Only me Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I think my update got lost in my post about going to California. Dh has now suggested a cruise instead We have never been on one and I'm clueless. We want to go to the Caribbean in August. Since my kids are 16, 19 and almost 22 they of course will be too old for kids clubs. I want them to have activities they can do on the ship. I want to find something more on the casual side rather than fancy and stuffy. We would like more casual dining rather than getting super dressed up. My dd is helping me plan since in part this is a late graduation present (as well as an early anniversary present for me and dh). She found a ship that sounded wonderful (great pools, ice rink, and Main Street type area with things like ice cream shops and burger joints. That's the type of thing we would like rather than fancy steak type restaurants. That particular cruise was a bit over our budget. It looks like Carnival is probably the cheapest but I don't want to be disappointed with quality. I would appreciate recommendations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I've only cruised with Norweigan cruise line. We enjoyed that cruise line. They have both casual dining and fancier. Between excursions and on board activities, your kids will have plenty to do. I would check out cruise critic for more help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Disney! Disney! Disney! Seriously, it is the BEST cruise line and there is loads of stuff to do for adults and teens. There were loads of people on ours who didn't even have kids. The service can't be beat. We've done Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Princess, and none of them compare to Disney by a long shot. We're hoping to take another Disney cruise next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Wow the disney one looks awesome but is almost double the price of the others. I wish we could have gone while dd was working at Disney last semester since we could get a big discount Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 The ships you're talking about on Royal Caribbean definitely have a good reputation. The Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas are the largest cruise ships at sea, and they both definitely have that "wow" factor. Just seeing them is amazing. They are huge and they are gorgeous and there is definitely a lot to do for all ages you named. Still, I don't sail them, primarily because of price. My go-to is Norwegian. There is a brand new ship called the Getaway that sails the Caribbean year round out of Miami. It's a brand new ship, is gorgeous, has great reviews, and has a ton to do. More than can even be done in a week. In fact, my family will be sailing on that ship in September. This would be my top recommendation. Carnival is not a bad choice, either, but it depends on the ship. There are new, fantastic ships, and there are old, horrible ships. I would never recommend one of the latter. If I knew where you were interested in sailing out of I could offer more advice. Also, are you more interested in Eastern or Western Caribbean itineraries, or does it even matter to you? That will make a difference in my recommendation, too. P.S. I cruise a lot. I've already been on one this year, and I can't wait for the next in September! It's my go-to vacation. For whatever that's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbster98 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 We just took a 6 night cruise in March to the Carribean on the Carnival Breeze. I highly recommend it! What a beautiful ship with so much to do and good rates. The only so-so we experienced were the shows... they have been better on other ships we have sailed but there was always something else you could do besides the shows. With that said, however, everything else was great on the ship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Disney! Disney! Disney! Seriously, it is the BEST cruise line and there is loads of stuff to do for adults and teens. There were loads of people on ours who didn't even have kids. The service can't be beat. We've done Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Princess, and none of them compare to Disney by a long shot. We're hoping to take another Disney cruise next year. I agree with this. 100 percent! I would rather go on a shorter Disney cruise than any other line. Interestingly, my kids agree (they are 18, 16, 13, and 8 - so not just for littles). The service absolutely cannot be beat. We've also sailed with Royal Caribbean. We had a good time. It was certainly cheaper than Disney. But, you really do get what you pay for. Oh - if you can change your dates, you'll find prices cheaper. September and October are usually quite a bit cheaper because of the risk of hurricanes. I'm willing to take that risk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 We have to sail in early August due to college students. We would prefer south or eastern Caribbean. Don't really care where we depart from but would prefer most cost effective. So if a flight is more expensive but the cruise is less expensive that is fine and of course the other way. Most important to us is cleanliness, food choices and activities for the "kids". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Hated our Carnival cruise...there was nothing to do if you don't drink and enjoy listening to really loud music near a small salt water pool. The only thing I found to do during the day was a disney trivia game which was held in the casino. We went to 1 show and it was so so. The excursions were AMAZING though (we did cozumel and yucatan) but the boat time was boring with nothing to do. It was the Truimph post reno (after the poop cruise). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Loved our Norwegian Cruise Line cruise that we took in December. I'd love to go again, however my parents paid for it, so it won't happen anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 We have to sail in early August due to college students. We would prefer south or eastern Caribbean. Don't really care where we depart from but would prefer most cost effective. So if a flight is more expensive but the cruise is less expensive that is fine and of course the other way. Most important to us is cleanliness, food choices and activities for the "kids". There really are a lot of options, but I'd say check out the NCL Getaway I mentioned earlier. It's an Eastern itinerary. I love bigger, newer ships, and so do my kids. In fact, that would be my primary advice to you. Pick larger, newer ships. Someone else mentioned the Carnival Breeze earlier. I've not sailed on that particular ship but I've heard good things, so that's another option. Royal Caribbean's Allure, Oasis, or Independence of the Seas would fit that bill. So would the Freedom of the Seas from a size and activity standpoint, although it's a bit older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 We were on RC's Mariner of the Seas, which is not one of the great big ships, but was still really big. It was a good cruise, except that TWICE the toilets went out in our section of the deck. TWICE. For HOURS. Fortunately, we were on the top cabin level, so we only had to go up one floor to get to a bathroom, but still. We were in an aft facing cabin, with the extended balcony, and that was fantastic, because it was huge. From now on, I always want an aft balcony cabin. Indy and I slept outside on the lounge chairs the last night of the cruise (Eastern Mediterranean), and watched the stars, which were so bright over the water. I didn't feel there was as much to do on the RC, or NW, compared to Disney, but there was stuff to do. We were on the Disney Magic, which was their first and smallest ship, so I'm dying to go on one of the big ships. I thought the food on Disney was better than RC, but RC was much better than NW. That could be personal preference though. The food wasn't bad on any of them. On the Disney cruise, you eat at a different restaurant every night (it's a scheduled rotation), but your servers go with you, so they know you by the time the cruise is over. Ours was 12 days though, so they had plenty of time. The RC cruise was 14 days, but we had eat in the same restaurant every night (the menu changed every night), and we had to share a table with another family. Fortunately, they were quite nice, but we met another family who did NOT get along with the people they had to share a table with. Apparently the family we met was not quite liberal, while the other was very, very conservative, and kept trying to convince the other family that their beliefs were wrong. How annoying. We had the open seating on NW, which was fine, except there were plenty of times we had to wait for a table, and ended up going to the buffet. It wasn't a bad cruise by any means (we didn't get stuck at sea, so that's always a plus), but I wasn't a big fan compared to RC and Disney. Disney is expensive, but you do get what you pay for. OP wouldn't have the issue, but on RC, we had to pay for Han Solo to go to daycare if we wanted to do anything that he couldn't, which was ridiculous, as we had to pay for him to cruise. Also, if Indy ate at the kids club, instead of going to dinner with us, we had to pay extra. That didn't make sense. We had to pay for any soft drinks we wanted ($2.50/can), but fortunately, we didn't drink that many. On Disney, there was a soda fountain open 24 hours and it was all free. James Bond, who is a soda fiend, took full advantage of that. If he'd been with us on the RC, our bill probably would have been astronomical. Oh, we also had to pay for certain movies in our room. Of course they were all the movies we wanted to watch, and they were about $10/each. NW, was a long time ago, so I don't remember much about that one. Still, it's a cruise, so it's hard to go wrong. Cruises are our favorite vacations. As much as we love going to the Disney parks, Indy would rather go on a Disney cruise than to the parks. He had the BEST time on that cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Check this discount site out. My aunt has used it for years. We've never been on a cruise, but if we were interested, this is where I'd check. FWIW, I've heard lots of great things about Disney. The other trick I've heard (from my aunt, who has probably been on 30 or more cruises) is to check the age of the ship. She likes new ships. :) http://www.vacationstogo.com/ticker.cfm?t=y&sp=y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Has anyone here ever taken a transatlantic cruise on a repositioning trip? What can one expect other than reduced service which would not bother me a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 We just took a 6 night cruise in March to the Carribean on the Carnival Breeze. I highly recommend it! What a beautiful ship with so much to do and good rates. The only so-so we experienced were the shows... they have been better on other ships we have sailed but there was always something else you could do besides the shows. With that said, however, everything else was great on the ship! We went on the Carnival Breeze in May and loved it! It was our 3rd carnival cruise and our favorite. I actually want to go on it again trying a different itinerary. I got a super crazy deal of about $1200 for 4 which got us a super tiny room. We asked about upgrading once on ship and they gave a free upgrade the second day. We loved it! Now I want to go on a cruise! Oh and my friend and travel agent keeps telling me if I loved the breeze, I would live the Norwegian Getaway too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Has anyone here ever taken a transatlantic cruise on a repositioning trip? What can one expect other than reduced service which would not bother me a bit? You can expect great prices, and few other kids. It's mostly an older crowd on repositioning cruises. I want to do one with dh, mostly because I don't cruise to make friends and I just love being at sea. My kids do enjoy making friends and hanging out though, so they would be pretty bored, even on a ship with lots to do. We really like RC, but have only gone on the Freedom class ships (Freedom, Independence, and Liberty). There is tons to do and we loved them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2travel Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 My go-to is Norwegian. Our go-to cruiseline is NCL. Cruising is my favorite relaxing vacation! I don't have to cook, wash dishes, make the beds...time to plan another cruise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.