Trying to get back into the cruise thing ...

[Thumper]

We used to love cruising, but when Covid hit, the cruise business went by the wayside. That's when I decided to buy the motorhome as a workaround. It's like a cruise ship without the water. But, the cruise business is flourishing again, so we've booked our first cruise since Covid. My sister and bil are coming in from Houston for a couple of weeks sailing around the Caribbean, so it'll be a nice visit. Heck, I don't even remember where we're going, but no place we haven't been before ... just a nice getaway for us. Oh, and I'll be a regular at the buffet.

[DeputyDog]

We are actually going on a cruise next week for Spring Break. We sail out in Saturday for a week in the Eastern Caribbean.

We decided to do something different this year because for the first time in several years my wife’s school and the kid’s school have the same week off.

We are going on Norwegian and are stopping in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas USVI, Tortola BVI, and their private island in the Bahamas.

This will be the first cruise for the kids but my wife and have have been on several.


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[quercus alba]

Be sure to stop at Tortuga and tell Jack Sparrow I said hello

[Thumper]

Well dang Deppity, we’re headed out on Sunday. If you see the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam in one of your ports, wave at us. The first week will be the Eastern Caribbean. We’re heading back after a week, but my sis and BIL are staying aboard to make it a 2-week trip and will continue on to the Southern Caribbean. We sail out of Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, return to Ft. L the following Sunday where we’ll disembark and head home while they head out for an additional week, then back to Ft. L. the following Sunday. We do the Caribbean cruises just to get out of the house for a while and there aren't too many ports we haven't been to as we've done the Eastern, Southern as well as Western Caribbean thing (some more than once) quite often. Just before Covid, we did the Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego, but I think our favorite was the Mediterranean (sailed out of Venice). I’m hoping to do a repositioning cruise maybe this Fall or next Spring. I enjoy sea days on the balcony most of all. Alaska is also on my bucket list.

We did the D.R. route on our last E. Caribbean cruise, but this time, we're duplicating one of our previous cruises on the Turks & Caicos route. I think the only time we'll match you is on our stop in St. Thomas, but we won't pull into port until Thursday and I assume you'll be there Wednesday. (?) HAL's private island in the Bahamas is Half Moon Cay and I think Norwegian owns Great Stirrup Cay, but again, you'll probably hit the Cay on Friday while we'll pull into Half Moon on Saturday. Heck, we probably won't even spot you in the shipping channels as we'll always be going the same directions.

[DeputyDog]

We’ve done the Eastern a couple times before, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Martin (both sides), and we’ve hit Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Costa Maya in the Western.

Our favorite was the Eastern Med also. We sailed out of Venice and went to Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia, Athens Greece, and Izmir in Turkey.

This time we hit the DR on Monday, St. Thomas on Tuesday, Tortola on Wednesday, then Great Stirrup Cay on Friday. We are sailing out of Port Canaveral. We’ve always left out of Miami before.


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[Thumper]

Yep, I forgot, Norwegian sails out of Canaveral with Disney, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and MSC. Canaveral is actually closer to us, but we almost always sail with Holland America out of Lauderdale. They cater mostly to the older crowd. We like it because there are very few kids. Screaming kids and drunk teenagers tend to take away from the cruise experience. We avoid Carnival mainly for that reason. Disney is FULL of kids of course, but too pricey for us anyway.

[Bwana]

Just curious for those of you have done the cruise thing, do you ever feel stuck? For us, we like to have a loose idea of what we will be doing, but like to have the ability to adapt or change our mind if the feeling hits us. It seems to me that isn't really possible on a cruise, but I guess if you know what you are getting yourself into then it shouldn't be a problem.

Maybe I will change my mind at some point, but as of now I have ZERO interest in going on a cruise.

That being said, I hope you folks have a GREAT time!!

[BarryBobPosthole]

We’re not cruise people. Tried it a few times and Of course the complaints come mainly from me. My main beefs:

1.The illness stuff alone on cruise ships is enough to keep me away from them forever.
2. The dive excursions on cruise ships are almost 100% cattle boat type operations. Ask any diver how they feel about those.
3. The same goes for booze cruises and snorkeling trips with 100 idiots.
4. I hate having to put on a monkey suit for dinner every damn night. I’ve worn one suit since I retired eight years ago and that was to my daughter’s funeral. Just ain’t gonna do it.
5. buffet lines, whether in Vegas or on board a floating tylenol, reminds me of feeding the pigs every morning back in the day. It put me off my feed then and still does. Humans lining up at a trough just ain’t in the cards for me.
6. I’ve never won a nickel in one of their casinos. Rigged.
7. I run out of fun shit to do about day three. Boring.

But by all means, have fun on your cruises!

BKb

[Thumper]

P-hole, I’m not sure who you cruised with you old curmudgeon, but you evidently didn’t use any options available to you. You don’t have to do the buffet at all if you don’t want. Personally, I like it for breakfast and usually lunch. You can do breakfast, lunch and dinner in the main dining room (MDR in cruise talk) if you prefer. It’s like going to a restaurant and you order from the menu. We do all dinners in the MDR. I never really enjoyed “formal night” myself, but some do. BUT, things have changed and formal night attire has been optional for many years. Decent slacks and a button down shirt is acceptable, no suit or tux required, not even a dinner jacket or tie anymore for you Neanderthals. Formal night is generally ONE night (maybe a couple on long cruises). Don’t like the buffet OR the MDR? You have a dozen “Specialty Restaurants” to choose from. Like at home, eat where you want. Personally, we don’t do specialty restaurants because we’re cheap. The MDR, buffet and the bazillion small snack bar/poolside burger bar type outlets scattered all over the ship are all included in the price of the cruise.

As for the cattle boat excursions, we VERY SELDOM book excursions through the cruise line, but use private party locals. We can do whatever we want and pick and choose where we go and what we do. (Plus it’s cheaper and we can negotiate prices). No different than when you travel, book whomever you want. You have NO obligation to use the cruise company connections. Same goes for transportation. We don’t hop on a bus full of cruise nut jobs, we take local transportation and go wherever we want. Remember, I’m a guy who does NOT like tourists (I’ve lived with them all my life). The last time we went to Mexico, half the dang ship headed to Carlos & Charlies to party. Lynn and I grabbed a taxi, asked the driver where he likes to take HIS family out to eat and had him take us there. It was some of the best AUTHENTIC (not bastardized/Americanized) food we’ve had. We like to go to the places where we are the only honkie faces in the place, then you know it’s real. We went to some mom & pop place in deepest, darkest Mexico once and the owner/cook actually took Lynn back into the kitchen to show her how to prepare the meal we were interested in trying. You don’t get that on commercial excursions.

Bwana, a ship is a floating city. If you’re a country boy, get off at the port, grab a local with a car and go exploring. I never, NEVER, EVER hang around the port with a human wave of cruise tourists. You seldom have more than one or sometimes two sea days on a cruise. They go from port to port. Use some imagination, think outside the box, get away from the dock and do whatever turns your crank.

A HUGE plus with a cruise is, everything is included. The ship is your hotel room. The ship holds your restaurants. The ship holds your entertainment venues, be it the movie theater, night club, library … whatever. The ship is your transportation. Think of the cost to fly to 5 different countries, Uber where you need to go, pay for hotels and restaurants as well as whatever entertainment you might want. The cost would be astronomical. A cruise is the best bargain ever for travel.

If it doesn’t float your boat, I can understand. As an example, this country has a love affair with sports but just the thought of sitting in the stands watching a complete frigging baseball game would gag me. Find what’s “you” and go for it.

[DeputyDog]

We usually go with Norwegian and they do what they call “freestyle” cruising. No formal dress requirements but usually no shorts in the dining rooms for dinner. There is no set seating time either like their used to be, just pick the dining room/restaurant you want to go to and walk in to be seated. Like Thump said, there are more than enough options included but if you want you can go to o e of their “specialty” restaurants for a charge.


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[Thumper]

Yeppers, it also has a LOT to do with the line itself. Lynn used to sell the food orders for the cruise lines. Some buy absolute garbage, others buy quality. It's like anything else, you "generally" get what you pay for. The other consideration as to which line to take is their target audience. I wouldn't be caught dead on a Carnival cruise for example. It's caters to the younger, party animal crowd. They buy the crappiest food of anybody because what does a teenager on spring break who's drunk on his ass and puking in the pool care about fine dining? Royal Caribbean is very similar, but slightly toned down compared to Carnival. You've got the lines that attract young families, but I do NOT want to try relaxing around a pool overflowing with 1200 screaming, water-splashing kids. Cruises take a bit of research and/or experience to find what suits you. I could see where taking the wrong cruise line that doesn't fit your lifestyle or expectations could turn one off to cruising.

Ha! Back to my example: For grins, I just Googled Carnival and this is the first thing that popped up. It's nice wording used to say stay away if you're not a 20 something party animal.

Carnival is known for cultivating a highly energetic atmosphere onboard - people often refer to these cruise ships as the party ships!

I'm not picking on Carnival, it has it's place. I'm simply using it as an example. Some people who have never cruised, may fall for the extensive advertising Carnival does. Many people may think a cruise ship is a cruise ship and simply shop price. Some don't know to check the history of the ship. Is it 20 years old and had it's only update and refurb in 2007? Is it an old tub with no stabilizers that will make you seasick just sitting in the port? A cruise line is not a cruise line, Do your research or find what you like and stick with it. TBH, my number one favorite thing to do is sit out on the veranda on sea days and just watch the ocean go by ... for hours ... until it's time to eat anyway! I've even slept on the balcony before as the sounds of the ocean are calming to me, like rain on a tin roof. Oh, BTW, if you're an old curmudgeon like P-hole, you never have to leave your cabin if you don't want to. Room service is included with your fare ... just pick up the phone and order your lunch so you don't have to face those animals at the buffet.