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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 1, 2011 18:50:17 GMT -5
Hi All!
As most of you know, I am currently battling with thyroid cancer - No worries though, I am winning this battle hands down so far, and as a "light at the end of the tunnel" type motivation, Hubby and I have decided to take a cruise once I'm done with my radiation therapy, which will probably be in late March/early April.
Right now we're looking at a 7 day cruise from New York down to Florida and the Bahamas with Norweigan Cruise Line. We've never been on a cruise before, and are not quite sure what to expect. If any of you experienced cruisers could offer up some tips or advice, that would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks ;D
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Feb 1, 2011 18:54:11 GMT -5
I haven't cruised with Norwegian or to Florida/Bahamas ~ but I really enjoyed our 3-week South American Cruise (Holland America) and our 7-day Alaska Cruise (Holland America.) I think there's actually a cruise thread in EE's travel sub-forum. (Just so you know)
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 1, 2011 18:58:46 GMT -5
Wow I'd love to take a cruise to Alaska - It would be my first choice actually, but alas, it's just too expensive! And the 5 hour flight to the west coast is a big turn-off too!! lol Thanks for letting me know about the EE thread...I'll check that out
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Feb 1, 2011 19:02:12 GMT -5
Well, I'm a west coaster ~ so Alaska was less expensive for us! (So I totally understand!)
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nalto
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Post by nalto on Feb 1, 2011 19:24:17 GMT -5
Being from Seattle, I LOVE the Alaskan cruise I'd also check out the cruise thread on EE. Quick suggestions though: Be prepared to pay for drinks (sodas and adult beverages.) I think water, tea, and the like are free. Find out which restaurants will charge you and which won't. Typically, there are only a handful of places that cost more. Enjoy the buffet in the middle of the night, especially the ice cream one.
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Post by illinicheme on Feb 1, 2011 19:27:49 GMT -5
I've been on one 3-day cruise. It was a fun experience, particularly because it was a vacation with my immediate family + spouses. That said, I prefer non-cruise vacations, because I don't particularly love the motion of the boat.
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Feb 1, 2011 20:17:22 GMT -5
Check out vacationstogo.com. My family took an Alaskan cruise that I had been pricing for years. $2600 per person directly from Princess, I paid $999 per person via vacationstogo.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Feb 1, 2011 20:29:40 GMT -5
I've never been or will be on a cruise bc I am too afraid of being sea-sick and puking, but everyone who has ever taken one, LOVED IT. It seems very relaxing and nice, bc everything is right there and you can choose many different options.
I just wanted to say - I've been thinking of you and hope that you get well and healthy very soon!!! Lena
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 20:56:34 GMT -5
Always good to have something to look forward to at the end of an ordeal!
Cruisecritic.com is a good source of reviews. DH and I don't take cruises- we don't like structure on our vacations and would go crazy trying to explore a city in just the amount of time you have at port on a typical cruise. But you need to get a cruise line that fits your style. Apparently some ships have younger families, some have a lot of over 50's, some have party animals. And, as nalto said, get an idea of what you pay beyond the sticker price. Gratuities are automatically added to your bill by most lines, and you can't get away from them unless you claim to have had really bad service, which rarely happens. The lower the quoted price, the more likely everyday things are to be expensive- bottled water, wine, the surcharges for some restaurants, suntan lotion at the gift shop. You should also look into alternatives to the cruise line's port excursions- no reason you can't get off the boat and go with another guide. For some ports, though, the city you want to explore may not be within walking distance of where the ship docks.
People who want a genuinely relaxing vacation swear by cruises, but just do your research and find the right one.
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whoami
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Post by whoami on Feb 1, 2011 22:48:52 GMT -5
We've cruised on NCL...I wasn't impressed. Hated the food although we had a nice cabin (AE category). The islands activities are pretty much interchangeable regardless of where you go. The decent restaurants had surcharges and reservations filled up fast. We had a penthouse and a concierge so we were able to get what we wanted but I heard complaints from people in lower level rooms.
We also cruised on Royal Caribbean. I liked their food much better. The rest of the amenities/shore excursions were similar with NCL.
I don't care for cruisecritic.com I find the posters to be almost cult-like. If you post anything that claims less than a fantastic, fabulous experience of a life time, they will tell you why its all your fault.
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 8:26:22 GMT -5
Enjoy the buffet in the middle of the night, especially the ice cream one. OMG - Middle of the night ice cream buffet?!? Is this on Norweigan Cruise Line? That in itself is almost worth it! LOL!
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 8:28:39 GMT -5
Check out vacationstogo.com. My family took an Alaskan cruise that I had been pricing for years. $2600 per person directly from Princess, I paid $999 per person via vacationstogo. Nice discount! I'll check that out, although I was planning on booking the trip directly with the cruise line. The cruise is advertized on the NCL website as $599 plus taxes/fees, and comes out to about $800/pp. Seems pretty reasonable for a 7 day cruise.
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 8:31:54 GMT -5
I just wanted to say - I've been thinking of you and hope that you get well and healthy very soon!!! Thanks, Lena. All is going exceptionally well so far. I had surgery last week, and I am mostly recovered from it already, and now I'm just waiting for radioactive iodine treatment, which should be sometime later this month. After that, I should be all better! ;D
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Post by greeneyedchicka on Feb 2, 2011 10:59:29 GMT -5
I have been on two Royal Caribbean cruises. Loved both of them. Liked the ship, the on-board activities, the off-shore excursions, etc. I went to the Southern Caribbean both times, and would do it again. I am actually trying to schedule another one for this year. It is true that you have to pay extra for soda and alcohol. There is also typically a restaurant or two on-board that are not included in the "free" food portion of the cruise, so if you want to eat at them, you will have to pay extra.
The only thing that I would be leery of on the cruise that you are looking to schedule is that most of the time will be spent in the Atlantic Ocean, which can be rough. The Caribbean is much, much smoother. A lot of people on-board had on either anti-sea sickness bracelets or patches behind their ears. You may want to look into those if you think it might be an issue.
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hsclassic
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Post by hsclassic on Feb 2, 2011 12:20:12 GMT -5
Cruising? LOVE IT! Our favorite type of vacation. We are Princess Cruise Line fans, and enjoy Royal Caribbean as well.
As for NCL, we didn't have the best experience. From 2 different groups who took NCL cruises a year ago (on a newer NCL ship), they admit NCL to be more of a budget experience than Princess or RCL (or Holland).
If your itinerary has a lot of sea days, keep in mind that you and ALL of the other passengers will be trying to use the amenities at the same time, which means crowded pool areas and the like. If you are OK with being ship-bound with everyone for that period of time, then you've got a good itinerary. However, if the thought of that much togetherness with your fellow passengers isn't very appealing, try a different itinerary that has a port day nearly every day. (Typical of 7-day Caribbean cruises.) Just something to consider.....(in addition to all of the other great points other posters have shared with you.).
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Feb 2, 2011 12:28:08 GMT -5
Different cruise lines have different levels of formality in the dress code. I went on a cruise a few years ago that had three formal nights and a strict dining room dress code. One river cruise I went on required women to wear hair coverings if they wanted to go on the excursions to go into certain old churches. Just make sure you know what the expectations are before you pack.
Also average weight gain on a cruise is 1-2 pounds per day. It can be real hard to resist all the food and the wait staff can pressure you or bring you unordered food if they don't think you are eating enough. Plan to exercise quite a bit, use a lot of self control, or just bring some loose clothes for the end of the trip and take care of it after you get back. My parents were on one cruise where a guy at their table couldn't zip up his pants on the last day.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2011 14:26:14 GMT -5
Also average weight gain on a cruise is 1-2 pounds per day. It can be real hard to resist all the food and the wait staff can pressure you or bring you unordered food if they don't think you are eating enough. That's deplorable and wasteful. Since the staff on many of those ships come from countries where the majority of the population doesn't get 3 good meals a day, it just emphasizes the gulf between the haves and the have-nots.
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Post by tea4me on Feb 2, 2011 14:47:04 GMT -5
I have been on three cruises with different cruise lines. They were all good. I heard bad about Carnival, but I did not mind them at all. The reason I like cruises is because when you wake up you are somewhere different.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Feb 2, 2011 15:05:38 GMT -5
I agree with hsclassic - if you choose an itinerary with a lot of sea days, you'll be competing with all the other bored passengers for the activities that are planned for that day as well as the pool and other amenities.
I've cruised on Carnival and Royal Caribbean and much preferred RC. The food was better, there was more open space in the common areas and the activities seemed to be better planned. Carnival is really for a younger crowd and there were a lot of kids on the ship I was on. RC's food was good and we were able to change our table after the first night when the people at our assigned table were not very nice (to say the least). We opted to eat from the buffet set up on one of the deck's one night and that was fun too. I know some cruise lines have open seating and you can even choose which restaurant you eat at for no extra charge.
You will need to plan to pay for alcohol and soft drinks - generally water, tea and coffee are usually available at no charge, although I found that there were times when only water was available and the ice machine had not been restocked.
I brought only a few outfits that I could mix and match and one dressy outfit for formal night. I brought sandals (I went in late April-early May so it was warm/hot) for the cruise and a good pair of walking shoes along with a pair of dressy shoes for the formal night. I ended up wearing my sandals with my dressy outfit after all though. I opted for some knits so that I could wash and dry them in the room rather than having to send them to the ship's laundry. Our bathroom even had a small clothesline with a couple of clothespins that were in constant use what with wet bathing suits and washing out clothes. Next time I'll bring a couple of extra clothespins and an expandable clothesline just in case the ship doesn't have one in the bathroom.
We did a shore excursion on about half of the stops and went out on our own for the other stops and had fun on all of them.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Feb 2, 2011 15:05:56 GMT -5
Also average weight gain on a cruise is 1-2 pounds per day. It can be real hard to resist all the food and the wait staff can pressure you or bring you unordered food if they don't think you are eating enough. That's deplorable and wasteful. Since the staff on many of those ships come from countries where the majority of the population doesn't get 3 good meals a day, it just emphasizes the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. I agree it is wasteful, but I think that the extravagant food is so entrenched into the cruising experience that a cruise line would lose business to other cruise lines if they were to cut back on it. The cruise I had a real problem on was a 30 day cruise so we were on the ship long enough for the staff to notice everyone's eating habits. I ended up avoiding the dining room for breakfast and lunch, since no one at the 24 hour buffet paid attention to what we ate. The cruise staff work horrendous hours with very little time off. They get shore leave on very few of the stops. The ones I talked to still said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them because after a few seasons they will go back to their home country with enough money to start their own business. Our waitress had a small child that she left at home (Philippines) with her mom, but she felt it was the best decision for her child's future.
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Post by ca on Feb 2, 2011 15:32:06 GMT -5
My thoughts on cruises: it depends on the locations!
I very much enjoyed my souther mediterreanean cruise because I got to see so much of southern europe in a relatively short time. Each port was a completely different culture! Valencia compared to Florence compared to Santorini!!
That is much preferable (and cheaper) than flying to each place or taking one of those hellish tour busses full of fat old people. The cruise I went on was just amazing and a great way to get from point A to point B!
BUT - I wouldn't go on a cruise where I was already super familiar with the destinations or they were indistinct from eachother. I'd rather just go to the place. Like a Caribbrean cruise that hits 10 different but basically identical islands (I've lived in the islands a lot, I know from where I speak). What's the point? Just go to one of the islands and enjoy it. There is no need to pay for the cruise ship to take you from one to another of them.
I would kill to go on the Baltic Cruise that does Amsterdam, Copehaggen, Oslo, Helsinki, St Petersburg etc.! That would be so worth it.
Not so much New York to the Bahamas for me. Just go to the Bahamas instead. My 2 cents.
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april47
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Post by april47 on Feb 2, 2011 15:36:35 GMT -5
I took a cruise with Norwegian out of Boston to Quebec down the St. Lawrence to see the fall colors. Loved it! I have cruised with Norwegian before and have no complaints althought some people call it "bargain basement" . Seemed pretty darn luxurious to me!!
I did a transatlanitic plus Baltic back to back with them and it was also fantastic.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2011 15:48:18 GMT -5
I cruised the Bahamas with Norwegian. I enjoyed it. The buffet was great, I had smoked salmon every morning for breakfast. The only thing, at all the restaurants they had little Asian people at the doorway with a spray bottle to sanitize your hands. They would all sing out "Washy, washy, clean, clean". Got to the point I heard it in my sleep.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2011 16:01:47 GMT -5
I would kill to go on the Baltic Cruise that does Amsterdam, Copehagen, Oslo, Helsinki, St Petersburg etc.! That would be so worth it. We got a brochure from a company that did river cruises and almost chose one called "In the Footsteps of the Czars" that went from Odessa to Kiev. Then we did some research- lots of complaints that the rooms were tiny, the ships hadn't been remodeled since the Communist era, the common areas were too small, and the staff were overworked. This for a cruise that was going to run nearly $1,000 a night for the 2 of us before airfare. We'd been to St. Petersburg in 2003 but now we're thinking Kiev next year- on our own schedule.
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 16:34:15 GMT -5
We've cruised on NCL...I wasn't impressed. Hated the food although we had a nice cabin (AE category). Sorry, somehow I missed this post when I logged in this morning Anyway, can you elaborate on this a little bit more for me? What did you find unimpressive, other than the food? You also mentioned that the ports were not overly exciting either, but we're not really concerned with where the ship goes, we're more interested in enjoying the ship itself.
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 16:39:17 GMT -5
It is true that you have to pay extra for soda and alcohol. There is also typically a restaurant or two on-board that are not included in the "free" food portion of the cruise, so if you want to eat at them, you will have to pay extra. How much can I expect these things to cost? I know the alcohol isn't free, but is it at least reasonably priced, or am I going to be paying $10 for a rum & coke? Do you know if the cruise allows you to bring your own liquor onto the ship? Also, the restaurants where you have to pay extra, is it full cost, or just a "cover charge"? I read that on one of the RC ships, there's a Johnny Rockets restaurant that has a cover charge of something small like $4.95, and you can have pretty much all you can eat for that cover charge. Has that been the case in your experience? I've never heard of such items...And to be honest, I never considered the possibility of sea sickness. Can I buy these things at a regular pharmacy? I'm sure they're available on the ship, but would probably cost an arm and a leg.
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 16:44:41 GMT -5
As for NCL, we didn't have the best experience. From 2 different groups who took NCL cruises a year ago (on a newer NCL ship), they admit NCL to be more of a budget experience than Princess or RCL (or Holland). Hmm, not getting a lot of positive feedback for NCL...Could you please elaborate a bit more on why the experience was disappointing for you?
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Feb 2, 2011 16:47:06 GMT -5
Advice: Budget for tipping and alcohol. Check dress codes (they vary).
Do you know if the cruise allows you to bring your own liquor onto the ship?
Check the fine print. Ours did, but you weren't suppposed to drink it in public areas. The alcohol was pricey, but they had a special every happy hour that was quite reasonable. At the end of 7 days, our liquor tab was $250 for the two of us (but that included a $50 bottle of wine)
We did a 7 day river cruise in China last fall (on the Yangtze). Very, very enjoyable. The sights changed daily, but we had the same comfortable (air conditioned) cabin each night. Sitting on our small, but adequate balcony in the evening with a beer watching the sights.
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 16:59:59 GMT -5
My parents were on one cruise where a guy at their table couldn't zip up his pants on the last day. That will probably be me and Hubby...we're not really the best when it comes to self control but we're not taking a cruise so we can be "good"
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Post by cytoglycerine on Feb 2, 2011 17:09:15 GMT -5
Not so much New York to the Bahamas for me. Just go to the Bahamas instead. My 2 cents. We thought about doing just a straight up all-inclusive to somewhere in the Caribbean, but I have a strong strong dislike (read: I am completely terrified) of airplanes. So we chose the cruise out of NY because we can take a bus there - and it won't take 2 days! Also, because I have to have Radioactive Iodine treatment for the cancer, that makes it kind of a hassle to fly (aparantly, they can detect the radiation, and if you don't have the right documents or whatever to prove you're not a terrorist, they can turn you away...just not something I want to deal with). But the ports of call are not really super important to us anyway, we're more interested in hanging out on the ship.
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