My wife and I have been looking for a cruise in Jan/Feb '04 and have priced Carnival and RCCL via our local travel agent. Neither of us have been out of the country before, nor have we experienced a cruise before. We are in our mid-20s, have no children, and don't enjoy the party scene. We ran across a deal with a reputable online company that would be able to get us a package via Celebrity for the same time with a similar itenerary...for several hundred dollars less. Would there be any reason not to take this deal? All of the reviews put Celebrity a step above RCCL and Carnival. I have done some research and the sources check for the company. Any advice would be helpful.

Cruise lines run special deals all the time. I would hop right on it. My in-laws got a similar deal, and unfortunately, they will be traveling on the same cruise with us.

By the way, what ship, to where, and when?

This is just my opinion, but my husband and I found Celebrity to be a bit stuffy and mostly an older crowd. We cruised 2 yrs ago (we were both in our late 20' and not big on partying)on Infinity, and it was our first and only cruise. We're thinking about booking a Royal Carribean cruise this January.

My husband and I (44, 45) have cruised Celebrity twice, Infinity and Century. We loved them both. The service is wonderful, the food spectacular. The Infinity was nicer because it is newer. There were not many children at all which made it quieter but still fun.

You should try the couples Rasul massage if it's available...FUN!

Have a great time!

We are looking at a 7-day Southern Caribbean. The itenerary is San Jan, Casa de Campo, Bridgetown, St. George, St. Johns, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan. We would go in late January on the Constellation. The site had a package which, including air from our airport, we could get an oceanview for right at 2k. We could get a balcony for about a little more, and I'm thinking of doing this since the trip looks to be less than we planned. Is the little extra worth upgrading from oceanview to balcony?

That sounds like a great deal. We did the Southern Carribean route and paid a lot more than that for an outside cabin. I can't comment directly on the balcony, but if it's not much more it might be nice.

Also, I hope my first post didn't give the wrong impression. The ship was great and the ports were fun, we just thought Celebrity catered to an older, more affluent crowd. We still had fun!

Would help if I could spell Caribbean! ;-)

Celebrity is definitely not for the partying crowd, although if it's party you want, on your itinerary there'll be plenty of opportunity for "booze cruises" in the various ports of call.

By all means get the balcony if you can afford it. There's nothing like standing on the balcony in the morning as the ship pulls into your port of call, or when it leaves in the evening. Plus, on sea days (no port calls) it's a reliable place to sit outside if the chair hogs have consumed all the chaises by the pool.

The cost of the cruise is only part of the total expense, of course. Don't forget around $10 per person per day for tips, cost of booze, specialty restaurant, lattes at the Cova Cafe, excursions, casino...

Have a ball!

We also have just booked the Constellation for Jan. Same itinerary. We got the airfare and Oceanview together at a resonable price. I paid more last year during the same time frame. I have not sailed Celebrity line before.We sailed RCCL last year and did enjoy ourselves very much. Just would like to try something different this year. We have done Carnival and Disney. I would not hestitate in recommending RCCL to anyone either. This was just a very good deal I thought. Happy Cruising.