Cruises

[Jiggy]

I am planning on taking a cruise around end of Aug, or beginning of Sept. Anyone have any good suggestions on which cruise line is best, as well as which destination is good. Any info in appreciated.

Thanks!

[awildermode]

NCL - 3-4 stars.

"free style cruising" basically means you eat when you want. no reserved dinner time and table. most other cruise lines will give you an assigned time/table for dinner at the main dinning area.

ships/activities are geared towards younger demographic. average age 25-30

Celebrity - 5 stars. one of the better cruise lines out there. more 'mature' cruisers, average of 30-50. their new ships (Equinox Class) are AWESOME! they have a glass blowing demo station on the ship with the people from Corning Glass Company

Royal Carribean - 4 stars. parent company of Celebrity. like NCL, this is a younger crowd. most ships go to Carribean, obviously. there are tons of activities on these ships, including: ice skating, rock climbing, bowling, gold simulator, wave simulator. their new ships (Oasis Class) are the biggest of the seas and include a zip line above deck, and out door water theater.

Holland America - 5 stars. must older crowd, 45-70. this is the most 'relaxing' of the bunch. not as much to do on the ship as the NCL or Royal.

i have only been on cruises with these four companies. I hear the Princess (3 stars) is not so good. Carnival (3 Stars) is also not that great.

as for places to go, it depends on a lot of things. Price, destination, duration.

Price- rule of thumb, anything that is about $100 a day is a good deal. you can usually find some company/ship that has what/where you want for that price. sometimes you get what you pay for but the companies i have mentioned, $100 a day is about average.

Destination- last year around aug/sept, i went to the Mediterranean (Italy, Turkey, Israel, Egypt) i think the Carribean is in season as well.

Duration - you can find cruises that last for 3-180+ days. 7-10 days is average. i think anything less than 6-7 days is a waste, i generally go for 10-14 days.

actually looking for a cruise for my vacation.

hope that info helps. have fun!

[wooohooo]

I went on Celebrity for a few weeks to Northern Europe last year. I was THE youngest person there and I was 21. Even if you're 30 I'm not sure why you would go on it. If you are into partying with 50-60 year olds... this is the cruise line for you.

My time on Carnival and R.C were much better. Had a lot more fun and there were actually hot chicks to look at.

Princess is okay, was a hit and miss for me so I'm not sure what to say about it. But had a higher class feel than the other cruise lines I have been on

[DrJ]

Depends what you want from your cruise. Parties? Better food? Age range? I have limited Internet access right now but literally got off a cruise ship three hours ago. I was on a western mediteranean cruise that was 12 days. It was the Ruby Princess and it was the best cruise I have been on. Been with Princess on two other cruises to Alaska and The Panama Cannal. Cruised with Royal Carribean to Mexican Riviera and it wasn't as good as the Princess cruises IMO. I personally really enjoy Princess as it caters toward my travel and vacation preferences. Feel free to PM me any questions and I'll get to them in a week!

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by awildermode

NCL - 3-4 stars.

"free style cruising" basically means you eat when you want. no reserved dinner time and table. most other cruise lines will give you an assigned time/table for dinner at the main dinning area.

ships/activities are geared towards younger demographic. average age 25-30

!

We used NCL.

We've ony taken one cruise but it was kind of awesome loading up and setting out from New York Harbour under the Verrazano Bridge and out into the chill North Atlantic in late November. The next morning, the breeze was already turning balmy as we were heading south to Miami and the Bahamas . . . then back to New York for the end.

However, honestly, cruising probably isn't our thing. It might be for some people but it seemed fairly boring relative to a vacation/explorations on land. Renting a car and wandering around anywhere is superior.

Good luck with it.

Cowperson

[alltherage]

I have been on two cruises with Royal Caribbean. They are awesome. I have nobody to compare to, however the group I went with are seasoned cruise vets and have basically started cruising exclusively with RC after going on Carnival, Holland, Princess, etc.

The service you get is fantastic, the food is great, everything is very comfortable and if you treat the staff right (cash tips) they just absolutely LOVE to serve you and start free pouring and giving drinks away.

For example, we usually find a "cool" bartender, tip them maybe $5 a few times on drinks, and then you'll order 4 beers and they charge you for one pop... or just take your card and give it back without charging.

It's awesome. We fully intend on going with RC again.

[Huntingwhale]

[Pinner]

I found the cruise to be very relaxing, soo laid back. I got a very nice suite though, I think 7-8 hundred sq ft with the large balcony. 12c class or something with a jacuzzi tub, king size bed etc.etc.

A great way to relax, some holidays arn't relaxing at all.

[TimSJ]

We have done a couple.

First was on Celebrity and the Second was on Carnival.

We have great time on both. much more partying on the Carnival cruise. Food was excellent on both. My only real beef with cruising is that the booze isn't included. On the last Carnival one my wife and i spent just a hair over $1000 on a 6 day cruise just on booze. Granted we were with two other couple and we weent pretty hard all day everyday. It was a great time.

I just booked a Disney one for the family this winter on the new Dream. Should be fun as well.

[Sylvanfan]

I've been on two cruises with NCL, and one with Carnival. With NCL, I really do like the free style dining as I'm not forced to eat with certain people at an exact time every night. Plus I don't have to bring a suit with me that I'm going to wear two times on the trip. With Airlines charging you for every gram of luggage you want to bring...that becomes important to me. But NCL is definitely a step down in class.

But as a poorer person from Canada ...it suits me.

[alltherage]

I never get tired of waking up in a new country or place on a cruise either. It fascinates me how quickly these massive vessels can cruise from destination to destination.

Here's another tip for the OP... if you are going for 7+nights, I would recomend a cruise that has some "sea days" between ports. 3 ports in a row can be tiring... 4 ports in a row is just exhausting, and you might actually justify in your head that staying on the ship is better than going on shore.

Also, read customer reviews on excursions to avoid the crappy ones. Tours almost always include getting led around like cattle to various jewelery shops and touristy cash grab places, so be careful. If you are like me, the pressure to buy all the keepsakes gets VERY OLD... especially at ######ed prices. They think because we're Canadian we want to spend $50 on $15 flip flops you can get at walmart.

Also, just to clarify, even on RC while they do have dining times pre-set in the dining room, you dont always have to wear a suit. There are usually 1 or 2 format nights, but if you didnt bring your suit you can go to another restaurant or the buffet.

Overall though.... I LOVE CRUISING!

[csnarpy]

I've been on 6 cruises with Royal, including a 2 weeker in the Europe. Did the Caribbean 4 times on different ships. All of them are frikkin great. If u can't go on the Oasis class then make sure you get on the Liberty of the Seas. By far my favorite, so far. It has a street down the middle of the ship, the flowrider (a surfing pool), an ice rink and so much more - that if u don't want to get off the ship then there's plenty to do on board.

[MoneyGuy]

Princess is not a lower class of cruise line. We've done many cruises and have been on several lines and Princess is our favourite. It's very good value. As for price, we sometimes get cruises for $100 a day including airfare. We love cruising.