First Cruise....and last....Trip notes
 

Well,
Just got back from our first cruise, here are our observations and opinions...hope you enjoy.

First of all, let me start out by saying that my wife & I, (30-somethings) normally would not be interested in going on a cruise, but this trip was a freebie through her work. Our idea of vacation is picking a nice condo somewhere where we can just chill, where ever that may be.

The cruise was through MSC Cruises, an Italian line that just started cruising the caribbean. Our start was Fort Lauderdale, with stops in San Juan, St Thomas, St Croix, and Nassau.

The boat itself was beautiful. It was called the Opera, and was not very old at all. I believe it only had a few voyages on her. It was full of brass & marble, and kept absolutely spotless. One thing is for sure, I've never seen so many bars/lounges in one spot in my life! Most of the bars, lounges, and restaurants were on deck 5 & 6, including a casino, internet lounge, and some shops. I here by vow to NEVER use a computer while on vacation. But, some folks must do their thing...what ever works for ya I guess! Anyways, the upper decks, 11 & 12 had the pools, more bars, buffets, grills, etc. Overall, as stated before, the ship was quite nice, and seemed to have everything one needed to survive.

The food: Well, this is one area that was not great, in fact, it was average at best. Yes, there were a couple nights where we found some very tasty items, but for the most part, it was a deja-vu from our younger years at the All-Inclusives serving cafateria food. They certainly had plenty of eating times, or should I say "herding times to strap on the feedbag"? It seemed at times that food was the main thing to do on this ship, and it wasn't good food, so you get the picture...

Our Room: Since the trip was free, we decided to upgrade to a balcany room. Being our first cruise, the size of the room when you first open the door is a bit of a shock. My wife & I both looked at eachother, and were thinking the same thing...."yikes". Again, we ceratinly made the best of it, and found a way to make this closet work for the week.

Service: I have to say, that overall, the service through out the ship was excellent. As most seasoned travellers know, you usually are treated better if you don't act like these people are your servants. Treat people with respect...period, nuff said. Being that it was an Italian ship, the language barrier was there, but with a bit of patience, and a lot of smiles, you can communicate with anyone. We saw some ugly tourists that thought the services sucked, but in EVERY instance, they were being a$$holes in the first place.....big surprise eh?

The Activities: Well, I must say the activities team, or what we re-named them, "The Rah-Rah team" tried very hard. Although they offered many activities, most of which didn't quite interest us. No problem, nobody pushed you to do anything. What was tough is that there really wasn't any place to get away from it all. Both pool areas were on the same deck, and the Rah-Rah team always making noise. If they weren't screaming over the loud speaker, the music was cranking. Definitely not what I'd call peaceful. But, you find a way to drown them out after a while, and a few cocktails. The best thing we found was to go to the spa, and get some massages. Although very pricey at $150 a pop, it was very quiet and relaxing getting a full body rub-down while watching the water flow by.

The stops:
San Juan, got in at 8:30pm, and left at 2am. Yah I know, kind of weird times. We figured lets go find a nice restaurant. Through a few tips from this website, we decided to try Aguaviva in Old San Juan. Apps & drinks were excellent, but main course not so great. Three of us ordered the same thing after a recomendation from our waitress, and the fish was very overcooked & dry. One in our party ordered the Mahi, and it was outstanding. So Maybe we just ordered the wrong dish...oh well...service was fantastic. Little bit of gambling after dinner, and back to the ship.

St Thomas, arrived at 7am, left at 5pm. We loved St Thomas. We grabbed a cab, and did 3 different beaches & snorkeling. First hit Sapphire which was beautiful, snorkeling a bit cloudy. Then over to Coki, which was WAY too crowded, and again snorkeling was a tad cloudy. Finally ended up at Magens Bay, which was very nice, but again, way too crowded. The best part was having lunch with a local at Coki, just chillin out with a few beers, and exchanging stories...loved it.

St Croix, arrived at 7am, left at 2pm. Imediately grabbed a cab and headed over to Christiansted, where we took a charter boat out to Buck Island. This was the highlight of our trip. This is what my wife & I live for on vacation. Fantastic snorkeling along beauiful coral, awesome visibility, and a remote beach. This is a must see, 14 different shades of turquoise, and very relaxing....works for us.

Nassau, arrived at 1pm, left at 7pm. We headed over to Cable beach and the Radison Hotel. Not bad, nice water, nice resort, but a tad conjested. The weather wasn't great today, so we headed back to town for a couple quick t-shirts, and some local chow before getting back on board.

Our over-all thoughts:

Well, I can say with out any doubt, we will never go on another cruise. The worst thing about our experience is being on a schedule. We go on vacation to NOT be on a schedule. We also felt very trapped on this ship. Although they had many decks & things to do, you just couldn't escape if you wanted. We have heard that cruiseship food is usually excellent, but as stated before, it was a C- at best. We really like being able to sample local restaurants and get a variety of meals. Pure relaxation was tough on-board. It just isn't quiet unless your in your room, and even that was questionable. Also, not to offend anyone, but we really felt out of place as far as our age goes. We felt like we were at a retirement party as easily 80% of the passengers were of that age. Thank God we had some folks to hang out with from my wife's company that were closer in age.

Final Thoughts: Remember folks, this is all just our opinion. Cruising obviously is not our bag. Yes, we made the best of it, and actually had a good time just spending time together. But being on a schedule on vacation simply will never work for us.

If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask.......

ScottB,

Great trip report - almost totally echoes my January trip report of a few weeks ago word for word!

We had a very similar experience to yours and cruising will not likely be our first choice in the future...

Thanks Diana,

I actually just read your report tonight and enjoyed it very much. You're right, our trips sound very similar.

We actually have pictures of the man you described in St Thomas with his donkey. We saw him just walking through town as we were stopped at an intersection in our cab. I leaned out the window and took a few shots of him. He looked like a person that would be a fascinating conversation....just didn't have a chance to do so.

Very nice gesture of you in Grenada, thats impressive that you took the time to give a little while on vacation, it must of felt very rewarding...

We are definitely all done with the whole cruise idea. Our next stop will be either USVI or BVI, for 10 days of snorkeling & chillin....with no damned ship to catch!!!!

ScottB,

You will LOVE the USVI's/BVI's. What a great area. Feel free to check out my trip report on our 3 week fall 2003 trip. We have real mixed emotions about St John and most likely would not spend a lot of time there again, but it was lovely. Tortola and Virgin Gorda were our faves.

It was funny, One Love (the Rasta with the donkey - Oprah) knew a friend of ours we were hoping to see while on STT, but we just missed him.

I would have loved to spend more time talking to him too, but he and Oprah were "working."

Thanks for the kudos on our Grenada stop. We plan to go back later this year and do more. They have already made a lot of progress, and are working hard. Very resilient people...

ScottB
get a spell checker. If you must be so critical at least spell your words correctly. Thank you.

Scott, I wouldn't judge the cruise experience by the trip you had. I think if you had the opportunity to go with a better line to better destinations, you may have enjoyed it more. You get what you pay for.

Question for ScottB:

Would you go on another cruise if it was again free?

I've only been on one cruise and won't do it again for the same reason - schedule of meals and having to leave a certain destination on their time, not mine. (The food situation actually turns me off of AI resorts as well, the whole concept of certain sittings/hours for meals or making reservations days in advance for the non-buffet restaurants just doesn't appeal to me on vacation.)

But my grandmother cruised at least once a year for years and absolutely loved it, so different strokes and all that, the industry is booming for a reason :)

cdt,

No, I wouldn't go even if it was free, just not our cup of tea.

bosoco,

Not trying to judge, just an opinion. It was free, so we tried to make the best of it.

Curt,

Get a life. If all you have to do all day is try and pick out spelling errors, than you are leading a very sad little life.

ScottB - It doesn't look like you did much research on cruising. You may not have liked the scheduling or food but that should not have been a surprise. All in all, it sounds like a pretty good week to me.

Is cruisig my ideal vacation? No, but sometims it works for the situation. We have found that is is very good for larger groups (families, friends) because there is no issue of where do we go for dinner or what are we going to do during the day. Also, I feel that it is safer for older kids who are well behaved to give them some freedom.

Sorry you didn't like the trip but maybe next time you should do more reasearch.

damama,

It has nothing to do with research, this trip was free, which my wife earned from work. We did (not) choose to go on a cruise, and knew very well going in that this is probably not going to be our thing. I did in fact mention this in my original post, in the 2nd paragraph.

Scott, I thought your report was good and informative. We would never go on a cruise for all the same reasons you stated unless it was free ofcourse....

I have been on 10 cruises (9 RCCL/1 Carnival) - and I do not regret any of those trips; but can admit that they are not my first choice. Most of my cruises were with my parents, so no complaning. The trip was easy for them and a step up from the AI gigs. For a family; it worked out -- I could keep busy and they could as well...and we also got to have family time. I also agree that traveling with groups crusing is a better option; there are options for excurisions that fit various personalities and the scheduled eating makes one less hassle. My boyfriend and I travled on a cruise together (our last cruise) and had a great time.
BUT...not sure when we would ever go back...now that we have had the opportunity over the past few years to visit islands independtly and get to experience different cultures...there really is NO comparison to visiting an island for a day with a cruise versus staying there for a week.
I personally think cruises have their place; I would not ever say they are awful...just a differnt kind of vacation.

truppidavies,

I agree, I wouldn't call cruises awful for everyone, just some of us. They obviously have a very loyal following as do AI's. Thankfully we all have different opinions or this world would be very boring.

Cruising isn't my favourite way to travel, especially when it involves being stuck for days in the equivalent of a floating Holiday Inn or worse.

That said, you get what you pay for. I have thoroughly enjoyed cruises on Seabourn, an adult-oriented line, where the fares are high but the itinerary, service, food, and accommodation are 6*. You could not stay in a boutique 5-6* land hotel for anywhere near the same price.

I agree, cruises aren't right for everyone. For myself, I would never go on a Caribbean cruise...as that region has good air/ferry transport to allow a much better experience picking an island or 2 or even 3 depending on how long you have and just going and enjoy a landbased vacation.

The thought of being packed in, lots of activity not escaped unless you go to your room (in some cases, closet) and mass feedings of cafeteria style foods is quite nauseating.

However, I did take a cruise I loved, on the QE2 a few summers ago and will do that again, but now QM2 does that route. I did the transatlantic trip, so we used it as transportation, return airfare was included, there were no stops, the ship was low key and clientele not bunny hopping partiers, a bit more upper crust....a luxury oceanliner vs. "cruiseship". The food excellent, I traveled in Queen's Grill, I don't know really what the rest of the ship was served but I hear it was quite good....certainly no complaints.

Again I loved being at sea, but it had to be the right circumstances for me and I'm not everyone. I liked the point A to point B no stops and the experience, I would not like a cruise to a popular region full of "ugly Americans" sorry for the phrase but people complaining about reasonable service fits that category...and only create that bad situation for themselves by being in the masses for such a type of cruise then complain about it.

Other good cruises to consider if you like the idea but just not the idea of hoards and horrible food. Think about places you can only get to by ship or places with limited access that a ship would be a good way. Examples, most popular is Alaska but pick a good ship but better are the off beaten places, there's ships that do Easter Island, Pitcairn, Galapagos and places like that....these aren't cheap but your voyage won't be like a Carnival.

Happy travels wherever you end up :)