Any recommendations for cruises to the caribbean and bahamas? which lines are best? what to beware of?

Question

Any recommendations for cruises to the caribbean and bahamas? which lines are best? what to beware of?

Answer 1

Check out www.vacationstogo.com.  They have great prices and great reviews. Remember, all the top end cruise lines exit the Caribbean for the summer hurricane season and operate in the Mediterranean and Alaska. The high quality ships are in the Caribbean in the non-summer months.

Answer 2

"Best" is different for each cruiser.  Without more information, it's impossible to answer you.  Although, you could rest assured that the "luxury" lines [Crystal, Radisson, Seaborn, etc] are the "best" in terms of service, food, pampering, etc.  Of course the cruise fare is many times higher than that of the "mass-market" lines.

You should get a book about cruising from your library or bookstore and get a general idea of what's involved, as there are many, many choices regarding itinerary, time of year, ship size, fellow passengers, quality of service and food, size of cabins, etc, etc.

You could also check out CruiseCritic.com.  Click on "Cruise Styles" to get an idea of which cruises fit which type of passenger ["romantic", "family", etc.].  "Reviews" will also help in this regard, both the pro reviews and "Member Reviews", especially.  If you click on "Boards" you'll find many, many topics on cruising with reliable, up-to-date info from experienced cruisers.

Answer 3

Princess staff seemed to be a bit short with people, maybe it is just the British way.  

NCL is tending to go downhill, appears cost cutting is in effect. The Norwegian Dream was in dire need of a face lift.  

RCL is still good and has a lot of activities on board - the newer ships have rock climbing walls and miniature golf.  Their casual cafeteria restaurant was great.  Individual areas with ethnic food choices including sushi can suit everyone's tastes.

Holland America is excellent in the way they treat their customers - never had them tell me no or can't do it.  Their food is very good whether you eat in the dining room or in the less dressy cafeteria style restaurant.  the cafeteria has the same food as the dining room, right down to the lobster but,  you can wear shorts and jeans.  

Carnival has a party ship reputation but for the Alaska cruise we took on them, it was not the case as it was an older crowd and it was an enjoyable trip.  Food wasn't as good as on Holland America or RCL.

The "beware" part is if you go off the ship on your own, don't become a target to those that know tourists will be in town.  We even had an ex-cop lose his credit cards when his pocket was picked.  They sprayed what appeared to be bird droppings on his shirt, showed him where a restroom was and helped get it off his back.  There are also muggers, even on bicycles, waiting for a couple to break away from a group, making the odds of success of a score very high.  Be aware of your surroundings.

The best part of a cruise is getting to many places and not having to pack and repack, figure out how to get there and what to do once you do, know exactly what your costs will be and never have to figure out where to eat.  Have a great time.