What is a good cruise experience?

Question

My husband and I went on a cruise in 1994 on Norway. One week in the Caribbean. It was okay, but a little boring and confining.

Can you recommend a good cruise experience?

We might be willing to try a "lifestyle" one.

Answer 1

Not cheap, but, wow, check out this trip.

Two evenings in Key West during the peak of Fantasy Fest 2009. Dia de los Muertos celebration in Cancun, a location rarely visited by cruise ships. A day at Half Moon Cay. And, the entire ship (and HMC) are clothing optional.

This is a one-time, one-of-a-kind cruise experience. IMO, you will not be bored or confined.

Answer 2

I cruised on the Norway also; actually twice before they scrapped it.  The Norway was my first 7 day cruise and that ship (built back in the 1950's)  has fine features of the old style cruising.  But it in no way reflects what you get these days cruising.  On that ship I had an inside cabin the first time and then an outside cabin the second.  But the cabins on that ship were very small and did not provide the comfort and convenience that more modern cruise ships provide.  

By contrast the cabins on cruise ships these days are larger, the beds are much better, the ships have many more balcony cabins that are in an affordable price range; and the ships have many more activities on them like multiple pools and hot tubs, fabulous gymnasiums, and all manner of on-board activities like water slides, rock climbing walls, and a mini-golf course.

I have been on Princess, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean ships and can vouch that they are good cruise lines. However, there are some differences.

- Princess, Celebrity and Holland America have great ships are more classy and reserved. They are just a little more upscale and luxurious than the other cruise lines. Passengers tend to be middle aged and up and have cruised multiple times. Holland America has mostly senior citizens cruising on its ships.  Princess and Holland America also have the "eat dinner whenever you want" policy if that's important to you.

-Norwegian cruise line is good, they cater to families and have mostly passengers in the range of age 35-40 and up. Its the line that you want to go on if you want to be informal for pretty much your whole cruise. They have formal nights like other cruise lines but they do not stress dressing up; the call it "dress up if you want to" night.  This is the cruise line that advertises "freestyle cruising"; meaning you do not have a set dinner seating but just go anytime you want after about 6:00 PM.

Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices. They cater to young people, first time cruiser and families. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a really cheap cruise. A seven day cruise on a Carnival ship can be as low as $650. per person.

Royal Caribbean is also a cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families. It has the advantage of having the most on-board activities. Things like ice skating, roller blading, mini-golf course, a full sized basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider.

There are a lot of factors that affect what cruise you should select. Cruises generally cost about $125.00 per day per person. Since cruises can be between 3, and 12, or 14 days or more the price will depend mostly on how many days your cruise is and also on the type cabin/accommodations that you choose.

There are 4 basic types of cabins on ships;

- inside (no window),................................... least expensive

- outside (a window or porthole),

- balcony/veranda, and

- suites and penthouses.......................... most expensive.

The "FROM" prices you see will always be for an inside cabin.  Then the cruise lines give the best price for early bookings that are a year or more in advance. Cruise lines also list specials on their web sites so do look for those. The specials can many times save you a couple hundred per person over the price for the exact same cruise on a different date.

I have listed below the web sites for the medium priced cruise lines which operate from US ports. These are the cruise lines that most people use. There are some luxury lines that are much higher priced with prices starting around $4,000 for a 7 day cruise. The lines that I have listed below will have cruises starting in the range of $700 to $1,000 per person for a 7 day cruise, again depending upon the date and type cabin you select.

HOLLAND AMERICA

http://www.hollandamerica.com/

CELEBRITY:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/home .

ROYAL CARIBBEAN:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gohome.d.....

NORWEGIAN:

http://www.ncl.com/

PRINCESS:

http://www.princess.com/index.html

CARNIVAL:

http://www.carnivalcruiselines.com/

I have now been on about 20 cruises and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are now my favorite cruise lines.  So my recommendation to you is go to the web sites for those two and find the cruise that you think you would like.  

Answer 3

This one looks like fun:

http://www.bofads.com/stories/cruise.htm

I think it is Royal Carribbean.

Answer 4

I would pick one of the bigger cruise companies such as Princess, or Royal Caribbean, or Celebrity. I have cruise 8 times with Princess and the only time I got a little bored was on a 29 day cruise. My favorite cruise was a cruise/tour to Alaska. We flew to Fairbanks and tour Denali for 4 days before we got on the ship at Seward and then sailed for 7 days. In fact I loved going to Alaska so much that I'm doing it again next year, but on a different route. On Princess, they have so many activities that it's real hard to get bored. Also I suggest you get a balcony cabin. You would not feel confined at all with a balcony.

Answer 5

i went to the usa vigin islands, o and when ur on the boat wear lots o sunscreen, i was outside for 45 mintues with no sunscreen and i was pure red red red! the whole trip it was'nt fun, i could'nt do anything, i was to sore!

Answer 6

I did a 2 week cruise that took me to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Copenhagen, Denmark. It was one of the best vacations I ever had. I highly recommend it.