Good honeymoon cruise

[dl7895]

My fiance and I are getting married this summer and trying to narrow down which Caribbean cruise to take. We want to sail July 1 (day after the wedding). I have cruised only once on RCCL Adventure of The Seas back in 2002 and that was fantastic. I have narrowed it down to the following seven day cruises: Caribbean Pricess (St Maarten, St Thomas, Princess Cays), RCCL Mariner (Labadee, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel), & RCCL Adventure (St Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados). We are in our 30's and want a blend of relaxation and activities/excursions. Ship cleanliless/quality is important as are ports. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[dl7895]

My fiance and I are getting married this summer and trying to narrow down which Caribbean cruise to take. We want to sail July 1 (day after the wedding). I have cruised only once on RCCL Adventure of The Seas back in 2002 and that was fantastic. I have narrowed it down to the following seven day cruises: Caribbean Pricess (St Maarten, St Thomas, Princess Cays), RCCL Mariner (Labadee, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel), & RCCL Adventure (St Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados). We are in our 30's and want a blend of relaxation and activities/excursions. Ship cleanliless/quality is important as are ports. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[penny3333]

My favorite line is Princess, but that is my opinion. To me, the service is impeccable, the ships are immaculate, and the food is better than most lines we've been on. We've only sailed on NCL, RCCL, HAL, Costa, Carnival, and Princess, and keep coming back to Princess. The Caribbean Princess is one of the newer ships for Princess. She's a beauty. RCCL has some beautiful ships as well. I'm sure anyone you pick will be a wonderful experience. Maybe deciding on the ports you most want to visit would make it easier. Best wishes and congrats!!

[f-mattox]

Hello dl7895, welcome to cruise-chat and congratulations. what a wonderful honeymoon you will have.
I am not an experienced Caribbean cruiser but I have read some negative things about Ocho Rios and I know first hand that Grand Cayman and Cozumel can be very crowded. So I would scratch the RCCL Mariner off first.
Since Caribbean Princess and RCCL Adventure are comparable in cleanliness and quality it seems to come down to whether you want 3 ports or 5 ports in your seven days.
I think a couple of active 30-somethings would enjoy 5 ports and 2 sea days more. I like to take half-day excursions in the morning before it gets hot, and then relax on the ship in the afternoon.
But this is all just one cruisers opinion. I'm sure you will get other responses.
Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise and congratulations again!

[shanghai 100]

RCCL's newest ship--Liberty of the Seas is a good choice too. Please visit www.royalcaribbean.com for details.

[Sonny V]

I think I would choose a Southern Caribbean cruise. I would also choose a newer ship. I also prefer the "Voyager" class ships.

Sonny

[JasonG]

Honeymoon? Bag the cruise and spend the week on Saba - you won't regret it.

[Cruise Fanatic]

Jason G
They asked about a Caribbean cruise not a land package.

[Dave]

quote:

Originally posted by JasonG:
Honeymoon? Bag the cruise and spend the week on Saba - you won't regret it.

Let's see....honeymoon couple comes to a "cruise" website to ask for advice and you tell them to not take a cruise, but rather go to a boring Dutch island. Getting set for your brilliant new job with the secret cruise line?

[Meldrew of the Seas]

Firstly... congratulations!

Definitely Princess. No question about it.

Princess have much more of a "relax, enjoy" product, while RCCL are a more "take part in activities" cruise.

St Thomas is THE place to buy a little bit of jewellery to remember your honeymoon by. Also, you simply must take the champagne catamaran trip to St John. Just wear plenty of sun block- we didn't!

Princess Cays is the place for a romantic stroll along the beach, hand in hand......

The extra sea days are perfect for romantic relaxation.

They are the line that lives up to the "Love Boat" description, and if you are just married, they will give you all sorts of extras, like champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries in your cabin, a cabin upgrade, card from the Captain, all the things that RC don't do.

Princess also have a newly launched "department of romance"... no other cruise line has one to my knowledge. They can organise proposals on the giant movie screen, you name it, they can do it.

Princess' "anytime dining" means you can eat exactly when you want, and if you fancy a table for 2, they can do it. Usually it means a 15 minute wait, but they give you a pager so there is time to go to the bar for an aperatif, then return for "dinner a deux".

We renewed our vows on Golden Princess a few years ago and the experience was out of this world. We had a champagne breakfast on the balcony (free), a 1/2 hour spa appointment (free), a champagne reception (free), a framed souvenir photo (free) and the Captain invited us to the Bridge the following day.

Over the week we had 4 bottles of champagne, all free. One because we were renewing our vows, one because it was my wife's birthday (we married on her 21st), one because it was our wedding anniversary, and one, i think, because they lost count!

We were visited by the "Cabin Upgrade Fairy", and had canapes delivered to the cabin every evening, and chocolate dipped strawberries every morning.

That was our first cruise, we have now done 15 with Princess and they are always good, but not quite as good as that one!