Good cruise to go on?

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sweetescapes_travel

I have to say that Royal Caribbean is my favorite. Try one of the newer ships like the Voyager, Explorer, Navigator, Mariner, Freedom, Liberty, Independence and no others compare! Rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, Flowrider (surf simulator), the Royal Promenade, Basketball, minigolf, pools, great entertainment, good food and amazing staff. If you are looking for a step above try out Celebrity. They are more laid back and geared for relaxation and rejuvenation, while Royal Caribbean is more for action. Carnival has some nice ship and the prices are always good. Good luck with your search.

yomera

This is my personal experience:
I went on the Carnival Ecstasy departing from Galveston about a month ago.
The ship was old and it looks like it has not been updated in 25 years. It was like a trip back to the 80's.
The food was very good.
The staff was friendly and the service was great.
The little bars were always half empty and sometimes I felt sorry for the musicians (they were good, but they were playing in an empty place)
The casino was nice, but I tried to stay away from it because I didn't want to keep losing my money.
The shows were just OK, the dancers need to learn more international dances. They just dance like plain cheerleaders. The singers were great. One night they had the guests perform. Unless you are related to them or friends with them, this really sucked. I could care less about some high school girls playing the flute or this other girl singing country music out of tune. Some people in the audience were very loud and I did not know if they were supporting the guests or making fun of them. The big theater felt like a huge low class family reunion. I left after a little while.
The pool was tiny and packed with people (yuck). I guess since it's on a ship it can't have a large heavy pool.
The ship was full of pre-teens.
Some of the activities were kind of dumb (I guess it's just not my type of fun) and at other activities that were kind of interesting they were always trying to sell you something.
The destinations were AWESOME. I went to Chichen Itza and one of the beaches in Cozumel and I loved it!!!! Mexican people are the friendliest people in the world!!!!!!! The guide in Chichen Itza was VERY knowledgeable.
I usually go to beach resorts and I always have a BETTER experience than this cruise. Better shows, better food (alcohol is included), better service, friendly people everywhere and it's even cheaper!!!!
If you have never been to a beach resort or a similar vacation, you will think the cruise is great.... but in reality they are not giving you what your money is worth. Also, cruises are more for families with pre-teens or teenagers. Parents can have fun without worrying where their kids might be (they may be out of sight but they can't go anywhere, they are in the same ship!), and those teens can go to the little teen parties that they have on the cruise.
As you can see, I personally prefer beach resorts over cruises. They are more fun and you can do a lot more!

baby_trif

I've been on 5 Carnival cruises, all to the Caribbean, and they've all been amazing. Two were 5 day and three were 7 day. Only place I would tell you not to go is Jamaica. People grab you on the streets trying to sell you stuff and the drugs and alcohol salespeople are the worst.

DIEGO M

As per my personal experience you need to think qhat are your expectations and then divide it between the cheap massive companies(Royal Caribbean, Carnival, NCL, Disney, Costa, MSC, Holland America, etc) and the Ultra Luxury small ship you are a Guest not a Passenger, you will stay in a Suite not a Cabin, you will make a Voyage not a Cruise kind of companies (Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Cunard, Windstar, Residensea).

Then where do you want to go?
Perhaps paradisiac, off the beaten track places , which are the most wonderful places on earth or you want to go where most Cruiseships unload/load their passengers?

CB08

I have been on cruises with Royal Caribbean and Carnival and I would not recommend Royal Caribbean. The entertainment is more family oriented on Royal Caribbean but the ships I've been on were not nearly as nice as Carnival's.

Jessie

carnival is all ive been on and i LOVE it. its very family friendly. and all ages can have a blast! my faves are the carnival glory and miracle. good luck!

Stan

In my opinion the best first time cruise is the Eastern / Southern Caribbean because there are lots of ports, all different so there is plenty to do. Miami is the largest cruise port in the world, however, it's a day away from the Caribbean which means you spend 2 days - one getting there and one back, just being on the ship. I prefer to leave from San Juan Puerto Rico.

Royal Caribbean is a little upscale, but still affordable. The Adventure of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas sail from San Juan 3 times in April 2009 and has 2 different itineraries. The ports are:

Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

and

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
St. John's, Antigua
Castries, St. Lucia
Bridgetown, Barbados

If you delay your trip until May 2009, you will save a couple hundred bucks and the itineraries changes a bit:

Bridgetown, Barbados
Castries, St. Lucia
St. John's, Antigua
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Island

and

Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao
St. George's, Grenada
Roseau, Dominica
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

You will have a great time.

Drampire

I've been on costa rica? and 1 or 2 of the carnival cruises. Carnival has a lot of good ships and I'd probably reccomend that.. Add me and ill drop you a message with a website or number of a good travel agent (my mom) if you need more info.

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