Cruise Vacation Advice

[Harriet the Spry]

I've never taken a cruise, but we're considering taking one late this summer. My question is for experienced cruisers. What, if anything, is worth paying extra for when selecting a cruise?

For example, clearly you can pay extra to have a larger room. However, it seems like the difference between a shoebox and a ... I dunno ... a breadbox? If the fact is that either way you are going to be touching both walls while you sleep (slight exaggeration) does a little extra room really matter?

Any other advice, in terms of what is worth paying for and what is not, would be much appreciated.

[picunurse]

We liked having a balcony, but the size of the room didn't really matter. You don't spend that much time in the room anyway.
We also prefer fewer stops, because days at sea are the BEST! It's so relaxing. There's nothing to do, but what you want to do..
We've been on 7 cruises, including 2 to Hawaii from Vancouver BC.
I think our next will be a round trip from Seattle to Hawaii, no planes involved.

My only other advice is to choose a cruise line that fits your personality. I'd also advise using a travel agent that does only cruises. They can get you better deals and usually have actually been on the various lines, so as to give you better hints on which line to choose.

Good luck and happy cruising!

[susan]

I've been on 6 cruises with 4 different companies. I usually get an inside room (no windows) because I'm never in the room when I'm awake. It's also true that I rarely spend much time in hotel rooms, so I'm guessing one question to ask yourself about windows, space, and other room amenities is what your hotel-use patterns are.

I sometimes eat in the extra-feee restaurants on board, but if I want an interesting meal, I'm more likely to go to a restaurant on shore instead.

I usually sign up for a few shore excursions. If it's something I know I can't organize easily on my own and really want to do, or if I'm worried about getting back to the ship on time, I'll book it in advance. An example is a boat tour up a river with a guide who points out wildlife. Shore excursions of low intensity may easily be organized on one's own for less money and more flexibility. An example is a on-and-off bus tour of Barcelona identified in a guidebook and purchased there rather than organized through the excursion desk. Norwegian Cruise Lines has a nice program called "Dive into Adventure" that has some enjoyably strenuous excursions (glacier hikes, lava fields, etc.).

Alcohol is expensive onboard. You may prefer to have a drink on shore.

I've been to Hawaii, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, to Alaska, to the Western Carribean (Grand Cayman, Mexico, Belize, Roatan Honduras), on the Eastern Mediterranean (France, Italy, Tunisia, Palma, Spain), and the Western Mediterranean (Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt).

What else can I tell you?

[Caridwen]

Having a balcony is definitely nice and I think worth the price because it almost gives you another room. It really depends on the deal or how much you want to spend. If I had the option, I would or at least a window. Room size doesn't matter all that much.

Like Shoshana said, I'd book the more active excursions through them. If you just want to go to a beach or shopping it's not necessary.

[DrDeth]

One small rule of thumb- the longer the cruise, the older the passengers.

[Avarie537]

There's an entire message board (or more) dedicated to answering all cruise questions - cruisecritic.com. We really liked our balcony on our last cruise - so much so that it will be hard going back to something without one. However, we were really spoiled with an aft balcony. If you check the deck plans online, you can see that the aft balconies are up to three times bigger than a regular one (at least on Voyager-class Royal Caribbean ships. We had room-service breakfast out there three times, and loved having the extra outdoor space for lounging and reading. We're not big pool go-ers, so we were more interested in having a lounge chair that would never be "claimed" by someone else.

Do your research before you book. Check out lots of different lines and lots of different itineraries. For first-time cruisers I would suggest having at least a couple of at-sea days. They're great breaks between ports and give you plenty of time to explore your ship. Some of them are like floating cities, and can take a long time to explore.

Don't overpack. Follow the dress code in the dining room. Get your picture taken every chance you can, but don't necessarily buy them all. Don't get your hair braided on an island - it looks terrible on 99% of the population. Have fun!

[garygnu]

Bring a power strip. There's usually only one outlet in the room.

[Count Blucher]

You can sometimes send yourself a 'Bon Voyage' gift basket which you can fill with your favorite snacks/drinks including wine. A bottle of wine with two glasses and your spouse on the balcony of your room, after the kids are asleep, can have miraculous healing qualities. I highly recommend it.

A place that I have used for gift baskets on cruises that I have taken departing from Florida is called "The Perfect Gift" (http://www.theperfectgift.cc/) Of course, most cruise lines do offer alcohol package deals to provide wine with dinner and many will allow wine left over to be taken to your room. The wine is very good, but the prices can be steep (YMMV). Just remember to ask them to include in the basket a cheap corkscrew that you don't mind tossing out before you get back home to the Airport Stormtroopers. :D

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

One small rule of thumb- the longer the cruise, the older the passengers.

I never knew this, but now that I think about our last cruise it seems to be true. We voyaged* from Long Beach to Vancouver, but the cruise had originated in Miami via the Panama Canal, and yes, the crowd was definitely on the elderly side.

I've also heard the different lines attract slightly different age ranges. Royal Caribbean is said to attract a younger audience, and my experience with them would bear that out.

*voyaged, meaning a rough ride up the Coast in cold windy whether. One day I perambulated the promenade deck in a sweater, trenchcoat, and fedora, and I needed all of them.

[tdn]

I've only been on one cruise, so I don't have anything to compare it too. But I found that on Carnival, even the cheap rooms are pretty nice. I've stayed in worse and smaller hotel rooms.

Ther bad thing about Carnival is that it seemed a bit Joe Six Pack to me. The food was generally awful, the entertainment was pedestrian, and the passengers reminded me of the characters in Mama's Family.

It was still a blast and I'd do it again.

[2pelo honey]

Don't fall overboard...seriously, I've read 2 different stories in the past week about people disappearing over the side, and luckily, they've been ok, but the ship had to turn around and go back for them. :smack:

[Johnny L.A.]

Don't fall overboard...seriously, I've read 2 different stories in the past week about people disappearing over the side, and luckily, they've been ok, but the ship had to turn around and go back for them. :smack:
'Hey, Honey, let's reenact that scene from Titanic!'

[Foxy40]

My family and I have cruises each year for the past 6. We have had every accommodation from no window to the presidential suite. The problem is the more you upgrade, the harder it is to go back down again. That being said, I don't think I would be able to cruise again with an inside cabin. The feeling was very closed in and coffin like in my opinion. I find a window on one of the lower levels can be around the same price and much better for ones mental health.
I also agree with Picunurse that days at sea are the most relaxing. I will occasionally forgo a shore excursion just to lay by the near empty pool and get some reading done in peace. To me, that is a vacation, not hurry hurry must see everything!

[velvetjones]

I've been on three cruises. The first one we got the cheapest room (small, no windows) the second time our friends who booked the cruise got us a free upgrade to a much larger room with a balcony. What I missed most in the smaller room was natural light. The windowless room felt very claustrophobic to me (even though we didn't spend much time there)

If I ever cruise again I'll pay extra to at least have a window. Balcony is a whole 'nother level of nice.

We got some kind of deal from our cruise agent that we could buy a bottle or two of alcohol and have it waiting in our room for us. That was slightly better in terms of cost but if you're sitting up by the pool and you want a drink and your room is at the other end of the ship 4 floors below the bar starts looking ever so much more convenient.

All three of my cruises were with Carnival. I thought their shore excursion prices were high. Given the opportunity to do it over, I'd do more independant sight seeing. Some of the excursions were extremely lame for the money you were spending.

[fluiddruid]

Based on my (limited) and my mom's (extensive) experience:

- Room size is not a big deal, but the balconies are nice if you can afford them. It's nice to not have to deal with other people - the crushing mob can get a little territorial at mealtimes in the buffet room, or around the pool.

- I second the power strip idea.

- Sneak some booze on board (we brought rum and vodka) if you care to drink at a non-ridiculous rate. Get a few fancy drinks, but then take mixers from the buffet room (they usually have a small charge to get unlimited soda, if that's your thing). We would have a nice dinner, then load up a little bit before the evening show, which greatly improved the experience. ;)

- If you are going to do the extra-fee restaurants, sign up as soon as you get on the boat! Decent seatings go quickly.

- Skip the buffet. Always go formal dining. On our boat, it was both far less crowded as well as better quality. We only did the buffet when in a real crunch to make it onshore.

- If you are at a shore destination that requires boats to get to shore, have someone in your party find out when and where signups will start to get tickets and get the earliest possible boat.

- Days at sea are nice, but I prefer port days that you just don't go ashore for - the boat is much less crowded that way!

- Read the daily planner and have a few things picked out. Get to events early.

- Bring books. At least two or three.

- Strongly consider a "freestyle dining" cruise line that doesn't require you to book a time for meals. This will give you a lot more flexibility to balance the onboat/onshore activities you want to do.

- Get a boat with more than one pool

- Avoid Carnival. Too many kids. Go for a cruise that aims at an older audience for better food and treatment overall, plus less crying and shouting children as a bonus.

- Get on shore to buy booze. Even the good stuff is cheap, since you pay no tax. You will not be able to drink it on board, however; the cruise lines are too smart for that and will take it from you. (They even search you.)

- Multiple swimsuits are a good choice if possible. Damp swimsuits suck, and I normally don't even swim - but on the cruise, I swam a heck of a lot!

- Say yes to snorkeling/undersea stuff. Say no to guided onshore tours.

- Bring one formal outfit and the rest just passable for the dining room.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

I've only been on one cruise, so I don't have anything to compare it too. But I found that on Carnival, even the cheap rooms are pretty nice. I've stayed in worse and smaller hotel rooms.

Ther bad thing about Carnival is that it seemed a bit Joe Six Pack to me. The food was generally awful, the entertainment was pedestrian, and the passengers reminded me of the characters in Mama's Family.

It was still a blast and I'd do it again.

FWIW I've heard this from someone else about Carnival, too. Unless your name is Judy.

[susan]

I really recommend Norwegian Cruise Lines. They attract a crowd that's more in their 30's to 50's, more educated, and less affluent. I find this a nice demographic. Also, they have open dinner seating so that you're not stuck with someone unpleasant at dinner for the whole trip (example: On a recent Costa cruise, we were stuck with "mum" and "the boys" (her adult children) and a huge narcissist and her husband. All of them were extremely dull and self-absorbed, impossible to draw into conversation, and made pronouncements like "I don't care to get off the ship in Tunisia. I've heard it's very dusty.")

[2pelo honey]

'Hey, Honey, let's reenact that scene from Titanic!'


That was EXACTLY my first thought when I read about the couple that fell overboard!!! Just a couple days ago - think I read it on MSN.com...no doubt some cocktailing goin' on as well!!! :D

[Hampshire]

I went on one cruise in my life because it was a prize won thorugh work. I should have known they'd book the cheapest cruise they could find.

It was your typical Carnival budget cruise which means it was packed with people straight out of Wal-Mart.
-What was advertised as the "24-Hour Gourmet Pizza Kitchen" was bascially a 24-hour line to wait for whatever pizza they felt like making (alternate cheese or pepperoni) and grab a slice before the kids did.
-The pools and hottubs were just jammed with kids.
-So many damn deck lounge chairs that you couldn't walk through them, and they were all full.
-Buffet had odd times and if you missed it you were pretty much screwed for food options.
-Formal dining you had to dress up for but you felt like a schmuck for hauling a shirt and tie in your luggage just so you could sit down and eat with the masses.
-Entertainment was just lame and silly. On par with the musical shows you see at six flags.
-Alcohol was crazy expensive so you felt like an idiot spending $6 for a beer or $11 for a margarita.
-On the last day of the cruise they leave a nice envelope in your cabin with all the suggested tips you should leave for just about everyone on board.

I've heard nice adult cruises exsist, but for the love of god, don't go on the cheapest carnival cruise you can find.

[Caridwen]

I really recommend Norwegian Cruise Lines. They attract a crowd that's more in their 30's to 50's, more educated, and less affluent. I find this a nice demographic. Also, they have open dinner seating so that you're not stuck with someone unpleasant at dinner for the whole trip (example: On a recent Costa cruise, we were stuck with "mum" and "the boys" (her adult children) and a huge narcissist and her husband. All of them were extremely dull and self-absorbed, impossible to draw into conversation, and made pronouncements like "I don't care to get off the ship in Tunisia. I've heard it's very dusty.")

Definitely second that!! Love Norwegian and the open dining.

[Count Blucher]

If I may also add....there's also the tax-free shopping thing. If you want a nice watch or wanted to buy your wife some nice jewelry, there are some pretty nice deals to be had at some of the reputable places that the cruise line recommends (Disney guaranteed the products sold at some of them...i.e. the warranty was through Disney and not the little shop in a foreign country).

The ships bursar (no, not Lauren Tewes...) on some lines gives a speech in one of the conference rooms about places they recommend as well as places to avoid and why. Many of their recommendations make sense and it's about an hour of your time that may well be worth it.

My personal experience was buying my wife a 2kt sapphire pendant for about half of what a half-carat sapphire pendant was going to cost me at a local jeweler. (It’s the only hokey 'Titanic' thing we've ever done and I made damn sure she didn't throw it overboard.)

[D_Odds]

-Alcohol was crazy expensive so you felt like an idiot spending $6 for a beer or $11 for a margarita.The drink prices didn't phase me much - if anything I expected them to be more expensive than what I am used to. But I am from NYC, so I'm used to overpriced drinks.
I've heard nice adult cruises exsist, Is this like the Jenna Jameson Cruise Line? Where do I sign up! :cool:

[Cyn]

Do not buy the unlimited soda/juice card.
Take advantage of the laundry services.
Only book those shore excurisions that take you far from the ship.
Book a cabin with a window/ balcony if you're a morning person.
Buy one of the 20 posed pictures they will take of you, especially if it is flattering.

Dress for dinner every night because it's better than the buffet, you can have 3 entrees and 2 desserts if you feel like it and because dressing for dinner is fun.
Take pictures of the Chocolate Buffet but don't each much---it's not quality chocolate.
Go play the silly Trvia/ Treasure Hunt games because they are silly and fun and no one you know will see you.

[Cyn]

Buy one of the 20 posed pictures they will take of you

Cyn and Drachillix on cruise (http://www.pcsearchandrescue.com/cruise.jpg)

[DrDeth]

Do not buy the unlimited soda/juice card.
.

Why not? :confused: I drink a lot of soda. Or Iced tea.

[Cyn]

Why not? :confused: I drink a lot of soda. Or Iced tea.
Several reasons:
1) The iced tea is free
2) You get your soda one 8 oz. glass at a time and you have to show your soda card each and every time.
3) You usually have to go to a bar and get your soda yourself
4) The bartender gets to take a tip out of every drink he pours and the tip from a soda is tiny, so your soda is lowest priority
5) The soda cards/cups run about 25 bucks
6) You can get soda on the shore excursions
7) You can bring a six pack of soda in your luggage to carry you through to your first shore excursion
Cyn, addicted to Diet Pepsi since 1986

[dnooman]

I've been on two cruises, one when I was a kid (I was a wicked bastard, just not publicly), and one a few years ago.

The most recent was on Royal Carribean, and was quite enjoyable. On night one they had a sale on booze in the "sales room" or whatever. I bought a regular sized bottle of Absolut blue, and got a free bottle of Bahamanian rum, both cost me about $20. Not a bad deal. I bought cheap mixers in the Bahamas for a few bucks, and stayed nicely toasted the whole cruise, while my friends spent tons of cash for watered down drinks.

We were lucky enough to not have a ton of kids on our boat. We avoided almost all of them by being night people, this avoided all the crowds as well.

We "entered customs" in Key West FL, and there was no search of any kind. Yes, this was post 9-11. Maybe they had drug dogs go into each cabin, but when we left the boat in Miami, there was nary a person in sight to even glance at our bags, much less check us for our "limit" of bottles of booze. Had I bought a few pounds of pot in Key West, I would have just walked off the boat with it. Slightly disturbing if you ask me.

As far as the meals go, ours were pretty good. If you wanted steak instead of what they were serving, it was always an option, same with multiple servings if you like that sort of thing. A girl at our table refused desert one night, and our waiter said "you want nothing?" She said yes, and received a plate with "nothing" written in chocolate sauce on it. The servers can make your experience much more memorable, if you get a good one, most of them know the deal.

The only other major lesson I learned was in regard to the "booze cruise" outing. There was a boat trip to an island that was supposed to feature rum punch, then games on the island and more punch on the way back. Our group was interested in getting inebriated, and once we were on the boat, we got a round of drinks. You could have fed this stuff to a baby, almost zero alcohol in it. We thought we were getting shafted. We drank until our stomachs hurt, and had almost zero buzz.

On the way back, we decided to try to tip the bartenders in order to get them to pour stronger drinks. It worked. Most of us were rip-roaring drunk by the time we got back to port. A few of the guys didn't even make it to the formal dinner.

I guess it depends on your goal. Relaxing seems to necessitate a balcony, boozing seems to need an angle on getting it cheap, and sightseeing seems to require inside knowledge and a frugal plan.

Once you pick a cruise, research the hell out of it, you will thank yourself in the end.

[araminty]

Hi Harriet,

Write me off as a raving greenie if you like, but please consider the environment before deciding on taking a cruise. Even a cursory Google will bring up plenty of scary reports (http://www.pce.govt.nz/reports/allreports/1_877274_23_2.shtml) and stats on the unsustainable and highly polluting practices. I worked on a cruise ship for six months in 2005, and was horrified by the waste management, overt consumerism... rave, rave.

[Foxy40]

Why not? :confused: I drink a lot of soda. Or Iced tea.


Yes tea is usually free but I disagree with not buying the soda card. I always buy them for the kids and on recent cruises my SO bought one for himself. It is well worth it when the fam drinks two or three sodas just at dinner! Because I don't allow the kids to drink it other than vacation, believe me, I more than get my moneys worth. I guess it depends on how much you drink. Personally, I wouldn't buy it for myself as it wouldn't be worth it.

Also, another tid bit that I didn't see mentioned before. If you buy wine with dinner, they will recork it and serve it the next night so it is worth it rather than purchasing it by the glass.

[Wile E]

Well, it's already been said but ...

Don't go jumping off the ship just because everybody is doing it now!


Be sure to take some motion sickness medicine, even if you don't think you get sea sick. I have been on small crafts in pitching waves yelling "wheee!" and not gotten seasick but I got on a small cruise ship and the vibrations of the engine gave me a bad headache and nausea. Thankfully, it was only for a few hours to the Bahamas and back. A larger ship may not have this problem but it's a good idea to be prepared. Thankfully, my sister had brought some dramamine.

[Caridwen]

Why not? :confused: I drink a lot of soda. Or Iced tea.

I bought the soda card and it was worth it to me. If I had known about soda before I went I would have brought soda with me, but I didn't. Since I don't drink and the only thing I drank in the evening was soda it was well worth it to me.

If your a coffee drinker, bring a small coffee maker with you. I hated the coffee.
The coffee in the cafe was good but that wasn't free.

[Xema]

I've never been on a cruise, and my ignorance is certainly taking a hit from reading this thread. I thought unlimited food and drink were par for the course.

Do I understand that you have to pay to be served soft drinks with meals? That drinks cost more than ripoff airport prices? That you're inspected when you come on board, and not allowed to take booze you've purchased into your expensive private room?

Sheesh.

[garygnu]

I went with Disney, and free soda is included*. They have a bank of soda machines on the main deck near the kids' pool with to-go cups and lids. You just walk up and serve yourself. Very convinient. If it's optional on whatever line you choose, think of how much you think you'd use it.

*:Actually, everything but alcohol is included, but the topic at hand is soda.

[DrDeth]

Several reasons:
1) The iced tea is free

Cyn, addicted to Diet Pepsi since 1986

Ok thanks. I was also addicted to DP but recently I have made the change to Iced tea 90% of the time.

[Caridwen]

Maybe there are cruises like that but the one I was on wasn't. I'm not an experienced cruiser like most of the people here so they may know.

I've been on two and they were both Norwegian Cruise Lines. They were free style cruises.
There was no formal seating for dinner, you could go to any of the restaurants at any time.
Iced tea, juice, coffee & tea were free. Soda and mixed drinks you paid for.

As far as I know you can't bring booze with you. I'm not 100% sure on that because I didn't try. It makes sense that they wouldn't considering they sell booze, so why would they let you bring your own? Maybe the more expensive lines let you. All things considered it's a pretty inexpensive way to vacation.

[tdn]

Honestly, the entertainment aboard Carnival was a mixed bag. The first night, it was a Christmas show. Far lamer than you're now imagining. The second night it was show tunes, and I completely avoided it. My parents loved it, though. The third night was a magician and a comic. They rocked. Fourth night was amateur night, and it was pretty good. Some real talent. The last night was country night. I only saw about 3 seconds of it. A bunch of Daisy Dukes sitting around a replica of a rusty old pickup, singing twangy cuuuuuntry musik under a strobe light. I could not get out of there fast enough.

The windowless cabin was fine, but a bit unnerving. I couldn't tell day from night.

The food was a real mixed bag as well. On formal night, all three entrees were fabulous. On other nights, it was attrocious. My mother sent hers back twice one night. And what she ended up with made her feel a bit sick. The onion soup was nothing but brown water.

General advice for going ashore. If you're in a large group, don't feel compelled to stick together. I was with a group of 13. GF and I struck out on our own. We went to the beach and ate some fantastic local foods. Eggs benedict with crabcakes and key lime hollandaise sauce, conch fritters, and key lime pie. The other 11 people stood in one place the entire time, trying to come to a concensus as to what to do. They ended up getting pizza for lunch.

Even if you're just a couple going on the cruise, you don't have to be jined at the hip the whole time.

[tdn]

As far as I know you can't bring booze with you.
Carnival lets you, as long as it's not excessive. They don't define excessive. My family smuggled what must have been 2 gallons of scotch aboard.

[tdn]

If your a coffee drinker, bring a small coffee maker with you. I hated the coffee.
As yes, the memories. The coffee was the worst. I think they made it from the same stuff they made the onion soup from.

[drachillix]

I bought the soda card and it was worth it to me.

Our complaint with it was that the staff pouring them usually didn't like it much. I know tips are a hefty portion of their income so taking time to fill a free soda vs serving a tipping customer can get a bit trying at times. IIRC it was $20-$25 for the card, thats quite a few 20oz bottles at grocery store prices, you can also easily pick them up in any port for less than the ship charges.

[Caridwen]

Tip!

I tipped pretty well where I got the soda the first couple times and never had a problem. I'd usually go to the same place. I did the same thing in the cafe with coffee and half the time after that they'd give me free refills. A few bucks tip really goes a long way on a cruise.

I tipped the maid when we first got there because I knew we'd be a pain and after that they couldn't do enough for us.

[Harriet the Spry]

Thanks so much for all of the good advice. I will be sharing it with my husband, especially Count Blucher's excellent point about the 2-carat sapphires.

araminty, I share your concern about the environmental impacts (and labor practices) of cruise ships. That's a big part of why I haven't been on a cruise before, and I don't plan to become a frequent cruiser. But for this one particular trip, we've decided a cruise is the way to go.

[Voyager]

Some things not mentions. (I've been on three - QE2 across the Atlantic, south Carribean and up the Orinocco, and Alaska.)

I agree that room size doesn't count for much. We've always had inside rooms, to save money and, the last time, since we booked late, but I think next time we'll splurge on a window.

We had good success with searching for cruise deals on line. The last time we went was during the bubble and before 9/11, so the companies might be cheaper to book directly now.

We're big fans of the formal dining room, and getting a big table. We've always enjoyed meeting other people at dinner. On the QE2 we were at the table of the Chief Engineer, and got to go to a cocktail party in his cabin.

I agree with the person who mentioned do side trips far away. Ports are intereting, but there is time to walk around and buy cheap junk after the trip. Think about reserving early, since a lot of the good trips get booked long before the cruise. Some of them seem expensive, but I think it's worth it, since it is an opportunity that you might not be able to repeat.

If you're flying to your embarkation point, go the day before!!! When we flew to Vancouver for our Alaska cruise, the plane was hours late. Some people in the waiting room were going to leave that evening, and they didn't make it. We were happy we were doing other things before embarkation.

Most ships have casinos. Unless you're an addict, I'd recommend not gambling much. You're the definition of a captive audience. I did the trivia games, but I'm good at that and I like winning things.

Explore. One of the best hours on the Alaska cruise consisted of sitting in the library, listening to a CD I had bought in Victoria, and watching the coast go by out the window,