Cruises
 

Hey guys! My Mr and I are thinking of going on a cruise for our 1 year wedding anniversary-it's aways away, but we're looking into all the info, prices, destinations, etc in advance-and we've decided to do a 7 night cruise of the Carribean. But the last cruise I went on was when I was 7 and I don't remember what line it was on. Have any of you gone on a cruise recently? Can you recommend a good line to go with? What lines should I avoid? Any help will be appreciated so much. Thanks ya'll!!

I have recently heard not so good things about Noregian Cruise Line (NCL). Holland American Line is nice, classy, but expensive. Carnival Crusies are ok and not so expensive. I've heard ok things about Royal Carribean, but have not been on their ships. It all depends on the particular ship. You may find you want to join in on alot of the planned activities, or just sit at the pool with a book all day, it depends what you want to make of it. Have fun and happy cruising!

cant go wrong with the royal carribian. its affordable and nice. they have a lot of fun things that go along with the cruise. like fun tours on your stops and thing like that.

I have been on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. They were both great and I had a fun time on both.

I had a wonderful time when my boyfriend and I took the Norwegian Cruise Line Dawn from NY to Florida and the Bahamas. We will take that cruise again for my birthday next month. The port is only a few minutes from our home so it is very conveniently located. You can check out www.ncl.com for information about cruises. :)

i've been on both norwegian and royal caribbean. i liked the royal caribbean ship better, just because it was newer and had a lot more to offer. although i definitely had a great time on both ships!

I took a Carnival cruise several years back and loved it. I'd go with Carnival again. I've also heard good things about Celebrity cruises.

I also did the Big Red Boat, when it was affiliated with Disney, but that was geared much more toward families with small kids.

Our Alumni Assn is going on a cruise in June. We are sailing from Galveston to Mexico and its a short 4 day jobber on Carnival. Should be fun.

I have been on Holland-America. It was cool, IF YOURE 80. I guess thats why my grandparents thought it was cool. lol

I have only cruised Carnival and I have nothing but good things to say about it.

My husband has also cruised Norwegian and had a crappy time. The A/C went out and everyone slept on deck!

We are looking to cruise again in the not-so-distant future. I think we will look based on cruise route and price. We live close enough to NYC to cruise last minute, which is a great way to save mucho dinero!

Also, which line you pick should depend upon your tolerance for certain kinds of atmosphere. For instance, we don't mind seeing kids running around and we love to be casual so Carnival was okay for us (seemed very campy :)). But if you are looking for something formal, I would suggest one of the higher-end lines.

i've taken a number of them with my family...
i would echo that royal carribean is excellent, princess is a little tight (i just took a cruise here over christmas, alcohol was more pricey than rcl and entertainment was weak, although the stage shows were not), norwegian was a little boring, and a hawaii one (the line doesn't exist anymore).

Mrs. DeltAlum and I are going on our first cruise next week, so I'll try to remember to let you know.

We're going on Royal Carribean -- five days/four nights -- squeezing it onto the end of a business meeting in Miami.

Looking forward to it.

One thing: it appears that these cruises work like a European tour we took some years ago. The tour itself is relatively inexpensive, but all of the little side excursions add up in a hurry.

Of course, you don't have to buy them -- but they're damn tempting.

I'm going on another cruise in a little over five weeks. woo woo

Anyone been on an Alaskan cruise? Mr. BR and I have been talking about taking one for our honeymoon, but we don't know anybody who's been on one to get feedback from.

I don't know about the actual cruise line but I do know that the cruises around the Mediteranean are very nice. My great-great uncles went on one around the Mediteranean and decided that was the best cruise to ever go on.

My boyfriend is taking me on Norwegian Cruise Line Dawn which sails from NYC to Florida and then the Bahamas and back to NYC. We leave on a Sunday and return on the following Sunday. We went on this cruise on July and liked it so much that we are going on it again. :)

Here is the itinerary:

Sun. New York, NY 4:00pm
Mon. At Sea
Tues. Port Canaveral, Florida 9:00am to 8:00pm
Wed. Miami, Florida 9:00am to 6:00pm
Thu. Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas 8:00am to 6:00pm
Fri. Nassau, Bahamas 7:00am to 2:00pm
Sat. At Sea
Sun. New York, NY 10:00am*

* Disembarkation usually begins two hours after docking.

I can't wait. It will be so much fun!

Somebody recently told me that on some lines, the passengers are all a bunch of drunk college kids because they aren't old enou....

Ooooops. Never mind.

I've never been on a cruise but I really want to go on a Joe Perillo Cruise. This guy has commercials all day in NY. He says he's Mr. Italy. Also now he has a cruise to the holy land. I really want to take a cruise with Mr. Italy.

-Rudey

Have you noticed that a younger Perillo is doing those commercials? I wonder what happened to the older guy. :(

OK well last I remember a couple years ago he introduced his son and it was Perillo and sons. I think the father is maxing and relaxing in Italy.

-Rudey

Maxing and relaxing in Italy, I like that. :)

I have. It was wonderful! We combined it with a train tour of the interior of the state. Denali (Mt. McKinlley) was beautiful. The cruise was on a Holland American Line inside passage. This includes beginning at Seward Sitka, Anchrage, and Juno and ending in Vancouver. The train tour started in Fairbanks and went through Denali National Park.
On the ship, at dinner one night we saw whales breeching out of the water. It was amazing.

I've been on two Carnival cruises to the Caribbean, and both were really nice. There were tons of things to do, and enough food to feed about ten armies...plus, there was a good mix of older and younger people so I had buddies to hang out with but it wasn't like a "party boat," if you know what I'm saying. (There were more older people and couples on the second cruise I went on, which was in October, than the first one I went on one summer.) I would recommend Carnival; I don't know of anyone who's had a terrible experience with it, either. However, some things to consider if you do pick Carnival (and I'm sure it's similar on other lines, too):

*Don't opt for the "late seating" dinner, unless you're willing to eat around 9 o'clock at night.
*Remember that telephone calls aboard ship cost almost $10 a minute (yep, you heard me) and internet access costs 75 cents a minute with an initial fee, so tell your friends and family not to expect to hear from you much.
*Carnival adds this monstrous gratuities to your bill, some of which I think are unnecessary (for example, a huge tip for the maitre 'd, who does nothing, essentially). However, you can get these removed or reduced, but you HAVE to ask. Otherwise, you'll end up paying it.

Also, a friend of my parents has gone on about 20+ cruises, and he prefers Princess cruise lines, so you might want to check that one out, too. He's had nothing but good things to say about it, and he's tried several different lines.

BTW our Cruise Director was named Julie. It was funny! :) :D

Mrs. DeltAlum just called from her Miami meeting and her hotel is just across the InterCoastal from the dock where our ship just tied up.

She says it looks fantastic.

Two days and counting.

Have fun DeltAlum! :) :D Don't forget the sunblock!