Been on a Cruise?

I hope you have fun. Take lots of drugs that give you a happy, sunny attitude.

My wife forced me on a boat once and I felt trapped and ripped off, most of the time. Never again, not even with the hottest sex in return. Of course, that was the promise the first time. Yeah. No way.

 

I went on a 4 day cruise to the bahamas many years ago. It was awesome. You will eat a lot and get fat.

 

candycane told me it was great. I will have to go some day.

 

I was on an Alaskan cruise before. It was also on one of the princess ships but it was 8 years ago, so I don't remember which one. It was pretty fun. Since you pay for almost everything up front, you can basically eat as much as you want or watch as many movies/shows as you want while you're on board. That was cool.

During the day you basically are off the ship most of the time in one of those small cities (juneau, skagway, ketchikan, etc..). You go and visit all the small, touristy shops and then do whatever other "excursions" you paid for. I went on the helicopter glacier trek. That was pretty cool - flying around a glacier out in the middle of nowhere.

During the night, you have to eat dinner in formal wear and with a bunch of other strangers. That was probably the part of the trip I hated the most. I don't like dressing up, and I don't like making polite conversation with people I don't even know. But besides that, you can spend the rest of the night in the casino or in the club, which are fun too.

 

Not drinks. You use your key/room number to buy drinks. Be careful if you are a big drinker because your bill can get very high with out realizing it.

 

took the same cruise (those glaciers were the prettiest blue ever, eh, preak?)... when I had money anyway. also a scandinavian cruise.

anyway, to what he says about the excursions. seems to be much more of a pain to be more spontaneous although they have booths at each destination once you arrive to sell tickets for the excursions. it's almost like a double edged sword... it almost feels as if you're working or in some kind of a routine if you set everything up before hand, but it's more expensive and time consuming if you don't. i guess the thing to do is setup no more than one excursion per day (at the absolute most two) and perhaps tour the town while at one of the destinations or relax on the ship so that it actually seems like you're on vacation.

edit: ditto for intermill's post. those effers are expensive as hell, so be careful.

 

Last time I went on a cruise (7 day carribean) I spent $500 on alcohol alone. Those drinks really add up after a while.

 

Yeah, they tend to hit you well for drinks even for cokes....I cringe everytime I told my kid yesthat it was okay to get a coke (at least 3 times a day) You will have fun....that damn Titanic move screwed me up a little though...but you will have fun.

 

I went on one with my mom when I graduated HS. It was alright except for my mom instantly developing claustrophobia <that she had apparently suffered from her entire life--yet her son never knew about it> and demanded that we sleep with the light on in the cabin because it helped somehow. Make sure you are getting on a newer ship, though. That was the main drawback for our trip as far as something that everyone would experience.

I am going on an Alaskan cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines in June.

 

Went with family to Cozumel and went scuba diving with my brother once we got there. It was cool. They have Eastern European wait staff (cheap exploitable white labor) that wait on you hand and foot for the moment you wake up to the moment you go sleep. Also you can do a little gambing even if you're only 18, though the odds doesn't seem to favor you at all, especially in Black Jack, watched like 20 hands straight with the dealer not busting.

All in all a pretty good time, but that 700 - 800 bux / person bill (excursions, alchohol, etc etc) is a bit pricey for a four day trip. Thinking back, I might've just told parents to pay for half of my laptop and be happier with the money spent. But still, don't really regret it.

 

I almost took one last year but decided to go straight to Cozumel. I'm glad we did it that way since I'm not sure I'd like the boad days and I drank all the top shelf booze I wanted for free for 6 days and explored the island at my own leisure.

 

See above. I would never go on a cruise.

The wife and I were once vacationing St.Thomas in Magen's Bay having a nice relaxing time until the obnoxious yankee cruise people showed up. They were horrible. They forced us to leave. (which ended up best because a friendly taxi driver took the us to a secret spot).

 

I've been on 6 cruises and I think it's by far the best value in a vactation.

Some tips:

Bring your own alcohol with you. We do this everytime and have never gotten caught. Just buy plastic bottles of your favorite liquor, wrap it in towels and put it in your suitcase. Then just bring along one of those big plastic cups with a lid, and fill it up with your favorite beverage. Something they don't really advertise but is true is that you are allowed to bring soft drinks on the boat with you. We always just carry a 12 pack of coke each, and use that to mix with the alcohol. This will save you a lot of money!

Have fun!

 

I've heard of people putting the liquor in empty mouthwash bottles as well.

 

Definately pack your own alcohol. We packed 3 thirty packs as well as a few bottles of smirnoff in our suit cases and didn't get caught.
We went on a cruise to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel and I absolutely loved it. The only thing I didn't like was that our port times didn't allow us to stay in the countries past 6:00 pm so we didn't get to experience the nightlife in the countries. However, the cruise ship has plenty to offer to keep one busy during the trip. I can't wait to go again.

 

We took the kids on a Disney cruise and had the time of our lives. Disney does everything first class, including their own private island.

As for the alcohol, we brought just enough to get us to our first stop in the Bahamas, then bought a ton for really cheap prices. As for cokes, Disney ships offer a one time price of $15 for an insulated cup which had endless refills. We just kept getting refills and mixed up our own drinks. $15 well spent.

 

Personally, I never have. But I know who has: