Just got back from the best cruise we have ever taken

DIPLOMAT! RAT-A-TAT! FAT CAT! AWESOME!

@swiftiefangirl It was a side of cruising that we never knew existed and gave us the incentive to book another cruise with the same type of cabin. Only downside is that it might very well spoil us for a lessor type of cabin, perks and service if we cruise again.

@pmarin It was to the Western Caribbean on the Enchanted Princess-obviously Princess (the love boat) cruise lines which is the upscale part of Carnival. Ship was 4 years old which made it much more enjoyable.

They have this feature on Princess now which is their Medallion which is a quarter size thing that you wear around your neck on a lanyard, in a watch band or in a pin. When you get close to your cabin, it automatically unlocks your cabin door for you, you can order food on the princess app and they know where in ship your are to deliver it to you, you can locate anyone in your party as to the location on the ship. and it is programmed for what you paid for (ie drink package).

@Felton10 @pmarin Big Brother is watching you…

@Felton10

They have this feature on Princess now which is their Medallion which is a quarter size thing that you wear around your neck on a lanyard, in a watch band or in a pin. When you get close to your cabin, it automatically unlocks your cabin door for you,

Isn’t that just a smart tag we put on pets so they can open pet doors?

So now there is a version for humans to open the doors to their rooms?

@Felton10 @rockblossom I had a sensor like that for one of my cats so she could eat one type of food that the other wasn’t supposed to. Worked great (until the battery died and I didn’t realize it for a day or so. Poor kitty was very hungry). I’m guessing the cruise ship food is more tasty and kitty kibble.

@rockblossom Better then fumbling for that stupid key card which you can never find.

@Felton10 @rockblossom Hopefully with the tag it has GPS so they can fish you out of the water if you fall overboard., Assuming you paid for the extra “man overboard!” upgrade package.

@chienfou The repositioning cruises are the best deal where they are moving a ship from one area to another. We have taken several of them.

@chienfou @Felton10 what’s the best way to find/book the repositioning cruises? Direct to company or through some sort of broker? Would like to find a way to see a list of what is offered by all the lines doing these, ports, schedules. Etc.

@Kyeh Nope-had been to all those places multiple times so nothing new to see and all my wife and daughter did when they got off the ship were to buy t-shirts. Although my daughter did go on a tour to a monkey, bird and sloth facility.

@Kyeh I’m wanting to go on a cruise (ever since I was a child) and since the major draw for me is the boat itself, you’d have to work pretty hard to get me off the boat too, unless they had some really cool stuff to see in port!

@PooltoyWolf @felton10 I’d still want to get off and see the places where the ship docked.

@Kyeh We have taken one cruise, and while we got off it just felt like a tourist trap. I’d rather fly somewhere to explore.

@Felton10 @Kyeh Would depend almost entirely on what was there, and how easily (and quickly) I could get back on the ship. For me, in my mind, the cruise itself is the trip, less so than any places it might stop along the way. (Excluding lines with their own private islands, where you’re a lot less likely to get lost!)

@Kyeh @tightwad There is no doubt that especially in the Caribbean you see all the same stores at every port. At least the ship guarantees that you won’t miss the ship if you book a tour through them.

One time taking a tour we booked our self in Portugal, we encountered a protest with traffic at a standstill and were told the only way we would reach the ship before it sailed was to get off and walk there. Could see the ship in the distance and got there right at the time it was supposed to sail. It left 15 minutes later.

@Felton10 @Kyeh @tightwad

I have worked on “cruise” ships (and taken students on similar to what I worked on) AKA tall ships. Like to try out a non sailing ship cruise as a passenger at some point except likely above my budget.

When working:

In the British and USA Virgin Islands there is plenty that is worth it to get off the boat to see - old sugar cane farm (abandoned so you get to walk though what would have been a seriously cool house and pick oranges off the trees), the rain forest, umm climb a mountain while going through a marijuana field (to avoid cat claw bushes) and then warning the students to keep their traps shut in the village… snorkeling off the side of the boat in the clearest water and bringing up conch to eat, going into a cave (not going underwater just as far as the tender can take you).

Then there is the Dry Tortugas where they have the jail that President Lincoln’s assassin was kept for a while (again no longer in use so we could walk around it).

The national marine park west of Key West where we were anchored near the shore with (fortunately) all lights off and watched a drug drop (exciting times - huh. Damn good thing all our lights were off and our 100+ foot mast was hidden by trees) as the plane circled a few times, then a power boat came out, then some things were tossed off the plane and the boat got them and motored off at top speed. Plane circled a few more times and left. Only then did we exhale.

The Bahamas is less exciting as it is mostly a tourist trap in Nassau, but when you sail to some of the surrounding Islands they are much more laid back and “real people live here” type of places.

And then whale watching off of Northern MA. OMG seeing a wright whale breach, another one go back and forth under the bow of our ship feeding on red krill (they get the water in their mouth, send it out their gills and catch it that way), or sailing into the inner Boston Harbor in a really dense fog and hearing, smelling and getting wet from a whale spout but not being able to see it. In the same inner harbor a plane went overhead and a large bolt landed on our deck from the sky (Boston airport is next to the harbor and you can take a water taxi from down town Boston to the airport).

Then there is sleeping on deck at night looking at the stars in the night sky, seeing a water spout (tornado on water - doesn’t hold together all that well on land) in the Chesapeake Bay, shooting off the cannon on one of the Jamestown foundation boats near the James River Bridge and besides hearing it echo all over down town Newport News, watching a zillion gulls take flight from the bridge - the sky just fills with them as a huge cloud as they circle and then settle back on the bridge…

Or loading a beer in the cannon (again Jamestown Foundation boat) to shoot it towards a friend running his tugboat, he fishes it out of the water, then opens it in the wheelhouse and sputters over the radio as it shoots all over the wheelhouse due to being shook up so much. Hahaha. You’d think he’d have thought of that.

While not on the same scale as the kind of cruise Felton is talking about, these were of the up close and personal kinds of adventures that were less formal and very interesting, even to do some of those things over and over again with passengers.

@Kyeh @tightwad and tourist trap prices go way up when the ships are in port.

@Felton10 @Kidsandliz @tightwad
Kidsandliz - that kind of travel sounds so much more interesting to me. The regular cruise ships sound like Las Vegas on the water, not my kind of thing - and I’m not a fan of overly organized travel.

@PooltoyWolf Did you see that this ship is in dry dock right now for restoration and clean-up? It’s an unusual opportunity to see it from below: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/america-s-most-decorated-battleship-the-uss-new-jersey-gets-a-facelift-210369093906

@PooltoyWolf

Free unlocked NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/nyregion/battleship-new-jersey-repairs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qE0.9pjO.vvSvLevPY_OU&smid=url-share

@Felton10 @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @tightwad
What sort of whales have gills?

@Felton10 @Kyeh @macromeh @tightwad None have gills that was a mistype. Was tired when I typed that message. Oops. Meant to write they use their baleen as sort of a strainer to get rid of the water and keep the krill that came in the water they filled their mouth with.

@Kyeh Dry dock pictures are always wild to me. Reminds me of when we used to haul our boat out and you’d get to see parts of the vessel most landlubbers never do

@Kyeh @PooltoyWolf It’s not on the East Coast, but the battleship Texas has been in drydock for some really major repairs and restorations since last fall. She had essentially sunk in her berth at the San Jacinto Battleground decades ago, and was only kept from descending farther into the mud by virtue of 24/7 high-volume pumps and some support piers that had been welded to the hull on one side. Refloating her and getting her prepped for the tow to Galveston took a while, and once she was out of the water completely, the rest of the damage could be assessed. Needless to say, she’s never going to be made truly seaworthy, but the goal is to make her sustainable at a dock going forward, and find a better permanent home than the battleground which drew relatively few visitors. Sadly, a lot of the ship’s below-waterline equipment is now entirely gone, scrapped when it became painfully obvious that there wasn’t even enough left to take dimensions from and recreate. I haven’t heard anything about the state of the steam boilers or turbines, but I suspect that the word “dire” would be an understatement. I know that this described the hull too well.

@Kyeh @werehatrack Well that’s tragic

@Kyeh @PooltoyWolf @werehatrack Back when it was Desert Storm I lived in Newport News, VA (across the mouth of the Chesapeake and James River from Norfolk and the Navy Base. We knew something was up despite denials from DC when WW2 ships started being towed down various rivers around there to the dry docks all over the place there and a hospital ship was in dry dock too.

@Kyeh @PooltoyWolf

@ciabelle
Yep. The “unpack once and visit several places” aspect is one of the primary draws for us. It allows you to pop into a space and decide if you want to come back for an extended visit. Cruising is also an excellent way to do a family reunion or travel with other people. With so many options for what to do you never feel like you’re compelled to have to be together at any given time, but it’s easy to meet up for meals and activities on the fly. One of our favorite cruises was the one we did with five couples for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Three couples our age, two couples Mom and Dad’s age. We made six stops in the Caribbean, and each time we either did things all together or in different groupings based on everyone’s interest. It was wonderful. Never felt like we had to figure out where to go eat or how to keep everyone engaged and entertained, since we were the ones who organized it.

@ciabelle You got me beat by a mile. Did a Canadian cruise last Oct (Quebec to Ft Lauderdale), this one and have another scheduled next January.
Took a couple of year break for Covid (which BTW our daughter who we took with us called us this morning and told us she tested positive for it).

Based on your numerous cruise-which cruise line do you recommend? I’m sure with all your cruises you have reached the Elite status or similar with the cruise line. We had stayed mostly with Celebrity but changed to Princess because of the food was better.

And this cruise with the Concierge Lounge (which only suite guests could access) with food, coffee and an attendant on call to help with all our needs , it brought our cruising experience to a whole new level.

@chienfou @ciabelle We have done three family cruises and determined it was a good way to get the family together without the hassle of feeding and housing them.

@Felton10 I’ve actually only been on 9 cruises so far. My highest status is Gold on MSC, mainly due to a hotel status match. 2-star mariner on Holland America, silver on NCL, and will be blue for my 2nd Carnival cruise in October.

As to which line is best, it depends on what your interests are, but post-pandemic, so many things have changed and are continuing to evolve.

If you want to party, Carnival is the line to go to hands down. There’s always something happening at the pool deck, and the adult game shows (e.g. Quest) can get very wild. Royal Caribbean is a close second, and would be my first choice for a family cruise.

If you are more into the destinations than the ship, Holland America is the way to go. It has a reputation of being an old folks home at sea, but while it does skew to an older crowd, there’s something for people of all ages. They have port talks which are actually about the ports themselves, history, culture, food, etc. Whereas with most other lines, it’s all about the shopping or the hard sell on pricey shore excursions.

For entertainment, Norwegian is the one to beat. Most ships have a Broadway production onboard. Got to see Jersey Boys last week on the Norwegian Bliss – it was top notch! NCL is the most pushy when it comes to the upsells though in my experience. Shopping events, pull tabs, photos, etc., you will constantly have flyers thrust at you for special sales, art auctions, asking you to pose for photos, etc.

For getting the best bang for your buck, MSC is the way to go. Their fares are among the lowest in the industry, but it’s not a no frills line. In fact, they are probably the most beautiful ships around. The atriums are absolutely dazzling with staircases embedded with thousands of Swarovski crystals. Usually for a couple hundred dollars over the base fare, you can add unlimited drinks and wifi (and occasionally onboard credit) included. Their premium cabins, called the Yacht Club, are way ahead of other lines offering similar exclusive “ship-within-a-ship” offerings. Wifi and drinks are included in the base fare, that includes the minibar (unheard of on any other line) 24-hour butler service, private dining room with premium meals, exclusive pool deck, plus all the other typical VIP perks such as priority boarding, disembarking, tenders, etc. Many complain that the food isn’t as good as on other lines, and things in the dining room have been hit-or-miss. However, they have the best pizza at sea by far. I’ve always been able to find something worthwhile to eat.

@Felton10 Correction: I believe I was “Blue” for my first cruise on Carnival, and will be “Red” on the upcoming one.

@ciabelle @Felton10 So far, the only three cruises I’ve taken were all on Royal Caribbean, and all were Star Trek cruises organized and staffed by ECP. I found that the food in the main full-service dining room was no better and had less variety than what was to be had at the far less formal buffet-style Windjammer on one of the upper decks. One thing that has always struck me as a lesson in unintended consequences is that the more expensive cabins tend to be on the upper decks, which becomes increasingly problematic if the weather gets bad.

@Felton10 @werehatrack You are correct. If you are prone to motion sickness, then you should pick a cabin on a lower deck mid-ship as it will be less bumpy. The most premium cabins are, as you said, in the worst possible locations. Usually a top deck forward or aft, very close to pools, waterslides, and other activities which can make for a noisy environment as well.

@Vrysen I was on that in 2020, 2023 and 2024. I’m going to skip next year, largely because of the fact that I have zero interest in Cozumel. And, the cast lineup revealed so far is just not quite attractive enough for me.

@Vrysen And OMFG is Doug Jones tall and spindly.

@Relleluck Since cost is a key factor in your consideration, I’d encourage you to look at MSC. Mediterranean Shipping Company (or jokingly referred to as Mafia Shipping Company) has been in the cargo business for a very long time, but has branched out to include cruise for several years now too. Less well-known than other heavily advertised lines in the US, it will, as I mentioned in my reply to @Felton10 give you a lot for the money.

They primarily sail from South Florida to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. They do offer a few cruises from New York to same, or to Bermuda or Canada and New England. They have a lot more options in Europe though. Depending on where you live, you will likely need to factor in airfare into your budget. If you happen to live reasonably close to Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, or Miami, you could drive, but expect to pay around $200/week for parking.

The Caribbean is the world’s most popular cruise destination. Warm weather, beautiful azure waters, sandy beaches, tropical music, and lots of rum. That said, I find it a bit overrated.

Every port you visit will have the same cruiseline sponsored shops (Diamonds International, Effy, Del Sol, et al) and restaurants like Senor Frog’s. within a secure enclave after you walk off the ship. venture out past this gauntlet, and you can still find those same outlets along with many street vendors, taxis, hustlers, scammers, and beggars hoping to separate you from your money.

You might be able to find your way to a nearby museum, fort, waterfall, or cathedral of interest, but for your first visit, you probably should book an excursion to help avoid much of the riff raff and get a good overview of the area. Or you might prefer to book one to go ziplining, ATV’ing, paddleboarding, snorkeling, swimming with pigs, dolphins, or other creatures. Perhaps a day pass to a resort with pool, waterslides, lazy river, and included food and beverages.

You’ll often find better prices with 3rd party excursions than through the cruise line. The biggest benefit though is that you’ll usually be in a much smaller group than you would via a ship sponsored excursion. As you mentioned, make sure you find a tour with a “guaranteed on-time return” or similar. Viator and Shore Excursions Group are two reputable companies for booking independent excursions. Be wary of the folks near the pier as you walk ashore hawking cheap tours, you will know nothing about their safety or reliability.

As to booking, if possible, try to find a local travel agent with experience with the cruise line you’re interested in. You can use an online travel agent as well: cruise.com and vacationstogo.com are a couple I have used, along with Costco Travel. You could also book directly with the cruise line.

The local agent will be much more adept at finding a line, itinerary, and excursions which best match your interests, while an online broker may be able to give you a better deal on the cruise via onboard credit to use as spending money onboard, and/or a rebate after the cruise. – The fare will be about the same regardless where you book, the travel agent won’t charge you any fees, they receive a commission from the cruise line.

Fares will be higher and ports will be busier during the summer months – Avoid if at all possible. Winter is also popular in the Caribbean with snowbirds. October through April is when I prefer to cruise, can be less crowded, though ships have been sailing at over 100% capacity lately. (Based on double occupancy per cabin) Expect a full ship, but ideally try to find an itinerary where your ship has the port to itself or with no more than a couple other ships.

INSIDER TIP!: When you find a cruise you’re interested in, go to cruisetimetables.com and look up the sailing date for your ship once you see the itinerary, click the last link > >port loads. Here you’ll see how many ships (and more importantly passengers) were in port with me on my last sailing. Note that in Juneau, the other ships arrived right as we left, and we arrived in Victoria long after the other ship departed, so really only in Ketchikan did we have a lot of people in port at the same time.

This post is long enough. There’s loads of youtube videos, facebook groups, and a site called cruisecritic.com with a message board full of people to answer all your other questions. Happy planning!

@Relleluck Lots of variables-I will just throw out what came into my head and you can pick the ones that seem important to you and research them further. Or ask me specific questions either before or after you look around.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are the most well known low cost entry level cruise lines.
Might get a better deal on price closer to cruise date (less than 90 days) because that is when people can cancel with no penalty and cruise lines are more likely to lower prices to fill cabins.
Your price point should be anywhere from $ 50 to $ 100 a day given the length of the cruise and some offer 3rd and 4th person in room sail for free although the cabin has to be large enough for all 4-bed and sofa bed.
Bigger ships have more to do on board.
Probably would start with either a ocean view or lowest cost balcony cabin to save money.
Referrals from friends of travel agents are a good source of whom to use-prices are about the same with everyone-difference is shipboard credit and other perks (costco gives you back a shop (gift card) depending on how much the cost of the cruise is (used them for my last 2 cruises).
Caribbean cruises will probably be the best bang for your buck (try to avoid hurricane season if at all possible).
Travel insurance is recommended especially if you think there might be more variables that might cause you to cancel.
After you take one cruise you will become an expert in which things are more important to you, which things you liked and didn’t and what to spend your money on or not. Good luck.

@ciabelle @Felton10 Thank you both SO MUCH! You offered lots of info I never would have considered. I’m very appreciative

@Cerridwyn Yes real trans-Atlantic ocean travel is almost impossible now. I didn’t know QM2 was still doing that. In the 1960s My parents traveled with me to Europe on an Italian liner from New York, then returned on a US-flagged liner.

I learned recently that the ship was the SS United States that was secretly built as a cold-war high-speed troop ship for mobilizing troops to Europe quickly if needed. It was fitted as a passenger liner but was apparently designed to be quickly refitted if needed for war. There are some documentaries about it. The designer wanted to make the fastest liner and also make sure it was fire-proof so there was almost no use of wood. Think a battleship ocean liner. I do remember my parents complaining that it was noisy and uncomfortable but was very fast, which it turns out to be what it was designed for, as I learned 50 years later.

@Cerridwyn @pmarin Transatlantic cruises generally happen in April and November. Many cruise ships sail in the Mediterranean in the summer, and the Caribbean in the winter. Look for “repositioning cruises” The QM2 pretty much does the transatlantic exclusively year round. It’s a true “Ocean Liner” as opposed to a cruise ship and may mean a less bumpy ride as you sail across the Atlantic, but it’s a very different (far more traditional) experience than what you’ll find on most modern cruise ships.

@Cerridwyn @ciabelle @pmarin I once traveled by ocean liner (SS Oriana) from Auckland, NZ to Los Angeles, with stops in Fiji, Hawaii (and maybe other Pacific islands) and Vancouver BC. However, I was only five so most of my memories of the voyage involve the onboard pool and play area.

@Cerridwyn @ciabelle @macromeh @pmarin I took a similar trip at the same age! My mother and I went to Japan so her family could meet me. We went on the SS Iberia and the staff was all from Australia. I remember the pool, the activities they had for kids, and the weird-to-me food. They had these high thresholds at the bottom of each doorway and they kept the floors higly polished, so I kept tripping and my calves were solidly bruised from knees to ankles.

@Cerridwyn @pmarin The United States still exists, and has been moored at a dock in the Philadelphia area for quite a while. Recently, it was threatened with eviction, and the issues involved are far from settled. There is still hope that she can be restored, refitted, and placed back into service in some capacity that will keep her preserved in active duty for the long term.

@Cerridwyn @ciabelle @Kyeh @pmarin My most vivid memory of the cruise was when the ship crossed the equator - a crew member was dressed like King Neptune and went around grabbing kids in the play area, spraying their heads with shaving cream and tossing them in the pool (apparently a rite of passage). I was terrified.

@Cerridwyn @ciabelle @macromeh @pmarin Ugh! I’d have been terrified too!