Help ! First time cruiser :-)

Hi

I am looking to take a first cruise in May 2013 with two teenagers and I have narrowed my choices to :

Royal Caribbean-Navigator of the Seas-7 nights

Princess Cruises-Ruby Princess-12 nights

Both depart from Rome / Venice and take in Greece,Turkey,Italy.

Although I appreciate entertainment for the children, I would not want to be on a cruise totally dedicated to youngsters. Peace at mealtimes is welcome as is space on board the ship.

Also, is there a best time to book as I am unsure as to when the best deals are available.

Many thanks.:)

I doubt you could go wrong on either cruise.

If you read around the board, you will see the topic of "when to book" discussed regularly. Answer- there is no public acknowledged good time, because everyone would book then, and the cruise lines would have no incentive to lower prices then!

Rather, virtually all cruise lines will give you the lower price, if the price you booked at drops, prior to final payment. So book now, assure yourself of the cabin level, type and location you want, and monitoir the prices. If it happens to drop, again, prior to final payment, then go through your travel agent, or whomever you book thru, and seek the lower price.

Hi, I can only speak for RCCL as I've not sailed on Princess but you won't be dissappointed with Royal. Beautiful ships, great service and so much to do for teens and adults alike. We've always traveled with our now 20 year old daughter and she loved RCCL. She's made great friends that she's still in contact with even 5 years on. A word of advice is to encourage your teens to go to the teen club on the first day. It's when everyone is shy so meeting others is easier and bonds are formed quite early on. It's just a bit harder trying to meld in later on. Even if they're not a teen club sort of person they'll meet other teens and can then do their own thing as a group.

The only thing I'd say with regards your decision is if there's not much of a price difference I think I'd take the Princess and get the extra 5 nights. I'm sure Princess will be great too. The most horrible thing about cruising is having to disembark at the end so give yourself the extra days.

Re booking, CruiserBruce has a good point. Also if you want a bargain and are not fussed about where on the ship you end up you could look at a guarantee booking too. It's usually significantly cheaper and means that you are guaranteed a cabin of a certain type or better eg if it's an interior guarantee you're guaranteed at worst an inside on the 2nd floor but could end up in a larger inside on the top floor - same applies to balcony guarantee or whatever stateroom type you choose. You really do need to be flexible as you can't insist on a particular part of the ship. If you'll be in more that one cabin you can have your bookings linked and the cruisecompany will try and put you close-ish. We've done guarantees in the past and have always ended up close to our linked cabins. On our upcoming cruise we lucked out and are side by side. If unsure of whether you might have sea-sickness issues you may want to opt for the safer option and book a particular midship, lower floor cabin and pay the extra. I suggest that perhaps speak to your travel agent and see how full the ship that you decide on is currently and make a decision based on that.

Mediteranean cruises are usually port intensive, so the ship is a secondary concern. I would go with the itinerary you like best.

Our one and only Med cruise was 13 nights. We could have turned around and gotten right back on for another 13 nights. The time flies by.

Agree with the comment on duration. If all else are reasonably equal, more days on a cruise is incredible. Enjoy.

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

I would book the earliest you can.

If you were considering a Caribbean Cruise I would say RCI but in this case I would go with Princess. When our children were of similar ages we took them on a Princess Mediterranean Cruise. The Med is all about the ports and you will see a lot more on a 12 day cruise.

Try to arrive for your cruise two to three days before the cruise. It will give you all time to tour, to ensure that cancelled or delayed flights do not cause you to miss the ship. to get over the jet lag and to have your luggage should it go astray for a day or two.

Keith

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

My 14-year-old niece had a great time in the Navigator's kids club and is still in touch with her friends from around the world a year and a half later. It's a great itinerary, and I'm sure the Ruby Princess's itinerary is great too. I would probably opt for the longer cruise too if it wasn't significantly more expensive!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I would choose the 12 day cruise -- more ports to see.

Hi

 

I am looking to take a first cruise in May 2013 with two teenagers and I have narrowed my choices to :

 

Royal Caribbean-Navigator of the Seas-7 nights

 

Princess Cruises-Ruby Princess-12 nights

 

Both depart from Rome / Venice and take in Greece,Turkey,Italy.

 

Although I appreciate entertainment for the children, I would not want to be on a cruise totally dedicated to youngsters. Peace at mealtimes is welcome as is space on board the ship.

 

Also, is there a best time to book as I am unsure as to when the best deals are available.

 

Many thanks.:)

You have narrowed it down to two wonderful ships. We've been on both. Great service and staff on both ships...the Navigator bigger but older. As previously stated, Mediterranean cruises are port intensive. Have fun planning your shore excursions and make sure to join your roll-call once your booked. If cost and time is not an issue, most members of Cruise Critic will perhaps choose the longer 12-day cruise....we would. You'll have a few sea-days to recover. Happy Sailing! :)

If I was fortunate enough to have your delema, I would go with the 12 day :D

Just wanted to echo what the previous poster said about the teens going to the meet at the Kids Club. Our first cruise, my son headed up there for the 7pm meet time. When no one showed up by 7:05 - he left. He did eventually meet others his age, but it took a couple days.

Thank you everybody for taking time to reply. My holiday dates changed and I had to look at different options. I chose RCI Splendour of the seas from Venice July 2013. We are extremely excited and the holiday cannot come soon enough.

We have booked 4 nights in Venice either side of the cruise to avoid any mishaps and I will take the children ,as advised ,to the teen club meeting first off to avoid potential teenage awkwardness.

Many thanks

Joanne :) :)

Joanne, that sounds wonderful. Congratulations.

Keith

Sounds wonderful! Have a great time!