HOTROD1

Everyone has their own preference.  We have sailed on both.  I thought Epic was very organized and easy to get embark and disembark.  We traveled at holiday times so lots of kids.  There were 13 of us and the kids had a great time.  We've only been  on 7 cruises.  By far Epic had the BEST entertainment.  Cirque du soleil type performance, blue man group, 2 comedians and I even went rock climbing.  

If you choose BOOK the shows and specialty restaurants BEFORE as soon as you can.  We had to due to our large group size. I heard  folks getting on board the first day asking about going to the shows and were told the shows were sold out.   Good luck and have fun which ever you choose.

Past cruises we will often book tours on our own. I'm wondering if we should reconsider and use only ship excursions due to the hurricanes which may have affected local vendors.

Ports are: Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Martinque and St. Croix

Any thoughts? Thank you in advance and happy cruising.

I based my flip flop comment on our last tender. Be prepared for anything. I didn't realize what 19 knots meant. I wasn't ready for the bucking of the tender. As I stepped forward to get onto the tender the staff had to grab and stop me because the tender went down and separated from the ship by several feet. Hey it's vaca so have fun!

Last December we sailed and took a tender to Princess Cays. 19 Knot winds. My problem was I was wearing flip flops (sneakers were happy at home in Texas). I'll never let that happen again.

My backpack I take with me has a closure zipper vs open bag that if dropped may be a challenge to get everything back into it.

I wear glasses but can see ok without them. I secure them into my backpack.

It's all about the wind which no one can control. Royal, in my case is a pretty large ship so she will be anchored a little further out.

Hope this helps. Travel is adventure

We sail Nov 5 on Royal 10 days. Our first 10 day cruise. The Royal is inbound from Europe. This will be the first Caribbean sailing this season from what I've read.

6 ports.....3 have been replaced for another port. Dominica replaced with Martinique, St Thomas replaced with St. Croix and Grand Turk replaced with Princess Cays.

My heart goes out to all those in dire straights in the Caribbean.

DH & I departed FLL Dec 4th. Arrived the day b4. Note to self - not only print off all your hotel and excursion info before u leave BUT take it with you. Also, left cruise luggage behind - NO issue.

4th cruise - 2nd Princess cruise & 1st on Regal.

We were in the cab pulling into Port Everglades at 11:44a - we were checked in and on board by 12:30p. It was easy and Staff attitude was very good.

We received an upgrade from R201 to B621. We really enjoyed the location of B621. Near laundry (no sound in room) and near stairs & elevators.

For me it's a very busy schedule - not a problem but I love sea days. 2 sea days & 4 port days (2 days with tenders).

I don't really like embarkation day due to crowds and trying to figure out where and what. Not only check in but the elevators. This was the easiest and quickest experience.

During a cruise we usually use the stairs for quick convenience. Unfortunately, I'm having movement issues so we had to use the elevators every time except some tenders. Elevators were NEVER a problem. Quick and not crowed. A few flights of stairs for tenders - ok. It is what it is. I made it and people were very patience. Regal was tendered the farthest from shore (she's a big girl). Boy, I was worried a couple of times but staff and DH helped. Didn't look that windy but boy those tenders can buck.

Ports - enjoyed. Princess Caye (our 2nd time). This time there are "food trucks". First, included with cruise (no extra cost). Good variety and I didn't have to leave the beach. Jerk Chicken - OMG. Probably good any where but it was easy, quick and good. Jamaica - local beach - taxi $15 each way for both of us. Taxi's are van's - no problem. 4 groups and 15 peeps total. Good. For the love of everyone's sanity PLEASE know where you want to go and bring cash. Oh yea, as the price BEFORE you get on. Ugg, that made me crazy. However, the driver was far more patience than I was. Good story for Grandkids I don't have. Lots of pot selling. You don't want just tell them no. No problem. Not the cleanest area we say but not a problem. However, the locals were so friendly. Yes, even those not selling funny cigarettes. Cayman - Ok we rented (on our own) a jet ski. We have one so no problem. Again, story for the non Grandkids for a variety of reasons. My husband kept saying "you wanted an adventure" and finally said "I lied". There is a better way to jet ski take a guided tour. We did not. Oh my. We went to Stingray City. Wow. Very shallow and warm water (I'm a Texas wimp). So many rays. From there Rum Point - nice beach club. No entry fee. Looked like folks were having fun - I know we did if as short of time. Starfish point. Didn't work for us but others said it was good (they went on tour boat). Back for pick up, jaggy jig. Nice port - lot of shops. Bought a few things. Cayman very clean but not the most friendly place I've ever been. The contrast between and Cayman and Jamaica surprised me. I'd go back to both for different reasons. Cozumel - went to a local beach. All good.

On ship - Lovely. Cruise day - excursion desk opens at 2p. Easy to get around. After a couple of hours I had it and I can get lost in our state. Note to self - If you want to go to a specialty restaurant on the last night (it's our thing) book early. We didn't and all booked up. We had plans to check out a few night shows. We never made one. Back on ship we layer down and were out.

Food - Pizza by pool area - OMG. Such a variety and combo's. Tuna? Doesn't sound good to me and I ate it up. Many good choices. Other options on pool deck area - ice cream, burgers and goodies. Only tried fries from those and they were crazy good. Buffet - I loved it. You can have as much or little of everything. I think they did a good job changing things up. Some items you could count on but there was plenty new to try. There was a chocolate night - saw it but didn't try. Desserts - I kept checking it out but nothing rang my bell (I'm not a huge dessert pirate). Chocolate cookies I snagged many one night. They were just ok but I finished most of them. They did have gluten and sugar free desserts. Thought that was cool.

Dismemberment - Oh so easy and quick. Lots of taxi's to get us to the airport. $15 total for 2.

Note on some comments I read prior and during cruise:

* BE Balcony - cabin -

1/ hair dryer hardwired In drawer in "sitting room" next to mirror.

2/ hubby had to figure it out for me for temp. couldn't figure to get good temp

3/ Remember your sneakers (helps with the tenders) - flip flops didn't work well for me.

4/ Specialty restaurants - 2 couples mentioned "small portions". Don't know what that means but I'm not a foodie.

5/ Buffet - Hubby is a foodie - he ate lots of pizza and buffet. One night we were walking out of buffet after eating and he said "that" looked good. I have to try it. After word he said 'Oh I'm so full". That's all about a cruise.

6/ Sanctuary - Before boarding I thought oh I have to do it but posts were discouraging to me. Note to self - check when you cruise what are the school schedules. We went Dec 4. I made it my mission to count kids. I made it to 21 kids total on a ship that holds 3500 +. So it would have been a waste of money for me. Plus we had 2 days of rainy weather. No problem. Hubby and I had a massage booked (lovely lady. It was good but really costly and I can get so much more on a beach or home). Pouring rain and I sat in the hot tub at pool for 3 hours. Ohh baby, sanctuary - I went up there for massage. Wrong info but it was soooo windy that I asked a gentlemen to help me walk. We are now able to travel non Kid holiday which saves us lots of money.

7/ Drink package - If you are interested check into it the first day. Even with so many days in port Hubby thought about it.

I've told friends a bad day on a cruise (vacation) is better than a good day at work.

Thanks for reading. Happy cruising.

Just a quick comment to the last post. My family of 3

includes our 18 year old son. We disembarked yesterday

from the Crown. It was the first time that a cruise line

offered an 18-20 year old club. Our son said it was the

best cruise he has been on. This is the 3rd cruise in 3 years

In a row over the holidays. Our first on Princess. I would

Encourage u to consider Princess again.

As to what happened to the young men in this thread.

I guess security could have taken them to the security holding

Area until parents showed up but I have a feeling that

would not have been acceptable either. The boys screwed

up and need to be held responsible. We have all screwed

up when we where kids. It's the cruise lines responsibility

to watch out for passenger safety. They are not babysitters, IMHO

We are waiting to disembark. Hope u

have as much fun as we did. We had no

Issues. Be sure to use plenty

Of sunscreen. Sun is strong and

The breezes pleasant!!

Many people burned

After 1st day at Princess Cay.

Happy Cruising!!

I will add a review the next

couple of days!!

Thank u for reply. We are waiting for muster

To begin.

We are on the way to Ft Lauderdale airport to

Drop off rent car and taxi to port to board

Crown Princess. This is our 1st cruise

On Princess in 20 years. I've been

Checking out CC for info. We have

Fans in case of AC prob. Any suggestions

Once we are on board. Thank u

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We are on the way to Ft Lauderdale airport to

Drop off rent car and taxi to port to board

Crown Princess. This is our 1st cruise

On Princess in 20 years. I've been

Checking out CC for info. We have

Fans in case of AC prob. Any suggestions

Once we are on board. Thank u

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our extended family of 12 sailed Epic two years ago over Christmas. Although there are NO formal nights I saw a lot of Tux's, suit's, cocktail dresses and even long dresses for Christmas Dinner. A lot of people dressed up and had scheduled a family picture taken Christmas night.

We loved Epic - there was so much to do. Embarkation and Disembarkation went VERY smooth and quick. Much better on Epic than last years NCL Dawn.

You may know this already - the cabin doors are steel and many people put up Christmas decorations on them. I didn't know that when we sailed.

Have fun!

We sail on Crown Dec 28. Any tips or suggestions for the ports? Our 18 year old

Is with us who doesn't do well in the sun. Ant suggestions

For him during the day?? Thank u for your review and

any suggestions.