Independence or P&O for late 40's couple

Hello,

We are a couple in our late forties and planning to cruise from Southampton to Canaries in October (term time), so hopefully not too many kids!!

We are trying to decide on Royal Caribbean (IOS)' or P&O (Oceana).

IOS sounds appealing as it is large and has lots to do. However I am concerned that it would be too loud and crowded. Is this the case?

We have travelled on Cunard QMS, and although we loved it, felt that it was perhaps a little too quiet for us.

It is a case of finding the right balance and I would appreciate any advice on this.

Many thanks

How about Holland America?.

Thankyou for your reply, but we wanted to sail from Southampton.

How about Holland America?.

There are no cruises from/to Southampton to the Canary Islands on HAL.

VP

The Independence is a large ship which handles the crowds quite well, although it can get a bit crowded on deck if you have a gorgeous sea day when everyone decides they want some sun. We think a bigger factor for you might be overall difference in atmosphere between an American oriented RCI ship vs a British oriented P&O. So perhaps you should ask yourself would you prefer being a ship where a large majority of cruisers will be from North America or a ship that will have a huge majority from the UK.

And we had to smile at the post that suggested HAL. We cruise HAL quite often and find that on most of our cruises the ship is a "ghost ship" by 10 pm. So if you think that Cunard is quiet...wait till you someday try HAL :) When you stroll through the huge Atrium on the Independence at 10 pm there will be lots of people about...and music coming from several venues. Take a stroll on most HAL ships at 10 and you might find that you are nearly alone.

Hank

What about Celebrity? Eclipse is Southampton based, and I'm sure has a Canaries cruise in October

Celebrity Eclipse and Emerald Princess also do the Canaries in October. EM

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/fromsouthamptonengland-oct2014.html

We were on Indy in May, and yes, there's a lot of things happening on board.

As for it being very American- no, there were about 500 from the US, many of whom had stayed on board for a week in Norway, after the Transatlantic.

There were 3,200+ Brits and Irish, and at times it was very similar to P&O- there are special additions for UK sailings such as a kettle in the room (no coffee, though- take your own), and of course no 15% added to the bar sales (they're just included instead.) The Cruise Director was a Brit, as were the 2 comedians....and there were various pop music happenings which were from this side of the Atlantic.

I've not sailed on Oceana, just her twin, Sea Princess, so I'm sure that she's as beautiful as her twin. I have been on 3 P&O ships, and there's usually lots to do, but without the excitement of having a whole street of shops down the middle.....;)

We're much older than you, so cannot really say about very late night events :rolleyes:, but ships do seem to try to continue whilst there are passengers around to enjoy.

The only thing we'd have against Indy would be that she's an inward looking vessel, and if it's cold and windy then there's few places to actually sit and see the ocean....sadly I can't quite remember about the Oceana class of ships.

I would be torn, too, in your shoes, but given your age, I'd probably go for Indy...

Indy is a freedom class ship. These ships have good tonnage vs passenger count and do not feel crowed (unless there is a sale in the Royal Promenade deck 5 -- then it might be hard to pass through). These ships even have an ice rink with a professional ice show. And RCI is good for live music. RCI ships still have a 9-piece orchestra with a big-band sound. (11 pieces on the oasis class.) And a pool band and usually 2 or 3 other musical groups plus solo musicians. I don't know about P&O -- Never sailed them. As for places to sit and watch the ocean on Indy, try deck 4 outside. Or the Viking Crown deck 14 inside.

We had done Indy last December and let me tell you, she is a fantastic ship. It was large enough but did not intimidate you. Great crew, fantastic shows, good music blah blah blah. We're doing Freedom (same class of ship) in October and can't wait to board her again, even if it's only for a 1 week Caribbean cruise.