First cruise! Honey moon! Help!

Hello!

I'm getting married in January 15 and the honey moon we want to go in a cruise!

The options are:

Regal princess visiting Ports: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | Princess Cays, Bahamas | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico | Island of Cozumel, Mexico. (Last year we visited cozumel by land) | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Celebrity silhouette visiting Ports: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, At Sea, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Basseterre, St. Kitts, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, At Sea, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Msc Fantasía visiting Ports: Civitavecchia, Italy | Genoa, Italy | Barcelona, Spain | Day At Sea | Casablanca, Morocco | Day At Sea | Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain | Funchal, Portugal | Day At Sea | Malaga, Spain | Day At Sea | Civitavecchia, Italy

What is the best option for the first cruise honey moon? :) (food, entertainment, balcony cabins etc etc) thank you!

If you plan to relax on your balcony, I would choose Silhouette over Regal Princess. The design on the Royal/Regal Princesses (and P&O Britannia) made the balconies more shallow than on previous ship designs.

MSC has some very classy ships, but the cruise experience is a little different than on US based lines. Do you want to start your honeymoon with a TA flight? Have you checked air prices?

Best of luck on your choice. EM

I have been on both the Princess and the Celebrity ships and would choose celebrity for a honeymoon cruise. nicer cabins and slightly better food.

I was on the Regal a year or two ago for a New Year's Eve cruise. There were very many people from Latin America on that cruise, and they seemed to be having a good time. The food was very good. There was lots of music, often too loud for me, but some people like that. The entertainment was good. Yes, the balcony is extremely small, but you may not be out there much, and there are lots of ports. The Celebrity itinerary looked good too. Perhaps research all those ports and see what you would like best. But I think you would be happy with the Regal. I would caution against MSC - not a good choice. Bad reviews on that line, disorganized, poor customer service, unruly passengers, and food not so great.

If you want something truly memorable then I would go with the Europe itinerary, and couple it with a pre (or post, as you prefer) cruise stay in Rome (the port for Rome is Civatavecchia), although it's a shame that it doesn't do Venice or Florence to go with it.

That's just me, I am a big fan of the more history-packed European itineraries and that itinerary has a nice combination of big cities (Rome and Barcelona), and then relaxing ports, sunshine/beaches... very diverse itinerary when you consider the differences between Italy, Morocco, Tenerife (a small volcanic island where you can take a camel trek over the volcano!) and Portugal/Spain.

However I have not cruised on any of those ships, and I have only cruised with Celebrity and Princess (on different ships), never with MSC.

Therefore my itinerary vote goes to Europe but I cannot comment on the actual ship experiences. I have heard MSC is quite a different experience to the big US lines. However it's worth noting that the big USA lines like Celebrity, Princess, RCCL do itineraries that take in the Med and Italy so it may be worth more research in that area if you find you'd prefer one of those ships + a European experience.

P.S Congrats on your upcoming wedding and you will have a fabulous honeymoon wherever you end up. Our first big cruise was a 2 week B2B Italy, Greece and Turkey cruise for our honeymoon and we have been hooked ever since.

I would postpone the Med cruise for a non-winter date.

Winter in the Caribbean is a wonderful time....pleasantly warm to occasionally hot. The water is warm and easy to swim in.

Not sure the Med falls into the same description.

Your profile says you live in Mexico so go on Celebrity because it doesn't stop in Mexico. January in the Med will be cold.

Make sure you can get married & still get to your port of departure the day before the ship sails.

best wishes

MSC is a nice cruise line they are different from US lines. Europe will be quite cold, if you live in Mexico it might be refreshing change. if you go for the Caribbean I would choose Celebrity. I liked Princess, but found them a bit too quiet for me.

Have a lovely time on which ever cruise you choose. ☺

All 3 sound good and I have cruised on all of the lines, but MSC Europe sounds really interesting , my second pick would be Celeberity.

I've been on all three cruise lines and been on the Regal. I would say out of the three choices, Regal would be the bottom choice as the balconies really are a lot smaller than any other ship I've been on and there was just something about that cruise that was not as good as others. MSC on the other hand, was better than expected and their cultural differences made for a new and different cruise experience. I would say Celebrity first, MSC second, and Princess a very distant third.

If you want something truly memorable then I would go with the Europe itinerary, and couple it with a pre (or post, as you prefer) cruise stay in Rome (the port for Rome is Civatavecchia), although it's a shame that it doesn't do Venice or Florence to go with it.

 

That's just me, I am a big fan of the more history-packed European itineraries and that itinerary has a nice combination of big cities (Rome and Barcelona), and then relaxing ports, sunshine/beaches... very diverse itinerary when you consider the differences between Italy, Morocco, Tenerife (a small volcanic island where you can take a camel trek over the volcano!) and Portugal/Spain.

 

However I have not cruised on any of those ships, and I have only cruised with Celebrity and Princess (on different ships), never with MSC.

 

Therefore my itinerary vote goes to Europe but I cannot comment on the actual ship experiences. I have heard MSC is quite a different experience to the big US lines. However it's worth noting that the big USA lines like Celebrity, Princess, RCCL do itineraries that take in the Med and Italy so it may be worth more research in that area if you find you'd prefer one of those ships + a European experience.

 

P.S Congrats on your upcoming wedding and you will have a fabulous honeymoon wherever you end up. Our first big cruise was a 2 week B2B Italy, Greece and Turkey cruise for our honeymoon and we have been hooked ever since.

Maybe she can't afford Europe and that is why she is picking something close to home.

Maybe she can't afford Europe and that is why she is picking something close to home.

But her third choice was an MSC cruise in Europe! EM

MSC is a nice cruise line they are different from US lines. Europe will be quite cold, if you live in Mexico it might be refreshing change. if you go for the Caribbean I would choose Celebrity. I liked Princess, but found them a bit too quiet for me.

Have a lovely time on which ever cruise you choose. ☺

Please don't base your impression of Mexico climate on the coastal cruise ports. Mexico City is at an elevation of 7350 ft, with a temperate climate. EM

But her third choice was an MSC cruise in Europe! EM

Oops, missed that. My bad :D.

Having done both the Caribbean, multiple times, and the Mediterranean, once on the Regal Princess, I agree with those who say to wait for a spring or summer cruise for the Med for warmer weather. You will also have more cruise lines from which to choose as many ships will head from the Carib. to Europe in spring. Also, if you are looking for a holiday that will allow you to relax and unwind after your wedding, you do not want to go to Europe. It is very port intensive and you will be on the go constantly. We had a fabulous, life changing family vacation in Europe, but were so exhausted afterwards that we felt like we needed a Caribbean cruise to recuperate. :eek:

Med in winter? No. Caribbean in winter? Yes. For a honeymoon, I would think the Caribbean will suit your needs better and while I've never been on MSC, I know friends that have and they were not impressed. They preferred Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. I don't know anything about Regal.

As said already, please don't do the Mediterranean in January. Much too cold. North Africa and the Canaries might be warm enough but not the rest of the cruise you quote.

Hello!

 

I'm getting married in January 15 and the honey moon we want to go in a cruise!

 

The options are:

 

Regal princess visiting Ports: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | Princess Cays, Bahamas | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico | Island of Cozumel, Mexico. (Last year we visited cozumel by land) | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 

Celebrity silhouette visiting Ports: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, At Sea, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Basseterre, St. Kitts, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, At Sea, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Msc Fantasía visiting Ports: Civitavecchia, Italy | Genoa, Italy | Barcelona, Spain | Day At Sea | Casablanca, Morocco | Day At Sea | Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain | Funchal, Portugal | Day At Sea | Malaga, Spain | Day At Sea | Civitavecchia, Italy

 

What is the best option for the first cruise honey moon? :) (food, entertainment, balcony cabins etc etc) thank you!

First, congrats on your wedding! Cruise agent here...keep in mind that Princess & Celebrity are both premium cruise lines and so they have a slightly older passenger average age than RCI, NCL, or Carnival...Holland American has the oldest average age..all are very good cruise lines, but they tend to attract different age groups & types of passengers...personally, I like the Celebrity Silhouette- classy ship, good food, nice ports ( St. Maarten has AMAZING shopping & beaches!)..it also depends on what things you like to do- the MSC Fantasia cruise will NOT be any beaches in January- way too cold...also, alot more $$ and not a "relaxing" or "chillin'" kind of vacation..we were on the Regal in April for a short cruise..lovely ship & good entertainment ( not close to NCL or RCI larger ships)...food was good on Princess and you can celebrate with a nice meal in the Crown Grill, their signature steakhouse..also balcony cabins on Celebrity are very nice ( bigger than both others)..they have a "sunset" verandah in the aft ( back) of the ship with STUNNING views of the sunset every night ( called sunset verandahs category SV)..for some special cabins look at the "sky suites" and "aqua class" cabins...on the Regal look at mini suites..balconies on the Regal are a bit tight, so remember that ( 36 SF vs. 54 SF for Celebrity)...any questions give a shout!

Big Al

Ok just checked avg temp for Mexico City, the weather would be simular during winter and hotter during summer. My experience of the Mediterranean during the winter is very mixed it can be beautiful and sunny or you might get snow (rare). I like travelling in the winter as there are less tourists, I have never cared particularly for hot weather. So if you are going to the Mediterranean for the cultural experience it doesn't really matter what the weather is like. if there are must see places you have to visit just check local tourist sites to ensure they will be opened when you visit. A lot of places will have limited opening times between November to March, as these are not popular times to visit (more likely impact on island opposed to capitals).

If you want some warm weather and sunshine I would go for Caribbean. I hope this helps.

I'd go with MSC, it's a very regal cruiseline. Perfect for a honeymoon as is Europe.

Yes it will be cooler there, but there is much more to do in Europe than sit on a beach.

I prefer Europe in winter due to the fact that it is so much less crowded. You can actually see things and not have to fight other tourists and stand in line everywhere you go. We did a similar itinerary in December and had a great time!

Please let us know which cruise you decided on and how you liked cruising?

I vote Europe. May too late but if you haven't booked I'll give you tips for Europe as I spent 8 years in Europe