NCL vs RCCI vs Princess

[tdcatch]

Hi all. I welcome anybody's opinion on what choice we should make for our cruise next January. These prices are in Canadian dollars and including everything including suggested gratuity. There are 3 of us travelling, including a 3 year old. We are trying to compare apples to apples so all room are "junior suites" and range from 231 to 277 sq. ft.

We have narrowed our scope to:

Royal Caribbean Voyager - 7 nights departing Jan 6th.
Itinerary : Nassau/Sea/St. Thomas/San Juan/Labadee/Sea
- $4405 CDN. for a 277 sq. ft. junior suite + 69 sq. ft. balcony

Norwegian Jewel - 7 nights departing Jan. 7th.
Itinerary: Sea/San Juan/St. John's/St. Thomas/Sea/Great Stirrup
- $3914 CDN. for a 231 sq. ft. mini suite + 54 sq. ft. balcony

Princess Star - 7 nights departing Jan. 6th.
Itinerary: Sea/Ocho Rios/Gr. Cayman/Cozumel/Sea/Princess Cay
- $4000 CDN. for a 255 sq. ft. mini suite + 64 sq. ft. balcony

Bases on these choices do you have a recommendation? We like good food and good service, and aren't so concerned about night life...

Thanks...

Mark

[lfgaynor]

All three have good youth programs. Is your 3 year old potty trained? If so, he/she can participate in the youth programs of all three lines. If not, only NCL will accept her/him. Personally, my kids like RCI's youth program the best.

Smooth sailing,
Luisa Frey Gaynor
Family Cruise Editor

[kimbo]

Hey Mark. We went on the norweigon jewel this past april...as the food and service were both the top notch, the children's program was lacking. small space for the little ones. I would definetly sail norwegion again, but I wouldn't bring my little one on the jewel. Even though we only dropped our 4yr old off at the kids camp for a couple of hours a day while we were on the ship ....and she seemed to have fun...I felt guilty because of the lacking space and activities. I've heard great things about royal carribean's kids program. never done them.

as far as your itinerieries....there really is not much to do with a little one at san juan. we should have stayed on the boat that day. the beaches are beautiful at st thomas and st johns.

if you've never been to cozumel/grand cayman/ocho rios, that one sounds like a nice one. i would definetly revisit cozumel and grand cayman..(sting ray city!). cozumel is alot of fun...cheap shopping too...you can get vanilla dirt cheap....like a liter for a couple bucks! ...also there are the ruins you can visit, very neat. never been to ocho rios, heard its beautiful.

Hope this helps a little, have fun!

[tdcatch]

thanks we are very close to committing to the Star Princess Cruise I know the Royal Caribbean may have a few more kids facilities but it's not like she is a 10 year old who is going to be spending entire days at the kids club. We are more likely talking an hour here and there...And I heard that Royal Caribbean was becoming kind of like Carnival, abit over the top. Our ship, the star, is a 2600 passneger ship so I figure their facilities should be pretty darn good. No rock climbing wall or ice rink, but guess what, if I wanted to skate I would stay home in Canada in January!

[selctsys]

I would agree, RCL isn't of too much additional value for very young kids. I would go with Princess as it looks like a better value when compared to NCL.

[LisaK]

I would also pick the Princess cruise. We love the western route.

[tdcatch]

We changed our sale date but stuck with Star Princess. Now leaving Feb 10th from Lauderdale.

7 months from today!!!