Who Has Been On A Cruise?

[cruisinpat]

Originally Posted by bellababy08

I see your from the Treasure Coast me too..Port St. Lucie.

Hi neighbor.

Yes, I am also from Port St Lucie but very close to the Martin County line. The internet makes the world a much smaller world, doesn't it?

[Beamers Mom]

Originally Posted by cruisinpat

My husband and I were on the Oasis and it is an amazing ship. We went on during the 5th week - great cruise!

I would love to go on the Oasis or Allure, but I can't travel that far to the port. But I love the Freedom, so I am OK.

After being on the Mariner, and on Freedom I could not go on one of the smaller ships again. Our first cruise was on the Sovereign and we thought it was great. But then we went on the Monarch last year for a 4 day cruise and decided no more small ships. Just seemed so cramped after the Freedom.

[cruisinpat]

I love the Freedom size ships. Our next cruise is on the Liberty which is a sister ship to the Freedom. That is the perfect size ship for my husband and me. The Oasis was bigger than I like. Oh, and I think that the Sovereign is a great little ship (although the first time I sailed on her I thought that she was big).
Do you have the "cruise connection" bus service from your area? We used it the last time we cruised and it was a very good experience.

[kdreamson]

I too, am a cruising fool!!! I love love love em! I've been on 7 so far and fixing to take #8 in 29 days! I have cruise count down on my home page and stare at it longingly several time a day! The first 3 were on Royal Carribean and we really loved them! The last 4 have been on Carnival. We like RCCL a lot better but for the trips we wanted to take and the number of people we take(me,hubby,my mom,13yro son & 3 yro daughter) Carnival was a lot less money(like $2000) And we have found that Carnival is less formal and a little more kid friendly(plus less money!) There is no "bad Cruise"!!LOL!!! We were even in a hurricane a few years back(Omar) and still had a blast! I was not scared one minute! We did have to turn away from it and go to Mexico instead of Bahamas as to miss the brunt of storm. We did'nt really care tho!! FUN either way! I'm addicted! I don't care what line, boat or destination we go on...I'm ready!!

[Beamers Mom]

Originally Posted by cruisinpat

I love the Freedom size ships. Our next cruise is on the Liberty which is a sister ship to the Freedom. That is the perfect size ship for my husband and me. The Oasis was bigger than I like. Oh, and I think that the Sovereign is a great little ship (although the first time I sailed on her I thought that she was big).
Do you have the "cruise connection" bus service from your area? We used it the last time we cruised and it was a very good experience.

A cruise connection bus service wouldn't be any use. My husband could drive us down south to the other ports, but I am not able to travel that far. I am in bad shape just us traveling to Port Canaveral.

Oh - I called our travel agent today to tell her we hadn't got the package we usually get before we sail (used to be two booklets, then last year it was only one). She said Royal Caribbean aren't sending those out any more. As they usually have the luggage tags with the cabin number on I asked what about the tags. Apparently you have to check in online now (no problem, we always did) and then when you finish checking in there are several documents that you print out, including the luggage tags!
I am doing the online check in tonight so I will see what it is like this time.
I used to love looking through the brochure they used to send with all the excursions listed, then they stopped sending those out last year. I called RCL and they said the excursion details were available online and they didn't do them anymore.
What about the passengers that don't have computers!!!!

[ltret0294]

Wish I could help you but all my cruises have been on haze grey/battleship grey vessels. DW is still trying to convince me that it will be different this time around. But I am getting some good ideas and tips for a cruise.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by Beamers Mom

We were sharing a taxi back to the port with another couple one year, and they were saying how terrible the food was. We asked them which cruise line they were on and they said "Carnival"
One of the cruises we were on there was a woman who was on RCL for the first time, she said her last cruise was NCL and the free style dining was terrible. My brother in law and his wife just got back from an Alaskan cruise on NCL and my sister in law said he kept saying to her "This sure isn't the Freedom" - his first cruise had been on the Freedom when he went with us in 2006 and this was his second cruise and he was disappointed in the food and the service.

Royal Caribbean was the very first cruise line we cruised on and we were so happy with the food and the service that we haven't cruised with any others. If Celebrity cruise lines went out of Port Canaveral I would love to go on one of their cruises. (they are a sister cruise line of RCL)

Totally agree. Carnival is touted as the "fun ships" so it's for family, people in their 20s, people there to basically drink and party. RC is the best. Celebrity was really awesome too. My dad cruises a lot now that he's retired, and he said Carnival has really gone downhill the last few years. Back in the early 90s we went on a family cruise on Carnival and if you ask for 2nds or 2 entrees they would give it to you no problem. Now if you do they make a big stink about it. Not sure if they even do it at all anymore.

a tip that my dad always does is research the off shore excursions you want to do, but don't pay in advance. Once you get to port, you will see a bunch of guides trying to get you to buy their package. You can haggle with them, share taxis with other cruise guests, etc, way cheaper than booking in advance, but you don't get the assurance you WILL get the excursion you want, but we've never had a problem before. We usually talk to other guests and ask if they booked in advance, and ask them how much and we always pay less.

[capt_noonie]

Oh yeah, if you guys like to drink, ask sugarmamma about her bladders. I'm serious, they will save you money on the taxes!

[Ashley V]

I've been on one cruise about 4 years ago. I really enjoyed it, however, I wished we could stay on shore longer - I guess that would defeat the purpose of a "cruise". Between ports, I actually got pretty bored on the ship. There is only so many times you can eat, go to the gift shop, go to the casino, etc. before you've done it all. The entertainment at night was nice though. They had a lot of shows, clubs, etc on the ship. I think I'm just more of a land person. I prefer going to the countries and actually experiencing the culture and it's hard to do that with only about 5 hours. The excursions were my favorite part of the whole trip. We went to Costa Maya, Mexico, where we biked through the city and kayaked in the Gulf, Grand Caymans, where we swam with wild sting rays, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where we swam with dolphins and climbed a huge waterfall. All in all, I enjoyed it, but I preferred being on land than I did the ship.

[kdhawks]

I've been on one cruise, last summer. It was okay, but I don't know if I'd go on another anytime soon. I went through Royal Caribbean, and while the ship/rooms/amenities/food were nice, I did get pretty bored on the "at sea" days. I absolutely LOVED our stops and excursions, but I just feel like I lost a lot of time being on the ship for so long. Personally, I'd rather fly to one location and stay for an extended time, rather than make several day-long stops. But I do know many people who love cruising and go almost yearly! I think it's just a personal preference.

[107barney]

I've been on NCL, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity. I find I like different lines for different things.

The best food is Celebrity hands down but it is otherwise a big bore. I also liked Celebrity because of the dress code - It is nice that you dont see half dressed people around the ship.

Royal Caribbean has my favorite coffee - the Seattles Best makes me happy to start the day. I also tend to win in their casinos when I play so I like that too

NCL's food is disgusting and barely edible. I gave them 5 tries and they are out.

I love Princess (except for the coffee) . I like the food better and just overall it was my favorite.

I still wont commit to any one cruise line - I go with an itinerary I like and work around the things I'm not crazy about. NCL might be a tough one to try again. I just love cruising!

[107barney]

Originally Posted by kdhawks

I've been on one cruise, last summer. It was okay, but I don't know if I'd go on another anytime soon. I went through Royal Caribbean, and while the ship/rooms/amenities/food were nice, I did get pretty bored on the "at sea" days. I absolutely LOVED our stops and excursions, but I just feel like I lost a lot of time being on the ship for so long. Personally, I'd rather fly to one location and stay for an extended time, rather than make several day-long stops. But I do know many people who love cruising and go almost yearly! I think it's just a personal preference.

I agree with you on sea days - I have trouble with those. I just end up bored out of my skull. I try to book a 7-day cruise with one 1 sea day involved and I like it to be at the beginning of the cruise.

[Beamers Mom]

Last year we rarely got off the ship! We had been to the places before (except Ocho Rios) and so we decided to stay onboard. We had fun playing the trivia games or just sunbathing on deck.
We did get off the ship in Ocho Rios as we hadn't been there before (we had been to Montego Bay on past cruises). I am limited to where I can get to on the scooter. Some guy in a van saw us and offered to take us to the shopping center. He ran a taxi service. Bruce and I discussed it and agreed. They guy loaded the scooter in the van. We set off and the guy pulls into a gas station, then turns and asks Bruce if he could give him $10 of the fare so he could get gas. (The fare was $20 round trip), so Bruce gave him $10. He took us to the shopping center, but ushered us into one of the jewelry stores that obviously he had some arrangement with. But I did see a nice "flip" ring I liked, so Bruce bought it for me. We checked out another store and then went back to the ship. When we got back home I had the ring appraised and it appraised for double what we paid for it, so I was happy about that. I told Bruce that I want to buy another "flip" ring when we stop at Ocho Rios this time.

I like the dressing up for dinner, so Royal Caribbean is great for that.
The excursions are good, but they don't have many where you can use a scooter or wheelchair.
I'd like to be able to check out the excursions before we go, they used to send a booklet with all the excursions with prices in about a month before leaving. Now you have to check online to see what excursions they have.
I'm just happy staying on board and looking through the shops, playing trivia games, or just reading on deck. It is relaxing.

Bruce likes the casino - and he paid for our two cruises last year with his winnings from the October the year before.

[pepe mint]

I haven't read thru all the posts so forgive me if I am sharing info you don't need or has already been shared...but we always book our cruises thru vacationstogo.com they feature the best deals!!! and honestly, the closer you wait to the time of the cruise, the better the prices!!!! good luck...we love cruising!! we went on a 10 day cruise for our honeymoon and have a couple of cruises booked for the near future...including a Christmas cruise FUN!!

oh...and if you are a "drinker"...you can take one of those big water bottles full of vodka and save yourself a lot of money LOL

[speleogirl37]

Originally Posted by pepe mint

I haven't read thru all the posts so forgive me if I am sharing info you don't need or has already been shared...but we always book our cruises thru vacationstogo.com they feature the best deals!!! and honestly, the closer you wait to the time of the cruise, the better the prices!!!! good luck...we love cruising!! we went on a 10 day cruise for our honeymoon and have a couple of cruises booked for the near future...including a Christmas cruise FUN!!

oh...and if you are a "drinker"...you can take one of those big water bottles full of vodka and save yourself a lot of money LOL

Great info...thanks!!