Heading off on my first cruise

[jamf]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Are you going on the Valor hooskins? I went on that one for my honeymoon and it was amazing. It's likely it was the same boat. I went West Caribbean as well and I loved it...

TMC, Does this really count as a honeymoon?

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Are you going on the Valor hooskins? I went on that one for my honeymoon and it was amazing. It's likely it was the same boat. I went West Caribbean as well and I loved it...

BTW, my eastern caribbean cruise was on the Valor.
If you like Carnival, you'll love Royal Caribbean. I'll never go back to Carnival, RC is twice the cruise line.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by jamf

Jsarno, do you have a travel agent or do you just purchase online?

The very first I did was through a travel agent...the last 3 were on my own. You save more money that way.
I usually go to Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cheap Cruises, Cruise Deals, Cruise Bargain, Cruise Line cause their search engine is the best. I will then look around to see how much the other sites are charging. It's best to buy through the cruise line themself if they are the same price.

[dmek25]

quit talking about how great they are. i have been after my wife for years to go on one. she says once she cant see the land, she would be petrified

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by dmek25

quit talking about how great they are. i have been after my wife for years to go on one. she says once she cant see the land, she would be petrified

My wife said the same thing until I got her on one. These boats are so massive, you have no idea even when you leave port if you're not looking outside!
Talk your wife into it, it's totally worth it. They are the best vacations you can buy.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by jsarno

How many cruises have you done?

Uno, and that's all it took.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by jsarno

BTW, my eastern caribbean cruise was on the Valor.
If you like Carnival, you'll love Royal Caribbean. I'll never go back to Carnival, RC is twice the cruise line.

I've heard a lot of people liking them as well. We'll probably try them next just to see who we like the most before we get set with a certain company.

[hooskins]

Hey guys just came back home. I went to E.Carr, and two stops at Grand Cayman and Calica, Mexico. I had tons of fun on the excursions and on the ships I pretty much gambled, drank, and whatever that led to.

I dont know how much weight I put on, but I was in the gym everyday, so I dont think I put on too much.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by jsarno

BTW, my eastern caribbean cruise was on the Valor.
If you like Carnival, you'll love Royal Caribbean. I'll never go back to Carnival, RC is twice the cruise line.

I didnt think Carnival was too bad, but there were some points that were upsetting. We went with extended family(about 20+ people) so trying to get them all to spend more money on a nicer cruise line didnt really work.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I've heard a lot of people liking them as well. We'll probably try them next just to see who we like the most before we get set with a certain company.

My hawaiian cruise will be with NCL (Norweigan), and it will be my first on that cruise line. I've heard good things about their freedom dining.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by hooskins

Hey guys just came back home. I went to E.Carr, and two stops at Grand Cayman and Calica, Mexico. I had tons of fun on the excursions and on the ships I pretty much gambled, drank, and whatever that led to.

I think you mean Western Carib...GCayman is directly south of Florida, and then you would go west to Mexico, meaning it's a western caribbean cruise.
Glad you enjoyed it, cruising is amazingly fun, and you can do whatever you want, whenever you want!

I dont know how much weight I put on, but I was in the gym everyday, so I dont think I put on too much.

Actually, I have lost weight on all my cruises. I think it's cause I usually eat two meals a day, and when I cruise I eat like 6 times a day. Plus I usually pick excursions that require exersion.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by hooskins

I didnt think Carnival was too bad, but there were some points that were upsetting. We went with extended family(about 20+ people) so trying to get them all to spend more money on a nicer cruise line didnt really work.

What points were upsetting?

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by jsarno

What points were upsetting?

Well you could tell they were being cheap at times. One of the "free drink" events they only gave you one, and avoided you the rest of the night because they didnt wanna give more than one drink. Also the pools werent too big on the ship they were really shallow, so I never went on any of those. I also think they didnt have enough activities on the ship for people to do.

There were others, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by hooskins

Well you could tell they were being cheap at times. One of the "free drink" events they only gave you one, and avoided you the rest of the night because they didnt wanna give more than one drink. Also the pools werent too big on the ship they were really shallow, so I never went on any of those. I also think they didnt have enough activities on the ship for people to do.

There were others, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

I think the pools are like that due to sway of the ocean...the bigger they are, the more you can lose control of the water in the pool. I have seen many times where the pool water would sway over the sides and they had to drain it.
The rest, I have witnessed myself too.
Carnival is a 2nd rate cruiseline. They are the entry level cruiseline. It's cheap for a reason. You can have a good cruise with them, but you getter a better experience with RC. RC really takes care of you, and they seem like they really care. One of the first big differences I found is that people on RC seem to really WANT to be there and they smile all the time! Carnival has people that will complain about being on board, I've even heard them say that they don't get paid enough, and the smiles are not nearly there on Carnival.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

That's sad. I had the opposite experience in Carnival. My wife was putting sugar in her cappuccino and our server actually was about to shed a tear because he made it wrong. I guess it depends on the crew, but I really enjoyed our's.