NGKUR: Cruises

[PonyGirl]

DH and I are taking an anniversary trip this year and we don't know where we want to go. We've tossed the idea of a cruise around a couple times. But honestly I have no idea where to begin to start looking at those. So my question is, what's your favorite one? Favorite place to go? Just need some ideas to start looking so I can get prices. Oh, we'd be going in July, if that has any effect?

[sarah77361]

We want to Jamaica on our honeymoon and it wasn't my favorite. When went with a group of friends a few years later and we cruised to the cayman island and it was so nice!! I would check with the cruise lines bc a lot of them won't let you go if you are more then 24 weeks pregnant. This was a few years ago so not sure if that has changed but, when we went you had to have a letter stating that you were less then 24 weeks from your doctor.

[QuitcherBitchin]

I luuuuuuurve cruising. H and I went on one a couple years ago that went to Nassau, Grand Turk, St. Thomas USVI, and Puerto Rico. It was pretty much amazing. It was the Carnival Glory out of Miami, and was seven days. I thought the entertainment and the cruise director were pretty damn awesome too.

[hydrangea1019]

sarah77361 is right about not sailing after 24 weeks pregnant. But I wouldn't let that stop me from planning a vacation. You never know what's going to happen and you don't want to live your life 'on hold' just waiting and thinking 'what if'.

DH and I have been on 3 cruises and it is our favorite way to travel. He won't let me live it down that he wanted to go on a cruise for our honeymoon and I wanted to do an all inclusive resort. We had fun on our honeymoon, but I think it would have been better on a cruise.

We have done 2 Royal Carribbean cruises and 1 Carnival. DH and I differ on which cruiseline we like the best.

We have been to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cancun, the Keys, and most recently to the Bahamas. Each destination had their high points. I would say Jamaica is up top because we went ziplining through the forest. The Bahamas are up top too. We did the package where we had our own cabana in Coco Cay. So. Freaking. Relaxing. I pretty much slept outside lol

I really want our next cruise to be St. Maarten and/or St. Lucia.

Do you know what port you want to leave out of?

[raelynn71109]

I've been on one cruise, 10 years ago. It was to the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands. The Baths at Virgin Gorda was my favorite excursion. The cruise line we went on was Holland America, which is geared to an older crowd. But it was a free cruise, so no complaints here. My aunt (who is only 10 years older than me) was given the cruise tickets from her work and she took me with her, paid for the airfare, all the excursions, and all of our booze. It was awesome!

[PonyGirl]

Jan 23, 2015 17:44:51 GMT -5 hydrangea1019 said:

sarah77361 is right about not sailing after 24 weeks pregnant. But I wouldn't let that stop me from planning a vacation. You never know what's going to happen and you don't want to live your life 'on hold' just waiting and thinking 'what if'.

DH and I have been on 3 cruises and it is our favorite way to travel. He won't let me live it down that he wanted to go on a cruise for our honeymoon and I wanted to do an all inclusive resort. We had fun on our honeymoon, but I think it would have been better on a cruise.

We have done 2 Royal Carribbean cruises and 1 Carnival. DH and I differ on which cruiseline we like the best.

We have been to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cancun, the Keys, and most recently to the Bahamas. Each destination had their high points. I would say Jamaica is up top because we went ziplining through the forest. The Bahamas are up top too. We did the package where we had our own cabana in Coco Cay. So. Freaking. Relaxing. I pretty much slept outside lol

I really want our next cruise to be St. Maarten and/or St. Lucia.

Do you know what port you want to leave out of?

New Orleans, because I love NO and it's the closest one too us I think. We live in North Alabama.

[PonyGirl]

Jan 23, 2015 17:47:35 GMT -5 raelynn71109 said:

I've been on one cruise, 10 years ago. It was to the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands. The Baths at Virgin Gorda was my favorite excursion. The cruise line we went on was Holland America, which is geared to an older crowd. But it was a free cruise, so no complaints here. My aunt (who is only 10 years older than me) was given the cruise tickets from her work and she took me with her, paid for the airfare, all the excursions, and all of our booze. It was awesome!

I would NEVER turn down a free trip as long as there was booze lol.

[hydrangea1019]

Jan 23, 2015 17:47:46 GMT -5 PonyGirl said:

Jan 23, 2015 17:44:51 GMT -5 hydrangea1019 said:

sarah77361 is right about not sailing after 24 weeks pregnant. But I wouldn't let that stop me from planning a vacation. You never know what's going to happen and you don't want to live your life 'on hold' just waiting and thinking 'what if'.

DH and I have been on 3 cruises and it is our favorite way to travel. He won't let me live it down that he wanted to go on a cruise for our honeymoon and I wanted to do an all inclusive resort. We had fun on our honeymoon, but I think it would have been better on a cruise.

We have done 2 Royal Carribbean cruises and 1 Carnival. DH and I differ on which cruiseline we like the best.

We have been to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cancun, the Keys, and most recently to the Bahamas. Each destination had their high points. I would say Jamaica is up top because we went ziplining through the forest. The Bahamas are up top too. We did the package where we had our own cabana in Coco Cay. So. Freaking. Relaxing. I pretty much slept outside lol

I really want our next cruise to be St. Maarten and/or St. Lucia.

Do you know what port you want to leave out of?

New Orleans, because I love NO and it's the closest one too us I think. We live in North Alabama.

I would start just browsing cruiseline websites and travel websites to see what cruises are leaving out of that port and what destinations they are cruising to.

[PonyGirl]

Jan 23, 2015 17:20:30 GMT -5 sarah77361 said:

We want to Jamaica on our honeymoon and it wasn't my favorite. When went with a group of friends a few years later and we cruised to the cayman island and it was so nice!! I would check with the cruise lines bc a lot of them won't let you go if you are more then 24 weeks pregnant. This was a few years ago so not sure if that has changed but, when we went you had to have a letter stating that you were less then 24 weeks from your doctor.

Also, not too worried about this. The week we would go is exactly 24 weeks from this week and it's very likely I'm not pregnant at this time.

[teareading]

I've been on a few cruises, and Celebrity is hands down my favorite line. They regularly run a deal that includes a drink package where you get unlimited booze (yay!) If you are Costco members, I recommend booking through them. They have awesome customer service and always give onboard credit!

[wormy42]

You couldn't pay me to get on a cruise, never been, but it terrifies me. That said, I have always wanted to go to the Bahamas. Hope you have a blast!!

[physiomeg]

We've cruised three times....twice in the Mediterranean and once in the western Caribbean. Ironically, we used Royal Caribbean for the Europe trips and Carnival for the Caribbean trip.

I would say both of those cruise lines are comparable in terms of price, rooms, food, entertainment, and excursions/ports.

When we cruised the Caribbean we went to Cozumel, Grand Caymen, and Jamaica. I loved it! Highlights included swimming with the sting rays in Grand Caymen, and zip lining in Jamaica.

If you're looking to splurge for airfare, the Mediterranean cruises are wonderful as well. We've done Barcelona, Nice, Piza, Rome, Palermo, and Naples; and the second was Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Santorini, Athens, and Olympia. Both were fantastic, but if I had to choose one I'd do the first one over again.

Each trip was between June and August, so July would work out very well in either location.

Good luck and happy cruising

[mrsbstau]

I am planning to go on a cruise for my 30th, and I haven't been on one yet either. Looking forward to reading the responses here.

[Cythe]

Love cruising! Our next one we're hoping to go to Europe or maybe Alaska. Im pretty over the Caribbean and how I can't get off the ship without being bombarded to buy something. I know that tourism is their #1 export, but damnit its my vacation!

[teambrink]

I absolutely love cruises! Like physiomeg my favorite was a Mediterranean cruise. We did that one on Celebrity. My other cruises were on Carnival and Princess in the Caribbean. Of the three Celebrity is my favorite and I didn't care too much for Carnival (granted that was after a grand experience in the Mediterranean so I think it's just relative). I like booking through a travel agent personally, but no matter what I'm sure you will find that a cruise is one of the best ways to vacation.

[mishy2010]

We go on a cruise every year. We actually just got back from ours two weeks ago. This time we did Norwegian Getaway and sailed the Eastern Caribbean. Cythe we had the same complaint. Especially when you've been there multiple times you almost would rather stay on the boat.
I like Royal Caribbean's boats a lot more but Norwegian was enjoyable as well. My favorite cruise we did was the Western Caribbean: Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We did an excursion at each stop and had a fantastic time.

I would strongly suggest looking at what you guys enjoy the most. Do you like a nightlife? Do you want a lot of kids around? How long do you want to go? Once you figure out what you want you can narrow down choices on each cruise line.

[chickendancefever]

I loved our cruise to Bermuda. We left out of NJ in October. We didn't swim or sun bathe on the ship until our day at sea, but the ocean in Bermuda was amazing, We were docked for two days, it was only a five day cruise. Bermuda is expensive and we are hoping to go back by cruise again soon.
Edited to add: We went through Royal Caribbean.

[madamewaffles]

Love cruising! Our honeymoon was a Royal Caribbean cruise that sailed from San Juan, PR to St. Kitts, St. Martin, Barbados, Guadaloupe, and St. Thomas. My least favorite port was St. Thomas. It was very touristy and Americanized. I enjoyed Barbados the most. It felt safe and the beaches and water were absolutely pristine.

[michelleca]

I am a cruise-a-holic, our first cruise was for our honeymoon. it was great. Our favorite ports are Aruba, st.maartens, and half moon cay (ccl private island). When there is no school, cruises are more expensive. If you cruise carnival, the prices are very reasonable. The weather was great for our summer cruise. Do it

[aprilz81]

Jan 23, 2015 17:08:05 GMT -5 PonyGirl said:

DH and I are taking an anniversary trip this year and we don't know where we want to go. We've tossed the idea of a cruise around a couple times. But honestly I have no idea where to begin to start looking at those. So my question is, what's your favorite one? Favorite place to go? Just need some ideas to start looking so I can get prices. Oh, we'd be going in July, if that has any effect?

I've been on 7 cruises, 2 on Carnival (had fun, but not my style) and 5 on Royal Caribbean.

The newer ships have a lot of fun toys.  Royal Caribbean's newer ships have surfing simulators (really fun),  rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, and other fun stuff.  The two biggest ships have a zip line that runs from one side of the ship to the other.

Are you guys lay on a beach all day people or "go go go" people?  That will alter my recommendations.

Generally speaking Carnival and Royal are more alike than different.  At a glance Carnival appears cheaper, but if you compare similar size/age ships with similar itineraries the price isn't really that different.

My two favorite cruises were the southern Caribbean.  We flew to San Juan, PR and did a 7 night cruise visiting 6 islands in 7 days with only one day at sea.  The islands on these itineraries vary, but they are a bit more "exotic" and will visit places like St. Lucia (beautiful and lush like Hawaii), Barbados (beautiful beaches), and St. Thomas and a few other islands that rotate.  You can lay all day on the beach or do more adventurous things like zip lining and snorkeling with sea turtles.  The ships that sail these itineraries in the summer won't have all the bells and whistles but they are still fun.

For bells and whistles you will sail out of either Port Canaveral for Ft. Lauderdale (if sailing Royal) and you will have 3 or 4 sea days with either 3 or 4 port stops.  These cruises are actually a good mix of fun and relaxation.


Be sure to budget for airfare, crew tips, and on board spending.  Drinks average about $8 (beer is cheaper) and are not included in the price of a cruise unless you pay for an unlimited package.  Most food is free but most lines now have restaurants that have a cover charge.


My first stop for planning a cruise is www.cruisecritic.com.  There are forums for each cruise line, all the ports, new cruisers, along with reviews, pictures and tips.  It can be overwhelming, but you can find the answer to any question you can think of.


I'm happy to answer any questions I can, but that website is awesome! 

[PonyGirl]

Thank you all so much for all your help! All of these cruises sound wonderful and it's going to make my decision that much harder! Ha!

mishy2010 yes we do like nightlife, we'd prefer less kids but not that big of a deal to us, and probably 5-7 days.

aprilz81 we're a little bit of both, if that makes sense. Some days we do like to just lay out and then some days we do want to go and do stuff. Also, thank you for the website. I'll be sure to look into that!

[teambrink]

I will second the suggestion to use cruisecritic.com. It was a valuable tool in all of my cruise planning.

The cruise ships also do a great job of keeping kids occupied so adults can enjoy themselves. H and I took a cruise over Spring Break last year ( a third of the passengers that cruise were children) and we were not bothered by kids at all.

[rufus426]

We have only been on one cruise through Royal Caribbean, but it was pretty amazing. Our best friends have cruised 5 or 6 times on Carnival and love it. If we did another Caribbean cruise, it would be with Carnival (just because they are cheaper and we tend to spend more time at ports, instead of on the boat), but we are thinking next time, we will do a Mediterranean cruise on Royal.