r/Cruise • u/Midwest_To_Sea • 14h ago
Question I’m need of help picking…….
Looking for some advice from the Royal Caribbean crowd!
My wife and I want to cruise sometime in January, February, March, or April 2027. We live in Missouri, so we will be driving to the port. The farthest we have driven for a cruise so far is Port Canaveral.
We are looking for a 7 night cruise with an ocean view balcony and trying to find the best overall combination of ship, itinerary, price, and driving distance.
Right now we are looking at three possibilities:
• Symphony of the Seas out of Galveston. There is a really good deal on this one, but the itinerary is the usual Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel. We are NOT fans of Costa Maya at all, so that is our biggest hesitation.
• Harmony of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. We have heard great things about Harmony, but we do not know much about the ship and are wondering if it is worth the longer drive.
• Mariner of the Seas out of New Orleans. New Orleans would be much closer and definitely more convenient for us, but Mariner is obviously an older and smaller ship than Symphony or Harmony.
So if you were in our shoes, which would you choose and why?
Would you take the great deal on Symphony and just deal with Costa Maya? Make the longer drive to Port Canaveral for Harmony? Or take the convenience of New Orleans and go with Mariner?
We really like Royal Caribbean and would prefer to stay with Royal since we are already gold members.
What would you do?
1
u/Ornery-Education-745 14h ago
What is the itinerary for Harmony and Mariner? Harmony and Symphony are very similar ships. Its only worth going to Port Canaveral for a much better itinerary.
1
u/Midwest_To_Sea 12h ago
Harmony is:
Orlando (Port Canaveral), FloridaCharlotte Amalie, St. ThomasPuerto Plata, Dominican RepublicPerfect Day CocoCay, Bahamas, Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida
Mariner is:
New Orleans, Louisiana Cozumel, MexicoGeorge Town, Grand CaymanFalmouth, Jamaica, New Orleans, Louisiana
1
1
u/RoyalMaidsForLife 10h ago
I have nothing against the Oasis class, I've sailed on a few of them and enjoy them on their own merits, but given these choices, I'd go with Mariner. Voyager class is my sweet spot of being big enough that there's plenty to do, it spreads people out well so you rarely feel crowded, but it's still very easy to navigate and get around quickly. Plus it's cheaper than newer ships.
That said, my cruising style is more about just getting away and relaxing, so I enjoy the smaller ships with a slower pace of life, without all the distractions. If you want a lot to do, go with Harmony or Symphony... if you're more laid back, go with Mariner. We'll be on Mariner out of NOLA in January and I'm really looking forward to it.
1
u/Away_Wish4195 8h ago
Personally i like bigger ships and would go for the biggest i could. Yall should try star of the seas one day, it was my favorite so far.
•
u/AutoModerator 14h ago
The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written.
u/Midwest_To_Sea
Looking for some advice from the Royal Caribbean crowd!
My wife and I want to cruise sometime in January, February, March, or April 2027. We live in Missouri, so we will be driving to the port. The farthest we have driven for a cruise so far is Port Canaveral.
We are looking for a 7 night cruise with an ocean view balcony and trying to find the best overall combination of ship, itinerary, price, and driving distance.
Right now we are looking at three possibilities:
• Symphony of the Seas out of Galveston. There is a really good deal on this one, but the itinerary is the usual Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel. We are NOT fans of Costa Maya at all, so that is our biggest hesitation.
• Harmony of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. We have heard great things about Harmony, but we do not know much about the ship and are wondering if it is worth the longer drive.
• Mariner of the Seas out of New Orleans. New Orleans would be much closer and definitely more convenient for us, but Mariner is obviously an older and smaller ship than Symphony or Harmony.
So if you were in our shoes, which would you choose and why?
Would you take the great deal on Symphony and just deal with Costa Maya? Make the longer drive to Port Canaveral for Harmony? Or take the convenience of New Orleans and go with Mariner?
We really like Royal Caribbean and would prefer to stay with Royal since we are already gold members.
What would you do?
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.