Cruises
- Thread starter GK4Herd
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1) It is worth spending a couple extra bucks to get a little bit nicer cabin.
2) Go on a cruise that has nice stopovers.
3) Don't go during any period where there might be a lot of young adults.
2) Go on a cruise that has nice stopovers.
3) Don't go during any period where there might be a lot of young adults.
Yes, for sure avoid the spring break period, or end of school period.
You for sure want a nicer cabin. Last cruise we had one of the cabins on the rear of the ship, on a Carnival ship. This had a good sized balcony and great views. The wife complained there was more mechanical noise there, but I found it quiet and soothing.
If you are a serious boozehound, a drink package is worth it. If you are not, it is a ripoff. I am pretty sure I got the good end of the deal, but I drank from breakfast to midnight.
Freeport, Bahamas is a shitty port of call.
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You for sure want a nicer cabin. Last cruise we had one of the cabins on the rear of the ship, on a Carnival ship. This had a good sized balcony and great views. The wife complained there was more mechanical noise there, but I found it quiet and soothing.
If you are a serious boozehound, a drink package is worth it. If you are not, it is a ripoff. I am pretty sure I got the good end of the deal, but I drank from breakfast to midnight.
Freeport, Bahamas is a shitty port of call.
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Agree with keeper. Wife and I always get a balcony when available. Love sitting out there on sea days and room service breakfast. Carnival will be easier on your wallet but Royal Caribbean has nice ships. Unless you're hanging out close to the pier, use cruise-sponsored shore excursions. Have been on 17 cruises. Wife and I love it.
I tend to agree with what has been previously posted. I just finished one to Belize and Cozumel. Choose a cruise with good ports. I have never been on Carnival. I have been on Royal Caribbean and Princess, both lines I would recommend. As for the excursions, do the Cruise sponsored ones and travel with a group when possible. I always tend to book during times Hurricanes are not prominent in hopes of having a smooth sea.
I always like to arrive as early as possible to check out the boat on their time, instead of mine. So I can scope out the places I want to hang out.
Tip your housekeeper well, they know everything and will share with you!!!
Why would you guys suggest a nicer room? Ive had some folks tell me to spend your money on something else (ex. the drink package), because you'll be spending very little time in your room anyway.
We are thinking about planning one in the not too distant future, and always assumed I'd just get the most basic room. May rethink that based on what you guys think.
We are thinking about planning one in the not too distant future, and always assumed I'd just get the most basic room. May rethink that based on what you guys think.
I'm looking at the balcony rooms, but I'm curious if paying the extra money for the suite is worthwhile. I know it is more square footage, but it also has early boarding and reserved areas at pools and other places. I'm not sure any of that means anything but I have nothing to compare it to.
My wife doesn't drink but I do. What kind of cost are the drinking packages and how much for an average drink or beer? I can do math. Lol.
My problem is that as a teacher I'm limited to my spring break the first week of April. So I'm stuck in that time frame. I already have a vacation planned for this summer so I'm tied to this time frame.
My wife doesn't drink but I do. What kind of cost are the drinking packages and how much for an average drink or beer? I can do math. Lol.
My problem is that as a teacher I'm limited to my spring break the first week of April. So I'm stuck in that time frame. I already have a vacation planned for this summer so I'm tied to this time frame.
I don't know how the others do the drink packages, but carnival all adults in the room had to buy it, it got us each 15 drinks a day, it was about 50 bucks each per day, and you had to buy it for the legnth of the cruise. Mixed drinks ran around 8-10 bucks for the basic stuff like pina coladas, and a Fosters oil can beer was 9 bucks. The program is limited to drinks that cost ten bucks or less, and included unlimited cans of pop. If you get a glass of wine at dinner it includes that too. And it doesn't include the drinks in souvenir cups they try to sell you.
So yeah, my wife and i got our money's worth. I hit the 15 limit a couple of days. Our room was directly below the back deck bar, so we made plenty of trips up the stairs and right back down to our balconey lol.
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So yeah, my wife and i got our money's worth. I hit the 15 limit a couple of days. Our room was directly below the back deck bar, so we made plenty of trips up the stairs and right back down to our balconey lol.
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Go somewhere that has stopovers on private islands, like Royal Caribbean does with the Bahamas. The most relaxing day of vacation I have ever had in my life was on that cruise. We dropped off at a private island and just ate, shopped, and hung out on the beach. We swam in what looked like bath water. We were in water up to our necks and could see our toes. Loaded up on the Cuban cigars too.
Just enjoy yourself wherever you go. And remember one thing... there is no wrong way to enjoy a cruise. Do everything or do nothing. But do whatever you want.
Just enjoy yourself wherever you go. And remember one thing... there is no wrong way to enjoy a cruise. Do everything or do nothing. But do whatever you want.
i disagree with just about everything that has been said in this thread.
i never had a desire to cruise. my type of vacation isnt following somebody else's schedule. if i want to stay somewhere longer, i want the ability to do it. i thought i would get bored, be bothered with so many people around, etc. I was completely wrong. i went on a four night cruise last spring and loved every minute of it. i wish i had booked a longer cruise.
getting on the boat earlier plays absolutely no factor for me. you are docked anyway, so what is the point? you will have plenty of time to explore the boat when it gets cruising. there was no jockeying for chairs near the pools.
i booked the cruise five days before it embarked. they only had interior or suites left. not knowing what it would be like, i selected an interior. when i cruise again, i have no desire to get a balcony or suite room. literally, the only time i was in the room was to shower/sleep/sex . . . and at the right places, there is plenty of time for sex on the beaches instead.
most cruises are docked at 8 am and leave ports around 5 pm. so, if you get on the boat at 4:30 pm, you usually want to go to your room and shower after a day exploring the port. after showering, you have dinner. after dinner, it puts you around 7-8 pm. then, you want to watch a show, drink somewhere, shop in the stores on the boat, etc. Usually, i was getting back to my room a few hours after dinner, which means 10-11 pm. after watching television and explaining to my GF that, at my age, sex once or twice a day wears me out for the day, we were ready to sleep by midnight. we wanted to spend as much time at each stop as we could. so, we would be up by 7 am to workout, eat a quick breakfast, and then shower so we could get off the boat no later than 8:30 am. the same routine happens every day. we literally were in our room for 30-45 minutes before going to sleep, again in the morning just to shower, and then again just to shower before dinner. we had absolutely no need for a bigger room/balcony, especially for a significant amount more. now, some people didnt leave the boat at stops. in that case, i could see wanting a balcony, but if you plan on getting off of the boat for each stop to explore, i see no reason for it. room service for breakfast would simply cut into the time i wanted to explore the various locations we were going to. i get the same view sitting at a table closest to the edge of the boat as i would from a balcony eating breakfast, with the exception that i would have to be dressed.
i disagree even more on using the sponsored activities from the cruise line at each location. being a rookie, i did a ton of research. there is a huge message board for cruises which taught me a lot. you can find out a bunch of information on specific boats, stops, etc. There is so much on the message boards that is is overwhelming. one thing almost everyone agreed on was to NOT use the sponsored activities from the ship. first, you are usually stuck with a bunch of annoying tourists (like you) and you get the tourist treatment. it is the same systematic thing everyone sees. you dont see the real locals, the real things to see, etc. Further, the sponsored activities are marked up twice as much as if you booked directly. it also gives you no freedom to do anything you want if something catches your eye.
i am a huge user of tripadvisor. i looked and read about the top things at each location. i knew the top tour groups, the top secret locations, etc. i knew not to take the group tours from the boat because you will see all of the tourist traps. i knew that by not taking one of the sponsored trips, the other merchants could try ripping you off. but, if you are educated on that stuff and do your research, it wont be a problem.
raoul stated that freeport was an awful stop. i disagree. i knew to pay $40 to get a scooter, to drive 25 minutes to a privately owned beach. the location has food, lounge chairs, snorkeling, kayaks, etc. There were two other people there- they were a canadian couple who take the same cruise every year. each time, they make sure to go to the privately owned part of the beach that charges $5 to use their facilities (they will even boat you out to the reefs for snorkeling). walking five minutes away from the "resort" allowed us to do whatever we wanted - suntan naked, sex, etc. No boats, no people . . . if you research each stop before you go, you will have a much better time picking and choosing what you want to do with what companies for how long . . . and at a much cheaper price. on the way back, it allowed us to get the best conch on the island. we were told what back-roads to take where we would see a makeshift trailer on stilts. if the truck was parked out front, it meant there was conch that day. if so, we were demanded to stop there. as we pulled up, we saw the guy raking conch shells up directly from the ocean. there were thousands of shells along the bank from previous meals he had raked up. we watched as he removed the conchs from the shell, pulled it out, cut it up, and prepared it with whatever fresh vegetables we wanted. he did the same thing with lobster, but he said he caught that in the morning since he has to boat out to get that.
the boat's sponsored tour companies will not show you how the locals live, where they eat, etc. They will show you a good time if you are on the island to do other activities - mudding, ziplines, snorkeling exactly where other tour companies with tourists from other boats are, etc.
but, take my advice with a grain of salt. im also the guy who traveled solo to bogota and landed in the country with no hotel reservations, explored the mountains on my own even though state security told me the guerrillas would have no problem robbing/killing me if they wanted to there, traveled to the barbados and puerto rico for less than 24 hours each, was detained in a costa rican airport for 24+ hours when they wouldnt allow me in their country, and was chastised by paris airport officials for not having hotel reservations there nor knowing the address of where i was staying in italy.
i never had a desire to cruise. my type of vacation isnt following somebody else's schedule. if i want to stay somewhere longer, i want the ability to do it. i thought i would get bored, be bothered with so many people around, etc. I was completely wrong. i went on a four night cruise last spring and loved every minute of it. i wish i had booked a longer cruise.
getting on the boat earlier plays absolutely no factor for me. you are docked anyway, so what is the point? you will have plenty of time to explore the boat when it gets cruising. there was no jockeying for chairs near the pools.
i booked the cruise five days before it embarked. they only had interior or suites left. not knowing what it would be like, i selected an interior. when i cruise again, i have no desire to get a balcony or suite room. literally, the only time i was in the room was to shower/sleep/sex . . . and at the right places, there is plenty of time for sex on the beaches instead.
most cruises are docked at 8 am and leave ports around 5 pm. so, if you get on the boat at 4:30 pm, you usually want to go to your room and shower after a day exploring the port. after showering, you have dinner. after dinner, it puts you around 7-8 pm. then, you want to watch a show, drink somewhere, shop in the stores on the boat, etc. Usually, i was getting back to my room a few hours after dinner, which means 10-11 pm. after watching television and explaining to my GF that, at my age, sex once or twice a day wears me out for the day, we were ready to sleep by midnight. we wanted to spend as much time at each stop as we could. so, we would be up by 7 am to workout, eat a quick breakfast, and then shower so we could get off the boat no later than 8:30 am. the same routine happens every day. we literally were in our room for 30-45 minutes before going to sleep, again in the morning just to shower, and then again just to shower before dinner. we had absolutely no need for a bigger room/balcony, especially for a significant amount more. now, some people didnt leave the boat at stops. in that case, i could see wanting a balcony, but if you plan on getting off of the boat for each stop to explore, i see no reason for it. room service for breakfast would simply cut into the time i wanted to explore the various locations we were going to. i get the same view sitting at a table closest to the edge of the boat as i would from a balcony eating breakfast, with the exception that i would have to be dressed.
i disagree even more on using the sponsored activities from the cruise line at each location. being a rookie, i did a ton of research. there is a huge message board for cruises which taught me a lot. you can find out a bunch of information on specific boats, stops, etc. There is so much on the message boards that is is overwhelming. one thing almost everyone agreed on was to NOT use the sponsored activities from the ship. first, you are usually stuck with a bunch of annoying tourists (like you) and you get the tourist treatment. it is the same systematic thing everyone sees. you dont see the real locals, the real things to see, etc. Further, the sponsored activities are marked up twice as much as if you booked directly. it also gives you no freedom to do anything you want if something catches your eye.
i am a huge user of tripadvisor. i looked and read about the top things at each location. i knew the top tour groups, the top secret locations, etc. i knew not to take the group tours from the boat because you will see all of the tourist traps. i knew that by not taking one of the sponsored trips, the other merchants could try ripping you off. but, if you are educated on that stuff and do your research, it wont be a problem.
raoul stated that freeport was an awful stop. i disagree. i knew to pay $40 to get a scooter, to drive 25 minutes to a privately owned beach. the location has food, lounge chairs, snorkeling, kayaks, etc. There were two other people there- they were a canadian couple who take the same cruise every year. each time, they make sure to go to the privately owned part of the beach that charges $5 to use their facilities (they will even boat you out to the reefs for snorkeling). walking five minutes away from the "resort" allowed us to do whatever we wanted - suntan naked, sex, etc. No boats, no people . . . if you research each stop before you go, you will have a much better time picking and choosing what you want to do with what companies for how long . . . and at a much cheaper price. on the way back, it allowed us to get the best conch on the island. we were told what back-roads to take where we would see a makeshift trailer on stilts. if the truck was parked out front, it meant there was conch that day. if so, we were demanded to stop there. as we pulled up, we saw the guy raking conch shells up directly from the ocean. there were thousands of shells along the bank from previous meals he had raked up. we watched as he removed the conchs from the shell, pulled it out, cut it up, and prepared it with whatever fresh vegetables we wanted. he did the same thing with lobster, but he said he caught that in the morning since he has to boat out to get that.
the boat's sponsored tour companies will not show you how the locals live, where they eat, etc. They will show you a good time if you are on the island to do other activities - mudding, ziplines, snorkeling exactly where other tour companies with tourists from other boats are, etc.
but, take my advice with a grain of salt. im also the guy who traveled solo to bogota and landed in the country with no hotel reservations, explored the mountains on my own even though state security told me the guerrillas would have no problem robbing/killing me if they wanted to there, traveled to the barbados and puerto rico for less than 24 hours each, was detained in a costa rican airport for 24+ hours when they wouldnt allow me in their country, and was chastised by paris airport officials for not having hotel reservations there nor knowing the address of where i was staying in italy.
I agree with rifle except the part about like it
. I went on a cruise and was bored to tears. It was like being stuck on a hotel in the middle of the ocean. Too structured as far as time goes and well, not a lot to do.
My wife and I said we would rather spend the money on a vacation other than a cruise. We could make our own schedule and not be stuck somewhere if we did not want to be.
I was not all that impressed and after about a day was ready to go. I might go on another one but it would not be my first choice of things to do. I felt confined.
This post was edited on 1/26 9:01 PM by i am herdman
My wife and I said we would rather spend the money on a vacation other than a cruise. We could make our own schedule and not be stuck somewhere if we did not want to be.
I was not all that impressed and after about a day was ready to go. I might go on another one but it would not be my first choice of things to do. I felt confined.
This post was edited on 1/26 9:01 PM by i am herdman
Don't do it, head to Jamaica instead and stay at a Couples Resort. We did back in October and had a blast. We did a cruise last year and hated it.
Rifle, I actually went to probably the same beach at Freeport, if it was the side of the island that took it hard from the last hurricane. I said it sucked because most people probably don't want to venture that far from port on their own. We took a taxi there.
We didn't do any of the planned trips either. I liked Nassau a lot, we took a taxi to Atlantis and snuck in to see the aquarium (this used to be free but no longer). Then we just explored the downtown on our own.
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We didn't do any of the planned trips either. I liked Nassau a lot, we took a taxi to Atlantis and snuck in to see the aquarium (this used to be free but no longer). Then we just explored the downtown on our own.
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Went on one cruise.
It sucked.....We were board to death. Half the ports sucked and the other half we said, "why in the hell didn't we just come here/"
Since then, we've been to Cabo, Key West, Bermuda, Hawaii, Jamaica, Cozumel, Aruba, Curacao, and rank them all ahead of a cruise.
It sucked.....We were board to death. Half the ports sucked and the other half we said, "why in the hell didn't we just come here/"
Since then, we've been to Cabo, Key West, Bermuda, Hawaii, Jamaica, Cozumel, Aruba, Curacao, and rank them all ahead of a cruise.
