2006-11-29 02:57:54 · 7 answers · asked by ? 6 in Travel ➔ Caribbean ➔ Other - Caribbean
The big question here is how structured you want your cruise to be.
Both Carnival and RCCL have "assigned" dining times and various dress codes for dinner (formal nights, casual nights, etc.), where NCL has "Freestyle" dining. In other words, they have 8-12 restrauants for you to choose from, and you eat when, where, and with whom you want - and dress as casual as you please. Another aspect of NCL, is that they have - very quitely over the past few years, been building many new ships. They have a pretty young fleet.
You asked about which cruise to take - if you're only able to do a 3-4 day cruise, you'll only be able to get to the Bahamas and back - a nice intro to cruising. A 7-night cruise from Florida will get you to Eastern (my wife's favorite for shopping in St. Thomas) or Western ports (generally more adventurious shore excursions). For a Southern Caribbean cruise (my favorite), you'll need to fly to San Juan. The decision here is that the airfare to San Juan is about $200-300 more per person than airfare to Florida. So your budget does come in to play in both departure city and cabin selection.
A quick scale, from least expenseive to most expensive cabin types is: Inside; Oceanview; Balcony; Suite. The best location for least motion is as close to mid-ship as possible - another factor that not too many people realize is that the higher decks have more motion than the lower decks.
Some final thoughts; 1) make sure you use a good travel agent; 2) ask your travel agent to price out "Celebrity Cruise Line" for you - they're a sister company to RCCL, and absolutely the best (our personal favorite!); 3) remember that August - October is hurricane season; and, 4) remember that "value" and "price" do not mean the same thing - go for "value".
Have fun - planning is a big part of the enjoyment!
2006-11-29 12:26:41 · answer #1 · answered by travel guy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Royal Caribbean Cruises are the best as it provides variety.
2006-11-29 04:04:14 · answer #2 · answered by RACQUEL 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
carnival. they have a lot of different destinations to the caribbean for 3, 4, 5, 7 or more days. i actually am going on a carnival cruse next month to jamaica and i can't wait!!!
they are waaaaay cheaper than royal caribbean, etc..
2006-11-29 03:04:09 · answer #3 · answered by loveable_cancer83 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Carnival is cheaper than most but I have heard a lot of negatives about them. My favorite is Royal Caribbean. Not too expensive and very nice.
2006-11-29 04:45:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Royal Caribbean has more routes
2006-11-29 12:03:59 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Carnival. Their shipboard programs are fun. They offered different routes for western Caribbean, which I think are better.
I would check Expedia.com or VacationsToGo for prices.
2006-11-29 03:19:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Carnival. They leave out of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
Call your travel agent and ask them for the best times and prices.
2006-11-29 03:03:13 · answer #7 · answered by BUPPY'S MEME 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋