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OK, first you want to eliminate completed Disney and Holland America. Both have a majority of passengers at the opposite ends of the age scale with Holland America having mostly senior citizens on board.
The best two "party" cruise lines are Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Both cater to young people and families. Both will have kids on board but they also have free kids programs and areas of the ship to keep them occupied. My suggestion is Royal Caribbean because they have the most "on-board" activities; like ice skating, roller skating, mini-golf, basketball/volleyball, the rock climbing wall, and on the newer RC ships, the Voyager, Freedom and Oasis Classes ( http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/home.do;jsessionid=0000ucPAhktgX44dl8y2pyh4Q9q:12hdhu6tq?cS=NAVBAR ) they have the surfing simulator. You can meet people participating in all of these activities.
Both RC and Carnival will have activities around the pool each day where you can meet people and they both have a free admission disco each evening where you can "get down" and meet people. In addition, the cruise director generally sponsors a "singles meet & greet" very early in the cruise so you'll know who's there "looking" or wanted to meet up and have fun.
You will for sure want to look for cruises going to the Caribbean. Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and a private cruise line island. Those are great port stops for beaches and an opportunity to see Mayan ruins. My favorite of those stops is Grand Cayman because it has that great 7-Mile Beach that easily accessible by taxi ($4.) from the pier; no tour needed.
-Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas, St Maarten, a private cruise line island and maybe another island like Tortola or Puerto Rico. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. St Maarten is also mainly a beach and shopping stop.
- Southern Caribbean cruise itineraries typically start in Puerto Rico and go to Aruba, Curacao, and St Thomas and St Maarten, OR they go to the southern Caribbean islands like Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Lucia and maybe St Thomas and/or St Maarten. The main difference between these two itineraries, aside from the different islands, is the Aruba cruise has 2 "at sea" days with no port stops, while the other has a port stop about each day.
Some good Royal C cruises: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/search/vacationSearchResult.do;jsessionid=0000ucPAhktgX44dl8y2pyh4Q9q:12hdhu6tq?promoType=&cruiseTourOnly=false&dest=CARIB&duration=07&date=ANY&port=ANY&ship=ANY&selectedCurrencyCode=USD&price=ANY&state=&x=69&y=1
Some good Carnival Cruises:
http://www.carnival.com/find_a_cruise/Search_Results.aspx?SaveSearchToProfile=true&src=qp&dest=C&destinationText=C&minDays=6&maxDays=9&startDate=04/29/2009&cruiseMonth=April&endDate=04/29/2012&Senior=N&PastGuest=N
Norwegian cruise line is good, they cater to families and have mostly passengers in the range of age 35-40 and up. Its the line that you want to go on if you want to be informal for pretty much your whole cruise. They have formal nights like other cruise lines but they do not stress dressing up; they call it "dress up if you want to" night. Norwegian does have the most alternative eating places, but you will have to pay a fee of $10 to $20 per person per visit to eat at some of them. All other cruise lines also have these alternatives but usually only two such places. |
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