Aruba & Curacao?

[colesc15]

Hi everyone. I posted this on the Royal Caribbean board already and Princess but I figured I'd go here too.. I'm typically a Royal Caribbean cruiser..

 

I'm already looking for cruises for next March, and I really wanted to do Southern Caribbean to Aruba and Curacao. With Adventure of the Seas going into dry dock after her March 2nd cruise in 2014, it pretty much eliminates those two ports from my option on Royal Caribbean because I don't want to do an 11 day cruise and I don't want to go out of Colon either. I posted this a week or so ago and it got moved and I got little response so please don't move this again. :) I want to stay on Royal Caribbean, but I don't think I'm going to have any other options. The new Sunshine class ships won't be done yet so. If I did the Princess cruise, I believe it's a 10 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on Emerald Princess.. or the 8 day Carnival Breeze to these ports, would I be disappointed since I've fallen in love with Royal?

 

Both of these other cruises go to where I want to go, and the Princess cruise is about $1000 more total for 2 people in a balcony versus the Carnival one. Would it be worth it for 2 extra days and on Princess instead of Carnival? Like I said, I'd prefer to stay on Royal but I don't think there's another option. Which would you Royal Cruisers choose? :)

 

I hope this doesn't get moved again.

[colesc15]

Anyone?

[cruisetexas]

We've done the eight day on Carnival to Aruba and Curacao (not on the Breeze) and loved it.

 

If you've not cruised Carnival, and want to give it a shot, I say go for it. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Any cruise is what you make of it, and the eight day cruises are typically an older crowd. We're in our late 50's and have NEVER had any issues with the Carnival reputation of a crazy party line. We're on our 10th this year.

 

Our only issue was that we were in Aruba on a Sunday and there was nothing open.....oh and it rained and was an ugly day! I would do this itinerary again in a heartbeat. Love Curacao. We walked around town and then rented a car and drove to a lovely secluded 'locals' beach. Great day.

 

Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

[chipq]

Aruba and Curacao are great cruise stops. I have done it on a 10-day cruise in the past and the cruise went by so fast. I too have not had issue with either of the cruise lines, but I usually do not go for the 3 or 4 day cruises which at times appear to be the ones most associated to party boats. Check out the reviews for the ships you are considering, toss out 10% of the "worst ever" reviews and the 10% of the "best ever" reviews. You will love these ports.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[Crusing Nut]

I just did the St Thomas, Naussa, Aruba and Curacao that sailed out of Puerto Rico in Jan and loved it. You will find that each cruise lines does things a little bit different. If you don't want to sail with a lot of children, time your cruise during school times. Don't schedule your cruise during spring break.

 

Don't want to do the buffet during lunch times, go to MDR if opened. What I do love about Carnival is that they do not have all these speciality places that charge extra for everything except the steakhouse, chef's table and upgraded coffee/cake shop, at least on the older ships. With the Breeze and the Dream, I believe their Italian Restaurant is an additional charge.

[JohnBoy in NC]

Anyone?

 

I'm doing the crown princess out of fll January 2014....they do aruba every other sailing I think. 2013 the Caribbean princess does this itinerary. My sailing was cheaper than the breeze...even w the extra night (8 day vs 7 day)

[colesc15]

I'm doing the crown princess out of fll January 2014....they do aruba every other sailing I think. 2013 the Caribbean princess does this itinerary. My sailing was cheaper than the breeze...even w the extra night (8 day vs 7 day)

 

I think emerald princess was my only princess option in March 2014

[stlrboo]

We did Aruba and Curacao on a 12 nite REPO from Tampa to NYC last year.. Our first sailing on an NCL ship.. (enjoyed it)..:) Emerald Princess 10 day to those ports is on my 'bucket list', as we enjoy Princess as well as Carnival, and would like to do some more exploring at each of those ports! :p

To us, Royal is a tad more 'dressy'.. but we really like their ships! There is NO real reason you would not like Carnival.. I am retired, and the wife is early 50's, so we aren't part of the 'party crowd' we haven't seen on Carnival!..:rolleyes:;)

[Kstofflet]

Since the BREEZE is their newest vessel you will get all of "Carnivals" bells and whistles. Now that is not saying much compared to Royal. However, you will not have to worry about the clientele that you may have a perception of tied to Carnival. This is an 8 day cruise and I will admit the 3 and 4 day cruises are terrible. However, you will not experience that on the longer cruises. It has been stated may times (and of course this is everyone's personal opinion) that the dining room food is better in overall taste on Carnival. However, the shows are TERRIBLE on carnival compared to Royal (if that is something you are interested in). The drinks are a little cheaper and the balcony rooms are larger on Carnival. SO, it comes down to a price point which is why MANY folks choose Carnival. Bottom line, it just comes to dollars and cents. 1000 is a lot for a 1X experience. You will have to decide.

 

 

 

Hi everyone. I posted this on the Royal Caribbean board already and Princess but I figured I'd go here too.. I'm typically a Royal Caribbean cruiser..

 

I'm already looking for cruises for next March, and I really wanted to do Southern Caribbean to Aruba and Curacao. With Adventure of the Seas going into dry dock after her March 2nd cruise in 2014, it pretty much eliminates those two ports from my option on Royal Caribbean because I don't want to do an 11 day cruise and I don't want to go out of Colon either. I posted this a week or so ago and it got moved and I got little response so please don't move this again. :) I want to stay on Royal Caribbean, but I don't think I'm going to have any other options. The new Sunshine class ships won't be done yet so. If I did the Princess cruise, I believe it's a 10 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale on Emerald Princess.. or the 8 day Carnival Breeze to these ports, would I be disappointed since I've fallen in love with Royal?

 

Both of these other cruises go to where I want to go, and the Princess cruise is about $1000 more total for 2 people in a balcony versus the Carnival one. Would it be worth it for 2 extra days and on Princess instead of Carnival? Like I said, I'd prefer to stay on Royal but I don't think there's another option. Which would you Royal Cruisers choose? :)

 

I hope this doesn't get moved again.

[broberts]

I was on Emerald a year ago, a different 10 day itinerary. She is a nice ship with a great crew but on our cruise the food was not nearly as good as I had expected.

[billfish]

We have done the Aruba /Curacao cruise twice on the Miracle and most recently cruised on the Breeze . I would think you would enjoy the trip on the Breeze . I was not a fan of carnival until we did our first cruise with them sixyears ago . 7 of our last 9 cruises have been on Carnival and we have loved them all.

[ready2cruzagain]

I have done the 8 day Aruba/Curacao cruise on the Breeze last Nov and I have also done the 7 day Aruba/Curacao cruise on the Caribbean Princess last Dec. Both had their positives and negatives.

 

Enjoyed both cruises. It was my first Princess cruise and fell in love with Princess. On Princess there was a lot more live bands playing around the ship and there was even a live band on the lido deck by the pool on Princess which the Breeze does not have. The Breeze uses a dj.

 

The production shows....Carnival does have 4 new production shows but Princess beat them hands down. Better shows and better entertainers. Lots more live dancers and a live 7 piece orchestra with the shows.

 

Food....Carnival has Cucina del Capitano which is free for lunch and it is awesome! Ate there almost daily. also, loved the Tandoori grill! Did not care for the Guys Burgers...but this is all personal taste.

 

Carnival has a brunch on sea days instead of breakfast and lunch in the mdr. Princess still has breakfast and lunch in the mdr. Princess's food IMHO was really good in mdr. Carnival's food...hit or miss in mdr.

 

Size of rooms...I really could not tell a difference at all.

 

Age differences...slightly older crowd on the Caribbean Princess. A lot less kids...was only 60 kids on Princess and the Breeze I have no clue how many but there was a lot.

 

Overall...enjoyed both cruises. But I must say, I would not pay $1,000 more to go on the Caribbean Princess.

[colesc15]

I'll be on Allure in 2 weeks.. For anyone who has been on Allure and Breeze.. Will I be dissapointed?

[stlrboo]

I'll be on Allure in 2 weeks.. For anyone who has been on Allure and Breeze.. Will I be dissapointed?

Breeze is a nice, new ship with many great qualities.. However, the Allure is a city within itself, or a ship where you don't have to leave her to have fun... :p

The Breeze would be more than enough for most people, but the RCL Oasis and Allure are 'over the top'.. :rolleyes:

If you want to have a good time, for a good price, the Breeze will certainly do that.. If you want a 'walk in the park' and ice rinks, the Allure is for you!

For the $$$.. I am happy with Carnival..!! :D Have a great time, no matter your choice..

[FirstAlto]

I'll be on Allure in 2 weeks.. For anyone who has been on Allure and Breeze.. Will I be dissapointed?

 

We were on the Oasis in 2011 and just got off the Adventure of the Sea last week - you really have to cultivate the mind-set that your cruise on the Allure will be different from any cruise you will ever go on.

With that in mind, I think a cruise on the Breeze will be great - and we totally enjoyed our stops at Aruba and Curaçao. ;);

[colesc15]

Keep opinions coming :)

[jimboridesmtb]

We were in Aruba and Bonaire on the Caribbean Princess and Aruba and Curaçao on the Zuiderdam (Holland America).The islands are great but after being dissatisfied with our Princess cruise last year we gave Carnival a try this year. Carnival may be cheaper but we felt it was a much better cruise than our Princess cruise. Just goes to show that it doesn't always matter how much you pay. We felt the service, food and rooms were better on our Carnival cruise than Princess.

[iambumbo]

I've sailed on Royal Caribbean 3 times (and will again next week), Carnival 3 times, and Princess once. I wouldn't let a change in ship line affect your decision to hit Aruba and Curacao. They are great islands (along with Bonaire) and there are plenty of things to see and do on the islands.

 

There's also nowhere near enough difference in my experience between Carnival and Princess (even with 2 extra nights thrown in) to justify $1000 in extra cost. Given the scenario you've outlined, I'd jump on Carnival in a heartbeat. Have fun!

[colesc15]

I've sailed on Royal Caribbean 3 times (and will again next week), Carnival 3 times, and Princess once. I wouldn't let a change in ship line affect your decision to hit Aruba and Curacao. They are great islands (along with Bonaire) and there are plenty of things to see and do on the islands.

 

There's also nowhere near enough difference in my experience between Carnival and Princess (even with 2 extra nights thrown in) to justify $1000 in extra cost. Given the scenario you've outlined, I'd jump on Carnival in a heartbeat. Have fun!

 

I think I may.. I could get a suite for cheaper than Princess I think