Sassafrass

Thanks for all the prior advice. I am being such a nervous Nellie and still having a hard time with final decision because the exact dates and itineraries I would like do not match with the exact ships I want. I keep reading reviews and re-thinking each choice. Now have more specific questions.

How great is the itinerary that does Belize (cave tubing?) Cozumel, Costa Mayo or Roatan compared with one in the more Eastern Caribbean like Turks, Caymans, Montego Bay, Jamaica, etc?

We have not been to any of the ports and I do not care a bit. My only reason for one over the other is what I thought DD would like, and a friend of hers went to Belize and loved it. OTOH, she loves any beach and I've read Turks and Caicos are amazing.

I also wanted as much time as possible, but I guess six days rather than seven isn't such a big difference.

Boils down to
1. Dream out of Port of Canaveral to Mexico area 7nts
(Fantastic ship and first choice itinerary, but at least $200-$300 pp more for airfare and transportation, cheaper hotel perhaps.) The extra total cost of around $800-$1000 would pay for some nice dinners or excursions on Breeze or extra for hotel stay in Miami.
2. Breeze out of Miami to E. Caribbean 6 nts
(Fantastic ship, great price and easy flights, but second choice itinerary. Cost of hotel might be more than at POC, but Miami would be warmer.)
3. Liberty out of Miami to Mexico area 7 nts
(Favored itinerary, easy flights, but older ship)

How is weather in your experience or to your knowledge, in the Gulf in early March compared with Caribbean in March? DH says winds are always stronger in Gulf. Is he right?

I hate Miami airport and Ft Lauderdale was so easy last time we fly into it, that is affecting my thoughts? How much of a pain is it to go from Orlando to Port Canaveral?

Right now, I am leaning toward newer ship, Breeze, flying into Ft Lauderdale, staying the night at a hotel on the beach near the port, and not overthinking itinerary.

If you think the other itinerary is lots better, then how different is Liberty from Dream?

Is it worth the extra cost and land travel time for the itinerary to Mexico on Dream?

jacketwatch

FWIW GC has a famous stretch of beach as well.

We were once in Costa Maya in March and then it was pretty hot, like mid 90's easy.

For me I would go with the 1st choice as its the ship and itin. you want and its more but perhaps not excessively so. I mean if this is the one that floats your boat, no pun intended then do it as this seems to be the one you want the most.

Larry.

Sassafrass

Thanks Larry,

It was only first choice because of recs to look at the newer ships if we choose Carnival, and because we had pretty much decided on the easier (for us) departures from Florida. Then I got concerned about the weather after reading about recent storms, fog and skipped ports in Mexico. Never gave this much thought to any other trips/cruises, just saw something that looked interesting or fun and went with it. DH eliminated Breeze, did not like the itinerary, and is leaning toward Liberty. Looks good to me too. We'll see.

Frank

Noticed from your previous thread that you prefer Princess, we do too. Saying that, you probably will be disappointed with Carnival, in our opinion there is no comparison.

We have traveled frequently on Carnival, the last time on the Dream and found it to big with to many passengers. Since the Liberty had a $500 million renovation in 2011 and you prefer the itinerary, I'd go with that. It gets better reviews than either the Breeze or the Dream on Cruisecritic.

jacketwatch

Ok Sass. Have a great time on whatever you choose.
Larry.

andrews98682

When are you going? In winter, I'm wondering if it might be a little cool for the pool the first and last night of the cruise if you're going, say, in January.

Also, have you looked at other lines, or are you wedded to Carnival?