First Time Cruise/what ship?

Hello! So this is my first post and my first cruise ever. We live in PA and we would like to get a cruise out of NYC, NJ or Baltimore. We are strongly looking at NCL Gem and the Carnival Pride. It's me, my wife, and my 2 daughters 8 and 3. We are looking at next year April or May. We also looked at RCL, but I am not a fan of the Grandeur of the Seas. Any suggestions? Here are some things we like about the 2 ships:

Gem: larger ship, has the Nick characters for the kids, freestyle cruising, lots of activities

Pride: Rooms are more conducive to our situation with the pull down bed and the single pull out, significantly cheaper, more itinerary options

We have been on all three of these ships and loved them all.

When travelling with little ones, Carnival and RCI does a better job with organized activities, and fun for the young ones. Not as much with NCL.

Not sure why you are not fond of the Grandeur of the Seas. Very nice, lots of marble, Fun for the kids. It is the oldest of the three, but great ship, and you would never know the age by being there.

RCI also has My Time Dining, stateroom arrangements with both Pullman and / or sofa beds, excellent kids programs and both a smaller (Grandeur / Balt.) and larger (Explorer / Bayonne) ship with plenty of activities on board for everyone on several different itinerary offerings.

Specific to Grandeur, which has been recently refurbished, there are 5 specialty restaurants in addition to the main dining room as options - more than most ships - along with very good entertainment.

While I will admit to my bias as an RCI exclusive cruiser, we have been on Explorer twice from NJ and Grandeur twice from Baltimore, and are looking forward to Grandeur for a third time this summer. All have been excellent cruises on great ships with great crews.

As this is your first cruise keep an open mind to all - not sure how you can decide you don't like a given ship having no experience with it or cruising in general.

As this is your first cruise keep an open mind to all - not sure how you can decide you don't like a given ship having no experience with it or cruising in general.

Totally agree, we have been on most of the available ships sailing out of the East coast. We are not partial to one cruise line, enjoyed them all.

Agree with all of the above. They are all good options and you will enjoy them all.

Sorry that doesn't help you decide, but you'll do just fine if you just pick a name out of a hat.

As for Grandeur of the Seas, a co-worker was on it a year ago and was very underwhelmed by it. I've also seen very up and down reviews. It's a moot subject on Grandeur because the only date that they have available that works in my schedule is a 10 day cruise, and unfortunately my wife doesn't have that much time available. So I am back to the Gem and Pride.

As for Grandeur of the Seas, a co-worker was on it a year ago and was very underwhelmed by it. I've also seen very up and down reviews. It's a moot subject on Grandeur because the only date that they have available that works in my schedule is a 10 day cruise, and unfortunately my wife doesn't have that much time available. So I am back to the Gem and Pride.

IMO, I think you should decide first on what your total budget would be, then what your preferred itineraries would be, then look at which cruise line / ship best fits that.

Your on board preferences and accommodations as you've indicated would be available with most family oriented mass mass cruise lines - RCI /NCL/Carnvial, etc. - so I think that would likely be pretty much a draw.

Reviews are always subjective and each of the lines / ships you've mentioned will have both good and bad reviews. I tend to ignore the best and worst with any as nothing is ever that perfect or that terrible on a given ship on a typical cruise - the reality lies somewhere in between. But again it is subjective to the tastes of the writer which may not reflect your expectations.

Understand the issue with your schedule and Grandeur and what is important is your choice and your experience. Does your co-worker have experience with the other two ships as well for comparison? If not, perhaps someone else you know and can trust in terms of similar tastes can help.

Another good option would be to work with an experienced cruise oriented travel agent. They typically would have direct experience on the different lines and can more objectively look at your preferences with the different line's offerings. They should be able to provide additional information that you may not be aware of or other options to consider. If I were embarking on my first cruise, that would be the direction I would take.

Enjoy your cruise!

Last I heard, Pride is leaving Baltimore end of this year and will home port in Tampa. I think I heard it might go back to Baltimore if Carnival updates the exhaust system to code for the East Coast in general and the Chesapeake in particular.

I think she is going back in March 2015. The repositioning cruise is 3/15/15 from Tampa to Baltimore.

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