Help! First time cruise

I am getting married in September 2015. My fiancé and I have never been on a cruise and so we figured why not try one for our honeymoon. However, I am totally lost on how to even start. I know where we want to go (southern Caribbean) but how do I choose what cruise line etc? I've been reading reviews and trying to look at it that way. We originally wanted Royal because it seemed there was a lot more to do, and it shows all the excursions which we liked. His parents told us go Carnival. Does Carnival have more excursions then they show on their page? Does anyone have a preference on what cruise line is better? Thank you.

I would talk to a travel agent that specializes in cruises

You will get as many opinions as you will get answers... Go with what fits your budget and time frame. Most cruise line are the same(in general) so go with the line that you think will have what you want as far as things to do on board, as most excursions are the same for each line and IMHO a waste of money, you can do it yourself cheaper and see more on your own...:cool:

Carnival has the reputation of being the "party" cruise line. It also seems to be the most kid-oriented. If either of these things attract you, Carnival is the cruise line for you. If not, consider another line.

Carnival is no longer the "party ship" it used to be. And, as another stated, all the lines are really more like than different! How many kids there are depends on time of year...ALL cruise lines will have kids, mostly during summer and holidays. The kid's clubs keep them busy and they aren't a bother to anyone but their parents!

Carnival's standard cabins are larger than the other cruiselines, standard cabins.

Decide WHEN you want to go first...then go to a local travel agency, and they can tell you at a glance who is sailing where during the time you want. They can give you brochures, too, that have LOADS of info in them, including the deck plans of the ships! Then, out of the avail. sailings, pick one! The travel agent can book for you, or you can do it yourself....

If you have to fly to port, plan to fly in the day prior, if at all possible, so take that into consideration when picking your dates!

After you decide on WHEN and WHERE, get a guidebook from the library on the ports you'll visit. Many things require NO excursion at all....that's a big savings, if you can do stuff on your own!

Welcome to Cruise Critic!:)

You would find talking to a good travel agent so very helpful in planning your honeymoon cruise. ;)

LuLu

I don't know what your budget or timeline is, but one suggestion is Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, 9 day southern Caribbean cruise. It leaves from Port Canaveral in Florida. Generally you have to leave from Puerto Rico to do a southern Caribbean cruise, but this ship is heading to Florida soon.

Of course, you may want to leave from Puerto Rico. I definitely recommend Royal Caribbean over Carnival.

As regards using a travel agent -- make sure you find one who is a cruise specialist, and preferably one that comes recommended by people you trust. TA's who don't specialize in cruises, though they can book a cruise for you, know little about cruising, ships, cabins, etc. and most likely won't know as much as you do if you have done some online research. Sorry that no one on CC is allowed to recommend a TA to you, by CC policy.

If you know what you are looking for in terms of activities on board, you can decide which ship has the activities you want -- wave rider, climbing wall, ice skating, that sort of thing, or a more laid back environment known for elegance and excellent cuisine. Same with ports you would like to see on your cruise -- pick the ship that goes there! All the information about on board options and port calls is available on the individual cruise line websites, and, of course, you can also book through the cruise line.

Ultimately, if you intend to get on board the day after your wedding, for example, you will need to choose by date of the cruise and port the cruise leaves from, to be convenient. Then choose among the options based on these particulars. There may be only a few for your specific dates -- that makes choosing much easier! It can be a rush, I imagine, to get married, have a reception, then fly off to a cruise port, but unless you are driving to the port, everyone on this board will recommend that you arrive at the port city the day before the cruise. (Some will suggest that even if you are driving!)

Between Carnival and Royal Caribbean, you will probably find similarities. Royal has the biggest ships at sea, although they also have less gigantic ones.

Probably most of us on CC can be most helpful if you have specific questions.

I am getting married in September 2015. My fiancé and I have never been on a cruise and so we figured why not try one for our honeymoon. However, I am totally lost on how to even start. I know where we want to go (southern Caribbean) but how do I choose what cruise line etc? I've been reading reviews and trying to look at it that way. We originally wanted Royal because it seemed there was a lot more to do, and it shows all the excursions which we liked. His parents told us go Carnival. Does Carnival have more excursions then they show on their page? Does anyone have a preference on what cruise line is better? Thank you.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival are very similar. I've been on ten cruises on each of the two lines. In general the passenger mix is the same. Royal Caribbean has the bigger ships and I like the layout of the Royal Caribbean ships better. However, my favorite ships are the four Spirit class Carnival ships. The typical Carnival cabin is a little bigger than the typical Royal Caribbean cabin. The Royal Caribbean suites are bigger than the Carnival suites. Royal Caribbean has rock climbing walls and Carnival has water slides. On the bigger ships Royal Caribbean has a better passenger space ratio than Carnival has. In general the Carnival cruises are a little less expensive. Personally, though it is close, I believe the food on Carnival is slightly better than the food on Royal Caribbean. Also, I like the Carnival showers better than the Royal Caribbean showers.

As I recall, when Carnival publishes the shore excursions for a given cruise, there are more than are showing if you just look at each port for general information. However, while my last Carnival cruise was 2013, the last time I booked a shore excursion through Carnival was 2011, so I don't recall too much about the difference between the general information and the specific information. On my last two Carnival cruises I went independent or on my own for the shore excursions (something I would not recommend for a first time cruiser).

You might find it advantageous to book through a travel agent, but that is up to you. I've been on 25 cruises and I use a travel agent.

Do yourself a favor, when you do book your cruise buy travel insurance. It won't be very expensive. It will cover lost or damaged luggage, travel delay (if you miss the ship it will cover the expense of getting you to the ship), medical, evacuation from the ship/island in case of a medical emergency to the US, etc.

You can buy travel insurance through the cruise line or independantly.

maddycat gave good advice about the insurance. Make sure you have both trip cancellation insurance (you can't go at all because of illness or injury) AND trip interruption insurance (you miss the ship in a port or you have to be flown home because of illness or injury).

It probably doesn't matter so much which cruise line you choose. Make your selection based on your preferred dates, price, and the ports you'd like to see. What you'll find on every ship is great service, lots to do, wonderful dining, and many nice people to meet. Sounds like a grand honeymoon to me!

I would talk to a travel agent that specializes in cruises

This. Find a cruise specialist and go in with an idea of budget, time frame and itinerary. Tell him or her if you tend toward the active lifestyle or not. What type of restaurants you prefer. That type of thing. Then hopefully you'll be able to narrow down what cruise lines would be a good fit and which do that itinerary when you want to go (it could be possible that you may have to compromise on some aspect).

From then on, make sure you make any travel plans (to your embarkation port) to arrive at least a day ahead of time. Don't overplan your time on board the ship and in the ports.

Personally I would do royal but talk to your ta on what each port for each line can offer

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We booked our first cruise for our honeymoon. Port it sailed out of and dates were our biggest determining factors since we hadn't visited any of the ports and didn't have any clue what the various lines offered. We booked through a travel agent which we found helpful for keeping it all organized since we had enough details to worry about for our wedding. We LOVED our first cruise and now about to go on our 13th. Hope it works out well for you.

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Welcome to Cruise Critic!:)

 

You would find talking to a good travel agent so very helpful in planning your honeymoon cruise. ;)

 

LuLu

Look to Conde Nast Traveler for recommendations on "cruise specialist" TAs.

Opinions here will vary on personal tastes and means. Many comments are based on limited experiences, which are often erroneously extrapolated from their familiar cruise line to ALL cruise lines.

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Try to get on a newer cruise ship if possible, makes the first experience much better. The older ships are okay but they tend to show their age. The Eastern Caribbean is a great cruise too.

We would look at southern itineraries and decide which ports we want to visit and go from there.

maddycat gave good advice about the insurance. Make sure you have both trip cancellation insurance (you can't go at all because of illness or injury) AND trip interruption insurance (you miss the ship in a port or you have to be flown home because of illness or injury).

 

It probably doesn't matter so much which cruise line you choose. Make your selection based on your preferred dates, price, and the ports you'd like to see. What you'll find on every ship is great service, lots to do, wonderful dining, and many nice people to meet. Sounds like a grand honeymoon to me!

I'm catching up on some threads after being out of town -- a little side question here -- does trip insurance cover expenses to fly to meet the ship (or fly home) if you miss the ship due to your own negligence? (e.g. just late getting back to the dock?)

When we decided to take our first cruise, we went to the various websites for each major cruise line. We know where we wanted to go-the Panama Canal.

Look at each of the sites to get a feel for what the cruise line offers. They should have videos showing different experiences on the ship.

Next, look at where you want to go and compare itineraries/costs. Find one that suits your interest.

We picked Princess. They had the best itinerary for what we wanted and they appeared to have the features and style we were looking for.

Everyone is different-so, like I said, look at the lines websites and find one that feels right to you. Also look at what each line offers in the way of a honeymoon package. That may be important to you too.

Congratulation and I hope you have a wonder time on your first cruise!

Everyone has a preference as to which line is better. From the internet alone we can't tell you which line is better for you without knowing a lot more about you.

My advice, figure out who is sailing to the ports you want to visit at the time you want to go & go with the most affordable option. All of the mass market lines are more similar that different. Even if an older ship is showing it's age, odds are as a new cruiser without anything to compare it to, you won't notice. For a HM, you will be exhausted so pick something relaxing.

Another thing about HM cruises, bear in mind many cruises leaves on Sundays. It's always a good idea to fly to your port of departure city the day before your ship sails, especially in September which is hurricane season. If you are getting married on Saturday you will be very rushed to fly out that day too. You may want to consider those issues when planning.

I am getting married in September 2015. My fiancé and I have never been on a cruise and so we figured why not try one for our honeymoon. However, I am totally lost on how to even start. I know where we want to go (southern Caribbean) but how do I choose what cruise line etc? I've been reading reviews and trying to look at it that way. We originally wanted Royal because it seemed there was a lot more to do, and it shows all the excursions which we liked. His parents told us go Carnival. Does Carnival have more excursions then they show on their page? Does anyone have a preference on what cruise line is better? Thank you.

Princess, or Celebrity.