beaumontsc

My husband and I are thinking of taking our first cruise next year, probably in Sept. I am just begining to look into this, so I would like any and all information and advice y'all have to offer. At this time, the only itineraries that appeal to me are the Eastern Caribbean (yes, I know that they are the most touristy), but I am open to all opinions and comments. Thanks for the help!!

bjboothman

Do you have any specific questions? There is so much to know before you go. Either enlist the aid of a travel agent who can help you choose a particular cruiseline, or do some reading to find out what you need to know before you book.

September is still hurricane season so prices will be lower, but the possibility of missing a port or two due to having to avert bad weather is a possibility. What cruiseline, what itinerary, what cabin type, whether or not to buy insurance, what dinner seating, what to wear? How old are you, how much do you want to spend, are you bringing children? 5 day, 7 day, 10 day? All these things come into play when choosing a cruise. Some cruises attract an older crowd, some attract families with children (although in September you will miss a lot of the kids who are now back to school).

I highly recommend going to cruisecritic.com and reading the message boards, which are neatly divided into specific cruiselines and specific subjects (and have a pretty good search feature as well). There are lots of info on ports and ships and cruiselines as well.

I've cruised 7 times with Princess and once with Carnival. I'm a big Princess fan, but that doesn't mean it's right for you - we all have different needs. Happy cruising!

cruisin_tigger

This is a good site, both for prices (have used them twice) and ease in searching for a particular cruise.
http://www.vacationstogo.com/ticker.cfm

petlover

I think you should consider the Mediterranean....September is the best time of year for cruising the Med IMO. We've done this quite a few times and never been disappointed with the ports or the weather. Best to tie it in with a pre and post stay in respective cities for a couple of nights and you'll have the vacation of a lifetime. It is so much better than a Caribbean cruise!! UGH.

kaleighsgram

A lot depends on what you enjoy doing, what age bracket you fall into, what Car.ports are you thinking about,etc. Let us know a little bit more. Obviously petlover doesn't think much of a car. cruise, but many of us who cruise today have started out with just such a cruise. If you like port intensive sightseeing adventures, then maybe a European trip is for you. If you want sun, beaches, tourists, etc. the Caribbean should be your choice.

beaumontsc

We are both mid-20s. Not really party or late night people, so we probably won't be taking much advantage of the late night scenes. No kids, so we don't have to plan around that. I'm thinking something with ports like St. Thomas or St. Maarten, some place where we could do either the beach or experience something local depending on our mood. I'm looking at a 7 night, probably departing from Fla (we live in SC so we could drive to the FL ports). In keeping with our budget, anything other than something in the Caribbean/Mexico itineraies would be a bit much with all the extras needed (transportation, lodging, etc). This will be our one vacation for the year, so I really want to get it right!!

otownrob

how about this.....

royal caribbean's mariner of the seas.

from port canaveral(you'll save 4 hours of driving time over miami)

we've done both routes....i recommend the st. thomas/st. maarten trip. it's fairly reasonable...about $650 per person. take a side trip to st. john and bring your snorkle gear. WOW!!! and the liquor on st.maarten is dirt cheap if you want to stock up.

ParrotMom

Speaking as one who lost a day in Bermuda a few weeks ago... it may sound too adventurous to you, but I highly recommend cruising lae Sept from the Medit. Fewer tourists and many ships are leaving to come back. and prices are very, very reasonable..Have done it twice and hopefully next year again.. If you insist upon the Caribbean I would try the Southern ports. Being in a cruise port with five or six ships and each with well over 2500 people getting off the ships, shopping, at the beach... is not enjoyable..

travelforever

ParrotMom and whoever else has taken Mediterranean to Barbados or other repositioning cruises, please tell me which ones and how you liked them. am looking at the Royal Clipper 2007 from the Med to Barbados. Also has anyone taken an Around the World Cruise---would love to hear about both these ideas. Thanks.

pjammin123

I must concur with ParrotMom, the Caribbean ports seem to be over run with ship passengers and there is nothing fun about that. Perhaps going quite a bit further South would be prettier and less visited.

travelforever, do a search as there is an excellent thread about a month ago on around the world crusing.

kleroux

Our favorite cruise line is Oceania... small ships, about 840 passengers, no kids, no assigned seating for meals, 4 restaurants to chose from. Ships are new and very comfortable. Anywhere they cruise would be OK by me.

ParrotMom

Last year we cruised from Barcelona (found a great hotel thanks to people on the internet) and we went to Nice, Corsica, Rome (went to Tuscany), Porta Delgardo, Malaga and Nassau and then to Ft. Lauderdale.. Buy this coming year, 2007, Celebrity cruises are starting later...We loved the trans-atlantic with the warm lovely days in port.. and days at sea.. We cruised Celebrity and they have great ports. In addition, we left mid-october after most of the cruisers and tourists were gone and except for Nassau few if any cruise ships in the ports..We loved and could afford Celebrity.. we went to a travel show and they tossed all sorts of extras at us plus an excellent price.. They have a trans-atlantic cruises in December 2007 (not sure about going in december..lol), but they are going to ports like Casablanca, Tangiers, Malaga (a jewel), Gibraltar, several spots in the Canary Islands..and the prices is more than affordable...except for getting to Barcelona..lol Those ports aren't for everyone I admit..but to have a taste of Casablanca, Tangiers and the Canary Islands (three ports)...and days at sea sound heavenly to me. Not to mention the C elebrity Century is a smaller ship just revitalized with a fantastic crew. The Century is a 17 day cruise and the Millineum is 14.. Had wanted to always visit Barcelona and found a fabulous guide...thought Corsica would be interesting... I could have cared less, but Malaga and Mijas were the jewels.. and a group of us decided to go to Tuscany (with a driver/guide) and being in Orvieto on a Sunday with a market and a religious revival and the clean fresh air and the light makes me want to jump up and down with joy just thinking about my standing in the piazza.. This is what our life is.. memories....and nobody,but nobody can take that trip and that scene away from me EVER..

joan

Wow Parrotmom, now look what you've done: I wanna go toooo!!!!!

traveller333

As others have mentioned, the Caribbean certainly wouldn't be my first choice for a cruise BUT if it's convenient and the price is right go. Afterall, it is where most all of us originally had our first cruise before moving on to exploring better parts of the world. As for ships, there is everything from soup to nuts. For the most part I think you do get what you pay for and cruise lines price accordingly. Hope this will be the first of many.

ParrotMom

Joan...trans-atlantic or Med cruises i October have opened up a whole new world for me in cruising. The cruises there in the fall drop which is great and there are less tourists or supposedly less tourists..lol..and the weather when we went was just gorgeous at every single port.. For a person of my age, okay I'm a senior, when would I have a chance to go to Barcelona (remember the exchange rate is brutal in europe) or tuscany, or Malaga or Villefranche... Now...if the price is right I can dream of Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir , three spots in the Canary Islands..,,, and by the way we do not take ship's tours.. We find guides and share a tour with other cruisers or by ourselves.. Joan...jump in..there are 14 day cruises and 17 day cruises trans-atlantic or cruises that in the fall do many ports in Europe including Greece.. You can go from the UK to Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, etc
The cruise lines have finally smartened up.. how many times can people go to St. thomas and the Virgin Islands... I sometimes feel like Auntie Mame when she tells her nephew she wants to LIVE, LIVE, LIVE!!! lol.. me too There will be no money for our kids to inherit, we will have spent all the $$ we earned all these years....

jacketwatch

traveller333: "better parts of the world"? Thats a matter of opinion to be sure. Some people prefer the Caribbean over other parts of the world. Its a matter of personal taste.

traveller333

jacketwatch, you are correct. This clearly is just one poster's opinion. I have had more cruises within the Caribbean than anywhere else but if I never cruise there again, that's ok with me. I am thankful that I did eventually decide to branch out to explore new areas in Europe, French Polynesian islands and my all time favorite, Alaska. I should also state, I can't stand crowds so my opinions are biased.

mikepmcm

ParrotMom, Trying to figure out who you could be, we were also on the cruise to Bermuda Sept 10. I'm surprised, even with the lost day, that you didn't suggest the NLC Majesty Bermuda cruise (I believe that you've said in other forums that you have done this cruise many times) for a first timer. If you have good weather its an easy cruise day & 1/2 to and from, three days docked in St. George. And since this couple lives in SC the NCL Majesty also departs from Charleston SC for the first two weeks in October.

1 Charleston, South Carolina 7:00 pm
2 At Sea --- ---
3 St. George Island, Bermuda 6:00pm -4 St. George Island, Bermuda
5 St. George Island, Bermuda 11:30am
6 At Sea --- ---
7 Charleston, South Carolina 7:00am

This would cut the port travel expenses and is not an expensive cruise to test the waters.

Bermuda is a terrific, small, beautiful, romantic and friendly island. What do you think ParrotMom.

ParrotMom

Well Mike...there is no way that I would suggest my beloved Majesty after our last trip!!!! The ship since the last time we had been on it was rehabbed and that was obvious...BUT Parrot Pop and I were very up- set at the food on the ship.. Five or six months ago they changed the menus on all NCL ships.. ..offering fewer choices and lowering the quality. The last time we were on the ship which was probably two years ago there was a slight change in the food..but both of us felt that going to Applebees or Ruby Tuesdays gave you better quality.. We went directly to the Lattitudes person and expressed our concern... I think he could have cared less.. Than another day we went in and introduced ourselves to the Restaurant/Hotel Manager who has an office along the way to the dining room and had a long discussion with him.. Hot foods were coming out cold from kitchen (that he could work on), but his hands were tied when it came to everything else.. I think he could of cared less as he was leaving the ship the day we were and going to the Marco Polo in Europe..which by the way my friend had been on already TWICE this year..and she too noticed a difference in the food. What happened was that upon embarking many passengers automatically booked the Pasta Restaurant and the Bistro.. We did manage to get to the Pasta Restaurant one evening and that was the best meal on the ship..The second best meal was our "going away" from Bermuda when they had the barbecue.. We ended up with a table by the pool of eight of us just pigging out on ribs and the "free" rum punch. One of the best things about the cruise is that we found a waitress and her helper..Olga and Richard and asked for them each time we went into the dining room and except for supper when they worked the Pasta Restaurant got wonderful service.. I cannot fault the staff of the Majesty.. but the "crap" we were fed was unexceptable.. In the a.m. our eggs came cold.. did you order at all the home fries... there was no way that they served a generous tablespoon. Did you order the lamb kebobs, well I did and found myself being served ground lamb balls.. I can honestly say for the first time in years we went to the Chocolate Buffet and it was nothing like it had been several years ago.. Two weeks ago I called the Lattitudes phone # and told them of my concerns and complaints.. We were considering doing trans-atlantic on the NCL Jewel.. they are completely off my list... Last year we sailed Celebrity from Europe and of course it's an upgrade, but what a difference.. Rather than write a review of our cruise I just have been posting my complaints on the cruise boards..
As for the rough sailing...sadly I didn't take my own advice and take the Sturgeron that I buy in Robertsons and was sick that Monday night, but that was it.. It maybe that the chef who I never figured out was...is not as good on the Majesty making do with what he has to do.. On Monday I did have a chance to talk to the Captain who was having a cigarette on deck.. and he thought the decision to go to Bermuda was correct... and the only reason that we were out another day was that they were checking the channels for the two ships.. As you noticed there was little damage that showed up in Bermuda and the Government was very grateful to NCL for bringing both their ships in.. If I would give the couple advice.... take the ship..but read the reviews to see if the food has changed...We are from Boston and eat out quite often...so maybe I'm fussier than most or my memory of what the chefs on the Majesty could do.. If I wanted to do it again, if they change the menus.. etc.. I might try going out of NYC on Celebrity..not Royal Caribbean..

jacketwatch

Traveller333: As you don't like crowds and as we recently cruised FP I'll bet you must have really like it there. The tour guise we had on Huahine said they just finished paving the roads just 2 yrs. ago.