Ray3127

If you are flying to both ports, then Florida for sure. Galveston is at the bottom of our list of fly-in ports.

If we are resigned to an hour or so of transportation (taxi/limo/Uber) each way anyway from Orlando-Canaveral or Hobby- Galveston, then what's the difference? This isn't the first time I've heard this, just looking for more details. Thanks!

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Looking long-range, March 2019. My wife and I are both 30ish, will be traveling without kids. First cruise was recently on the Disney Dream with kids and additional family, had an absolute blast. Due to scheduling/life this is the earliest we can make another cruise happen. We've narrowed it down to these two.

Liberty: From Galveston, stops at Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel

Oasis: From Canaveral, stops at Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel

I've been researching cruises a lot since we returned; here are my thoughts on the pros of each ship that are important to us.

Pros of the Liberty

- We live in Nebraska, so Galveston is cheaper/easier for us to get to than Canaveral. (I know both ports are an hour away from the airport... still much cheaper to fly to Houston Hobby).

- The adults-only solarium is an area we would really like to use on either ship; I've read that the Liberty's is better; larger pool, not as muggy, quieter, etc.

- Better connection to the sea.

- A few waterslides.

- Better piano bar (? - I've read this a couple times but haven't found a consensus)

Pros of the Oasis

- Of the many 'Oasis class vs. Freedom class' threads, it seems most people recommend the Oasis. People generally like both, of course, but Oasis seems to win more often than not.

- More dining options.

- Better entertainment.

- The 'wow' factor.

- Stops at Labadee, our most desired port on either itinerary.

The cost of each cruise is virtually identical; no difference at all there. We are planning on an inside room (after having a balcony on the Disney cruise that we hardly used) if there is a significant difference from one ship to the other.

As you can see, there are things we like about each ship, and maybe it's just up to us to pick one and go with it. I know I'm splitting hairs and we will have a great time either way, but any guidance the CC community can offer would be appreciated. Thank you.

Thanks for all the feedback everybody, I really appreciate it. Figuring out exactly what we want is easier said than done, especially when you are subject to analysis paralysis like I am. However, Nordic's comments about how they are promoting the Edge concern me a bit and are pushing us toward the Equinox. The Edge looks incredible, but even if we sail on it in 2020 or 2021, it's still basically a brand new ship and they will have had time to work the kinks out. We do like the Edge's itinerary better, but with only one cruise under our belt either option would be a new experience for us. Seems better to go with the known commodity that will still be an outstanding cruise for us. Then possibly look at the Edge for our next one. Thanks again!

We are planning our second cruise. Had a great first time with the family on the Disney Dream, and our search for a cruise for just me and my wife has brought me to Celebrity. We are planning pretty long range--March 2019--but that looks like a good thing if we are interested in the Edge.

Our options are:

1. Edge, Western itinerary... Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Sea, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Sea, Ft. Lauderdale.

2. Equinox, Eastern itinerary... Miami, Sea, San Juan, St. Thomas, Punta Cana, Sea, Nassau, Miami

The Edge's itinerary looks more appealing to us, but the Edge is also an extra $450 for the same room type.

Equinox's Saturday-Saturday schedule is probably better for us than the Edge's Sunday-Sunday, but that is not as important.

Do you think it is worth the extra cost to sail a snazzy ship that will be 3 months old on a better itinerary, or should we save our money and go with the known commodity? Any other questions/factors we should consider here?

I fly in/out of Orlando for the Disney Dream cruise a few weeks ago, so I am familiar with that process/distance/etc. We travel to Florida all the time. From Omaha, there are several nonstop options to Houston (including Hobby). Southwest usually offers nonstop flights for $90 pp each way to Hobby. That's $360 roundtrip, no baggage fees. Sometimes we can get to Orlando on a nonstop, but usually we have stops. Either way the Orlando flights are likely to be double the price at a minimum. Being from the midwest I know that spring break in Galveston is a big deal, but I'm sure we can snag a room an hour or so away (if needed) for a reasonable price. I've also spoken with a couple experienced Omaha cruisers who comment on how much easier it is to travel out of Houston than anywhere in Florida, simply due to flight availability/pricing. Houston is 1,000 miles away, Canaveral is 1,500.

Our Canaveral experience was great, and I wouldn't hesitate to cruise out of there again. But it would still cost us more and take more time versus traveling to Texas. Aside from that, the other cruises I'm looking at are all out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale... we have one nonstop option to Miami, but it is usually $500 pp round trip, plus bags. Otherwise we have stops, and the price is still very high. And from what I gather, the ports in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami and not as easy as Canaveral.

Going to try one more time and make a final decision... I'd send a couple of you PM's, but they don't have those on CC.

Leaning towards Liberty, I think that would provide us with a nice mix of everything. 3 sea days does sound nice from a relaxation standpoint; all options below are 2 sea days with 4 stops.

Others I am weighing...

- Getaway, especially with the comment stating we would have a much better time on Getaway. My concerns with NCL are the lack of pool areas and lounge chairs. The dining options, entertainment, and the 'Waterfront' look appealing. About $250 more than Liberty.

- Celebrity Edge, which looks super cool. My biggest concern here is we might not like the entertainment and might feel out of place. We are shorts and (nice) sandals type of people; I only wear pants when it's cold or I'm at work. However, the more 'adult' orientation probably fits us, and the itinerary includes all stops we want to make. About $400 more than Liberty.

- MSC Seaside, based on a poster's suggestion. Stops at Puerto Rico, USVI, Nassau, and Ocean Cay. Looks like a great ship, haven't researched it much. About $500 LESS than Liberty.

Again, goals are relaxation, space on pool/sun decks (esp. adult only areas), food options, good entertainment, and good service.

Essiesmom or SheehanDJ, or others, if you wouldn't mind emailing me directly, it is my CC name at Gmail.

Thanks again for the help everybody.

Thanks for the details Sheehan (and for the suggestions fuzz). Liberty and Getaway were the two front-runners for us, too, so your breakdown helps. Sounds like either would be good. My biggest concern with the Getaway was the pools, but honestly it would be more laying out and less time in the pool. So maybe that's not such a problem, given the rest of what the Getaway has to offer.

We were previously booked in the Escape for last summer, but canceled that for other reasons, so we were 'sold' on NCL at one time. Seemed to fit us.

Still looking for some feedback on the Celebrity options.

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Update... That Celebrity Edge cruise is "on", it's just sold out through Celebrity directly. Costco apparently has some cabins still available. That is the most expensive cruise, but also most appealing to me given what we are looking for out of this cruise. I like all of the stops it makes, especially Key West. My biggest concern with Celebrity is it being too formal for us, as we are shorts & flip flops all the way... So if that's a big problem on Celebrity, we will look elsewhere.

Looking forward to your input!

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I've done a lot of research these past few days and have narrowed things down. Please help me actually choose one of these, if you can!

First, we are looking at a weeklong cruise leaving March 16 or 17, 2019... I know it is spring break time, but my wife and I teach and that's the only week we can go. It's also so far in advance because of future family additions which are preventing us from cruising sooner.

Our main goal is relaxation. To this end, great pools, especially adult only pool areas are the most important. Other adult only areas would be nice. Great food is the other big factor for us. Things like the surf simulator, rock climbing walls, and ice rinks do not appeal to us. Some water slides, a ropes course, and a zip line may be nice for a one time experience, but those aren't super important.

As previously stated, we are looking at an inside room. Prices below have been gathered over the last few days and may have changed a bit, but they are approximate. They include all taxes/fees for the 2 of us. All depart March 16 or 17.

RCCL Liberty from Galveston, $1,788. Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel.

RCCL Oasis from Canaveral, $1,863. Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel.

RCCL Harmony from Ft. Lauderdale, $2,139. St. Maarten, San Juan, Labadee.

NCL Getaway from Miami, $2,227. Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya, Cozumel.

NCL Bliss from Miami, $2,198. St. Thomas, Tortola, Nassau.

NCL Epic from Canaveral, $1,791. Tortola, St. Thomas, Great Stirrup Cay.

Celebrity Equinox from Miami, $1,870. San Juan, St. Thomas, Punta Cana, Nassau.

There may be a Celebrity Edge sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale; it is not available on Celebrity's website, but it is through Costco travel. It doesn't list any ports of call and gives an approx. inside price of $2,358 total. My best guess would be stops at Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman, as that would slot between other scheduled cruises on the Edge.

So I'm trying to pare this list down and ultimately choose one. I'm sure we would enjoy them all, they are all such great options.

Galveston is definitely more accessible/convenient for us than Florida, but there's only one choice for Galveston. If one of the other cruises/ships fits us better, then we would choose something out of Florida, no problem.

Everybody seems to like RCCL, but I'm not sure if it's the best fit for us given our preferences. We really just want plenty of space to relax on a pool deck, preferably with adult only areas, and plenty of good food options. Those are our main goals.

Can you help me cross some options off the list and/or suggest which would be best for us?

Thank you!

Thanks to all the quick responses!

Suite, your description sounds amazing. However, I am looking at not spending quite so much. One thing I failed to mention in my initial post was that we are also sold on inside rooms, as we had a balcony on the Disney cruise and spent virtually no time out there. The felt we did spend there felt forced because we paid for it. So our strategy is inside room, spending almost all of our time elsewhere. Never thought I’d say that, but here I am. That said, it looks like an excellent value, as you say.

I did say we weren’t sure on a location, but I think a Caribbean cruise is most likely. I think we would really enjoy an Alaskan cruise, but also think that is better saved for a full family trip when our kid(s) are a little older. We are looking more for straight relaxation this trip.

My wife is a teacher and I am a university instructor, so unfortunately going while school is in session is not an option :(

GTO and Aquahound, Oasis and Liberty were all ships I had looked at before posting this. We loved the private island concept of Castaway Cay, and the itineraries I’m looking at have Oasis stopping at Labadee while Liberty does not. However,I don’t know how Royal’s compares and/or how much weight I should place on that.

Liberty would be Galveston, Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel.

Oasis would be Canaveral, Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel.

Both 7 nights,negligible price difference (<$100 total)

I had also looked at Harmony, which would go out of Ft. Lauderdale and hit St. Maarten,San Juan, Labadee. Harmony is about $300 more than other options though.

Norwegian,Celebrity… no?

Thank you again!

My family got back from our first cruise about a week ago. We did the 4 night Disney Dream out of Canaveral. It was me, my wife, our 3 year old son, and then other family (my parents, etc.). We had an unbelievable time and can't wait to cruise again. I'm sure we will go again with our son (and maybe another child) in the future, but for now we are just looking at one for my wife and me. I can't stop researching this "next" cruise, but am a little overwhelmed.

Like I mentioned, we LOVED the Disney cruise. My wife and I are big Disney fans, and I am sure we would thoroughly enjoy another Disney cruise on our own. However, I can’t justify the increased price of a Disney cruise if we don’t have our kid(s) with us (at least not at this stage of our lives). I also think it would make us miss our son a lot. So, I’ve opened up the search to a variety of cruise lines, and it seems impossible to narrow it down. The only thing I know is we are definitely looking at a 7-night cruise, as we found the 4 nights to not be long enough!

Our most important features…

- Pool space and nice loungers

- Service level/attentiveness

- Food quality (not really ‘foodies’; pretty plain, but we love a good steak, burger, pizza, etc.)

- Entertainment /stage shows / comedy

- Comfortable beds

- Loved Disney’ split bath, though doubting we will get this anywhere, not as integral.

I would rate Disney as very high on all of these except for pool space, but it worked for us just fine. My parents commented that the Disney beds were much more comfortable than Royal Caribbean’s standard bed from their prior cruises.

Not as important are all the extra, one-time ‘activities’… ropes courses, the ‘flow rider’, etc… These would be neat, but we aren’t going to do those all day. A couple fun things, like waterslides, would be fun.

We are likely looking at the Caribbean, though Alaska isn’t out of the question. One of those two for sure.

I’ve mostly looked at Royal and Norwegian, though I’ve also glanced at Celebrity and Princess. It’s just too much to take in, and everybody has an opinion. Without doing them all,I’m trying to figure out what’s right for us.

We are 30 & 29 and live in Nebraska. The cruises out of Galveston are very appealing because it’s a cheap flight from here to Houston, though if the ‘right’ cruise is elsewhere we will fly where we need to.

Lastly, the ship size is a tough one for me. I’m hesitant to look at anything smaller than the Disney Dream and have focused most of my searching on Royal’s Freedom/Oasis classes and NCL’s larger ships (Getaway, Escape, etc.). However, I’m wondering if what we want may be easier found on a smaller cruise ship (i.e. 90,000 GT instead of 150,000+).

Any guidance on a cruise line, ship size, or other recommendations are gladly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you!

WDC is in the enviable position of having demand for their products outstrip supply. The biggest guests complaints are long lines and huge crowds. Special events like the Haloween and Christmas parties are in huge demand. What's a company to do? They have two options. Raise prices or ration the product. Being not-insane, they have opted to raise prices. While those that pretend to know how Walt Disney would react recoil in horror, the owners of the company, the shareholders rejoice.

Disney is a premium product and for that they can and do command a premium price. It's their right and their responsibility.

Thank you, Host Mick, for bringing basic economics into the conversation. While the stock price may be down over the last year, that has more to do with concerns about the future of cable than its theme parks and cruise line. The fact is supply & demand dictate prices, period. If you think they charge too much, then it is your right to take your dollar votes elsewhere. If enough do that, then Disney will adjust accordingly.

As sad as it may make us, Disney will charge the highest price the market will bear. And there's nothing really wrong about that unless you don't believe in capitalism.

Thanks to all who have replied, the feedback has been very helpful.

I will plan on booking our 4 dinners and whatever shows we want to see that are available as soon as the 90 day window opens up. For the shows in particular, it sounds we should be okay to change our minds once on board. I won’t worry about it so much!

The freshly squeezed juices not being included is disappointing, because my wife and I have orange juice just about every morning with breakfast. Not a fan of such nickel & diming… Do they have lower quality juices that are included, or does anybody know the price of the freshly squeezed juices? Doesn’t seem to make sense with the ‘under $15’ rule.

Between the feedback provided here and a little research on other boards, we are planning the following…

- St. Thomas: Taxi to Magen’s Bay Beach for the day, have lunch while there... just relax and enjoy.

- Tortola: NCL excursion to the Baths. Though I know it costs more, as a first-time cruiser with a tight schedule that morning it is worth it to me to go through the cruise line. We have scheduled the 7:30AM departure in hopes of getting there before the largest crowds, though I gather it will still be plenty crowded.

- Nassau: Still undecided, and we may actually stay on board and take advantage of possible spa specials. As this is the last day of the cruise, we’re not sure about spending it schlepping around the island. Though we were interested in checking out Atlantis, it sounds expensive with varied reviews, so if we simply see it from a distance we may be fine. The next day (6/11) is our anniversary, and we are planning to have dinner at Cagney’s that night, so we may prefer to just hang on the boat. However, by that time in our trip we will have a better idea of if we would like getting off and going to a beach or if we would rather stay on the boat. If we do get off, BCH would probably be our first choice right now. We did choose the cruise based more on the ship than the ports though, so we aren’t sold on having to leave the ship… that’s a long-winded way to say we have options and will play it by ear.

Again, great advice from all. Weltek, thank you for the detailed initial reply, and Jenjer, thank you for the tip on hanging on to some select items for the pools & slides. We will definitely do that!

Hello all,

This post could probably go under a variety of different forums, but I chose the NCL forum in hopes of getting specific feedback from those familiar with NCL.

My wife and I are cruising on the Escape from June 4-11 for our fifth anniversary. I am usually the very detail-oriented trip planner, but part of choosing a cruise is to go with the flow and not have things planned out quite so much. However, I am finding that it is important to have plans for certain pieces of the trip.

For reference… We have both the specialty dining package (4 meals each) and the ultimate beverage package included with our cruise fare (we booked it during the ‘pick 2’ promotion). We have a 14th floor mid-ship balcony room booked. And in case you couldn’t tell yet, we are first-time cruisers.

Arrival: We are staying at a hotel on South Beach the previous two nights. How early would you suggest we leave the hotel and arrive at the port/dock? Like many others, we'd like to get on board as soon as possible and enjoy lunch.

Restaurants: I understand you can make restaurant reservations within 90 days of the cruise. Is it imperative to do this for the specialty restaurants immediately at 90 days? My NCL agent has said I can do this on the website or let him know and he can arrange the reservations for me. Is one method better than the other?

Shows/Entertainment: We would probably like to see at least one of the shows on board and have access to the comedy club/show at least a night or two, in addition to the piano bar. Which of these require early reservations, and are any more of a ‘show up the night you feel like it’ kind of thing?

Beverage Package: My NCL agent has told me that *most* beverages are included with the beverage package. Can anybody give me an idea of what beverages may not be included?

Spa: Is it necessary to book spa treatments, like massages, well in advance? I’ve read about there sometimes being on-board specials.

Ports/Excursions: This is a huge void for me. Our stops are St. Thomas (8AM-6PM), Tortola (7AM-3PM), and Nassau (12PM-7PM). I’ve noted other reviewers’ activities but I have very little frame of reference on these places and don’t really want to spend the time researching all of them. The only thing I thought we might want to do is ‘check out’ Atlantis on Nassau.

- I gather that each has stop a variety of beaches, which we would enjoy, but I think we are largely content spending our ‘sun time’ on the pool deck on the ship.

- For first-time cruisers, are there any “can’t-miss” attractions/activities? Is it worth it to book any of the stops offered by NCL, and if so, are there high-demand ones that require early reservations?

- I’m a little nervous about jumping into a taxi, as some of the stories I’ve heard talk about crazy/questionable driving.

Ultimately, my goal is to walk on board with as much as we need to have planned already arranged so we can simply relax and not worry whether or not we can eat where we want to or otherwise do what we’d like to do. In addition to the items I’ve listed, is there anything else I would need to book well in advance?

I’m sure your responses will generate more questions from me. I appreciate your help and look forward to the conversation. Thanks!

Ray

cjw, I am a newbie as well but felt the need to jump in for a couple reasons:

1. You sound exactly like my wife and me. We are 27/28 and have never been on a cruise but just booked our first one for next June (anniversary trip), on the Escape! We are also very detail-oriented, budget-conscious, love the food/shows but not clubbing.

2. One of the responders, SuiteTraveler, mentioned NCL being most like Aria in Las Vegas… We love Las Vegas and especially Aria, which is our ‘Vegas home.’ Reading that makes me very confident in our choice to sail the Norwegian Escape!

As a newcomer to these boards, I’ve found many many many opinions. I think you will be much better equipped to answer some of your questions after you cruise on the Escape in January. One thing that some people have cautioned me on is that we won’t want to move ‘down’ to older ships after going on the Escape. So, that might be a consideration in looking to the future. Is there a rush to book something else, or can you wait to see how the first one goes? I definitely understand the excitement around researching and booking your next vacation!

FWIW, my grandfather and his wife cruise somewhat frequently, as they live in Vero Beach. I spoke with her about our plans, and she steered me toward Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. She said, as others here have, that Holland is for older people and we wouldn’t fit in. She also was very adamant about us avoiding Carnival… I’m sure there will be backlash from some about that, but that’s one experienced cruiser’s opinion. (If anybody wants to ask me ‘on what grounds,’ I don’t know… I trust that she had my best interests at heart and didn’t ask for details.)

You mention being willing to pay for an upgrade if it’s worth it. I was wondering what kind of room you booked, which is another hotly debated topic it seems.

Enjoy your planning and the big trip in January!

Just wanted to let those that helped me out know that we changed course a little... After the feedback we received and some soul-searching on what we wanted out of a cruise, we are going with a 7-night Norwegian cruise (Escape) out of Miami from June 4-11. We are cutting out some other items in Florida we wanted to do but think that we will enjoy the cruise that much more. It sounds like it will be easier to settle in and relax for the full week, and we really like the sound of the Freestyle philosophy. We also wanted to go on one of the newer boats, and since Escape hasn't even sailed yet it qualifies as such ;)

Thanks again to those who contributed!

Thanks again for the feedback. A couple things:

- Our choice to do 4 nights is part financial, part practical. 7 nights just isn't an option. We have a 1-year old at home that will be with grandparents, and we can only get away for about a week total. There is more we'd like to do than cruise, but think a 4-night cruise is a great way to try cruising on this trip. Then we could look at a longer one later down the road if we really like it. So if your solution is to have us do a longer cruise, that's not going to work.

- Similar to the first issue, we just don't have time for several days to Key West. Maybe we will be inspired to go back for more time after our quick visit, but as I initially mentioned we generally enjoy the touristy highlights and are good with a quick visit.

I'm still unclear on the differences between 4 and 7 night cruises that some have mentioned. Some have said the 4-night plan is fine/great for a first cruise, and I know it's a matter of opinion but I appreciate the input. We don't care for a "booze cruise".

The other issue is NCL vs RC. That NCL review helped a lot, though I'm still unclear on the Freestyle thing. Maybe I need to research this separately. I gather the Carnival cruises aren't worth looking at since nobody has mentioned these? Or should I check them out too?

Thanks especially to those who tailor their responses to our needs and interests. I appreciate it a lot... Keep them coming :)

Thanks to all for the quick help. It sounds like Enchantment would be a fine option, and since it fits in our timeframe, ports of call, and budget that may be the right choice.

Any feedback on the Norwegian Sky from anybody? This was another ship that scared me by its reviews a bit. However, I understand the psychology of people writing negative reviews more often than positive ones.

Thank you for the tip on the flight. We will look at all nearby airports.

Question for the poster who alluded to the differences between 4 and 7 night cruises. Can you elaborate more?

Hello, this is my first post to the CC forum. I've been looking through the website and forum for the last week or so in trying to plan our 5th anniversary trip for next year. My wife and I want to do a 3 or 4 night cruise as part of a larger trip to Florida. This duration gives us a chance to try cruising for the first time and allows us to do a few other things on our list in Florida. I'm looking at the cruises that depart on Sunday, June 5 or Monday, June 6 and hit the Bahamas (the Eastern Caribbean was on our list, too, but those cruises are too long). We can leave out of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or Port Canaveral. Jacksonville is too far away from the rest of our itinerary.

One cruise in particular has what I think is the best itinerary for us--Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas, which hits Nassau, CocoCay, and Key West. Key West is especially intriguing to us, as we think that would be a great way to see the area without the hassle of the long drive and longer stay. I am concerned, however, about the quality of the ship. It's hard to compare the reviews, because some people love it while others hate it. However, on balance it appears to be lacking compared to others... no?

Further, we are lured by the newest, fanciest looking behemoths out there. It looks like those ships don't really sail the 3-4 day Bahamian excursions, however, so we are probably out of luck if that's our desire?

Key West is not a deal breaker for us, so the other cruise lines are legitimate options. RC has the Majesty of the Seas, while Norwegian has the Norwegian Sky. We'd love to do the Disney Dream, but that's so much more expensive that I don't think I could justify it. Other than those, Carnival has several options, which I'm not sure how to begin to evaluate.

Can you provide any assistance on guiding us to a solid introductory cruise? 4 nights seems to be our preference over 3; 3 just seems awfully short/quick. Our style is laid back, don't care to dress up much. We are late-20's but not partiers. We generally keep to ourselves, and the idea of hopping off the boat for a few hours of seeing a new locale is a big draw of cruising. We don't need a week to explore a new place... just the touristy highlights are good for us. We do care about food quality, and would like to able to lay out at the pool at least one day. Other on-board activities would be nice; not sure specifically what, but we like to have options.

I appreciate your help and look forward to planning our trip with the help of these forums!