Cruise choice help...

I know that picking a cruise is pretty subjective, but I’m not sure what to do. Since all the ports are new to us, I’m not sure which cruise we would most enjoy.

Cruise 1 $2600

Sunshine 8 day = Aruba, Curacao, Grand Turk

Balcony room (because of the many sea days) deck 7

Cruise 2 $1940

Breeze 7 day = San Juan, St. Thomas, Grand Turk, Amber Cove

4J Inside w/ walkaway view on Lido deck

Cruise 2 $2441

Same as Breeze above except with a Cove Balcony deck 2

I realize there is a big price difference between the 4J and the Balcony so I’m likely to choose the 4J if I go with the Breeze.

We are pretty much beach people. We lead such hectic lives, and my husband works a lot, so we like vacations to be very laid back. This is a surprise cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, so if you think that the Sunshine Cruise is worth the extra cost, then I’m ok with it. The Breeze and the Sunshine are both ships I’ve always wanted to try. We won’t have the kids with us so the water park isn’t important as we won’t use it.

Please help! If I’d been to any of these ports I think it would be easier to decide!

The Breeze but with the Sunshine’s itinerary.

I choose breeze cove balcony. But if you want to save that money go with the 4j.

I love the Sunshine - our favorite ship. Especially for a celebration, you have so many fun food options like Jiji's, Bonsai and Steakhouse (not a fan of Cucina but many are). A lot of people really enjoy her beautiful and huge Serenity area. This cruise has an extra day so that is a huge plus, so when you factor that in, the price difference is much smaller than it seems. It is also a great itinerary that doesn't run year round.

While we have not been on the Breeze, we have done a cove on Magic. We didn't care for the large number of people on the Magic - they were sailing FULL like 4500 people at Christmas and you felt it; the Lido deck was so crammed and it just went on and on. We also didn't care for the cove, though we are very much balcony people. We loved the privacy of it and being close to the water, but were very far from most of the places we go on the ship. And the biggest issue with the cove was the hull noise - all day an night long you could hear the waves as they reverberated through the hull. Made it difficult to sleep at times.

The inside would be a no-go for us; we must have a balcony.

So for us, the decision to take the Sunshine would be an easy one!

Of the two ships, I would choose Breeze. We were on the Sunshine a few years back and had a lot of plumbing issues as did quite a few others on that cruise - one stateroom had to have their entire carpet replaced mid-cruise due to flooding and there were buckets lining the halls catching drips every day. I hadn't really seen any additional problems so had been hoping that they fixed those issues and might consider sailing her again... then just yesterday a post to Heald's page where another family had had major plumbing issues just recently on the Sunshine and had to sleep in another room for a few days while their cabin was repaired. :(

Now lots of people absolutely adore the Sunshine and her bells and whistles are incredible and a ton of fun - but I think the Breeze has at least most of my favorites from the Sunshine. And if the Breeze is like her sister ships - Dream and Magic - she has Tandoori (Indian food). Aft of Lido - open for lunch and some of the best food I have had on a cruise!

I picked Other. Reason being, I would like to try the Vista or the Horizon for the Caribbean. I just want to try out something new on a newer ship. I would be fine with being in an Interior Cabin for the lower price fare.

I would vote for the Sunshine, but in a a interior or ocean view room to save some money. I always go for the extra day on board, and love the Aruba, Curacao, & Grand Turk route. You will have a lot of sea days, but if you are beach people I think you will really enjoy the Sunshine's HUGE serenity area.

I did find one other cruise we could book. It requires postponing until the end of May, but that is the only other time we can do this (without kids).

Magic 8 day $2660

Cove Balcony deck 2

Aruba, Curacao, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay

Magic 8 day $2160

4J Inside w/ walkaway view deck 7

Same ports as above

We’ve only been to HMC

I did find one other cruise we could book. It requires postponing until the end of May, but that is the only other time we can do this (without kids).

 

Magic 8 day $2660

Cove Balcony deck 2

Aruba, Curacao, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay

 

Magic 8 day $2160

4J Inside w/ walkaway view deck 7

Same ports as above

 

We’ve only been to HMC

I would still pick Sunshine - because I would rather be in a regular balcony than a cove. But for you, not having done Half Moon, it might be worth the Magic 8 day with the extra stop because that is 100% a beach day, and lovely.

I would go with Cruise 2. We love Breeze and Lido is our favorite deck.

I would ask when you are going. If during hurricane season, I would go with option #1 for sure. Aruba and Curaçao are outside the hurricane belt so you’d be more likely to avoid any bad hurricanes.

Otherwise, I might go with the balcony on the Breeze. It’s a good itinerary and has a nice balance of sea vs. port days.

I would ask when you are going. If during hurricane season, I would go with option #1 for sure. Aruba and Curaçao are outside the hurricane belt so you’d be more likely to avoid any bad hurricanes.

 

Otherwise, I might go with the balcony on the Breeze. It’s a good itinerary and has a nice balance of sea vs. port days.

It will be in March. We already put the down payment on the Breeze Cruise, and while searching around today I saw the Sunshine Cruise.

It will be in March. We already put the down payment on the Breeze Cruise, and while searching around today I saw the Sunshine Cruise.

Yikes! Spring break. ;p

It will be in March. We already put the down payment on the Breeze Cruise, and while searching around today I saw the Sunshine Cruise.

Well then I definitely vote for the Breeze! As far as the cabin choice, I take back my original cove balcony vote. I mean I always like a balcony room, BUT I've never stayed in one of the 4J cabins and I find them very intriguing. I've read reviews that they're very private because so many people don't realize the walkways are public. And for that much in savings, I would have a hard time not giving it a try.

I picked the Sunshine because of the itinerary. I want to do a Southern Caribbean cruise.

Yikes! Spring break. ;p

I would LOVE to cruise at almost any other time, but because we have to fly one of our kids to grandma and grandpa’s house, it has to be when school is out. :rolleyes: Look forward to when we have the freedom to cruise at less busy and cheaper times!

Well then I definitely vote for the Breeze! As far as the cabin choice, I take back my original cove balcony vote. I mean I always like a balcony room, BUT I've never stayed in one of the 4J cabins and I find them very intriguing. I've read reviews that they're very private because so many people don't realize the walkways are public. And for that much in savings, I would have a hard time not giving it a try.

Yes, the lower price makes it difficult to give up. If it wasn’t on the Lido deck I’d probably be more likely to switch to a Cove, but I’ve never stayed this close to all the “action”.

I definitely want to try the southern itinerary but I would really prefer that that cruise not be during spring break.

The OP states they love beaches, the Breeze's itinerary has 3 ports with great beaches, while the Sunshine has 2.

The OP states they enjoy laid back times, so the Sunshine 8 day has the extra day and more sea days to relax on that balcony. Big Plus.

The balcony cost between the two ships is negligable, $159 total, but the per day cost is $325 Sunshine and $348 Breeze. The Cove balcony gives more privacy, but gets sprayed by the ocean, and should be avoided if someone is prone to motion sickness. The higher Sunshine balcony on deck 7 will probably have cabins above and below it, something not sure with a cove.

Since they haven't been to any of these ports, the wow factor of first impressions should be similar.

For the reasons the OP states, the Sunshine may be a better fit for their 25th anniversary.

If I were choosing for myself, I would go on the Breeze, but that's not the question the OP asked.

The OP states they love beaches, the Breeze's itinerary has 3 ports with great beaches, while the Sunshine has 2.

 

The OP states they enjoy laid back times, so the Sunshine 8 day has the extra day and more sea days to relax on that balcony. Big Plus.

 

The balcony cost between the two ships is negligable, $159 total, but the per day cost is $325 Sunshine and $348 Breeze. The Cove balcony gives more privacy, but gets sprayed by the ocean, and should be avoided if someone is prone to motion sickness. The higher Sunshine balcony on deck 7 will probably have cabins above and below it, something not sure with a cove.

 

Since they haven't been to any of these ports, the wow factor of first impressions should be similar.

 

For the reasons the OP states, the Sunshine may be a better fit for their 25th anniversary.

 

If I were choosing for myself, I would go on the Breeze, but that's not the question the OP asked.

I appreciate your reply! Since I’m pretty clueless about the ports, which two ports have the nice beaches on the Sunshine Cruise?

My biggest complaint about the Breeze balcony setup is that I don’t really like the balconies above deck 5 on any of the Dream class ships. Dh has never stayed in a balcony that wasn’t a Cove but I know he also wouldn’t appreciate looking down on the promenade.

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My biggest complaint about the Breeze balcony setup is that I don’t really like the balconies above deck 5 on any of the Dream class ships. Dh has never stayed in a balcony that wasn’t a Cove but I know he also wouldn’t appreciate looking down on the promenade.

Have you ever considered staying in one of the aft balconies on deck 6-9? We stay in the last ones usually with the L-shape balcony at the rear of the ship where the lanai is smaller. Not sure exactly which cabin it starts at, but when looking down your not staring at the large deck. If you look at pictures of the exterior of the ship you can probably see where the lanai gets narrower in the front and rear of ship to determine which cabins will have this view. Just a thought.

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Have you ever considered staying in one of the aft balconies on deck 6-9? We stay in the last ones usually with the L-shape balcony at the rear of the ship where the lanai is smaller. Not sure exactly which cabin it starts at, but when looking down your not staring at the large deck. If you look at pictures of the exterior of the ship you can probably see where the lanai gets narrower in the front and rear of ship to determine which cabins will have this view. Just a thought.

 

 

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I hadn’t! I just did a mock booking and the closest and highest cabin to the L shaped balconies you are speaking about is 8465 which is right next to one. I put it on hold so I can think about it, bit it’d be nice to just be 2 decks down from the aft pool.

If you’re going in March which is prime time for college spring break I may be inclined for the 8 day Sunshine which may limit the number of college kids on this sailing. I loved the beaches in Aruba. Curaçao is quirky cool, but the best beaches are hours from the port. There are some man made beaches in the vicinity of the dock. I checked spring break dates for colleges and local high schools because I was looking at cruising between March and April and it appears to be evenly split starting around 3/9 and running through the end of the month. I will say your Magic option with HMC sounds appealing to me. We’re beach people (and balcony people) too and that would be an itinerary we would do.

Good luck in your search.

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