Cruises......how are they?

I see Gailuvscats is going on a cruise. Jerry nor I have ever been on one. Have you ever been on one? What are the pros and cons to them? I think I'd like to try one!

Whats your definition of a vacation??? To sightsee or to lay about sunning yourself, reading a book and having a beverage???
When we took our carribean cruise-the time on the islands was too short and the time on the ship too long!! I need a vacation that I am more active and with lots of places to visit. I don't like laying around for more than an hour or so!! But when mom and dad went last year on the alaskan cruise (with a land tour pkg-they really enjoyed it.

That's just it Gail. I'm not sure. When we went to Ocean City last year, mostly what we did was lay around the beach and eat! Now if I was going down to the islands, I would want to explore. Then again, laying around sunning myself and having the cool mixed drinks doesn't sound bad either! How much time did they give you on the islands?

I think enjoying yourself on a cruise is dependent on finding a cruiseline and destination that is geared towards your tastes, much like Gail said. Some cruiselines are geared more towards young people, and are more active and "party focused"- Carnival is alot like this. But some of the more traditional cruise lines tend to skew pretty old. I've taken a Celebrity Cruise and a Princess Cruise and on both ships there weren't too many young couples- mostly blue hairs. We loved the cruises anyway but have said next time we cruise we want to try to find a line that gears their services towards younger couples and younger families.
Try finding a travel agent you like and get their opinion on what cruiseline would be best for what you and Jerry like to do--you don't even have to book through them, just meet with them to talk things over and get some brochures. Booking online usually saves money. Also, book all your offshore excursions BEFORE hand. Some people wait til they get on the boat and then all the good excursions are full. Also, don't forget not to try to cruise anywhere in the Carribean or southern Atlantic or Gulf during Hurricane Season-- they won't issue a refund if the cruise gets canceled due to a hurricane since its an "act of god"-- and get vacation insurance before you leave so that if anything does get cancelled you'll get some money back.

ENJOY!

I went on a cruise for my honeymoon in 2004....My husband and I loved it....there are too many pros to name....we went on the carnival conquest...i just wish we had more time to do everything...even though we went on a 7day cruise there is so much to do that you will never get bored

I've been on Carnival, Royal Carribean and Disney....Disney is absolutely, positively, without a doubt the BEST of those 3. I didn't feel forced to have fun like I did on the Carnival Cruise and the destinations offered a lot of opportunity to do something other than sit on a beach.

That being said, I love cruises. Ian and I want to do a Mediterranean Cruise for our honeymoon, possibly at the expense of the ceremony

My Mom loves cruises not the carnival ones though ... me I have an inate fear of ships

I went to the Bahamas on one and i loved it!!

I'd do it again no problem!.

I've never been on one, my Stepdads parents go on a couple a year (alright for some) and they love it.
They are very active people so I'd imagine they wouldn't go if they just had to sit all the time but they do like the sun aswell so it's probably a bit of both.
I'm pretty uncomfortable on boats, get very nervy so I don't think it would be for me.

One tip though,
When you do book it ask if its for Old people, or for young people.

Unfortunately my ship was full of old people when i went on it and it was no fun at all for me!

and DONT FORGET TO TAKE A DRESS for gala night!
I was so embarrased that i was closed into my cabin for the rest of the night

I've been on two: 4-day Los Angeles-Catalina-Ensenada and a 7-day Caribbean, both on Royal Caribbean. I loved them and would go again, in a heartbeat.

There is plenty to do, on board ship and I am fine with just strolling about in port for a few hours.

The food is wonderful, there's no driving, you unpack once and can take a nap, whenever you like.

Originally Posted by katl8e

I've been on two: 4-day Los Angeles-Catalina-Ensenada and a 7-day Caribbean, both on Royal Caribbean. I loved them and would go again, in a heartbeat.

There is plenty to do, on board ship and I am fine with just strolling about in port for a few hours.

The food is wonderful, there's no driving, you unpack once and can take a nap, whenever you like.

Click to expand...

Now that sounds like my kind of vacation!

The only cruise we went on was a carnival cruise to St Marten, martinique and some other island down there. It took a couple days to get to the 1st island. The off island excursions are 2-3 hrs each. If you want to see the islands, browse the shoppes its best not doing one of the excursions as you won't have time to do both-depending on what time the ship gets to a specific island and what excursions you do. Lots of them are booze cruises and you don't really have lots of time to lay about the beaches. You will eat pretty good on the ships though!!

I personally have not been on one, but from the people around me who have the main thing I hear is that you can do as much or as little as you want to do. There are many things to do on the cruise and stop-offs - it's really up to you how many/much you want to see/do.

I've been on three cruises, the fourth coming up this August. Two have been Carnival and one was a Princess Cruise.

It's very true that Princess is geared more towards adults; however, that doesn't mean that you may not end up on a ship with a BUNCH of young people. When I went it was right after I graduated from high school five years ago and there were SO many people my age onboard! It was a party every night. Princess is very much a luxury cruiseline though and is BEAUTIFUL! Carnival is definitely geared more towards the younger crowd. The two times I've been on a Carnival cruise there have been so many young people for my best friend and I to make friends with, and the amount of partying on these cruises is HUGE. Carnival is MUCH cheaper than Princess though, so if you do decide to go on a cruise and want a Carnival price but don't necessarily want to be on a party ship, try Royal Carribean. It's comparable in price and geared more towards a more relaxed crowd.

I personally LOVE the format of cruises. I love to travel and want to explore many places. Yes, you're on each island for only a short period of time, but if you set up shore excursions you can do SO many different things! This past cruise we climbed the Dunns River Falls in Jamaica and played with dolphins at Dolphins Cove. This cruise coming up includes stops to Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Caymen, and Belize and you'd better believe we're picking the excursion to climb the ruins in Belize!!!!

If you enjoy relaxing with that drink in your hand, catching some sun and listening to music...but also enjoy exploring and checking out new places, I believe that a cruise would be perfect for you! In my opinion it's a great way to mix both kinds of vacationing and I have NEVER had a bad cruise experience. In fact, it's my favorite way to travel!!!

@ years ago, my friend and I went on a 7 day carnival cruise! We absolutely LOVED it! I can't wait to go back!! We did a bioluminescent kayaking tour in San Juan, Snorkeling and Kon Tiki-ing in St. Thomas, and we just explored St. Martin because I had a horrible sinus infection by that point! We had just as much fun on the boat! There was always something going on! It was GREAT!!! i HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE CRUISE WE DID! It's a blast for any age group!

Oh, if only I knew....