Need help from cruise experts.

[pressboxramblings07]

I'm (finally) booking the cruise for our honeymoon this weekend, and neither the future wife nor myself have cruised before. So please treat me like I'm completely ignorant. Because I am. We're departing from Galveston (Texas) and doing the route with Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel.

But a few questions:

1. Royal Caribbean or Carnival? Prices are essentially the same. I've read reviews online that favor both, so I don't know whether to be indifferent or not.

2. As much as I want to get a balcony room, I don't think I'm going to have enough money to get one. Do cruise lines give that kind of upgrades to couples on their honeymoon, like from an ocean view room to a balcony? Or just deck upgrades?

3. Is it better to book excursions before departure or on the ship? Or does it matter?

Any other information/advice would be awesome. Thanks.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

My two cents:

1. If you want to party, Carnival. If you want to relax, Royal Caribbean.

2. Usually, you can book the room you want, but you can sometimes book "best available" for the rate, which could result in an upgrade. It worked for us once.

3. If you know you want to do the excursion, book it now to be guaranteed space. If you don't know, wait.

 

[markvid]

Try this page...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic

 

[pressboxramblings07]

We're actually undercover pirates, but don't tell anyone (and thanks!).

We're definitely looking to relax more than party. Me especially ... working every Saturday but one this year and not a single holiday off has resulted in some good burnout. Just personal time for us together away from everyone.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

I wouldn't consider myself a cruise expert, but the wife and I took a Carnival cruise out of Mobile for our honeymoon last year. We shelled out the bucks for the Verandah room, which will likely ruin all future cruises. It was a relaxing five-day cruise, one I'd highly recommend. (The ship we were on was the oldest in the fleet, but Mobile has been recently upgraded. Even then, we had a great time.)

One recommendation when considering shore excursions: Consider the weather. We were in Cozumel/Playa del Carmen-Tulum in early September when it was hot as Hades. Both our tours were only four hours or so, leaving a lot of shore time left, but we were both so gassed and sweaty that we just went back to our rooms to nap and get ready for dinner and nightlife. Take into account your physical activities and weather.

 

[expendable]

Though I've sailed on both, the one thing I'll offer is if you're into cigars, smoke a Cuban while out at sea.

 

[Magic In The Night]

I've been on a lot of cruises and always avoided Carnival because I heard they were packed with partyers and the food wasn't very good. My favorite is Celebrity, which I think you get the best value for your money. But I've been on Royal Caribbean and it seemed nice enough. I don't think you really lose out if you don't get the balcony because you never spend much time in your room anyway. I always get an inside cabin because I don't care that much about that. But my last cruise, to Alaska, we took the best available and let them give us what was best available and we got a pretty good room that was really conveniently located. If there's a shore excursion you really really want to go on, I'd book it now. Sometimes these things fill up and they don't open up a new one. Otherwise, I'd wait and see how you feel or what the weather is like. A lot of times you can find people in town to take you on these tours and do these things for much less than what the ship offers but you need to be careful on the timing because if you're on a private excursion, they don't hold the ship for you. That's about it. I've cruised the Caribbean a bunch, as well as Alaska and Europe so if you have any more questions, PM me. Have a great time!

 

[joe]

Read David Foster Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," the story in the same-named book.

Compare and contrast.

 

[trifectarich]

Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival is like Mercedes vs. Yugo.

If you can spare whatever's necessary to upgrade your cabin, do it. Especially on your honeymoon, the extra little bit of luxury will be worth it. Be careful at all those ports; the local scam artists are relentless.

 

[pressboxramblings07]

Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival is like Mercedes vs. Yugo.

Can you explain why?

 

[bagelchick]

Everyone always talks about how great the good is on a cruise. There's a ton of it, but I wouldn't classify it as great. Go in with low expectations on that.

The last cruise I was on they took us to a private island that RC owned. We opted to stay on the ship. Best decision ever. We had the entire pool area to ourselves. It was awesome.

You will never in your life see a smaller bathroom then you will see in your cabin. Take advantage of the larger public restrooms when you can.

We booked an outside cabin with a window, but no balcony. This was mostly because my roommate gets sea-sick.

Have fun during the muster drill. It's the worst part of the cruise.

 

[cranberry]

I'm (finally) booking the cruise for our honeymoon this weekend, and neither the future wife nor myself have cruised before. So please treat me like I'm completely ignorant. Because I am. We're departing from Galveston (Texas) and doing the route with Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel.

But a few questions:

1. Royal Caribbean or Carnival? Prices are essentially the same. I've read reviews online that favor both, so I don't know whether to be indifferent or not.

2. As much as I want to get a balcony room, I don't think I'm going to have enough money to get one. Do cruise lines give that kind of upgrades to couples on their honeymoon, like from an ocean view room to a balcony? Or just deck upgrades?

3. Is it better to book excursions before departure or on the ship? Or does it matter?

Any other information/advice would be awesome. Thanks.

1. Royal Caribbean. A little more upscale.
2. Don't know.
3. Usually doesn't matter very much.

 

[21]

You just can't go wrong with RC....

Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival is like Mercedes vs. Yugo.

Can you explain why?

Agree. RC seems to strive for a more elegant experience, Carnival is about the party, and the passengers reflect that.

Which RC ship are you looking at, we've been on several, maybe I can give you more specific info.

Do whatever you can to get the balcony; it's like an extra room to hang out in. At the very least, get a room with the sliding door, so you can feel like you're outside. (FYI, our last cruise, Boom snagged a room on the very back of the ship, the balconies are massive and the views are amazing.)

I wouldn't book excursions in advance, you never really know what you'll feel like doing. Unless you're going at the busiest time of the year (Christmas/NewYears), you can book them on the ship when you really know what you want to do. You will get the best advice from the dining room staff, especially the table captains...they know EVERYTHING, they'll tell you what to do.

Really, some of the excursions are just a waste of money....just as fun to take a cab to the beaches and see what they're offering there, for much cheaper. Although in Grand Cayman, the trip to the stingray sandbar is pretty amazing, you have to do that (get in the water with those slimy suckers, that's when you know if you've married the right person).

Good luck and congrats!

 

[BYH]

Everyone always talks about how great the good is on a cruise. There's a ton of it, but I wouldn't classify it as great. Go in with low expectations on that.

Gotta disagree, at least in my limited experience. Lord almighty the food on our cruise in January (Princess) was ****ing exquisite. On the bright side, I overate so badly that I realized just how fat I'd become and I went on a diet and stuck with it when I got home.

 

[bagelchick]

My food experience is with Royal Carribbean, and all of us were disappointed. Especially the food served at the sit down dinners in the dining room. Not good at all. Like I said, you can't argue with abundance, but that's about all I can say about it.

 

[I Digress]

RC has a really good private island, at least the one I went to. I wouldn't worry about the cabin. You're never in it. Mention the honeymoon when you're booking and see if anything comes of it.. never know.. never hurts to ask....the most fun on a cruise is the fun ship drinks. they're really expensive. I would definitely take more drinking money over a pricier cabin...I never book shore excursions, although I'd go to stingray city...unless there's something you're absolutely dying to do, I'd just wing it. The falls on jamaica are nice, if you feel like climbing.

 

[Magic In The Night]

What 21 said about getting advice from your waiters. Once on a cruise we had a Jamaican waiter and he fixed us up with a buddy of his when we docked at Jamaica. The guy had a van and took all eight of us on a private tour that day. He went wherever we wanted, which was to Rose Hall (the haunted mansion) and then just drove around, pointing out celebs homes, went up into the neighborhoods where you can see the chickens and roosters wandering in the streets, took us to his favorite authentic jerk chicken place out in the boondocks, etc. He charged us $15 each. It was fantastic. Also, if you like to snorkel, the snorkel excursions can be worth it or not. If you have your own equipment, especially in Cozumel, just cab it to the beach. When we did that, we were right next to the people who had paid out the wazoo for the ship's tour. Also, I would tend to agree about Royal Caribbean's food. Only been once on RC and it was OK to good. Celebrity has the best food. I would check Celebrity's prices as well because I really think it's a better experience. The RC private island is a nice experience though. But once you've done all these islands once, and I just about have, sometimes it is very relaxing to just spend time on the ship, go to the near-empty pool and spa and eat on the ship. I have friends who go on Caribbean cruises who never get off the ship because they've been so many times. Anyway, if I think of anything else, I'll post.

 

[cranberry]

You'll be astonished by your bar bill. Consider stashing a supplemental pint in your luggage.

Food on RC was OK, not great, as I recall. The food on Norwegian, with freestyle dining, was far better, although I didn't find the additional cost restaurants worth the expenditure, except for maybe the sushi place.

Bring a canvas duffel bag for the stuff you purchase.

 

[21]

Agree the food is fair to decent. The trick is to order a little of everything, they're happy to bring it. If you want a drink at dinner, tell the drink guy what you want, they can have it waiting for you when you sit down. Never bothered to smuggle a bottle into the cabin, but it's a great idea.

For the staff, it's all about tips; the ship will give you a guide for how much to tip, and it's very specific. You tip once at the end. There is no use for cash on the ship, you can't use it.

Btw, you can get room service at any time for no charge, which is great for an early breakfast when you don't want to deal with the dining room scene, or just hanging out in the afternoon.

 

[finishthehat]

Are you staying in Galveston the night before you leave?

Might want to book that now, hotel rooms are scarce in the aftermath of Ike.

Also, it normally would be a great city to go a day early and explore, but not so much now.