Cruises in April, cruise recs, and questions!

chinofiesta93 · October 2012

My son's paternal grandparents (we're really close to them) offered to pay for our entire honeymoon and asked us if we wanted to do a cruise.
So, I've been browsing cruises, and really don't know what I'm doing.

Any cruise line recommendations, especially in April? Any ports (is that the right term???) to stay away from? Would we be bored out of our minds if we didn't do any excursions at all?
I get carsick after a few hours, am I gonna be miserable on a boat?

TIA!

nicnak22 · October 2012

I would stay away from carnival lots of people lots of kids ... I would personally say its on the lower end of the lines. I would personally choose celebrity, royal, princess or Norwegian. If you don't want to spend the extra money on excursions or you don't want to do a group thing I don't think that's a problem. A lot of times we just get off the ship in the port walk around and shop and then get a cab and go to the beach or where ever also though on the ship there is so much to do u never get board. I would recommend getting a balcony room if you can though its not a deal breaker for me but it is really nice having the option to sit out there. I personally really enjoy drinking coffee on the balcony and watching the sun come up as you are pulling up to a new island. Whatever you decide have fun and Congrats!

TaraMc728 · October 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cruises-in-april-cruise-recs-and-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:741818e0-cf58-4c0a-826d-30843f2dac43Post:0b464e88-43cb-411d-a8d5-06396d3acdd0">Re: Cruises in April, cruise recs, and questions!</a>:
[QUOTE]There won't be a lot of kids in April. Spring break will be over, and most kids wlill be in school. March is a different story. :(
Posted by CMGr[/QUOTE]

I highly recommend to avoid taking a cruise in March due to springbreak. My FIL treated us to a cruise this past March on Carnival, and it was full of spring breakers. April is the better option.

alithebride · October 2012

no one can say for sure which islands are better or worse for you. head to your library, pick up a few caribbean island books, read them, see which islands look good and then choose the cruise accordignly.

i choose a cruise based on itinerary-not on cruiseline or ship. to me where it goes and what there is to do in those places is FAR more important than which line it is.

AllyG303 · October 2012

I've been on Princess, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. I prefer the larger ships of RC and Carnival (and I disagree with PP about Carnival being of lower class). I got bored at night on the smaller Princess ship that I went on a few years back. There just wasn't as much to do or look at (though it was still a great ship, just not my preference).

You don't have to book excursions through the cruiseline to have something to do. The ships typically port in a very touristy part of town with restaurants, shopping, etc. You can also find a lot of the same excursions with the local guides right when you get off the ship (though I wouldn't recommend doing this for longer excursions like scuba or ruins, etc.). If you don't want to get off the ship at all, there are always activities going on onboard the ship (and spa specials). There are also a few cruises that sail to nowhere (just a several days at sea) if you aren't interested in seeing new places.

I prefer the Caribbean in April, because it's far warmer on the days at sea than the cruises to the Mexican Riviera (not even sure how many lines are still sailing to Mexico). My favorite port is St. Maarten (I preferred the Eastern Caribbean over Western.)

Personally, I'm going on a cruise at the end of April on the Carnival Breeze (their newest ship) to the Southern Caribbean. I'm sure you'll have fun whatever you choose!