Best Cruise Line?

Question

My husband and I are looking for a cruise line that has lots of ammenities (including multiple pools), excellent food and few children (and I'm including teenagers in this category). We're definitely not looking for a singles cruise either but we're in our early 30s and we wouldn't mind cruising with people our age. We're interested in almost any destination but we're currently looking for something tropical.

Answer 1

Ok let me first qualify this by saying I am going on my first cruise in October on the Norwegian Pearl. It is a 5 night Western Caribbean. I have researched every cruiseline and Port of Call and their shore excursions. First, go to www.cruisecritic.com and fill out a short, free registration, and then go to the reviews of every cruise ship, and shore excursion that exists. Even some private shore excursions not sponsered by the ship. I am freestlye cruising, which means no set times for dinner or rigid schedules to follow. If you take a shore excursion through the ship, and the tour is late getting back, the ship will wait. Almost every ship I looked into (even Disney) has adults only hot tubs, pools, and a private section on their island for adults only, but naturally they will have a higher ratio of kids on board. Even on the Norwegian Pearl, during a shcool year, I was surprised at the number of people bringing kids, but again, separate pools.....etc. I would start with cruise critic, but, DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF crazy with some of the knit picking individuals who always seem to have something negative to say, you will lose your mind. The way I found my cruise, I went to a travel website, in my case travelocity. I "searched cruises" entered month and year, # of days I wanted, and general destination. And boom, about 20 cruised popped up that I could compare, THEN I went to cruisecritc, and checked the reviews for those ships. It is a tremendous amount of fun just planning the trip, If I had your email I could give you more info once I get back on Nov 2nd. Or you could book the NCL pearl their are a lot of young married couples on honeymoon on this cruise. Until December 31,2007 a birth certificate is all you need, after that Jan1,2008 you will need a passport, and will need to aply NOW in order to get it in time. Sorry so wordy. Good Luck.

Answer 2

This is a hard one because you are describing two different kinds of ships. Usually the ships with the most amenities are the family (kid) friendly lines, such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean (RCI) and Norwegian (NCL). The ships with the most amenities, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas (due out in the spring of 2008) also attract a lot of families, which include children. I was on the Freedom of the Seas at the end of June 2007. There were 4200 passengers on board, and about 800 - 1000 were under the age of 18.

Ships most likely not to have children (Seabourn, Silversea and Regent), have passengers that prefer to entertain themselves. As a result, these ships, which are expensive, have less amenities. These ships might only have one pool plus one specialized pool. However, the food on these ships is five star quality.

Thus, I would recommend Princess, Holland American Line (HAL) and Celebrity, especially when school is in session. HAL and Celebrity are less likely to have kids then Princess, and in fact might not have any during traditional school time. These ships do have more amenities than Silversea, Seabourn or Regent, have multiple pools and better food than Carnival, RCI or NCL.

Answer 3

in case you cherished your Disney cruises, i'm optimistic you would be very dissatisfied via Carnival cruises. A Disney cruise is greater high priced because of the fact it is greater-end. You get what you pay for. because of the fact Carnival cruises are lots greater fee-effective, in addition they entice a distinctive crowd than Disney cruises. it is like comparing the individuals you locate showing on the ninety 9 cents save vs. human beings identifying to purchase at Neiman-Marcus. the individuals on your cruise can particularly make or wreck the adventure you have.

Answer 4

Go on a Royal Caribbean cruise. The Liberty of the Seas (Launched in May) is incredibly fun & beautiful. I'm in my early 20's & loved it as did my parents.

Answer 5

My honeymoon cruise was on Norweigen. The freestyle dining is amazing with 9 different restaurants to choose at any time, any day. Don't worry about being back on board at certain times to get to that 8:00 dinner. You can even eat 5 times a night if you wanted to. As for everything else. It's the same as all other cruise lines. Shows, game, activities etc etc. its all about the food and you cant go wrong here.

Answer 6

Royal Caribbean hands down!! It is very family oriented....most of the children are kept in Adventure Ocean (cruises daycare ages baby-17) and Ive seen very few teenagers on them..Ive been on 2 my 3rd one is in 3 weeks!!

Answer 7

I would go Royal Caribbean. It's my favorite line. I've been on Princess, NCL, Royal and Disney.
Go for one of the larger ships, Adventure of the Seas, or Radiance of the Seas. The Adventure has 3 pools, so you don't have to be around the kids.
Lots of activity at night for your age group too!

Answer 8

i personally like NCL, avoid lines like disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival if you dont like kids. But depending on what time of year you go, there wont be many kids no matter what line you choose. Unless you choose disney.

Answer 9

I would go with NCL or Celebrity. They are catered to an more mature crowd and have tons to do. Also, when you are booking your cruise, be aware to avoid normal vacation times (winter break, spring break, summer) because there will be more chikdren/teens than normal on almost every cruise line.

Answer 10

Royal Caribbean is the best bet. It also helps to travel when the little darlings are in school.