HELP, Nicer Ship VS Nicer Stops

So my fiancé and I are planning our honeymoon on our first cruise! We were hoping to keep our honeymoon under 2k. However it is possible we may have to go a little over. I have found some great options but we are having a hard time deciding. There is 2 cruises that have super nice ships and the other one has a ship with not so great reviews but the stops are AMAZING. We will be leaving out October 30th and saying from a Sunday-Sunday. Here is our ships and itineraries:

Option 1. Our favorite option budget wise, and the stops are our favorites but the ship does not sound that great (I'm trying to remember that we have nothing to compare it too and it might seem great to us since it is our first cruise!)

Carnival Fascination Ocean View

Day 1: Departing from San Juan Puerto Rico

Day 2: St. Thomas

Day 3: Fun day at sea

Day 4: Barbados

Day 5: St. Lucia

Day 6: St. Kitts

Day 7: St. Maarten

Day 8: Arrive back at San Juan

Total Cost including airfare is right at $2,000

Option 2: Our favorite ship that we have researched. It is more costly and the stops aren't as exciting but the ship looks amazing!

Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas Ocean View

Day 1: Departing from Fort Laurendale, FL

Day 2: At sea

Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 4: Costa Maya, Mexico

Day 5: At Sea

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Nassau, Bahamas

Day 8: Arriving back at Fort Laurendale

Total Cost including airfare is right at $2,300

Option 3: It looks like a great ship and it is a balcony stateroom. However it is the most costly. I have also heard this cruise line has the least children which is a plus.

Norwegian Getaway Balcony Stateroom

Day 1: Departing from Miami, FL

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: Roatan, Honduras

Day 4: Belize City, Belize

Day 5: Costa Maya, Mexico

Day 6: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 7: At Sea

Day 8: Arriving back in Miami, FL

Total Cost is about $2480.

Just a reminder this is our first cruise. We can't decide if we want a nicer ship or the lesser ship with better stops. What would you do? We want it to be fun and romantic because it is our honeymoon! Please share you advice/opinions/experiences. Thank you!!

Congrats! I, too, am getting married (but this August) and have a cruise planned for the honeymoon.(: I would go with the cheapest option because, as you said, you won't have any other ship to compare it to. Also, it will feel nice knowing you didn't go over budget! If you didn't already, I'd look into more carnival cruises. They're known as the budget cruise line and I've heard so many good things about them. Also, because you are going in October, the cruise won't have as many kids as usual.

Let us know what you decide! You will have an amazing time regardless.(:

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Congrats! I, too, am getting married (but this August) and have a cruise planned for the honeymoon.(: I would go with the cheapest option because, as you said, you won't have any other ship to compare it to. Also, it will feel nice knowing you didn't go over budget! If you didn't already, I'd look into more carnival cruises. They're known as the budget cruise line and I've heard so many good things about them. Also, because you are going in October, the cruise won't have as many kids as usual.

Let us know what you decide! You will have an amazing time regardless.(:

 

 

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Congratulations to you as well! Will this be your first cruise? If you don't mind me asking which cruise line are you honeymooning on?

Thank you! I cruised once on Carnival when I was 9, but I don't really consider that when thinking of this cruise because I was so young. We are going on Carnival for this upcoming cruise as well.(:

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Congrats on your wedding!

"Nicer" is totally subjective (as are reviews, which tend to skew negative, because it is easier to complain than compliment)...it means totally different things to different people. As it is your first cruise, I would go with the cruise that fits your budget. That is the wiser choice.

I was looking at the other cruise lines too when booking but honestly, it's our honeymoon. We will have a good time regardless of where we are or what boat we are on. And we can make the best out of any situation. I'm just going to be happy to be spending time with my hubby and relaxing away from work. We have our whole lives to do a bigger boat or a better itinerary or anything like that. We are definitely happy with what we chose for our cruise and our ports and we know that we can maybe upgrade and spend more money next time or do something else next time. If that makes sense? Haha

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I have not been on the Fascination but I have done a Southern Caribbean on RCI Adventure of the Sea. The itinerary is so port intensive that you don't have that much time to enjoy the ship, so we didn't miss all the bells and whistles of a ship like Allure. This itinerary is amazing and I think I would choose it. We stayed a few days before the cruise at the Embassy Suites near the airport. It was around $150 a night with a complimentary breakfast and evening cocktail hour. You will probably want to fly in at lest a day early so factor hotel, food and transfers/travel in your budget (plus excursions). If you choose this option, check out trip advisor for reviews of excursions. We had some really good ones that were much cheaper than those sponsored by the ship.

First, many congrats and how very exciting on your upcoming events!

I agree with you--in terms of ports, the Carnival trip is the best. Barbados and St. Maarten are particularly great stops in terms of things to see and do--at the pier or away from it.

In terms of the ship, you can't beat the Oasis class. We've been on the Allure twice and it definitely provides the "wow." With the slew of activities, "neighborhoods," shows and restaurants, you'll find round-the-clock fun.

The downside to taking it your first time around is that it may spoil you in case you want to cruise again. (We've been on 19 cruises and since we've been on the Allure, my spouse looks at everything under 225,000 tons as a dinghy!) - Musing About Cruising

Not sure if this helps or hurts- but both Royal and Celebrity have a similar itinerary to the Carnival one out of San Juan.

Which would give you some ship choices for that.

I love the fantasy class in the Carnival line. Yes, they are older and smaller (who would have thought that 70,000GT would be considered small).

Downside - small Serenity deck (adults only).

Upside - good food, clean and well cared for vessels, lots of fun for the money.

Travel in the fall, generally less children. However, I have never seen out of control kids as others state on these boards. We just sailed on Sensation, and I was really reluctant based on reviews... but we had a perfectly good time. Also sailed on Elation(another sister ship) couple years ago, and it was nice.

I'm also considering the fascination next year for that itinerary. It is a rather port intensive cruise, so book the budget friendly and spend the extra on excursions.

Don't sweat the small stuff and you will have a great time.

I would pick #1 for the itinerary. With that being said, I might look for a different ship.

I love the fantasy class in the Carnival line. Yes, they are older and smaller (who would have thought that 70,000GT would be considered small).

 

Downside - small Serenity deck (adults only).

 

Upside - good food, clean and well cared for vessels, lots of fun for the money.

 

Travel in the fall, generally less children. However, I have never seen out of control kids as others state on these boards. We just sailed on Sensation, and I was really reluctant based on reviews... but we had a perfectly good time. Also sailed on Elation(another sister ship) couple years ago, and it was nice.

 

I'm also considering the fascination next year for that itinerary. It is a rather port intensive cruise, so book the budget friendly and spend the extra on excursions.

Don't sweat the small stuff and you will have a great time.

This is a good point. If you are traveling when school is in session, you probably won't have a lot of kids on the ship regardless of what line you go on. You might want to check out Puerto Rican school schedules if you choose the San Juan cruise. I've cruised in September, October, early December, and May and never encountered the hoards of children people complain about in reviews.

Have you looks at extra costs? Are you planning excursions at the ports? Depending on what you choose, that could make a big difference in your budget.

Carnival and RCI have main dining rooms and set dining times (unless you choose anytime dining). On NCL, you choose where you want to eat and go when you want, so it's more like going to a land-based restaurant. However, NCL also has a lot more extra-charge restaurants. (Though it seems like they've been running a lot of specials to include specialty dining or free drinks, which may offset the costs. Speaking of drinks -- factor alcohol into your budget too.)

I'm still a relative newbie, as I'm going on my 5th cruise this winter, but I have been on Allure's sister ship, Oasis. It was amazing! However, some people dislike that the ship feels more like a resort than a cruise ship. The ship does have some nice romantic areas though, like Central Park in the evenings. The entertainment is also worlds above anything I've seen on Carnival, if that's important to you.

As a general rule, newer ships are usually better, especially if you're going to have several sea days.

But if you're going on a port-intensive cruise, the ship doesn't matter all that much.

Whatever line you choose look at the drink packages if you are going to have more than five drinks a day with water and speciality coffees it all adds. I love your first option but might look at other ships

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! :D

Allure is a VERY nice ship and is destination in itself! :)

Option 2: Our favorite ship that we have researched. It is more costly and the stops aren't as exciting but the ship looks amazing!

 

Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas Ocean View

 

Day 1: Departing from Fort Laurendale, FL

Day 2: At sea

Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 4: Costa Maya, Mexico

Day 5: At Sea

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Nassau, Bahamas

Day 8: Arriving back at Fort Laurendale

 

Total Cost including airfare is right at $2,300

 

I would choose this ship and itinerary because it provides the best of both worlds. You would never get bored on sea days with all the fantastic things to see and do on this ship. It's a great itinerary with beautiful port stops.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Happy cruising and may you enjoy many more!

Congratz on your upcoming wedding!

The decision on a ship is VERY subjective! We just got off the NCL Breakaway (sister to the Getaway) in one of the Haven (suite/private area) rooms. TBH, I would say at least 3 times a day, we compared our experience to one of the tiny Carnival ships..... and not in a good way for NCL!

The mega-ships are not going to be for everyone! If you haven't cruised before, you don't really have a comparison though so there would be none of the things I compared between a ship that has "everything" vs. one that has nothing :)

That being said, I would always choose itinerary over the ship any day of the week. I have sailed every size on the commercial US lines from the tiny Carnival ships (2300 pax) to the mid-size Royal ones (3500 max) to the NCL Mega-ships (4500 max). My style really is to the small ships.

I will say my favorite cruise stops every are your 3rd choice. Yes, it IS more expensive than the others, but you have to think of some other things. Since you are booking now, you would get to chose 2 "free" perks with NCL. The unlimited alcohol and the Excursion Credit or 3 free specialty meals could go a LONG way to a romantic cruise.

What you also need to consider is how much will you spend on things like drinks or romantic dinners for just the two of you. If you both are going to have 3-4 drinks a day, then the #3 cruise, could easily actually come out cheaper than the others, even if it costs more up front!

Since you seem like you are on a stricter budget, which I really understand sailing with kids and a 1 income family, I actually suggest you do more work before deciding.

Look at things like how much you will spend on board with drinks or specialty dining. Then look at each and every port. You can even just use the cruise lines for examples or prices and use that as a starting point for excursions. You can always come back here and find tips on getting cheaper ones, but it gives you a good starting price point.

Once that is all done, factor in those costs to that cruise cost for an actual final total. I think the biggest thing most people don't think about as a first time cruiser is how much everything extra will cost you. If you two find out you love cruising, you can and will be able to save money later down the road, but in general most people aren't going to be like me and DH, and 1-2 DS's who have a total bill of $200 or less after the cruise.

Congratulations on your wedding and your first cruise! Both will be memorable events in your life and let's hope you go on more cruises that weddings! :eek:

For me, I like the smaller ships and Fascination is a great ship. I also love San Juan and the ports on that itinerary. Since you are on a budget, keeping your cruise costs under control will help. But, someone did mention that not everything on a cruise is paid for in your cruise cost. Soft drinks and alcohol are two prime examples. Depending on your individual preferences, as well as your propensity to have a drink in your hand all day, it can get fairly expensive. Take a look at this link , which is the Carnival bar menu with prices. this will give you a good idea of how to figure your incidental costs for drinks. I might note that these prices seem to be pretty close to what other cruise lines charge as well.

Good luck with your choice!

I have sailed every size on the commercial US lines from the tiny Carnival ships (2300 pax) to the mid-size Royal ones (3500 max) to the NCL Mega-ships (4500 max).

Tiny? If that's tiny, how would you describe a ship with about 600 passengers, which is my preference?

To the OP - Go with the budget line. For one thing, you might prefer it - many people do. For another, it takes you to lots of places you want to be. For another, the really big ships might give you enough to do to fill three weeks; the smaller ones, only two weeks. And as you're only on board for 1 week, neither one is better than the other - you just come away feeling you've missed more on the big ship than on the "tiny" one.

So my fiancé and I are planning our honeymoon on our first cruise! We were hoping to keep our honeymoon under 2k. However it is possible we may have to go a little over. I have found some great options but we are having a hard time deciding. There is 2 cruises that have super nice ships and the other one has a ship with not so great reviews but the stops are AMAZING. We will be leaving out October 30th and saying from a Sunday-Sunday. Here is our ships and itineraries:

 

 

 

Option 1. Our favorite option budget wise, and the stops are our favorites but the ship does not sound that great (I'm trying to remember that we have nothing to compare it too and it might seem great to us since it is our first cruise!)

 

 

 

Carnival Fascination Ocean View

 

Day 1: Departing from San Juan Puerto Rico

 

Day 2: St. Thomas

 

Day 3: Fun day at sea

 

Day 4: Barbados

 

Day 5: St. Lucia

 

Day 6: St. Kitts

 

Day 7: St. Maarten

 

Day 8: Arrive back at San Juan

 

 

 

Total Cost including airfare is right at $2,000

 

 

 

Option 2: Our favorite ship that we have researched. It is more costly and the stops aren't as exciting but the ship looks amazing!

 

 

 

Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas Ocean View

 

 

 

Day 1: Departing from Fort Laurendale, FL

 

Day 2: At sea

 

Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico

 

Day 4: Costa Maya, Mexico

 

Day 5: At Sea

 

Day 6: At Sea

 

Day 7: Nassau, Bahamas

 

Day 8: Arriving back at Fort Laurendale

 

 

 

Total Cost including airfare is right at $2,300

 

 

 

Option 3: It looks like a great ship and it is a balcony stateroom. However it is the most costly. I have also heard this cruise line has the least children which is a plus.

 

 

 

Norwegian Getaway Balcony Stateroom

 

 

 

Day 1: Departing from Miami, FL

 

Day 2: At Sea

 

Day 3: Roatan, Honduras

 

Day 4: Belize City, Belize

 

Day 5: Costa Maya, Mexico

 

Day 6: Cozumel, Mexico

 

Day 7: At Sea

 

Day 8: Arriving back in Miami, FL

 

 

 

Total Cost is about $2480.

 

 

 

Just a reminder this is our first cruise. We can't decide if we want a nicer ship or the lesser ship with better stops. What would you do? We want it to be fun and romantic because it is our honeymoon! Please share you advice/opinions/experiences. Thank you!!

Just a cautionary note: when you are doing your budget calculations, note that some of your "wonderful stops" will not be so wonderful unless you pay possibly quite a bit extra for taxis, shore excursions, paid beach access, etc. Pick a cruise with a reasonable price and attractive itinerary, then decide if you can afford the TOTAL cost including the costs of being ashore. By the way, we were totally pleased with our first cruise on Adventure of the Seas, which is why we have continued cruising.

Hi All! Thank you so much for everyone's advice and input. We decided to go with the cheapest cruise option. We got some on board credit with our deal which is awesome. The ship may not be the best but we have nothing to compare it too and we will mostly be on the islands so I think we are going to have a blast! The itinerary seemed to be our favorite and we spoke to some good friends who did the exact same itinerary and they said they did not spend much at all to explore the islands and have a great time. I feel like this was the best one for us and our budget and I appreciate everyone's input because it definitely gave me a few things to look into before booking to help us make the best decision. We are so excited for our honeymoon!

I know from experience that exploring the islands by bus is cheap. Barbados, for example, is US$1 per trip. Do some research on where you want to go and where the bus stops are.

Hi All! Thank you so much for everyone's advice and input. We decided to go with the cheapest cruise option. We got some on board credit with our deal which is awesome. The ship may not be the best but we have nothing to compare it too and we will mostly be on the islands so I think we are going to have a blast! The itinerary seemed to be our favorite and we spoke to some good friends who did the exact same itinerary and they said they did not spend much at all to explore the islands and have a great time. I feel like this was the best one for us and our budget and I appreciate everyone's input because it definitely gave me a few things to look into before booking to help us make the best decision. We are so excited for our honeymoon!

The Ports of Call section here on Cruise Critic is a good starting place for learning more about your destinations. However, for us we have found books like this one (which I highly recommend) http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caribbean-by-cruise-ship-anne-vipond/1114514530?ean=9781927747056 to be a great help in planning.

I hope you totally enjoy the cruise, the islands, and your honeymoon!

Stan

Hi All! Thank you so much for everyone's advice and input. We decided to go with the cheapest cruise option. We got some on board credit with our deal which is awesome. The ship may not be the best but we have nothing to compare it too and we will mostly be on the islands so I think we are going to have a blast! The itinerary seemed to be our favorite and we spoke to some good friends who did the exact same itinerary and they said they did not spend much at all to explore the islands and have a great time. I feel like this was the best one for us and our budget and I appreciate everyone's input because it definitely gave me a few things to look into before booking to help us make the best decision. We are so excited for our honeymoon!

Definitely the best decision I think. And having been on Fascination, it's a good ship to be on. :) It's not as opulent as others, but you should have no complaints.

Congratulations!

Despite loving the megaship we went on, DH and I really want to go on one of the cruises from San Juan that goes to some of the less accessible islands. I hope you have a fantastic time!