[Nikki]

I posted a while back about how I am planning a cruise, well I decided on Royal Caribbean pretty much and they have a brand new ship The Liberty of the Seas that is taking reservations in May 2007, when I was planning on going. Well I look up the destinations and if you want to take a cruise on the new ship you have to go to Haiti.

Has anyone been there? From what I hear it is probably the worst place to visit in the Caribbean since it is so poor and corrupt and I just don't understand why they would set their destinations up so you have to go to Haiti if you want to go on the new ship. So should I just take the Freedom of the Seas instead?

Are there any other boats/cruise lines that anyone recommends? I am not a partyer so no Carnival for me. I know Celebrity is nice but is it all just older people and rich punks? What about Princess? I have never been on a cruise besides when I was 5 and went on the Big Red Boat hahha.

[vladinecko]

my girlfriend and i are departing on oct 14 from ft. lauderdale taking the royal caribbean cruise as well. we're going to jamaica, grand cayman and somewhere else that i don't remember. i've never been to one but my friends told me to stay away from "brand new" ships after that incident a few months back.

we're taking the "enchantment at sea" ship. it should be pretty nice as we aren't first ones to party either and want to do more outside activities.

i think you can't go wrong with whichever you take.

[MrSilver]

I'm going on Princess for a cruise to the Panama Canal on the Coral Princess.

Here is my itnerary:

Jan 08 2007 FORT LAUDERDALE 01:00PM 05:00PM
Jan 09 2007 AT SEA
Jan 10 2007 AT SEA
Jan 11 2007 PANAMA CANAL 07:00AM 03:00PM 03:30PM
Jan 11 2007 CRISTOBAL 04:00PM 07:30PM 08:00PM
Jan 12 2007 LIMON 06:30AM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Jan 13 2007 AT SEA
Jan 14 2007 OCHO RIOS 08:00AM 04:30PM 05:00PM
Jan 15 2007 GRAND CAYMAN 07:00AM 02:30PM 03:00PM
Jan 16 2007 COZUMEL 09:00AM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Jan 17 2007 AT SEA
Jan 18 2007 FORT LAUDERDALE 07:00AM

I have 2 sets of friends that both did this exact cruise and they said it was out of control.

The Coral Princess has got an amazing spa and athletic facility from what I've been told which helped make up my mind.

Hope that helps

[txusa03]

just have fun and be extra carefull Nikki if you see someone following you or stalking you. They could plan to rob you and throw you overboard. Also, do the cruise still have trouble with food poisoning (seems to happen alot on cruise).

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by MrSilver

I'm going on Princess for a cruise to the Panama Canal on the Coral Princess.

Here is my itnerary:

Jan 08 2007 FORT LAUDERDALE 01:00PM 05:00PM
Jan 09 2007 AT SEA
Jan 10 2007 AT SEA
Jan 11 2007 PANAMA CANAL 07:00AM 03:00PM 03:30PM
Jan 11 2007 CRISTOBAL 04:00PM 07:30PM 08:00PM
Jan 12 2007 LIMON 06:30AM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Jan 13 2007 AT SEA
Jan 14 2007 OCHO RIOS 08:00AM 04:30PM 05:00PM
Jan 15 2007 GRAND CAYMAN 07:00AM 02:30PM 03:00PM
Jan 16 2007 COZUMEL 09:00AM 06:30PM 07:00PM
Jan 17 2007 AT SEA
Jan 18 2007 FORT LAUDERDALE 07:00AM

I have 2 sets of friends that both did this exact cruise and they said it was out of control.

The Coral Princess has got an amazing spa and athletic facility from what I've been told which helped make up my mind.

Hope that helps

Trying to figure out your itinerary because it stays completely on the Atlantic side and then I noticed that you wrote it was a cruise to the Panama Canal, not through it. What's the point in that? Will you go through the Gatun Locks or just berth at Colón or Cristobol and sightsee from there?

[shragon]

on my caribbean cruise, started off in miami and the ports were grand cayman and ocho rios, jamaica.

grand cayman is nice. i recommend going scuba diving there. first time i've ever done it, and the water is so clear.

never made it to ocho rios because of a hurricane. instead they changed the port to cozumel, mexico. didn't really want to go to mexico, but it was cool. mr sanchos beach is pretty cool and relaxing.

also because of the hurricane, was stuck out at sea for couple extra days before returning to miami. wound up missing my flight, was a mess. wound up staying in miami for an extra night.

all in all it was fun trip since i went with a bunch of friends.

lastly, i took carnival, and i do not recommend them.

btw... i just got back from a pacific northwest cruise through celebrity cruises. one thing i thought was cool was they had hand sanitizer dispensers every where.

[Scarabeo]

Why not try Europe, a cruise through the Greek Isles?

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Scarabeo

Why not try Europe, a cruise through the Greek Isles?

i looked into it but i would like to take a cruise to the caribbean before we move up to north carolina since i don't need a plane flight, ft. lauderdale and miami are real close. going to europe would be more convenient to leave from somewhere further north.

[icewatersoda]

i thought this had to do with Tom

[MonacoBimm]

Originally Posted by SoYank

Trying to figure out your itinerary because it stays completely on the Atlantic side and then I noticed that you wrote it was a cruise to the Panama Canal, not through it. What's the point in that? Will you go through the Gatun Locks or just berth at Colón or Cristobol and sightsee from there?

People who plan on taking the cruise through the panama Canal. Please take it throught the pacific side, because the atlantic side there is not much to see. The city is right in the pacific side. So take the cruise where it will stop on the Pacific side. The atlantic side is not worth it and not much to see. In the pacific is the metropolis and the city and where all the buildings and beautifull stuff is.

[MonacoBimm]

BTW, I just went on a princess cruise throguh all the Asian cities, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shangahi, Ho Chi Ming Cit, Singapore, Nha Trang, Nagasaki, Pusan South Korea. I was really nice, It was a small cruise ship, because since it is kind of exclusive only small amounts of people go, like 600 or something.

[mds82]

Nikki, I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise a few years back and i absolutely loved it. I went to Haiti, Jamica, the Grand Cayman islans, and Cozumel Mexico,

Haiti as a country i dont think is that pretty, but they take you to a private section that is absolutely beautiful. Most of the places you go actually are made for tourists, and are very pretty. The boats also are amazing. i dont think it really matters which boat you choose, because no matter what they are large, beautful, and theres so much to do. Good luck

Here's one pic of Haiti actually

[325 Baller]

yes mds is correct, they take you to labadee which is their "private" island. Ive been there 3-4 times and its very nice.

[CALIF65GM]

RCL is a slightly younger crowd than Princess cruises. The food is better on Princess than RCL's.

I've only been on RCL, but my parents have been on numerous Princess cruises. My mom liked the Princess cruises more than the RCL cruises.

[Nikki]

Ok I think I got one. What do you guys think of this?

[ADHD]

honestly nikki! labaddee is a private island that RCL owns NOONE but you and the people that are on your cruise boat will be on that part of the island!!
I have lots of pics of Haiti in my gallery your welcome to look at! THis is exactly what ull see when u go! some things may be different but I doubt it!
http://www.pbase.com/adhd/labadeehaiti

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by ADHD

honestly nikki! labaddee is a private island that RCL owns NOONE but you and the people that are on your cruise boat will be on that part of the island!!
I have lots of pics of Haiti in my gallery your welcome to look at! THis is exactly what ull see when u go! some things may be different but I doubt it!
http://www.pbase.com/adhd/labadeehaiti

looks kind of like florida

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by Nikki

Ok I think I got one. What do you guys think of this?

It's great if all you want to do is wander about a floating hotel. You're spending over $1000 for a 158 hour trip of which you're in port only 28 hours. I'd start thinking I'd made a mistake long about breakfast time on the second day (May 8). With rare exceptions, if you've seen one wave, you've seen 'em all. My preference would be something where the shore time is more closely matched by the sea time instead of 17.7%.

Choose an itinerary that you think you'll enjoy. If you are only interested in getting away from the daily grind and don't really care for sightseeing, I think this would be good. If you want to see more of the world's landmass and cultures, IMO this isn't going to make the cut.

However, whatever you decide to do I hope you enjoy it.

[06330i]

I go on a Royal Caribbean cruise every year and i cant be more satisified about going! ive been to haiti and it wasnt as bad as many people say.

[Nikki]

can anyone give more feedback on the itinerary i posted? I think this may be the one because i read on epinions about labadee and it wasn't so positive.

[obLu]

RCL's decent, it's a notch up from Carnival, but that's about it. I view it as kind of a "budget" cruise line. Which is fine, there's a lot of bang for your buck. And that's great for me because I'm a shorts and flip flops kind of guy anyway. Because it's a value line though, you will run into a lot of families. Not a ton of kids like Disney, but families with older kids on vacation. We haven't gone on a cruise since my son was born, but families never bothered me much anyway (my favorite place to go on non-beach vacations is Disney World). I know this bothers a lot of people so I mention it.

We always get good deals from http://www.mycruisevalue.com/v3/index.asp so make sure you check other sites besides the cruise line's. There's a lot of discounts to be had.

The previous poster is right though, you're paying for a floating hotel. If you like to do a lot on vacation, it'll drive you nuts. My wife likes to just sit by the pool on vacation, so cruises are great for her. I'm the active vacation person, so I go stir crazy.

Haven't been on that exact cruise but I've been to St. Thomas. St. Thomas, stick to the downtown tourist area for some shopping but don't wander off. Most of St. Thomas is a pit, except the tourist beach that they take you to on excursion. But if they have an excursion to St. John, definately do that. St John was awesome, when we went to St. Thomas we made the trip over 3-4 times because it was more fun there. We never have, but my wife and I have vowed that some day we'll take a vacation and just stay there.

I'm originally from so fla, and yeah most of the caribbean beaches look just about the same as so fla beaches, but the water is clearer.

Couple of cruise tips ... spend the extra money for a balcony room. Room service is free (well, you'll be tipping your cabin steward out at the end anyway) so it's nice to be able to have breakfast alone on your balcony instead of having to shower and go down to the dining room or buffet. Dinner is a social event, plan on making friends with your table-mates, if you like to keep to yourselves you won't like it much. They always say to book your excursions early because they'll fill up ... I've never had a problem since you can usually get off the boat, walk 10' and buy the same thing cheaper from a tour company that's got a booth on the pier. Eventhough your cruise price includes food, plan to bring about $100 a day in cash. We always like to tip out in cash at the end of the cruise instead of put it on the card. More if you drink. Oh and soda/pop isn't included, you've got to buy a refillable cup up front or pay as you go. At sea, booze from the on board shops is cheap.

Sorry for the long post, hope it helps a little. Cruisings an awesome way to do a really affordable vacation. But you have to be in the right frame of mind and not expect things from it that it's not, or you'll be really disappointed.

PS. oh, and don't expect too much from the food ... it's a floating hotel, not a 5 star restaraunt. They do the best they can, but think catering food. It's large scale, so it's about quantity not quality. I don't really know why people go on cruises expecting the food to great.

[Nikki]

thanks for the tips. i will try that site and see what is there. have you checked out the freedom family ships that royal caribbean has to offer? they look pretty cool and they have a virtual tour on their website of everything to do, including rock climbing, ice skating, and mini golf, sounds like fun, that's the reason i picked royal caribbean at first, because the ship looked like a lot of fun and it was a good price. what cruise line would you recommend? princess? celebrity?