School Me on Cruises

I’ll just challenge your premise that October - December is too cold for beaches. Maybe panhandle (but that is also a perfect season) but south Florida, either coast? Thats just about the best time to be down there.

Others can weigh in on a cruise but look into a resort like the Gasparilla Inn, Breakers, Isla Bella, and hundreds more.

How old are you?

Taking kids?

I'd say try a 4 day out of Miami to the Eastern Caribbean and see if you like it, if you think it will work for you, just go 6-7 day with ports you really have interest in.

30-50s try Celebrity
60+ try Holland
Just want a party ship mixed with a Walmart, Carnival
With Kids RC on an Oasis/Icon ship that includes Coco Cay or Disney
Norwegian if you want somewhere between Celebrity and Carnival

I've not done Virgin, I have heard similar to Celebrity, but we build points on Celebrity and RCCL.

I would start with a shorter one though if you are unsure. Find a great deal and give it a whirl to see if it is for you. It's not for everyone. I really don't enjoy the rushed feeling of being in port. Just never feels like enough time to do what I want there. Sometimes its just an easier way to vacation with kids and mine enjoys it.

Also really do research on ships, watch youtube vids on them. Find out what year they were built or refurbed. Going on an older small RC ship will not be anywhere near the same experience as going on an Oasis/Icon. Amount of people on board, but also amenities can have huge differences as well.

My wife gets 1-2 free Norwegian cruises per year through her casino host and being their highest tier.

It's a decent way to travel virtually stress free. You can know absolutely nothing about planning an itinerary, where you're going, the language, etc and the cruise stage basically sets everything up for you.

The food is pretty good quality, especially when considering they are trying to satisfy thousands of people who all want to do their own thing.

I think 7 day cruises are better because the 3-4 cruises basically turn into a drunk fest. A 7 day cruise gives you a few days to drink hard and go to the casino or shows and a few days to relax and enjoy some port stops.

I actually prefer a cruise with drink and upgraded dining package to an all inclusive because when we go to high-end rall inclusives resorts, we just hang out in the pool and never leave the resort. And believe it or not, every cruise we've been on, we've always ended up meeting some really great people.

It would just be the wife and I. We like to drink, but not necessarily big partiers. I’d rather not be on a ship with a bunch of Walmart folks or kids, but that wouldn’t be a deal breaker.

I’m primarily considering the cruise for the actual cruise/ship part experience, not really the excursion. So we would leave out of New Orleans. If I have to fly to Miami, I’d be better off just vacationing there or going to Key West.

Thanks for the info, especially about researching the ships. That never crossed my mind.

Being relatively close to the port in New Orleans and the convenience/lack of extra travel expense are a big plus. I have actually done a 4 day where I worked a half day on Thursday, jumped on the ship that afternoon, then went straight from the ship to the office on Monday morning and was working by 8:30. Nice little weekend trip only using 1 vacation day.

I would recommend doing a shorter one for the first time as well. If you are doing less than a week out of New Orleans then Carnival is your only option. It will be what you make of it, no reason you and the wife can't have a good time regardless of the other clientele on the ship. I would recommend the 5 day over the 4 day just so you get the extra port day. You will hit Cozumel regardless but the 2nd port is sometimes Costa Maya and sometimes Progresso. Since you said you were more interested in beaches I would say Costa Maya (just get out of the main port to a beach club), but if you would happen to want to explore ruins or the city of Merida then do Progresso.

As a self described beach bum it is certainly worth trying once. Will probably be much more affordable than going to a panhandle beach for the same amount of days with food and hotel/condo. Go look at the message boards on Crusie Critc to research more on the ships and ports.

Avoid Carnival at at all costs
Royal Carib would be much better option

Cruises can be very relaxing without stress of worrying about meals, having to drive anywhere, etc. at ports you just do whatever cruise excursions you want
I never thought the ship felt crowded at all

only bad thing about New Orleans is that winding trip in and out of Miss River but at least you have a portal within driving distance and you don't have to fly anywhere
it's much better leaving out of Mobile or Galveston to go to Western Carib

7 day just means more days at sea and better ports
the 3/4 day cruise is likely just to Cozumel and back

we went over Xmas out of New Orleans, I would push it back to at least November to avoid any potential storms

If you want to go out of NOLA, I’d recommend NCL. They have the best ship (Getaway) porting there.

I’d suggest looking at Galveston. Carnival’s newest ship (Jubilee) sails out of there. The Breeze does shorter trips. Both are good ships.

Upside: value and a brand new ship. Downside: Party cruisers and lots of kids.

NCL does 7 night cruises on the Escape. Also a good ship.

Upside: Quieter, more sophisticated vibe. Downside: more expensive, limited open deck space, lots of upcharges especially for deck space.

RCCL has smaller ships for shorter cruises and one of their mega ships for weeklong.

Upside: Laid back vibe, innovative ships. Downside: pricier than Carnival, lots of families, cruisers who will spend the whole week telling you how much Carnival sucks.

Princess sails the Regal Princess out of Galveston. Really nice ship. For you & the Mrs., I’d recommend Princess.

Upside: Premium line, high quality food, relaxed atmosphere, few kids. Downside: everything on board will be pricier, traditional line may require dressing up more.

Shorter cruises are “booze cruises.” On every line. Those attract a younger crowd. They’re rowdier but everyone is there to have a good time.

In shoulder season (non-holiday/summertime), you’ll find fewer kids and families on weeklong cruises. You also get the best deals. (The week after Tgiving is usually very cheap on every line.)

Honestly, 8 hours is more than enough in every port. I’ve done 14 cruises and I’ve never felt like I needed more time in port. Research your excursions or find a good beach to chill out on. That’ll be plenty to do.

It is to me. I love sitting out there on sea days. Go get a frozen drink and sit on the balcony is fantastic.

Sailing out of SJ gets you access to islands you can’t reach out of Miami.

Puerto Rico is a US port, so embark/debark shouldn’t be that different.

Your airfare will cost twice as much.

quote:

---

balcony

---

Room service coffee and sitting out there in the morning is glorious.