are lines sometimes and that's just 1 downfall, but they aren't 15 or 20 minute waits like at a restaurant. People waiting on hamburgers but the chef has like 20 hamburgers on the grill. Atleast he's making them fresh in front of you.

Thousands of kids? Couldn't be further from the truth. Our last cruise had 500 kids and we didn't even know it until they told us on the last day. The kids programs are outstanding on these boats, and again, Families/Frat People/Kids take shorter cruises (3 to 5 Nights, on a budget).

If you think you really want to 'see' another country/way of life, visit Paris or Africa or Spain. After a day or two in P.R., you'll be wishing you were going to the nude beach in St. Maarten

Hummer911

-----and I forgot to mention that you also have to PAY to do things in these countries which can also add up. You aren't going to sit in your hotel room all night or then you'll really be trapped. A cruise provides nightly, free entertainment such as broadway shows, comedians (twice on a 7 nighter), magic shows, newly wed games, etc. Gives you something to do when the sun goes down and you don't like to gamble. Not to mention all the live music in the many bars.

schmerl

I TOTALLY disagre with Hummer's description of Old San Juan. Perhapds Hummer has traveled a bit, but seems to have no appreciation of history and other cultures. Old Sam Juan is NOT a ghetto or even close to it. If you learn the history of the forts it adds greater appreciation of the structures.

KVR

I also disagree with Hummer's concept of cruising. However, Hummer is entitled to their opinion as well am I. Mine is based on our experiences, and the things I dislike about cruising comes from what we experienced.

After 3 cruises, 14 AI vacations and 3 non-AI vacations. AI is the better value as you have already paid for food and drink and the "stuff" that cruise lines sucker you into paying are not available. Many AI's are adult only, so you don't have to worry about frat crowds or kids.

Part of the fun of planning a land vacation is just that - the planning. However, I did find it stressful trying to figure out what I can see or do on 3 - 5 seperate Islands in a 6 - 8 hour time period on a cruise. To each their own.

Hummer911

I appreciate history very much. I appreciated the forts and what they were used for. After an hour of walking around the fort and seeing the ghettos along the shore and the rip-off places to eat, I was very excited to get back on the boat and venture off to a much nicer place like St. Thomas. I couldn't have imagined if my whole 7 day trip was stuck there.

You won't see much of PR if your in some remote all-inclusive.

I'm not bashing All inclusives by any means. We had a blast at ours in mexico and thankfully so as besides the ruins, there was nothing to do there. The author's question was about cruising which most of the first few posters bashed.

You don't have to plan as the cruise ships have planned it for you with the excursion or you can easily research outside vendors to do excursions with. Or be cheap like we are and walk or find another couple to split the taxi like we do and get a personal, guided tour away from all the tourists.

gearheart

Hey, It's what you make of it. We took a cruise out of Puerto Rico. We loved it. Old San Juan is worth seeing (a day will do). That ship was Carnival and it was not rowdy in the least. It was nice to have a different country every morning without packing or driving or taking a train. The food was marvelous and there were no lines. There was plenty to do on board, although it was hard to get a deck chair by the pool on at sea days. Shore excursions can add up but they aren't all expensive. Or just walk around. Or hire a driver for an hour. And don't spend $10 for a drink. We drink, but we didn't on the ship. Fly into PR the day of the cruise, stay over a night when you get back and see Old San Juan. Attend all the "info" sessions on the ship so you'll know what's going on, and talk to people at meal times (we've made long term friendships that way). If you stay near the ship when it's docked, you can even come back on board for lunch, then go back out again. It's what you make of it. We're taking another cruise (from Tampa) in a couple of weeks. It's relaxing and fun. Read Cruise Critic. Enjoy.

RangerRick

My family just got back on a RCCL cruise that departed from Puerto Rico. I would highly recommend leaving a day or two early, flying to Puerto Rico and spending some time there first. This will give you a flavor of the island, then take a RCCL cruise leaving from San Juan. Take a taxi and exlpore the Old San Juan area (easily walked). Like another reader said, you have the opiton of doing what ever you like at each island, taking tours, going to the beach, staying on the ship, sunbathing or hiking. There are so many possiblities to choose from you can't go wrong. Meet new friends at dinnner on the cruise ship. You don't have to party if you don't want to. There are so many options from going to the live theaters productions on board the ship, movies, sports bar, even iceskating, mini golfing, basketball, casino, bingo, and the wonderful dinners. It's such an outsatnding vacation for the money. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Cruising is the best way to experience the islands and you don't have to drive to get there! You'll never regret taking a cruise because if you aren't having fun, you aren't trying. It's the best vacation anyone can take.