Looking for the best 3-4 day cruise experience.

[CoasterFanatic]

Catrina and I have been playing with the notion of adding a short cruise onto our honeymoon in May. Since neither of us have ever been, we are pretty clueless about how this all operates and would appreciate any help we can get.

 

To my knowledge, only 3 boats do 3-4 night cruises from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. Has anyone had any experiences with any of the boats that they would like to share?

 

Royal Caribbean - Sovereign of the Seas

Carnival - Sensation

Disney - Wonder

[SharkTums]

Of those three my recommendation would be the Royal Caribbean Cruise.

 

Here's some reasoning:

 

Disney - By far the nicest ship, great staff, beautiful rooms, decent food...but...even for a Disney Enthusiast such as myself, this is a cruise geared primarily at families with children. There is no casino, only 'family' comedy and entertainment, more early and less late night options, etc.

 

Carnival - The Greyhound bus of the Seas! Geared to the 18-25 age group, lots of drinking and loudness. A 'cheaper' overall crowd. Lower quality ships, food, service, etc.

 

Royal Caribbean - A really nice first-timer cruise option. Pretty much right down the middle between Carnival and Disney, but geared much more to adults than kids or rowdy drunk people.

 

Ted, I would take some time and check out the boards at CruiseCritic.com, my mom and I post there and it's quite helpful.

 

Please let me know if you have any more specific questions!

[exmouse]

As a inaugural crew member of the Disney Wonder I'm gonna be bias and say it's a must do. I also did a 3 day cruise with them last year for my honeymoon and it was fantastic. In recent years they've added a lot more adult stuff and a whole new sports bar area. I think I'm right in saying the ship has just been in dry dock and had further modifications done to, from what I was told by my old boss said a lot of it is to add more adult orientated stuff although due to Disney policy they certainly won't add a casino.

If you do go for the Disney Cruise book the romance package add on. This gets you a gift, we got a photo frame, champagne and chocolates, it gets you a couples massage, guaranteed meal in Palos and a romantic turn down service.

Castaway Cay is amazing and the adult beach is very romantic. You could go for a couples massage on the beach.

The shows on the ship are superb, only Disney set off fireworks from the ship, as Elissa says the cabins are immaculate and the staff top notch.

 

Whilst working for DCL I regularly came across other ships and got the impression that Carnival was cheap and cheerful attracting Club 18-30 type guests.

 

DCL is family orientated but despite this my wife and I still had an amazing and romantic honeymoon. We very rarely saw kids as they have their own private areas and we did so many excursions that we missed out on too much family entertainment.

[CoasterFanatic]

Thank you both for your excellent recommendations. I looked at CruiseCritic and it is excellent! There are a ton of reviews right there from seasoned travelers.

 

If anyone else has been on any of these ships please chime in! i would love to hear your opinions.

 

Also, I would be interested in also knowing some "tips" from seasoned cruisers. You know ... what kind of expenses to expect ... good excursions ... etc.