Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
** Earls Bride **/W. Caribbean cruise...
Hey there- I saw that you posted that you went to Roatan via a cruise. Did you go on Carnival? If so, what boat did you go on, and how was the experience on there?
We're looking at the exotic W. Caribbean cruise, and the only one I know that goes there is Carnival. I've been on Carnival 2x (both in my early 20s), and I vowed to never go back on it again, but I've heard the cruiseline is trying to get away from their "party" atmosphere and now has age restrictions on it. This is making me re-look at Carnival, but if that is the cruiseline you went on, I'd love to hear about your experiences!
eta: What month did you go on this cruise, and would you recommend going at that time? We're looking at December 2013 (I know, far away, but we're heading to E. Caribbean this December...)
Re: ** Earls Bride **/W. Caribbean cruise...
also not who you're looking for :-) but we did a western carribean cruise through norweigen a few years ago. it stopped in Cozumel, grand cayman, belize, and roatan. again, this was a few years ago, so they might have changed it a little bit.
it left from Miami. we liked norweigen a lot. food was good, and i remember the crowd being "normal" HAHA didn't really feel like it had too much of a party atmosphere or anything.
roatan was great- i remember such great snorkeling, just walking off the beach and going. :-) no need to take a boat out to a reef or anything.
Thanks to the both of you- I've never been on Norwegian (just Carnival, and we're going on Royal Caribbean this Dec).
How did you both like Norwegian? Can you compare to other cruiselines?
Thanks so much for your feedback on the weather. We could definitely look at other itineraries. Definitely don't want to do it when it is cold rainy...
eta: Is December a good month for a Southern Caribbean cruise?
Also not who you're looking for :-P
We did the exotic Western Caribbean cruise last August on the Carnival Dream and LOVED it! Roatan was our 2nd stop and we went on a zip lining and Gumbalimba Park excursion which we loved!
DH and I were also hesitant to go on Carnival, as we had both sailed with them in the past and liked RC better. But, we were going with friends and this was the itinerary we all wanted, and the Dream was one of their newest and biggest ships. We were not disappointed at all! The ship was amazing, we especially loved the 4 hot tubs on deck 4 (or was it 5?) hanging over the side of the ship overlooking the water. The food was great, the service was excellent, and we loved how big the ship was and how everything was sparkling new.
I would highly recommend this itinerary on the Carnival Dream out of Port Canaveral over the Legend out of Tampa which is a much older ship than the Dream.
I did extensive reviews of our trip on my blog (link in my siggy) just go to August and September of 2011 posts and you'll find them there. HTH!
Green Fashionista Blog Updated 2/25
Planning bio with lots of DIY
Married Bio with For Sale
We did a Southern Caribbean cruise in November a few years ago and LOVED it. Hands down our favorite itinerary! We sailed out of San Juan, so we flew in a day early to enjoy San Juan and to ensure we wouldn't miss the ship due to flight delays/cancellations.
The weather was perfect and definitely still hot and not cool/chilly at all.
Green Fashionista Blog Updated 2/25
Planning bio with lots of DIY
Married Bio with For Sale
Thanks SummerKutie- What airport did you fly into (I'm assuming Orlando?). If so, did you take a shuttle to get to Port Canaveral, or did you rent a car one-way and drop it off neat the cruise port?
It is I, LOL! Sorry so late to the convo here
We did a W. Caribbean cruise on the Crown Princess out of Fort Lauderdale. The itinerary was Princess Cay, Bahamas; Roatan; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel.
We had a GREAT experience on this ship, no problems whatsoever. The food was great, both the buffets and a la carte dining; loved the espresso cafe; the entertainment was awesome (especially Princess Idol & the hypnotist show, hilarious); loved Movies Under the Stars (movies on a huge theatre screen by the pool, you lay out on the lounge chairs with pizza & popcorn, so fun!); and we really loved our balcony cabin, only way to go IMO
This ship had a mix of people, all ages, but there definitely wasn't any hardcore partying or craziness going on, it was fun, relaxing, and we enjoyed socializing with everyone.
We went in November of 2009. Just so happened to be right after Hurricane Ida so there was still a bit of a tropical storm going on, we caught the tail end of it on the first night. That wasn't so fun, the ship rocked like crazy, and scared the crap outta me. My H slept through it, like a baby, while I creeped around the ship looking for reassurance that everything was going to be okay, lol... Anyway, we awoke to gorgeous sun & blue skies, and it was all good from there!
I'd feel fine going on a cruise in December, storm season is pretty much over by then, so yeah, go for it!
For our Southern Caribbean cruise we flew into San Juan, but for our Western Caribbean cruise we just drove to Port Canaveral and left our car at one of their lots and took a free shuttle over to the cruise terminal (we live in an Orlando suburb). But, if you're flying in, Orlando is the best airport to fly into and the cruiseline will have shuttles going back and forth to the cruise terminal from the airport (about a 40 minute ride). I always suggest flying in a day early to ensure you don't miss your boat due to flight delays or cancellations. That happened to friends of ours and they had to fly to the 1st island stop to meet the boat, and had to spend all this extra money and missed the first few days of their trip. Nevermind the added stress
And ditto Earls Bride.. definitely spring for a balcony room! It's worth every extra penny. Your room will be bigger with a sitting area, and you'll enjoy having your own private outdoor area to relax on and have breakfast instead of going up to the crowded buffet.
Green Fashionista Blog Updated 2/25
Planning bio with lots of DIY
Married Bio with For Sale
Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! Now to choose which cruiseline...