need ingo's help with cruises

[Ingomike]

I am no longer a cruise rookie. And will share what I learned. There are many important things no one warned me about because no one else is me and has my individual needs and wants.

We we used a travel agent and had a better deal than most I talked to and we met no one with a better deal. They cost you nothing and should add professional insight to you needs and selections.

The best deal will not be a package with flights, use an app like sky scanner to find flights and check it several times a day until you get the rate you want.

I drink lots of water, particularly at night. Bottled water was $6 a liter. They do not make it easy to get water to fill your own bottles. Try and learn the details of your particular needs and get it in a package. I like Starbucks level coffee, not cafeteria coffee and the coffee shop was expensive and not included in our upgraded alcohol drinks package. You cannot bring any drinks of any kind onboard without being charged to bring it, so not bringing water, coffee, alcohol etc.

Look at the drink packages closely to determine if what you want is included. If you are booking several months ahead once you book the cruise itself they are regularly sending emails about deals on options you can add. It is easy once on board to meet new friends and you may have more drinks than you expect, they are very pricey onboard not in a package.

As for food, if your families favorite dinner out is Golden Corral you will be fine with the cafeteria. If your tastes run higher you will want an upscale dining package. I will personally guarantee that the upscale dining package is no Ruth's Chris level, more like Charlston quality food, very good but not 4 star.

Once you know your ship there are many sources online that will offer ship maps with cabin layouts with some even offering reviews of specific cabins from recent users. For instance one cabin we liked the location of was below the nightclub dance floor, reviews noted you heard stomping late into the night so we avoided that one, another I'd avoid being above the spa if heavy fragrances bother you. So look above and below to see what may affect you.

As for the old balcony vs interior cabin debate, just how comfortable are you with not being able to see out? I couldn't imagine staying in an interior cabin. I felt claustrophobic just looking in them as the rooms are very small and without the balcony felt even tighter. We slept every night at sea with the slider open listening to the ship move through the water, it was wonderful.

Do not let anyone tell you what you should do, spend the time and figure out what works for you and your family as it is a lot of money to be unhappy doing it...

just remembered, Internet and text, your phones do not work on the ship. What are your families needs there? The ship offers a $10 charge that allowed texting and voice calls through their app to others onboard. Find out what your ship offers. The early offers are far better than the offers for Internet onboard. Where are you going for excursions? Will your phones work there? Do you need a package for that?

 

[JettaKnight]

I drink lots of water, particularly at night. Bottled water was $6 a liter. They do not make it easy to get water to fill your own bottles. Try and learn the details of your particular needs and get it in a package. I like Starbucks level coffee, not cafeteria coffee and the coffee shop was expensive and not included in our upgraded alcohol drinks package. You cannot bring any drinks of any kind onboard without being charged to bring it, so not bringing water, coffee, alcohol etc.

I did just fine with the iced tea, coffee and juice that was available without paying for a drink package.

That was on Royal Caribbean, so YMMV.




Full disclosure: I own RCL stock, so I want everyone to pay for all the shore trips and drinks packages and gambling... but I actually don't like being on a cruise ship.

 

[510picker]

Ingomike gave some good advice above. I will second the advice of using a good travel agent. There are many different cruise lines to choose from and they all vary somewhat. A good travel agent can help you decide which is the best fit for you.

One thing I have found is, the shorter the cruise, the lower the class of your fellow passengers. Not trying to be judgemental, just stating what I’ve observed. If I were taking children on a cruise, I would never do anything shorter than a five day cruise.

The time of year you cruise has a big impact on the price you pay. Simple supply and demand. Want to cruise in March? You will pay spring break prices and be on a ship loaded with kids. We have found the week before Thanksgiving and the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to be some of the cheapest.

Cruising may not be for everyone, but obviously many people enjoy it, so I say go for it and form your own opinion. My wife and I are in our forties and we don’t have kids. I am in a wheelchair from a motocross accident in 1995. Wheelchairs complicate vacations. We have found cruising to be a great vacation for us. We’ve taken 16 cruises.....two on Carnival, two on Royal Caribbean and twelve on Holland America. We’ve never had a bad cruise, but we obviously found which line fits us best. Finding which line fits you and your family best will help make sure you have an enjoyable vacation. I am not a travel agent, but would be happy to help on any way.

 

[gregkl]

We went once the week before Thanksgiving. We will probably go at the same time again. The ship wasn't full, hardly any kids since they were in school so it was not crazy crowded...anywhere.

 

[jek]

Location would be important too I think. How would the advice differ from say Caribbean to Alaska? Beyond temperature obviously.

Good note on the water thing. Thats just mean.

 

[510picker]

We went once the week before Thanksgiving. We will probably go at the same time again. The ship wasn't full, hardly any kids since they were in school so it was not crazy crowded...anywhere.

This is exactly what we have experienced. Holland America tends to have less kids than other lines. We were on a Holland America cruise in 2015 the week before Thanksgiving. We were talking to a crew member that said there were twelve kids under 18 that week. The following week (Thanksgiving week) there were going to be over 300.

 

[Ingomike]

I did just fine with the iced tea, coffee and juice that was available without paying for a drink package.

That was on Royal Caribbean, so YMMV.




Full disclosure: I own RCL stock, so I want everyone to pay for all the shore trips and drinks packages and gambling... but I actually don't like being on a cruise ship.

That did nothing to get me palatable water to take medication and vitamins with in my cabin and to sip in the night. We went rogue and filled our day canteens to drink at night despite the signs saying not to. The iced tea was soda machine pre-mix not brewed, the coffee tasted like it was left overnight on a burner, though we waited for it to be "fresh" made, and the juice was far from fresh squeezed, cheap bottled crap. Some may be satisfied with that, I just want the OP to know the real of it.

I hope my posts are not conveying my opinion but rather info to make decisions from whether or not we individually like something is irrelevant to the OP's needs.

 

[actaeon277]

As a Navy veteran, I could never understand why anyone would pay to go to sea?

I think a Navy Cruise, and a Civilian Cruise, might just be slightly different.

 

[femurphy77]

I think a Navy Cruise, and a Civilian Cruise, might just be slightly different.

Buggery ratios and all that.




And the guns, bombs, orders, I'm guessing the Lido deck on a carrier or sub probably doesn't have a wave pool or swim up bar.

 

[DCR]

Several years ago we went on a 5-day Western Caribbean cruise with Norwegian. With Norwegian you get to eat all day if you want, but you will get tired of their food around day 3, so get some dinner upgrades, get in line the minute you hit the ship. While we enjoyed it and we relaxed, you can burn out on it, there's lots to do. We tried to book another one last year, but the prices have gotten out of hand. Plus we know however much they advertise it costing, it will cost double by the time you're done. We have good memories, but don't need to do it again.

 

[jndturner]

We just got back yesterday from a RCL Bahamas cruise. It was a good trip. My wife and kids got the upgraded drink package, I just did the soda package. The biggest issue with the soda package is that there are four coke freestyle machines on the ship. Two on deck 5, the others on deck 11 in the cafeteria. These were not working or needed to be filled most of the time. Finding water on board is difficult. The refreshment package is decent as you get upgraded coffee on Deck 5, water bottles, and virgin boat drinks.
We were on the Mariner of the Seas, the public area are updated nicely. The staterooms not so much. The issue we would run into next time is our 9 and 11 year old daughters will not fit onto the pull out sofa, they are tall for their ages but wow it was small. I think the sofa was original equipment on the ship. We splurged on the Junior Suite last Christmas when they had very good pricing. We also did a cabana on their island. This was a nice splurge as we did not have to walk back and forth to get our meal and drinks and could spend more time at the beach. We did not get off of the ship in Nassau. Most cruises are packed on deck on the at sea days. My suggestion is to spend time off the pool deck on at sea days.
if you are planning on driving think about where you are going to. We lost about 5 hours in Georgia due to congestion. Ended up spending another night out but had a great time with the family.
RCL was good, Disney a couple of years ago was great but feel our kids have outgrown it. We did a Carnival Cruise for our honeymoon and swore we would not go back.
I recommend looking at cruise critic and finding what suits you best.

 

[indytechnerd]

I'm going to go contrary to the rest and say pick Carnival. Specifically, pick the 5-day our of New Orleans. Something similar to this

Here's why...

• You're travelling with teens. Carnival caters to families, and their teen options are fantastic. I've been on 4 Carnival trips in the last 6 years or so, 3 of them with our kids, who are now 16 and 19. They love it. If your teens get bored, your trip will suck. I recommend getting them the unlimited soft drink package, it's worth every penny and you don't have to worry about them racking up a bunch of drink purchases.
• Book 2 staterooms, interior, cheapest you can find. It's a place to sleep, who cares about the view. Getting 2 allows the kids to have their own room, you just need to shuffle around keycards and such, which can be done once you board.
• Book excursions VERY early, like as soon as you can. As posted above, the good ones sell out and the not-so-good ones, are, well, not so good. Keep in mind stuff like the ATV tours won't be so cool with the teens having to ride on the back with you and your wife because they're not 18 and can't drive the ATV themselves.
• Unless you and your wife are heavy drinkers, DO NOT buy the unlimited grownup beverage package. On Carnival, it's $100 a day and all adults in the group must get it. So, $1000 bucks for your 5-day trip. That equates out to about 17 beers, or 9 mixed drinks, per person per day.
• Check out the ship you'll be travelling on before you book the trip. Some ships have more/better options than others. Typically, the bigger the ship and longer the cruise, the more stuff there is to do. This is especially true when searching for dining options. As posted above, the buffet is OK for general munching, and the dining room is OK for dinner, but if the ship has a steakhouse, do it one night instead of the normal dinner. Worth the money.
• Now, why did I mention Nawlins as your port? Accessibility from the Hoosier state. With a family of 4, you're looking at nearly $2k for plane tix if you wanna sail out of Miami or something like that. Nawlins can be driven in a day. Drive down a couple days early, see the sights, then get up rested the day you sail, grab breakfast, and head to the port.
• Never, never, try to make the port by driving in that day. You can board up until the ship actually pulls away from the dock, but getting on board as soon as you're able means more relaxation time.

Good luck and enjoy whichever line/trip you choose. A cruise is as easy of a vacation as there is, it can be done with little to no thinking whatsoever once you've boarded.

 

[510picker]

I'm going to go contrary to the rest and say pick Carnival. Specifically, pick the 5-day our of New Orleans. Something similar to this

Here's why...

• You're travelling with teens. Carnival caters to families, and their teen options are fantastic. I've been on 4 Carnival trips in the last 6 years or so, 3 of them with our kids, who are now 16 and 19. They love it. If your teens get bored, your trip will suck. I recommend getting them the unlimited soft drink package, it's worth every penny and you don't have to worry about them racking up a bunch of drink purchases.
• Book 2 staterooms, interior, cheapest you can find. It's a place to sleep, who cares about the view. Getting 2 allows the kids to have their own room, you just need to shuffle around keycards and such, which can be done once you board.
• Book excursions VERY early, like as soon as you can. As posted above, the good ones sell out and the not-so-good ones, are, well, not so good. Keep in mind stuff like the ATV tours won't be so cool with the teens having to ride on the back with you and your wife because they're not 18 and can't drive the ATV themselves.
• Unless you and your wife are heavy drinkers, DO NOT buy the unlimited grownup beverage package. On Carnival, it's $100 a day and all adults in the group must get it. So, $1000 bucks for your 5-day trip. That equates out to about 17 beers, or 9 mixed drinks, per person per day.
• Check out the ship you'll be travelling on before you book the trip. Some ships have more/better options than others. Typically, the bigger the ship and longer the cruise, the more stuff there is to do. This is especially true when searching for dining options. As posted above, the buffet is OK for general munching, and the dining room is OK for dinner, but if the ship has a steakhouse, do it one night instead of the normal dinner. Worth the money.
• Now, why did I mention Nawlins as your port? Accessibility from the Hoosier state. With a family of 4, you're looking at nearly $2k for plane tix if you wanna sail out of Miami or something like that. Nawlins can be driven in a day. Drive down a couple days early, see the sights, then get up rested the day you sail, grab breakfast, and head to the port.
• Never, never, try to make the port by driving in that day. You can board up until the ship actually pulls away from the dock, but getting on board as soon as you're able means more relaxation time.

Good luck and enjoy whichever line/trip you choose. A cruise is as easy of a vacation as there is, it can be done with little to no thinking whatsoever once you've boarded.

Good advice above and I agree that Carnival would be a good fit for a family with kids. We did a 5 day Carnival cruise out of New Orleans in 2017 and enjoyed it. Overall Carnival isn't the best fit for us, since we have no kids, but it was the best fit for us under the circumstances. It was a last minute booking and we wanted something we could drive to.

 

[chachi73]

great advice guys! I really appreciate it.

 

[Ingomike]

I'm going to go contrary to the rest and say pick Carnival. Specifically, pick the 5-day our of New Orleans. Something similar to this

Here's why...

• You're travelling with teens. Carnival caters to families, and their teen options are fantastic. I've been on 4 Carnival trips in the last 6 years or so, 3 of them with our kids, who are now 16 and 19. They love it. If your teens get bored, your trip will suck. I recommend getting them the unlimited soft drink package, it's worth every penny and you don't have to worry about them racking up a bunch of drink purchases.
• Book 2 staterooms, interior, cheapest you can find. It's a place to sleep, who cares about the view. Getting 2 allows the kids to have their own room, you just need to shuffle around keycards and such, which can be done once you board.
• Book excursions VERY early, like as soon as you can. As posted above, the good ones sell out and the not-so-good ones, are, well, not so good. Keep in mind stuff like the ATV tours won't be so cool with the teens having to ride on the back with you and your wife because they're not 18 and can't drive the ATV themselves.
• Unless you and your wife are heavy drinkers, DO NOT buy the unlimited grownup beverage package. On Carnival, it's $100 a day and all adults in the group must get it. So, $1000 bucks for your 5-day trip. That equates out to about 17 beers, or 9 mixed drinks, per person per day.
• Check out the ship you'll be travelling on before you book the trip. Some ships have more/better options than others. Typically, the bigger the ship and longer the cruise, the more stuff there is to do. This is especially true when searching for dining options. As posted above, the buffet is OK for general munching, and the dining room is OK for dinner, but if the ship has a steakhouse, do it one night instead of the normal dinner. Worth the money.
• Now, why did I mention Nawlins as your port? Accessibility from the Hoosier state. With a family of 4, you're looking at nearly $2k for plane tix if you wanna sail out of Miami or something like that. Nawlins can be driven in a day. Drive down a couple days early, see the sights, then get up rested the day you sail, grab breakfast, and head to the port.
• Never, never, try to make the port by driving in that day. You can board up until the ship actually pulls away from the dock, but getting on board as soon as you're able means more relaxation time.

Good luck and enjoy whichever line/trip you choose. A cruise is as easy of a vacation as there is, it can be done with little to no thinking whatsoever once you've boarded.

All I know is we paid for an adult beverage package when we bought the cruise or shortly there after and paid Norwegian less than $150 for, per person, it for a 7 day cruise. Get a travel agent to help you navigate this stuff, they cost you nothing. If you drink lite beer maybe not worth it, I killed them on mine, I don't drink anything cheap, likely averaged 7 $10+ drinks a day. Sounds like a lot but they go fast, after returning from excursion meet guys in cigar lounge = 3 cognac $14 each, cocktail and 2-3 glasses of wine with 2-3 hour dinner $10 each, finish evening at the lookout bar and a couple more night caps.

 

[indytechnerd]

All I know is we paid for an adult beverage package when we bought the cruise or shortly there after and paid Norwegian less than $150 for, per person, it for a 7 day cruise.

You must have got a special deal then.

Enjoy a wide selection of soft drinks, beers, spirits, cocktails, wines by the glass and bottled or draft beer up to and including $15 USD during your entire cruise.

Prepaid @ $99.00 USD per person per day x Cruise Days plus 20% gratuity and beverage service charge.

 

[Ingomike]

You must have got a special deal then.

Travel Agent got it...

 

[Rotten Apple]

We prefer Royal Princess cruise line. We've traveled many times with teens and RP has been the best experience. We also tried Norwegian [not bad] and Carnival [very bad experience].
It's funny that Carnival is the parent company of many cruise lines but tends to be at the bottom of their own company when it comes to quality -IMHO.
RP was extremely clean and had amazing staff.
All good points above - especially using a competent travel agent. Ours has constantly saved us several hundred on each trip plus lots of great upgrades.
Also, I like peace and quiet sometimes - so, a balcony room for me and the wife while the kids get an interior state room across the hall. The balcony is a costly upgrade but worth every penny - for me.
Yes, buy the drink [soft drink and adult] the first day - I didn't do this a couple times and ended up spending multiple times the cost of what I could have paid by paying as we go.

Also, if your a typical guy that likes machinery - be sure to sign up for the ship tour. This cost $150 and was 4 hours. We got to see all the behind the scenes workings of a massive floating city and ended up on the bridge with the captain for about an hour!

 

[Ingomike]

You must have got a special deal then.

The Travel Agent said she still has that deal available, upgrade to a balcony and get drink package, excursion package, wifi package, and a dining package. Things like the drink package were broken out on our bill though in a package.

Get a Travel Agent to find the package for you...

 

[warren5421]

I have done 11 cruises most on Holland America and the rest on Canard Lines. Holland America has few kids and more in the 50 plus group. I use the Canard Lines to cross the water to England. I have stayed in most of the rooms. Where you are going should determine where to stay. A 5 day cruise I would do an inside room as you will be in a different port every morning so nothing to see during the ship going from port to port. We never use an agent as we decide where we want to go and book our self. We don't buy any drink packages as water is always in the 24 hour cafeteria. We don't drink so any adult drink is not worth it. I know there is a big difference in price on the Norwegian Lines if you take their upgrades or just get the room. We are doing a Med cruise on Norwegian Lines and there was over $1000 difference between with and without packages. We know what we want and like, wifi in port off the ship etc. Wifi is free in most ports if you look, make sure your phone service is free on ships. I had a $300 bill for service on one ship as they did not see my phone was for their service, it ended up free but it took some phone calls.