Need cruise advice

[mystang52]

I agree with most of the prior suggestions. I'll summarize, for OP's benefit:
1) I suggest booking one balcony cabin for you and DW, and inside cabin directly across hall for the kids.
2) Use a travel agent. I've done it myself, used a brick and mortar cruise-specific travel agent, and now use Vacations to Go.
3) (others may disagree here) At least for the first cruise, consider one of the mega-sized ships. Lots more entertainment options on these ships.

4) Watch your budget. It's easy to spend considerably more [than intended?] after you board the ship.

 

[Sunset]

I agree with most of the prior suggestions. I'll summarize, for OP's benefit:
.....
3) (others may disagree here) At least for the first cruise, consider one of the mega-sized ships. Lots more entertainment options on these ships.

......

+1
While old folks might like the tiny ships, kids will love the mega ship as they have many options and activities and lots of other kids to interact with, a small ship can be seen as boring by kids with nothing to do but read.

 

[Jombox50]

Hey y'all. I haven't ever booked a cruise before. So here is the situation- we have a local holiday (Mardi Gras) and are considering taking the fam (Me, DH and two boys 11 and 14) on a cruise. It has to be that week and no other thanks to the boys being off from school. We would drive to the port (Canaveral, Tampa or New Orleans)

I don't understand cruise pricing- its double occupancy, right? Does it change if you have more than 2 people in a room? Can you book adjoining rooms, and if you do, can one be ocean view and one be balcony? Do cruises get more heavily discounted closer to sailing date? When is high season and low season? Is it cheaper to do it yourself or would a travel agent be better in this situation. Thanks!

vacationstogo.com

 

[HtownRose]

4 family member to a cabin is doable IMO but bathroom coordination is a pain in the rear.

On some ships, there are nice locker room type showers in the spa area that can be used by anyone. And all ships will have bathrooms that can be used by anyone around the public areas of the ship - near the dining room, buffet, pool, etc.

 

[omni550]

+1 on Vacations-to-Go.

Be aware, you will get eaten up by all the added fees (port fees, taxes, etc.) beforehand, which can be ~20% of the cost of the trip.

And as others have mentioned, they really sock it to you for any beverages other than non-bottled water, tea, coffee and lemonade.

Another expense is tips for the crew, which you are expected to pay the day before leaving the ship. They give you an envelope with suggested amounts for tipping.

If you sign up for the cruise early enough, it often will include beverage packages and tipping as incentive to sign-up. The savings can be substantial.

omni

 

[Amethyst]

We have only been on one cruise so far, a week on a large Princess ship as part of an Alaska tour. Everything was "included," including tips and alcohol. One thing I noticed: Menu prices for cocktails were rather inexpensive; average of $8.00 or so apiece, even for the fancier drinks. Where we live, cocktails at a restaurant easily run $12-$14 apiece.

I couldn't tell if this reflected cheaper Alaskan prices (seems unlikely), or whether the cruise company is simply encouraging everybody to drink as much as they can! The bartenders were all so friendly, too.

It did get tedious having to go to a bar and show our beverage card, every time we wanted a bottled water, which was often.

+
And as others have mentioned, they really sock it to you for any beverages other than non-bottled water, tea, coffee and lemonade.

 

[sengsational]

Another expense is tips for the crew, which you are expected to pay the day before leaving the ship. They give you an envelope with suggested amounts for tipping.

What cruise lines still do that? Seems like the last time I saw that was in the 1990's.


They went from envelopes with cash, to putting the default daily charge on your onboard account with the opportunity to alter the amount on the last day, to sticking you with the standard tip amount with no option to change it.

 

[Bamaman]

Cheap drinks? Cruise lines are now trying to get customers to sign up for the All you Can Drink cards. Norwegian regularly charges $9 and $10 for highballs. Mixed drinks are $10-12. Beers are about $7. The all inclusive plan is about $89 a day plus another 18% for service charges.

I'm sorry, but alcoholic beverages are no longer that important to me.

 

[sengsational]

There hasn't been a drink plan that would ever be a good deal for me. If you could buy it by the day, maybe, but they sell it only for the whole cruise, and the deals I've seen require both in the cabin to buy it. I get whatever beer I want, whenever I want, and it comes out much cheaper.

 

[flintnational]

We have also had good luck with vacations to go. I like their 90 day ticker. It shows last minute cruise deals. I think others have answered your specific questions. I will add one item. Cruise lines compete for different segments of the market. I like to think of them as floating hotels, budget mid-range and high end. The differences show in the food, entertainment, service and rooms. While all three segments are fine, we stick with the mid-range options. Celebrity and Princess are our favorites and to a lesser degree, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Have a great trip!

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

There hasn't been a drink plan that would ever be a good deal for me. If you could buy it by the day, maybe, but they sell it only for the whole cruise, and the deals I've seen require both in the cabin to buy it. I get whatever beer I want, whenever I want, and it comes out much cheaper.

I feel I'd have to drink like a fish in order to make a cruise long drink plan "worth it" especially if it's a port intensive itinerary. Plus I'm a relative lightweight. But there is also a slight convenience factor and I can see it being kind of fun trying different drinks.
While I don't think I've seen any sell them by the day, I've experienced a few cruises where they sold drink packages even up to the last few days of the cruise. I was considering getting one for the last two days, one of which was a sea day.

 

[omni550]

There hasn't been a drink plan that would ever be a good deal for me. If you could buy it by the day, maybe, but they sell it only for the whole cruise, and the deals I've seen require both in the cabin to buy it. I get whatever beer I want, whenever I want, and it comes out much cheaper.

The last cruise I went on (on Celebrity, Chile to Argentine, via Tierra del Fuego) lasted 2 weeks, with quite a few sea days...plus 2 added unplanned ones due to the sea being too rough to use the tenders for the ports we were planning on exploring.

We got the drink package as a bonus for early sign-up. At home, I can go for weeks without a drink, btw. But when you're on a cruise, and it's basically paid-for, why not indulge a bit?

It was nice to be able to grab the $3 bottles of water for no charge every time we disembarked, reboarded, or were thirsty on board. There was a fabulous coffee bar on board, so we got to enjoy all sorts of fancy coffee drinks (many were $8-12 when paying out of pocket) and pastries at no extra charge. Grabbing an ice cold beer (from an assortment of all types of international beers) for free to go with the fresh pizza or grilled burgers by the pool at lunch or mid-afternoon snack was nice. They also had a gelato bar that was included for free on the drink package. An aperitif before dinner, a glass or two of wine with dinner, and a drink served while watching the evening show typically rounded-out the day. Sometimes we'd go to a club later and have a nightcap. It was no problem to use the beverage card 8-10 times a day. It was very nice not to have to even think about any expense involved with enjoying ourselves on board.

omni

 

[ohyes]

Hey y'all. I haven't ever booked a cruise before. So here is the situation- we have a local holiday (Mardi Gras) and are considering taking the fam (Me, DH and two boys 11 and 14) on a cruise. It has to be that week and no other thanks to the boys being off from school. We would drive to the port (Canaveral, Tampa or New Orleans)

Is it cheaper to do it yourself or would a travel agent be better in this situation. Thanks!

I am excited for you--nothing like your first cruise. We have only been on five; our first cruise was in 2005, obviously, we do not cruise very often (two more booked in 2019). We prefer land vacations, but cruises are fun.

The brick and mortar travel agent is the way to go for your first cruise, IMHO. At least, find someone you can email or converse with on the phone. You want someone you can come back to again and again with questions that pop up. If you want a name of the person we are using for our February 2019 cruise, let me know. There's no perk in it for me. She was recommended (via private message) by a Cruise Critic poster and has been most helpful--plus, booking with her included $100 OBC per cabin.

I remember the sticker shock of our first couple cruises, as already mentioned. You see this base price and it looks decent, and then you see the final price, with the taxes and port fees, etc.

We prefer to prepay gratuities, just to suck it up and get it over with.

We have sailed with Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean. DH and I swore never to book on Carnival again, but are going on the Carnival Dream in February. It looks to be a very nice ship. We are taking our 28 and 34 yo old with us; it is their Christmas present.

Keep us updated; I look forward to hearing about your experience.

(DH and I almost always purchase the drink package.)

 

[FIREarly]

I don't understand cruise pricing- its double occupancy, right? Does it change if you have more than 2 people in a room? Can you book adjoining rooms, and if you do, can one be ocean view and one be balcony? Do cruises get more heavily discounted closer to sailing date? When is high season and low season? Is it cheaper to do it yourself or would a travel agent be better in this situation. Thanks!

-Its double occupancy, right? Varies depending on the size of the room you get.
-Does it change if you have more than 2 people in a room? Possibly, if you get an inside cabin or smaller room you probably do not want more than 2 people in the room.
-Can you book adjoining rooms, and if you do, can one be ocean view and one be balcony? Believe so, we only were 2 people and did not look for this. After staying in multiple hotels, cruises must have adjoining rooms.
-Do cruises get more heavily discounted closer to sailing date? They should because if the room is not sold it is lost forever. They cannot sell the room after the cruise returns. You can search for sites that sell last minute cruises.
-When is high season and low season? Low season (cheaper tickets) during hurricane season. You might get a good week, you might not. The port you are originally destined for might not be available while you are cruising. This happened to us. Most nights sleeping were great. One night sleeping stunk (AKA little sleep). Don't know if it is worth it to you but it is your call.
-Is it cheaper to do it yourself or would a travel agent be better in this situation? If you are not comfortable looking use a TA. It should cost less doing it on your own if you know what you're doing but not guaranteed. COSTCO also has a travel department with cruises. I have not used it yet but heard a great review. travel.costco.com

 

[Moemg]

Royal Caribbean usually sells a drink card half way into the cruise 10 drinks for $75 . I drink wine and most wines run $12 so for us it is a good deal.

 

[Helen]

I've used VacationsToGo and been happy with them. On our last cruise I spoke with a couple who booked through Costco and they had a much better deal so I will look into that next time.

 

[FIREarly]

I've used VacationsToGo and been happy with them. On our last cruise I spoke with a couple who booked through Costco and they had a much better deal so I will look into that next time.

Costco has great prices on:
-Groceries
-Travel
-Ready-to-eat food by the cashiers
-Membership

It's no wonder their stock is so high. It would be nice if that split!

Cruise related: take your first cruise! You'll love it!

 

[Souschef]

What cruise lines still do that? Seems like the last time I saw that was in the 1990's.


They went from envelopes with cash, to putting the default daily charge on your onboard account with the opportunity to alter the amount on the last day, to sticking you with the standard tip amount with no option to change it.

One of the reasons they changed was there were always some people who wanted to stiff the staff.
On the last night many dining rooms were like a ghost town because the people did not want to tip the staff.

 

[Bamaman]

We have been taking cruises since 1977, and for the last few years have been using a specialist: Ann Kent, Owner of Sea Ya Travel Inc., an Independent Agency in the Avoya Travel Network. She is online. Ann is undoubtedly the most organized human being I've ever run into. And she's found us a number of freebies on board--sales incentives.

There are some huge cruise specialist travel agents. We took a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome year before last on Holland America and one agent had 350 rooms booked with his customers.

 

[sengsational]

It was nice to be able to grab the $3 bottles of water for no charge every time we disembarked, reboarded, or were thirsty on board. There was a fabulous coffee bar on board, so we got to enjoy all sorts of fancy coffee drinks (many were $8-12 when paying out of pocket) and pastries at no extra charge. Grabbing an ice cold beer (from an assortment of all types of international beers) for free to go with the fresh pizza or grilled burgers by the pool at lunch or mid-afternoon snack was nice. They also had a gelato bar that was included for free on the drink package. An aperitif before dinner, a glass or two of wine with dinner, and a drink served while watching the evening show typically rounded-out the day. Sometimes we'd go to a club later and have a nightcap. It was no problem to use the beverage card 8-10 times a day. It was very nice not to have to even think about any expense involved with enjoying ourselves on board.
,

Having the "not think about it" is certainly in the spirit of care free vacations. I'm only in early training of not thinking about it if I'm paying for each beer. I'm getting better at it, though.


The other things included in the inclusive drink package escaped my attention, but I did very much enjoy the fancy coffee on a CDF cruise where a basic drink package was included for free. Upgrading to a nice beer was only a buck on that cruise and I always upgraded!

 

[Scuba]

I agree with others who recommended trip insurance. We had to cancel cruises two different times - once while still working and a key employee suddenly became ill and I had to cover for her, and once when my dog got cancer and I needed to stay home to manage his treatment. Cruise line cancellation policies are very clearly spelled out and in my experience the cruise lines stick to them. In both of the above cases, we had to pay 75% of the total fare because we didn’t have insurance. Ouch! We don’t always buy trip insurance for land-based trips because changes can typically be made late in the game with low or no costs, but we will never book another cruise without buying insurance.

 

[omni550]

I agree with others who recommended trip insurance. We had to cancel cruises two different times - once while still working and a key employee suddenly became ill and I had to cover for her, and once when my dog got cancer and I needed to stay home to manage his treatment. Cruise line cancellation policies are very clearly spelled out and in my experience the cruise lines stick to them. In both of the above cases, we had to pay 75% of the total fare because we didn’t have insurance. Ouch! We don’t always buy trip insurance for land-based trips because changes can typically be made late in the game with low or no costs, but we will never book another cruise without buying insurance.

+1 on travel insurance for a cruise

My cousin, her hubby, her sister-in-law (SIL), and I were scheduled for a 2-week cruise last December departing out of Chile. Four days before the cruise, cuz's hubby was hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk. Cuz's hubby needed major surgery and 3 months recovery. My cousin stayed home to care for him. SIL and I went on the cruise.

BTW, we originally had 2 adjacent balcony cabins reserved for the 4 of us. The cruise line had no problem filling the now-vacant cabin that had been reserved for my cousin and her hubby, yet would not refund anything to them as a result of the accident.

omni

 

[mystang52]

Re: trip cancellation insurance It is super-critical to read the policy and what is covered. As one example, unless one buys cancel-for-any-reason I doubt that a pet's illness would qualify to pay for a cancellation.

 

[mpeirce]

We really need different words for different types of cruises besides just "a cruise".

I've gone on three ocean cruises now and there's always wine (and beer) with dinner at no extra charge and freely available coffee, treats, sandwiches, sodas, etc. between meals. Picking where on board to eat is simply a matter of what sounds good tonight. Small eating venues sometimes have reservations, but that's because they are small, not because they cost anything more.

And what's a port fee? Isn't going to various ports the whole idea of a cruise so why should I pay more for being there?

I've never been on "the big ships" and it sure sounds like I never want to.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Re: trip cancellation insurance It is super-critical to read the policy and what is covered. As one example, unless one buys cancel-for-any-reason I doubt that a pet's illness would qualify to pay for a cancellation.

Our Costco Visa has trip insurance as a benefit up to $3K per person, and i lnterestingly, would cover a pet’s illness. Who knew. It could be a standard thing to cover. From the Costco Visa website:

The Covered Traveler’s pet, has an injury or serious illness that is either life threatening or requires care and is verified by a licensed veterinarian. Pet(s) means any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately.