Cruising: LBYM. NOT.

[simple girl]

Real interesting observations. Thanks for sharing. Im a cruise virgin and plan to go real soon. Anyone have any links they find valuable?

I highly recommend the boards at Cruise Critic - Cruises, Cruise Ship Reviews, Ratings, Cruise Deals, Cruise Forums. Tons of great advice there from seasoned cruisers.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I highly recommend the boards at Cruise Critic - Cruises, Cruise Ship Reviews, Ratings, Cruise Deals, Cruise Forums. Tons of great advice there from seasoned cruisers.

Cool thanks thats a lot of information!

 

[retiringby50]

Early 1990's - cruised Long Beach to Baja and back
2001 Hawaiian cruise
2005 Alaska
2006 Mexican Riviera
2007 Baja again
Next cruise not yet scheduled - Panama Canal

My routine on a port day is:

Breakfast
Leave ship
Go on excursion
Return to ship
Go to the gym
Late seating for dinner
Show
Other entertainment
Sleep

I'm tellin' you - the best thing you can do is to discover the fitness center right away and use it every day! Even if you gain weight, you will lose it much faster when you come home. Usually I gain 1 lb. a day I'm on the cruise (and the Alaskan cruise was 12 days!). I lost it all in about 3 days. I didn't do this on the most recent cruise, and I still have the weight on me, even though it's "only" a few lbs.!

 

[LRS]

Bodacious cruise advice, people. I was thinking of leaving from New York and sailing to either Burmuda or the Bahamas. My son is in school in NY so this eliminates one airfare. Norwegian cruises out of NY, right? I presume that Christmas through April is the high season.

Or, since we are on the West Coast, we could cruise Mexico from SF or San Diego or LA. This might be most economical for us--anyone have a favorite family cruise on this route?

 

[Achiever51]

LRS --

Of all the cruises we've been on, the Norwegian NYC - Bermuda - NYC cruise is the one we still talk about as our favorite. It was really enjoyable having the several days at sea before/after visiting Bermuda and being able to use the ship as a hotel while there was great. As I mentioned before, the ship docked for three days on one side of the island, then repositioned to the other side for three days, giving you lots of time to explore, play golf, shop, etc. without having to rush back for a 5 pm sailing time.

We went in the summertime; don't know when their high season is.

 

[megacorp-firee]

Middle of the boat, mid level is the best for not feeling any rolling (if any)

 

[calmloki]

some people might even use handy little devices like these....
Rum Runner Flasks

The internet provideth: "Booze bra" unveiled, giving women an extra two cup sizes as well as a wine rack" Booze bra gives women a wine rack | Metro.co.uk

 

[RonBoyd]

I highly recommend the boards at Cruise Critic - Cruises, Cruise Ship Reviews, Ratings, Cruise Deals, Cruise Forums. Tons of great advice there from seasoned cruisers.

Also consider Cruise Addicts - Cruise reviews, message boards, photo galleries, news and deals and Cruisemates Cruise Guide; Cruise Reviews, Message Boards and Bargains.. Both of which have a blog that is worth visiting frequently.

And dont forget Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor (which uses Cruise Critic for reviews) to hear what other travelers have to say about travel suppliers-- in addition to cruise lines. This site is particularly valuable for information on hotels.

 

[Art G]

Over the years we've done a few on Royal Caribbean. I've noticed the cruises have gotten more affordable, but the ammenities have definitely decreased. The disadvantage of going out of Galveston is that you are pretty limited as to which ports can be reached in a week. I keep looking for new places to go, if anyone has been somewhere that they would strongly recommend, please post it.
So far, my favorite places have probably been Grand Cayman and Antigua.

 

[happy2bretired]

I've enjoyed the two that my daughter and I took. Those might be the last ones for awhile tho. I don't want to go by myself and I'm too shy to sign up as a single, asking for a roommate nor do I want to pay the singles supplement.

The European river cruises sound very interesting to me. Maybe someday.

 

[unclemick]

Must be that time of year - got three Princess cruise brochures in the last two days(with snow on the ground) - Europe, Canada!!, and Mexican(Pacific side) with a big bucks one to Hawaii out of LA.

Went in 2006 - second on 25 years.

They are trying to make me feel bad about February in Kansas City! They don't know what a cheap SOB I really am. Still - never say never - I did renew my Passport.

heh heh heh -

 

[TromboneAl]

Is there an elephant in the room that no one is talking about: noroviruses.

Is this a concern? We had friends who were on a cruise that had an outbreak, and it was like martial law had been declared.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Is there an elephant in the room that no one is talking about: noroviruses.

Is this a concern? We had friends who were on a cruise that had an outbreak, and it was like martial law had been declared.

Ive only heard of one cruise having that problem in the news. Is it a major problem that happens all the time?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Is there an elephant in the room that no one is talking about: noroviruses.

I think Norwalk virus (recently viewed as a subset of noroviruses, as you mention) is always a possible risk but seems to be less troublesome with current precautions. There are Purell dispensers everywhere (though no one really knows if it works), and soapy hand washing or such disinfectants reduce your risk of illness by close to half. I don't consider it a show-stopper risk, and then there's travelers' diarrhea in central america and elsewhere; I acquired giardiasis in Jamaica years ago.

I carry a small bottle of hand disinfectant, avoid touching bannisters and door handles (or disinfect after I do) and so far so good. A couple of packets of rehydration stuff in the suitcase is probably not a bad idea.

 

[tightasadrum]

I think Norwalk virus (recently viewed as a subset of noroviruses, as you mention) is always a possible risk but seems to be less troublesome with current precautions. There are Purell dispensers everywhere (though no one really knows if it works), and soapy hand washing or such disinfectants reduce your risk of illness by close to half. I don't consider it a show-stopper risk, and then there's travelers' diarrhea in central america and elsewhere; I acquired giardiasis in Jamaica years ago.

I carry a small bottle of hand disinfectant, avoid touching bannisters and door handles (or disinfect after I do) and so far so good. A couple of packets of rehydration stuff in the suitcase is probably not a bad idea.

OK, spoil my fun. I have a cruise planned next fall on NCL. Now I'll have to defend against the invisibles.

Most of my cruises were on grey ships with large white numbers.

A few years ago we cruised with some friends to Mexico and back to FL. Had the kids along too which added a little stress due to their ages, early teens. It brought back some nice memories of being at sea. I think I enjoyed the 2-day return at sea the most. I kept thinking the messenger would come to inform me that it was time for my bridge watch, but he never did. I'll admit I was a little disappointed. The Mexico ports didn't do much for me. Oh, and I took the ferry from Alaska to British Columbia on my Alaska epic if that counts. This fall we pick up the NCL ship in Barcelona and cruise to Naples and some other ports south of there. We'll be with several other crazy couples for over a week. It should be fun, except for those invisible bugs...

 

[unclemick]

A couple of packets of rehydration stuff in the suitcase is probably not a bad idea.

Let me confess my ignorance - what are rehydration packets and what's in them?

heh heh heh - ?

 

[KM]

Our Panama Canal cruise (RCL) had a small outbreak and they basically shut down the "self-serve" buffet and had all dining staff on hand to serve people. We, ourselves, never got sick. That is the only time we saw a problem.

On Celebrity, we were not allowed to serve ourselves at the buffet anyway - they always had serving staff.

I think the "open-buffets" are probably a large contributor to the problem. Many people try to avoid them by eating dining room only. But I have heard of some of these people getting sick also. Using a handrail, etc. is an easy way to pick something up. From what I understand, if you go to the infirmary, they will quarantine you. A lot of people choose to just take care of themselves, so they avoid the quarantine - which may just make the problem worse - depending on how much they are taking care of themselves.

You definitely want to keep washing your hands, using the Purell (bring your own also) and always check your glasses, silverware, and dishes before you eat. More than once I found a coffee cup with lipstick on it. We reported it, only to find another one the next day.

All in all, it would not stop me from cruising.

 

[simple girl]

Is there an elephant in the room that no one is talking about: noroviruses.

Is this a concern? We had friends who were on a cruise that had an outbreak, and it was like martial law had been declared.

We had an outbreak on our cruise. They made you spray your hands with antibacterial stuff before eating and upon returning from excursions. They also stopped self-serve at the buffet. I carried my own hand disinfectant that I used frequently. It wasn't a big deal to me, but I didn't get sick.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Let me confess my ignorance - what are rehydration packets and what's in them?

We could tell ya, but then we'd have to kill ya.

Basically dried gatorade. Electrolytes and all that other magic stuff.

 

[unclemick]

We could tell ya, but then we'd have to kill ya.

Basically dried gatorade. Electrolytes and all that other magic stuff.

Definitely like your version better than the UNICEF formula for infants(kids) I Googled up.

Poor guys - you would think they would put some flavor in there or something.

heh heh heh - but I guess it isn't medicine otherwise - the old it's gotta taste bad to be good??

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

This, for example.

 

[unclemick]

Wow - I'm begining to be sorry I asked - the Pepsi I'm drinking is starting to taste funny.

But thanks for the info. I can buy CeraLyte without a prescription?

heh heh heh - no immediate plans to cruise, although learning toward Alaska this summer.

 

[Nords]

Is this a concern? We had friends who were on a cruise that had an outbreak, and it was like martial law had been declared.

Only if they find out from you that you're sick. The healthy people get to continue moving around the ship and it has that many fewer passengers out & about.

And you won't get sick if you're using the hand sanitizers and taking normal precautions like not putting your fingers in your nose or eyes, not licking the sneeze shield at the buffet, not kissing the other passengers...

Drinking plenty of alcohol might help kill the virus too.

 

[FlogBlogger]

I understand the hand wipes have proven more effective than disinfectant only...some ships have switched to the wipes. Downside is, they seem to run out and don't get immediately replenished.

Favorite cruise of my twenty? For the shipboard amenities, Celebrity Century-class ships. For the destination, hands-down it's the Yangzte River...and LBYM-qualified (at least in non-Olympic years).

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I just read a thing that said the hand disinfectants are helpful but not compellingly so. Some guessing that the bad bugs get under fingernails, jewelry, or places where the gel or wipes isnt applied.

But they're still SOME help.

All I know is that when following a 3 year old around to chuck-e-cheese, indoor parks and kids play areas at restaurants results in getting sick at least twice a month in the wintertime. No matter how much gel you hose everyone down with.