First time cruiser

Hello

My partner and I will be going on our first cruise in January 2015. We'll be going on the Royal Caribbean - Mariner of the seas, leaving from Singapore for 7nites.

Is there any tips cruisers can give us.

Thanks :)

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Hello everyone! I am new to cruising so I would love advice or feedback. Last spring break I took my children on a carnival 7 day cruise (conZumel, roatan, Belize, Nassau) that they loved! They loved carnival camp & met great friends. This spring break I would love to take them on another carnival cruise (st kitts, st maarten, San Juan & grand Turk). My husband wants to try royal carribean or NCL- but I am unsure of how kid friendly they are. The RCCL cruise I found goes to (Labadee, Falmouth, cayman, Nassau) or (st maarten, Nassau, st Thomas) while NCL goes to st maarten, st Thomas and Nassau.

My question is which cruise line out of the 3 is the most kid friendly AND also which itinerary is fun/best? I would love to go to st kitts, st maarten, and grand Turk) but Haiti and Jamaica also interest me but I haven't found too much good reviews on Labadee and Falmouth. Any help is appreciated :) thanks

Hello everyone! I am new to cruising so I would love advice or feedback. Last spring break I took my children on a carnival 7 day cruise (conZumel, roatan, Belize, Nassau) that they loved! They loved carnival camp & met great friends. This spring break I would love to take them on another carnival cruise (st kitts, st maarten, San Juan & grand Turk). My husband wants to try royal carribean or NCL- but I am unsure of how kid friendly they are. The RCCL cruise I found goes to (Labadee, Falmouth, cayman, Nassau) or (st maarten, Nassau, st Thomas) while NCL goes to st maarten, st Thomas and Nassau.

 

My question is which cruise line out of the 3 is the most kid friendly AND also which itinerary is fun/best? I would love to go to st kitts, st maarten, and grand Turk) but Haiti and Jamaica also interest me but I haven't found too much good reviews on Labadee and Falmouth. Any help is appreciated :) thanks

The RCI BIG ships ( Voyager Class, Freedom class & Oasis class) are the best for kids IMO...I am both a cruise agent AND been on 29 cruises including 12x RCI, 6x Carnival, 5x NCL, 2x Disney (BEST for kids IMO, but more $$), and once each on Princess, HAL & Celebrity..RCI has the the H20 Fun Zone pool are just for kids, Flowrider surf simulator ( ride the waves..fun!!) Aquapark diving show (Only on Oasis & Allure.. FANTASTIC -kids LOVE it!), rock climbing...parades in the Royal Promenade, Johnny Rockets for burgers & shakes & waiters dance to YMCA for all ( cool...)..Terrific ice skating shows with Russian, Canadian, & U.S. skaters skating to great classical & rock music..kids always love those shows..found on all 3 RCI class ships...I would suggest the Oasis ships first, then Freedom Class...NCL has 3 good ships for kids: the Epic,Breakaway ( NY ) and the new Getaway in Miami...IMO, all three blow away the Carnival ships for kids ( other than their slide, which the new NCL ships have plenty of!), and they have GREAT shows & LOTS of dining options, both not found on Carnival..BTW, Labadee is WONDERFUL for families & kids..whoever says is not, is crazy!!

As for the other ports..St. Thomas & St. Maarten are the best for beaches & fun in the sun AND shopping ( best shopping in the entire Caribbean!!)..Nassau is Nassau..nice beaches..Grand Cayman is wonderful...most popular excursion is swimming & feeding the stingrays...my wife, who doesn't swim, says it was favorite excursion EVER in all are 29 cruises...the SHIP makes a big difference..can you tell me the names of the ships involved and I can give you more opinions & info...also the ages of the children, please...

Big Al

@ Big AL

Thank you for your help! the following are cruises that I was looking into. My children spring break is April 2-12 so we are restricted to that time frame. My children are ages 10 & 8..My husband and I are in our late 20's..

CARNIVAL departs april 4th

Sails to St Massrten, St Kitts, San Juan & Gran turk

NCL getaway departs

sails to St Maarten, st thomas & nassau

NCL Epic

sails Jamaica, Grand Cayman & Conzumel (went to these places last spring break with the exception of Jamaica)

RCL Independence of the seas (departs from ft lauderdale)

Sails to Cayman, Falmouth & Labadee

RCL Oasis of the seas (departs from fort lauderdale)

Sails to nassau, st homas, st maarten

RCL Allure of the seas (departs from fort lauderdale)

sails to labadee, falmouth, conzumel

**last spring break we took the kids on Carnival Liberty to Bahamas, Belize, Roatan, Conzumel & grand Cayman***

Any advice would be much appreciated :) Thanks Again

Oasis doing the Easterrn Caribbean. It goes to the ports you like and the ship is awesome and your children will like it even better than Carnival. GUARANTEED!!

@ Big AL

 

Thank you for your help! the following are cruises that I was looking into. My children spring break is April 2-12 so we are restricted to that time frame. My children are ages 10 & 8..My husband and I are in our late 20's..

 

CARNIVAL departs april 4th

Sails to St Massrten, St Kitts, San Juan & Gran turk

 

NCL getaway departs

sails to St Maarten, st thomas & nassau

 

NCL Epic

sails Jamaica, Grand Cayman & Conzumel (went to these places last spring break with the exception of Jamaica)

 

RCL Independence of the seas (departs from ft lauderdale)

Sails to Cayman, Falmouth & Labadee

 

 

RCL Oasis of the seas (departs from fort lauderdale)

Sails to nassau, st homas, st maarten

 

RCL Allure of the seas (departs from fort lauderdale)

sails to labadee, falmouth, conzumel

 

 

 

**last spring break we took the kids on Carnival Liberty to Bahamas, Belize, Roatan, Conzumel & grand Cayman***

 

 

Any advice would be much appreciated :) Thanks Again

Since I don't about the costs ( cabin type?), etc., I will rank these according to the ship AND ports of call ( taking into consideration you've already visited some before & maybe want to see new ports??) IMO:

1) Oasis ..reason: kids would LOVE ship & St. Thomas & St. Maarten are beach heavens ( go to Maho beach & see planes land & take off RIGHT over your heads on the beach!!)..St. Thomas has Blackbeard's Castle, great shopping, great beaches...

2) NCL Getaway...reason- Again Eastern Caribb, lots of slides, dining options & shows

3) Allure...reason: great ship like Oasis, & Labadee and Cozumel sooo much to do!!

4) Independence- love Freedom class ships, Grand Cayman, Labadee terrific & Falmouth new port ( sorry, never been..)

5) Epic - lots of dining, BLUE Man Group show, kids pool areas nice..ports similar to IOS

6) Carnival- why not try the bigger ships with more to do, new islands & NEW cruise lines ( always good to explore!!)

I can give you a lot of places to go on St Thomas , St. Maarten, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Nassau...never been to St. Kitts or Falmouth...any questions give a shout!!

Big Al