First time Cruise - Advise?

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Joeychgo

Joeychgo

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So my wife and I are thinking about going on a cruise in January.. It would be our first. It would also be our first actual vacation in a few years.

We already plan on getting a balcony - destination is still a little up in the air between a Bahamas and a Caribbean cruise. We definatly want 7 days or so..

Any ideas / advice / thoughts?
 
Royal Caribbean .... 10 day cruise ... 7 days to short ... anything more than 10 is to long ...
 
Well, since its our first, I want to keep it to 7 in case we dont like it - but I am eying some longer ones for a future cruise - like to Hawaii or through the panama canal
 
This may sound silly but check the registy of the ship, and if you can the history. Some cruise ships have histories of contamination etc.
 
Pick one that stays away from a route in close proximity to the Somalia Pirates. We'd like to have ya back Boss.
Small Block
 
We went on our first cruise a couple of years ago on Carnival and had a blast only problem is it didn't last long enough! Left from Miami, cruised to Key West and took a tour of the Keys cruised on to Cozumel, Mexico. We could have gotten off the ship and went into town but didn't want to go thru the hassel of the customs lines getting off and on the ship. We just hung out around the pool and enjoyed mass consumables (alcoholic beverages). I'm not sure about other cruise lines but Carnival takes ocean water and "filters" it into and I use the term loosly "drinking water" It tastes terrible! and they make the tea, coffee, and orange juice out of it.
The sodas cost almost as much as the booze so my wife and I opted for the booze. The food is included in the price of the cruise and you can eat as much or as often as you want, and the food is good. All in all we had a blast the only drawback was the water...but who needs it when you have booze. Go and have a great time and ENJOY!!!!
 
Drink bottled water only. I don't travel but that's what some of friends of mine do when they travel south of the border. Some kind of bacteria in water. I don't know if that's exactly true for the water on the ship.
 
My best recomendation for first timers is the least amount of days at sea. Several cruises especially southern carribean make several stops with the least amount of sea days, that way if u can't handle the motion of the waves you only cruise at night with your days in port. Also bigger boats tend to handle the waves better and try to book your state room more towards the center of the ship(front to back). I noticed the shorter the cruise the younger and wilder the crowd can be. 7 day cruises are my favorite, I'm too old to party every night but too young for the senior crowd. I've been on dozens with no issues from(like food poisoning) but it never hurts to bring bottled water off the ship with you. I eat food at every port it's the best way to sample other cultures. Good luck with your cruise decision and hope u enjoy as amuch as I do.
Bob
 
best vacation we ever took.did the carnival cruse to the bahamas.you have to do the midnight dinner you will be impressed with the things they can do with food.and the shows are top notch.(something I didn't think I would like)had a lot of fun.I guess the funniest thing was getting off after the cruse watching a rich kid trying to pay his bar tab of over $20.000 bucks that was funny all his so called friends took off.but if I was to go again it would have to be on the Norwegian..................Artie
 
like rrvolarie said seven days is to short go for ten dont worry you WILL have fun as far as seasickness goes the ships all have stabilizers it takes a big sea to get any movement. take pop and booze with you and crack the seal on the booze before you go .they wont take your booze if the seal is broke. they charge for pop and booze and its not cheap and the lineups for food is alot longer after a jamica stop lol we were on the carnival triumph and i found a new bar after 4 days these ships are big we loved it. i never thougt i would have that much fun on a boat for vacation since i spend about 8 months a year on the water working. if you go to gran caymon check out stingray city you wont be dissapointed have fun wish we were going and merry christmas.
 
Pirates, economy, terrorism, crime, people fallin overboard all the time. I'd stay home.
 
This isn't the kind of cruise I was thinking of when I read the title....

I would stay away from Royal Carribean, the one where the newly weds went on their honeymoon and only the bride came back. Blood marks outside the window of their cabin and none of the authorities took the lead to help figure out what exactly happened as it was on "international waters". Apparently the "laws of the land" don't apply out there.


But I hope your cruise is safe and enjoyable. And remember the "poop deck" is not what the name suggests....
 
ILLDuster74 said:
This may sound silly but check the registy of the ship, and if you can the history. Some cruise ships have histories of contamination etc.
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That's funny! We check these ship on a regular scheduled period...

Just have fun Joey and enjoy.
 
My family and I usally take at least one cruise a year. We always take Carnival mostly out of New Orleans it is the best vacation for the money I think anyway.
 
OK -I booked us on our first cruise and my first vacation in many years.

We are going on a 7 day Royal Western Caribbean cruise from New Orleans. YEAH!!!!
 
Joeychgo said:
OK -I booked us on our first cruise and my first vacation in many years.

We are going on a 7 day Royal Western Caribbean cruise from New Orleans. YEAH!!!!
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Congrats on the cruise and the well deserved vacation !!!
I miss interpreted the title to this thread and thought you needed advise on a FABO cruise-in !!!
It would be a good idea !!! Springs around the corner....
Martin
 
Cannot go wrong with Royal Caribbean ...... hope you like RUM... seems like all there drinks contain RUM .... only difference is the color .... Have Fun.... and if you do decide to go into the cities/ports ..... make sure you go with several couples .... not just u and the miss'
 
demon seed said:
Highly recomend a cruise that stops at Jamaica for 2 days Joey, it's a hoot.
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Heck I would spend the full 7 days down there, lol.

Only thing that stop me in the past was lack of nice hotels for single guys. Seemed like the best resorts-nice, safe, fancy and fairly priced-were couples only.

Chilling at the beach sounds like a blast.

My freaken travel agent talked me in to Acapulco last time I got serious about going. It was great and worked out great for me but what has been going on since 2006 in Mexico I'm never going back. Even back then I think I had a few close calls.

I'm unsure how much safer Jamaica is outside the resorts...can't be any worst, lol
 
Congrats Joey, you and your bride will have a wonderful time.

One suggestion is plan to get to New Orleans a day or two before the ship departs, so if you encounter any delays in getting down there, you won't have to stress about missing the boat.
 
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