Hi! I’m curious what people who’ve cruised before would choose as a first cruise now that you know what you like. I basically feel like any of the 4 DCL ships would be great b/c all would be new to me. I am leaning towards the 4 day Bahamas / CC cruises, from Port Canaveral or Miami or NYC…but I’d love any recommendations. Still undecided if first cruise will be solo, just me and my DD7, or my whole family (husband and 3 kids). Did decide to avoid smaller Royal Caribbean ship out of Baltimore (that’s the closest port for us) for first cruise b/c ship wasn’t interesting. Maybe later if we love cruises. I’m very interested in the January - early March timeframe 2020, but if whole family would have to be during standard school breaks.
As a first cruise, I always recommend people do no longer than 4 days and one that doesn’t spend full days at sea. However, if you know from other boating experience that you do not get seasick…you could go all in on one out of New York. So, I would say one of the ones that leaves from Florida for the Bahamas. If you do decide to go solo, you may want to consider NCL or RCI because they do have solo cabins on some of their ships which would save you lots of $$.
what’s that?
Sorry, Norwegian Cruise Lines or Royal Caribbean.
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ah awesome, thanks. I’m a total newb to cruises and I was trying to put them to the Disney line. hehe “North Castle Legacy?” “Royal Cinderella International?” annnd it was making no sense 
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This is a really great question! I am also interested in the advice this community gives.
I’d go 5 days. 4 is pretty short - get on and off day typically count as a day - and get on day the boat typically doesn’t leave until 4pm or sometimes later. Get off day is sometimes by 9/10am… I think leaving out of NY or anywhere on the east coast in winter wouldn’t be my first choice. Day trips to New England is what you’d do if you sail north, and if you’re from the area, you 've probably already done or could make a weekend trip in the summer if you wanted… And too many days at sea to sail south. In winter I’d definitely want to sail south - some warmth and sun! I’d look into leaving from Port Canaveral - usually can get cheap fare to Orlando and then make way to the port. I don’t think i’d go Disney if not with the whole family. They cater to family centered entertainment - not that there isn’t other options… but they do cater to families because you know… its disney… Royal Caribbean is a solid choice. Carnival is probably a step down but it is cheaper… Carnival has in my opinion alot more bars/night time entertainment. RC is more even spread over types of entertainment. Whatever you pick, i hope you have a great time.
We had our first cruise last March out of Miami, the 5 night Marvel cruise. I will say that since it was our first cruise, we were anxious to experience “all the things” (character meet and greets, excursions, shows, spa time, games and entertainment), and because of this didn’t experience very much relaxing. I never actually took time to lay out on the deck or get in the pool! So I can’t imagine going for less time. I actually loved the day at sea. Now that we’ve done it and know what we feel like we need or don’t need to experience, I’ve wondered if a 4 night would suffice, but I’m still not sure. I would definitely focus on relaxing more and just sitting on deck and enjoying the view for the next go-around! 
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When I am cruising a “fun” ship with my family, I don’t even try to relax. I want to do and enjoy and experience it all.
When I have done my two moms-only trips (one in 2014 and one in 2018) I picked a less exciting ship (Princess) with lots of down time.
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That sounds like a wonderful plan!