Cruising questions

[msmama]

My ex and his family are planning a (kind of) last minute family cruise (don't as how I got involved in the planning, I'm not sure myself).

They would need 4 rooms (4 different family groups/couples). Travelers include an almost 7 year old and a 9 month old baby.

Prices I've found so far look pretty amazing (and have me wondering why I don't cruise more, lol). But what other things should I be looking at? Are most cruises all inclusive these days (it's been a long time since I've cruised)? What other hidden costs might their be?

Obviously a disney cruise would be best for kids, but are there any cruise lines that are NOT good for kids those ages? Is there a best place to book cruises - through the cruise line directly? AAA? Costco? What about getting 4 rooms together? Would a travel agent be able to accomplish that better than me?

Thanks for any help!! (Also, I debated between budget board and families board for this, but ended up here).

 

[ronandannette]

My ex and his family are planning a (kind of) last minute family cruise (don't as how I got involved in the planning, I'm not sure myself).

They would need 4 rooms (4 different family groups/couples). Travelers include an almost 7 year old and a 9 month old baby.

Prices I've found so far look pretty amazing (and have me wondering why I don't cruise more, lol). But what other things should I be looking at? Are most cruises all inclusive these days (it's been a long time since I've cruised)? What other hidden costs might their be?

Obviously a disney cruise would be best for kids, but are there any cruise lines that are NOT good for kids those ages? Is there a best place to book cruises - through the cruise line directly? AAA? Costco? What about getting 4 rooms together? Would a travel agent be able to accomplish that better than me?

Thanks for any help!! (Also, I debated between budget board and families board for this, but ended up here).

No main-stream cruise lines are all-inclusive but all that I know of now have beverage packages (alcoholic/non-alcoholic/soft-drink/specialty coffees) that can be purchased to eliminate paying for drinks one-at-a-time. All "extra" fee amenities will be 100% optional and include specialty restaurants, spa & salon fees, casino & bingo gaming, photographs & boutique shopping and shore excursions. All the basics of accommodation, meals and entertainment are covered in the fare.

I'd recommend you look at RCCL, especially with the kids in mind. Their children's programs are excellent and most of the larger ships have dedicated pool/splash park areas. Kid-friendly activities include mini-golf, ice (yes, ice) skating, rock-wall climbing and the new mega-ships include such marvels as surf-parks, ziplines and bumper-cars! Some of the ships also have the "Dreamworks Experience" with character meals, parades, meet & greets, 3-D movies and various activities focusing on the cast of Shrek, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon. While I have never cruised Disney, I thought that the Dreamworks Experience on Liberty of the Seas was very comparable in quality to similar products at the Disney parks.

 

[rantnnravin]

Why not post over on the DCL Cruise board? Lots of folks there have sailed Disney as well as other cruiselines and can give you lots of helpful advice.
Aside from beverages (non-DCL), alcohol and up-charge restaurants, the other hidden costs would be for gratuities (industry standard is $12 per person per day -- not including bar staff, spa services, and room service tips) and any nursery hours.

 

[tvguy]

My ex and his family are planning a (kind of) last minute family cruise (don't as how I got involved in the planning, I'm not sure myself).

They would need 4 rooms (4 different family groups/couples). Travelers include an almost 7 year old and a 9 month old baby.

Prices I've found so far look pretty amazing (and have me wondering why I don't cruise more, lol). But what other things should I be looking at? Are most cruises all inclusive these days (it's been a long time since I've cruised)? What other hidden costs might their be?

Obviously a disney cruise would be best for kids, but are there any cruise lines that are NOT good for kids those ages? Is there a best place to book cruises - through the cruise line directly? AAA? Costco? What about getting 4 rooms together? Would a travel agent be able to accomplish that better than me?

Thanks for any help!! (Also, I debated between budget board and families board for this, but ended up here).

Community forum might be a better place. Cruises are main stream now, so all are kid friendly. Of course, Disney is Disney, but kids will do fine on just about any major cruise line.
I would say decide what is more important to you, specific ports, or ship. Then balance that against price you are willing to pay. Disney will be the most expensive in most cases. All inclusive is a little tricky. My mom cruised spending nothing more than tips and money for one glass of wine at dinner every night. You can have a great cruise without spending anything more than your tips........or you can do all the fancy extra cost dining options, excursions and events.

 

[tvguy]

Why not post over on the DCL Cruise board? Lots of folks there have sailed Disney as well as other cruiselines and can give you lots of helpful advice.
Aside from beverages (non-DCL), alcohol and up-charge restaurants, the other hidden costs would be for gratuities (industry standard is $12 per person per day -- not including bar staff, spa services, and room service tips) and any nursery hours.

They get a little testy on the Cruise forum talking about non-Disney cruises.

You will not go thirsty on other cruise lines. Most include 24 hour coffee, tea, iced tea for free. What costs you is alcohol or soda. And things like fruit punch and lemonade are free in the dining rooms and buffets, and given they are open most of the day, you can pop in the buffet and get fruit punch for free when they are open.
I think free soda is a bit overblown.

 

[kathy884]

www.cruisecritic.com would be a good site for you to look at. Cruises are a pretty good value if you stick mostly to the included basics. Cruises depend on revenue from gambling and drinks which are extra. Tips were already mentioned. The biggest add on cost for us are usually excursions that you can do at port. Those can be as pricey as theme park tickets -- island tours, snorkeling boat trips, swimming with dolphins. These sorts of things can be done through the ship or on your own. Less expensive options are taking a cab or bus to the beach / just looking around at port and sticking to the boat etc. We though usually like to do some sort of activity at the ports, so if you would want to do that to, look at what you want to do and include that in the budget.

 

[bcwife76]

There is also a Royal Carribean cruise board just below the DCL cruise boards if you wanted to post on there, too

 

[rantnnravin]

They get a little testy on the Cruise forum talking about non-Disney cruises.

OP - the cruise board is a friendly group. I spend the majority of my time on the DIS on that board. While thread titles such as "Why is DCL so much more $$$ than other lines?" or "Which is better, DCL or Carnival?" then yes, the discussions may get a bit spirited. Just as: "Which credit card should I charge my Once in A Lifetime Concierge vacation to?" might spark a rather passionate debate on this board.

However, there are a large number of experienced cruisers who have sailed on numerous cruise lines and can give you lots of ideas and advice. If you want to know about cruising, ask people who like to discuss cruising. Cruise Critic is a good source of knowledge, minus the

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree; check out cruisecritic.com. You'll find everything you need there.

 

[tvguy]

OP - the cruise board is a friendly group. I spend the majority of my time on the DIS on that board. While thread titles such as "Why is DCL so much more $$$ than other lines?" or "Which is better, DCL or Carnival?" then yes, the discussions may get a bit spirited. Just as: "Which credit card should I charge my Once in A Lifetime Concierge vacation to?" might spark a rather passionate debate on this board.

However, there are a large number of experienced cruisers who have sailed on numerous cruise lines and can give you lots of ideas and advice. If you want to know about cruising, ask people who like to discuss cruising. Cruise Critic is a good source of knowledge, minus the

Lord, you left out the "do they have olives on the ship?" thread. THAT got interesting.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Don't forget that tips per person per day. That is not included in the price. Some cruise lines allow you to carry on a certain amount of soda or wine. No liquor. You excursions are separate of course. Pictures are costly , take your own photos. Cruise critic is a great board.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

NCL has a Nickelodian theme, Sponge Bob and his friends, a nice breakfast and special events. They are a freestyle which is really nice with kids.
Check on the cruise critic.com as suggested.

 

[KKB]

3 with the children (10th coming up also with them...), cruise critic is to cruising what DIS is to Disney--I will be heading over to those boards after finishing here!

Lines--I recommend RCL, DCL, NCL. DCL was great for young children tho not worth the 30% more it cost. RCL our teens feel was a perfect fit. NCL is nice as it is more casual plus lots of different dining options, again, casual. Ships (and lines for that matter) are more similar than different EXCEPT RCL's Allure class--6K passengers. You will never be bored here! (LOVED it--only felt crowded during muster)

Cost--check AAA, best price cruises.com, crucon.com (I'm sure there are others) as well as the cruise line's direct site. You will likely get a better price with one of the online sites--often with perks. To book 4 rooms you will have to study deck plans to try to get them together--OR call the TA directly & they can help (we have done it both ways)

Cruises can cost nothing more--or LOTS, but everything else is optional (except tips, which are expected--actually often put on your shipboard account these days). We get the children soda plans. We buy a few cocktails. We ALWAYS get one family picture ($25 is less than a sitting fee at most places!) BUT you may be able to get by with none of this, and have a low low account the last day!

Cruises are great as you can do everything--or nothing. The kids have always liked the pool, the beach & the kids/teen club the best.

One nice thing about DCL is that they offer babysitting for those not potty trained (cannot go to kids club) for a fee if a couple wants to go out. Not sure other lines offer this.

Ports--Caribbean is most family friendly & all the islands are wonderful! (except Key West--we are taking teens there & I'm not sure they will find much to do unless we do an excursion)

 

[tzeitel]

We went on a Carnival cruise this Oct and had a great time. It was 4 adults and DD (12). I booked directly with Carnival and the agent was able to get us cabins next to each other. Then when prices went down she was able to adjust it for me.

There are beverage packages - both an alcohol and a soda package - which are extra. Gratuities have to be prepaid, I think it was $7 something per person per day (we did tip our servers, favorite pool server and cabin attendants extra since they were awesome). You could pay extra to do the steakhouse (we did not and the food in the main dining room was very good) or use the spa. Of course any gambling is extra.

Excursions are also extra. Other than the actual cruise this was were we spent the most money. We did an excursion in every port - we did a Western Caribbean cruise and we do not do beaches - we went cave tubing in Belize, to Mayan ruins in Costa Maya, and toured Cozumel and Roatan with private drivers. Total for all excursions was around $600 with tips included.

DD went to the kids club a couple of times and she loved it, they had tons of different activities for the kids. The also have movies under the stars every night - one night we skipped the main dining room and grabbed burgers from the awesome Guy Burgers and sat on pool loungers watching Maleficent

We had never cruised before and we really enjoyed it. Everyone on the ship and on the excursions were super friendly and fun. The ship was beautiful - and the price was crazy good. I second (or third) the suggestion of you (and anyone going on their first cruise) checking cruisecritic. They have tons of info, but they are not as active as this board

 

[hockeygirl14]

I've cruised a lot My favourite line is NCL - its more casual than the other lines if you want it to be, but if you want to dress up you can too! I find the extra costs on NCL to be upcharge dining - they have tons of extra restaurants that offer different things than the dining rooms (like teppanyaki for example) and the cost difference isn't too too bad, ranging from 15-25 per person for the most part.
We enjoyed CCL as well but found the crowd on board a little rowdier.
We usually book with a cruise consultant through our cruise line! We love the NCL Epic, Getaway and Pearl! Carnival Breeze & Dream are very nice ships too.
You can get all inclusive packages with cruise ships now but everyone in the room is usually required to get the package and you would have to drink something like 12 + drinks a day to make it worth the money in the end. There is free juice and water everywhere! We usually buy one drink card - not huge pop drinkers.
Goodluck!

 

[dpswift]

I lust looked at Royal Carribean and they have a great sale going on right now. They run sales often. DH and I can cruise for a week for half the price of Disney. We both love Disney however as far as service they are about the same.

 

[MrsPete]

Obviously a disney cruise would be best for kids, but are there any cruise lines that are NOT good for kids those ages? Is there a best place to book cruises - through the cruise line directly? AAA? Costco? What about getting 4 rooms together? Would a travel agent be able to accomplish that better than me?

We've cruised with Disney and with other lines. While Disney is a great cruise, it's hard to justify paying essentially twice as much.

I don't think you'll find cruise lines that'd NOT be good for kids, but I would avoid spring break -- too many wild college kids, too much drinking. And I would google your dates /ship name to be sure you're not accidentally booking a week that contains a group cruise. Groups sort of "take over" the ship, and some of the groups are more wild than I'd want for a family cruise.

I always book directly with the cruise line.

Getting four rooms together probably depends upon your dates. If you're booking a year out, no problem! If you're expecting to cruise in 3-4 months, you're probably not going to get rooms together.

Before you call to book, have a copy of your ship's deck plans pulled up on your computer so you can verify exactly what you're getting. And before you call, be sure you know the cruise line's symbols for connecting rooms, pull-down beds, sofa beds, etc. This'll assure you that you're getting the bedding configuration that you want.

Honestly, no, a travel agent can't provide you with any service that you can't get on your own.

You can get all inclusive packages with cruise ships now but everyone in the room is usually required to get the package and you would have to drink something like 12 + drinks a day to make it worth the money in the end. There is free juice and water everywhere! We usually buy one drink card - not huge pop drinkers.
Goodluck!

1. You know, of course, that sharing a soda card is theft. They're very clear on the fact that the soda cards are individual cards, meant for one person. It's no different from having one person pay for a buffet and allowing the whole family to eat from his plate.

2. I agree that the soda cards are a poor value; when you account for the small size of the glasses, few people will drink enough to "break even". And if you're not big pop drinkers, you'd be better off simply paying individually when you want a soda.

3. You can bring your own sodas on board -- but be sure to double ziplock them in case one happens to break.

I lust looked at Royal Carribean and they have a great sale going on right now. They run sales often. DH and I can cruise for a week for half the price of Disney. We both love Disney however as far as service they are about the same.

They ALWAYS have a sale going on. Sometimes they're worthwhile, usually they're smoke and mirrors. For example, they might say that 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin sail for free, but they'd raise the price of the 1st and 2nd passenger to account for the "discount". Really, they do it all the time. Other times -- typically off-season -- they'll mark down the price of a balcony so it really is the same cost as an outside cabin.

Go ahead and book as soon as you're sure of your dates, but keep an eye on the website. If the price goes down (and you're not past your final payment deadline), you can call in and get a match. And always check the prices of a category up and a category down; you might find a deal that interests you.