I am 28 and my fiancee is 24 and we are plannng a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean in January. we want this to be really relaxing and not super overpacked with annoying kids. we are not huge party animals either and looking for a ship with more people our age or older and mature. can anyone help?
2006-08-28 02:38:05 · 12 answers · asked by Al Bundy 4 in Travel ➔ Cruise Travel
If this is your first cruise - contact a travel agent, but do your research first and do it quickly. Book your trip ASAP to make sure you get the cabin category and date you want. You also might be able to take advantage of an early booking discount on some lines.
If you don't have passports, apply for them NOW! They will be required for all countries starting Jan 1 and, because of the demand, the passport offices are taking longer than usual to process passport applications.
Cruises break down into several categories:
Mass market - large capacity passenger ships, hit usual ports, geared toward families and low budget cruisers. A lot of people will recommend these because they are the ones most advertised, ie. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL. Stay away from Carnival - don't let the commercials fool you. Of these three I would recommend Royal Caribbean - nice ships, great service, lots of sailings and dates available.
Premium lines - passenger capacity varies from 684-2000+, some offer different itineraries as these passengers have usually cruised before. Better food, accommodations, & service, a bit more in price. ie. Princess, Celebrity, Holland-America, Cunard, Oceania. The last three on this list don't have children's programs so less are on board. Somewhat higher in price.
Of these I'd recommend Celebrity if you want only a 7-day cruise, and Oceania if you want something longer. Compare pricing and sometimes Oceania also offers free air or $199 RT air from certain cities.
Luxury lines - passenger capacity 110-790, unique itineraries, few, if any, children on board, all-inclusive price (meals, accommodations, ALL beverages, including alcohol, and gratuties). Yes, higher price, but at $7-10 for a drink and $2.50 for soda or bottled water on the other lines, about $30 per day average for gratuities and suites vs. cramped cabins and fewer people on board - these might be a good value. Examples: Silversea, Seabourn, Regent, Crystal, Sea Dream.
Although prices at this time are at a premium on all cruise ships in January, take a look I'd recommend Sea Dream (www.seadreamyachtclub.com). No kids, 110 passenger capacity, all-inclusive pricing, great relaxing itineraries.
Also, for something different, you might consider a Windstar cruise - www.windstar.com. Not the usual cruise and again not really geared toward children.
Contact me with questions or to discuss at gsa_stlmo@yahoo.com. I'll be glad to hear from you and try to help out.
Bon Voyage!
2006-08-28 05:09:34 · answer #1 · answered by T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
JUst stay away from Disney and Carnival cruise lines. Disney is full of kids and Carnival is full of young folks gone wild.
Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity or Norwegian will be best and also have much better food and accommodations than Carnival. These general go to the same ports stops but different port order so you can pick the islands you want to visit.
I went on a cruise on January 30 a few years ago out of Ft Lauderdale, Fl and it was pretty cool until we got to St Thomas. SO I suggest that if you are going that time of year that you book a cruise that leaves out of Puerto Rica so that you will have warm weather to sit on deck every day and enjoy the water better.
2006-08-28 12:57:50 · answer #2 · answered by TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have to agree with the others. I am the same age and have traveled with Royal Caribbean twice. They will have kids on-board, but they have their own activities and clubs to keep them occupied. They have so much to chose from. You mentioned that you are not party animals, well they have lounges that are quiet and relaxed and they also have dance clubs if one night you feel the urge to dance! Other cruise lines may be more "relaxing" but they will cost more too. I have always felt welcomed on royal Caribbean. I hope this was helpful...and DO stay clear of Carnival cruises.. my friend has done both carnival and royal Caribbean and she swears that R.C. is better by far and the at Carnival is nothing but a family cruise with lots of kids
2006-08-28 03:04:04 · answer #3 · answered by TP 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the others. Royal Caribbean is more adult (less kids) and quieter times. They do have activities for the under 30 crowd. Carnival is for the party crowd which by your post you do not want. NCL and Holland are much older crowd. Of the other bigger lines, I think you will find what you want.
Talk to a travel agent to get an idea of which cruises which fit your needs.
Happy Sailing
2006-08-28 07:05:35 · answer #4 · answered by jdomanico 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are not party animals go Royal Caribbean not Carnival.
All of the Carnival ships I have been on tend to have more young people onboard staying up all night.
2006-08-28 04:15:02 · answer #5 · answered by iglaia20 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Celebrity. Outstanding service. Not too many kids. The people tend to be a little older. Royal Caribbean is good to but there will be more kids onboard.
2006-08-28 02:48:04 · answer #6 · answered by troythom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would recomend either Royal Caribbean or Royal Celebrity Tours. Its the same company its just the two branches are geared torward different age groups.
2006-08-28 02:46:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Royal Carribbean, Celebrity or what was Regent Seven Seas (formerly Radisson).
The later is more upscale which of course severely limits little kids.
My wife and I are in the same boat (pun unintended) as you, and we sailed on Celebrity in the Meditteranean and Radisson (now Regent) in French Polynesia.
2006-08-29 05:39:52 · answer #8 · answered by thoughtdream 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look for an adult only cruise. If you cannot find one on the web, ask a travel agent. My husband and I really enjoyed our adult only cruise for our anniversary. It was on Celebrity's Millennium, a very classy ship. My husband's relative who is semi-retired and runs a cruise agency from home booked it for us. He is very knowledgeable and helpful. If you would like to contact him, his name is Sam and his web site is cruisingwithsam.com. You can tell him Cathy in Phoenix recommended him.
Have a great time!
2006-08-28 08:59:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We enjoyed NCL as they have casual dining where you can pick restaurants every night and hot have to get stuck at a time and table. The ships are grea tand you can do almost anything
We got a room with a balcony- it was terriific to wake up and see the ocean
HAVE FUN
2006-08-28 04:16:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋