Travel

[Grouchomarx]

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@homedecor1 wrote:

thank you! @Grouchomarx 

I checked out the reviews today.  Won't make any final plans until I'm absolutely sure their spouses are good with it.  They both have "needy" spouses, if you know what I mean🙄🤷‍♀️

mine doesn't care traveling not his thing.

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Go on the boards and ask questions. You'll get a lot of advice. Just try to be specific with your questions.  Some of the people on there can be grouchy!  

[travel kitty 2]

I would suggest Norweigen Cruise Line.  We love NCL.  Its freesyle cruisng at its best. No dress up any night and food is wonderful.  

They have great perks now.  We love the 5 day cruises but have done 7 days as well on NCL Escape, great ship!  I would suggest a 5 day cruise with 2 sea days if possible. We are going on the NCL Getaway a sister ship to the Escape for 5 days to Mexico in December. 

[Mom2Dogs]

@homedecor1 ...dang, can I join you and your cousins?  I am not much of a traveler but would like to try a cruise...dh is not interested at all....so unless I go alone, it won't happen.

[Lipstickdiva]

I personally wouldn't do a 7 day cruise for the first time.   But that's just me.  People either love cruising or hate it and if you hate it and are stuck on a ship for 7 days, you could be miserable.

DH and I have done 3 cruises. The first 2 were 4 nights and the last one was 5 nights and DH said he has no desire to do any longer than 5 nights.  We realize since we don't want longer than 5 nights, we are very limited in where we can go.  

For the most part I  think you get more bang for your buck going directly to a resort in a desired location.

You can google spring break 2020 and a website comes up that lists almost every college.  I already did this because I am planning our 2020 cruise and the entire month of March has colleges on spring break.   DH and I were on NCL in 2018 and hit some of spring break.  It was bad enough for the few hundred college kids that were on board.  We were told the week prior was horrendous with college kids and they were expecting even worse the following week.

I think college kids are more apt to do Carnival and NCL than other cruiselines.   Especially steer clear of the cruises that include alcohol like some of the NCL Sky and Sun sailings.  I personally have no desire to do any type of short cruise over a weekend because those are definitely more booze cruises.

I'm very sympathetic to anyone with motion sickness because I get it horribly.  The patch isn't always the answer for everyone.  Some have adverse reactions to it.  This last cruise it really threw me for a loop and I was off kilter our entire cruise.

I would also suggest a travel agent that specializes in cruises.  I contacted AAA for our last cruise and they did nothing for me but look up prices just like I did on my own.  I realize it depends on your branch but I would only use a cruise specialist if I were going to use a TA at all.  

The AAA agent did advise us that Holland America is more of an older crowd and not much happens on those cruises past 10:00 because everyone is in bed (LOL) but I post on a FB page for cruisers and many said that is not true.           

[Lipstickdiva]

@homedecor1, you may also want to look into MSC and Celebrity.  I have read really wonderful things about those cruiselines.  

[Happiness Is Inside JOB]

I LOVE CRUISING.... I have been on 14 cruises.

I did not read all the suggestions so if this is a repeat please ignore.

1) BUDGET - For me, I am on a budget so I pay for as much as I can before the CRUISE!!! When your cruise is paid in full, you will get a confirmation type number.

With that number, you can go on the cruise website and start to purchase things.  For example.

I purchase a soda card.  Soda cost money on cruise ships.  Free drinks mean water, juice, coffee, tea, punch NOT soda, ginger ale, or liquor or even liquor free mixed drinks.

Credit Card on Ship:

When you board they ask you to apply a credit card to your cabin for charges. YOU DON"T HAVE TO DO THAT.  I never do that. I put CASH on my cabin at the customer service desk on the ship.  So if you don't have any extra charges at the back end.

Pay for excursions in advance.  For me, I prefer to go on the ship sponsored shore excursions  for safety and other reasons.  Hubby and I select our excurision in advance and pay for them so it is ONE less thing for the trip.

Gratitudes: We pay for this in advance. People who clean your room, waiters at dinner.  This cost can not be avoided.

Cruise Cash:

I often buy around 200.00 in cruise cash.  This is applied to your cabin and can be used for anything you buy on the ship. 

Spa:

You can also pay for your spa services in advance.  Just a nice thing to have planned for the cruise.

Spending Money:

Hubby and I have an envelope, each pay day we put like 20 or 50.00 cash in the envelope so by the time the TRIP comes, we have around 1000.00 spending money for whatever we want to buy at the ports or on the ship.

The best advice I have for you in read information on a website called CRUISE CRITICS and put money aside and pay for as MUCH as you can in advance.  SO you don't return from your cruise with large credit card balances.

[Happiness Is Inside JOB]

Motion Sickness:

I can not share this enough, motion sickness can RUIN a cruise.

Motion sickness is NOT like a headache, where you take advil and in 15 minutes you feel better.

Motion sickness medication MUST be in your system in advance of the event.

For example:

My cruise leaves Saturday

I start taking my CVS 24 hour motion sickness medication on WEDNESDAY

I take one pill a day

EVERYDAY

NO MATTER if the waters are rough or calm.

DON"T STOP

The sea is a powerful lady.

It can be calm now and in 10 minutes rough.

Also I find on cruises, the CAPTAIN speeds up the ship at night to get to the next port.

I have rarely felt sick in the day, it is at midnight or later.

If you drink liquor it is important that you understand that the two don't mix well.  My hubby might have one drink a day in the eveing.  So I give him his motion sickness pill FIRST THING in the am.

So by 7:00 pm or so he can have his one drink.

DON"T take the medication and be a liquor drinker all day....you WILL GET SICK..

The main thing is, no matter how GOOD you feel, don't stop taking that medicine. You might have a port where you are tendering (which means leaving the big boat to go to a small boat) and those smaller boats are ROCKY....

As far as taking a 7 day cruise first...

For ME, hubby and I took a 3 day first out of Florida to SEE if he liked it.  Some people DON"T so I would NEVER advise a 7 day cruise first.

I think if you do select a 7 day cruise. PICK one where EVERY DAY you stop at a port.  Don't pick one where you float for two days or more.

That is the KEY with cruises.  Get educated. You can pick a 7 day cruise that leaves August 5 that stops at a port everyday...and someone else pick a cruise on the SAME cruise line, leaves the SAME day and they float for 4 days.

[Grouchomarx]

Nowadays anything you can book in advance you must pay in advance as well. This includes specialty dining, excursions, etc. So a lot of the expenses will be prepaid.

[Mz iMac]

@homedecor1"I will say it was trips that were only 2 weeks and superior accommodation - always had "penthouse or verandah suite""

I only take HA for their Panama Canel cruises.  The one I took my "rich" grandson on 3 yrs ago, my SIL paid for a Verandah "Stateroom."  I thought I was in heaven untill I took a peek

inside the "Penthouse Suite."  Just took my breath away.

[homedecor1]

@Mz iMac 

I was very spoiled for many years!  My friend was a 5 star mariner on Holland America & Royal Carribean (not sure what level).

I was very blessed to share many wonderful trips with him!  The most memorable was our trip to Panama Canal.  He had trip planned us a trip to Alaska & cruise but sadly he passed away .

Much to my surprise he gifted me thru his estate:

1). 2 week cruise (for 2) on Regal Princess.  Everything was paid for including my hotel & airfare to go over to Ft. Lauderdale and upgrade dining & spending $ for the cruise.

2) $$ to put towards cruise of my choice which I think is going to Alaska. 

Best times ever!!!