25th Anniversary Advice, Please!

We have only cruised twice on Royal Caribbean Oasis and Allure. We'd like to cruise to celebrate our 25th next June. I'm picky and know I'd prefer a newer ship. We'd like a Caribbean itinerary but ports other than St. Thomas/St. Maarten. Should we try Princess? What have your experiences been on changing cruise lines? Any information on your favorite ships/itineraries would be appreciated. Thank you!

yes, you should definitely try Princess, but only Regal and Royal.

Since you didn't mention kids and fun activities you want to do with them, you will find the more adult, relaxed atmosphere of Princess quite agreeable.

If you are not limited to school breaks, try to do the ABC island itinerary.

We don't have children so adult and relaxed is good. We will splurge on a balcony or a suite. Thanks for the info.

First off, changing cruise lines adds variety so I'd encourage you to try it. For the Caribbean, Princess can be a fine choice. But for a special cruise like your 25th, let me suggest one of the longer 10-14 day itineraries. Honestly, their 'routine' 7 day trips out of Ft. Lauderdale are really their entry level product and might not be special enough for this occasion, not that they wouldn't be very nice. Certainly if you're leaving any remaining children at home, it will be a more adult experience than you are used to on RC. :)

I have one other thought. Consider a higher end, small ship experience. We're partial to both Star Clipper and Windstar choosing each, respectively, to celebrate our 25th and then 30th. Enjoy.

Hubby can't take off more than a week from work though I'm retired.

Hubby can't take off more than a week from work though I'm retired.

Gotcha sister. Seriously, go look at Windstar or Star Clipper. They each do some incredible 7 day itineraries sailing out of San Juan, St. Maarten and Barbados. Trust me. It's somewhat more expensive but the trip of a lifetime. And I'm not bashing Princess because we strongly believe they're the carrier of choice in many situations, especially for longer cruises, extended journeys and especially Alaska.

We have only cruised twice on Royal Caribbean Oasis and Allure. We'd like to cruise to celebrate our 25th next June. I'm picky and know I'd prefer a newer ship. We'd like a Caribbean itinerary but ports other than St. Thomas/St. Maarten. Should we try Princess? What have your experiences been on changing cruise lines? Any information on your favorite ships/itineraries would be appreciated. Thank you!

We've only cruised on Princess and have always enjoyed it and saw no need to change. There are advantages, I'm sure, to going on other lines since you see different facilities, different ways, etc. but we liked what we saw, so to speak and saw no need nor had any desire to change. Plus, as my wife and I are both military veterans and Princess offers refundable OBC for military veterans, that was an added bonus. (The only lines that offer that benefit are Princess and Cunard, by the way.) Some cruise lines develop certain reputations, for lack of a better word that may or may not suit a person's or a family's tastes and that may affect how that person might like that line. Disney, of course, probably appeals more to families with smaller children, while Carnival maybe attracts younger, party-people and older couples might feel that Holland-America is more their style. Not to say that some older couples might not want to cruise only on Carnival or RC or PCL or some other line. But, in the end, most cruises seem, at least to us, to be what each cruiser makes of it! As to going "only on Ship X or Ship Y" as one suggested, I'd want to know why they said that. Size? Condition? What makes that ship so good or the other ships so bad as to set that one or ones apart?

Should you try Princess? By all means. I think you'll really enjoy yourselves. At least we have. Heck, we believe the worst cruise we've had was wonderful!

Tom

We alternate between Princess and Royal Caribbean. Each line has things to offer that are different from the other.

RCI is great for having a multitude of activities that appeal to different age groups. More floating resort than ship.

Princess offers more of a classic shipboard experience. There are activities available day and night, but not the rick climbing, surfing type.

Demographically, Princess appeals less to families although there are kids clubs.

We’ve sailed several times on Oasis and enjoyed it, same for Royal Princess.

We do enjoy the older Princess ships more than the older Royal Caribbean ships.

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first off,. changing cruise lines gives you new perspective on cruising in general. sometimes you will find a cruise line you like better and other times you won't.

We have celebrated most anniversaries on Princess (including this year in Nov. our 45th anniversary). We always go with our friends to the Crown Grill Steakhouse for dinner. We are generally treated royally. Sometimes we bring to the ship a special bottle of wine,. other times we have ordered a bottle for the table (sometimes 2).

A cruise is what you make of it unless a ship is beyond repair.

Just enjoy whatever you do:):):)

We have only cruised twice on Royal Caribbean Oasis and Allure. We'd like to cruise to celebrate our 25th next June. I'm picky and know I'd prefer a newer ship. We'd like a Caribbean itinerary but ports other than St. Thomas/St. Maarten. Should we try Princess? What have your experiences been on changing cruise lines? Any information on your favorite ships/itineraries would be appreciated. Thank you!

I would try Princess, but try to stick to the newest ships. They are the nicest, and very well appointed.

We are looking forward to finally sailing the Regal Princess!!

I have always thought that I wanted to experience this ship!!!!

We will be doing the Western Caribbean. Even though we have seen Jamaica years ago. (Falmouth is pretty much a poor port)

We have also been to Mexico but not Cozumel.

Okay, sister jo, here are some thoughts....

I would probably recommend Princess and the Regal, as an option.

The Princess Sanctuary is one of the best of these Adult Only areas for rental loungers out there.

(If you sail Princess... board as early as you possibly can, and RUN, don't walk up to the Sanctuary to see if there are any loungers available.)

Also to note, the cabins and especially the balconies on Regal are small. If you can swing a Deluxe Balcony or a mini-suite, then you might want to do that! There are a few cabins that, due to design logistics, have larger balconies.... go over the deck plans carefully and look for those. We had booked one of the deluxe balconies on the bump-out on deck 8, with a larger balcony. It is categorized as 'obstructed', but it isn't really obstructed at all. But, alas, we had to cancel and re-schedule, so we missed out on that one.

I would recommend Princess, especially during off seasons with fewer kids/families, as a very nice cruise.

And, I think I would also recommend you see what Celebrity has to offer!!!!

Here is the kicker....

As you have mentioned, itinerary is a big factor.

On Princess, and most other lines, the itineraries can be similar.

Look for Western Caribbean or Southern Caribbean itineraries as a change-up and to avoid the islands you mentioned.

Princess does what is commonly called the ABC Islands itinerary. But, I don't think you can do that on the Regal or even the Royal.

HAL's new-build, the Nieuw Statendam, will be sailing the Caribbean.

Not the huge Family Mega Ships, and also not exactly 'Princess'.

These are what might be called mid-sized ships. Smaller than the Regal Princess.

The HAL private Island is supposed to be one of the best.

The smaller sailing ship cruises are probably SO neat!!!

But, they are also very different, and not for everyone.

Very unique and intimate... But not what one thinks of as cruising with these other lines, at all.

Do a bit more research....

You can go here on cruise critic and search for Caribbean cruises during your time frame...

Even put in the favored port(s) that you might like.

It will show you most all of the options out there.

Cruise Critic is your go-to source of information!

We are looking forward to finally sailing the Regal Princess!!

I have always thought that I wanted to experience this ship!!!!

We will be doing the Western Caribbean. Even though we have seen Jamaica years ago. (Falmouth is pretty much a poor port)

We have also been to Mexico but not Cozumel.

 

Okay, sister jo, here are some thoughts....

 

I would probably recommend Princess and the Regal, as an option.

The Princess Sanctuary is one of the best of these Adult Only areas for rental loungers out there.

(If you sail Princess... board as early as you possibly can, and RUN, don't walk up to the Sanctuary to see if there are any loungers available.)

Also to note, the cabins and especially the balconies on Regal are small. If you can swing a Deluxe Balcony or a mini-suite, then you might want to do that! There are a few cabins that, due to design logistics, have larger balconies.... go over the deck plans carefully and look for those. We had booked one of the deluxe balconies on the bump-out on deck 8, with a larger balcony. It is categorized as 'obstructed', but it isn't really obstructed at all. But, alas, we had to cancel and re-schedule, so we missed out on that one.

 

I would recommend Princess, especially during off seasons with fewer kids/families, as a very nice cruise.

 

And, I think I would also recommend you see what Celebrity has to offer!!!!

 

Here is the kicker....

As you have mentioned, itinerary is a big factor.

On Princess, and most other lines, the itineraries can be similar.

Look for Western Caribbean or Southern Caribbean itineraries as a change-up and to avoid the islands you mentioned.

 

Princess does what is commonly called the ABC Islands itinerary. But, I don't think you can do that on the Regal or even the Royal.

 

Princess doesn't do the ABCs on anything less than a 10 day cruise going forward. They've ceded that to Carnival which serves the market with 3 ships.

 

HAL's new-build, the Nieuw Statendam, will be sailing the Caribbean.

Not the huge Family Mega Ships, and also not exactly 'Princess'.

These are what might be called mid-sized ships. Smaller than the Regal Princess.

The HAL private Island is supposed to be one of the best.

 

The smaller sailing ship cruises are probably SO neat!!!

But, they are also very different, and not for everyone.

Very unique and intimate... But not what one thinks of as cruising with these other lines, at all.

 

It's amazing but quite different. Incredibly personalized service but typically no bells and whistles. Several lines offer competing products. The best part are the destinations available. No one is ever getting to the Tobago Cays or Montserrat aboard a 100K ton cruise ship.

 

Do a bit more research....

 

You can go here on cruise critic and search for Caribbean cruises during your time frame...

Even put in the favored port(s) that you might like.

It will show you most all of the options out there.

 

Cruise Critic is your go-to source of information!

See my comments above. :)

We don't have children so adult and relaxed is good. We will splurge on a balcony or a suite. Thanks for the info.

Be forewarned .... balconies on the newer ships are drastically smaller than on the older ships.

Yes, as mentioned... if you are booking far enough in advance to find one available, look for one of the cabins that does have a larger balcony. And, don't forget to look for these that might be listed as 'obstructed' but are not really obstructed...