overwhelmed newbie

[firefighterwife]

hi!!!
i am learning so much from reading your reviews.
thanks so much. i am still so confused, do you believe it??? it sounds so fun, so hopefully this wont be the only one we will go on. on the royal caribbean i can't remember, are there casual options each night, or certain nights. sort of a concern with the little ones. that is why i thought the "freestyle" with ncl would be the best, but i was not aware of the cover charges, not so fun.
lisa

[Sunprincess]

Hi
I am a frequent Princess cruiser. And would highly recommend Princess
Most cruise lines now offer a wide variety of dining options from casual every night to more formal. Princess has the traditional dining seatings (early & late), and then Personal Choice (anytime dining), along with many specialty choices.
I am not a heavy partier either, and enjoy what Princess has to offer.
Good Luck with your choices

[Frase]

Hello Firefighterwife:

For your info, on Nov. 1st - 5th I went on my very first cruise ever. It was aboard Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas. I had a good time.

It is my opinion that the ship was beautiful on the inside and out. This despite the construction/renovation work that was going on in my cruise.

I will be envious of the people who will cruise on the Sovereign after all the work is finished.
(Around New Year's the Sovereign will have a special cruise celebrating the new renovations).

I did see allot of passengers withing the 35 to 45 age group on the cruise. So, the atmosphere on the ship was more sedate rather than a wild party seen. Although, there was definately lively fun and activities.

When I get enough money together and decide to take another cruise, I will try to go on R.C.'s Mariner of the Seas. It is one of the "Voyager" class of ships (that was dicussed in a previous reply). The Mariner, like the Sovereign, leaves from the closest port to where I live (Port Canaveral). The Mariner and her sister ships of the Voyager class are some of the biggest cruise ships in the world. The Mariner leaves on 7 day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises. While the Sovereign only did 3 and 4 day Bahamian cruises.

[firefighterwife]

thank you!!
lovin all the advice!

[joarc]

Hi firefighterwife,
I'll jump in because when I read your post, it reminded me of what we looked for on our cruise. Our first cruise was on Carnival, which was TERRIBLE, and we went on Royal's Navigator on November 03. It was a great experience, not too stuffy, and the average age was 30s - 40s. My kids loved the experience, although they're older, but there are programs for your kids. I loved the fact that smokers are kept on opposite sides of the ship. My husband was not impressed with the food, and I understand that Princes takes the prize for that. The Navigator is such a large ship, but it doesn't feel like it is. If you choose one of the Voyager class ships, make sure that you see the ice show. My husband is hooked, so get ready to plan your next cruise as soon as you get back.

Have fun!!!

ZC, Tampa