I am looking to go on a cruise in late December. I haven't been on one since I was a kid with my parents. Thus, I have no idea what to look for in a ship, where to get the best deals, etc. Any advice? How does eating on the ship work? I know some have dining rooms with set eating times, but I don't think that is what I want. What are the other eating options in that case, and would those cost me additional money? What is the nightlife like on the ship? We definitley want to party! As of now, we are looking at the Carnical Conquest from Galveston leaving on the 24th and going to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, or the Norweigan Sun leaving from New Orleans and going to Belize city, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and some other city.... I have no idea what kind of room to get, looking at balcony ones now, nor do i know which part of the ship is the best to have a room in... Cruisers help!
Oh yea one more thing....What about taking my own alcohol onboard. I have read that they search you, but what about in my suitcase?
I am very busy right now, but will definitely email you within the next few days. I get GREAT DISCOUNTS on cruises. I am talking about 75-80% off brochure prices. Hang tight..
I went on a Carnival Cruise for my honeymoon and we had a blast. You can definitely party. I got tore up with a good chunk of the hosts the second to last night. Definitely a lot of fun. The best thing about cruises is there's something for everyone. We're looking at taking a family cruise next summer. As far as the rooms, we didn't spend a lot of time outside of sleeping in our rooms. Well, except for the last day when I was too hungover to get out of bed!
Rooms are pretty unimportant as you're only really in it to sleep and even the better ones are the size of a sardine can. Go cheap and blow the money on booze and gambling. I think the eating depends on the cruise line but most should have options by now as formal dining is not really a popular thing anymore. As for sneaking in booze, well, your luggage disappears for quite a long time when you board and I imagine it might get searched. I'm not a big cruise fan though, so maybe someone else has suggestions.
Oh, I forgot...I was able to sneak in a bottle of vodka wrapped in a beach towel. Hell, that wasn't all I snuck in.
I don't like cruises for the fact that they harbor disease and germs everywhere. The food isn't too good, and its the same old stuff everyday. It gets old real fast eating the same burgers and pizza for lunch everyday. Plus there isn't much options for the healthy menu. I do like the movie theatres built in, but the nightly entertainment blows. Its geared to retirees and older folk. If you have sea sickness be prepared to have an ill time, unless you bring medicine. The best way to travel is by plane, and then rent a car and drive around the country at your own pace.
I'll also be taking a cruse in December out of Galveston, I've been on more cruises than I can count, I'm a "diamond member" with Royal Caribbean (Free drinks and parties every night).. My advice is if you want to bring booze on the ship buy a few of those unbreakable water bottles that everyone carries around to get it on the ship.. THIS IS A PIC OF WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT As far as cabins go I like ones with a balcony because I like to smoke cigars and I don’t like to have to go to the main deck with crazy high winds to smoke.. If you plan on staying in the pool or doing excursions all day there really is no point to upgrading your room.. I would suggest staying in the direct rear of the ship for the least amount of noise and larger rooms.. Dinner is different on every cruise line, some have "freestyle" where you can come and go for dinner whenever you want this is nice because you can go see an early show and eat after the show is over.. Also, the "freestyle" is nice if you do not want to sit with people you don’t know and eat dinner. Some ships even have "upgraded" restaurants on that cost additional money, but IMO are not worth it. Most cruise lines do the set time for dinner, this is what I like because most of the time the quality of food is better IMO and the service is also better.. Lunch is usual buffet with a seated option in the main dinning room that offer a little bit higher end items (Steak, Fish ex..) but you cant wear short and tank top in. Ports are a tough call depending on your ship size and if you are going in December you could have a rough time docking at some of your ports because of rough waters in these ports especially Cozumel. The last two December Cruises I've taken haven’t been able to dock there and we couldn’t even tender in. Even with these problems my favorite time of year to go on a cruise is Nov-Dec because of the weather and price.. I'm not a big drinker and I only drink the free drinks I get with my "membership" but minus drinks, excursions and tips are going to be the biggest expenses on your trip.. Tipping is something most people don’t know about on their first cruise, you have to tip many people it will run you about $75.00-120.00 per person for the MANDATORY tips for the duration of your cruise. Excursions are IMO the best way to get the most out of your cruise, I don’t like doing much active stuff (hiking, climbing ex.) but the beach excursions are great.. These can range from $50.00-200.00 for each port excursion you choose.. I think you would like the party boat excursions (all the beer you can drink and some light food) For me I prefer most Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships (now the same company) I'm not a fan of the Carnival lines because there always seem to be lots of little kids running around and IMO the food isn’t quite as good as R/C.. When I first started cruising with my parents when I was young we would go for the food and beaches and that's still what I look for when going today.. As far as price goes, I go though a travel agent and get free little perks, the price isn’t as good straight out, but with the free stuff it always levels out (Bottles of free champagne/wine, upgraded rooms, excursion credits ex..).. I would check Travelocity for good prices, some of the friends I’ve cruised with used them and got good deals with them.. You can also try to wait until the last few weeks before the cruise and see if you can get a REALLY good deal.. The best deal I ever had was waiting until 2 weeks before the sail date and got two tickets for 300.00 for a 5 day cruise, I would only recommend this if you have a backup plan in place.. Also, I would look into the policy change and see if you are required to have a passport to cruise by then.. I heard a while back the government is now requiring all people on a cruise to have a passport, but I’m not sure if that goes into effect at the end of this year or the start of next.. Good luck and have fun!
Never been on one and never had the desire. I prefer dry land. However, my parents love them. They even sailed the QE2 from London to New York. In fact, they just booked a 10 day cruise of the Greek Islands next spring for their 50th wedding anniversary. They will spend 2-3 days in Istanbul, then do the cruise. My siblings and I are going to buy them a big old onboard cruise credit so they really don't have to pay for anything during the course of the cruise.
Thanks Da-Glyde, good advice. We all have passports so that won't be an issue. I will definitley pick up some of those unbreakable water bottles. What exactly is tender in? That is what the cruise is supposed to do in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The two cruises I have limited it down to are the Carnival Conquest from Galveston on the 24th, and the Princess Cruises Grand Princess. Have any of ya'll ever been on either of these ships or cruises? There are much better ones leaving from Florida, but I can't leave Houston until the 23rd, and have to be back by the 1st. Plus airfare is expensive
I do get sea sick! I would prefer to head up North see some snow and hit the slopes, but everyone else wants to go to the beach. I took a yacht from Cairns, Australia to the Great Barrier Reef to go diving a few years back and puked my lungs out both ways!
