Going on a cruise NEED ADVICE

Snuggle · November 19th, 2007, 12:34

I did not know where exactly to put this since it isn't exactly aviation related. I figured this would be a fitting place.

My girlfriend and I have decided to go on a cruise, we are planning to go in the middle of August 08. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before. With that said, I figure I should ask on here for some advice from those who have been there done that. We are both pretty young, (early twenties) and don't want to end up on the wrong type of cruise. We'd like to go to the Caribbean as our destination (neither have us have been to the Caribbean before either). I have 1 week of vacation to take this cruise. So I'm thinking about a 3 - 4 night cruise.

Also, a lot of these cruise deals seem to be pretty cheap. I'm guessing there's a lot of ''hidden costs'' associated with a cruise. I'd like to know what a good estimate would be for these hidden costs. I know those excursions can be pretty fun and plan on doing a couple of those.

As said before, this is our first cruise and I want it to be special. The both of us have wanted to do this for a long time. I want to make sure I end up on the right kind of cruise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

H46Bubba · November 19th, 2007, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snuggle

I did not know where exactly to put this since it isn't exactly aviation related. I figured this would be a fitting place.

My girlfriend and I have decided to go on a cruise, we are planning to go in the middle of August 08. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before. With that said, I figure I should ask on here for some advice from those who have been there done that. We are both pretty young, (early twenties) and don't want to end up on the wrong type of cruise. We'd like to go to the Caribbean as our destination (neither have us have been to the Caribbean before either). I have 1 week of vacation to take this cruise. So I'm thinking about a 3 - 4 night cruise.

Also, a lot of these cruise deals seem to be pretty cheap. I'm guessing there's a lot of ''hidden costs'' associated with a cruise. I'd like to know what a good estimate would be for these hidden costs. I know those excursions can be pretty fun and plan on doing a couple of those.

As said before, this is our first cruise and I want it to be special. The both of us have wanted to do this for a long time. I want to make sure I end up on the right kind of cruise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Check out Perx or Interline travel sites for goood deals for travel industry employees. Thise are also good for resorts with most being all inclusive (everythings paid for and incuded in the final price.)

MQAAord · November 19th, 2007, 15:46

Take with you, as in, have in your own personal luggage, enough OTC medicines to cover both of you in such cases of upset stomach, headaches, mild fevers, etc. Have Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, immodium, Pepto, cold medicine, sore throat lozenges/spray, etc.

Do NOT report to the ships doctor/infirmary unless you think you are going to die. They will quarantine you at the drop of a hat under suspicion of the Norwalk Virus if you say you have chills, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting or diarhea.

If you think you ARE going to die, by all means notify every and anyone necessary to get you to a U.S. medical facility ASAP.

Flies2Much · November 19th, 2007, 16:19

Ever considered an all inclusive resort?

I would highly recommend Couples Resorts in Jamaica... They are cheap, and they treat you like royalty. Also, all of your meals, drinks, activities, and tipping are taken care of.

Snuggle · November 19th, 2007, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by MQAAord

Take with you, as in, have in your own personal luggage, enough OTC medicines to cover both of you in such cases of upset stomach, headaches, mild fevers, etc. Have Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, immodium, Pepto, cold medicine, sore throat lozenges/spray, etc.

Do NOT report to the ships doctor/infirmary unless you think you are going to die. They will quarantine you at the drop of a hat under suspicion of the Norwalk Virus if you say you have chills, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting or diarhea.

You know, that's awesome advice. You just told me something I wouldn't have known, and could save me a lot of trouble. This is precisely why I posted on here, to find out info like this. You're the greatest! I never even heard of Norwalk Virus before..but I did some research and found some alarming information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus

If you scroll down to where it shows the virus outbreaks on cruise ships, thats quite a lot of outbreaks!

Snuggle · November 19th, 2007, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flies2Much

Ever considered an all inclusive resort?

I would highly recommend Couples Resorts in Jamaica... They are cheap, and they treat you like royalty. Also, all of your meals, drinks, activities, and tipping are taken care of.

Hmm that sounds fun, I'll have to look into it. I never thought of that.

Snuggle · November 19th, 2007, 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by H46Bubba

Check out Perx or Interline travel sites for goood deals for travel industry employees. Thise are also good for resorts with most being all inclusive (everythings paid for and incuded in the final price.)

Hey thanks a bunch, I just registered onto perx and it's showing some pretty nice deals.

MQAAord · November 19th, 2007, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snuggle

You know, that's awesome advice. You just told me something I wouldn't have known, and could save me a lot of trouble. This is precisely why I posted on here, to find out info like this. You're the greatest! I never even heard of Norwalk Virus before..but I did some research and found some alarming information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus

If you scroll down to where it shows the virus outbreaks on cruise ships, thats quite a lot of outbreaks!

You're welcome. Sadly we learned the above mentioned the hard way.

My in-laws took their first-ever cruise about 3 years ago. While on the trip, they ate something bad on one of their off-boat excursions. Not unusual, considering they were in a strange place eating strange foods. Something didn't agree with them and it made them sick to their stomachs. My MIL went to the ship's infirmary, since the ship's store conveniently didn't carry immodium (they WANT you to go to the ship's doc instead of buying OTC stomach relief). She naively answered all the doc's questions TOO honestly, (example: responsing with a yes when asked if she had chills. She's always cold, of course she had "chills"!) The barely-English-speaking "doctor" was just running down a checklist of questions, and based solely on her answers, they were quarantened and given the choice to either stay quaranteened the entire rest of the cruise or get off at the next stop and go home. Within about 10 hours, they were both totally fine again. But, the quarantine was not allowed to be lifted. Period.

It was a horrible experience (in many ways), that has soured us to the entire cruise experience. The way they were treated by the cruise line (Celebrity Cruises?) was just awful.

Kristie · November 19th, 2007, 23:04

perx usually shows the best deals.. i haven't used them to book yet but that's typically where i get all my information.

one piece of advice, don't wait for hte last minute if you see a cruise you like at the price you like....it can be gone the next day!

Also, make sure you read a lot of reviews for each cruise line....some cruises are known as "employee cruises" vs "passenger cruises"... we had that experience on our 2nd Alaska cruise on Princess...catered more to the employee than to us (we were pretty discouraged). whereas our 1st Alaska cruise on Holland America was all about catering to us...we really enjoyed that cruise!

Stapp0770 · November 20th, 2007, 15:23

dont forget, you will have the "option" to tip your room maid and your waiter/waitress and the busser at the end of the trip!

cTnT1786 · November 20th, 2007, 15:57

Hidden Costs:

My parents just got back from their second cruise. They went last year on Royal Carribean stopping in the Western Carribean. They also just returned last week from a Princess cruise to the Eastern Carribean. They said there really aren't any hidden costs except alcohol and pop. Alcohol is not included with the all-inclusive plan unlike many hotels. Pop, however, an additional fee is required but you get unlimited. The cost is around $30 i believe. Food is included.

Recomendations:

I would suggest going for at least a full week. 4 days is too short, of course this is depending on the person. if you go for 4-5 days you will be stoping off on shore maybe 2 times.

Again this is all coming from what I have heard from my parents.

If you have any specific questions PM me and I can ask them.

kellwolf · November 21st, 2007, 11:27

A lot of the people here swear by Perx on both cruises and all-inclusive resorts. I flew with a CA not too long ago that did an all-inclusive in Cozumel with her two kids and her husband for $700 a night, and the kids were free. Sounded expensive to me until she mentioned all meals, entertainment, child care and ALCOHOL were included in the price. Had a guy on the JS the other day that did one of the cruises where everything was included but alcohol, and he said it was fantastic. Basically just did the Mexican coastline, but is was called an Western Carribean cruise. Both of those were straight off of Perx.

When we finally have the $$$ and time to do something like that, Perx is the first place I'm checking.

WindyCityPilot · November 21st, 2007, 17:32

Might want to pack one of these:

Snuggle · November 21st, 2007, 18:46

I don't think my gf would be too happy about that! Ha

SkyCougar · November 21st, 2007, 20:22

Hi ya Snugs,

Basically you get what you pay for in cruises. If you want a bare bones cruise, then the 3-4 day "party ships" are a good choice. Most of them are filled with younger, heavy- partying types. August is also hurricane season in the Caribbean, so there is always a chance that it could be cancelled or re-routed to get around a storm. The flip side of that though is that there is usually more availability then, which = deals.

Snuggle · November 21st, 2007, 20:43

I was actually thinking about those Disney cruises. I'm a big fan of everything Disney and thought maybe those would be pretty cool.

kellwolf · November 21st, 2007, 23:10

As a former Disney employee, go with one of the other cruises. With the Disney cruises you're paying extra for the name "Disney." You'll get more bang for your buck with another cruise operator.

Kevin.Held · November 29th, 2007, 11:31

If you're thinking disney go to www.mousesavers.com. It's an independent site devoted to saving money on disney trips. Look into renting DVC points. Disney Vacation Club is Disney's version of a timeshare. DVC members pay their yearly dues for "points" that can be used at any disney hotel, cruise or even non-disney locations. It's easy to find people who are selling their points. My girlfriend and I stayed 6 nights at a deluxe hotel (saratoga springs) for $1080. The same trip on disney's website would have been $2100 plus tax. I think we found ours on the www.mouseowners.com forums. You can also use the site to find out how many points certain vacations will cost.

Good luck