What is the best cruise line to go on?
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 at
12:00 am
My husband and I and maybe our 17 almost 18 year old daughter would love to celebrate all of our birthdays with a cruise. We have never been on a cruise. Which is the best cruise line for the cost? Is there a specific website that has good deals. Do you have to have a passport to travel on a cruise or get off of the ship? We live in Florida so could we get a Florida resident discount? Please send any info even if you think it might not help. Thank you so much!
Tagged with: best cruise • birthdays • cruise line • florida resident • good deals • passport • resident discount
Filed under: Cruise Discounts
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I am a cruise specialist and find that my clients in your situation are always happy on a Royal Caribbean ship. Yes, you should get passports. It has nothing to do with getting off the ship. It has to do with being allowed to get on. At the moment, you can cruise with a driver license and birth certificate if you are cruising from and back to the same port. However, if something should interrupt your trip, you would not be able to get back into the US without a passport. If you would like, I would be glad to help you at no charge. My website is below.
There is no "BEST" cruise line. They all offer many of the same services and activities yet also different. Just like the Best ship may not be in the same area you want to take a cruise to.
Since you already have a port to depart from I would suggest you go to any AAA office ( you do not have to belong) get some brochures and compare what each line offers that will fit your family’s needs. After all it is your vacation not the travel agents. I have found many travel agents have never been on a cruise.
Enjoy.
The "best" for someone else may not be the best for you, so it really depends on what you want and expect from a cruise line. All of the major cruise lines go to basically the same places, and depart from several ports in Florida. So in that respect, they are all the same.
If cost is a major issue, then Carnival would suit you, because they have the best price. Carnival is good, and I would do one again with them, but they don’t have the nicest ships (except maybe Carnival Dream).
If cost isn’t that big of a deal then I would say go on Royal Caribbean (my favorite). The ships are really nice, with tons of activities, but you pay more for the cruise.
If you don’t care at all about cost, and want to go on a really nice ship, consider Disney. They are very expensive though.
As far as websites go, I have not seen one that gave a lower price than the cruise lines own website, even the so called "discount cruise" sites don’t. The so called "discount" websites are great for looking at and comparing cruises though, but that’s all I use them for. When it comes time to book, I do it through the cruise line.
It is highly recommended that you all have passports, although you can just use a drivers license and birth certificate. If for some reason you miss the ship leaving one of the ports of call, it will be much easier to get to the next port if you have a passport.
Carnival and RC do offer resident discounts, but you have to go to their website to see which cruise is for your state. Some of the "discount" sites also will show resident rates.
Hope that helps!
P.S. you cant go wrong with any of the above 3, trust me!
I agree with Rick d. There is no best cruise line except Conde Naste magazine name the 3 most expensive as the Best(crystal, Silver seas are 2 of them. But I found I can go on 2 cruises with Princess for the price you pay on like Crystal.. The most budget friendly is Carnival. They do a good job, but I prefer something more upscale and less kids then carnival. That is why I sail with Princess. But I certainly would be willing to try Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, or Disney too. Go to a local travel agent that specializes in cruises and get tips from them. Or you can join up on cruisecritic.com(It’s free) to read reviews, ask questions and anything else concerning cruising. This is the main site where many cruisers go for info.
Some popular ones are Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean is the best as far as the ships themselves. However, if you are looking for a fun, cheaper cruise for the family, then Carnival is the way to go. I recommend Carnival Inspiration.