I've ran both and the group had a great time (I did however truncate the last several adventures of Savage Tide, I think the party ended around 16th-17th lvl).
ST - obviously pirates, lots of demons, amazing locale with the Isle of Dread and a trip into the Abyss. VV makes for a good recurring villain. Tides of Dread is one of my fav adventures.
Downside is the sea journey can drag, Lightless Depths is interesting but recommend cutting half of it down for pacing. The Abyss adventures aren't really all that good aside from some D&D namechecking. A lot of the adventures will require some footwork to be able to actually communicate the background to the party.
CoCT boasts a great setting and offers lots of opportunities for the party to feel connected to the city. However, players need to buy-in to the idea that they have a reason to want to save the city as well its not the nicest of places to live. Great cast of NPCs, memorable villains and varied adventures. The first two are great, the third has a very strong first half with the second half being not quite up to snuff, the rest of the AP plays nice with a big dramatic sweep and lots of potential for swashbuckling it up. The last adventure needs some additional work to make it feel as epic as it should be (the party spent quite some time building alliances with the Shoanti and Magnimar to build an army and a fleet to take the city) and the final villain will need to be adjusted to make it satisfyingly challenging.
Out of the two, I feel that on the whole CoCT is the stronger one and it is probably the strongest of all the APs but both are a blast.
Another swashbuckling possibility is the Skull and Shackles AP, where the party begins the AP as shanghaied/pressganged crew on board a Shackles pirate ship and end up as pirates themselves.
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So new group has got together need a swashbuckling adventure path as that is what they have asked for. Which path and why? Please give me a hand as I've a lot of prep to do in a short time. Don't be concerned over rules or conversion as that is not at issue.
I GM'd my group through Savage Tide several years ago and they loved it. I haven't ran Crimson Throne yet, but it's next on my AP list (after I finish with RotRL).
Personally, I would go with STAP based on what you said in your OP. STAP can feel like a slog at times, but overall, it's good fun and your PCs will really feel like they've accomplished something by the end.
-Skeld