Who's Been On A Cruise? I Need Help/suggestions/advice...
Lounge By TiffTurtle Updated 1 Mar 2007 , 3:35pm by rlsaxe
OK so i have wanted to go on a cruise for oh i dont know forever..well found out today that DH and I are going to go on a cruise for our 10th wedding anni!!! 
Im soooooooo happy...so i have been burning up the internet looking to see what i could find...its just so much..i was wondering if anyone out there in cake land could offer some advice...ya know that what crusie line to take...what its like on the ship...what to take/not to take...how far in advance to book...were to get the best deal ( im a cheapie..lol ) im so excited about this ..i want to do it all now...hubbys just like calm down we have about 2 months to decide..( our anni is in June ) about the only thing we know is that we want to go to the Bahamas...sooooooo any body willing to toss some advice and cruise stories my way? Thanks Yall!!
Love Yall!!!
Tiff
Well, prepare to be hot, but it will be beautiful. I have been on three different cruise lines, but prefer to go on Norwegian (NCL). The Freestyle cruises allow you to choose different meal formats-specialty restaurants, the main dining room, or a buffet, or room service. You can eat when you want, rather than on the dining room schedule. Also, you don't need to dress up a lot, unless you want to.
The cruise line will send you a brochure that tells you everything you need to know. You will need a passport, so if you don't have one, apply now. It can take several weeks. The post office has applications, and can take the photo (or you can have one taken at Costco).
There are several bargain cruise ticket places on the internet. If you deal directly with the cruise line, you can be certain you get what you pay for. Your travel agent may offer some help, too.
One thought to keep in mind if you're looking to go to the caribbean in June is that it is hurricane season. I'm sure you're pretty aware of that since you are in NC. Definitely invest in the available travel insurance in case a hurricane develops. Also, b/c of hurricane possibilities as well as it being summer in the US, June will probably be fairly cheap compared to going in the fall or winter.
I've only been on one cruise and it was with Princess to Alaska. I can't say I'd cruise again but DH and I aren't the sit around type of people. The passengers to Alaska were mostly, how to politely say this, of the advanced age and because of this, most of the activities were geared towards them. We loved travelling to Alaska but I think if we go there again, we'd just fly and travel the land with excursions to sea. A caribbean cruise is probably different with more things to do onboard.
Congratulations on your 10th and going on a cruise. We went for our 20th a couple years ago and I am going in 3 weeks with my girlfriends. Our first cruise we sailed on Royal Carribean. This time we are going on Carnival. We are going on Carnival because its so much cheaper. I also like inexpensive....but I haven't been on Carnival yet so I don't know if it is worth it. I think it will be great. As far as the passport thing we do not have to have one. They reccomend it but not required (yet) for cruising to the carribean. I'll put the government web site at the botttom of the page. It has different requirements for air travel vs. curising.
I hope you have a great time...half the fun for me is planning and looking forward to it. Oh yeah....I booked our cruise through Orbitz. I did a lot of searching and they had the best deal on the cruise I had chosen. We are also cruising out of New Orleans, which is great because the airfare was cheaper to New Orleans than to Miami (or any of the florida ports). I also learned that you can sail out of New York City in the summer months. DH and I talked about that because we could drive and not have to pay airfare. Sorry I am rambling. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
We went on Carnival out of Tampa last June/July for my daughters graduation. LOVED IT!!! It was so relaxing. I booked our cruise only 35 days till we sailed thru a travel agent. I would definately book thru a travel agent again, she was very helpful.
We cruised to either the Cayman Islands or Grand Cayman(can't remember which one), then to Mexico. Once we docked in Mexico we rented a jeep and went to Cozamel.
We are planning on taking a cruise again for Christmas this year either out of Galveston, or Florida.
Sorry to go on, but we really loved it and will go again for my other daughters graduation too.
I have been on two cruise ships. One was Carnival, out of New Orleans to the Carribean. The other was NCL to Hawaii. What I would suggest is that if you get motion sickness, make sure you travel on a large ship. You feel less motion and the engine noise is less. Carnival tends to be kid oriented. They are all over the ship. You also want to decide if you want a cruise that stays on the water more than the island. This would mean a longer cruise. As far as the dinning, they both offered casual dinning, formal dinning and buffet meals. NCL had less menu choices in all of their dinning options. Also, there is a required tipping charge for every person that takes care of you. That can get rather expensive. All the excursions are rather costly. I prefer to talk to the people on the cruise and go out on my own to explore. Just be careful and know what you are doing. They have great entertainment, so if the weather gets bad, there is always something to do. I would love to go on another cuise. Next I am looking into Royal Carribean. You need to decide which islands you want to visit. There are many choices. The only island that I would not go back to would be Jamica. Way to dangerous. I went through a travel agency one time and was not impressed. I booked with a large group and would not do that again. So the internet would be my next choice. If you want to pay for the trip on a time schedule, you need to book at least 6 to 9 months in advance. I always booked a cabin on the interior, instead of one on the outside with a view. My thoughts were that I would not be staying in my room to warrant the extra expense.
I have been on 3 and LOOOOOOOVE THEM!
I have been on 1 Carnival and 2 Royal Carribean. Carnival is geard toward younger crowd and Royal is geared toward the older crowd. My father was on the two Royal, but I found that I liked the more calm atmosphere. There were still many things to do and many parties, you just have to find them, they are not on all the decks and in your face like Carnival. I booked thru a travel agent all three times, and was satisfied with the first two, but the last one my dad used his agent and I did not like her AT ALL.
You have to decide if you want more port days or more sea days, if you want party atmosphere or more relaxing calm and quiet, or if you want many children activities (then the Disney line might be something to look into.)
What I like about having a dinner time and table everynight is that the wait staff learns your particular tasts and wants. They will know your name by the end of the first dinner and will call you by name the rest of the cruise. If you like to have wine at dinner and dont want your glass to be empty at anytime, you tell them at the first dinner and after that they will just do it. Anything that you want they will accomodate!
We had a large group (12 of us) last year for the Valentines cruise. We asked the travel agent to make sure that we got a table for 12, (this is why I didn't like her) She didn't even make the request, when we went to the first dinner we were at two tables, when they found out we were all together the put the two tables together for us, then had to seperate them for the later dinner. See, anything you want they will do!!!!!!! We had some special requests, like I love sour dough rolls (not that I asked that I have them at every dinner) I mentioned it the first night cause they had them, and the wait staff made sure I had them every night. We all liked the cordials after dinner, so the bar runner made sure to see our table every night.
You will be spoiled and pampered every day!
Have fun
I've been on 2 cruises both Royal Caribbean with 2 girlfriends.. Both to islands in the Caribbean. The cruise line will offer many excursion packages to different places on the islands. We never spent our money on them. Instead we got off the ship found a cab (the drivers will be lined up waiting for the ship to dock-we always picked a female cab driver if there was one just to give her the business), we told the driver what we wanted to do (usually beach, sightsee or shop), she would drop us off, pick us up when we wanted and basically catered to us for the day, of course we gave a generous tip. One thing that was great, you can do as much or as little as you want. Enjoy!
Thanks yall...i noticed that someone said that there were required tips? whats with that? you dont get to choice if you want to tip or not?
what are the rooms like...this is for our anni and all that i have seen are rooms w/ twin beds...thats kinda messed up for a married couple..lol
and the pasport thing...i noticed that you didnt have to have it but hubby wants them just incase but omg i bout fell out when i looked at the site and found out they were 97.00 each...ouch!
i think that we are gonna get one leaving from FL and just drive down there and pay to park..i think it may be cheaper than flying..what do yall think?
Hi Tiff,
I can share a lot of info so this will be long. I have been on 3 cruises myself. First with Holland America to the Southern Caribbean. AWESOME! The best one of the three in my opinion. Now mind you, this was over 20 yrs ago so I was a lot younger. The crowd was definately older on that ship but it was SO fun! Next on Royal Caribbean to Caribbean/Mexico. Very fun! Great ship too but I think the first was just better overall. Maybe because it was the first time and everything was new to me. And most recently just last Jan '06, on Carnival to the Mexican Riviera. Fun too, much younger crowd, more families and not as nice of a ship to be honest. Not that it was bad by any means, just not as nice.
I am 100% sure that as of Jan 1, 2007 that everyone has to have a passport to cruise no matter where you go.
Next, you asked about tipping. This is "required" but notice I put that in quotations. The cruise lines will now charge your credit card a minimum amount ( it was $10 per person, per day on my last cruise) when you board the ship. You are more than welcome to tip upwards from there. I personally never had a bad experience with cruise member so that tip was fine by me. However, if you have bad service and feel that the tip is not deserved, you can certainly talk to the head waiter or the front desk people and get that taken off your credit card. So you get the choice but only after they charge your credit card. I don't know how it works if you refuse to give them your credit card number. Oh, another thing and I'm not aware if this is on all ships nowadays or not but Carnival doesn't provide sodas for free. They did have juice and punch on the pool decks but if you wanted soda you had to either buy it each time by the glass or you could purchase a card that you carried with you that allowed for as many as you wanted. You would show to the wait staff whom would bring you the sodas. ( pricey though!) All alcohol had to be purchased by the drink.
Most the rooms have two beds that will convert into a queen or king sized bed. I was concerned about this too but you won't even know the two beds are pushed together. On all three of my cruises, I never spent much time in the cabin other than to change and sleep. There's too much to do that just sit in there. I had outside cabins each time with a porthole or window. You can request an upgrade when you book the cruise and they will put you in any room that is open, upgraded from what you pay for at the time you board. The window was nice but it's not like you spend much time just starring out it. It's much better on deck! One bathroom I had was so small that if you bent down in the shower, your hiney was hanging out the curtain. The other bathrooms were small but enough to move around in.
As for what it's like on the ship, every ship has different features but basically they all have the same things overall. It's a ton of fun! You'll get lost going up and down corridors and different decks of the ship for a couple days but it's all in good fun. Once you figure out where you are and where the main areas are...your cabin, pool, dining room, show room, lounge, etc it will be fine. You'll want to check out everything on every deck. It's great fun exploring it all. Don't miss the shows at night. They're fun and entertaining. The cruise staff goes out of their way to get people involved in everything. There will be parties on the pool deck, games for all to participate in ( and lots of people laughing and watching the craziness that goes on), all kinds of sports, contests, crafts, bands and music.
You'll get a list of daily activities, the time and place under your door every morning. Most the time there is so much going on that I wanted to do that I had to choose which I wanted to do most because many of the activties are going on at the same time but in different parts of the ship. The shore excursions are very pricey for sure. I did one on the first cruise ( 20 yrs ago) and it was fun seeing the sites of the city. But I found that you can go and explore on your own and at your own pace too. The cruise director fills you in on everything from sites, to food, to shopping to history and even what to avoid. When you get off the ship in ports, there are lots of locals who will try to sell you everything under the sun. And lots of taxi drivers wanting to take you wherever you want to go. It was overwheleming and they tend to follow you, almost begging to take you somewhere or sell you something. I didn't like that at all.
Take lots of clothes. I found that I was changing at least twice a day. Sometimes more. Most 7 or 8 night cruises have two formal nights where everyone dresses up ( everything from full length evening gowns/tuxes to party dress/sports suits) for dinner in the main dining room. It's not mandatory but it seemed that for those who didn't care to dress up they usually ate in another dining area instead. I found that I put something on in the morning, then if we went into port that day, I either added more clothes or changed for the appropriate weather/activity. Changed if I went to the pool/sun deck, changed for dinner. I chose the late seating for each cruise mainly because if you chose the early one, you have to be in there by like 7am for breakfast and I am not THAT early a riser. Breakfast was around 9am for the later seating. Dinner was around 5pm for early and 8pm for late. You can eat in other places rather than the main dining room at any time too though. AWESOME food! And tons and tons of it. Don't miss the midnight buffet. The display is outstanding!
If I were you, I'd book the cruise now! The farther in advance the better for the rates and availibilty. I did my research online myself rather than going through a travel agent. However, that being said, I too am a "cheapie" and wanted to be sure I got the best possible deal. It's a lot of work to look up the diferences in each cruise line. Travel agents charge a fee too but it may be worth it if you don't feel like doing all the work yourself.
Lastly, you may want to take some dramimine, motion sickness wristbands or ear patches. Sea sickness can be very common even if the seas are calm. My first two cruises were both in Oct ( which is also hurricane season) and the seas were rough for several days. I did feel very ill the first 24 hours due to the ship's rocking motion. Most everyone wore the patches or took the pills. The last cruise I took was in January, very calm seas all but one day and I was fine the entire time. Don't let that scare you though, just be prepared.
I hope that will give you some insight. Please pm me if you have any other questions. I'm no pro on the subject but I surely enjoyed myself and would love to share everything I know about crusing.
KimAZ
I just quickly read through everyones post. I just took a cruise last summer to flew to PR cruised to Aruba, Dominica, Barbado and St. Thomas. We used Carnival which were cheaper. They were ok however we cruised to Bermuda 2 years ago and used Royal Carribean. I preferred the Royal cruise better. We used the same travel agent both times and found it to be much easier. We paid under $3,000 total for both cruises(airfare and cruise). Just to give you an idea for the budget. We are in our early 30's and I found that both cruises had enough entertainment that kept us happy.
As for excursions yes they are expensive however for the convenience they were worth it. We didn't book anything for Dominica and when we got off the boat we high tailed it right back on. It was so poor and the locals kept trying to touch you offer drugs etc. When you take an excursion you generally bypass all of that.
Someone else mentioned motion sickness. I have high blood pressure and can't take the usual stuff. My travel agent suggested GINGER ROOT pills from the vitamin store (cvs carried them even). They worked perfectly. Within 10 mins of taking them I was fine.
As for dinner you can choose ealry or late dinner but remember you can get food anytime on the cruise. You can request to sit alone or randomly with a group. Also know that your drinks are not included. You can pay for a beverage card in the beginning of the cruise which would be about $25.00 per person and well worth it. This card doesn't include Alcohol, no plan does. Most ships have 2 formal nights where evening wear is required. You are not required to go to these however you must choose another restaurant to eat. They will take a lot of professional portraits, most of them for formal night run $20.00 a pic (you only have to pay for them if you choose them). they will take a pic when you get into a new port they will be $6-8.
Hope this info helps. I would go and talk to a cruise agent and get the info ask all the questions you got from all our posts and if you want go home and research on internet after they educate you and decide from the who to book through. PM me if you have more specific questions.
We went on a Disney Cruise a couple of years ago... We had a ball! We stayed out of the room except to sleep.. Between the shows and the food and all the games.. We did the pool and games during the day and of the night we would go see the shows... We also went to a dessert bar at like 11:30 one night.. In four days I gained like 6 pounds..I would definitely recommend Disney to anyone with or without kids because they have seperate areas of the ship for kids. So if you don't have kids you don't have to be with them.. I myself had my kids with me so I didn't see those parts of the ship.. They also have a seperate area on Castaway Cay called Serenity Bay that's just for adults..
HAVE FUN! That's the first piece of advice.
I just went on (still have a "tan"..for me, I call it a bronzing) one during New Year's which ended up being a wonderful time to go. The atmosphere was just wonderful and everyone was so pleasant and in a festive mood.
This was the 3rd one for both of us and the one thing I can offer up is to cosign with whoever mentioned not buying your excursions on the ship. Especially if you're trying to cut costs. You will almost always find something cheaper on shore. We did in the Cayman Islands (snorkeling) and in Calica, Mexico (ATV excursion through the jungle/beach). If it's something you just really want to do or is unique, then go ahead but if you like to do things on your own, wait.
The passport situation actually changed for travelers by sea - you don't need one until January 2008. We were still able to use our birth certificates.
Happy Anniversary and I hope you guys pick a great one!
Nice and quick. I've (we've to include my DH) been on 11 cruises. Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and BAREFOOT (yuck). Our preference is Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. And, as far as the temperature in the Caribbean in June, I was worried once when we took a land package to Montserrat in July. Ambient temp all year round is 85 and that's what it is. Now, hurricanes in the summer? That's another story. Good luck and have much enjoyment.
I doubt you'll have too much trouble in July...hurricaine season doesn't really get moving until late August through October. And the great thing about a ship is that if a storm is heading one place, the ship can just go somewhere else! Sorry I can't give you links, but cruise411 and vacationstogo are two of my favorite sites for great cruise discounts. I'm more of an all-inclusive beach girl myself, but family and friends have cruised Princess and RC and loved them. I know Carnival is more party crowd and you couldn't pay me to go on a Disney cruise (who wants all those kids on a vacation?), and Silversea is superluxury. Plan ahead, drinks and tips add up very quickly!
I've been on 3 cruises. Celebrity out of Tampa to Mexico and Grand Cayman. Great cruise... loved the food. Only days that sucked (for us) were the 'at sea' days. This was one whole day each way where there was no port. We weren't into gambling and games... so we mostly slept and ate. If you're real social (we like to be by ourselves) then the 'at sea' days are not so bad. Celebrity had very few kids... older crowd in general.
Royal Caribbean....did a 4 days out of Port Canaveral to Nassau and Coco Cay. Loved it... food was not as good as Celebrity... but service was great.
Carnival....another one out of Tampa. Much too 'party-like' for us. But, again... if you like doing the ship-board games and contests, etc... then that would be a plus.
All 3 cruises we booked interior rooms (no windows) because those are cheaper. On one of them we were upgraded to a room with a little porthole window (could've done without it though, as it's not all that exciting to stick your face in a little porthole to look outside). When you're pulling in and out of port you can either go up and watch it outside... or watch it on the shipboard tv in your room.
Last... if you don't know if you get seasick... take either a dramamine or bonine an hour before the ship pulls out. And if you start feeling queasy.. just go up and look at the horizon... that's what they used to tell us in the Navy.. .it does help!
Enjoy!
Denise
I've been on 3, the latest just being over New Years - so much fun! I did Carnival for all and no real problems. I have heard they are the "younger" crowd ships. I would like to try Royal and Celebrity.
I would advise on waiting until you get to port for some of the excursions, you can get way better deals onshore.
The passport change does not apply to cruise travel until January 2008 - only air travel right now.
Happy Anniversary and have fun!!!
well.....if you haven't booked already, you can book your cruise through me in May. I will hopefully be selling cruise vacations by then. From what I know about cruises, and having been on them myself.....Norwegian is a great line. Royal Carribean is good too. Carnival, I'd put at the bottom of the list. They're the party boat....lots of singles....college kids, ect. My husband and I prefer Disney....because no one does things to perfection the way they do. And if I didn't have kids....I'd totally do a disney cruise without them!
This will be my second cruise with Carnival...loved the first (Bahamas) and can't wait for April for the second one (Mexico) out of Galveston.
We used an agent through Carnival...Diana is the best. We were up-graded to the second level right under the VIPs and the same for this one. The earlier you book, the better the up-grade.
Yes, Carnival is noted for fun, fun, fun...after all, isn't that the main reason for cruising...it was for us
Tipping is automatically done through your credit card when you check in, $10.00 per day.
We took our own water and sodas. They have to be packed in your suitcase un-opened.
The food is fabulous at the buffet, all you can eat any time up until midnight then they just serve pizza. The dining room is a different story...they serve little amounts of food; so, if you are a big eater, do the buffet
Since this is your anniversary, I will add this, our rooms were not sound-proof 
We had two rooms and could carry on conversations with each other through the walls 
Go, enjoy and have fun 
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