Tips for going on cruise

[sedated]

I'm sure someone has been on a cruise before. Any advise?

Was it booked on-line? How far in advance did you plan it? Where are the best places to go?

[Hootie]

guantanamo bay

[beach tribe]

Never been on a cruise. Although I have been aboard a hundred cruise ships, I have no adviCe. for you.

[NewChief]

Read this:
http://www.harpers.org/media/pdf/dfw/HarpersMagazine-1996-01-0007859.pdf

[DaKCMan AP]

Cruises are great. If you're planning to go to the Caribbean DO NOT book a summer cruise. Obviously holidays will be higher priced (Christmas, Spring Break). If you don't live near the port of departure (ie. you're from out of state) then you want to book it early.

[Frazod]

White Star Line. Take the northern passage.

[Brock]

I went to Cozumel, there are some Mayan ruins to look at that are kind of interesting.

[Monty]

Cruises are great. If you're planning to go to the Caribbean DO NOT book a summer cruise. Obviously holidays will be higher priced (Christmas, Spring Break). If you don't live near the port of departure (ie. you're from out of state) then you want to book it early.

Hmm...why do you say that? We just did a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean the first week of July(Curacao, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Aruba) and loved it. Just curious.....

[Fire Me Boy!]

My advice: lose 10 pounds before you go. That way, when you get back from the cruise and it's 24-hour buffet, you'll weigh the same as you do now.

[kcfanintitanhell]

Food=Free
Alcoholic Beverages=Extortion

[Monty]

Sedated,

Yes, book online. Go where you want to go. As mentioned above, we did the Eastern Caribbean because we hadn't been there before. It was a week of total greatness. We booked on Royal Caribbean as we heard that Carnival was more geared for families and while I'd love to take the kids, this trip wasn't for them. :)

We only planned a few months in advance, but I'd recommend planning further ahead. We were looking at an all inclusive resort and changed our minds at the last minute. I'm sure there are other tips/ideas, but not sure what you are looking to do.

Oh, a good website for tips/ideas is: http://www.cruisecritic.com/

[Monty]

My advice: lose 10 pounds before you go. That way, when you get back from the cruise and it's 24-hour buffet, you'll weigh the same as you do now.

Just ten? ;)

Hell, I gained almost 20 and I'm still working it off......but well worth it!!

[DaKCMan AP]

Hmm...why do you say that? We just did a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean the first week of July(Curacao, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Aruba) and loved it. Just curious.....

Because it's generally too hot during that time of year and you're right in hurricane season. I always book Caribbean cruises in the Winter (Dec-Jan) or Spring (March-April). I'd rather not have it canceled or altered due to a storm.

Now, the summer is prime for an Alaskan cruise.

[NewChief]

Food=Free
Alcoholic Beverages=Extortion

Do any cruises have all inclusive alcohol?

[wutamess]

Go during Hurricane season... WAY cheaper and in most cases water is actually calmer.
Experience of a lifetime... $160+ / person... swim with the dolphins (swam with Flipper "fatman" forgot the other one) in Nassau (If you're going to Bahamas).

Royal Carribbean has a M-F cruise that's pretty reasonable and is for the younger crowd.

Haven't been on any others to say what the difference is.
Great times ahead... have fun.

[sedated]

Do any cruises have all inclusive alcohol?

that's what I'd like to know. I've heard a rumor that some do.

A friend went for a week and spent nearly $1000 on alcohol.

[DaKCMan AP]

that's what I'd like to know. I've heard a rumor that some do.

A friend went for a week and spent nearly $1000 on alcohol.

I haven't been on any that do. Most major lines (RCCL, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, etc.) do not.

[Demonpenz]

Do they search your bags? You could probaly fit alot of vodka in there

[sedated]

We were looking at an all inclusive resort and changed our minds at the last minute.

why did you change your mind? what did the cruise offer that the resort didn't?

[TJR1486]

Do they search your bags? You could probaly fit alot of vodka in there

I think they do search your bags bc u cant bring alcohol on the ship, even if you buy some from one of the stops they keep it in storage til you get off to go home. Also dont keep anything valuable in your bags that you give the ship crew to put on board. We had a PS2 and all the games stolen out of it by the ships loading crew, all that was put on board was a empty bag. Other passengers had shit stolen to.

[Demonpenz]

That would be a deal breaker for me. Especially you can get rum so cheap in islands

[Fire Me Boy!]

I think they do search your bags bc u cant bring alcohol on the ship, even if you buy some from one of the stops they keep it in storage til you get off to go home.
We didn't. We bought from stops and the ship's duty free - cheap ass Myer's Rum and drank in the room! Caribbean - not sure what liner you were on.

[Monty]

Because it's generally too hot during that time of year and you're right in hurricane season. I always book Caribbean cruises in the Winter (Dec-Jan) or Spring (March-April). I'd rather not have it canceled or altered due to a storm.

Now, the summer is prime for an Alaskan cruise.

Ok...that's what I suspected, but the weather wasn't any hotter than here in Dallas during the summer. In fact, it was a bit cooler than I'm used to but there was a bit more humidity. The perfect solution: cold drink in hand sitting in the water at the beach. :D

Regarding the hurricanes, there was potential, but it was still early enough that there really wasn't any big threat at all. The best part was that the islands weren't crowded with tourists, so we had great access to all that the islands have to offer.

[Monty]

why did you change your mind? what did the cruise offer that the resort didn't?

It wasn't that at all.....we just thought that we wanted to see more islands versus sit on our asses all week in one location. I was good with either option, but my wife preferred the cruise option. Turns out it was a great choice, but then again, I wasn't able to get the golf clubs out or take them with me.

[Whoarethechefs]

I don't think they search your bags, there are not enough crew to go through all of them, I think they x-ray , and only search the bags that look suspicious.

I usually rinse out a couple of shampoo / conditioner bottles and fill with beverage of choice, and pack with the rest of my toiletries, has worked every time.

However, on My Alaska cruise in June, the wife pulled my stash out of my bag after I packed it without telling me, I was a tad upset when I found out, her excuse was that she was really paranoid about customs, lol.
Anyway.... she won't be doing that again, our bar tab after 7 days was $800 =(

[Monty]

We didn't. We bought from stops and the ship's duty free - cheap ass Myer's Rum and drank in the room! Caribbean - not sure what liner you were on.

We didn't have an issue at all. We brought back a bunch of Crown, Grey Goose vodka, and some local rums very cheaply. We just packed them in the bags for the flight home and we had no issues getting back on the ship with our loot. I had 2 large cardboard cases of liguor from our excursion into St. Thomas. I though for sure they'd take it, but they did not. :)

Oh, and if anyone is looking for the cheapest liquor in St. Thomas, believe it or not, KMart had the best prices....go figure.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I don't think they search your bags, there are not enough crew to go through all of them, I think they x-ray , and only search the bags that look suspicious.

I usually rinse out a couple of shampoo / conditioner bottles and fill with beverage of choice, and pack with the rest of my toiletries, has worked every time.

However, on My Alaska cruise in June, the wife pulled my stash out of my bag after I packed it without telling me, I was a tad upset when I found out, her excuse was that she was really paranoid about customs, lol.
Anyway.... she won't be doing that again, our bar tab after 7 days was $800 =(
Heh. I had four bottles of rum - not a lot. But four times my allotment (my wife wasn't 21). I took it to customs, like any good, law-abiding citizen, with the expectation of paying the overage fee. The customs guy asked me what I was on the cruise for, I told him honeymoon. He said congrats, and gave me some kind of pass. Didn't charge me a dime.

[shitgoose]

I brought back 5-6 bottles of booze and a shitload of cigars from our cruise. I didn't claim any of it on my customs form they make you fill out and nobody checked my bags. The only bad thing was that a bottle of 1800 broke in one of my suitcases from being tossed around by the people loading the luggage at the airport. When I was waiting at baggage claim the whole area reeked of tequila when my bag came around. It was mess to clean up and I cut my hand on a broken piece of glass that had found its way into the pocket of some pants that were in the suitcase.

The prices were great though. I bought a handle of crown for $17. You can negotiate with the people on price if you go to one of the smaller places that sell booze.

[sedated]

I'm assuming that booking the cruise on-line doesn't include the flight to the departing city.

[Phobia]

I drank less on the cruise than I drink at home. I waited until we reached the islands and bought a bottle to enjoy on the beach. I'm not paying $5+ a beer.

You can also bring 2 bottles of "wine" aboard Carnival for consumption in your room. We brought liquor instead and maybe we didn't adhere to their 2 bottles rule. Maybe we can't count too well.