Cruise

My FI and I have these airline tickets left over from last year when an event we were going to got canceled last minute. They will be expiring soon so we have decided that instead of wasting them that we would look into a short 4 - 5 day cruise leaving from Florida. We figured since almost everything is included (except drinks and some activities and tours) that would be a relatively cheap vacation. (Some lines are advertising 4-5 days cruises for $299 - 399.00pp) We don't want to spend a bunch since we are saving for the wedding but it would be a shame to let those tickets go to waste.

Has anyone ever taken a cruise on any of the following lines?
Royal Caribbean
Carnival
Celebrity
Princess
Norwiegen
Holland American

My FI and I are in our mid-30's and were are looking for a relaxing vacation, not a party boat!
Thanks,
M

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I went on the Carnival 4-5 day Western cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel with a few friends after finishing graduate school...the boat left from Tampa and it was fun and relaxing. We swam with sea rays in Grand Cayman and spent the day at a beach in Cozumel that had drinking, pools, wave runners, etc. It was definately a relaxing time
We are taking Norwegian cruise lines for the first part of our honeymoon around the Hawiiann islands, and I have heard good things about this line too.

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I've been on 4 Carnival Cruises in my life - and each time it gets better and better. FI and I just went in early August - we left from Miami for a 7 day cruise to celebrate our engagement. There was soooo much to do both on the ship and off. I think cruises are the greatest vacation - you don't have to worry about renting a car, unpacking lots of times - almost everything is included. I highly recommend the couples' massage - a little pricey, but well worth every penny.

Enjoy!!!

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We're going on a cruise for my birthday - september 12th. We just booked it last week through Expedia.com. 4 days, starting in Ft Lauderdale then to key west, cozumel, and back to ft lauderdale. We're taking Royal Carribean, which I've heard is an older crowd. Can't wait! I'll give you a full review as soon as we get back!

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We went on Carnival Triumph for our honeymoon and loved it. Though the darn kids got on my nerves from time to time.

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I've been on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Both were great. Carnival definately has a younger crowd, but the crowd on Royal Caribbean isn't too bad. You'll have some families, some older couples and some younger couples. We are going on a cruise (my fourth) for our honeymoon and I can't wait. Cruising is so much fun!!!

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I have been on 3 Carnival Cruises and 1 Royal Caribbean and had a fabulous time on all of them.

I prefer Carnival over RCCL, we were treated better on Carnival.

You can't go wrong with either one though. Cruising is a blast and I highly recommend it.

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I have been on one Carnival and one Royal Carribean cruise. I thought the service and attention on the RC cruise was far better than Carnival. The boat I was on (Explorer) was also much nicer and newer than the Carnival Triumph. Carnival wasn't bad, but compared to RC it was not as good.

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I have been on RC and Highly recommend it! The RC boats are a bit nicer and carnaval makes me nervous since they have been in the news more for having problems with their boats. Every time I think about taking a carnaval cruise an image of a carnaval boat on fire come to my mind (it was last yaar or the year before that happened) and I just can't book them. The crowd on RC might be older but some of them can party harder than anyone I know.

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I went on a Carnival cruise and I really didn't care for it. It might be fun for some people, but I really felt like I was at a college frat party. There were even people dressed up in togas one night. I also felt that they nickel and dimed you everywhere you went. This is just my opinion however, I am one of those people who wants to just relax and be catered to when I am on vacation. My cousin has been on sevel Carnival cruises with his buddies (he is 25) and they loved it! I think it was more thier speed, too much partying for me! Hope this helps!

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I have been on 7-day cruises both on ROyal Caribbean and Princess.

I LOVED RC !!!!!! Beautiful ship, excellent service, good food (i think I gained 10 pounds that week !!!!) I would go again in a heartbeat. The waiters would sing songs for you, it was the best of both worlds, elegant, but a lot of fun !!!!!!! The crowd I was in was very mixed. Ranged from some older, some young couples, and some families also.

As for Princess, I liked it also, beautiful and excellent service as well, but if you think that RC has an older crowd, then watch out for Princess !!!!! There were many older couples and families, hardly any honeymooners or young couples. Activites were still fun, and I was happy to be with my Mom and sisters, and we had a ball.
But I wouldn't go again if I could go RC. I also think Princess was more expensive.

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I have been on 3 cruises.

1 4 day from Ft Lauderdale to Bahamas on Carnvial. Very cheap and very fun. The ship was a little old but the food (in the main dining) was shockingly excellent. Most of the entertainers were pretty good and service was also good.

2- 7 day New England Cruise on Norweigan - absolutely horendous. Food was inedible, entertainment and service stunk!

3 - 2 day Cruise to Nowhere on Carnvivals new Triumph (new when we sailed). The ship was top notch, the entainment was a lot of fun (particularily the piano bar) but the food was just ok. Not bad at all but nothing as good as the Florida cruise.

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To Aug9bride:

We're going on RC on 9/15 to Bermuda.......your review worries me! How was Bermuda itself?

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I took a RC cruise to Bermuda in June and had a great time. I thought the ship could have used a few renovations, it looked a little old. I thought the food was very good in the main dining room, but the buffet was not the greatest. The entertainment was pretty good most nights, but a few nights we walked out of the shows.

As far as Bermuda itself, The island and the beaches are beautiful. We went to Horseshoe Bay and Church Bay Beach. It is very safe, clean and everyone is very friendly. Transportation is a little difficult. There were long waits for buses and cabs, since they limit the vehicular traffic on the island. We rented a moped to get around, it was fun, but be careful because there is only one main road and it is has a lot of curves and the locals drive like maniacs.
We went on the kayak excursion which was fun and also rented a small boat to go exploring and snorkeling on our own. Alot of the organized tours looked very crowded.

Overall it was a great vacation and I would definitley do it again.

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Great website I used before I took a cruise with Carnival 2 years ago: www.cruiseopinion.com. Gives you tons of great tips.

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The Norweign Sea STINKS!!!! I back up SonicStef!!!BAD FOOD , RUDE STAFF

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We are taking a cruise for our honeymoon on Carnival...on one of their newest ships that will set sail for the first time 2 weeks before our wedding! I believe it's called the conquest. The ship stops at Montego Bay, Grand Caymen and Cozumel...and another great part is that it leaves from New Orleans, and I've always wanted to go there, so we're going to spend the night there before the ship leaves the next day! I can't wait. My FH has been on Carnival before and loved it!

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I took RC to Bermuda too and agree the ship was outdated.

They seated us with all these old people, so we were not too pleased with that. The food was good.

I just prefer traveling on the newer Carnival ships. We have a much better time on those.