how to choose between 2 cruises?

[scrapperv]

HI :)we have never cruised before and im learning lots reading all the posts. we are going to Florida for the first time and thought to add a cruise on and within our budget I have figured its either the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Sea or The Carnival Sensation..Both have good and bad reviews. How do you decide? We want decent food. some good shows and fun for the boys , they love to swim also , they will be 12 and 13, I am pricing now we want to go within the first 2 weeks of Feb 2015. Thanks for your advice in Advance. Im so excited. On the other hand do we wait and save to go on a more pricey cruise in the future instead??

V :):cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Carnival is more of a party line.

JMO -- I would go with RCI.

[zoncom]

Do a search-Searchcruisecritic at top right of page. Look for the CC reviews. Neither fare very well. I always look at editors reviews, most realistic. I would look for one of the new Mega ships for the total family experience.CCL, RCL have em.

[Keith1010]

You can read the member review section of cruise critic to see what others think of the two ships you are considering. See how they rate this things that are most important to you.

 

Keith

[Jimnbigd]

First, be sure to use more than the price of the cruise for your budget. You'll have tips (around $12 per day per person), shore excursions (optional but probably desirable), and maybe some drinks (non-alcoholic non carbonated is free, like tea, coffee, and lemonade).

 

I'd probably save up for the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. It is more expensive, but definitely has the WOW factor.

 

As for the two ships you've mentioned, I like Royal Caribbean more, but both should be fine. Perfect, no. But you'll have fun on either one. All cruise ships seem to have good and bad reviews. I usually look the last 20 or member reviews and see how many were good and how many were bad. If the majority are bad -- especially if they seem to have the same complaint -- then I'd probably not go on that ship. Food especially seems to be very subjective. I find the food on both RCI and Carnival to be OK, and often very good. Kids might like the burgers on Carnival -- Anyone know if the Carnival Sensation ship has the burger grill by the pool? Plus Carnival ships usually have good water slides, though it might be a little chilly in early February to use them.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Jimnbigd

[goobz]

Carnival is a budget party type cruise. Think hairy chest contests and hundreds of people drinking and dancing to YMCA on the pool deck.

 

Going in February there will be very few kids on board. That will probably be a plus for you but a minus for them.

 

Neither ship have pools you can swim in, they are play pools. Swim/snorkel at your port excursions.

 

Personally I would pick RCI, but it depends what you are looking for.

[marco]

Half of the folks are going to say "go on RCI' the other half will recommend "C". Both would be a fun experience. As you've never been on a cruise, I'd just choose based on cabin availability/date/itinerary/price.

[travlnblueberries]

My vote without hesitation, RCI

[cb at sea]

A week long cruise on Carnival will be no different than a week long on RCI....Shorter cruises on both lines will be "party time".....longer cruises, not so much! Carnival isn't the 'Party ship" that it used to be!

 

Either will give you a great time.

 

Carnival's standard cabins are larger than RCI's!

[JimAOk1945]

Having cruised on both lines, I vote for Royal Caribbean.

 

Another thing to consider is, there is more to cruising than the ship and food. Take a look at the itinerary. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? Try to think of it as a "one time" trip, something that you may never have the opportunity to repeat. This might help with the decision making process.

 

Happy cruising! It's a great way to spend time with the family.

Edited July 8, 2014 by JimAOk1945

[cruiseapril]

Are your ports Coco Cay and Nassau for the Enchantment and

Nassau and Freeport for the Sensation?

 

If so, you would want to read up on the ports and the types of things you want to do before choosing.

[Calgon1]

Don't overlook Costa Cruise Lines. Very inexpensive out of Florida and select sailings . . . kids sail FREE!

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Default.htm

 

 

Would also suggest you contact a CLIA certified Travel Agent. Work with them and they'll guide you to the best cruise, itinerary, and line for your wants and needs.

http://www.cruising.org/vacation/welcome

 

Edited July 8, 2014 by Calgon1

[HMT213]

My vote would be for RCI- we looked at these exact cruises (leaving in March though) and the Carnival cruise only stops in one port- you have a "sea" day while the RCI one stops in another "private" port. I'm not a big "sea day" person and if you really want to go back on the boat at the private port and/or not get off at all, you will have the ship to yourself instead of it being as busy as a sea day. We reserved the RCI cruise for our family although I'm looking at switching to Disney since our kids are little. Have fun!

[SparkleBee]

I don't have experience with either but just by reputation Carnival is more partiers and Royal Caribbean is known for having lots of fun stuff for kids. Royal sounds like it's a little higher class (again, I don't know, it's just my impression from researching). I'd absolutely look carefully at the ports and see which are better and that would mostly make my choice. I think either way you will have a blast!!

[OCruisers]

We've cruised on both Carnival & RCCL several times.

My pick between those two would certainly be RCCL.

LuLu

[scrapperv]

:):) Wow Thank you all for your replies! They are both 4 day cruises. yes cruiseapril those are the ports and I have been reading up on them.And wow you all have gone on soo many cruises! Thank you Jimnbigd, ill take your advice and look into other costs too, I had figured the gratuities on but not all the diff things to do off the boat . Im still in debate what to do. Might save up and go on a diff trip and then we can factor in going out of diff ports, i had just been looking into Port Canaveral bc its the closest to Orlando. I will heed all your advice and knowledge and look more on this site also. Thanks

V:p

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Go for the RCL..

[Dancer Bob]

Based on what the OP said, I wouldn't recommend Costa- they're only offering 10-day cruises from Miami. And depending on what part of Ontario they're from, a competent travel agent may be hard to find.

Which of the two ships will a 12 & 13 year old like better? Impossible to predict.