Looking for information on cruises - any recommendations or ones to stay away from?

[mlktwins]

My boys and DH have only been on one cruise - Disney.  I've been on a Carnival Cruise a million years ago and a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands before DH.  The Disney cruise was wonderful, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much money again.  I'm not interested in Carnival Cruise for a family trip.  I think that leaves Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.  I'm looking for one to go on soon (February/March (but not spring break week).  Looking at Bahamas and Caribbean (I think Caribbean would be warmer).  Up to 7 days.  Family of 4.  We would have to drive to Florida to catch the ship because the ones from Baltimore (I live in VA) are longer than 9 days.

 

Any recommendations at all?  I'm a big planner and don't usually do spur of the moment trips -- LOL.

 

 

[Lanny]

I agree with avoiding    Carnival.   My impression is that Disney is top notch, but expensive. I have a Facebook friend (she was in my High School class) who seems to go on a Cruise every few months. I believe she uses Celebrity a lot. Good luck with your decision and enjoy!

 

ETA: She went on a Carnival Cruise a couple of weeks ago. It was free. She wrote that it was filthy and she won't go with Carnival again.  That was NOT the Carnival ship that had the bad outbreak a few weeks ago...

Edited January 19, 2018 by Lanny

[Twolittleboys]

We have been on several Royal Caribbean cruises and really liked them. As far as I have heard, Norwegian is quite similar as far as quality is concerned though there are certain differences (offered activities, dining choices etc.). I don't think you can go really wrong with either one (well, there is always the unlucky cruise with bad weather, illness etc. but that can't be predicted).

 

I would look at the cruises offered from where you want to leave from and see what itineraries/ship activities sound good to you. And then I would choose based on price.

 

Also, as it sounds like you want to avoid party cruises I would go for a longer (i.e. at least 7 days) cruise as shorter cruises tend to be wilder (I have heard, no personal experience).

Edited January 19, 2018 by Twolittleboys

[PinkTulip]

Another line to look into is Princess Cruises. We are big fans of Princess and Royal Caribbean.

[SebastianCat]

The only cruise our family has been on was Royal Caribbean, and it was wonderful.   The Cruise Critic website was very helpful to get tips and info about where/when to go, what to do, etc.

 

March is going to be full-blown Spring Break in Florida.  If you can wait, September was perfect for our cruise - the kids are all back in school, crowds were very low, and prices were at their lowest (but the downside is that September is the peak of hurricane season).   If you don't want to wait that long, you may get a great last-minute deal on something in February, keeping in mind that President's Day weekend will be busy as well.   I agree that a longer cruise length will help to weed out some of the party crowd.

[mom2samlibby]

I've only been on Norwegian.  I was impressed with them and would cruise again with them, if I had the chance.  

[livetoread]

I think RC is considered a slight step up from Norwegian, but pretty similar. I know the food is considered better overall. We’ve done six RC cruises, from small to big ships, and the experience does differ depending on the ship. The larger classes have more for the kids. The only ship that disappointed us for food was the Oasis, but it also had a ton of fun stuff, so there’s that. My parents have done both RC and Norwegian and say RC is a little better.

 

We are thinking about trying MSC - have heard good things and they are cheaper than RC.

 

FYI, if you want to save money, we always cram the four of us into a small, inside room and are fine (kids are now 19 and 16). We don’t spend much time in there anyway. Just make sure you get the Pullman beds and not the sleeper sofa which I’ve heard isn’t comfortable for one adult sized person, let alone two. If you need extra space for primping, one can also use the large bathrooms/showers in the gym. I do live in terror of everyone getting a stomach bug at the same time though, in which case one tiny bathroom wouldn’t cut it, lol. So far, so good.