Princess, RCI, NCL

My hubby and I are 1st time cruisers in our 60's. We want to go on a Canada/New England cruise. I have read so many reviews and am overwhelmed. We don't want to get super dressed up on formal nights. We do appreciate good/decent food, quiet staterooms, hand held bathroom shower heads. Where in the ship should our staterooms be? We don't know if we would get sea sick or not. We are considering the Royal Princess, Norwegian Gem, and Brilliance of the Sea. Looking at Sept 2014 for departure. Prefer soothing piano bars to loud rock. Considering a mini suite with balcony. ANY and ALL suggestions will be gratefully welcomed.

My hubby and I are 1st time cruisers in our 60's. We want to go on a Canada/New England cruise. I have read so many reviews and am overwhelmed. We don't want to get super dressed up on formal nights. We do appreciate good/decent food, quiet staterooms, hand held bathroom shower heads. Where in the ship should our staterooms be? We don't know if we would get sea sick or not. We are considering the Royal Princess, Norwegian Gem, and Brilliance of the Sea. Looking at Sept 2014 for departure. Prefer soothing piano bars to loud rock. Considering a mini suite with balcony. ANY and ALL suggestions will be gratefully welcomed.

Based on your age I would recommend the Royal Princess . The dress up depends on what you want to do on board . You can skip formal night in the Main Dining Room and go to an extra cost restaurant . The other option would be the Horizon court on formal nights. Most ships don't have hand held shower heads . Location would depend on your budget . Cheaper cabins are usually closer to the bow or stern. This apples to inside (no window) , ocean view (window -doesn't open) or a balcony( door opens to a balcony where there is a couple of chairs and a table). Mini suite is just a larger balcony cabin. I would book a balcony over a mini suite and use the saves to enjoy excursions.

Princess tends to be an older and more mature group.

Dress up for formal nights is what I call a wedding suit .

For what you want ... ROYAL PRINCESS for sure!

Princess should be an extremely good fit for you. We've been on all three of the lines you mentioned and are in our 60's and Princess works best for us! Music & everything! :)

We love having a mini-suite for the extra space in the bathroom (tub area) and the full couch. Honestly, we don't use our balcony very often ... but absolutely want to have one.

LuLu

~~~~~

Another vote for Royal Princess. Gorgeous new ship, mini-suite decent cabin. Princess ships in general very elegant, traditional line, you will likely become hooked.

Have a great cruise.

Jonathan

(From one Texan to another) :)

Based on what you wrote, I am certain that you are likely to enjoy any of the cruiselines. So, I suggest that you consider how much personal space you like, along with your budget, when making your choices (I'm a small woman, but I like my space, so we usually get a balcony or higher grade stateroom)! Due to the September dateline you mentioned, IF it's after Labor Day, the age groups will mostly be "seniors" such as ourselves, so that is somewhat less of a consideration overall!

Having said that, I will explain why my 61-year-old husband and I cruise NCL: 1) Price... yes, one gets what one pays for. 2) Our needs are fairly simple, so NCL's Freestyle dining, dress code, and staterooms work well for us. This will be our first time on the GEM - Sept 28, but we were on the Jewel (sister ship) last September to Alaska and enjoyed it completely. 3) Variety of entertainment - honestly, I can't complain. We don't always enjoy all the entertainment, but I will also state that I've heard good and bad about each cruiselines' offerings at times.

I'm only offering another point of view, but would not say that NCL is for everyone. I'd be happy to answer any further questions you might have about NCL. Bottom line, I hope that you go on a lovely and enjoyable cruise!!!

About seasickness:

Seabands worked fairly well for my daughter-in-law last September Balcony Deck 10 Mid-ship (sea was fairly rough for a first-timer... not ever been a problem for us).

Cruise staff swear-by eating green apples and will get some for you upon request. Also, Ginger (tea, ale, or even raw) is known to help settle seasickness.

Other suggestions include; staterooms on lower levels, keep your sights level with the horizon, and try not to become a victim to the sensation of seasickness by staying in motion (safely).

NCL offers piano music in one of the bar/lounges throughout the cruise. Weve noticed many people go to the same places every evening! Bands playing near the pool area will be loud!

About the showerhead, honestly, I don't recall what we had in our shower on the Jewel (SF Suite). On some of the older ships, yes they had hand-held showerheads in the balcony or mini-suite staterooms.

Hope this helps!

My hubby and I are 1st time cruisers in our 60's. We want to go on a Canada/New England cruise. I have read so many reviews and am overwhelmed. We don't want to get super dressed up on formal nights. We do appreciate good/decent food, quiet staterooms, hand held bathroom shower heads. Where in the ship should our staterooms be? We don't know if we would get sea sick or not. We are considering the Royal Princess, Norwegian Gem, and Brilliance of the Sea. Looking at Sept 2014 for departure. Prefer soothing piano bars to loud rock. Considering a mini suite with balcony. ANY and ALL suggestions will be gratefully welcomed.

You have pretty well described Holland America when you listed your likes. Look at Eurodam, Maasdam or Veendam - from New York or Boston. Food and accomodations much better than NCL, music and comfortable staterooms better than Royal Caribbean. Princess is a close second.

The lines are all similar. Norwegian is business casual at dinner that's the minimum you can go all out with suit and tie if you wish. No hiding in the buffet if you're not dressed up.

For what its worth, look at the price-- compare balcony to balcony or inside to inside. If all the ports are basically the same price would be my determining factor.

Love the Piazza and Vines on the Princess ships.

I too would look at Princess.

Keith

The Royal is an easy choice.

What part of he State are you in? Stop by the DFW thread here on CC

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1422670

We will hit the big 60 this yr, and would suggest the Brilliance of the Sea for a first cruise. Then a Grand class Princess ship. Tho not on your list, if there is a Celebrity sailing in your time frame, that would be the best fit, IMHO. We have sailed 7 lines over 25 yrs, you will really like cruising:)

We are taking a Canada/New England around the same time frame and it was very difficult to pick which cruise line/ship. I read reviews but tend not to let them sway my decision as you can find both good and bad reviews. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. We have sailed on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and enjoyed both our cruises. For our Canada/NE we are sailing on the NCL Gem. The ship, the selection of different dining options, plus not having to dress up in formals appealed to us. I found this site helpful for looking up each ship with pictures:

http://www.shipparade.com/

As for location, for seasickness, I heard staying low and mid-ship. We prefer aft and never had a problem. Also for quiet room, make sure your room is not up or below a public area such as the dining room, theater, casino, etc.