Cruise in Feb

Hi all

So I have been wanting to go on a cruise for a very long time now but the problem has always been the Rand any other currency exchange rate. We are considering going on a cruise next Feb before we attend a work conference in Phoenix 9-12 Feb. My husband cant get much time off and we are on a tight budget but I would love to share an island cruise with Him if all works out right. So here are a few questions I have:

- Where is it HOT to cruise to max 7-8 days that we can enjoy the full swimming experience? We preferably want to set sail from 31 Jan.

-What cruise line is great value for a married couple in their 20's. No children yet. Romantic with some luxury but also great food and entertainment!

-Where could we book this cruise to get the Max amount of bonuses etc.

Thank you very much!

Do you want to cruise from California or Florida?

I would say you'd have fun on Carnival. It is no longer the 'party' ship it used to be. It is a family ship but their kids program is so good you seldom see the kids! It has passengers of all ages.

Royal Caribbean is also a good choice. They have some big ships with all sorts of fun things to do. This is a Flow Rider- surfing on land-, a very tall climbing wall, and some have ropes courses. We were on the Freedom of the Seas this spring, 4,200 passengers and we never felt crowded at all. (our 1st cruise in 1985 had 800 passengers.) These bigger ships also have an indoor promenade where you'll find all the shops, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, etc. and there are inside cabins with a window looking down over this promenade. One night they have a fantastic party there with music & dancing, wall to wall people all having fun!

Celebrity is more of a county club cruise, more older people, more formal. A friend was turned away from the dining room because he wasn't wearing a jacket.

Holland America is also know for having older passengers- many go to bed early so there's not a lot of night time activities.

You can go on line to see the different ships of the different cruise lines. You will find out all sorts of things about them here. Let us know if you have any more questions!

So I was thinking since my husband is really an island kinda guy and I love entertainment and we both are quite the foodie we should do one to Eastern Carribbean. I think Florida would be the best bet to get on then? I was in LA last Feb and it was sooo cold that I wouldn't dare wearing shorts let alone swimming. Will it also be like this in the Carribbean or will it be mostly island weather?

Also where are the best deals to book through. Here is SA it doesn't seem that travel agents can offer any better than the cruise sites themselves?

There really are no "island cruises" (other than Hawaii) from California, so Florida ports should be considered - anything eastern or southern Caribbean, likely from Miami or Fort Lauderdale - on NCL, Carnival, Royal Caribbean or, possibly to a lesser extent, Celebrity, should be considered.

I'd go from Florida--almost any cruise to the Caribbean will be warm that time of year (really, any time of year), but the warmest will be the Southern route--also my favorite route. Next choice would be Eastern, then Western. We enjoy all.

All the major lines provide a nice experience. Carnival and NCL will most likely be the cheapest, with inside rooms sometimes $300 or less for 7 days. RCI has the most to do, especially on their new, big ships.

Princess and Celebrity are a little more upscale, but also somewhat quieter with an older crowd, although there will still be plenty of younger people, especially on 7 day cruises. I haven't sailed Holland America, rumored to be an older crowd yet.

Honestly, we've enjoy every cruise on the 5 lines above. If you can swing the price, I'd go with RCI, just for the entertainment activities. However, the destinations are not quite as good as some other itineraries on those ships, at least for us, mostly because we have been to those islands a lot.

Saw Royal Princess listed. Going to Southern Carib. in Feb. This ship runs all three routes. Western, Eastern and Southern. Sails out of Fort Lauderdale, however, all 3 cruises are 10 day. For us, 5 to 7 days is too short. Happy sailing. Harry

Would suggest that time of year out of Caribbean

Would suggest for a cruise line either royal. Princess or carnival

Royal and princess are more upmarket with better service

All should give you good 7 day trip with good weather

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As you will be in Phoenix, you might also want to consider cruises originating in Galveston, TX or New Orleans. I believe those ports are served by Carnival and possibly Norwegian for Western Caribbean itineraries. I haven't traveled on either of those lines but I have read positive reviews for both lines from people in your demographic, particularly with respect to activities on board and specialty restaurants. Look for detailed reviews here from gambee - they are fun to read and very helpful. He also has a blog - if you search gambee and cruising you will find it.

I traveled on Princess in March 2012 and really enjoyed it. There was a nice mix of ages and it didn't feel top heavy either with older folk or with kids. The food was good in the MDR and there were lots of ship activities. Evening entertainment was good but not great.

If food is important to you, you can search on Cruise Critic for the top recommendations with respect to food quality. The same goes for things like entertainment, decor, etc.

Good luck!

Florida cruises leave from Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Miami & Tampa. Tampa is only western Caribbean and Jacksonville is only 5 days, think only to Nassau & Freeport and is too short.

As some other posters have mentioned, there are some ports you can leave from other then Fla ports, but Ft Lauderdale or Miami departures will offer you the most options of lines/ships, itineraries and length of cruise. And you probably can get the best prices and routing and more likely nonstop flights to either of those two cities from Phoenix.

Having cruised winter time a lot, I would suggest Mexico, Belize, Honduras or Eastern Carib below the Bahamas. We have been to the Caymans, Bahamas and Jamaica and the water was cool in Jan and Feb. We had to get to Grand Turk before the water warmed up enough to suit me. The Southern Carib should be awesome.

/That time of year, you'll want the Southern Caribbean. You don't want any stops in the Bahamas or Bermuda....the weather is more like Florida, and while it could be warm, it won't be as nice as further south. It's warm/hot in the S. Carib. ALL YEAR ROUND!!!!

Florida is definitely the way to go for a departure point.

My wife and I have been cruising for over seven years and we really like RCI. We have no kids and find the Freedom class and Oasis class ships to be a great mix of what you are looking for in a ship-entertainment, islands, and food.

I will admit, cruise food is, well cruise food. So unless you do a more upscale cruise line, then for the most part NCL, Carnival, and RCI food will be about the same. Yes, some ships have different venues or signature restaurants, but unless you want to spend extra money, the main dining room and the buffets on many ships are very similiar

Bigger ships have more venues to choose from for both dining and music/lounges, so you should find something to suite your tastes.

We travel mostly in January and February, to escape the New England weather. You tend to get better weather in the Eastern Caribbean than the Western Caribbean.

Have fun and enjoy!

Caribbean sounds like what you want, and in my experience, the farther south, the warmer and more reliable the weather. Also, the water is warmer for swimming. So I'd say a southern Caribbean cruise.

Florida is the best mainland departure point, but it means you have to sail farther to get to the south. San Juan, Puerto Rico will start you off farther south, and it's a lovely city. But it's expensive to fly there and really expensive to stay there before the cruise (unless you stay in the suburbs). In my opinion, it's worth it to start from San Juan, but when you're on a strict budget...

Agree -- go the Southern Caribbean route -- warmer. Either out of Ft Lauderdale or Miami.

I would suggest Royal Caribbean.

Being as you are from Africa, you may have to book the cruise line itself if you don't have a reliable cruise agency where you live.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

Consider a SOUTHERN Caribbean cruise on a Princess Ship. One that goes to at least one of the ABC Island (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) would be especially nice. :D

LuLu

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

Consider a SOUTHERN Caribbean cruise on a Princess Ship. One that goes to at least one of the ABC Island (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) would be especially nice. :D

LuLu

I agree. Our Feb. 17th. cruise on the Royal Princess.

Ft. Lauderdale sailaway to Princess Cays for a day.

St. Thomas

Dominica

Grenada

Bonaire

Aruba

10 days of bliss. Water temp. is usually around 80 degrees F.

Harry

Celebrity also does the Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale in February...we are booked on a ten-night "Ultimate Caribbean" on the Equinox, which has four sea days along with stops in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Barbados, St. Kitts and Dominica. After the horrible Chicago winter that we just had (and which is predicted to be the same this coming year), we are anxious to get to the Caribbean.

Wherever you end up, have a great cruise!

We've been on the 10 day Princess Southern cruises; love them. This Dec. we're booked on a 14 day Celebrity exotic that also heads south--even better!

While Southern Caribbean assures warm cruising - there is nothing wrong with Eastern: San Juan, Virgin Islands (US and British), St. Maarten, etc. will all give warm water and warm weather - you do not want Bahamas or Turks & Caicos on itinerary because they can be cool.

I will be taking the Carnival Dream in February, always come home with a tan and lots of fun!

The Southern route is where we go when looking for warmer weather and water sports in March. We like to include Aruba and Curacao.

Many ships go to Aruba and Curacao. A few also go to Bonaire.

Check a weather site for average temperatures on the islands.

No one has mentioned sailing out of San Juan. Weather is guaranteed to be hot and humid at the beginning of Feb whereas Florida can be more iffy. There are 7 day cruises that are port intensive - you don't waste time sailing from a Florida port to the first island.

Maybe check out NCL...

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138east, yes, I did mention sailing out of San Juan earlier. No question, San Juan puts you closer to the southern Caribbean. Sailing out of Florida, you risk one or two days of rainy, cool, cloudy weather.

I love San Juan, for itself, and because it puts me closer to more reliably good weather. But SJ is expensive. Hotels in the old city can cost a fortune. Flying into SJ costs us much more than flying into Florida (for us, we fly from Canada). OP mentioned there was a budget concern.