Cruisin'

[msmemory_archive]

We're thinking that maybe it's time to try a cruise instead of a resort for vacation at the end of May. Any experiences to relate, good or bad, with specific cruise lines or packagers? Especially, comments on the food and the noise/chaos level. :) Other cruising advice? (I've already read Ian's message from this spring.)

ETA: when I say "noise/chaos" I'm thinking of all types, from young exuberant children, to packs of mall-rat teens, to geezers who think that 6 a.m. is "sleeping in." It's not (just) about young kids. :)

Comments

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound a little silly, but the Disney Cruise line is amazing. And they have both packages that include days at the parks, and packages that are cruise-only, if you don't feel like wandering through MouseLand.

The ships are *really* nice, the staff are amazingly kind and helpful, and the level of Disney is actually fairly low - it's there if you want to seek it out, but it's not oppressive. And they do an amazing job of controlling kids and chaos; we only saw children once in the entire four days there, walking the opposite way down a hall. They have separate later-evening dinner seatings for adult-only groups, separate pools for children and adults (on separate decks, I believe), and on the shore excursions, entire separate beaches for children and families versus adults-only.

The food is absolutely to die for, and runs the gamut from pizza and hot dogs at the pool if you want a snack to a five-star restaurant (also adults only) with a level of service that's almost embarassing. The staterooms are nice, the shows are fun, and I can't think of a single bad thing to say about the experience.

Arnis and I did a four-day cruise/three-day park trip for our honeymoon, and we're saving up (slowly, because it's damn expensive) for their seven-day European cruise...

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[tpau]

i have been on one cruise only, Royal Carribiean to the Bahamas. It was very good. even the el cheapo cabin. i never saw or heard kids. the shows while cheesy were fun. the excursions were awesome (buy in advance) the food was glorious and plentiful. (ask for the later seating to not see the kids)

i did nto have time to go and hang i nthier pool, so can't say how noisy that was re: kids etc.

[palegreyminion.livejournal.com]

a large chunk of Tarragon and friends went on a Disney Cruise anf really loved it.

[johno.livejournal.com]

MAE on QLS took a cruise a few years ago, you might want to dig through the archives.

C & I are taking a cruise in Feb of 2009, so we're starting to collect information as well.

[radegund-lj.livejournal.com]

I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise last year at the end of September with my parents and some of their friends. It was a fall cruise that left from Boston, went up the coast of New England, and into Canada. It's basically a big floating hotel. There were some kids on board, but not many since school had started; I imagine there would be more in the summer. I don't recall noticing much in the way of noise problems; in fact we had to open the cabin door in order to clearly understand announcements coming out of the speakers in the hallway.

The food was good, and each night there were several selections to choose from. For breakfast and lunch we went to the buffet rather than the sit-down restaurant. Drinks other than water were extra -- not just alcohol but also soda. I'm a Diet Coke fiend so I paid for a "soda pass" that let me get all the soda I wanted for one price, which was about $50. Yeah, that's a lot in the real world, but for what the ship would have charged for the amount of soda I tend to drink in a day, it worked out. There was one formal dress night, which my parents say is standard for cruises.

I can get travel sick but only had one bad evening when things were particularly choppy. I find that those anti-seasickness pressure wrist bands work for me, and then my mom and I sat and played "name that tune" at the piano bar which served to distract me from the motion of the ship. ;) We spent several nights at the piano bar, it was fun.

The one thing I got really ticked off about was that I went to their Internet center to get an email fix and the connection was horribly slow. Of course they charge by the minute regardless of how fast the pages are loading. It wasn't worth it -- I should have logged off and just lived without email for the trip.

You are expected to tip your cabin attendant and the guys who serve your sit-down dinners. The cruise left us a document with oh-so-convenient suggested tip amounts. ;)

[citrine-moon.livejournal.com]

My dad sells cruises for Cruise Brothers down here in Cranston. He is not really a salesman and will listen to what you want. He has been on several cruises himself and is taking the family on a cruise this July (I opted out).

He often gets specials leaving from Boston. Some of the have golf packages worth a couple of hundred. Sometimes, the cruise companies are just moving a boat from here to there. Sometimes, they have some rooms leftover and run a special that says,"If you can ge to Boston by 3pm on Friday, you can take a 5 day cruise for $299."

If you like, I can send you his contact info, or you can shoot me a note if you are interested.

[alethea-eastrid.livejournal.com]

I've cruised on the (late, lamented) Royal Viking Sun, and on two of Holland America's ships. I've had a great time on all three, and am very fond of Holland America. For the most part, people are considerate about noise in the hallways, and the active sections of ship are reasonably seperated from the cabins. Some of the guidebooks will have the pluses and minuses of each crusie line listed--those are a great reference. We're going on Princess this summer, and I'm optomistic, as one of the main minuses is sleepy nightlife. I can live with that. The itineraries will be similar for each line, but the ship atmosphere with differ, so look at that too. Holland America's food, btw, is good, though not up to the level of Royal Viking. Alas.

[tomspisak.livejournal.com]

We've been on two cruises out of Tampa.
The Holland America ship we were on last fall had a German executive chef (working for a Dutch company) so most of the menu featured butter and chocolate (not that this was a bad thing). The stewards were very attentive [partly because they loved playing with MiL's electric scooter].
Fall '05 we were on a Royal Caribbean ship. Less impressed with the executive chef (but still very acceptable), the stewards were attentive without hovering.
I remember that on both the kids were kept occupied. Part of that may have been the itineraries also.

I'll be happy to into more detail back-channel if you like.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I just answered a lot of this on artisticphoenix's LJ.

Call or ask if I can offer more advice than that.

I utterly hate Norwegian, with a cold passion - that's for sure. Worst shore-side customer service imaginable.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Oh, Ben of BenAndBarbara liked, I think, Windjammer. Not for kids, for sure.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I popped over there and checked out your comments.

[hungrytiger]

Years ago, we took a western Caribbean cruise on Celebrity and loved it. Its target audience is folks who are more into shows and really good food than the party and drinking scenes. Being foodies, we were attracted to them by their being the best reviewed dining of the major cruise lines (that and the lack of the all-night party crowd).

Big plus for Celebrity -- two of their ships have a mini Cirque du Soleil show on-board. Let me know if you need the details on this, I've got their latest at home (we're thinking about going on a cruise next spring)

One (biggish) plus for Disney is that, given their target audience, their cabins are significantly larger than competing cruise lines.