Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Advice needed before planning next cruise

buddybean11

By buddybean11,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

buddybean11

buddybean11

Posted
Posted

Need help deciding which would be the best cruise to book for our next adventure. Would love to go to Alaska but at $1000+ per person for 4 of us is just not in the budget (cruise, airfare, and motel).

 

We are looking at:

7-day on the Fantasy out of Charleston 10/4/14 going to Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

7-day on Liberty out of Port Canaveral 10/4/14 going to Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya.

8-day on Liberty out of Port Canaveral 11/7/14 or 11/28/14 going to Grand Turk, St Thomas, St Marten and San Juan.

 

Pros & Cons-

CHARLESTON

*Live 60 minutes from Charleston so no gas bill, hotel bill and free parking in Handicap parking for week. $15 - $55pp cheaper than the other cruises.

*Have already been to Nassau - not my favorite

*Don't mind smaller fantasy class ships - been on 3

 

PORT CANAVERAL

*Can drive to Port Canaveral in 6+ hrs. - +-$100 gas,

*Will drive a day ahead so have hotel and parking costs, restaurant for at least 2 meals

*Have been to Cozumel twice.

*Never been on Libery (only on Fantasy class ships)

*Can go for 8 days instead of 7 for only $35 - $55pp more.

*Goes to 4 ports instead of 3.

 

 

Is it worth the extra money for Port Canaveral cruises? Please give opinions of ships, ports, likes, dislikes, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
buddybean11

buddybean11

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I would pick the 8 day out of port Canaveral.

 

I would drive down the morning, we sail, to avoid hotel prices. if you left by 6 AM you should be there by Noon and have plenty of time.

 

It just scares me with all the accidents that occur on I-95. What if we get tied up in traffic and miss the boat?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruzinmamaTN

cruzinmamaTN

Posted
Posted
It just scares me with all the accidents that occur on I-95. What if we get tied up in traffic and miss the boat?

 

Like you, I am very hesitant to travel same day, even by car. Many years ago, we got stuck in massive traffic on I 95, and then had a huge t-storm roll in, just outside Miami, which caused an accident and pretty much shut down the interstate. We were stuck just outside of Miami for almost 2 hours. Stopped. I was frantically on the phone with the GS in Miami, explaining the situation, our location, etc... they were helpful, and we kept them updated. We were LITERALLY the last ones on the boat before they pulled in the gangway. Never.Ever.Again.

 

For the small difference in overall price, I would go for the 8 day with all new ports and a new ship class. You will have the added gas, hotel & parking, however there are lots of ways to help reduce those costs by planning ahead. And for us, more ship time + new ports would be worth the trade off.

 

Good luck with your decision!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaMilkman

FlaMilkman

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would also vote for the 8 day out of Port Canaveral. There are several hotels (the Radisson Port Canaveral) that offer a park and stay package deal. If you don't stay there and drive down the same day the parking is $7.99 per day (as compared to $15 / day at the port) if you pre-purchase.

 

In addition to the newer ship with all of the upgrades the fact that your itinerary will be further south should mean that the weather will be more conducive to cruising. I have sailed on the Liberty and loved it. Two weeks ago I was on a Fantasy class ship and had a blast as well.

 

Either way you will be on vacation so don't worry too much about your decision.

Edited by FlaMilkman
Link to comment
Share on other sites
larkz

larkz

Posted
Posted
I would also vote for the 8 day out of Port Canaveral. There are several hotels (the Radisson Port Canaveral) that offer a park and stay package deal. If you don't stay there and drive down the same day the parking is $7.99 per day (as compared to $15 / day at the port) if you pre-purchase.

 

In addition to the newer ship with all of the upgrades the fact that your itinerary will be further south should mean that the weather will be more conducive to cruising. I have sailed on the Liberty and loved it. Two weeks ago I was on a Fantasy class ship and had a blast as well.

 

Either way you will be on vacation so don't worry too much about your decision.

 

Agree 100%

 

That 8 day itinerary looks great -- and Liberty is my second favorite ship so far, with the 2.0 upgrades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
askimdog

askimdog

Posted
Posted

Longer and cheaper are two powerful points, this can be determined by the "per day" pay. We cruise for ports, so that is a strong persuader as well. We LOVED Roatan and Belize, along with Ensenada, it makes our 3 favorite ports of all, we dislike beaches and private islands, as we tend to enjoy local flavor and culture more.

 

I also suggest the drive day off to save money, 6 hours is not bad, we drive 6 hours to get to the airport in Minneapolis to fly to Florida...so my suggestions is drive and just leave several hours earliar than needed. Saying that is odd, since we always fly in a day or two prior to cruising, this way we can explore the local port area as part of our vacation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
abitaturbodog

abitaturbodog

Posted
Posted

We live in Beaufort, SC (about an hour from Charleston) and would never sail out of there because the destinations out of Charleston are so blah, and you don't even go to the Caribbean.

 

Pick either PC sailing. I'd go with the 8 day because you only live once! And like other posters said, PC hotels have really good stay and sail programs. We've used the Country Inn and Suites and it was a great deal. There's just nothing like waking up in the morning and seeing your cruise ship out of your hotel window. It makes the extra cost of going out of PC worthwhile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted
We live in Beaufort, SC (about an hour from Charleston) and would never sail out of there because the destinations out of Charleston are so blah, and you don't even go to the Caribbean.

.

 

Actually, the 7 nighters on Fantasy go to Grand Turk so they are considered Caribbean cruises.

 

For an extra cruise it's worth considering for a 2 hour drive for you (owned a place at Fripp for several years so know once past Beaufort, it's at least a 2 hours from Beaufort to Charleston.)

 

LuLu

~~~

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bostonjetset Great Review Rare

Bostonjetset

Posted
Posted

I would pick the 7 night sailing from PC. Mostly because it is Sat to Sat whereas both 8 nights leave on a Friday requiring yet another day off from work [i prefer not to waste extra days off work for a trip that doesn't require it since I can just save the day towards another trip! :D] You will already go down the night before so that is 6 days off work but if you have to go Thursday you will need to take 7 days off work.

 

Also, the Western itinerary is more exotic save for Cozumel. Roatan is one of my favourite islands; beautiful setting and the Honduran people are very welcoming. Belize is a bit 3rd world but does have a lot of gems to be discovered; if you have never been to a Mayan site it is worthwhile at least once.

 

The Fantasy from Charleston would not even be in the running for me due to the lackluster ports of call [unless of course you can snag a real steal!]

Link to comment
Share on other sites
manda513

manda513

Posted
Posted

Depending on who is traveling...

If you have children Id go with the 7 day Liberty western. It is by far the favorite one my kids have been on. Lots of kid friendly excursions too. If adults only id go for the 8 day eastern. Lots of beautiful beaches to chose from. The liberty is a great ship. Has the 2.0 upgrades too!

 

Amanda from KY

wife to Danny

Mom to two girls K (10) and C (8)

First sailing on Carnival Imagination May 2010

Carnival Liberty May 2012 for hubbys graduation

Carnival Dream March 2013 (first balcony!)

Next up- Carnival Sunshine March 30th 2014.

Celebrating hubbys graduation (Bachelors degree!) and our 10 year anniversary with our first Spa room.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...