hey everyone,
a little bit of help wanted there is just so much stuff to take in when trying to oganise a cruise!! i am booking a cruise for april of next yr for my BFs 25th iv narrowed it down to Carnival (yeyyyy) and the mexican riveria or western carribean. Departure port anywer in florida its still gona cost me regardless wer the ship takes off from!! i see the ships legend, valour and splendor are on these routes. Cant decide between them or the routes!!! arghh too much choice. I know splendor will be the newest out of these will we be spoiling ourselves if we go on this ship first for futher cruises (that is the plan!!) or should we go on a older ship first. We love being kept busy and exploring new places and i know the BF would love a cruise so organising it in secret so the pressure is on!! any help would be very much appreciated.

Greetins from Ireland
Erin

We just cruised with a couple who was on their honeymoon from Laois, Ireland on the Imagination in January. They were wonderful.
They started with this cruise and then spent a week going down to Key West, Florida.

I will see if I can find their email address...because I know he would not mind answering any questions.

That would be great thanks!!

quote:

Originally posted by irish girl:
hey everyone,
a little bit of help wanted there is just so much stuff to take in when trying to oganise a cruise!! i am booking a cruise for april of next yr for my BFs 25th iv narrowed it down to Carnival (yeyyyy) and the mexican riveria or western carribean. Departure port anywer in florida its still gona cost me regardless wer the ship takes off from!! i see the ships legend, valour and splendor are on these routes. Cant decide between them or the routes!!! arghh too much choice. I know splendor will be the newest out of these will we be spoiling ourselves if we go on this ship first for futher cruises (that is the plan!!) or should we go on a older ship first. We love being kept busy and exploring new places and i know the BF would love a cruise so organising it in secret so the pressure is on!! any help would be very much appreciated.

Greetins from Ireland
Erin

Erin, Welcome to cruise chat. What a grand plan, a surprise cruise for your BF. I've been on a few ships all in the Carribean, every ship was great. I don't think you can go wrong on your first cruise. My daughter dances on the ships so what I know the most about is the shows. My favorite shows were on the Spirit and Triumph. The spirit had a show called Spirit, where they danced with the spirit of all sorts of things, Spirit of the earth, the sky, the water, the spirit world, I thought it was great. The Triumph has the best Magic show with Kevin and Caruso, it is just WOW. The Triumph will also have a new show beginning this Sept 08. So it will have new costumes, props, ideas and to bring out a new show they will collect the very best of crew to bring it out. I think that April will still have the original crew. This could be fantastic. As far as which ship old or new, the older are easier to find your way around on but the newer ones are big and glorious. The oldest ship I was on was the Destiny,(not really very old, built in the 90s) and you could tell by the decor it was old, and if you looked real hard could find things that didn't work well. However they spared no expense when they built it. Real Italian marble and copper sheets that line the wall. The Glory a newer ship was decked out like a masquerade party, that was nice. The Conquest has a Scottish Cruise Director that is a hoot, he calls himself Weeeeeee- Jimmy.

Please feel free to cantact me through private message or IM if you have something you want to chat about that may be personal.
CruiseDad

Hi Erin, and Welcome to Cruise-Chat!

Greetings from South Carolina to the Motherland!

Welcome aboard,

Dwayne

Erin:

Mark (the cruiser I mentioned) is a DJ for this company.

http://www.apollodjs.ie/index.html

Just use their contact info to reach out to him.

Have a great cruise.

Hi Erin, welcome to Cruise-Chat. What a wonderful present to give your BF. The Caribbean itinerary will be better for water sports, snorkeling, swimming, diving, etc. The Mexican Riviera is better for history and shopping. Not that they don't have good beaches, it's just that the Caribbean waters are more calm and warmer. There is plenty to do on board, they have great shows, good dance clubs, the casino, and you can do as much or as little as you want. My one piece of advice is to make sure NOT to fly in the day of the cruise, too much can go wrong. Make sure you fly in at least one day prior to departure. Can't wait to see what you select. Best wishes and once again, welcome aboard!

Hi Erin,

I have been to both the Mexican Riviara and the Caribbean and I prefer the Caribbean hands down! The beaches are wonderful. The ocean is a beautiful Turquoise color and the views are breathtaking! Depending one when you plan to cruise you do have the concern for Hurricanes in the Caribbean from May-Nov.

I have only been on the Valor from your choices. I am going on the Legand in May. The Valor is a beautiful big ship. You will not be dissapointed. Have a wonderful cruise!