Have You Ever Been On A Cruise? Tell Me About It!?

Question

Hello!

I am curious about taking a cruise. My husband and I's 10th wedding anniversary is coming up in June 2007, and I am interested in going on a cruise. I have never been before. Which cruise line do you like? Which ship? What type of room is best? Did you get seasick? How long did you go for? Thoughts/Ideas/Recomendations? Are meals provided? Dress code? Thanks!

Answer 1

i have been on 10 and everyone have been great. my favorite is carnival i have been in the panama canal Mexican Rivera, eastern and western Caribbean. if you do go get the one that goes to St Thomas, St Martin and Puerto Rico.  even though Cozumel and Grand Caymans are nice Jamaica isn't.

   i have also been on royal, princess, and celebrity. my 2nd choice would be royal.

Answer 2

So much information....so little space LOL.  I go on 2-3 cruises a year and think there is no better vacation.  I like Holland America cruise lines, I have been on Costa, Royal Caribbean and an older line that is no longer in service.  I like to have sunlight in my rooms so I would never have an inside cabin.  I do prefer balcony rooms, its nice to have coffee on the balcony in the am.  I have never gotten seasick, and the best way to avoid seasickness is not to think about it talk about it just put the thoughts away, if you really are worried about it you can take Dramamine, but take it BEFORE you get onboard the ship, if you wait until you feel ill it's to late.  If you do get a little queasy, eat plain crackers it will help.  I go for 7-10 days normally.  All of the food is provided some ships have preffered dining rooms and they can charge you a fee for those, but at a nominal cost.  You have to pay for any alcholic beverages, soda and bottled water.  On a 7 day cruise you have 2 formal nights.  The main dining room normally does not allow shorts, tank tops, bathing suits, flip flops and some ( most ) really dont want you to wear jeans, but dont tell, I did have lunch in the dining room and was wearing jeans.  You really should take at least 1 cruise in your life, they are well worth it.  You may even want to celebrate your anniversay either early or late, I love going in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, they normally are somewhat cheaper and not near as crowded.  I book my cruises though www.cruisedeals.com you can see the TOTAL cost of the cruise as you browse.  There are no hidden charges or costs.  I hope this helped you a little bit, and if you need/want more info please feel free to email me through yahoo answers.  Have a Great Cruise KG

Answer 3

I have been on 5 cruises. They all kicked azz! In my opinion, they are the perfect vacation. You can do anything, or nothing. You can eat, gamble, pamper yourself & see many ports of call all in one cruise! The shows are amazing, and depending on the cruise, there are so many different activities.

Carnival is geared toward younger people.... very loud, very neon. The food is just ok. Royal Caribbean was really nice...excellent food, less children.

If you are a member of AAA, they have a great travel department and they get amazing prices on cruises. I have always booked through them.

Good luck & enjoy!

Answer 4

i took a cruise on the funship fascination (carnival) in 2003. we toured the western carribbean for 4 days, stopping in cozumel, key west and 1 fun day at sea. yay! meals were provided, oh my god, were they ever. i've never eaten so much in my life. midnight buffet. mmmm. i've also never drank so much in my life. alcoholic beverages and pop (soda for those who don't live in michigan) we had to pay for. they give you this cute little "sail and sign" card. it's like a credit card that you attach another credit card or cash to to pay for stuff while you're on the boat cuz there's no exchange of cash aboard. even though we drank ourselves into a stupor every day, our alcohol tab wasn't too bad. dress code is completely casual, except for the one formal dinner night they had so i brought a gown. we had an inside room, they're the cheapest, (the whole thing wasn't too expensive anyway) and next time i go we will get a balcony room. it would have been better. there was one day that we got a little seasick. there had been a storm a good distance away from us but it made the water very choppy and the constant back and forth rocking really did mess with me. but we quickly found a way to remedy it. we just went to the top deck outside so we could get some air. the ship didn't feel like it was rocking so badly up there. it probably had something to do with the fact that the ship was so huge. i would recommend taking a cruise. it was fun. i'd do it again.

Answer 5

i went twice for  week and once for 10 days you eat all day  and get to dress up  i didnt get seasick

Answer 6

Cruises are the absolute best.  My favorite cruise to go on is to Alaska, and it just so happens the best time to go is in June because you don't have insect problems up there and the weather isn't as rough as normal.  

My favorite cruise line is NCL.  Their best Alaskan ships are the Norwegian Star and the Norwegian Pearl (which will be a brand new ship next year!).  Other than those, all of their ships made after 2001 are great.

The best type of room really depends on where you want to go.  If you go to Alaska, definetely get an inside stateroom because the sun comes up at 3 in the morning and goes down at 11 at night..  If you go to Mexico, Caribbean, Transatlantic, Bermuda, or New England, then the best rooms are the ones with windows.  

You most likely won't get seasick because you can't feel the ship moving.  Some people are extra sensitive to that and can feel the ship moving and they get sea sick but they sell sea sickness medicine on the ship.  

Meals are provided, most are for free, including fancy restaraunts.  There are a couple of restaraunts that charge money though and drinks, other than water, milk, coffee, and iced tea, cost money.

Dress code is casual for buffets or 24 hour restaraunts and then the nicer restaraunts make you where a collared shirt and you can't wear jeans.  But that is only on NCL.  Most other cruise lines are all fancy restaraunts with high dress code standards and you don't get to choose who you sit by or where you sit.  That is another reason NCL is better.

NCL also does really fun activites on the ship while you are on the way to each port.  They give away gems and jewelry, a lottery, BINGO, games, contests, game shows which they air on the ship's TVs, full service spas, theatrical shows and performances, movie theaters, just about everything.  A cruise is the perfect anniversary, as well as any other event.

I also forgot to mention that NCL's ships are so big that you wouldn't even think that there are actually 2,000 other people on there with you (most of them are over 950 feet long and over 100 feet tall).  You also get to choose when you eat and where you eat.  You can come and go on the ship whenever you want, as long as you are back a half hour before the ship departs.  Most other cruise lines don't do that, they assign a time for you to be back to eat, the assign you a seat to eat at, with other people you don't know.  NCL doesn't do that, you can choose it all to make your vacation as fun as you can and as convenient as possible so you can make the best of the ports you stop at.

Answer 7

Caribbean and Mexican and Alaskan cruises.  NCL cruise lines was one of the ships.  Each cruise was different and so was our experience on board each ship.  As far as which one to pick that would be up to your interests.  As far as which ship, do your homework. Each cruise lines has to post their inspection data on line and their violations and how they fixed them.  You can even see how old the ships is.  Then check for other people comments that have gone on the same cruise and what time of year is best.  The rooms are generally small in size, but remember you don't plan on spending much time in your room so unless you have the cash for the high end rooms, just go for the middle area rooms.  Not to close to the engine room.  Cruises are a blast so spend some time planning where and when, then go have fun.  Check with your county's travel warnings as to where not to go.  Keep happy, Keep safe.   One last thing is open dinning.  That way you don't have to have an assigned dinner time and spot, you can go when you want and where you want.  Have Fun.

Answer 8

There are so many different cruise lines, you can find one to suit your own personal style.  There are huge ships, medium ships, small ships.  Ships with sails, even.  You can go anywhere in the world there is water...they even have river cruises in Europe and of course, the Nile.  Unless you're out in the middle of the Atlantic in a small ship, seasickness isn't much of a concern.  I've been to Alaska, the med and the Caribbean and never had a problem with seasickness.  

My favorite line so far is Seabourn.  I like smaller ships, and they only carry about 200 passengers.  They are a little more expensive, but the quality of service, the all-inclusive price (no tipping and all drinks are included), and the all-suite cabins are top of the line.  Open seating dinner as well as 24 hour room service.

Seabourn is a formal line.  People "dress" for dinner and also, are in nice clothes all the time (not baggy, torn jeans, baseball hats, etc.).  I like this kind of sailing.

But once again, choose the line that suits your needs.  Just about anywhere you can dream of going, there is a cruise line that operates in those waters!

Another elegant line is Silversea.  A bit larger ships, I have booked an Indian ocean cruise with them for November of 2007.  I've heard excellent reports of their service.

Answer 9

Yes, I have been on a cruise. And I really didn't care for it. I traveled on the Victory with Carnival Cruise Lines. We had a cabin with a private balcony. I did not get seasick. The cruise was 7 days long from Miami. We stopped in Mexico, Cayman Islands and Jamaica. There were a lot of things that I did like about my cruise; however, there was more reasons that I didn't like it. The reasons that I do not care for a cruise: 1) It is so crowded with people that it was difficult to find a place on any deck to have some space to yourself sunbathing. You had to get out there first thing and stake your spot and not leave it all day. 2) The pools are way to small. You can't actually swim in them. You just relax with about 2 dozen other people. 3) There is so much going on at any one time that it is impossible to make a choice. You may want to play bingo but your husband wants to go to a contest. Which do you choose? 4) You most likely will have to be seated with at least one other couple during your sit-down-and-be-served dinner. This is a real downer especially if you want to be alone or if you don't get along with the other people. 5) You have an assigned time to eat this meal. And you must be back on the ship before this time (so you can dress appropriately). If you aren't then you have to eat at the buffets. (I didn't pay all of that money to each pizza and cold sandwiches.) 6) You have an itinary to follow. There are so many stops and you only have so long at each port that there is no way to enjoy yourself and see all that you want on each island.

I believe that all travelers should try it at least once. If you like your vacations to be jammed backed full of activities to do and places to see, then a cruise is probably for you. If you like to relax on the beach on your vacation, try an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Have fun whatever you choose!!

Answer 10

It would take pages to properly answer your question.  But here's my first recommendation: try a shorter cruise (say 3-5 days in length) just to make sure both of you like being on the sea.  Most likely you will.  You can always pair the cruise with a short stay in a hotel pre- or post-cruise.

This brings up my next rec:

always get to the embarkation city a day or more ahead.  Don't fly in the day of your cruise.  There are too many things that can go wrong with a flight, from cancellation to weather conditions (even if not directly affecting your city) to mechanical problems.  You don't want to risk missing the start of the cruise.

The cruiseline will depend on your budget.  Some cater to an older crowd.  Some are more of a partying crowd.

Meals are provided.  Even room service is free on all the lines I can think of, but you do want to give a tip to whomever delivers the tray.  A big trend on the ships nowadays are the speciality restaurants, in which you are charged a cover charge.  We have never done this, though.  Most ships have a buffet dining room that may be open 24 hours/day.  If you get hungry between meals, or don't feel like going into the regular dining room, the buffet will often have the same dishes.

Except for some higher priced lines (such as Regent), alcoholic beverages and soft drinks (a few exceptions here) will be charged to your cruise card.  Here is a really excellent source of info as to what you would have to pay extra for:

http://www.cruiselinefans.com/cruise-top...

On some lines, jeans are a big no no for dinnertime in the dining rooms -- aside from the casual buffet -- but okay for lunch or breakfast.  You don't need a tux/glittery dress for formal nights but there will be guidelines that you can find in the info you are sent after final payment.  I usually wear a cocktail dress and husband, a suit and tie.

My husband prefers the really big, new ships but many people would rather go on the older ones.  It's a subjective thing.  We usually get an inside cabin but others will only book a cruise if they can get a balcony.

My husband and little girl have never gotten seasick.  I got a little woozy on our Hawaiian cruise  (definitely avoid this one for a first cruise) but brought ginger.  I usually don't get too bothered by the ship's movement.

Answer 11

First meals are provided and are built into the cost of the cruise,but there is also alternative dinning which means for a added fee you can go to a higher class of dinning service   restaurant's on board.When making a choice of what cruise line to go on age might play a difference.Depending on where your from would make a difference on what line to go on.10th anniverarsy is a big deal and would take a outside Veranda cabin there's that's the way to go.Dress code only two nights formal nt,and Captians night.You should not  wait to book, you should book it now.I can help you if your no sure go to (greatdealcruise.com) for the best rate & service.Book your own cruise.We will give you white glove service.Mike