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TC
My wife & I have never taken a cruise, and we're looking to take one next spring sometime. She's wanting to go to the Virgin Islands and some other eastern Caribbean destinations. Anyone have any suggestions on a particular destination and/or specific cruise line?
Answer
I have been on about 20 cruises with five different cruise lines and cruised all of the Caribbean routes and Mexico. Here's what I recommend based on my experiences.
There are two factors to consider when planning a cruise (1) what activities are on ship and the demographics of the other passengers, and (2) what port stops will be made that I will enjoy.
I have been on Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity and Princess. All of these are good cruise lines. Royal Caribbean cruise line has some of the best on board activities including on various ships, ice skating or roller blading, mini-golf, table tennis, rock climbing wall, basketball court and on the new Freedom class ships, Liberty, Freedom and Independence of the Seas the flowrider where you can body surf right on ship. There are always pools and hot tubs and many ship have a Solarium (a cover area) with a pool and hot tubs for adults only. This is in addition to the regular pool and hot tubs for everyone. Some ships have water slides.
All of these lines have ships have great gymnasiums with a variety of equipment. The RC's Freedom and Liberty have THE best gyms I have ever seen on ships.
You did not say where you live but you can cruise to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City. And, the Caribbean gives you many more options for itineraries, for departure ports (cruises go to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City and then all over Florida, plus New Orleans, Houston (Galveston) Texas, and Mobile, Alabama. So the Caribbean offers many more departure ports, ships, dates and options. And, for example if you want to go on the cruise lines newer ships your best bet is to go Caribbean out of Port Canaveral, Ft Lauderdale, or Miami, Florida.
The main things that you want to do is book very early and by that I mean 9 to 12 months or more in advance so that you can get the best price. All you need is a $250 to $300 deposit per person to book and hold your reservation and then you just pay it in full by 70 days beforfe the cruise. Also in the Caribbean you want to try to stay away from the hurricane season which in June through the end of October. Secondly, look for the specials that will be listed on each cruise line's web site. Let that help determine when and where to go.
There are really three basic types of itineraries for the Caribbean. Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and a private cruise line island. If you go to Cozumel there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins, if that's your interest. Its considered the best place to go for scuba and snorkeling. If you go to Jamaica the two main attractions are a river raft float trip (not rapids) and the Dunn's River Falls climb. If you go to Grand Cayman you will likely want to go to 7-Mile Beach or do a swim with the dolphins/stingrays tour.
Cruises to the Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas, St Maarten, a private cruise line island and maybe another island like Tortola or Puerto Rico. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. St Maarten is also mainly a beach and shopping stop.
Most Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises have a private island stop where the ship takes food ashore for an all day beach party with games and entertainment. All of the cruise lines have what they call their private island and you can have a great day on these islands; only ship's people on them for the day. Royal Caribbean has THE best private island I have ever been to at Labadee, Haiti. Its a huge place that has multiple beaches and many activities. RC's ships the Freedom and The Liberty which do both the Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries both have stops at Labadee.
The Southern Caribbean cruise itineraries typically start in Puerto Rico and go either to Aruba, Curacao, and St Thomas and St Maarten, OR they go to the southern Caribbean islands like Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Lucia and maybe St Thomas and/or St Maarten. For the most part these latter islands are very much alike but nice to see. The main difference between these two Southern Caribbean itineraries, aside from the different islands, is the Aruba cruise has two "at sea" days with no port stops, while the other has a port stop about each day.
My favorite cruise line is Royal Caribbean but you cannot go wrong with Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. If you are looking for a real budget cruise and a party ship go on Carnival. If you want to basically be informal the whole cruise go on Norwegian. Finally, while you are looking at cruises pay attention to the ship and when it was launched. The best cruises will be on the newer ship, those launched about 2000 or later. That's my experienced opinion and advice.
If all of this does not answer your questions just go to a travel agent, like an AAA or American Express office, and they will answer your questions and help you book at no cost
I have been on about 20 cruises with five different cruise lines and cruised all of the Caribbean routes and Mexico. Here's what I recommend based on my experiences.
There are two factors to consider when planning a cruise (1) what activities are on ship and the demographics of the other passengers, and (2) what port stops will be made that I will enjoy.
I have been on Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity and Princess. All of these are good cruise lines. Royal Caribbean cruise line has some of the best on board activities including on various ships, ice skating or roller blading, mini-golf, table tennis, rock climbing wall, basketball court and on the new Freedom class ships, Liberty, Freedom and Independence of the Seas the flowrider where you can body surf right on ship. There are always pools and hot tubs and many ship have a Solarium (a cover area) with a pool and hot tubs for adults only. This is in addition to the regular pool and hot tubs for everyone. Some ships have water slides.
All of these lines have ships have great gymnasiums with a variety of equipment. The RC's Freedom and Liberty have THE best gyms I have ever seen on ships.
You did not say where you live but you can cruise to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City. And, the Caribbean gives you many more options for itineraries, for departure ports (cruises go to the Caribbean from as far north as NY City and then all over Florida, plus New Orleans, Houston (Galveston) Texas, and Mobile, Alabama. So the Caribbean offers many more departure ports, ships, dates and options. And, for example if you want to go on the cruise lines newer ships your best bet is to go Caribbean out of Port Canaveral, Ft Lauderdale, or Miami, Florida.
The main things that you want to do is book very early and by that I mean 9 to 12 months or more in advance so that you can get the best price. All you need is a $250 to $300 deposit per person to book and hold your reservation and then you just pay it in full by 70 days beforfe the cruise. Also in the Caribbean you want to try to stay away from the hurricane season which in June through the end of October. Secondly, look for the specials that will be listed on each cruise line's web site. Let that help determine when and where to go.
There are really three basic types of itineraries for the Caribbean. Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and a private cruise line island. If you go to Cozumel there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins, if that's your interest. Its considered the best place to go for scuba and snorkeling. If you go to Jamaica the two main attractions are a river raft float trip (not rapids) and the Dunn's River Falls climb. If you go to Grand Cayman you will likely want to go to 7-Mile Beach or do a swim with the dolphins/stingrays tour.
Cruises to the Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas, St Maarten, a private cruise line island and maybe another island like Tortola or Puerto Rico. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. St Maarten is also mainly a beach and shopping stop.
Most Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises have a private island stop where the ship takes food ashore for an all day beach party with games and entertainment. All of the cruise lines have what they call their private island and you can have a great day on these islands; only ship's people on them for the day. Royal Caribbean has THE best private island I have ever been to at Labadee, Haiti. Its a huge place that has multiple beaches and many activities. RC's ships the Freedom and The Liberty which do both the Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries both have stops at Labadee.
The Southern Caribbean cruise itineraries typically start in Puerto Rico and go either to Aruba, Curacao, and St Thomas and St Maarten, OR they go to the southern Caribbean islands like Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Lucia and maybe St Thomas and/or St Maarten. For the most part these latter islands are very much alike but nice to see. The main difference between these two Southern Caribbean itineraries, aside from the different islands, is the Aruba cruise has two "at sea" days with no port stops, while the other has a port stop about each day.
My favorite cruise line is Royal Caribbean but you cannot go wrong with Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. If you are looking for a real budget cruise and a party ship go on Carnival. If you want to basically be informal the whole cruise go on Norwegian. Finally, while you are looking at cruises pay attention to the ship and when it was launched. The best cruises will be on the newer ship, those launched about 2000 or later. That's my experienced opinion and advice.
If all of this does not answer your questions just go to a travel agent, like an AAA or American Express office, and they will answer your questions and help you book at no cost
Which is the best all inclusive hotel to stay at in Cancun?
Chris
My 3 friends and I (4 guys) are planing on a trip to cancun in june 09. I stayed once at the cancun palace but I heard the oasis has more of a party flavor. However I read crappy reviews for Oasis. We want to stay in a decent hotel (nothing fancy) with a good party scene. Must be all inclusive though!
Answer
The deal with Oasis is this... It's the official spring break hotel of spring break year after year and everybody goes there for the partying. It's the best place to stay in Cancún for spring break, but ONLY for spring break. The reviews are right... because of being the party hotel for spring break over the years it has taken a beating. It's pretty run down from all the wild kids trashing it. The only time I recommend people stay at Oasis is during spring break other than that I wouldn't recommend it to stay. Any other time it's just a regular hotel like any other one in Cancún.
Now... the place I would recommend is a Riu hotel. There are three in Cancún... Riu Cancún, Riu Palace Las Americas, and Riu Caribe. Being that you are four single guys wanting to have fun and party I would recommend Riu Caribe. It's got a great atmosphere and it's a great hotel for guys wanting to have fun. It's about a five minute bus ride to all the popular clubs, shopping, and restaurants. They have a big beach (over 330 yrds. long) and a huge pool (125 yrds. long). Another good thing is that they have an entertainment staff called the Anamacion Team. It's their sole purpose to make sure you have a great time. During the day they do different activities such as pool/beach games. At night they put on shows and then after ward they take whomever wants to go out on the town to a different club every night. They are fun to hang with and get you into all the clubs with VIP access. Another good thing that I like about the Riu Caribe is that they have a 24 hr. sports bar. It's good because sometimes you want to come back from the clubs and contiue to party, but most hotels close their bars at 12 or 1 A.M., but not Riu Caribe... their sports bar is always open. They have sports on on all their flat screen tvs, they have a pool table, video games, internet, food, and of course they party up their and make all kinds of cool drinks. All the Rius are nice and all three are all-inclusive, but Riu Caribe is my favorite. Another good thing is that if you stay at a Riu you can go to the other ones and use the pool/beach, eat at the restaurants, hang out at the bars, etc. you just have to sleep at the one you booked. So, it's like getting three hotels for the price of one. OH... and something else you might like... they got some really cute (actually HOT is more like it... LOL) Latina girls that work there that are on the Anamacion Team. So, you will be able to party with them because they are the ones that take you out at night to all the clubs. All in all though definitely go with a Riu. I'll give you a few links to check out and see if you like it. If you have any questions about anything feel free to send me a message and I'll be able to help you out with whatever you need. Have fun and enjoy your time... Cancún is a blast!!!
The deal with Oasis is this... It's the official spring break hotel of spring break year after year and everybody goes there for the partying. It's the best place to stay in Cancún for spring break, but ONLY for spring break. The reviews are right... because of being the party hotel for spring break over the years it has taken a beating. It's pretty run down from all the wild kids trashing it. The only time I recommend people stay at Oasis is during spring break other than that I wouldn't recommend it to stay. Any other time it's just a regular hotel like any other one in Cancún.
Now... the place I would recommend is a Riu hotel. There are three in Cancún... Riu Cancún, Riu Palace Las Americas, and Riu Caribe. Being that you are four single guys wanting to have fun and party I would recommend Riu Caribe. It's got a great atmosphere and it's a great hotel for guys wanting to have fun. It's about a five minute bus ride to all the popular clubs, shopping, and restaurants. They have a big beach (over 330 yrds. long) and a huge pool (125 yrds. long). Another good thing is that they have an entertainment staff called the Anamacion Team. It's their sole purpose to make sure you have a great time. During the day they do different activities such as pool/beach games. At night they put on shows and then after ward they take whomever wants to go out on the town to a different club every night. They are fun to hang with and get you into all the clubs with VIP access. Another good thing that I like about the Riu Caribe is that they have a 24 hr. sports bar. It's good because sometimes you want to come back from the clubs and contiue to party, but most hotels close their bars at 12 or 1 A.M., but not Riu Caribe... their sports bar is always open. They have sports on on all their flat screen tvs, they have a pool table, video games, internet, food, and of course they party up their and make all kinds of cool drinks. All the Rius are nice and all three are all-inclusive, but Riu Caribe is my favorite. Another good thing is that if you stay at a Riu you can go to the other ones and use the pool/beach, eat at the restaurants, hang out at the bars, etc. you just have to sleep at the one you booked. So, it's like getting three hotels for the price of one. OH... and something else you might like... they got some really cute (actually HOT is more like it... LOL) Latina girls that work there that are on the Anamacion Team. So, you will be able to party with them because they are the ones that take you out at night to all the clubs. All in all though definitely go with a Riu. I'll give you a few links to check out and see if you like it. If you have any questions about anything feel free to send me a message and I'll be able to help you out with whatever you need. Have fun and enjoy your time... Cancún is a blast!!!
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