We are thinking about departing from New Orleans and we'd like to stay for more than a few hours at each stop. We would prefer Western Carribean and multiple ports of call. Thanks for your help!!
2007-02-04 08:00:59 · 7 answers · asked by Andrea 1 in Travel ➔ Caribbean ➔ Other - Caribbean
Check out lots of different ones. I recommend Carnival if you want a more party atmosphere. Royal Carribean if you want more romantic, pampering atmosphere. They are both great--highly popular and also slightly cheaper than some others. Avoid Norweigan. New Orleans is a great starting place b/c you can get much better rates as they try to get their tourism up and running again.
Western Carrib is a great choice. I loved Cozumel and Belize. When you have limited it down to a couple boats, check out
www.cruisecritic.com
www.cruisemates.com
www.cruisereviews.com
They will have reviews of the cruise from people who just got off the boat and you can read what shore excursions they liked and didn't like.
All the food is provided, as are tons of other stuff-- but you'll need extra $$ for alcohol consumed and for shore excursions. I'd probably plan to only do one shore excursion as they are the most pricey. And one port you may just want to wander around. Or stay on the ship and enjoy having your own personal waiter as most people are off the ship.
Go ahead and get your passport in advance. Even though it's not required by the government yet (but it is if you need to suddenly fly out) I've heard Royal Carib is requiring it. As far as packing goes, that question is on here tons so you can search for it. If you buy your own snorkel stuff ahead of time, it will save you lots of money. Look over the shore excursions before you go so that if one really catches your eye (like a Dolphin excursion) you can sign up for that as soon as you get on the ship. If you are a AAA member, they have excellent trip advisors.
There is very lil difference between a larger ship and a smaller ship. A lot of times the larger ship has better shows/comedians, the smaller ships have better service. It's great either way!
Buy Trip Insurance especially if you are thinking of anytime during Hurricane season. It's not that much extra but if for some reason they cancel your cruise, you'll get your money back. Without trip insurance you are out of luck.
http://travel.state.gov
Cruises are great and you are going to have a blast no matter what you ports of call you pick or what shore excursions. Relax and Have a great time!
2007-02-05 10:45:02 · answer #1 · answered by phantom_of_valkyrie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't know your age or budget, but I'll make 2 suggestions.
If you want a unique cruise, with great port, and all-inclusive pricing (alcohol and gratuities included) then I'd recommend a SeaDream cruise. You can check out the ships, itineraries and pricing at www.seadream.com.
Otherwise, I'd recommend Royal Caribbean cruises. Nice itineraries and a cruise to fit any budget. However, these types of cruise ships just don't spend more than a 1/2 day in any given port. I'd also stay away from port of New Orleans - still not up to par. Royal Caribbean has departures from Galveston. Nice cruise.
Hope this helps.
2007-02-04 16:30:38 · answer #2 · answered by T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can avoid the New Orleans starting point, check out Windjammer cruises. The ports of call are better & there are theme cruises to select from if you want to be a little more adventurous (ie. pirate week). The ships aren't as large as say Carnival, RC, etc, but they are owned by Carnival.
2007-02-04 09:53:15 · answer #3 · answered by Angela 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best caribbean cruises usually depart from Florida or Puerto Rico. You can check out royal caribbean... I've done a caribbean cruise recently with them and it was awesome...Also if you're looking for a good cruise price...you should check out Hotwire.com.
2007-02-05 10:37:54 · answer #4 · answered by rocafellahottie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have gone on 2 cruises and by far the Caribbean was the most sunny. clean and fun... snorkeling was great... ports of call were so interesting and beautiful... We have gone on the Pacific side and the ocean was alot dirtier.. water was cooler and just not as nice as the Caribbean.
2007-02-04 09:02:01 · answer #5 · answered by redmonte 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
many nice cruises
2007-02-04 08:46:02 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to Trip Advisor's forum pages. There is sooo much information written by experienced travelers.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i10703-Cruises.html
This forum should answer any question you have, and if not just make an account and ask the question yourself. So many people are willing to help you on there!
2007-02-04 09:36:34 · answer #7 · answered by crashhhintome 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are websites that do this for you--
Cruisefinder.com or something.
Google it. Try googling:
cruise find OR finder
2007-02-04 08:05:16 · answer #8 · answered by sarahg 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋