Hi, we (2 30+ Adults) are thinking of doing our first cruise when in Florida this December. We have narrowed it down to two and are wondering if anyone had any experiences/help to offer to narrow it down to one!:
NCL - Dawn, going to Samana (Dominican Republic), Tortola (BVI), St Thomas and Great Stirrup (Bahamas)
Carnival - Valor, going to George Town (Grand Cayman), Roatan (Honduras), Belize City and Costa Maya (Mexico).
Many Thanks
The cruises are great IMO.
However the best part of the trip is on-board. Most of the trips ashore are not that good IMO and expensive.
Worth going out to 'Stingray City' on Grand Cayman - you stand in the water and feed the rays.
i love to cruise !!! never done carnival as i think at 42 maybe we are too old for the party ships !!![msnwink][msnwink]
Peewee, it very much depends on what sort of experience you are looking for, and the age and make up of your party. Carnival ships are big, sometimes brash, often called the 'party ships' and appeal to a younger market. NCL are at the forefront of 'freedom' cruising, where you can choose where and when to eat, and there is no dressing up unless you want it. So if you are 2 young at heart '30-somethings' who like to boogie the night away then go for Carnival. But if you want freedom and flexibility and informality with the opportunity to dress up if you feel like it then choose NCL.
The islands of Torotola and St Thomas are lovely and worth seeing. Great Stirrup Cay is NCL's private island, and offers a great day with sun, beach, lots of activities, a beach BBQ etc. Grand Cayman is an interesting island with a turtle farm to visit (you can even pick them up), Stingray City where you can swim with the stingrays, and various excursions to look at the coral and marine life. Costa Maya is unfortunately one port you will not be visiting. It was a very new location for cruise ships and built and designed only for them. Sadly it was wiped out in the recent hurricane and will not be rebuilt for at least 6-9 months. They will undoubtedly offer you another port in its place.
The cost of excursions varies from ship to ship. We found the ones offered by Princess Cruises very reasonable, although we do book our own hire car on many of the islands - St Thomas is one I would recommend hiring a car - they are available within a short walk of where the ship docks and we normally spend the day touring the island with a stop off at Sapphire Beach, a very beautiful beach, or the famous Magen's Bay which can get a bit busy but is one of the 10 most beautiful beaches. I cannot comment on the cost of Carnival excursions.
Whatever you choose, you will either love it or loathe it - like Marmite, there is no mid-way. We love it and cruise whenever we get the opportunity, although for us, Princess is our particular favourite of the big cruise lines. We particularly like their freedom dining.
I really hope you love it as, if you do, you can rest assured that you will be 'hooked' and it will be the first of many.
Have a great time and if you have any more questions just fire away!
ellie
Thanks for your reply Ellie - more food for thought. Am sure either will be good and an experience not to forget!
For those of you who think you are 'too old'. We have cruised Carnival and RC, and we are in our 60's +. We prefer RC but if we were put on a ship mid ocean, I doubt if I would tell much difference. We did not do the 'party' things apart from a chocolate midnight party where we just sat and watched, and we had no late night disturbances from 'youngsters'. The clientel on our Carnival Cruise were certainly not all under 30, far from it. Maybe we were lucky, and the food was excellent in all of the restaurants on board.
Never think you are too old for anything or you will never do it - especially when you are in your 40's[msnwink][msnwink]which most of our friends are.
Sandra
Hello again, have now decided to book the NCL Norwegian Dawn cruise but this is cheapest the NCL.com website - as UK residents can we still book on this site or not? The .co.uk site is significantly dearer. Cannot see a suitable email address to ask NCL.com in advance of booking.
Thanks as always for any help.
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