Cruise Experiences

[smilie]

If you are not renting a car, how do you get from the airport to the cruise ship? We would leave out of Miami.

 

[4cruisin]

If you are not renting a car, how do you get from the airport to the cruise ship? We would leave out of Miami.

Carnival has busses that will transport you from the airport to the terminal. You can book with a private car service or take a taxi. Again, there is a wealth of info on the cruisecritic boards.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

If you are not renting a car, how do you get from the airport to the cruise ship? We would leave out of Miami.

Take a cab, its should be no more than $30.

 

[smilie]

Thank you so much for all of this information 4cruisin!!!! I appreciate all of your help.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i LOVE royal caribbean cruises!! I have been on 3, and we have booked another for November..if you go over on the trip reports board, i have a report from my cruise in January

 

[Crankyshank]

We leave this weekend for our first cruise and I can't tell you the last time I looked forward to something so much

 

[zalansky]

We've been on 7 cruises, if that tells you anything. Like previous posters have said, be careful. You're going to love it so much you will obsess about your next one! I've been on 2 Carnival cruises when I was in my 20's and loved them both. The food was GREAT! ENJOY!!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

That's not true. Some people cruise and hate it. I have been on 2 cruises just to make sure it wasn't just the cruise I went on and didn't like either one of them. I won't hijack the post but cruising is NOT for everyone.

If you feel that's a thread hijacking, please consider posting your own thread! I would like to hear both the pros and cons of cruising. I've had friends try to convince me I will love it but I had a co-worker who absolutely did not like cruising--I'd like to hear both sides of the answer!

 

[noseybuddy]

i LOVE royal caribbean cruises!! I have been on 3, and we have booked another for November..if you go over on the trip reports board, i have a report from my cruise in January

I will be cruising on RCCL in Nov. also. What ship are you on and what are the dates. I am on Freedom of the Seas sailing Nov. 5.

 

[sweet angel]

I'll be on RCI Navigator of the Seas 11/4/06. We went last year and loved it so much that we booked the same week, same itinerary (eastern), same ship and same cabin again for this year.

Actually, I was going to go for Freedom, but it was just so much more expensive, so that ship will have to wait for another year.

People either love or hate cruising...there doesn't seem to be any middle ground.

I've been on 4 cruises so far and love them. I look at a cruise as a sampler platter of vacations. You see several different places in a week and can figure out which places you like enough to consider for a land vacation. It's not like you book a week at Bumbleton and get there and realize you hate it and you're stuck.

My son and I did the helicopter tour in St. Thomas and I would so highly recommend that. I'm considering doing it again this year, although it's pretty pricey.

 

[DawnCt1]

I love cruising. In fact, I just booked a cruise for next January. We are sailing on the Millenium, Eastern Carrib.

 

[L107ANGEL]

I just got back from my first cruise. We did 6 islands in 7 days. Way to port intensive for me. I felt rushed and exhausted. Everyone told us "this will cure you of your Disney fascination". Not really.
Still in all it was great!! The food, the service, the experience, etc. All in all I would do another in the upcoming years!
I, my DD 13,my best friend and her son were all "aware" of the motion of the boat. We all took "bonine" so sea sick was not part of the equation but we were stumbling on many ocassions. The kids thought the motion "put them to sleep and I felt like I was going to fall out of bed!
You will have a great time!!!!
PM me for some pics if you wish.
Oh, RCI was the best!!!!!!!!

 

[Chattyaholic]

DH and I have done 3 Disney cruises, 1 Carnival and 1 Royal Caribbean and loved them all. We took our first Disney cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary and we were hooked! We are just now beginning the "planning stages" of our next cruise, a 10- or 11-night Norwegian Wind Hawaiian cruise. We love everything about cruising, just wish we could afford to do it more often.

Not sure we'll ever do another Disney cruise though. We enjoyed cruising on Disney very much and would love to go again, but other cruises are just as nice and MUCH less expensive.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

I really liked cruising, but not as much as going to a great location and staying in a beautiful resort. I love being able to walk around when I want, having a big room with a comfortable bed, and swimming around a gorgeous pool or beach. I go to Hawaii a lot, so for me, the Disney cruise was not as good as say staying in a four or five star Hawaiian resort (for the above reasons). I did really enjoy myself though.

PROS:
I was not motion sick at all (and have been known to be), and my mom, who is queen of motion sickness, did not experience it either. We brought medication just in case but never took any. I never even used the sea bands I brought. We had a couple nights of rough seas but the boat barely moves and not in that rolling way that makes you sick on a catamaran. I don't fear getting seasick on future cruises--it was simply a non-issue for us (but I'll aways bring meds just in case!)

I liked going from location to location--much easier than going by plane.

Being on the boat was fun and different

The food was great (this was a Thanksgiving Disney cruise)

CONS:

Very expensive, and like I first mentioned, not as exquisite as staying in a fine resort for the same amount spent

I didn't like eating so much--I was uncomfortable and felt most of my vacation was spent at restaurants. Normally, I'm not a "foodie" so that was just me. Restaurants were beautiful, though.

Missed the freedom of not going to a restaurant, for example, and taking off to a beach or something like I would on land.

Not a lot of flexibility in terms of what to do--most shore excursions were sold out so if you decided you wanted to try something last minute, you were out of luck. Same with changing your mind, or if you simply didn't feel like leaving the ship--no changes (I like to be spontaneous!!)

The pools are not that great--they are basic--and I love luxurious pools and spas on vacation

You don't really get experience of new location when you cruise--you stop and then are gone

I'm considering a new cruise also to Tahiti--but I'm still in the process of researching...

 

[4nana]

We didn't take our first cruise until our 35th Anniversary and once we did, we were sold!!! Took my dear Mom on her first cruise for her 74th BD and she loved it!! We have tried Carnival, RCCL twice, the Disney Magic and Wonder and really enjoyed them all!

Granted, it may not be for everyone and not to say I don't like a great land vacation, but if you catch the sales it is a very reasonable to vacation! Love the idea of no driving, unpacking once, being treated like royality (at least for a week...LOL), 24-7 delicious food, fabulous service, great shows and other entertainment, wonderful ports, all the new friends you make, not too mention the magical of the aqua blue ocean!! We have never gotten sea sick and only had rough seas a couple of times. Have really enjoyed exploring different ports such as St Thomas, St Marteen, Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Grd Cayman and we like to be adventerous in arranging sight seeing tours and activities such as swimming with the stingrays, para sailing, etc.

Relax and have fun on your cruise...you won't know unless you try it once!

Here's some pics from my surprise Bermuda cruise gift to DH for his 69th BD.

 

[smilie]

WOW!! Amazing pics 4nana, thank you for sharing!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

It's not a Disney Cruise... (hiding ). It's a Carnival Eastern Caribbean Cruise. The ports we're stopping at are Half Moon Cay-Bahamas, St. Thomas, San Juan-Puerto Rico and Grand Turk-Turks & Caicos. I've NEVER traveled further then Florida. That's as tropical as I've gotten. We're very excited about it.

ETA: We'll be in St. Thomas the same day as the Disney Magic!!

We did a cruise to ports including San Juan, St Thomas and though we were rained out in san Juan, St Thomas was beautiful! We went snorkeling there and had a blast!

 

[smilingmouse]

I've done three cruises on DCL: a 3-day, a 4-day and a 7-day Western. I loved them all. I enjoyed the fact that I didnot have to budget for food.

 

[WIcruizer]

As someone who has been on many cruises, a few words of advice.

1) It is not rude to order more than one entry, appetizer, etc. at dinner. In fact, I almsot always order two appetizers and entrees.

2) Just like WDW, you can't do it all in one day when you're in a port. Find something that sounds like fun and try it. After all, you'll be back.

3) At see days generally mean sitting by the pool in the late morning and afternoon. If this is something you want to do, you must play the chair saving game. I hate it, but it is the unwritten rule. In order to be anywhere near the pool, you must get up early and "claim your spot" by putting towels over the chairs, and a couple of non-valuable personal items (old book, etc.)

4) Check out cruisecritic.com They have forums similar to DIS, with lots of good advice on your cruise line, specific ship, ports of call, and cruising in general. For example, you can book most excursions on your own witht he same companies the cruise lines use. Only it will cost less and be far less crowded than the cruise line sponsored excursions.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I went on my first (and so far only cruise) in August 2004. But that will all change this August!

It was a five day cruise to Key West and Nassau. The first night we hit the outskirts of a storm and it was pretty rough. I had to put on the ear patch just to go to sleep. We all woke up to an absolutely beautiful day and the cruise from then on was very calm. I never felt anything other than the motor at some points on the ship. I loved the food. The night time shows were good and the comedians were the funniest I ever heard. The only problem I had was the amount of smokers in the casino. It was really bad at times and I couldn't even walk past there.

Key West was amazing. Unfortunately we were only there for a couple hours and the first 3 were spent snorkling. I would like to go back and see more at Key West. Some of the bars were cool and the shops were interesting. Nassau, well, I personally did not like it. All I saw were tons of duty free liqour shops. I also saw a man and his prostitutes. That just about ruined it for me. The dolphin encounter excursion was well worth the money. But the island itself wasn't my cup of tea. I spent the rest of the time there onboard. It is sad when the crew announces that it really isn't safe after sunset there and that everyone should be back on the ship.