Input on next cruise
 

Hello everyone, I would appreciate input for my next cruise. My fiance and I are planning to go March 2012. We took our first cruise March 2010 on Princess to the caribbean for 7 days. We are looking to do another Caribbean trip as we love the warm weather, beaches, and snorkeling. After a cold winter it is always nice to look forward to being in the sun!

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a different cruise line or should we stick with princess. We had a great experience and really can not complain about anything except it was a little disorganized when we were trying to find our luggage after the cruise had ended. We had a balcony room and just an overall wonderful experience with everyone we came in contact with.

Having only been on one cruise before we would love the help of others who have much more experience cruising on deciding what cruiseline to use as well as what ship. I think we would prefer the newer ships.

Any advice and input would be greatly appreciated!!

Sure. try the southern Caribbean rte. on Royal. They do a good job too. Have fun. Larry :-)

www.cruisecritic.com

for best ship reviews

Princess is nice

RCL is nice

NCL for freestyle cruising lots like that

Carnival more kids

If it is about cruise quality go with the newest ships.

If ABOUT PRICE www.priceline.com www.vacationstogo.com

best values for me recently $429 for Western Carib balcony

on the Legend awesome value.

Happy Hunting,

Check all the iteniaries on all the cruise lines and then go with the one that interests you most. We've done 2 Carnival cruise and 1 Princess. I will never get on another Carnival ship even if it was free. We loved Princess and are booked for an Alaskan cruise this year. We are looking at a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on Celebrity next year as they have the inteniary that we are looking for. We like ships that have a more mature crowd, so I avoid RCL also. There is such controversary about NCL, so research carefully and determine it their type of cruise line is for you. I wouldn't hesitate to try them if I could find an iteniary that we would enjoy.

Thank you everyone! My fiance and I had such a great experience on Princess and also enjoyed there was not as many children. We are in our early 30s and have outgrown the big party stage. Dont get me wrong we still love to enjoy ourselves, but really enjoyed the atmosphere on princess. We loved the itinerary as well as shore excursions. We took full advantage of all the onboard and off the ship activities considering it was our first cruise. We went to St thomas, st lucia, Antigua, Tortola, Barbados. We did so much that next time we may try to relax a little bit more! haha. Thanks for the input.

Would you recommend Princess over Celebrity? Or does it really depend on the itinerary and both are great cruise lines? I cant see us ever cruising Carnival. I hear Royal C has fun ships.

We absolutely loved the food on the Star Princess, which when we decided to do the Alaska cruise it pursuaded us from not trying another cruise line. Plus we liked the iteniary. I really like the concept of free style dining on NCL, which most people don't. I won't cruise on any line that doesn't offer anytime dining. Since we are taking our elderly parents with us on the Alaksa cruise, I think they would prefer Princess' atmosphere over NCL.

My brother took his son on RCL when he graudtated from high school. That line has lots of activities for children and teenagers, which is why we have avoided. Carnival is just too partish for us and since you can get good deals, there are lots of families with kids on that line also.

We are considering Celebrity for 2012 because I read about their new line of ships and the amenties look great, they will be offering any time dining by then and are currently offering a pre-pay AI alcohol package, which we would benefit from. We tend to go on AI vacations instead of cruises. They also had the ientiary we are wanting. Princess didn't. Celebrities prices are along the same as Princess and we prefer an older, more mature crowd, even if we aren't.

I just returned from a RCCL cruise on the Allure of the Seas. yes, there were tons of kids, teens & every other age but the bottom line was, there was so many upscale experiences, we were blown away. We are mid-40's & easily escaped the crowds of a sold out spring break week. We never waited in crowds or lines for anything.

We had concerns about sailing on the "worlds largest ship" but honestly, it was incredible! Elegant, sophisticated are the words that come to mind. The food was fantastic & we chose to use 3 of the specialty dining options which were as good, if not better than $400 meals the 2 of us have shared in major US cities....unbelievable.

We spent most sea days lounging in the solarium pool area where no one under 16 is allowed. We also saw the superbly well done broadway show: Chicago. All I can say is, we are way beyond the "Carnival fun ship" scene but had no trouble finding a mature & elegant scene on this ship...at least take a look at it--it has so very much to offer.

We did the Celebrity Soltice last May for the Caribbean and it is to die for.. We had done the Pacific Princess two years ago and have decided that Celebrity was the line for us.. The Soltice is a gorgeous ship and rated much higher than Princess. There is a dine when you want program whose name I have forgotten. It is definetely a bit more upscale than RCCL, Carnival and NCL. My review of the Soltice is on this site.

I got married on Royal's Jewel of the Seas and went to the western carribean(?)in March 2006. Floor to ceiling glass so you have full view of the ocean - breathtaking! It's on the upscale level and their services are above and beyond. Romantic for couples. The only thing I would have changed is going to the Eastern or Southern Carribean instead. I heard NCL and Princess are for more of an older crowd, Carnival is definitely for letting your hair down and not worrying(going to bahamas 7/4 for 5nts. w/hubby and son). Good Luck- It's you and who you cruise with that makes memories!

Lynda

Princess is a good cruise line, and if you stay with them, the more you cruise, the more freebies you get.

On the other hand, compare other cruises, maybe you want to visit other ports, get more luxury, or maybe lower price - whatever is more important to you.

Thank you all for your advice and inputs.....I really appreciate it and continue to do my research, but all your inputs are really helping!!