15th anniversary cruise

[cruizinonup]

I am trying to decide on a cruise for our 15th anniversary. I will be 34 and my DH will be 37 at the time-late 09. Please help me with advice on these ships. We plan to book a Balcony Cabin.

Holland America Westerdam

Emerald Princess

Norwegian Pearl

 

Thanks in advance. I was posting these questions on the boards and was afraid I was getting Biased answers. This way I thought I could get everyone's opinions.

[Arwenmark]

Telling you about the ships themselves will not help you much, what kind of experience are you looking for? HAL would be the most formal or refined experience. Princess has anytime seating available, which you might want on an anniversary cruise and it is more middle of the road and NCL has Freestyle everything, meaning anytime dining with whom you like or by yourselves, dressing very casually or you can dress up if you want etc. so it is the most easy going.

So first decide which enviornment is right for you.

[kgm0612]

My husband & I celebrated our 25th aboard the Pearl back in June 07' when we cruised Alaska.

 

It was our first time on NCL. I loved the ship, the free-style cruising, our balcony cabin, etc. I guess it all depends on what itinerary you're intested in.

 

Karen

[cruiseapril]

Hi- We were on the Westerdam this year and had a wonderful cruise. Have also enjoyed Princess. Which itinerary interests you?

[Keith1010]

Out of the three I would recommend Princess.

 

Keith

[cruizinonup]

These are all Eastern Car. at that time of the year. We are not much of partiers but do enjoy people watching. We love Carnival, but just wanted to try something a little nicer. Costa has already been knocked off the list. I have heard Princess can be a little stuffy. I think Holland America will be the next one off the list. Wanted to try Royal Car. but their 7 night Eastern C. only makes 3 stops the others make 4. I would prefer the less sea days.

[arlodog]

I would pick based on the times in port and the ports of call. I agree that we enjoy less sea days too and always try and have 4 ports on a 7 day. I have not been on HAL yet, but am going in Feb on my first cruise on this line. I am looking forward to it and may put down a deposit for our 25th aniversary cruise for 2010 if it seems like a line we would want to take to Alsaka. We have enjoyed our RCCL cruises, but have not sailed on them for a couple of years because we have always found better pricing and ports on other lines. I would say from my research that HAL and Princess are very similar and you would be happy with either one! Have fun planning!

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I would vote for Princess as well but would definitely base it on the ports.:) I don't feel that Princess is stuffy at all but my last couple of cruises have been with a group of family and friends so maybe I don't see it. That being said, my in laws (78 & 80) have been on HAL and feel it's too quiet at night for them. Everyone has an opinion!:D

 

If you do select Princess, check out the Caribe balcony cabins. They are oversized and half covered and have exposed. Also, since it's your anniversary, you can have the Ultimate Dinner or Breakfast served on your balcony.

[cruizinonup]

The dinner on the Balcony and the movie under the stars both sound great. I had all but decided on them until all the stuffy and not much to do comments started coming. They said more to do on NCL.

[CC Help Michell]

Many people cruise primarily for the ship. We almost always book cruise travel based on itinerary and price, in that order, on whatever ship that takes. Having sailed most of the mainstream cruiselines (of your three, the only one we haven't sailed is Princess... yet), we think they are more alike than different in the overall shipboard experience, which brings us back to booking itinerary and price.

 

If this trip is more about the anniversary and the experience, for you, though -- and less about the ports -- then you might want to put more weight on the onboard atmosphere, amenities, and options. Romantic options, like the balcony dinner, might be a deciding factor. HAL also has great room service, including dining room menus during dining room hours (very few ships offer that one). NCL offers a great "romance package" for $79 that includes a specialty restaurant, a couple bottles of wine, some chocolate covered strawberries, etc.

 

Since this is an important trip, perhaps you could do a bit more thinking/prioritizing based on your and DH's preferences? Here you will not get only "unbiased" views, by the way -- you will get those who wouldn't sail X line under any circumstances, or would only sail Y line, and so on. Do you have an experienced TA advising you based on their knowledge of your priorities?

[cruizinonup]

No. Don't usually use a TA. I just do alot of research myself. As far as price they are pretty similar, although Norwegian is offering some really good OBC specials. The ports are all pretty much the same too. What are some of the don't miss Eastern ports? We have only been to Cozumel(lots), Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Playa and Progresso Mexico.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

You should check out the excursions the ship has to offer and that may play a part in the cruise you select.

 

Ports that I really enjoyed were Tortola, St. Lucia and Barbados. It will depend on what you are looking to do. Last year in Barbados we swam with the turtles, in St. Lucia we chartered a fishing boat for our group and went deep sea fishing, Tortola we did an open air bus tour and went to Cane Garden Bay beach.

 

I also like to book our tours privately which saves money but others go exclusively with ship sponsored tours. In my experience, whatever tours the ship has to offer, you can book the same/similiar tours privately. Just do your homework and ask lots of questions and most importantly give yourself a reasonable window of time to return to the ship.

[momofmeg]

I have been on two of those ships this past year. I also was on the Caribbean Princess two years ago-a sister ship to the Emerald.

 

Is this for you and your hubby alone? Then I say the Westerdam, hands down. I liked all 3 ships, but the Westerdam was nicer, and since there are only 2000 people instead of 3000, it is much less crowded.

 

The HAL Vista class ships attract a much younger crowd. On my cruise the majority of the PAX would have been between 30 and 40. I was the "old gal" on that cruise!

 

Unlike our Alaska Statendam cruise when everything closed up at 9 pm-my 24 year old daughter found plenty on our Caribbean Westerdam cruise to keep busy. She never returned to the room before 2 am. She loved the karaoke and the disco.

 

Now if you were taking your children, the Pearl is better for young children-GREAT kid's club. Many parents would drop their children off in the evening in order to have dinner at one of the specialty restaurants. For older teens, the Princess grand class would be better-lots of pools, and the teens love the big movie screen by the family pool on the lido deck.

 

I hope this helps.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have sailed quite a few times on the Westerdam -- great ship!!