Who has been on a cruise

[newmommy]

any insights on what to pack? where to go? when to go ??
what was your favorite cruise? why? Where do you really wanna go why?
was it worth the money ?

[twalla]

http://hometown.aol.com/ShermanGal1974/

Here is my page about my cruise with some good tips!


I would go again on a shorter one. I think I like to be in control of where Im going so I dont like the longer ones.

[Sunnie]

I have been on 3 cruises (and am patiently waitin g for the next). 2 were Carnival cruises and one was Holland America. Holland America cruises are very formal and great for the older crowd in my opinion. I mean, I am older (will be 55 this year) but I think that 1/2 of the cruise population had wheelchairs or walkers. The Carnival cruises are geared towards the younger crowd. I have to say that I really enjoyed the Carnival cruises MUCH better. All of the cruises have been to Mexico. ( a 3day cruise, a 5 day, and a 10 day) All were fun and had great activities. Be sure and pack something formal for the evenings. Even if you aren't into the "formal" scene, it is a great experience getting to meet new people and being treated like royalty and is an experience that you won't want to miss. For the daytime, pack whatever you normally would wear. There are all kinds of fun activities on the days the ship is sailing. The best advice I could give is to PARTICIPATE in everything you can.
The next cruise I go on, I would love to go to Alaska. My brother has been on lots and his favorites are the Bahamas. Also he loves the Winjammer Cruises where you are also part of the crew. (too much work for me, I want to be pampered)
Have fun and take lots of pictures.
Hugs
Sonya

[newmommy]

Originally Posted by twalla

http://hometown.aol.com/ShermanGal1974/

Here is my page about my cruise with some good tips!


I would go again on a shorter one. I think I like to be in control of where Im going so I dont like the longer ones.

thank you. good read. I want to be able to experience the land a little more too though. I think it would be nice to spend a day on a beach.

[newmommy]

Im 27 and want to go somewhere with sandy beaches that we will have a chance to explore. like bermuda or carribbean.
Im so excited. we want to do this for our 5th anniversary

[bdbmamaw]

We've been to Alaska twice and will be leaving for Canada / New England States in just a few weeks! Absolutely loved Alaska! If you go there, get a balcony. Well worth the money as Alaska offers views 24/7.

Always check with the cruise line as to what you need to pack. They go different places, so each cruise has different suggestions.

Formal dresses and tuxedos can be rented ahead of time if you don't want to invest.

All our cruises have been fantastic!

Good luck!

[mizzwanned]

I went on Norweigan Dawn to Florida and 2 islands of Bahamas. It was gorgeous and fun! I do want to try Royal Carribean though! Just take lots and lots of sunscreen, I got burnt!

[SevenGirl]

Hi,
We have been on 4 cruises. 1 on Norwegian to Mexico and the other 3 on Royal Caribbean. None of them were super formal, although they do have a formal night when a cocktail dress would be fine. The rest of your clothes can be really casual--shorts, capris, swim suits, etc. Our 3 cruises on RC went to the Bahamas, Key West and Mexico, and St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. My husband and I are 35, so we were late 20's and early 30's when we went and saw a variety of people on each. We took our daughters (10 and 7) on the last one in February and they LOVED it. We booked the same one for next February (the one that goes to Key West and Mexico). Most cruise lines do a great job catering to people of all ages.

My parents love Holland America (especially the Alaskan cruise) and Crystal Cruises. They are more formal and a bit pricier. My brother loves the Norwegian cruise to Bermuda. He went on one in April and the weather was iffy. Might want to go a little later to have better luck with the weather. My husband and I went on a vacation to Bermuda early this year (not a cruise) and loved it!!! It was really clean and we felt safe wondering the island. The people were super friendly, too. Bermuda is a great choice!

The activities are numerous on the cruises and so are the excursions on shore. Food is ALWAYS available and I feel like I gained 10 pounds after the cruise!

A lot of people don't feel like an upgraded room is worth the extra money. If you are never in your room, then this is probably true. My husband and I like to have coffee on our balcony in the morning and a cocktail out there in the evening before dinner. We enjoy having a little extra space (and I do mean LITTLE---the cabins are super-tiny).

Have fun and let us know what you decide.

[MissPinkBarbie]

Great thread! Hubby and I are looking into a cruise to go on too. It'll be our first cruise..

We're young (20 &30) and we'd like to enjoy a more "formal" (with a ballroom and elegant dining) cruise...and we wanna be able to wake up every morning to a view of gorgeous blue water and a sunny day.

I'm looking forward to reading more responses!

[mizzwanned]

Originally Posted by MissPinkBarbie

Great thread! Hubby and I are looking into a cruise to go on too. It'll be our first cruise..

We're young (20 &30) and we'd like to enjoy a more "formal" (with a ballroom and elegant dining) cruise...and we wanna be able to wake up every morning to a view of gorgeous blue water and a sunny day.

I'm looking forward to reading more responses!

You might like Norwegein except there's one formal night, but every night they have diff. things. They have many nice restaurants, good food. I have heard good things about Royal Carribean.

[marcerella02]

i have been on two cruises, both with Carnival and probably won't go with them again. There are A LOT Of kids around and that ins't necissarily what my family finds relaxing. i think next time we would go with Royal Carribean. We went to Mexico and the Eastern Carribean (Jamaica). The first was a 3/4 day/night cruise andt he second was a week and i would DEFINILTY do the week again... the 3/4 JUST isn't long enough. There is usually a formal supper where everyone gets dressed up but you dont' HAVE to go to it.... i think it was TOTALLY worth the money... if you want to do island excusions they are extra but in Jamaica we climbed a 600 foot waterfall and i still look back on that as one of the best things i've ever done. I highly recommend cruises... you can have the BEST time and never get off the boat! and the BEST Thing is there is always great weaterh! if you are headed somewhere where there is rain, they just change course and head for the sun!! what other vacation can guarantee sun!!!

[RowdysMom]

My hubby and I have been on 2 cruises to Alaska, both on Holland America. My husband just returned from a Caribbean cruise on Carnival. He said it was definitely "kid" oriented and he preferred the older crowd on Holland America (we're 55 and 58). I wouldn't like to be with a lot of smaller kids, I'm not a "kid person" and I don't necessarily want to be around young kids on my vacation - but for many, that would be fine.

Holland America (HA) is definitely for the older crowd and I really love that. The food is fabulous on HA - we took some family members on a HA cruise to Alaska this summer and they have cruised Carnival, Princess and Celebrity and they said the food is far superior on HA.

Also, I live in Texas and I like to go somewhere cool for my vacation, so I'd never go to the Caribbean - too hot for me.

Do know though, for those of you who go to Alaska, even in the summer, it may be cool, cold or rainy, or all of the above. You definitely need a jacket and raincoat.

We think Alaska is absolutely fabulous though. If you cruise to Alaska though, you miss about 99% of the state. This summer we took a 3 day cruise and a 10 day land tour, then stayed another 8 days on our own. It was GREAT and we got to see a lot of the state!

I always feel trapped and constrained on a cruise. I find myself roaming the ship on cruising days, wishing I could get off. My hubby amuses himself in the casino, but I am bored. We took a 7 day cruise a couple of years ago, but only 3 days this time and I was really ready to get off that ship, even after only 3 days. Also, we decided to go with an inside cabin (no window) since we were only on the ship for 3 days. Mistake - the inside room was way too small!

[MissPinkBarbie]

So so far, I think I'm liking what yall are saying about "Norweigen" and "Royal Carribean"...

hmmm... anything else I might not know of? ...

[Mia and Wickett]

I've been on several cruises to the Bahamas, Mexico, and the Carribean on Carnival and they were lots of fun.
But my favorite was the Holland America cruise through the Baltic that I went on last year. My bf and I are 28 and 34, and didn't realize that Holland America was geared towards an older crowd but it didn't matter. It was a 10 day cruise and we were only at sea 1 day. The other days we were in port from early morning until late afternoon. I have to say, it was an amazing experience!! We absolutely loved it! Being in foreign countries where English is hardly spoken is difficult, but having tours with tourguides set up that spoke the language and set everything up made it much easier. I really recommend it.
Here's the link to my page about the cruise:
http://web.mac.com/melamia/iWeb/Site/My%20Travels/E38D590E-A7BE-44CE-8268-6F480012FAA7.html

As far as what to pack, read up on the ship's site. Get a feel for the types of tours you want to take and what activities you want to participate in. Definitely check what the weather will be like too. And.....try not to overpack. I did that and omg it was a pain hauling really heavy luggage around all over the place! Try to pick clothes that you can dress up or down so you can wear it during the day and night, instead of having 2 outfits per day. And definitely take comfy shoes! Maybe 1 or 2 pairs, and 1 pair of nicer shoes for dinner.

[paulapoo]

I went on royal carribean for my honeymoon. We went to southern carib. It was beautiful. However, I got sick every night after dinner when we left port. Taking dramamine and going to bed doesn't make for a very good honeymoon!!!! Our room was VERY small and we didn't have a balcony. If I were to ever go again, (like, say, for my next honeymoon ) I would splurge on a larger room with a balcony. We only had 1 formal night, but you can dress formal on the other nights if you wanted to.