First Time Cruisers

We are a couple in our early to mid 60's.

We are planning our first cruise. We are looking at the week between Christmas and New Years.

Looking for advise on cruises leaving from Miami to cruise the Carribean.

Any suggestions in terms of cruise lines and accommodations?

Thanks,

I'd go with Princess out of FLL or Celebrity.

Celebrity ! If you choose Royal, Norwegian or Carnival they will have many children at this time.

Check out Princess Cruise.

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There are many cruise lines to choose from.

Prices will be higher that time of year for the cruise and if you fly and for a hotel.

I would recommend finding a travel agent who specializes in cruises to help you with this. We are not allowed to give specific recommendations on Cruise Critic. I would ask friends who cruise for a recommendation.

Keith

Celebrity ! If you choose Royal, Norwegian or Carnival they will have many children at this time.

Thank you. I prefer not to have my first one with a lot of children.

We are a couple in our early to mid 60's.

 

We are planning our first cruise. We are looking at the week between Christmas and New Years.

 

 

 

Looking for advise on cruises leaving from Miami to cruise the Carribean.

 

 

 

Any suggestions in terms of cruise lines and accommodations?

 

 

 

Thanks,

Unanswerable question without knowing your likes and means.

If you stay at hotels like the Four Seasons and prefer Michelin starred restaurants that's one thing. If you think Appleby's is a night out on the town and Las Vegas is at the top of your bucket list, that's another.

Find a good "cruise specialist" TA, and s/he will interview you to determine your niche.

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I would recommend Princess or Celebrity.

Carnival and royal are both geared for families. The week you mentioned will guarantee tons of kids onboard either of those lines. Princess and Celebrity are more geared toward an older crowd. They are more expensive - that eliminates some families from the get go

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As an almost first timer I can tell you 2 mistakes I already made. I assumed I had to go out of Florida. Airfare to Galveston at that time of year was considerably cheaper. So consider that in your money equation. There might be a port other than Miami that is cheaper and just as easy for you. Also, make sure you understand the fare you are getting. Mine was completely unchangeable and non refundable and I have no say on my cabin. I honestly had no idea of that when I booked. Royal or carnival might be perfectly fine for you the second week of January because it will have a different demographic by then.

Agree with previous answers - holiday period means high rates and many families. What do you enjoy doing on vacation - that will help us give you better answers.

There is no "right or wrong" cruise to the Caribbean....get some brochures from your local travel agency (you don't HAVE to book with them!), and see what "floats your boat".....the Caribbean is a pretty laid-back destination....you see one island, you've pretty much seen 'em all....so there is no need to rush, rush, rush all the time. A cruise is a VACATION. Get brochures...see which cruise line calls to you the most...book it...read up on your ports...then relax! A cruise is a vacation....do what you want , when you want...how you want. All of the mainstream lines are more alike than different.

If you want some sort of 5 star service, you will want one of the "Luxury" cruise lines" that are NOT mainstream....Silverseas, Seaborne, Costa, etc.....not too much rowdiness...not too many shows....but lots of "glitz and glamour"!

Thank you. I prefer not to have my first one with a lot of children.

Holland America could be a good choice for you. :)

We are spending Christmas in Miami with our adult children. Then my husband and I are going on the cruise.

We are pretty chilled, so relax, eat and drink. How is the cruise food?

We are spending Christmas in Miami with our adult children. Then my husband and I are going on the cruise.

We are pretty chilled, so relax, eat and drink. How is the cruise food?

Want truly great food? Oceania! It's their hallmark.

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Taking a cruise of over 7 days will greatly minimize the number of kids and families on the ship.

Roz

Thank you. I prefer not to have my first one with a lot of children.

We are spending Christmas in Miami with our adult children. Then my husband and I are going on the cruise.

We are pretty chilled, so relax, eat and drink. How is the cruise food?

If your children can manage to stand you (haha) until after Jan 1, the prices will drop dramatically and so will the number of children on board.

I might recommend HAL as well. We traveled with them last year during the Christmas/New Years and yes there were kids (it was the holiday break) but they were mostly with big families and well behaved. The majority of cruisers were 40+ and we really enjoyed that demographic. The food was great, the staff attentive. I wouldn't call it a luxury liner, but definitely not a cheap one either. We would travel HAL again in a heartbeat.

You said you want to go between Christmas and New Years. Does this mean you want less than 7 days? Shorter cruises will likely have college kids partying. If you can go in January or February, you'll have better rates and less kids. And 7 days or more usually have less partying.

My recommendation for a Miami cruise is to go on the Carnival Vista, it is just a beautiful ship. As others have posted, there will be children, I was on a cruise during Winter Break (which I didn't know was a thing, not all schools do it) and there were a lot of children but not an unbearable amount. This week in particular is also FAR more expensive than the week before or after, but that's the case with all lines.

I wrote a blog post about my Vista cruise if you're interested in some specifics. It includes our experince flying Spirit Air into Ft Lauderdale, staying overnight in an Airbnb, and getting to Miami from Ft. Lauderdale.

http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2017/03/on-a-boat.html

:cool: