Conference abbott::cruise_travel

348.0. "Tropicale? Holiday? Crown Monarch??" by ADTSHR::ADTSHR::SUTTON (Percussion..strings..winds..words) Wed Feb 26 1992 14:37

    I've found the information in here to be _extremely_ helpful in 
    getting started with planning.  My wife and I are celebrating our 
    10th anniversary this year, and have narrowed down the possibilities
    to a cruise or a land-based all-inclusive package deal.
    
    We've made contact with the folks from South Florida Cruises and
    AAABCO, with AAABCO nosing out SFC on prices.  For instance:
    
    Carnival's Tropicale, sailing 5/30/92 for $859pp
    Carnival's Holiday, sailing 5/30/92 for $999pp
    Crown Monarch for $969pp (Laurie misplaced the sail date, same time frame)
    
    The Tropicale's itinerary includes San Juan, St. Thomas, Grenada,
    Barbados, Caracas, and Aruba.  I think. (-:
    
    The Holiday stops in Cozumel/Playa del Carmen, Grand Cayman, and Ocho
    Rios.
    
    The Crown Monarch stops in Key West, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios/
    Montego.
    
    Now the tough part -- making a _decision_!  We sailed on the Carnival
    Festivale in 1983, enjoyed the trip immensely for the most part.  From
    what I've gathered in here, I'm leaning toward the Tropicale (based
    on information about the ports of call and the ships themselves.)
    The Crown Monarch sounds like a smaller ship (haven't seen anything in
    here...), and we chose the Tropicale over the Holiday for itinerary.
    
    Any thoughts??  Thanks!!
    
    - John

    Do you want to go to 3 islands or 5?  Get the brochure from Carnival
    and check out the sailing times.  See which you like better.
    
    I would vote for TROPICALE because it is more islands and less money.
    
    I am going on Carnival - Celebration at the end of March.  If I picked
    it myself (it was a Christmas present)  I would of picked TROPICAL
    because it hits some islands I've never been to.
    
    I also heard some of the boats have better food than others but I 
    don't know which ones.
    
    Also consider May is going to be very warm, down near the equator.
    Toastie Critters!
    
    TROPICAL goes the furthest south.
    
    Bonnie

    Yup, we're aware of the itinerary differences; as I mentioned, we've
    done the "eastern Caribbean" cruise and are weighing the options.
    The info we've got is from the latest Carnival brochure.
    
    And the tanning sessions are lined up to get a "base", although I
    plan on using factor 999 sunscreen (-:
    
    There was a note a while back with a somewhat negative twist on the
    Trop -- it had been refurbished and, in the opinion of the noter,
    the job was passable.
    
    Thanks!