We need an *official* cruising thread

[JennyMominRI]

I know there's a whole board, but it's pretty much all Disney CL.
Disney is too expensive for me..Maybe someday.
I did book an April 2009 transatlatic thread on Royal Carribbeans Independence of the Seas.. It will be my second cruise..I went to the Mexican Riviera on my honeymoon in Feb?
So are you a cruiser? Where have you been? What line do you prefer? When/where's your next cruise?

 

[WeirdEyes]

I'm a cruiser! We try to cruise every year and love Royal Caribbean. Your TA cruise will be so nice! What are the ports?

 

[JennyMominRI]

I'm a cruiser! We try to cruise every year and love Royal Caribbean. Your TA cruise will be so nice! What are the ports?

It was Funchal, Azores, Portugal, Lisbon, Vigo, Cherborg , ending in Southhampton..It's now 2 ports in the Azores, (Funchal and Ponta Delgado), Vigo Spain and Southhampton UK.. There were some transatlantics out there with better itineraries but the price was great on this one and my son and DH are really sold on "the largest ship in the world"..If we are going to be on the ship for 6 days with no ports we want a ship with lots to do.
It's 13 nights total.

 

[shirleyb]

I've never cruised, but with some friends decided we (about 4 couples) would go on a cruise in a few years - about 3 years - to give everyone enough time to save up the money, so I'd appreciate any kind of recommendations. Cruise line, itineraries, etc.

 

[Darth Cupcake]

Hey! Another cruiser here. I'd love to see a cruising board. We cruise on RCCL due to their great kids program. JennyMominRI I am green with envy over your TA cruise! I've sailed her sister ships and you will not lack for anything on non port days!

There is a group of us on cruisecritics waiting to book RCCL's Genesis Inaugural. She sails sometime fall of 2009. Everyone is welcome and actually I got the heads up from another disboards cruise lover on this board. I can't remember her name but thanks if you are the person who directed me to the group!

Anyway, yeah cruising is a blast but due to my silly insane germ phobia it takes some serious mental gymnastics for me to eat in the windjammer.

 

[JennyMominRI]

I've never cruised, but with some friends decided we (about 4 couples) would go on a cruise in a few years - about 3 years - to give everyone enough time to save up the money, so I'd appreciate any kind of recommendations. Cruise line, itineraries, etc.

I won't be much help because I've only been one 1 cruise..
1 thing I do know is that Transatlantic and Repositioning type cruises are a lot cheaper than others...Some people don't like having more sea days

 

[JennyMominRI]

!

There is a group of us on cruisecritics waiting to book RCCL's Genesis Inaugural. She sails sometime fall of 2009. Everyone is welcome and actually I got the heads up from another disboards cruise lover on this board. I can't remember her name but thanks if you are the person who directed me to the group!
.

I think people will either love or hate the Genesis class..I think it sounds very exciting..An outdoor park in the middle of a ship..Awesome.
I'm afraid to see the prices..

I really hope there will be a lot for DS to do..He will be 14..It's one of the reasons I picked a big ship.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Jenny ~ That sounds nice! We hope to cruise on a Freedom class ship next May. Can't decide if we want to do Western Caribbean on the Freedom or the Southern Caribbean on the Adventure of the Seas. We've done both itineraries and liked them. You'll have to let me know how you like the Independence. My favorite ship is the Mariner of the Seas, but it is moving to California and that is just too far for us since we can drive to Port Canaveral. What port is the Independence leaving from? You're going to like the 14 day cruise. We normally do 7 and never want to get off.

Shirley ~ We like Royal Caribbean, but have been on a Carnival ship also. My favorite itinerary is the Southern Caribbean. Second favorite is the Eastern Caribbean, with Western Caribbean in 3rd. We love them all though! A cruise vacation is great because it can be relaxing or as action packed as you want. We cruise with a group of friends and that's all the more fun. My two favorite U.S.-based vacations are cruising and WDW!

 

[JennyMominRI]

Jenny ~ That sounds nice! We hope to cruise on a Freedom class ship next May. Can't decide if we want to do Western Caribbean on the Freedom or the Southern Caribbean on the Adventure of the Seas. We've done both itineraries and liked them. You'll have to let me know how you like the Independence. My favorite ship is the Mariner of the Seas, but it is moving to California and that is just too far for us since we can drive to Port Canaveral. What port is the Independence leaving from? You're going to like the 14 day cruise. We normally do 7 and never want to get off.

!

This is a 13 day cruise from Ft Lauderdale

 

[shirleyb]

What are repositioning cruises?

 

[KristaTX]

We are going on a 1-week Alaskan cruise this year on the Norwegian Star.

Has anyone here ever cruised to Alaska, or anywhere else on the Star?

So far I've only done a 4 night Disney cruise.

 

[chisnpeke]

This is a GREAT idea! I have been on Disney, Carnival and twice on Royal Caribbean. For the price, I think Royal Caribbean offers the best product.

 

[WeirdEyes]

There is a group of us on cruisecritics waiting to book RCCL's Genesis Inaugural. She sails sometime fall of 2009. Everyone is welcome and actually I got the heads up from another disboards cruise lover on this board. I can't remember her name but thanks if you are the person who directed me to the group!

I live on Cruise Critic!

I won't be much help because I've only been one 1 cruise..
1 thing I do know is that Transatlantic and Repositioning type cruises are a lot cheaper than others...Some people don't like having more sea days

I LOVE sea days!

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

Hey! Another cruiser here. I'd love to see a cruising board. We cruise on RCCL due to their great kids program. JennyMominRI I am green with envy over your TA cruise! I've sailed her sister ships and you will not lack for anything on non port days!

There is a group of us on cruisecritics waiting to book RCCL's Genesis Inaugural. She sails sometime fall of 2009. Everyone is welcome and actually I got the heads up from another disboards cruise lover on this board. I can't remember her name but thanks if you are the person who directed me to the group!

Anyway, yeah cruising is a blast but due to my silly insane germ phobia it takes some serious mental gymnastics for me to eat in the windjammer.

I'd love to see a cruise board. That other major one gets a bit (ok more than a bit) mean.

We have cruised every year since 2000. It is may favorite vacation. We're going to book one for October as soon as the rebate shows up.

My favorite is DCL, but as Jenny indicates they're way expensive.

We've also cruised RCLs Sovereign class. Really like them for the itinerary and the price. Since they sail out of Port Canaveral, I can make a run to WDW for a day before or after the cruise. They would be my 2nd favorite. I think the ship was very classy.

Sailed on Carnival. They have really good itineraries and they are normally the best priced. They have a private island called Half Moon Cay (which they share with Holland) that is absolutely beautiful. I'd say as good or prettier than Castaway Cay. It's a little more party/casino atmosphere but we enjoyed both of our Carnival cruises. The one in October will be Carnival because they are the only one sailing out of New Orleans in the fall. If you can do the iterary that goes to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, San Juan and St. Thomas I would highly recommend it. We did that one last May and it was fabulous. Definitely planning on getting back to St. Thomas soon.

I also prefer to sail from Port Canaveral over Miami. It just seemed more organized and nicer.

 

[chisnpeke]

What are repositioning cruises?

A repositioning cruise is when a cruise ship is leaving one home port to go to another home part for another part of the year. For example, a ship may spend half the year in Alaska and the other half in Southern California. The repositioning cruise is leaving from Alaska and arriving in Sourthern California.

 

[WeirdEyes]

We are going on a 1-week Alaskan cruise this year on the Norwegian Star.

Has anyone here ever cruised to Alaska, or anywhere else on the Star?

So far I've only done a 4 night Disney cruise.

My best friend has and they loved it! Her pictures were amazing!

 

[JennyMominRI]

What are repositioning cruises?

Shirley, ships cruise in different areas at different times of year..For example. the Carnival Spirit spends the summer doing Alaskan cruise and the Winter in the Mexican Riviera..One every spring and once every fall it has to move from Alaska to Mexico..
The ship I'm taking does the Cribbean in the winter and Europe in summer... I will take the cruise that moves the ship from the Caribbean to Europe.

 

[chisnpeke]

I'd love to see a cruise board. That other major one gets a bit (ok more than a bit) mean.

We have cruised every year since 2000. It is may favorite vacation. We're going to book one for October as soon as the rebate shows up.

My favorite is DCL, but as Jenny indicates they're way expensive.

We've also cruised RCLs Sovereign class. Really like them for the itinerary and the price. Since they sail out of Port Canaveral, I can make a run to WDW for a day before or after the cruise. They would be my 2nd favorite. I think the ship was very classy.

Sailed on Carnival. They have really good itineraries and they are normally the best priced. They have a private island called Half Moon Cay (which they share with Holland) that is absolutely beautiful. I'd say as good or prettier than Castaway Cay. It's a little more party/casino atmosphere but we enjoyed both of our Carnival cruises. The one in October will be Carnival because they are the only one sailing out of New Orleans in the fall. If you can do the iterary that goes to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, San Juan and St. Thomas I would highly recommend it. We did that one last May and it was fabulous. Definitely planning on getting back to St. Thomas soon.

I also prefer to sail from Port Canaveral over Miami. It just seemed more organized and nicer.

Port Canaveral is definitely my favorite port to cruise out of. I am so excited that Freedom of the Seas (Independence's sister ship) is moving to Port Canaveral in about a year to replace the Mariner that is going to Los Angeles.

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

Port Canaveral is definitely my favorite port to cruise out of. I am so excited that Freedom of the Seas (Independence's sister ship) is moving to Port Canaveral in about a year to replace the Mariner that is going to Los Angeles.

I looked at that one for DD graduation trip next May. It's as much as sailing DCL. Hopefully after a bit the price will go down. The one I looked at was the 2nd one after getting to Port Canaveral.

 

[chisnpeke]

I've never cruised, but with some friends decided we (about 4 couples) would go on a cruise in a few years - about 3 years - to give everyone enough time to save up the money, so I'd appreciate any kind of recommendations. Cruise line, itineraries, etc.

Shirley, I would recommend going to cruise critic. It is just like the DIS only all about cruising! I think the type of cruise line you would like depends on how you are. If you want service about on par with Disney, I would go on Royal Caribbean. Carnival was a fun time but I think RCCL is heads above them in the friendliness of the crew, maintience of their ships (looked new!!) and overall satisfaction. I really like the decor a lot more on Royal Caribbean over Carnival, which is kind of gaudy to me. However, if you are looking for a fun time, you will NOT go wrong with Carnival. Where would you be interested in going?