Anyone here been on a cruise?

[a plumber]

Just looking for opinions and tips

[terrahawk]

Don't go during the holidays, too many kids and people who should be in a hospital. Try to go on a small vessel where you can get to know more people, it really is more enjoyable than one of the mega tubs.

[vegasjeep]

I disagree, I prefer as big as boat aas possible. :)

If you get to know people on the smaller boat you will get to know them on the larger ones. If your only going as a couple you will start by meeting people at dinner. they seat 6-8 to a table.

I will not cruise unless on an outside balcony room. LOVE sitting on the balcony sipping a beer and watching the ocean.

I LOVE vacationing on a cruiseship. I have 13 cruises I have done a couple on royal caribbean but most on Princess cruise lines.

I pack one suitcase with clothes and the other full of my beer. They will not go through your bags when you board. I bring a couple cases of beer and a couple bottles to get me through 7 days.
I would not go for less then 5 days. 7-11 days is perfect.

Best thing about cruising is if you do not want to go in to port and deal with locals you can sit on the ship and relax.

I can usually find a deal at $100 per day per person for a balcony room.

[RiggerMike]

I am in the travel industry and can tell you that each cruise line has it's own personality. The trick is to match yours to theirs. The other side of that is to match the destination you want to the line that can get you there best.

I agree with vegasjeep about balconys. They cost a little more, but they are worth every penny.
Cruising is a great way to travel, no packing and unpacking multiple times since your hotel (the ship) moves with you. Food is great and no worries about where to eat. It is just a very relaxing way to go and you meet some very cool people from all over the world.

There are amazing cruise bargains out there right now so if you have the time and the $, now is the time to go. The cruise lines are having some real fire sales. Again the key is to go with the cruise line that is right for you. A great rate on a ship you won't like is still a waste of money.

Being in the industry, I will advise you to use a good travel agent.
You can tell a good one from a bad one by how many questions they ask you. Good ones ask you many questions so they can recommend a ship that you will like. If you visit one and they start offering recommendations right off the bat, cover your wallet with one hand and back slowly out of the room.
Feel free to contact me if you want further info.

[BeerMonkeY]

ive only been on one and it was paid for by work so i cant really say anything about choosing a line but i can agree on the balcony room, they are awesome. onlyother thing i can offer is dont go near the southern end of south africa

[Alec W]

I went on a Princess lines cruise and agree with all the above comments. One of the most relaxing vacations I’ve ever been one.

[dougnpj]

I disagree, I prefer as big as boat aas possible. :)

If you get to know people on the smaller boat you will get to know them on the larger ones. If your only going as a couple you will start by meeting people at dinner. they seat 6-8 to a table.

I will not cruise unless on an outside balcony room. LOVE sitting on the balcony sipping a beer and watching the ocean.

I LOVE vacationing on a cruiseship. I have 13 cruises I have done a couple on royal caribbean but most on Princess cruise lines.

I pack one suitcase with clothes and the other full of my beer. They will not go through your bags when you board. I bring a couple cases of beer and a couple bottles to get me through 7 days.
I would not go for less then 5 days. 7-11 days is perfect.

Best thing about cruising is if you do not want to go in to port and deal with locals you can sit on the ship and relax.

I can usually find a deal at $100 per day per person for a balcony room.

X10 the best type of vacation you will have:bounce:

[a plumber]

I am glad you guys replied, because after i made this post last night i bought a cruise for the wife and I:bounce::bounce::bounce: We depart on March 30th and got a hell of a good deal!

We leave out of Galveston TX. and hit Progreso Mexico and Cozumel. We are diving Cozumel, when I post pics of me diving I don't want any "beached whale" jokes either!:thefinger:

So from what i gather it is rather easy to "smuggle" some alcohol on board? We are trying to go as cheap as possible.:beer:

[Alec W]

Don’t forget you can stock up while you’re on the trip too Frank. We picked up some rum on a stopover in Jamaica and tequila in Cozumel on our cruise.

Don’t forget the mixers, they cost as much as the alcohol as I remember.

:grinpimp:

[mulewhisperer]

X's 2 on the liquor and mixers. That is where you will save most of your dough! Take a ton of sunscreen (coming from Iowa winter months where the only burns I have is windburn from shoveling my driveway for the 3rd time in a week). A good sunburn will really put a damper on your cruise. If this is your first trip some motion sickness drugs may not be a bad idea even if you have never had it from flying or anything else that can cause it. I was surprised how tipsy and uncomfortable I was the first couple of days and I was a 3 year flight instructor when I went. Also, plan some extra cash to tip your room attendant and waiter. The service we got was unbeatable and well deserving. Have a good time and stay away from the side of the boat after a few :beer:'s!!!

[jpp]

Make sure to bring any alcohol in your Checked bags, not your carry-on. You will have better luck that way. What I did was bring clear alcohol and put it in a water bottle. Rum works nicely as it is both clear and it mixes well with the fruit juices that are free all over the ship. Then you can bring the "bottled water" anywhere you go on the ship insteead of going back to your cabin everytime you need to make another drink. The other thing I Highly recommend is to bring your own cup. One of those monsters from seven-11 or something. :beer: Otherwise, you are constantly going back to the fountain to get a refill, it's a PITA. Other than that, relax and have fun. You can't beat it, you don't have to think about anything.

[Redrockjeepin]

also make sure to check the cruise prices frequently because most cruise lines will give you an onboard credit for the difference if the price drops but you must call it to their attention. On our honeymoon the original price was 399 a person and i ended up getting it for 199 for a 5 day cruise.

[PKDailey4]

Princess Golden Princess out of New Orleans= Nice ship, very clean, great food, great crew, great ports of call except Jamaica has scary Rasta's w/ machete's Wont be going back there any time soon

Carnival Destiny out of Puerto Rico= Old , nasty, dirty, food good, good ports of call, a lot of kids, a lot of partying Puerto Rican's doing conga line's up and down the hallways making a lot of noise well into the wee hours of the morning


Norwegian Jewel out of Miami= Nice ship, very clean, food not so good, a lot of old people and Europeans, all crew members were Filipino's which made the live entertainment interesting, ports of call good except for Samana= 3rd world nightmare

[Broncojohn]

I try and stay away from them; the last one was rough it was one of those:

Never
Again
Volunteer
Yourself

Cruise. All expenses paid. I don't have much but after 385days at sea time, I've had my fill.:beer::beer:

[RiggerMike]

I try and stay away from them; the last one was rough it was one of those:

Never
Again
Volunteer
Yourself

Cruise. All expenses paid. I don't have much but after 385days at sea time, I've had my fill.:beer::beer:

Thats what you get for using the Government as a travel agent! :beer: