Hi all. Okay, tell me the truth. How bad are cruise ship beds? I've got a back injury and am wondering if I should go to the trouble of bringing my memory foam mattress with me. Are the mattresses horrible or a pleasant surprise? Thanks for any replies.

We've always slept like babies on our cruises. Have done 7 cruises on 5 different cruiselines,including Carnival, and no problems at all with the beds.

We've always had good beds.

That's good to know. I just saw that Carnival's beds are actually offered for sale on a related website, so I guess that says something.

Only been on Princess, and their beds were very, very good, probably better than what we currently have at home - always slept well.

Beds are usually decent, typically better than your average hotel grade, especailly on the "premium" lines. Just don't sleep in between the beds as they put 2 twins together for a double. We prefer twins setup over doubles on board the ship for that reason.

On the other hand, I am more picky on pillows. Some cruise lines uses exclusively 100% Egyptian cottons, especially for the suites.

If you find your bed uncomfortable you can ask you cabin steward for an egg-crate mattress-top to be put on it. I did this for my first cruise which was on RCI's Explorer of the Sea.

Noooo, the beds are horrible on all cruise lines..

[not really, but I just want to see Karoni getting on board with her own mattress - that image is worth a little fib]

SusieQQ--great idea. I wonder if Carnival does that, too.

Dogster--you are in the doghouse!!! ;-)

They are definitely better than the hotels that we have stayed at in Mexico. Those are like sleeping on concrete.

All lines should offer some type of egg crate mattress. On Princess you can send them an e-mail before your cruise and request so it's already there when you board.

We found Carnival beds very comfortable, although we do like a fairly soft mattress.

I love Norwegian beds! And I think any major cruise line provides egg crates if not soft enough.

Dogster: would you buy Karoni's photo after the cruise?

I'll buy Dogster's picture after the cruise ...

Eschew, I will take a picture of Dogster for you.

Beds can truly suck if you have been on memory foam

going back to box springs can be horrible from personal

experience. Check to see if you will have memory foam

if not see if your line will provide it.

If not bring a matress topper they are cheap and travel

well rolled up I do this overstock.com has deals on

3 and 4 inch toppers from $59 plus $2 shipping now.

Good luck!