Which Spring Break cruise?

robntawn · November 13, 2006

Hello everyone!

I have asked this question on other boards, as well as this thread, but only received tepid response, so I will repost my question...

We are a family of 5 (my wife and I, and our 3 teens, aged 16,16 and 18). We live in Sacramento and will be taking a cruise the 1st part of April, 2007. We have narrowed our choices down to RCCL Vision of the Seas (April 8-15) and the Diamond Princess (April 7-14) out of LA, or the Dawn Princess out of San Francisco (April 1-11). The kids are out of school April 6-15 for Spring Break. Here are some pros, cons, and various observations:

1. Total cost is pretty close for all 3 cruises, but the 2 LA cruises would require airfare and RT pier transportation, which would be about $900 total. Cruise costs:

Dawn Princess: $4600 total with $375 OBC

Diamond Princess: $4300 total w/ 0 OBC

Vision OTS: $4200 w/ 0 OBC

2. The Dawn and Diamond cabins would be a balcony for my wife and I, and an Inside across the hall for the 3 teens, but the Vision OTS would only be for an Outside and an Inside...no balconies available.

3. We have been on RCCL many times and LOVE the product, and have never been on Princess.

4. Even though Dawn ends up being cheaper pp/pd than the others ($80 vs $120), I worry that the longer cruise will be boring for the teens. Also, they would not miss any school for the 7 day trips, but would have to miss 4 days for the longer cruise. Ditto for my wife and I regarding work.

5. Weather and sea conditions out of SF is rougher and colder than out of LA.

6. The Dawn is an older ship with poor balcony design. The Diamond is much newer with better design.

7. All of the ships go to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo, but the Dawn also goes to Acapulco for 15 hours and Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. Of course, I'm not sure if the teens will find anything to do in either of these "extra" ports!

Anyway, as you can see, I have a dilemna to solve. I would appreciate any insight, experiences, or suggestions my fellow CCers could give me. I've got all 3 cruises reserved, but need to pick one and cancel the rest before it gets too late. Thanks again...

localdeltarider · November 14, 2006

My wife and i live in Fresno but were both raised in Sacramento area. First off i don't understand flying to LA when you can easily make the drive in 6 to 7 hours and save yourself the money. That said i would think that the choice would be between RCCL and Princess. My wife and i chose Princess for our cruise for the following reasons. In no particular order

Princess

1. Freshwater pools

2. your choice of anytime or traditional dining

3. leaves and returns Saturday which gives you Sunday to relax and get settled before having to go back to work or school

4. I like the bigger/newer ship, it never felt crowded and was easy to navigate

5. has large indoor pool for early sea days

I have never been on Vision so i can't say anything about it.

but i will tell you that my wife and i went on Monarch for our first cruise and the Princess cruise staff/food was much better. The entertainment was about the same. I missed the dueling pianos that they had on Monarch. i don't know if they have them on Vision as well but it was very entertaining.

I hope this helps

robntawn · November 15, 2006

My wife and i live in Fresno but were both raised in Sacramento area. First off i don't understand flying to LA when you can easily make the drive in 6 to 7 hours and save yourself the money. That said i would think that the choice would be between RCCL and Princess. My wife and i chose Princess for our cruise for the following reasons. In no particular order

Princess

1. Freshwater pools

2. your choice of anytime or traditional dining

3. leaves and returns Saturday which gives you Sunday to relax and get settled before having to go back to work or school

4. I like the bigger/newer ship, it never felt crowded and was easy to navigate

5. has large indoor pool for early sea days

I have never been on Vision so i can't say anything about it.

but i will tell you that my wife and i went on Monarch for our first cruise and the Princess cruise staff/food was much better. The entertainment was about the same. I missed the dueling pianos that they had on Monarch. i don't know if they have them on Vision as well but it was very entertaining.

I hope this helps