Have you ever been on a cruise?

[debloco]

Doesn't have to be a Disney cruise, just any cruise. I would love to have our next vacation be a cruise, but there are so many choices it's alittle overwhelming. I know there's a DCL board on here but I'm not sure if I want to do Disney. I heard the Disney cruises are more expensive and with 6 of us going, I can't afford to pay extra just to see Mickey (sorry). So I'm open to any cruise line.

I just wondering if there were any cruisers who could help me get started with my research. Did you use a travel agent or book it yourself? Is 7 days too long? What about sea-sickness? Are some cruise lines better than others? (cheaper, bigger, more luxurious, etc) Are there activities for kids on all ships? Anyone know what the accomodations are like when it's a large group?

I went on a cruise eons ago (more like 15 yrs ago) with DH (then DBF) and his parents. But it was just one of those little 4 day cruises to Mexico and back. The ship was probably tiny compared to some of the ones today, but we had a great time and I want to go again.

I would love to hear any advice you have to share or even just your own experiences. Thanks!

Yes, we've been on DCL and Celebrity.

I'd recommend cruisecritic.com as well and the "Unofficial Guide to Cruises" book for your research.

You can book yourself with most cruise lines. I'm pretty sure some of the high-end lines (Seabourne, Crystal) have you use a travel agent.

7 days in not too long!

You won't know about seasickness until for others until they actually sail. If someone has a problem, they can see the ship's Dr. and get treated right away.

Yes, some cruise lines are better than others. Better food, better service, better entertainment, etc. Each cruise line has their strengths. The book and the cruisecritic site can help you sort all that out.

Not all cruise lines have activities have for children/teens. Some lines have more extensive programs than others, and some lines only run their programs seasonally. Again, the book and website will help here.

Accomodations for large groups is tough on cruise ships. Most likely two smaller cabins will be less expensive than one larger (higher category) suite.

I think that covered all of your questions Good luck!

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

We did a Carnival cruise 8 years ago . I think the ship was called Imagination. It was great. We went for 7 days and visitied Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Jamaica.

I get sea sick super easy, but I didn't on the ship. They had stabilizers that made it so you could barely feel the boat move. I did see some people with those patches on their neck to combat sea sickness so obviously others did feel it.

It was really fun-the food was awesome. They have plenty of activities on the ship so you're never bored.

My inlaws went on one and they went with a very cheap cruise line. It was horrible-they never want to do another cruise which is too bad b/c they are really a great experience.

Ours was a promotion through DH 's work so we didn't pay for it. But if we were doing one on our own, we'd probably just try to book it ourselves. When our kids are a little older, we're doing a Disney cruise for sure!!

 

[anewvance]

I'm dying to go on a cruise, I never have been! It's my lifes dream to go on a disney cruise. But i'll take any cruise!!! Dh just doesn't get it.

 

[Beth76]

I've been on two cruises with Royal Caribbean. Loved them both! We went to Alaska (phenomenal!) and the Bahamas. The Bahamas was just a quick 3-night with my girlfriends on an older ship. But, it was still nice and fun! RCI is coming out with a new ship (the biggest) next year called Freedom of the Seas. Maybe you've seen commercials for it. It's supposed to be really cool, but probably a bit expensive since it's new. You could try the Voyager line or the Radiance line. Voyager is the current BIG line of ships. And Radiance is not too shabby either.

 

[Laura]

The best deals are to the Caribbean, usually Carnival has the lowest fares. My family took a cruise to Alaska last year with NCL (the ship was the Norwegian Spirit) and we all had a blast! Alaska is more $$ because the cruising season is shorter and the cruises are at least 7 nights, but it's a great vacation. A bonus is that you cruise through protected waters in the Inside Passage, so the ship doesn't rock as much as out on open seas.

If you want to try it out, a shorter cruise could work: cruise out of Florida to the Bahamas for 4 days or something like that. The Unofficial Guide to Cruises is a great place to start and cruisecritic.com can answer just about any question you'll have.

Have fun planning!

 

[Skywalker]

I've been on 3 - Princess, Disney and Royal Caribbean. I would recommend Royal Caribbean for a great time at a more reasonable price. Plus, there is so much more to do on a Voyager class ship (we were on the Mariner) they are beautiful, luxurious, and fun. Don't get me wrong I loved the Disney Magic, but oh boy, they had to tear me off of the Mariner!

Another poster mentioned the site www.cruisecritic.com and I would like to second that. It is a great site for information on cruising and also message boards very similar to this one for each cruise line.

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

We've done a few cruises and I am hooked. A great web site is www.cruisecritic.com. They have tons of info and really nice folks like here.

I think 7 day is ideal. Less than that and you have barely got a feel for cruising-more than that and I get a bit tired of scheduled eating and living in a cabin. I also just miss home by then. Of course all of this is personal preference.

We've done Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity and Carnival. My favorite now is Carnival because it is what my two teenagers like although we have had great exeriences on all of the lines we have sailed.

Have fun with the research. It is fun but can be overwhelming (like planning WDW vacation )

Elise

 

[mill4023]

I've only been on one cruise. It was a 4 day on Royal Carribbean from Los Angeles that stopped at Catalina Island, San Diego, and Ensenada mexico. With the exception of Catalina, the stops were lame. We lived in San Diego for 6 months so wasn't anything exciting about walking around downtown. Ensenada is just an ugly dirty town with nothing to offer except cheap jewelry and liquor.

I'd love to go on a 7 day carribbean cruise and we thought about doing that for our next vacation, but with 6 people and having to get 2 cabins, it's pretty expensive. We're definitely planning on doing it in a few years though.

I wouldn't hesitate to go Royal Carribbean again though. The service and food were outstanding. I don't know if all the cruise lines are like this, but we had the same server and table for all our meals. Our server was wonderful. They just keep bringing you food until you can't eat anymore. Often, if you are trying to decide between two entrees, he'd just bring us one of each.

Oh, it was a fairly small ship and even though the motion of the boat wasn't too bad, many of us did feel a bit sick. I think it was Bonine that we ended up taking and it took care of the nausea very well.

 

[ducklite]

We cruised on Disney And Royal Caribbean. We had a terrific time on Disney, and would love to go back. The food was good, service was great, just an overall great time.

We didn't enjoy Royal Caribbean. The food was fair at best, the service was generally lousy, and the atmosphere was more of a frat party than a family vacation. We found the public areas smokey and noisy and overcrowded. If I won a free cruise on them I wouldn't take it. Seriously, we were that disappointed.

Additionally although our cabin on RCCL was about double the size as the one on DCL, due to the inefficient layout it felt the same size. DCL has the best cabin layouts for sure, and they are considerably larger to comparable cabins on other lines.

While you'll pay a little more on DCL, the value you'll receive will far exceed what you'd get on RCCL.

Anne

 

[bimshire]

As recommended in an earlier post, Kim at kimskruises.com is a great cruise agent. She has great prices because she shares her commission with her clients. The only lines that restrict this benefit is Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. These two lines have inflated prices for the same product.

We just got back from a Thanksgiving cruise on the Caribbean Princess..7 days to the Eastern Caribbean. Had a super time. Now we are leaving next Saturday on a 12 day Christmas cruise out of Galveston. First year, we are not buying a fresh Christmas tree but more important, the cruise line is doing ALL the cooking. Yippee!

As for the length, I prefer no less than 7 days. Our longest was a 17 day on Holland America.

If you visit cruisecritic.com, take some of the advice and recommendations with a grain of salt so to speak. Many regulars on the boards defend respective cruise lines like backing their favorite ball team. Many things on cruises are also subjective like FOOD. This does not mean you will not be able to learn a great deal on that site. Check out cruiseaddicts.com too.

I definitely agree with the saying that ...a bad day at sea is better than a good day at work.

Happy Cruising!

 

[tubaman]

I've been on a Disney Eastern Caribbean cruise.

One word:

Geatawesomefunrelaxing

 

[mommaU4]

Thank-you , thank-you, thank-you so much for all this information. So much to take in!!
It does seem that planning a cruise is as involved and long as planning a WDW trip, but that's okay. We just got back from WDW so we need to give our finances a little break before our next vacation. But I've decided it will definately be a cruise. I love the thought of not having to worry about meals and extras like that.

There is alot I need to learn about. I don't know what freestyle dining is. And I wonder if there are certain times of the year that are better weather-wise to travel.

Anyways thanks again for all the info. I think a cruise will be our family vacation for next year.

 

[WIcruizer]

As you can see from my name, I love cruising. I've been on 16. Most people will swear by a certain cruise line, but I think they're all enjoyable.

Whatever you decide, don't worry about whether you made the best possible choice, or if you paid $10 more than you had to. You will have a great time, and with a little research you will pay a very reasonable rate. Start off by scanning Travelocity, Expedia, etc. These sites will give you a general idea on prices. Then when you have decided, go to www.cruisecompete.com This is a good site because you enter the exact cruise you want, and various travel agents will bid on it. Gives you a real good idea on price. Then I would take the lowest price and go directly to the cruise line, they'll usually match it.

Decide first on itinerary. I do recommend 7 days to make it worth it AND the best ships sail 7 days or longer. Then think about Eastern or Western. www.cruisecritic.com This is a great site to learn about the ports of call, different cruise lines, etc.

DCL is wonderful, but very expensive. The ship also has no casino and gets pretty dead early in the evening. But we loved it, and if they weren't WAY higher, we would go back.

RCCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, and Norwegian are all fine choices. Carnival has gotten a bad rap over the years for being a "party cruise." That is true of their 3 or 4 day cruises, but the newer, larger ships they use for 7 days are very nice, and it's no more of a party atmosphere than RCCL.

Ask anything you want, happy to help.

 

[ADisneygirl]

We have been on two cruises, both Disney. First time was on the Wonder 3 night to try out our sea legs. I had to pop dramamine most of the day, but aside from that it was an awesome vacation and over way too soon. Second cruise was on the Magic for 7 nights. We loved the Disney cruises. I hope we can do another one this summer or next.

 

[Nutsy]

Yup, it's a long time ago now............over 20 yrs, but I went on a Cruise of the South Pacific with a pen pal of mine.

Would so love to go again, only now with two kids (young adults) and paying for 4 adults, it's just a bit too expensive, plus finding a cruise that doesn't go to Noumea (French Caledonia) is mighty hard.

 

[simba928]

We went on two cruise. The first was a 4-day (I think) on the Carnival Fantasy. It was nice. That cruise was only me, my parents, and my brother.

Our second cruise was 7-day (I think) on the Royal Carribean Voyager of the Seas. That was a beautiful ship. There was enough for everybody to do and we didn't get bored. The people were friendly. That cruise was with my whole family (cousins, aunts, uncle, parents, grandparents, brother). There were 16 people ranging in age from 2 to 83. Both cruises were completely different experiences, but if I had to choose between the two to go on another one, I would choose the Royal Carribean. It was just bigger and more luxorious.

Here are links to some pictures of the Voyager of the Seas:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c67/simba928/cruise 05/2005_0618Image0017.jpg
^That is the ship.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c67/simba928/cruise 05/2005_0618Image0107.jpg
^That is looking down from a balcony in the hallway. Those colored decorations at the top are where the shopping area was. And then there are marble stairs going down.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c67/simba928/cruise 05/2005_0618Image0110.jpg
^That is the dining room. All the waitstaff are on the stair case in the back.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c67/simba928/cruise 05/2005_0618Image0116.jpg
^That is the shopping area.

 

[Laura]

Thank-you , thank-you, thank-you so much for all this information. So much to take in!!
It does seem that planning a cruise is as involved and long as planning a WDW trip, but that's okay. We just got back from WDW so we need to give our finances a little break before our next vacation. But I've decided it will definately be a cruise. I love the thought of not having to worry about meals and extras like that.

There is alot I need to learn about. I don't know what freestyle dining is. And I wonder if there are certain times of the year that are better weather-wise to travel.

Anyways thanks again for all the info. I think a cruise will be our family vacation for next year.

Freestyle dining is an Norwegian Cruise Lines concept. Instead of eating dinner every night at the same time at the same table with the same people like on most cruise lines, you can go when you want and eat with whomever you want. The downside is that you can sometimes wait for tables in one of the main restaurants, but they're working on letting people know what the wait times are, etc.

Certain times of the year to travel depends on where you're going. For example, hurricane season in the Caribbean is cheaper, but you might be diverted from a port you'd like to visit.

 

[RonnieJo66]

As you can see by my signature........I to cruise!!!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i have been 2 times and am going agian in january---i have always gone royal caribbean and love it!! i prefer 6 nights/7 days--the 4 night just seemed a bit too short...

 

[sweet angel]

We cruised on Disney And Royal Caribbean. We had a terrific time on Disney, and would love to go back. The food was good, service was great, just an overall great time.

We didn't enjoy Royal Caribbean. The food was fair at best, the service was generally lousy, and the atmosphere was more of a frat party than a family vacation. We found the public areas smokey and noisy and overcrowded. If I won a free cruise on them I wouldn't take it. Seriously, we were that disappointed.

Additionally although our cabin on RCCL was about double the size as the one on DCL, due to the inefficient layout it felt the same size. DCL has the best cabin layouts for sure, and they are considerably larger to comparable cabins on other lines.

While you'll pay a little more on DCL, the value you'll receive will far exceed what you'd get on RCCL.

Anne

I've been on 4 cruises, but 2 were more than 10 years ago, so I'll avoid talking about those. Last November we did Disney Land/Sea -- so 3 night on the Wonder. It was nice. Food was okay. Staff was fine. We didn't bother much with the shows. Nightlife (past midnight) was practically non-existent. DS13 (at the time) didn't like the kids club. However, we rebooked onboard for a 7-night in 2006.

This November we did a week on Navigator of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). Food was great, staff was great, entertainment was great, activities were great, nightlife (past midnight) was available if that's what you wanted. I definitely did not get the smoky, overcrowded, frat party vibe AT ALL. In addition, my DS14 (now) really enjoyed the kids club.

We cancelled our MUCH MORE expensive Disney cruise for next year and rebooked for the Navigator.

cruisecritic is a great site, but there's another, newer, smaller, friendlier site (cruiselineforums.com) that's also great.

Oh, I used a travel agent for the Disney cruise, but did the RCI ones on my own.

Feel free to PM any questions!