Travel Cruise Tips and Suggestions?

#76
Mediana said:
I think Alaska could be great if you know what to expect. I've done a couple of cruises and so many people I've met said that Alaska was their favorite cruise. It sounded fun so I took BF on his first cruise last August. I thought it was OK, we had a nice time but BF does not want to go on another cruise. What I didn't take into account was that Alaska would be just like Sweden.

We took a tour in the woods with a guide and she was so enthusiastic about finding moss! We saw a bear and the little group got crazy with excitement. That's when we realized that most people have probably never seen a bear in the flesh, while they are common in our parts. The Alaska nature is so very similar to our own that it never felt like we left Sweden. BF said "You know, you didn't have to drag me around the world, we could just have gone to our summer house".

We did have a nice vacation though since we did both Seattle and Vancouver too.
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Hey Terps -- I was on carnival, which I booked sort of blindly with little research. I don't know if I would do that again as it was a little too much of a party atmosphere at certain times. I think next time I will go with RCI.


Mediana -- what about cruising in the caribbean?
 
#78
gs: We haven't done the mega ships yet, but we have Allure booked for December 2012. We got a great deal on a room. I've heard that they are big, but you don't really notice the crowds.

Thus far we've done NCL (hated it), Royal Caribbean: Liberty (loved it!), Adventure (smaller ship, but was still good), Navigator (same as Adventure), and Majesty (their tiny ship for the Bahamas).

We have Voyager (same as Nav/Adventure), Allure, Grandeur (smaller ship), and Rhapsody (same as Grandeur but it's being renovated just before our cruise) coming up.

Alaska: I grew up in Canada so I've seen bears in the wild, but I'm looking forward to the glaciers and such. And a break from the oppressive Texas heat. We're going in late July. The window isn't too bad...starts in late May and goes through September.

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Have any of you done Celebrity? I really like their European itineraries and I can transfer over my Royal Caribbean status. It's a little pricier, but we'd spring for it if the itinerary was real good.

I'd love a European cruise that starts in one port and ends in another....I can add on a few days of land travel at each end.
 
#79
dr. twiggers said:
Have any of you done Celebrity? I really like their European itineraries and I can transfer over my Royal Caribbean status. It's a little pricier, but we'd spring for it if the itinerary was real good.

I'd love a European cruise that starts in one port and ends in another....I can add on a few days of land travel at each end.
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I've never done one myself but my parents just came back from their second Celebrity cruise and absolutely loved it. They went out from Istanbul and did the Greek Islands I think. Anyway, they are hard core Royal Caribbean people otherwise but i think they gonna do more and more Celebrity cruises if the price is right. I think this was their forth cruise this year.
 
#80
Good to know Mediana!

We're trying to balance about 3 cruises per year: Christmas/New Years, Spring Break, and sometime in the summer (combined with a land trip before/after the cruise).

It just works so well for us...it's a compromise. DH doesn't like to go, go, go (for health reasons as well) and I do. So I head out during the day and go crazy and he vegs on the ship and ventures out at his own pace.
 
#81
dr. twiggers said:
Good to know Mediana!

We're trying to balance about 3 cruises per year: Christmas/New Years, Spring Break, and sometime in the summer (combined with a land trip before/after the cruise).

It just works so well for us...it's a compromise. DH doesn't like to go, go, go (for health reasons as well) and I do. So I head out during the day and go crazy and he vegs on the ship and ventures out at his own pace.
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I want to try Celebrity too, but not sure which one. I don't wanna do Europe since I live here and have been just about all over the place (Not Turkey). I missed out on Costa's cruise Indian Ocean/Mauritius. First they changed it to a smaller ship and now they're gonna sell it. Guess 2012 will be the last year for that itinerary.

I will probably only do one cruise a year. If you have any good suggestions where I should go next, please let me know :smile: The problem with living here in Europe is that a cruise is about 25% more expensive than if I had an american address. Quite strange actually.
 
#82
Mediana: Celebrity has some good itineraries out of Florida that actually stop in Costa Rica. Or you could try one of the Fall Foliage cruises in Sept/Oct that visit the East Coast of Canada & the US.

I understand why you wouldn't want to do Europe.

What about the Middle East? Royal Caribbean has a nice itinerary leaving from Dubai (I think) and visiting some off-the-beaten path places. Being in Europe you are a closer flight to Dubai.
 
#83
Hey Twiggers, can you tell me what you disliked about NCL? I keep hearing the same thing from different folks, but nothing seems amiss in looking at their prices/itineraries/ships/service.
 
#84
gsmom said:
Hey Twiggers, can you tell me what you disliked about NCL? I keep hearing the same thing from different folks, but nothing seems amiss in looking at their prices/itineraries/ships/service.
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Don't say that, I'm going with Norwegian in February :smile: Will be my first time. I think it all depends on which ship you go on. I heard a lot of good things about Holland America and that ship and service was the worst.

Twiggers When I was 30 I did a two week Road Trip around New England, including Marthas Vinyard. It was one of my best vacations ever. We went during the Foliage and it was beautiful. We only stayed at B&B's. I'd love to go back, but not on a cruise.

Sadly I've already been In Dubai with surroundings - Oman, Bahrain. Both during a normal vacation and on a cruise.

As it is now, there's no cruise itinerary I jump for Joy for. I'm hoping something great will turn up for 2013. I'm gonna look up Costa Rica though.
 
#85
dr. twiggers I just remember a question I can ask here but that isn't allowed on cruise critic :biggrin:. Where do you usually book you cruises? Do you have a good TA to recommend?
 
#86
med- have you been to Asia or Australia? Russia? Africa?

We got back form Alaska a few weeks ago.

Here's a couple of tips -

Think June is probably the best time for Alaska. Not as much rain then. Rains can spoil & cancel some activities.
(we leave town in July /Aug time frame to get away from the heat.)

If you only go to Alaska once, do a cruise that is actually allowed into Glacier Bay. Many say they do but don't, They go to the mouth of the bay. The Park service lets 2 boats a day in glacier bay, HUGE fees to the cruise line. This is where you will see most of the
glaciers breaking off. The cruises that go inside the bay are more expensive but its worth it. Especially if you don't think you'll be going back to Alaska. When you are in the Bay there are Rangers on the boat answering questions etc. Wonderful experience. The ships park in front of the glacier & shuts the motors off so you can hear the ice breaking off. It sound like gun shots, very cool.

Take the helicopter tour to a Glacier & lands on it. Unbelievable! Can recommend
one that goes out of its way to make sure no other people are around etc. When you hear no one else & see nothing else, its like being on the moon. Our pilot stayed with us & explained things. Most tour companies, (especially with the cruise ships) just dump you off & go get more people. They dump everyone in the same place. And our tour was cheaper than booking through the cruise ship!

I think everyone makes a mistake in booking their first cruise on the wrong ship for them. We were OK with Cunard till they were bought buy Carnival. Carnival has
destroyed them.

I loved cruising through Sweden, Norway, etc. We are thinking about doing it again soon.
 
#87
gs: We didn't like the activities offered onboard....it was too geared towards families and people who think drinking alcohol is a sport. We were on the NCL Jewel.

Mediana: We typically use Cruise.com because they always have free prepaid gratuities and their website is easy to surf and good customer service. Recently we started using Crucon because they sometimes have good offers (we got quite a bit of freebies for our NYE cruise and Alaska cruise). I never book with the cruise line....never any good deals.

VLL: I'm leaning towards a possible N. Europe cruise for summer 2013....I don't think we'll be able to get to Europe until July and I don't want to be boiling hot on the Med/Middle East.

I would love an Asia cruise....Royal Caribbean is expanding more to that area.
 
#88
Vegas Long Legs said:
med- have you been to Asia or Australia? Russia? Africa?
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I've been to some parts of Asia and Russia but only Tunisia in Africa. Would love to go to Australia and New Zealand but that has to wait until our dog is no longer with us. I'm guessing we'll have to be there for at least 6 weeks and I can't leave her to strangers that long. Hopefully we'll go to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in January (not a cruise).

I' hoping more cruise ship will venture into Africa soon.

dr.Twiggers Thanks, I'll look them up.
 
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