Cruising

[copahc]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone out there has some experience with cruises. I will be going on a Western Caribbean cruise this fall on carnival because my cousin is getting married on the boat. I haven't booked yet. I was wondering if anyone has advice on which cabin to choose? I will be on Carnival. I have pretty much decided on a balcony cabin, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to get a higher category of cabin. What is the difference? I know that some of the cabins are premium.. like they have a wrap around balcony or an aft extended balcony. These are all in the aft (back) of the ship. Isn't there more motion in the back? I thought it was best to stay in the middle? The wrap around balcony does look cool. Not sure if there are any left by now though. There are also some rooms near the Spa. I wonder if there is any special benefit? Can anyone help with all these questions?
thanks
P.S. if anyone has any advice on things to do in Grand Cayman or Ocho Rios, I would also appreciate it

[kyshel]

take a look at cruisecritic.com
having cruised alot int he past, most ships today have little variances in cabins--location is pretty much dependent of the ship. I can say that first-timers hardly get upgrades, since many cruisers are loyal to their line so that get all the goodies for being frequent customers.
which ship?
I've had extensive experience wiht NCL--our last cruise was a suite, aft and it had a huge balcony--almost bigger than the cabin. we had other issues like the sofa bed for the teens was a twin, not a dbl/queen as promised. Didn't take long for NCL to offer lots of goodies like a la carte freebie dinners etc to make up for the error, but they couldn't fix the problem except to bring a bed in to fill the sitting area of the suite.

Don't be afraid to address ANY problem at once, if you odn't you're stuck w/out recourse.

I've spent quite a bit on GC and the road to Hell is an intersting one --free but the rest of GC has pricey sights--like ATlantis submarine $$$$$$$ but west end beach is a treat--get a picnic and have fun. Seven Mile beach is the major one and it's condos and tourists--BRING beach/water shoes..think CORAL and rocks!
Try one of the dive resort restaurants--you won't be disappointed--ask around--they have the BEST food and are relatively cheap. GC is $$$--eat on the ship! See about getting apicnic to take on shore.

[copahc]

Kyshel, thanks for the advice! I like the idea of getting a picnic to take to the beach maybe we can do that. I think I may want to go snorkelling in GC. It seems like a good place to do that and it didn’t look like Ocho Rios was the best option for it. When I was in Aruba a while back I took a snorkelling trip on a catamaran and it included rum punch on the way back. Great time! I was looking for something like that in GC but didn't see anything.. not with Rum anyway

I am going on Carnival Freedom. I didn't think I would get any upgrades. There is a possibility I may get a onboard credit for booking with the travel agent for the wedding because they are booking multiple rooms. So I was really wondering if it is worth paying for a better category balcony room or should I just book the cheapest one available.
Have you been on Carnival before?

[kyshel]

Never on Carnival, but my best cruise buddy (& travel agent) finally took one and was really impressed. It was one of the new megaships like Freedom. How long is the cruise and what the $ diff for balcony? (don't recommend inside at all--very WEIRD--did it once)
You'll find lots of snorkel trips at GC. I'm sure cruisecritic has info--also look for Stingray City online. See if Aquavideo is still in business--it's a dive/boat/video company. The guy's name is Ed "Fisheye" (forget his last name) Been out of touch 20 yrs but he introduced me to a former BF from Cayman. I haven't been for quite a while... Hope that helps.

[omegaet]

copach...we can offer no advice on cruises (prone to motion sickness - so we don't)! However, Carnival is one of our home town cruise lines (same owner as the Miami Heat) and really is known for putting 'party and fun' into their cruises. We've been on several of their ships (not sailing, just in port for different events), and there is loads of open space in the common area....save your money on upgrades cabins...you probably will not be in your cabin that much.

We, have spent a great deal of time in and around all of the Caymen Islands diving........

You could have a fabulous day, taking a picnic lunch to almost any public spot along Seven Mile Beach....renting an umbrella, snorkel, fins and mask and wading into some of the most beautiful water in the Caribbean. The first reef is a short distance from the beach and you can enjoy loads of underwater sights without venturing out too far. There are tons of small beach side 'shacks' that can provide less expensive (relatively speaking) food and drinks, as you wander along Seven Mile Beach. One note of caution, keep on eye on your valuables while on the beach....things just seem to 'walk away' when unattended!

I used to take associates to GC for award trips. I always booked them trips to Stingray City. I used Moby Dick Tours Stingray City - Grand Cayman Tours - Moby Dick Tours OK, the trip is a bit touristy and can get crowed when several boats arrive on site at the same time. However, there is something very 'other worldish' about being in the water and having those rays swim around you.....feeding them is WOW. Nothing like that underwater shot of YOU and one of those rays to take back home and share with your friends and family!

kyshel is 100% correct, Georgetown is 'mucho expensivo' and really little more than an overpriced tourist trap for cruise passengers (IMO)...so one way or the other don't stay in town....go out and enjoy the island.

[[email protected]]

I have been on 6 cruises and I have to say that the 1 cruise we took on Carnival was the worst - the balcony cabin we had was nice, however, we were not too impressed with the food and many folks got sick, including my husband - I did not get sick. When we got home we read an article in the paper about this particular cruise and it turns out it was norwalk virus.
I like Celebrity and Princess. The 1st few cruises we took were on more traditional smaller ships and these are great - too bad they got swallowed up by the bigger lines - the old teak deck ships are so much nicer than these big behemoths they have now - so we do not really do much cruising anymore. Of course, some folks like the huge floating cities with the rock climbing walls, etc. - what ever floats your boat so to speak ;-)

[jmbklj]

dhdanner, I have to agree with you. I've been on a dozen or so cruises, and I feel the same way about Carnival. Often many people's 1st cruise is on a Carnival, as was ours. Carnival usually has the lowest prices, and you know what they say - you get what you pay for! In services & the type of clientele (not meaning to sound snobbish). Granted that was many years ago, so things could be quite different now. We've had good experiences with several Princess cruises.

It's also interesting that the cruise business has seen much consolidation like other industries, with one corporation now owning so many cruise lines - Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Seabourn, Costa, and even Cunard (QE 2). Not that many years ago, these were all separate companies.

Definitely get a balcony cabin. Most balcony cabins are the same, just on different floors, but I wouldn't spend extra for an upgraded balcony cabin, unless you wanted to jump up in price to a "balcony suite", giving you more room in the cabin and likely a larger balcony.

As kyshel said, CruiseCritic.com is a great resource, especially their forums. There will be probably people there that have been on that specific ship & can tell you first hand about the cabin differences. They also have good threads with advice on things to bring along for the most comfort in your cabin. And if you're a first time cruiser, there's good advice there on what to bring along.

I never had a cabin at the very back of a ship, but have been back in that direction and never noticed a movement problem. All these big ships now that the latest equipment and stabilizers to minimize the movement. So I would be tempted to try one of those large wrap around balconies at the back. I do love the view from the back.

Only once did I get seasick on a ship and that was several years ago on a smaller ship on a Hawaii cruise. To give you a frame of reference, I often got carsick as a child and occasionally still do as an adult. On that cruise in Hawaii, we had huge 30 foot waves, and they knew it was coming, so they made an announcement offering passengers seasickness meds. I didn't take their advice.

When we did a similar cruise to Grand Cayman, one excursion we booked through the ship was a combo snorkeling/stingray outing. Loved it! Loved getting close & personal with the stingrays. I would highly recommend it, even tho it is touristy.

[[email protected]]

We love the ship motion so that is why we like the older "real" ships. (The hubby was in the navy so he loves being out at sea). We were on a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda from Philadelphia a few years ago and got caught in the tail end of a hurricane - the hubby and I were the only ones that did not get seasick - we loved it. Went to the dining room and we were the only ones in there eating, you would go up and down the halls and hear folks getting sick in their rooms, even most of the crew was sick. We went up on deck and they made us wear life jackets so we would not get blown overboard - the captain was so impressed with our fortitude and the fact that we were great sailors that he invited us to eat with him for the rest of the cruise, all drinks were free for the rest of the cruise, front row center seats for all the shows - it was the best cruise ever!

[jsattapr2]

We love the ship motion so that is why we like the older "real" ships. (The hubby was in the navy so he loves being out at sea). We were on a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda from Philadelphia a few years ago and got caught in the tail end of a hurricane - the hubby and I were the only ones that did not get seasick - we loved it. Went to the dining room and we were the only ones in there eating, you would go up and down the halls and hear folks getting sick in their rooms, even most of the crew was sick. We went up on deck and they made us wear life jackets so we would not get blown overboard - the captain was so impressed with our fortitude and the fact that we were great sailors that he invited us to eat with him for the rest of the cruise, all drinks were free for the rest of the cruise, front row center seats for all the shows - it was the best cruise ever!

Denise, quite a cruise.

Another thought on your invitation from the captain to join him at his table. Possibly he was interested in having dinner companions who were not showing a propensity to vomit all over the table.

[LL_Travelfan]

We have never done a cruise per se, but we are embarking on our second transatlantic crossing this Fall. On our transatlantic crossing eastbound in May 2010, we were upgraded a balcony state room. Unfortunately, the weather was so rainy and foggy, we were unable to use the balcony. This time, we decided to book an inside cabin and safe the money, and to see if we can live with an inside cabin.
Someone told us, once you have had a state room with a balcony, you will always want a balcony. We will see.... Could be a big mistake, or we could save a bundle.... In any case, we will know better the third time.