Cruise Newbie - how to choose which line?

Hi... I have been reading everything I can on here and I still have no idea how to choose which cruise line / ship to go with. I am planning to take my mom on a cruise in late November as a thank you, she is in her 50's and I am in my 30's, we have the locations narrowed down to an Eastern Caribbean. We are both pretty mellow, really looking forward to the Caribbean beaches, love good food and a relaxing time.

Have narrowed it down to a 7 day on Royal Freedom of the seas or Ruby Princess. Prices are very similar and the itinerary is pretty much the same, except on Princess we get another port day.

Any suggestions or opions to help me would be greatly appreciated.:)

Hi... I have been reading everything I can on here and I still have no idea how to choose which cruise line / ship to go with. I am planning to take my mom on a cruise in late November as a thank you, she is in her 50's and I am in my 30's, we have the locations narrowed down to an Eastern Caribbean. We are both pretty mellow, really looking forward to the Caribbean beaches, love good food and a relaxing time.

 

Have narrowed it down to a 7 day on Royal Freedom of the seas or Ruby Princess. Prices are very similar and the itinerary is pretty much the same, except on Princess we get another port day.

 

Any suggestions or opions to help me would be greatly appreciated.:)

Welcome to Cruise Critic Jaycruising. What a lovely gift for your mum, you will both love it. You can't go wrong with either Royal Caribbean or Princess. November should be fairly quiet as long as it's not over the Thanksgiving break.

We recently cruised with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) on Explorer and absolutely adored the ship, the service, the food, the crew and the passengers we met on board.

Freedom of the Seas is a great big ship 158,000 tons and a minimum of 3,634 passengers compared to Ruby Princess at 113,000 tons and minimum of 3,114 passengers.

The RCCL ships especially the newer ones like Freedom are massive, with many offerings from ice skating to rock climbing, miniature gold to in-line skating or just relaxing by the pool or enjoying pub trivia.

RCCL puts out a solid product, they aim to impress passengers and WOW them and they do it consistently and have made an impression on us as we've booked our next with them as well.

Princess ships will be a bit more traditional, a bit dressier. We have not cruised with Princess but, are very eager to try them, I have read nothing but, good things.

You might also consider Celebrity Cruise Line they are a notch up in elegance over RCCL (who also owns them) and their newer Solstice Class ships, like Solstice, Silhouette and Reflection are quite stunning.

I would definitely book at least a 7-night voyage or longer, they go by way to fast. You will also get better deals on some of the older ships in a particular fleet. I took a fast look at the pricing both cruises and the Princess rates are certainly more attractively priced. Depending on your budget you should consider booking a mini-suite on the Ruby Princess, the cabin will present with much more room for two people and bath instead of shower.

It would be worthwhile to visit a local travel agent, there isn't fee whether you book with them or not, but, they can explain the ins and outs to you.

Jonathan

Hi... I have been reading everything I can on here and I still have no idea how to choose which cruise line / ship to go with. I am planning to take my mom on a cruise in late November as a thank you, she is in her 50's and I am in my 30's, we have the locations narrowed down to an Eastern Caribbean. We are both pretty mellow, really looking forward to the Caribbean beaches, love good food and a relaxing time.

 

Have narrowed it down to a 7 day on Royal Freedom of the seas or Ruby Princess. Prices are very similar and the itinerary is pretty much the same, except on Princess we get another port day.

 

Any suggestions or opions to help me would be greatly appreciated.:)

I suggest the Ruby. For the two of you I think it would be the right fit. Princess is about as dressy as RC. Not so much anymore. Here is a link to threads that talk about the Ruby. :) Plus, you can visit the Princess board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=50043869

Hi... I have been reading everything I can on here and I still have no idea how to choose which cruise line / ship to go with. I am planning to take my mom on a cruise in late November as a thank you, she is in her 50's and I am in my 30's, we have the locations narrowed down to an Eastern Caribbean. We are both pretty mellow, really looking forward to the Caribbean beaches, love good food and a relaxing time.

 

Have narrowed it down to a 7 day on Royal Freedom of the seas or Ruby Princess. Prices are very similar and the itinerary is pretty much the same, except on Princess we get another port day.

 

Any suggestions or opions to help me would be greatly appreciated.:)

Welcome to Cruise critic. Since you have it narrowed down to two ships, compare the on board amenities of both, and determine which would most appeal to you and your mother. You say that the itineraries are similar, except for having an additional port day on Princess. Which is more appealing to you and your mother, having that port stop or a day at sea? Is it a port that you'd really like to visit? As cruiserking suggested, talk to a cruise specialist in your area. He/she may able to help you choose the cruise that best suits you.

All the suggestions have been great. Do what best appeals to you.

You can't go wrong with either cruise. Though I would choose Princess myself.

We have only taken one Princess cruise on a sister ship of Ruby. Absolutely enjoyed it. Service was a notch above RCCL.

Either way, have a great cruise!

when we did a Christmas cruise on her. It did not seem like a massive ship. The huge RCCL ships do seem massive but we loved our cruise on that size ship also.

What a nice thing to do for your mother. You will have a great time on either ship I'm sure.

Thank you all, I did go to a travel agent, and that is actually what got me more confused. Was just going to go with Royal but she pointed out the Princess one as well. I think I am leaning to the princess one as the extra stop on Grand Turk is really appealing to me instead of a third ship day.

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I love Grand Turk so of the two choices I'd definitely go with Princess. JMO, but you might want to check out Holland America. They also have great 7-day eastern caribbean cruises.

It's really nice to know you are taking your mom on a cruise. It will be a memorable event you both will always treasure. We have sailed on both Princess and Royal Caribbean, but I would pick Princess because of the extra port day.

Personally I do not mind so much the size of the ship, so would take the itinerary that has the extra port day if the prices are similar.

If you'd asked for a more active/busy ship then I would have recommend RCI since the ship is bigger and has more active things to do on board, but since yousaid you're pretty mellow and looking to relax, I think the Ruby will be perfect for you (still a big ship with tons to do, just not quite as big).

Either way you choose it will be fantastic :D