Cruise info needed for first time cruiser from all you experts out there!!!

[beachbum]

Hi everyone. My mother would like to go on a cruise in the near future. No one in the family has ever been on one before, so we know nothing about them. I have always helped her out in the past with all of her travel plans and accomadations, but I have no ideal on where to start. I need your help!!!! I would like to know what website(s) I should go to find out information about all the different cruises out there, what they all offer, and reviews from other travelers. Also, which website(s) to book the best deals would be greatly appreciated!!!!! I always come to the disboards with all my travel questions and you all never fail me, your the best tool I have in all my travel planning! Oh, and if you have been on a cruise that you thought was just fabulous, please share your story and opinions too! Any advise and tips would be of great help! Thanks for any and all info!!!!! Sue

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

cruisecritic.com is awesome!

Once you decide on a cruise, try cruisecompete.com

 

[beachbum]

Thank you for your quick reply!!!!! I will check them out right now!

 

[bucket o' butter]

I think your mother will really enjoy a cruise. My parents loved them and I have been on a few. My sister goes on one just about every year. Before our last one, I did some extensive research (being the penny pincher I am). We ended up going on the Carnival Valor, but Carnival is more family friendly and there are more children. Probably not for your mother. I was just talking to a friend of my mother's who is getting ready to take her 53rd cruise! I asked her what her favorite cruise line was and she said it was Royal Caribbean without blinking an eye. That is also my sister's favorite. The least favorite was Norwegian. She said she would never go on Norwegian again, it was that bad. You can go to Cruisecritic.com to get details about cruises. That website was very helpful to me in my search.

Most cruises depart from Orlando or Miami, but there are cruises that depart off the east coast and also from New Orleans. If she is flying, I would recommend her flying to the departing city the day before the ship is to leave. (In case of flight delay, etc). Also, when booking the return flight, book it later in the afternoon or the next day. Rarely is the ship late back to port, but you don't want to have to rush off of the ship to catch a taxi to the airport. Since this is her first cruise and she is not familiar with all of the rules / regulations, you don't want to add any stress. Departing the ship can be a little stressful if you have never done it before. If you want anymore information, feel free to pm me. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. I would definitely recommend a 7 day cruise over the shorter 3/4/5 day cruises. Good luck and feel free to contact me.

 

[MomofCKJ]

I echo Cruise Critic. I found the boards there great when we were waiting to go on our last cruise.

I've been on Carnival and Norwegian. We loved Norwegian! We went on the Dawn at the time out of NY. We are from MA and didn't want to fly so it worked out well for us. My main reason for liking Norwegian was their Freestyle Cruising. Basically instead of an assigned seating for dinner with tablemates, we could eat when we wanted, where we wanted, and with who we wanted. Being our anniversary we did the table for 2 each time. You made reservations in the morning in the lobby area and there were a variety of restaurants (classic ship dining room, french restaurant, japanese, mexican, italian, buffet, etc). It really worked for us as we didn't want to be tied to a dinner seating and be stuck eating with people on this trip.

Happy planning! My only other tip would be splurge for a balcony. Well worth it! Nothing like sleeping to the sounds of the waves or sitting out there in the morning with your coffee.

Allyson

 

[rockyroad]

A few questions...

Is mom going by herself or is someone going with her?
Cruises are priced for double occupancy.

Will she be flying or driving in to the port city?
What is the closest port for her?

Cruise prices vary greatly due to demand and time of year, can mom go anytime or is there a specific time period?

It really helps also to research and understand the types of cabins available.
Will mom be happy with an inside or a bunk bed cabin?
Is a window an absolute necessity?

 

[Aliceacc]

Where does she live? Flying cross country to a departure point can get expensive; it would be a lot easier to find a departure point relatively nearby.

For what it's worth, I heartily recommend a Bermuda cruise!!

I would speak to a travel agent, one who specializes in cruises if possible. She'll be able to set you up with the right size ship with a the right demographic. So mom won't end up on a singles cruise or a gay cruise or a cruise full of young children unless that's what she wants.

 

[mjkacmom]

I echo Cruise Critic. I found the boards there great when we were waiting to go on our last cruise.

I've been on Carnival and Norwegian. We loved Norwegian! We went on the Dawn at the time out of NY. We are from MA and didn't want to fly so it worked out well for us. My main reason for liking Norwegian was their Freestyle Cruising. Basically instead of an assigned seating for dinner with tablemates, we could eat when we wanted, where we wanted, and with who we wanted. Being our anniversary we did the table for 2 each time. You made reservations in the morning in the lobby area and there were a variety of restaurants (classic ship dining room, french restaurant, japanese, mexican, italian, buffet, etc). It really worked for us as we didn't want to be tied to a dinner seating and be stuck eating with people on this trip.

Happy planning! My only other tip would be splurge for a balcony. Well worth it! Nothing like sleeping to the sounds of the waves or sitting out there in the morning with your coffee.

Allyson

We had a great time on NCL too - it took us 20 minutes to drive to the port in NYC! We also did DCL, and yes, it was nicer, but not nice enough for the extra $ (plus we have to fly). I loved the freestyle dining! DH and I went without kids, and I hate to be tied to a seating time, with strangers, and I'm not one to dress up. We payed the small $ amount and did the specialty restaurants most nights. We've only done balcony - love a balcony!

 

[sammi6]

Cruising is my favorite way to vacation!!!! Royal Caribbean gets my vote hands down though as my favorite, the food is awesome, the staff is great, and the ships are well maintained. I would also recommend 7 day cruise.

 

[dismom24]

We just returned from our second Royal caribbean cruise. We find it to be a perfect family vacation - my children don't even ask to go to Disney anymore . There were a lot of older folks on this one and not too many kids, but just enough that the kids made a few new friends. CruiseCritic does have the best info.

 

[jacksmom]

I agree that cruisecritics is a great place to get lots of info! We have cruised with Disney and RCCL! Disney is great, but it is hard to beat the larger RCI ships! If you need more info on either, I will be glad to help out!

 

[Jsme]

Cruiselinefans is another good site. Cruise Critic is nice but there's a lot of flaming that goes on there. I have been a member for over 3 years now and I just remember to take it with a grain of salt.

I have been on NCL once, Royal Caribbean (RCI) 4 times, Disney (DCL) 3 times and Carnival(CCL) 4 times. We like DCL a lot but do not see the extra cost to go on one. RCI is nice as well but for the cost CCL is my favorite. The food is much better on CCL than RCI.

You asked about advice, remember you do not have to do ship excursions, however, if you book tours outside of the cruiseline you are responsible to making it back to the ship on time.

Buy travel insurance and do so at insuremytrip.com

If you can go to the embarkment port a day early, do so, especially if you are flying in.

If you drink watch the cruise newsletter you get nightly for daily specials. This will help in cost.

The surcharge restaruants are normally totally worth the extra cost.

Have fun and investigate all of the ports.

Do not try to do everything while you are on the ship. Just pick a few things. Otherwise you will stress yourself out trying to do it all.

Take a highlighter, pen, pernament marker and post-it note pads.

Make door signs to put on your door. Might sound silly but it helps to identify your cabin much easier.

I use address stickers for my cruise luggage tags. Keeps you from having to write your name and information several times.

I have made buisness cards with my name, email and aim user name to give out if I meet people I want to stay in touch with.

The diningroom serves breakfast and lunch. Some ships serve every day and others on on sea days. Normally breakfast and lunch is a bit nicer in the diningroom.

Use room service. It's fun! Plus coffee as you get ready in the morning is very nice. We tend to order coffee and juice with a pastry tray so we can have something to eat as we get ready.

If you have any questions pm me and I will be glad to help.

Be careful booking online. Always ask if you book with a TA if they have any booking, change or cancelation charges.

You can book directly with the cruiseline. If you book online with the cruise line a lot of the times you can make payments online.

Since you are looking at a cruise for someone older you might want to consider the time of the year your mother will be cruising. I would think spring or fall breaks would be a good time for her to go on a cruise unless she went with Celebrity. Try to get her to go in the off season when there are not as many kids, teenagers or young adults.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

I'd recommend looking at prices on vacationstogo.com. They have great prices, and you can call them on the phone to book rather than just doing it online. Their TA on the phone was very helpful in helping me choose between two cruises I was looking at. I second the balcony for an adults-only trip! It was very nice to have my coffee out there every morning and a glass of wine out there at night.

 

[beachbum]

Thanks to all of you!!!! I appreciate your replies and advice!! This will give me a great place to start. I love doing the research, but sometimes it can be overwelming on where to begin the process. Thanks!!!!

 

[Jsme]

I'd recommend looking at prices on vacationstogo.com. They have great prices, and you can call them on the phone to book rather than just doing it online. Their TA on the phone was very helpful in helping me choose between two cruises I was looking at. I second the balcony for an adults-only trip! It was very nice to have my coffee out there every morning and a glass of wine out there at night.

I've booked a few times with this online company but be careful because they do charge fees for booking and for canceling. Most online companies will charge these type fees so to the OP be very careful if you chose to book online. If you have to book with a TA you might want to look locally so you will have someone locally to help you out. With online companies you will not get a huge amount of personalized help and with this being the first cruise you or your mother's you may want more individualized help. If you do not think you will want or need a lot of help and you want to get around paying fees to an online TA book directly with the cruiseline.

 

[Darcy03231]

Whatever you do make sure you pay with a credit card and that the charge is made directly to the cruise line. I just got caught in a huge mess as the travel agent I booked with (been in business for years) suddenly went out of business. They charged my cruise to the agency and never paid the cruise line. I've disputed the charge with my cc company and will most likely get my money back, but those that paid by cash or check are SOL.

 

[sbell111]

I'm surprised that I'm the first person in this thread to give a big thumbs up to Disney. My wife and I took a Med cruise on the Magic last year and it was awesome. We are now working on scheduling next year's Northern European Caitals cruise. This will be our first trip to Russia and we are pretty excited.