Cruise Advice

[Tapestar]

Don't forget to change your watch to local time each time you get off, and make sure you know when the ship departs. Check out Youtube for videos of people missing their cruise.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by driveway

Don't go on cruises where you're interested in seeing the cities. There's no point, you get barely enough time in each port to find out that the city is really cool, and then you're back on the boat.

The only reason to go on a cruise is if you're about to have a nervous breakdown and you need a week where the most difficult decision you can face is whether you want to drink by the pool, in the bar, or on the beach.

I think it depends what the city is. Are you going to see Rome or Venice in a day. Nope. But a day in Livorno is plenty of time do Pisa and still have the afternoon free. A day in Tallinn was plenty of time to see the city, imo. I also like it because it helps me get a flavour for a bunch of places (travelling at night so not to waste any time getting between them). Then I typically go back to my favourites.

We'd never do cruises for all our Europe vacations, or even likely all of a single vacation. We've only done two, and they were both 10-12 day parts of three week Europe trips, which was about the right mix for us.

[terminator]

If you are going fo the cities I would not cruise. I would land in Venice and train down to Rome, stopping in Florence and perhaps Piza on the way.

Venice, time premitting you should be able to walk the entire thing (2-3 times) in a single day...its not that big but you have to be willing to walk up and down tonnes of stairs.

[automaton 3]

Give yourself lots of time to get to the ship on boarding day, check in can take awhile.

Take advantage of room service for breakfast on excursion days when you need an early start. We ordered some extra snacks which we took with us.

Make sure to plan your days carefully and allow lots of time to return to the ship. Get good maps! We had Rick Steves' book which was gold.

Use the subway in Rome, it works well.

The drinks packages looked like they only pay of you are sauced 24/7. On a port-heavy cruise you just won't be on the ship that much. We did see some discounts offered which might make it closer.

Get the anytime dining option and ask for a private table.

Buy internet minutes in bulk, the internet on ship is slow so you might need more than you think.

The cruise ship booked excursions usually include a "shopping stop" at one of their "approved stores". A waste of valuable time and just another way they try to extract money from you.

There was a lecture series on our Celebrity cruise, I would think they all have something similar. Very interesting topics. Also, make sure to attend any talks about your next stop as there is generally some useful advice.

We had a balcony room, it was great.

Bring some ginger or gravol or something of the like just in case. We had one stormy night and the ship moved more than we expected.

Enjoy!

[driveway]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I think it depends what the city is. Are you going to see Rome or Venice in a day. Nope. But a day in Livorno is plenty of time do Pisa and still have the afternoon free. A day in Tallinn was plenty of time to see the city, imo. I also like it because it helps me get a flavour for a bunch of places

Yeah I went to Talinn on a cruise too and I felt that the time there only let me see the old town, which is like Medival Disney. Nice, but I feel like I have no idea what Talinn is actually like.

I understand the appeal of cruises and for a particular kind of traveller they're brilliant. I'm just not that kind of traveller.

[csnarpy]

Man, I pretty much did that same cruise with Royal.

Dubrovnik: walk the old city. And walk the the wall around it. Simply incredible. Don't bother with an excursion there.

Naples. Screw the big city, take the hydrojet across the bay to Capri and rent a scooter. Have wine at every beach! That island is jaw droppingly beautiful and the shops and food... Mmmm.

Venice: we were there for 2 days as well, first day booked a walking tour, which I didn't want to do at first, but found it quite informative and taught me a lot about the city, it's history and culture. 2nd day, we ventured out on our own and succumbed to the cuisine.

I'm a bit of a cruisaholic, been going on them consistently for the last 10 years. They are not for the old. They have come along way. Internet is high speed and can be bought for an unlimited rate. There is booze packages - I highly suggest this. If you want about 4 drinks a day. (Think about it, wine at dinner, drinks at the pool and so on) it's well worth the package. Norwegian is known for anytime dining. Which is awesome, you just book on your phone app or call in. The entertainment now is off the charts, especially the newer boats. Go to the comedy club.

To be honest, I sail Royal mainly. Been on Carnival and will be on the Norwegian Epic in March. So unsure about NCL but hear they have a laid back atmosphere, which is aok by me. As posted above, go to Cruise Critics.

Also, if you have a balcony, bring a portable hammock. Nothing like lying back in a hammock, while sailing and a drink in your hand.

[Derek Sutton]

So we got home from out trip on Sunday and had an awesome vacation. The cruise was wonderful. After a week travelling through Italy, it was a real treat to get on the ship and be treated like a VIP. The food was great, the freestyle atmosphere was totaly for us. We heard complaints from others who didn't think it was formal enough or that the service wasn't as good because of this but we really liked it. And the service was still far beyond what you'd get at any restraunt or hotel here. The activities were really fun and the entertainment was mostly really good. It was also totaly relaxing and a stress free way to travel. We will definitely like to go on another one.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

Don't play cards with the old geezers. They may look weak and senile, but they will crush you.

What about the young geezers?

[Robbob]

So thinking of doing a cruise to Alaska (partly as a gift and partly because I too want to go). Anyone recommend best places to look/research for cruises? From my initial searches I do see that earlier in June you go the cheaper it is as the peak is late summer.

[jeffporfirio]

Originally Posted by Robbob

So thinking of doing a cruise to Alaska (partly as a gift and partly because I too want to go). Anyone recommend best places to look/research for cruises? From my initial searches I do see that earlier in June you go the cheaper it is as the peak is late summer.

If going with kids, Disney is your best bet.
We did Disney to Alaska in Aug and it was fabulous.

[Robbob]

No kids. Just a couple adults and seniors.

[wooohooo]

I'm not a huge cruiser but I've been on Carnival, RCI, Holland America and Celebrity.

We went to Alaska about 3 years ago on Holland America and it was pretty meh for me. The food was pretty good though, entertainment wasn't special.

I thought celebrity had the best food and catered more towards the older crowd as we (late 20's) were probably the youngest ones there.

RCI was more for my age with kids and Carnival felt like it was more for college kids looking for a cheap cruise with cheap food.

[mikephoen]

Under no circumstances should you make hours and hours of videos of your experience and then force your children to watch them at Xmas. Trust me.

[wooohooo]

Oh yeah I also went through cruisecritic and they seemed to offer us the best price and the most inclusives. Like $500 credit, free wifi, and 3 restaurants, free drinks etc. The Canadian agents ones didn't do much for us.