Have never been on a cruise before. Looking for some advice on a Caribbean Cruise. Live near Toronto, and guessing departure from Florida area. What are the best places to see in the Caribbean (Eastern Vs. Western)on a 5 night cruise? What is a good cruise line for a beginner cruiser age 28 for activities and night life? Is it best to book flight separate or package together? Any tips I need to be aware of? Thanks.

We're taking our first cruise together in January; although my SO has cruised before without me. My advice is to get a good travel agent who will tailor your trip to your requirements. What ports you're interested in may depend on where you've been before as well as what you're interested in seeing this trip. As far as booking flights, when we booked ours, there were a lot of variables to consider but we finally ended up booking ours separate.

Everyone you're going to talk to is going to give you different advice. What's good for them may not be good for you.

A good travel agent should make recommendations that will fit your vacations ideas.

Have fun!

Tough questions to answer really. My advice is to look at various cruises offered in terms of their ports, read about the islands and see what interests you the most. Some Carib. cruises depart from San Juan and Texas as well. I think you will get better air fare by doing it yourself but be sure to leave enough time to get to the boat. In any case price compare first. Bon Voyage!

If you're leaving from Florida and only sailing for 5 nights, your choices will be primarily limited to the Bahamas, or Western. I don't think any 5 day cruises (from Florida) go the the Eastern Caribbean simply because they cannot get there and back in 5 days and offer any real ports visits.

Carnival is a fun line for first time cruisers and they cater to good nightlife for people in your age group. You'll get a lot for your money, just don't expect a 5 star experience.

We always get a better price booking our own airfare, but if you've never sailed before you might make mistakes that cause you to miss your ship if you do it yourself. If you do book seperately make sure there's plenty of room BEFORE you sail for errors like late flights, weather delays, etc. We always fly in the day before to avoid these problems and found it to make the first day of the cruise much more enjoyable since you start rested and without worries.

I agree Carnival or Royal Caribbean is probably good for a first cruise BUT I'd definitely go for a full week not just 5 nights.

Agree with Hold, if you can swing it, fly in the day before. You can usually find a reasonable rate at a hotel which includes a free airport shuttle. Lots of people use priceline. Too much stress gets added if you fly in the day of and there is any kind of flight delay. I always book my own air and fly in the day before - you can usually find much cheaper air rates booking on your own too.

Would recommend Carnival. Have sailed with them 7 times. Have taken two Royal Caribbian cruises - but go back to Carnival. Its a tiny thing, but Carnival has 24 hour pizza which is great for those late night/early morning munchies after many beverages! Reasonable rates and fun crowd.

Also check out cruisecritic.com for tons of info.

Vacationstogo.com has reasonable cruise rates, and buycruises.com is very good too.

I have been on 2 short Carnival cruises and disliked the ships. I think the best short cruise (4 and 5 days) offered is on the RCCL Enchantment of the Seas. Just got back from there and have sailed her twice. Great staff, nice ship.