Hi. A few of my friends and I (all around 21 years old) were looking at going on a caribbean cruise. The goal would be to have fun and drink, meet cute girls, and just relax during our senior year of college. I've never been on a cruise so I don't know where to start looking for prices/deals and such and would greatly appreciate any input and advice you guys are willing to give. I'm hoping for a 3-5 day cruise.

Thanks in advance.

Take a look at these three websites:

www.cruisecritic.com
www.vacationstogo.com
www.cruisecompete.com

Just be a bit careful you are not on a cruise that features Ellen Degeneres or Rosie as an entertainer.

The cute girls there may have a different agenda than you were planning for.

I use www.vacationstogo.com as a great starting point.

You should definitely check with whichever cruise lines you are interested in as many have age restrictions per cabin which might impact your group.

You will be competing with the crew for the cute girls.

As long as you are all over 21, you should be fine. When making a booking, they'll take all of your age details anyway, so no surprises for them when you board.

If you are looking for livlier cruises, Carnival is probably your starting point. Consider NCL too as they have "Freestyle" - no set dining time, dress code etc and over spring break attract a young crowd. Royal Caribbean could be a good option for you too, as could Princess - all resort-style mega ships with plenty of choice of restaurants (more so Princess) and loads of bars and good nightlife.

Good luck.

Mark

This is the information I found on the www.vacationstogo.com website with regard to the minimum ages for cruisers. Of course, be sure and check with the individual cruise line, especially if anyone in your party is under 21.

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Guests Under 25 Years of Age

All cruise lines require that at least one person in each cabin meets a minimum age requirement. The information that follows was provided by the cruise lines at the time of this writing, is subject to change, and should be verified with your Vacations To Go cruise counselor prior to booking.

The lowest minimum age requirement for any cruise line is 18. The following cruise lines require that at least one person in each cabin is 18 or older: American West Steamboat Company (Majestic America), Cruise West, Cunard, Delta Queen (Majestic America), Fred. Olsen Cruise Line, Oceania, Orient Lines, P&O Cruises, Peter Deilmann, Regent (Radisson) Seven Seas Cruises, SeaDream, Star Clippers, Uniworld and Windjammer.

The following cruise lines require that either 1) All passengers in a cabin must be 18 or older, or 2) If anyone in the cabin is younger than 18 years old, someone in the cabin must be 21 or older: Clipper, Disney Cruise Line, GAP Adventures, Silversea and Viking River Cruises.

The following cruise lines require that at least one person in each cabin is 21 or older: Azamara, Celebrity, Costa (25 for March and April sailings), Crystal Cruises, Voyages of Discovery, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Seabourn Cruise Line.

The following cruise lines require that either 1) All passengers in a cabin must be 21 or older, or 2) If anyone in the cabin is younger than 21 years old, someone in the cabin must be 25 or older: Carnival, Holland America and Windstar Cruises.

One exception to these age requirements is made for underage married couples, who as long as they are both 18 are allowed to board unaccompanied. These couples may be asked to show proof of their marriage.

Your age on the date of sailing is generally considered your age for the length of the cruise.

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Looks like Carnival might be a problem.

I was on a week long Royal Caribbean cruise out of New Orleans from March 24-31 and there was a large percentage of college aged cruisers onboard. It was a nice change of scenery from the usual cruise clientele. I'd definitely recommend RC as they tend to be pretty inexpensive, and offer a great experience.

Wow. Must be a US thing then.. have not come across this in the UK. Well spotted!


Mark

Cool. Thanks for all the information, guess that's where I'll start.

Just an FYI drinks on board are very expensive and you can't bring liquor on board. Most young people I meet complain their bar tab equals their room cost.