Please help me to pick a cruiseline and best time of the year...?

Question

to go...me,my hubby,and our 3 daughters,ages 20,18,15...come on you avid cruisers out there...fill me in...Thankx...

Answer 1

I would recommend Royal, Where to book it is http://www.galaxy.joystar.com there offering Free Insurance for every Royal Cruise right now.

Answer 2

First of all, disregard the first reply about not getting good information here on Yahoo Answers because almost all of the responders on here have been on multiple cruises and will give you good advice based on experience just as a travel agent would.  And, some responders ARE travel agents.

I have been on almost 20 cruises (going again next week) on four different cruise lines and my suggestions are based on my experiences, and a lot of research on line on cruise line web sites.

I always suggest that the best time to go on a cruise is when you can get the best price.  Prices for the same cruise itinerary can vary by hundreds of dollars, so go when the price is best.  If you want to go to the Caribbean it is best to go between November and June so that you are pretty much outside the hurricane season in the Caribbean.  If you decide that you need/want/must go during the July to October window be sure to get travel insurance so that in the event of a hurricane you can get reimbursed.

Since you want to cruise without flying you have several options.  One is to cruise from the port in New York City in Manhattan.  Carnival, Norwegian, Holland America, Cunard and a couple others have cruises that depart from and return there.  You also have the option of cruising out of the port in Bayonne, New Jersey (across the river) and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines cruise from there.

Then if you do not mind a drive your other options will be Boston (there is parking at the port); or Philadelphia; or Baltimore; of Norfolk, Va (parking is available).  All of those would be about a day's drive from NY City.  There are, however, not as many cruises each year out of Philly, Baltimore and Norfolk, as compared to other ports like NY, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale.  There is parking at the ports and it usually cost between $12 and $15 a day, depending upon which.  Port parting is safe, I have driven many times to Miami and Ft Lauderdale ports.  If you leave from either of the NY ports I suggest that you have someone drop you off there.

You also have several options for destinations; New England/Canada; Bermuda; and the Caribbean.  We did a New England Canada cruise last year and it was very nice. We visited Martha Vineyard; Portland, Me; Bar Harbor, Me; St Johns, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.   On this cruise we did Arcadia National Park, a Lobster Bake, and a cog rail trip up Mt Washington in New Hampshire. We cruised on a Royal Caribbean ship out of Boston but other cruise lines like Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and Carnival also do a Canada itinerary and some cruises go longer and go as far as Montreal.  The Canada cruise season is about June through October.

Another option is Bermuda and you can get there from NY most any time of the year.  Cruises also go there from Boston, Philly, Baltimore and Norfolk.  Bermuda is a nice cruise if you want to have time to relax on ship because the cruises usually require 2 "at seas" days to get there and another 2 to get back.  But the 3, 4, or 5 days you have in Bermuda is plenty of time to see and enjoy the island.  I have been there twice and found its main attractions to be beaches and golfing.  Not much shopping (everything is very expensive), not much nightlife (party on the ship) and not many attractions  (a cave, a fort, a lighthouse, some historic building).

If your family wants the most in water sports and activities then the Caribbean is the place to go.  You will have opportunities for beaches, snorkel, scuba, jet ski, para-sail, and a variety of boat rides to swim with the dolphins or sting rays, etc.  If you cruise goes to St Thomas that is the shopping mecca of the Caribbean.  Cruises to the Caribbean from the NY area are usually 8, 9 or 10 days or more because it will take a couple days at sea to get there and back.

I have been on Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean cruise lines.  Many people will tell you to go on Carnival as it is the party boat, the budget cruise line with the best prices, the line that most first time cruisers and young people go on.   All of that is true.  But many who have been on Carnival will also tell you that they like other lines better.

Some people will tell you to go on a Norwegian cruise because it is "freestyle".  All that means is that you do not select a time to go to dinner each day as on other ships; either 6:00PM or 8:00 PM.  Norwegian cruises are otherwise the same as everyone else's.  But on NCL you do have to be careful of going to their "alternative' restaurants (other than the main dining room) because they do charge a fee of between $10 and $20 per person per visit for the alternatives.

My recommendation to you is go on a Royal Caribbean cruise as it has in my opinion the best variety of activities on board, great food, ships and staff and great cabins. The people on RC are a bit older and more reserved, about 40 to 60's age group.  But they still love to have a good time and they do fill up the discos and lounges.

Answer 3

For more-specific information, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards" at the top of the page and go to it!

If you've never cruised, you either need to talk to a travel agent, or do LOTS and LOTS of reading/research.  Your library will have books about cruising - a good place to get basic info.  

Given the little info you supplied, I'd suggest you look at Carnival, Royal and Princess to start with.  Each line has its own "personality", which can even vary ship-by-ship.  You need to decide on what itinerary you want - for a first cruise, I'd do Western.

Summer and holidays are the busiest and thus most-expensive times of year to cruise.  Late summer and fall are hurricane season, but I've cruised several times at that time of year and had no problems.  [On one cruise, we two extra days at sea avoiding Frances!  We wouldn't even have known there was a hurricane - until we came into Florida, which was a bit rough.]  January and February [before Presidents Week] is a slower/cheaper time.  Spring Break time is, again, busy/expensive.

Bottom line - you've got to do your research.

Answer 4

Hi

I have only been on Royal Caribbean and I absolutely love it...They have a great program for teens..although the 15 year old is free to roam if he/she wants to..It is very elegant and classy and family oriented....I have heard Norwegian is good also..they have Freedom class ships out now that have the surfing simulator on them...(been on the Freedom and it was great!)  RCCL has a port somewhere in NJ but I think it only goes to Bermuda unless you want to to a 10 day cruise...I have been on cruises in Sept, Oct, and Jan...and I think Jan was the best time...the waters were more calm  and the weather was GREAT.

As far as Carnival I have heard more bad than good...it is more of a party cruise...the ships themselves are less elegant too much drinking going on, etc, etc

Answer 5

Would you ask this question of some 15 year old kid on a skateboard with his baseball cap backwards?... then why would you ask this on Answers.

If you want REAL information in order to make an informed choice... then go talk to a TRAVEL AGENT that specialized on cruises.

Answer 6

Sailing out of New York City is probably going to be your best bet, since you don't want to fly.

There are several Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises that sail out of New York going to the Caribbean.  You can choose from 4-7 night cruises - depending on how long you want to be gone.

With the ages of your children, I would recommend Royal Caribbean.  They are great ships, with lots of activities for "young adults" and teens.  

Enjoy - cruising is the best way to go!

Answer 7

Responding to the new information you provided ...

Several cruise lines have ships that dock in New York.  Norwegian and Holland America Line (your children might be a little too young and active to enjoy HAL) offer year round cruises.  As you might expect, during the winter and spring these ships head south.  During the summer and fall, some of the ships head north to Canada.

Carnival is seasonally in New York.  Royal Caribbean is now sailing year round out of Bayonne, New Jersey.

You can also find a limited number of cruises (seasonally) out of Philadelphia and Baltimore.

As to the best time of year, winter (too get away from the snow) and fall (to see the leaves turning color) are popular times of the year to sail from the New York area.  If you are interested in going south, I would recommend late April and early May, as this is not the high season for the Caribbean, but the weather is nice and this is outside of hurricane season.

Original answer ...

You don't say where you want to go.  Caribbean?

Given your children's ages, I would recommend Carnival, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean.

My favorite time to cruise is late April or early May.  This is after daylight saving time has started, but it is still not considered the high season.  The high season in the Caribbean is winter (when everyone wants to head south) and school holidays, including summer.  Late April and early May is after spring break and before hurricane season.  

However, your youngest might still be in school.  Then I would recommend the first week when school is out during the summer.  We recently cruises with some school aged children during the last week of June.  This is still early in the hurricane season, and we had great weather.  Unfortunately it is also high season and as a result the ship was completely sold out.

Back to the three cruise lines.  All three are good for families and young, active adults.  Your fifteen year old will be in the teen program while the rest of you will be considered adults.  Most ships have a separate area for the teens (including a separate dance floor complete with a soft drink bar) and anyone over 18 (including parents) are not invited.

While your fifteen year old will not be allowed to join the rest of you on the disco dance floor, she will be able to join the rest of you anywhere else (including the lounges).  

I have only been on one Norwegian cruise, so I don't know as much about that line.  Nonetheless, it clearly is catering to families and young active adults.  One of Norwegian's ships (the Pearl) has a bowling alley.

All the Carnival ships have a water slide (none of the Royal Caribbean ships do).  Two of the newest Carnival ships (the Carnival Freedom and the Carnival Liberty) have a large outdoor movie screen for watching movies or sporting events during the day or night.

All of the Royal Caribbean ships have rock climbing walls (none of the Carnival ships do).  In addition, the biggest of the Royal Caribbean ships (the Voyager and Freedom class) have ice skating and miniature golf.  The Voyager class also has inline skating while the Freedom class has the Flowrider (a surfing simulator).