Yesterday I brought you information about the Quantum class by Royal Caribbean. It will for sure be a class of it’s own like the Oasis class.
But Carnival has stepped up it’s game with their newest ships: Magic, Breeze & Sunshine.
The Carnival Sunshine is a little different though. While the Magic & Breeze are new builds Sunshine is a refurb of the Carnival Destiny delivering a lot of the successes of the Magic & Breeze but also bringing some new amenities.
New amenities include the Speedway Splash Slides, waterfall on the Serenity deck, Havana bar & JiJi Asian Kitchen.
It will surely be a hit as the Magic & Breeze have been. These new amenities along with Carnival’s already diverse itineraries and lower pricing make them a strong contender for most average cruisers.
It will be operating 7 Day Caribbean cruises out of New Orleans starting in November of 2013 for just over $400 per person for an inside stateroom.
7 Day Western Caribbean to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman & Cozumel
7 Day Eastern Caribbean to Key West, Freeport & Nassau
Royal Caribbean’s Sunshine Project is officially the Quantum class featuring 2 new ships: Quantum of the Seas & Anthem of the seas.
http://youtu.be/j8MS0Iz1Da0
I posted this yesterday but wanted to give some more details.
Honestly I don’t like the name Quantum of the Seas. It just doesn’t have the finesse that their other names have.
These ships are supposed to be bigger than the Freedom class ships but smaller than the Oasis class ships.
It will most likely have Neighborhoods like the Oasis class but I wonder if it will have the space or design for inside facing balcony staterooms and the Aqua Theatre.
I wonder what NEW features they will have. Ocean plaza, fireworks, ice bar, ropes course, “Haven”, etc… What will it bring to the industry?
I can’t imagine they’d bring out a new class of ships and not add anything exclusive or innovative so we’ll see.
Maybe it will have a full deck length lazy river? What other new features would you like to see?
Ya I know it’s been a while. Our last cruise was our Babymoon before we had our first child. I don’t think I’d recommend cruising while pregnant. I didn’t have morning sickness but I definitely felt the motion of the ship more and had some other uncomfortable moments. Sleeping on the couch for a week watching cruise videos on YouTube would have been nice. Oh well – live and learn.
So here it is 9 months after my sons arrival and no we don’t have any cruises or vacations planned. He’s a daycare kid which means he’s constantly sick. So until his immune system is stronger and he’s had more vaccines we won’t be cruising. I do hope to take him to Disneyland or Disneyworld though. That will require lots of planning which is my favorite part.
This hasn’t stopped me from keep up with Cruise News or watching cruise videos on YouTube. I’ve been asked by several coworkers about how to find a good cruise deal or how to decide which cruise line and/or ship to go on. So here’s an update.
New cruise ships I’m most excited about
1) Carnival Breeze
http://youtu.be/rsK4l2rKqTM
With it’s new eateries & bars, Waterworks, Comedy Club, Spa & 5-D movie theater it has a great mix of new amenities, less gaudy decor than other Carnival ships, itinerary & price. She sails from Miami on 6 and 8 day cruises to the Caribbean.
6 Day Caribbean to Key West, Grand Turk & Nassau
6 Day Caribbean to Grand Turk, Ocho Rios & Nassau
8 Day Eastern Caribbean to Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Maarten & St. Thomas
8 Day Southern Caribbean to Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao & Aruba.
6 Day sailings start around $400 per person for an inside while an 8 day sailing starts around $500.
These are great itineraries!
2) Norwegian Breakaway
With it’s new eateries & bars, water slides, shows, spa & fireworks it has a great mix of new amenities and activities with contemporary styling. I have yet to cruise on Norwegian but do think we would enjoy Freestyle cruising.
She sails from New York to Bermuda, the Bahamas & the Caribbean.
7 Day Caribbean to Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay & Nassau starting at $500
7 Day Bermuda to King’s Wharf starting at $900
12 Day Southern Caribbean to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados & St. Kitts starting at $1300 in Jan 2014
If I could take 2 weeks of vacation I would definitely splurge on the 12 day itinerary.
Some of my new favorite cruise videos are below.
I hope you enjoy and add them to your favorites too!
NCL Breakaway: FIREWORKS
http://youtu.be/iFOSvMKzI1E
NCL Epic: explains Freestyle cruising
http://youtu.be/si9O3Vv4ixw
Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas movies
http://youtu.be/DwgMf5WvuyY
http://youtu.be/g1o05RWKKqY
National Geographic Cruise Ship Diaries Honeymoon Seas onboard Costa Serena
Big Bigger Biggest: Cruise Ship
http://youtu.be/4Qh8-5dExPo
Relaxing time lapse
http://youtu.be/Jum7zAyr_fQ
Allure of the Seas trip review
Mighty Ships: Oasis of the Seas
http://youtu.be/gyaJ2cUX6K0
Online Research
The only thing I would add to my previous Online Research post is the new website CruiseWise.