Ships for the 50's crowd
 

My husband and I are looking to go to the Western Carribean in the winter. Saw cruises we like on RCCL Nordic Empress, HAL Veendam, Norweigian Line - Sky and Wind. We like to ballroom dance and I enjoy the formal evenings. Also, want good food! Looking for your recommendations please. Thanks.

We're in our 50s, like to dance, and have cruised on Princess, Celebrity and Orient Lines.

The food was best on Celebrity.

We could find places to dance on all three lines.

I don't know if this will help, but all 4 of the ships you mention are some of the older ones in the fleets of their companies. Any ship from RCCL that does not have "of the seas" in it's name is ancient. The Norwegian Wind and Sky were originally the Skyward and Windward. They were given a multi million dollar makeover and enlarged to fit into today's style ships. HAL will have a more mature group of passengers, with virtually no children on board.
All lines have lounges with dancing available, but I'm not sure you will have enough room to do it "ballroom" style.

Didn't realize they were older ship,but that doesn't bother me. It was the iteniery that made me choose those as possiblilites. Have cruised HAL before and liked it but was looking for something different. Is the "open seating" on RCCL still enable them to have formal nights?

I still think Radisson has the best product and they're offering 2 for 1 fares on the "Diamond" and maybe the "Voyager" Caribbean cruises this winter. I've cruised most every line but continually return to Radisson. There is 1 formal night on the Caribbean itineraries, dining is open seating and there is no charge to eat in an alternative dining room. The food is A++

Sorry.. the NCL Sky is a brand new ship about to be renamed to reflect the Homeland Cruising

thanks for all your help. I will look into the Radisson line. Did get some brochures on Celebrity and Princess. The itinerary I like best was the Dawn Princess and the Celebrity Galaxy or Constellation. Are these newer ships? A couple questions, are there adequate outside pools on these ships to just relax in the sun? I only saw one outside pool in the brochure for Dawn Princess. And what about the Celebrity? Also, are there piano bars or some type of lounge for some slow romantic dancing - the disco's are allright but I really prefer nice slow romantic music.
Also, one of the stops is Venezula - any comments here, is this a safe place?
Thanks for al your help.
PS I might relook again at the Norweigan sky. Another one that looked good was the HAL Oosterdam.

I just booked today on the Constellation. We are in our 50's. This ship set sail in 2002 so she is fairly new. I also liked the itinerary as it visits Grenada. It is a favorite of mine.

I would agree with the others in recommending Radisson. My husband and I also really enjoy dancing, piano bars etc. and Radisson does a splendid job in all regards. After cruising on Radisson you may find yourself as we did....difficult to go back to the HUGE ships with over 1,000 passengers. We enjoy the very personalized attention and intimacy of the smaller ships and no waiting in lines!

Also, they are pretty darn close to all inclusive with regards to complimentary wine and all liquor at dinner and in bar set up in the cabin (complimentary wine, beer, champagne, soft drinks and water). Also, it's nice knowing that all tips are included in the cruise fare. All of these can really add up. I've seen many who disembark after a one week cruise on Radisson with a ZERO balance owed.

Try Crystal. Sailed the Constellation to Southern and it was nice, but I prefer Holland or Princess. The 3 of them have good food. The Constellation is only a couple of years old. Most all the upscale lines have the type of entertainment you're looking for. Stay away from Carnival. We also went to Isla Margarita in Venezuela in March 2002 and it was a fantastic port! Had a great time, we hired a Venezuelan English speaking guide and he was great. I have his email address if you are interested.

Having just gotten off a Radisson cruise, I agree with the high recommendations. Unfortunately, my ship--the Song of Flower--was on its last cruise, so is no longer an option (it's being sold), but I'll undoubtedly be opting for other RSSC cruises in the future. Incidently, the true test of a cruise line--its performance when things go wrong--was passed nicely on this cruise. first, we encountered bad weather at Sorrento; plus a mudslide kept us from visiting Pompeii during that stop, so the captain decided to move the ship to Elba--an excellent choice all around. And, I'd made my air arrangements through the line (including a couple of days post-cruise in Rome). When they discovered that a strike was going to prevent my flight out as scheduled, they let me know, then moved me to a different flight to get me out before the strike.

The Dawn Princess would be a good choice. It has the older crowd and the food is great. There is a piano bar and a 50's band in one of the lounges. I don't think it had open dining as such though it did have the buffet type dining, if you didn't like the formal thing.