I've been on two, both out of Galveston. Five years ago was Royal Carribbean starting out in Key West, Belize, then Cozumel. I hit excursions at every port so that gets expensive if you buy from the ship (which I do) and cheaper if you buy once you get off. Key West I hit canoe trip, Belize I went tubing down some river, and Cozumel I did a off-road Jeep Safari. Had a total blast, especially in Cozumel. Just this past November I went on Carnival Conquest starting in Jamaica, then Grand Cayman, then Cozumel. Jamaica I did the waterfall thing like finalsbound mentioned and the swimming with stingrays thing too. In Cozumel we went on a dune buggy thing where we drove around the island and had lunch on the beach. Had a blast again. I definitely want to go again. It's relatively cheap (but not so much if you do excursions) and we always have fun at the ports.
the thought of being stuck with 1000+ other people day in and day out doesn't sound fun at all. I would like to do an Alaska cruise once, but thats it.
I have gone on cruises with groups of people and the ships are basically small city's and I have gone days with out running into people in my group. These ships have up to 14 floors. 5 or 6 pools, casino, 5 or more clubs/bars, 3 story auditorium for shows. Rated R comedy shows(carnival only).
The Travel Channel had a show last night Cruising Do's and Don'ts check your local listings, i'm sure they'll reshow.
It's like staying at a floating hotel. Aside from the days at sea, you aren't really stuck on the cruise ship day in and day out. They usually get to port early or mid morning, and you are free to do whatever you want ashore until 4 or 5PM.
Alaska is a great place to visit and see. Some real natural beauty. However I wouldn't recommend a cruise there unless you think hanging out with people who's average age exceeds 70 as a good time.
If it is you and the wife I would not go for carnival. Carnival is for big groups and young people to drink and gamble. I think you want to check out Royal C. I have gone on 2 carnivals and it was tons of fun both times but I was with 12 other people or so.
I've only been on two cruises. The first one I went on was a cruise with my mom when I was 18. Yeah, that right there doesn't sound like a recipe for fun, but my mom and I did not spend a whole lot of time together when I was in grade school, so I gave it a shot. We went on a cheap cruise that just went down to Cozumel and back, basically. I would not recommend that. I think that might be my best advice, don't go on the cheapest cruise you will find. You'll be stuck on a boat with the type of people that take the cheapest vacations possible. Second, the cruise ship will be one of the oldest and blandest ones that the cruise line has. Third, unless you like to drink and watch corny-ass shows, then you'd probably just be better off spending your money going somewhere with a nice beach and staying at a hotel. Fourth, as stated, the food is not great. Not bad, but not as good as some people say. I think the main type of people that love food on cruise ships are the same type of people that love Golden Corral. Fifth, these cheaper cruises will be crowded as hell. Sixth, make sure you aren't going with someone that gets seasick or claustrophobic. I have pissed my mom off on several occasions since that cruise, telling her I'd never go on a cruise with her again. As soon as we got on the boat, she started panicking and saying she was having claustrophobic attacks. OK, she's my mom, I've known her my whole life, I never knew she had claustrophobia before we got on the god damn cruise ship. On top of that, in the tiny ass room, somehow she found that it HELPED that we sleep with the mother****ing lights on. Doesn't it make sense that, in a tiny room, it would be better for it to be completely dark so you can't see how small the room is? Apparently not! If someone gets seasick, they will probably be a dredge to be around for the entire trip. Seventh, if you like to gamble with fair rules, avoid the ship casinos. They have the worst rules and odds that you will ever find. I didn't particularly enjoy the cruise to Mexico for the aforementioned reasons. Additionally, I got bored just looking out at water all the time. There was nothing to see. On the other hand, I went on an Alaskan cruise with my dad, his wife, and her two kids and had one of the best times ever. The scenery while on the boat was absolutely beautiful, the destinations we visited were a lot more enjoyable (IMO) than going and looking at somewhat cheap Mexican trinkets, etc. I loved seeing the wildlife, glaciers, snow, and mountains while we were on the boat. There was actually stuff to look at! Additionally, since the cost of an Alaskan cruise is significantly more than that of other cruises, I felt like the people were a lot more enjoyable (not loud, acting dumb the entire cruise, etc.). Also, the boat and food were MUCH better on the Alaskan cruise. Additionally, I felt like the staff was a lot better on the Alaskan cruise. The trip to Mexico was on Carnival, while the other was on Norwegian. One more thing, on Carnival, for dinner, you had assigned seating and just went to the same place every day. So imagine if you were in a group of two, you might get stuck sitting across the dining table from a couple of douchebags or asshats for the entire trip! They also told us what time we had to eat. Additionally, there were only a small amount of items available to choose from on the menu. On Norwegian, we got to sit by ourselves (this might have been because I was in a larger group, 5 people, IIRC), choose from different types of restaurants, and make our own reservations. It was 50x better.
After a while, I didn't really notice I was on a ship. It's not like you're stuck on their all day either. They make stops and there are plenty things to do on each island. I'm into history type of stuff so I kinda enjoyed seeing old buildings in Puerto Rico and so on.
Where are the hot chicks? Can you get a cabin overlooking the nudie sunbathing place and are there hot chicks there? Are there hot chicks getting drizzunk in the bars? Do the hot chicks wear bikinis the entire time? When you get off the boat at port, do you turn right or left to find hot chicks? I'm asking for my lesbian friend. I find the phrase "hot chicks" to be degrading to women. P.S. she also wants to know if the hot chicks are the type who like sleeping with men. you know, not lesbian. I don't know why she asked that question. Her name is Judy. It's strange that she would be named Judy instead of Bert or Thadeus or some real masculine sounding name. But nope, she's named Judy and she's a lesbian who wants to know about hot chicks on cruise ships.
Holland Cruises are a higher class cruise line than the other 3 but you will have a much older crowd and the activity's will be geared towards to the older crowds. Norwegian is ranked below all of them. There boats are older for the most part. They tend to be the cheapest though. The carnival corporation owns many different cruise lines They start at carnival and there next class up is princess and then some of the European lines Royal Caribbean also owns multiple cruise lines I believe that holland is there higher class ship after the royal caribbean ships
