My husband and I are thinking of a first time cruise (Royal Caribbean) to the Bahamas in mid Feb. What should we expect? Inside /outside cabins, weather, etc. Any advice from you would be a great help. We are in our 40's.

If this is your first cruise, Royal Caribbean is an excellent cruise line, and you will totally enjoy your experience.

I personally would chose another destination other than the Bahamas.

That's probably the Sovereign of the Seas and it's sort of a dinky ship. If you want a great short cruise on a nice ship, look at the RCCL Enchantment of the Seas alternating 4 and 5 day routes.

Hi Budman, Why not the Bahamas? Not a nice place to visit? We will only be there for one day.
Thanks.

Hi LLindaC,
This is a 1st time cruise for us and a package deal with AAA. It states in the magazine - Majesty of the Seas. I heard this is an older ship (about 10 years old). Since we have nothing to compare to we were not sure how it measures up to the others. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks for your reply.

We are in our 40's , too. We took the sister ship, the Sovereign, to the Bahamas two years ago. I just thought it was kind of run down, the entertainment and activities weren't great. It was disappointing.Also, we don't like Nassau. The out islands of the Bahamas are nice, but when we do an Eastern route, we stay on the ship there. Too dirty, lots of hawkers. Some go to Atlantis; not my cup of tea. If you take the 4 day Enchantment, you go to fun Key West and Cozumel- great snorkeling there,some nice beaches, and some wild bars as well. Also, in Feb , the Bahamas can be cool. It was only 65 there and windy last Jan 20. This is such a beautiful ship and great staff. Compare prices through an online travel agency such as cruisequick.com or buycruises.com and see what rates they give you. Feb is a good time to go- no spring breakers and few kids.

Thanks for the input. I'll check out the websites you mentioned.

I think Linda pretty much sums it up. And no, I don't want my hair braided.

As an alternative, I would do Bermuda, but not during hurricane season. The seas get a little ruff.

Word of caution about mid-February. In many parts of the country public schools are out week of Presidents' Day - if you want to avoid kids, do not go that week.

In my opinion, there are better ships and itineraries. I would not consider any cruise that is less than 1 week long. Otherwise you feel like you're getting off as soon as you get on. If you're going to go at all, make it worth your while. NCL has some nice ships in that area also.
Enjoy!

I have been on both Sovereign and Majesty a few times. It is great for a first cruise. Do the 4 night to get the extra day at sea. The Sovereign was the largest Cruise ship built at the time in 1988 and the Majesty is the same except for balconies on the bridge deck. They are far from "dinky" as one said. The Enchantment is very nice and newer but about the same size. I am doing it in May for the first time. The Sovereign class at 880 ft and 74,000 tons is far from dinky. You will have a great time. Don't let any one discourage you from these ships or the Bahamas.

Thanks to all who responsed, we booked it! Looking forward to our first cruise!

You will have a great time. Pick an outside cabin, a balcony if you can afford it. It is nice to sit outside in private, order room service, etc. RCL is nice, Celebrity is better. Princess is the worse.
Have fun.