picking a ship for a first cruise - Caribbean in June

We are a family of four with "kids" who will be 18 & 22 this summer. Looking to take our first cruise in June after DS's high school graduation. We all like beaches & snorkeling. The parents would like some nice food. We all want entertainment - but of course, our music tastes & our kids are not the same. We'd appreciate piano bar, jazz, oldies while they'd like modern stuff, dancing, maybe karaoke.

Based on itineraries, departure dates etc, I have narrowed it down to 6 trips, listed below. Please give comments on which you would recommend/not recommend & why. Also, which do you think is more important - the ship or the itinerary?

BTW, yes, I have read a bunch of reviews here. I have some preferences based on that, but would like to get some specific opinions comparing the different ship/line/itineraries.

Hope this is the right forum to post this. Thanks in advance for your help.

RCCL Liberty Of The Seas Departure Port: Miami, Florida

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

2010 Date(s): 06 Jun , 20 Jun

RCCL Liberty Of The Seas Departure Port: Miami, Florida

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Labadee, Haiti; Miami, Florida

2010 Date(s): 13 Jun , 27 Jun

Princess- Emerald Princess Embarkation Port: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Ports of Call: FLL, Princess Cays, Bahamas, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Grand Cayman, Islands, Cozumel, Mexico, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

2010 June 6,20

Princess- Emerald Princess Embarkation Port: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Ports of Call: FLL, Princess Cays, Bahamas, St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Grand Turk, FLL

2010 June 13,27

Celebrity Solstice Embarks Ft Lauderdale, FL

Ports of Call:FLL, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Mexico, Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, FLL

2010 June 6,20

Carnival Valor Embarks Miami, FL

Ports of Call: Miami, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Isla Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, Mexico, Miami

2010 June 6,13,20

I'd go with Carnival Valor - Carnival has good piano bars (love them!), and fun karoke. The ports on that cruise are beach intensive.

Grand Cayman - Find an excursion that snorkles with the sting-rays.

Cozumel - Loved Paradise Beach.

Belize - We went cave tubing - lots of fun.

There is a Port of Call section on this board that will give you a lot of info on all the ports.

I think that the ports are more important than the ship.

Have fun!

RCCL Liberty Of The Seas Departure Port: Miami, Florida

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida; Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

2010 Date(s): 06 Jun , 20 Jun

My husband and I did this cruise- we're 27.... this was AWESOME-fun,relaxing,rejuvinating,memorable... the mix of fun stuff for the youngers and enjoyable stuff for the relaxers was phenomenal. Sooooo many activities, and piano bars, adult things to do. The ship is huge- surfing, rock climbing, game area, arcade, teen lounge, schuner bar, piano bar, decks, basketball/soccer courts, dance halls, shopping 'mall' literally, etc.

IT WAS A PERFECT TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heres what we did....

Labadee- ziplines

Ocho Rios- waterfall climbing

Grand Cayman- swimming with sting rays

Cozumel- horseback riding

Miami- day at the beach

Thanks for the responses. It seems that everyone likes the cruises they have been on, which is great. However, I'd love to hear from someone who has been on at least 2 of these lines & could compare them. For instance, I have read elsewhere that Princess & Celebrity have better food than Carnival or RCCL. Also that RCCL has the most active activities, but Carnival has more nighttime party activities. Comments?

Thanks for the responses. It seems that everyone likes the cruises they have been on, which is great. However, I'd love to hear from someone who has been on at least 2 of these lines & could compare them. For instance, I have read elsewhere that Princess & Celebrity have better food than Carnival or RCCL. Also that RCCL has the most active activities, but Carnival has more nighttime party activities. Comments?

Celebrity and Princess are listed in most travel guides as "premium cruise lines" while Carnival and RCCL are more mainstream. This could account for the fact that you you read about Celebrity and Princess having better food.

I suggest you go to the Princess and Celebrity board and start a thread with a subject "Celebrity vs. Princess". You can get some good information this way (even though posters on each board will probably prefer their line). You could do the same with Carnival and RCCL. These boards are very active -- you should receive a lot of response.

Keep in mind that durig the time you are going, there will be a lot of children (all ages) and that Carnival will probably have the most. This may or may not be okay with your older children.

BTW, although I have not been on the Celebrity Solstice, I have heard wonderful things about that ship:)

You will be fine on any of the selected ships and itineraries. The choice of which to pick over any other is really going to be up to you and your family's desires and preferences, but you have not ranked those desires in detail yet.

-All the itineraries have beaches.

-The best snorkeling is Grand Caymen, Grand Turk and the Roatan outer islands.

-Celebrity probably has the most elegant atmosphere and food, followed in order by Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. But that does not mean that Carnival has bad food, just it is not as elegant, it's a fun atmosphere. (Their waiters all wear suits/tuxes as well as do a little song and dance at dinner.)

-A mix of music types and styles is on all ships. The 22YO will be allowed in all bars and discos, the 18YO will have to leave at certain hours or not be allowed in at all. Everyone can go to kareoke.

You will get opinions both ways on ship vs. itinerary (and I will add one other to consider, price), you just have to decide what you want more this time.

RCCL generally has the best selection of active onboard activities for the teen/young adult crowd, but if you want a Flowrider, for example, make sure you are on ship that has one. (Liberty OTS does).

Rank by ship ratings: Solstice, LOTS/Emerald (tie), Valor

Rank by Price (lowerst first): Valor, Emerald, Solstice, LOTS

(That order changes a bit if you look only at balconies, LOTS has the best price on balcony rooms but only on the Eastern)

Itinerary: Looking at your choices you have chosen 4 western and 2 eastern. Going out on a limb, I am gonna say you have a preference for the Western. Looking at just those four, I far prefer the Solstice itinerary to the others. It's just personal, but I like those ports, they have great beaches and snorkeling and feel more 'island' than some destinations. (LOL, except Cozumel, of course). The Valor itinerary comes in second for me. And my next cruise is the Eastern on Princess...

Hope that helps you narrow down some choices, but in the end, it is up to what you prefer, not us.:)

Thanks again. Here's an update. I said we are cruise newbies, and that's true - for me, DH & DD. However, our son, the 18 yo went on a cruise with his cousin's family last year. He loved it & convinced us to give it a try. I recently checked through the old records & found the itinerary he took. He went on the Ruby Princess & the Western Caribbean itinerary was the exact same one as the Emerald Princess below.

So...Don't want to take the Emerald Princess June 6 trip which would be an exact repeat for DS. Also, the other western Caribbean cruises are very similar. Right now, I am leaning towards the Emerald Princess Eastern Caribbean or the RCCL Eastern Caribbean, both June 13. The RCCL sounds like a more fun ship for the kids, but there is an extra at-sea day which I think the parents would not find interesting. (We love the beach, but are not big pool goers & don't gamble or shop much.) What do you do during the day on a cruise when you're at sea?

Any more thoughts?

Since you don't want to replicate your DS's previous experience, I'd opt for the Eastern Caribbean. We did that area last year, and it's amazing!

As far as sea days...OMG! The action never stops. Seriously. We prefer to lay by the pools just because we like the Caribbean music, the pulse of the people, etc... but, there are activities going on everywhere. Or, grab a book, head to a lounge chair on one of the open decks away from the pools, and just relax. Being the consumate planner that I am, when I booked our 1st cruise 3 years ago, I was concerned about every last detail and worried that we'd be bored. What I learned, is that there is something for every person on the ship. Keep in mind that your experience will be what you make it.

Good luck and have a GREAT time!!!

I would definitely recommend the Liberty since you are traveling with an 18 & 22 year old; there would be so much for them to do that the other ships do not offer. Yet there is also enough for the parents as well. The main dining room food is adequate, but for a little extra money you can have some great meals at Portofinos (Italian) and Chops (steakhouse).

There is lots to do on sea days. For example sleeping in, reading a book, crossword puzzles, hanging out a bar, spa treatment, bingo, casino, wine tasting, trivia contest, napping, workout at gym, rock climbing, ice skating etc. I personally love the sea days. On a ship of Liberty's size there is no shortage of options - it is like being on a floating city.

Celebrity Solstice is an amazing ship and one to consider as well. Not nearly as much for the 18 & 22 year old, but enough that they wouldn't be board. Definitely the best dining options on Solstice.

My two cents . . .

Carnival is the Fun Ship but Royal Caribbean has more to do. Depending on which ship RCCL has Rock climbing, ice skating, minature golf, basketball, movies, rollerblading etc etc etc. Carnival has a few of these but I vote for RCCL if you're taking the older 'kids'. When we bring the kids, I compare the ships more than I compare the itinerary.

When I was on Princess, they played elevator music by the pool ALL DAY LONG! :eek: We're active people who require a lot of entertainment so our needs may differ from yours. You may like elevator music ???

The way I look at it: (please don't take this too seriously . . .this is all in fun . . kinda )

Carnival - party, drink, eat, recover, drink, party, eat, look for the kids and hope they're not drunk, watch everybody elses kids hide from their parents . . there is a dripping wet 2 year old in the elevator! . . ALONE!, go take a nap. When we sailed out of New Orleans, we were drunk and sunburnt before the ship ever set sail. :o

RCCL - Watch a show, have a cocktail, look for your kids on the sports deck, eat (oh! found one of the kids at Johnny Rockets!), watch a silly kid fall on the FlowRider (hey! That's my other kid, the one without medical insurance!), gather the nerve and some padding and hit the ice skating rink.

Princess - Eat, sleep by the pool, tell the kids to go find something to do, have a cocktail, give the kids more money to go find something to do, take a nap, watch a show.

I would not hesitate to cruise all of these cruiselines again! I simply prefer the more active RCCL.

Liberty of the Seas, June 13. Best mix of activities for an active family with young adults, best pricing on a balcony room. However, you will have to book two rooms, there are no quad cabins left. That is probably a good thing and often the fare cost for the 3rd/4th pax in one room is the same as booking a second, inside cabin.

Compare pricing with the Emerald Princess on the same date; since your 18 YO loved Princess, I am quite sure you will all really enjoy the line just as much as RCCL.

If it were just you, I would say Solstice, easy decision. With the "kids", the Liberty is an easy winner. (I have sailed sisters of each of these ships and have also sailed on Princess.)

I'd vote for the Liberty too. We hadn't ever done a Royal Caribbean cruise until last month, and it's now our new favorite line. Carnival is fun, but RCCL is more fun (more professionally done). Carnival is OK, as are Princess and Celebrity, but so far the most fun I've had on a cruise was on RCCL.

There's reviews of all our cruises on my web site, with pix and plenty of commentary. There's also a full set of newsletters for Freedom of the Seas, similar to Liberty enough you can get a good idea of what there is to do.

Thanks for all your comments. I especially enjoyed happycruiser's summary of the lines. I'm sure we'll have a good time on any of these, but I can't help but debate what to choose.

Still thinking about the two I mentioned, Eastern Caribbean on either the Emerald Princess or the RCCL Liberty of the Seas. However, after looking around some more on the internet, now I've got a couple more possibilities to add to the list - 2 different Southern Caribbean itineraries on RCCL Serenade of the Seas.

These itineraries are better for us as we haven't been to any of these islands & there are less at sea days. However, they embark from San Juan instead of Miami or Fort Lauderdale (but later in the day which allows more travel time). Also, it is an older ship - Serenade of the Seas.

What do you think? Would Serenade still have lots of activities? I'm especially thinking about evening stuff like a disco for the "kids" and maybe a piano bar for us. I've read a bunch of reviews on all of these ships, but not many people mention these specifics.

For "kids" your age, I definitely suggest Liberty of the Seas. I think it beats all the other choices hands down for kids that age and I am sixty-six years old. Hubby and I found more than enough to do on sea days on Liberty. In fact, I wish I had more time to enjoy the ship. We have also sailed Liberty's sister ships Freedom and Independence.

Only Freedom class and Oasis class ships have the exciting Flowrider surf simulator, plus there is the rock climbing wall, full sized basketball courts, ice skating rinks, huge gym that even has a boxing ring and punching bags, and so much more than that to do.

Freedom class ships are awesome, most especially for kids and even younger kids plus everyone else too...the young and the young at heart. I've sailed on Solstice too. It is a gorgeous, elegant ship but I would not put it at the top of my list for a ship for those in the eighteen year old range. Even at my age I felt a bit "too young hearted" on that ship.

Liberty of the Seas offers a spirited, lively cruise adventure.