Cruise questions from a virgin- with review

We have been looking for a quick(3-5 day) getaway. Cruises came up as a possibility. I have never been, in fact have said I never would. But price and availability are good, airfare is reasonable- so what the hell. Would be one of the big lines- Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean.

Couple questions

Is it worth paying for an upgrade to room situation? I realize these rooms are small- but I don’t see us spending too much time in it. Will be at least getting a room with a window- or is that not a big deal either?

Any thoughts on which line is better? They all seem to be similar

What is included? I see some have upcharges for “premium spirits” packages. What other hidden fees are they that I am not seeing?

Is this just a bad idea?

Any thoughts and input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’m sure you are going to get a lot of different opinions but I’ve been going on cruises with my family for a long time and have been on met the major lines you mentioned.

Question 1: do you have kids? If so, how old?

The reason I ask is because I think the different lines attract different crowds. “In general” I’d say:

Carnival = young kids and families
Royal Caribbean: families but maybe not as young of kids as you’d get on carnival.
Celebrity = good mix of everyone
Princess= 50/60+ (honestly, many senior citizens)

Also, where you depart from makes a lot of difference. We did a cruise out of LA once vs ft Lauderdale and I thought the crowd was pretty fun.

I’d say the food was best on celebrity and princess. People complain about cruise food but IMO it’s going to blow away most resort/all inclusive food out there.

We always enjoy ourselves. I’d take a cruise 10/10 times vs any all inclusive.

If you are heading to the Caribbean on any of these lines I think you will be disappointed. I am sure others may disagree. I am a big Celebrity fan and have had great cruises to Europe and Alaska. That being said the one we took to the Caribbean was barely OK. It wasn’t because of the ship or the service or the food. It was really because of the other passengers and the atmosphere of the ship. The pool area was disgusting, packed with drunk people trying to eat as much food as possible. Went for 15 min and left never to return. The over all vibe of the ship is not really about the destinations which is what you find in Europe and Alaska but more of a party type cruise. Caribbean cruises can get pretty inexpensive and I definitely think this reflected in the people on board and what is expected. The only way I would go back to the Caribbean on a cruise ship would be to go with one of the high end lines like Crystal, SilverSeas etc.

In regards to your question about a room. No way in hell I would ever go less than a Balcony cabin. The interior cabins are jail cells. You say you are not going to spend a lot of time in the room which may be true but it is still nice to get up in the morning and have the ability to step outside and have a cup of Coffee. I also find it extremely relaxing to sit outside with a drink or glass of wine and just watch the ocean pass by. One of my favorite things to do on a ship. We have stayed in Penthouse suites and regular balcony cabins and those in-between. IMO the room definitely makes a difference in the quality of your cruise. Unless you are going to drink a ton the premium spirit packages were not worth it to me.

That is my $0.02

George

Definitely echo George’s rec of getting a balcony room.

Thanks for the tips! Really looking to escape winter a bit.

George- looking for something a bit on the cheap! And happy birthday!

Looking into a room with a balcony…does sound like the way to go!

I only have experience on Celebrity in Europe but I echo a lot that has been said - at a minimum get a terrace/balcony and if possible wait to book when pricing drops and splurge on a suite. The entry level ones on Celebrity are 50% wider than a typical balcony room and believe me the extra space is a blessing.

I thought the same thing as you thinking we wouldn’t be in room much but actually we were. Had breakfast on our balconies daily (same exact food as restaurant) and you can’t beat the view/ambiance.
Definetely a no on the alcohol package, for us to break even we would have been plastered all day. And yes the food is pretty darn good, at least on our boat.

The Caribbean trips do look like a mess. If you have toddlers go Disney.

Is that a Virgin or a Vegan ? [scratch.gif]

I’ve been on Celebrity and Princess.

Princess Mini Suites are great and often reasonably priced. I agree with many above - sitting on a private balcony can be some of the best time spent on ship.

I found service better on Princess but food much better on Celebrity. The specialty extra-charge restaurants are often worth the upcharge.

Their wine options on both were ok and not outrageously priced.

On Caribbean trips, your fellow passengers can be “trashy”. Many ships have extra fee private areas with names like “The Sanctuary” that offer a more upscale feel.

We got back from this amazing cruise [cayamo.com]. I have to throw the caveat out that normal cruises are not my cup of tea so take my comments with the appropriate tub of salt. We have done this particular cruise/music festival 7 times and we really prefer having a balcony cabin. Our balcony offered prime viewing for watching brown boobies hunt flying fish that were scared out of the water by the ship. Spectacular.

For us, the cruise line and destination were never as much of a consideration as was the groups we put together. As a group, it was always a party of varying size depending on who wanted to what ashore. If you are not going as a group, go on Princess with the older crowd.

If you choose dinner seatings, take the late one. That way you are never rushed while ashore, enjoying any on-board entertainment and can have a relaxing pre-dinner cocktail at the near empty bars. Our first cruise was on Princess to the Caribbean with a group of 20, ages 25 to 60. Shore excursions were on our own, not packages from the cruise line and they were so-so. Scuba diving St. Thomas was a blast. We had a huge window in our cabin towards the bow. We’d sit on the window sill and stare out all the time. After that, we had a balcony on all subsequent cruises.

Ok we are booked. Celebrity Constellation out of Ft Lauderdale. First week in March. Cabin with a veranda. 5 night Caribbean deal. Will report back

Thanks for input !

Bon Voyage

George

Enjoy your trip. We have sailed the Constellation although it was quite some years ago. Not too big and not too small. Our cruise was longer and in the Baltic so a balcony was not important. A little too cool because it was early summer. That said, the food was good, the staff was good and we would sail them again.

Unlike some others, the destination/ports are what drives us. We recently completed 24 days Cape Town to Buenos Aires on Ocenia Marina. In August a short 11 day British Isle sail again on the Marina and next year 39 days Singapore to Rome on Oceania Insignia. Did I say, we like cruising!

Bon voyage!

check out http://www.cruisecritic.com for your particular ship for reviews. You might be able to bring your own wine but it depends on the line.

Same thing…no meat.

Celebrity has pretty ships with excellent food. But, expect a very old crowd and not much for young people on a Celebrity cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

Howard- that is actually very good news!! We are old too!!

Holland America’s slogan-newly wed or nearly dead. [wow.gif] [snort.gif]

Jay: Sorry that you could not make Falltacular. Enjoy the cruise and report back. We have never seen the Caribbean and I think it will come up in the future.


Cheers
Marshall [cheers.gif]

Ok back from our first cruise- which I was a bit leery about.

Celebrity Lines- and the Constellation was our ship. 5 night cruise. Booking process was a breeze- we did upgrade to a room with a veranda, which was great. The rooms are small, but bed was comfortable and did have plenty of storage for clothes. We also got one “free” upgrade option and $300 in on board credit. We did choose the classic drink package. Used the credit for upgrading that and for unlimited internet(needed for work). Note on this- you could have pre-purchased the internet for $199- but was offered on board for $149.

We left out of Ft Lauderdale- lots of flight options from Chicago and it is a very quick cab to the Port. Cab ride was like $15.

Check in process was a breeze at the Port- I did mention to Diane that we ARE the young ones! Noticed a few spring breakers- but not too many. Got on to the ship a couple hours before we left port- we were hungry so headed up to the buffet for lunch. Lots of options- and was fine. This was the only time we went to the buffet.

We did choose the early dining option- and you are seated at the same table with a group of others. We had a very nice group- I can see that if you don’t this could be miserable. They do have open seating option available. Food was fine in the main dining room- not great but certainly very passable. The same dining room has open seating for breakfast and lunch- which we took advantage of and passed on the buffet. Couple wine options available at lunch and dinner.

We did eat one night, my birthday at Ocean Liners. This is the fine dining option. We also had the wine pairings- was actually a very nice meal and the wines were ok. Ridge Zin poured with the venison main.

Ports included Key West and Cozumel. Key West- been there before so Diane and I just got out and walked around- touristy stuff. Was fine. Cozumel we booked a snorkeling trip with CozumelH2O- really fun and some great snorkeling. Didn’t realize how nice the reefs are at Cozumel. 4 hours of snorkeling is more than enough- and the sea was a bit rough with the wind. Tons of reef fish, rays, schools of jacks and barracuda. Highly recommended.

We did go to one comedy show on board, spent about 30 minutes in the casino. The gym on board is very nice- great equipment. We heard the shows were pretty good. The pools were also nice- but got very packed when we were at sea.

Overall- very nice trip. Do some research on your cruise line. Probably wait awhile before going again. We did meet some very nice people on board.

Oh- and I did bring a couple bottles of wine with me on board- but never opened them. Plan was to have a glass in our room but never did. $25 corkage to bring into any of the restaurants.