Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

I'd put this on travel, but this board gets more traffic.

DH and I are thinking of taking a cruise when he gets back from his deployment. We did Carnival for our honeymoon and were really disappointed -- we wont be cruising that line again. We want something elegant, classy, but still with a lot of activities on board. We're thinking of Princess, Celebrity, or RC...but we're worried about the age groups. RC has a ton on activites (like the rock climbing walls, etc) that DH and I would love, but we're not sure its going to be elegant enough for what we're looking for (after being seperated for a year, we want something SUPER romantic -- think second-honeymoon).

A lot of people rave about Princess and we love the ships, but not sure if theres enough activities to keep us busy. Also, we're in our mid-twenties and we're afraid the crowd might be too old for us. If you've sailed Princess before, what was the general makeup of the guests? 30's, 40's, older?

Any suggestions or personal experiences?

Message edited 5/4/2009 4:50:29 PM.

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

DH and I always sail NCL. We love the freestyle dining that allows us to eat in the speciality restaurants and only have tables for two.

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

Well a lot of age groups will depend on WHEN you cruise as well as the line and the itinerary as some itineraries and times of the year attract older crowds (i.e. longer cruises such as transatlantic etc tend to draw older crowds b.c younger people tend not to have the vacation time to take 15 day cruises - whereas the 7 night caribbean cruises will have younger crowds - and you will get more families if you go during school breaks). Also larger ships tend to attract younger crowds over the smaller more intimate ships.

I have cruised about 13 or 14 times on Celebrity (I'm elite captains club) so feel free to ask me about that line. I have also taken 2 princess cruises as well so if you have specific questions feel free to ask.

Well this is my take (I'm 33 now btw and DH is 34 to give you an idea of our ages): Celebrity is the top of those three for service and food. The food is generally very good to excellent - but like any cruise it is mass produced so think excellent catering hall - but it has the top rep of food on the mass market lines. The larger boats are very nice and they have plenty of activities to do. You will probably find an older crowd though on Celebrity only b.c they tend to be a bit more expensive (my parents have cruised on them about 26 times). I have never had a bad cruise with them and have always found plenty of people to meet up with when I traveled with my family in my teens and 20's - and even later when I traveled on their cruises with my DH. It is more laid back - cold towels when you board in port etc. So a little better service. Their shows however are only ehhh - okay - not that great - but they do have some fun things like newlywed not so newlywed game show (which I think all lines have) and sometimes some comedians or hypnotists.

Princess on the other hand - we have found has a more mix of ages - from older crowds to plenty of couples on their honeymoon in their 20's and 30's, to many families with children if you go when schools are out. The food is a step down from celebrity (but I also understand from all those I have spoken to and family who have cruise RCCL that it is on their line as well). The food was good just NOT celebrity good. We always had good service and didn't see a HUGE difference in service - but Celebrity has some small touches that make a difference. I think Princess had more activities - esp at night. They had a more active disco, comedians more than one night, and their shows were much better than what I encountered on Celebrity. I liked that on their larger ships they have 4 pools so that distributes the crowds and allows you to find a spot that suits your tastes. They had 2 adult only pools (one in the spa, and one on the back of the ship) and 2 family pools (one with a band that had the games during the day and one with a HUGE movie screen that showed movies all day long and at night they covert it to movies under the stars with blankets, popcorn etc.

Shore excursions on both were basically identical with different names. So equal there.

Although I haven't sailed on RCCL I have looked into them several times and have family and friends who regularly sail with them. They are more of a party atmosphere than Princess and Celebrity. The food isn't as good as Celebrity but I think it is about where princess is some say a little worse others a little better. There are definitely more activities on the larger boats and the larger boats I would definitely say attract a younger and more active crowd.

I would say if you want real pampering I would lean to Celebrity although Dh and I have had two very romantic cruises on Princess and LOVED both of them. It is just that Celebrity puts in that little extra touches that might be more what you are looking for.

But if you are worried about the guests Princess might be better b.c there are more activities to keep you occupied.

BTW I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three lines all of them are great and from what I hear pretty different from Carnival (but I have never sailed with them only Celebrity, Princess and a LONG time ago NCL).

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

I went on Princess (thought the crowd was older) and did not like it at all but I also liked Carnival and you didn't:) But that is the type of cruise we were looking for. My parents have been on every line. They prefer Royal Caribbean and Celebrity but had said that Celebrity is more geared towards an older crowd. And also more expensive. Our friends will only go on NCL while others hate it.

I would look at them all and see the ports they go to and the excursions, price and then go from there. Honestly.

Everyone has had a different experience on all cruiselines. I think all are fine and it was you make of it that makes it great

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

I've sailed RCCL 3 times and had a great experience each time.

The food was good and there was always something going on. I've done a short cruise the the Bahamas, a Western Caribbean and a Southern Caribbean.

I enjoyed the ports of the Southern Caribbean the most.

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

We went on the Ruby Princess in December for our Honeymoon. I liked the ship itself. It was brand new. We sailed on its 4th sailing.

As for princess itself, DH and I really enjoyed it. The crowd was probably mostly in their thirties. I did notice there were some families with teens and a lot of couples. There werent too many children running around. When we did an excursion in Grand Cayman, the group was mainly in there 20s like us. We didnt interact with anyone. For dinner, we sat by ourselves.

There was a lot to do on the ship. We mainly went to the art auctions . We went to one and really liked it, so we went to all. They have a lot of different activities for everyone. If you want any more info or have any questions, FM me.

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

Ive done Carnival, RCC and Princess.
I hated Carnival - would never sail with them again.

RCC i absolutly loved. Food was good, entertainment was great, u can do as much or as little as u want.

Princess was pretty good too. It tends to be an older crowd. (heard the same with celebrity) the food was superior to RCC, however i think it lacked in the activities dept.

Overall i would definitely sail with RCC and Princess again, however RCC will be my first choice.

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

We took a Princess cruise this past October on one of their new ships with a group of friends (all 30 years old). I was very excited b/c we had gone on Carnival a few years before and had a great time (it was also a new ship) and I only expected more from Princess. However, I was disappointed in a lot of things. The rooms were ok (Carnival actually has bigger, more modern rooms), and the food was just not good at all. We actually asked them why the food quality was so poor and they said it b/c they have had to lower their curise prices since more and more people want to curise, they have had to pay less for food so they get lesser quality than in the past. Also, it couldve been the ime of year since we went in "off" season, but besides the movies, there wasnt a lot to do at night.

After the cruise, our friends who had sailed on RCL and Celebrity before said that the only ship they will sail on from now on is Celebrity so so we are all going on a celebrity cruise in December

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

I would suggest RCCL.
I did the NJ to Bermuda last May (it was my first cruise) & enjoyed it. Food & service were good, lots of activities for adults, I def. saw a lot of 20's & 30's.
Just got back from Carnival Freedom Western Car. & it was AWFUL!!!
How about Silversea???

Re: Thinking of taking a cruise -- need recs

I've been on 8 cruises. Have cruised on Home Lines (no longer in business), Norwegian, Holland America, Celebrity (2x) and Royal Caribbean (3x).

Royal Caribbean is by far my favorite. The age group is right for us, as I felt the population on Celebrity was too old and I wasn't happy with the activities.

Royal will give you the romance and the adventure you are looking for. Have a great time!