Tracey

We are considering a 4 or 5 day cruise this fall and wanted to find out which cruiseline is the best 4-5 day Carribean cruise? Not really looking at Carnival, but still open. Also, plz, no Bahamas cruise...<BR>Thx!!

Paul Therault

Hi Tracey,<BR><BR>I would go with the newest ship you can find. You may have to go Carnival.<BR><BR>Paul

Peter

Tracey - tricky advice from Paul to follow. There are no new ships from any line that do regular 4 or 5 day cruises. That means you will have to take one of the older ships from RCCL or Carnival. In my opinion, the older RCCL ships like the Monarch or the Majesty are in a little better shape than the older Carnival ships - just my opinion - keep in mind that I've only sailed RCCL and not CCL.

Paul Therault

so now I am giving "tricky" advice Peter? What is heaven's name does that mean? Just because of your hatred of Carnival, even though you never sailed the line, carry over to every thread you should not push your advice onto ships you do not know about.<BR><BR>The Carnival Imagination is much newer than the ships you mentioned and it does go to the Western Caribbean.<BR><BR>Let Tracey decide.<BR><BR>Paul<BR><BR>

Peter

Obviously, Tracey will decide. What I meant by tricky is: 1. No cruise line uses any of their "new" ships for 4 and 5 day itineraries; only their "older" ships. 2. "Newest" by what standards? The Imagination was built in 1995. The Monarch was built in 1991 but had a complete refurbishment in 1999. <BR><BR>

carol

I would go on RCCL any day before considering Carnival.

ellen

Carol,<BR><BR>Why did you say:<BR><BR> "I would go on RCCL any day before considering Carnival."<BR><BR>Had you sailed Carnival in the past 3yrs or had you heard negative things?<BR><BR>We've sailed Carnival 3x and RCL once, and now are deciding what line to take in Feb; I like the 8 day itinery (and new ship) Carnival is offering to Belize, Panama, and Costa Rica; too bad RCL doesn't offer a similar trip. Comments re: CCL vs RCL vs Princess?

Patty

ellen,<BR>In my experience, Princess has been a couple of steps above RCI in terms of service and food. I have never sailed Carnival. Given the 3 choices, my pick would easily be Princess.

carol

RCCL and Princess are both dependable lines and are good buys for the buck.<BR>Been told many times that Carnival is geared for a younger group and that the food is not as good.

redsock

I have been to Costa Rica (land tour for 2 weeks) and am going to Belize (cruise) next week. From all my research into ships, cruiselines, etc. I decided on my trip (which we needed to be a 5-dayer because we didn't want to leave our 1 1/2 year old too long) according to where we wanted to go. So many of the other details seemed a wash. Yes, I heard RCCL has better service, yes I hear Carnival is more fun, bigger rooms, better value, more kids to contend with (although not as many during the school year) the food on both nowadays is considered pretty much the same... and I found the prices to be pretty similar also. I go to cruisecritic.com a lot to get more information also. Especially on tours and ports of call. Anyways, we are going to Belize with Carnival because that was our choice port of call. I can write a synopsis in 2 weeks. We return 9/21, so expect an in-depth soon thereafter. Good luck in your decision. I also hear that as long as you go to have fun, it is all in your attitude!

labonds

bump. looking for more info...

we are looking at Princess and Royal Caribbean cruise lines for a shorter cruise. if all the biggest and best and newest ships are on longer cruises, we may change our minds!!

thanks in advance

simpsonc510

From a DIFFERENT Carol,

I happen to enjoy Carnival, and would choose it over Royal Caribbean, based upon my experience with both. I've also cruised on Princess, and would consider it to be a step above Royal or Carnival, if you are looking for a fancier ship.

I was just on a Carnival ship two weeks ago for a New Years cruise and had a wonderful time, and the food was exceptional! If Carnival has the itinerary you are wanting, then don't be afraid to go for it! The &quot;crowd&quot; on our ship was a wonderful mix of young and old. There were many kids on board as it was holiday time, but they were NOT a problem.

Carnival Fantasy (the ship I just sailed) happens to be an &quot;older&quot; ship in the line, but it has been voted #1 by the passengers for at least 6 weeks in a row. Food, service, cabins, space... it is all taken into consideration when rating the ships in the Carnival line.

Which ever one you select, have a great time!

Carol

BudgetQueen

I too thought Carnival food to be very good, in fact on par with my recent Princess sailing. Overall- all lines have dropped a &quot;notch&quot; but cruising has never been cheaper. Carnival wins hands down with their pizza- open 24/7 and many times a great breakfast for me.

suanniammsncom

Hi,
My family really enjoyed our 4 day cruise on the enchantment of the seas. I did research this ship and found it had great reviews. The food was just so-so but kids clubs, entertainment was great. It was a beautiful ship, in good shape and went to key west/ cozumel which we enjoyed alot because we are snorkelers.
Susan