*~ Cruising (travel by Waterways) megathread ~*

closifer

We have done a few cruises. Some with carnival and some with royal carribean. We have done 2 in the Caribbean and one from Spain. My advice for a special trip would be to go on a Caribbean cruise rather than a European one.

sc86

have a little girl that we will have to leave with parents so only have 8 or 9 day window so not going to go too far

would love to do 2 or 3 weeks but not possible

beertons

I preferred the buffets to the a la carte restaurant. More choice, seconds and thirds too.

khaldrogo

sc86 wrote:

did you find it expensive spending money wise or much same as any holiday? last 2 holidays were vegas and new york so has to be cheaper than those!

We spent about 700 all in between the few trips we did, the few drinks we had and the tip at the end.

khaldrogo

Buffet FTW

sc86

khaldrogo wrote: »

We spent about 700 all in between the few trips we did, the few drinks we had and the tip at the end.

theres a question i ment to ask

whats the story with tips?
told you have to tip everybody?

se conman

Buy the prepaid tip package 70€ on MSC I think.

khaldrogo

sc86 wrote:

whats the story with tips? told you have to tip everybody?

We didn't have money on us on board. Everything was charged to our room. We bought the tip package but also gave a few quid to the lady who cleaned our room.

Sono

We went on a cruise for our honeymoon last June from Rome and we absolutely loved it.

The ship was celebrity reflection and it was pure luxury, really was.

Loads of great stops and a really good buzz on the cruise too.

I don’t agree that you need to bring a suit for your cruise at all, some do dress up very fancily for the sea days but it’s not a requirement and who wants to bring a suit with them anyway?

For the drinks package we went for the basic alcohol one and it was perfect, didn’t feel we needed to spend more than that as the selection was great.

I am happy to answer any questions if you have any further ones you would like answering.

sc86

khaldrogo wrote: »

We didn't have money on us on board. Everything was charged to our room. We bought the tip package but also gave a few quid to the lady who cleaned our room.

what did you do on your day trips if you had no money?

id hate to not have cash on me , just incase

sc86

Sono wrote: »

We went on a cruise for our honeymoon last June from Rome and we absolutely loved it.

The ship was celebrity reflection and it was pure luxury, really was.

Loads of great stops and a really good buzz on the cruise too.

I don’t agree that you need to bring a suit for your cruise at all, some do dress up very fancily for the sea days but it’s not a requirement and who wants to bring a suit with them anyway?

For the drinks package we went for the basic alcohol one and it was perfect, didn’t feel we needed to spend more than that as the selection was great.

I am happy to answer any questions if you have any further ones you would like answering.

i wont be bring a suit anyway


at what point do you buy the drinks package ?
when your on boat or what?

sc86

se conman wrote: »

Buy the prepaid tip package 70€ on MSC I think.

before you board or where do you buy?

se conman

Every extra can be purchased at initial purchase of cruise.
While it was me that suggested brining a suit, I also said a jacket would do.
Remember you are on your hopefully only honeymoon and will be eating in a nice restaurant so it is nice to put in that bit of effort.
Not being a snob but it did annoy me a bit seeing a few couples where the lady made the effort and the gent was in jeans and a tee shirt.

Sono

sc86 wrote: »

i wont be bring a suit anyway


at what point do you buy the drinks package ?
when your on boat or what?

Bought it before hand but you can purchase it any time when you are on board. As soon as we got on the ship the staff were pushing us to upgrade our drinks package to the higher one saying the one we had wasn’t great, there was nothing we lacked and got good use out of it believe me!

You are right about the suit, feck that ****e it’s a holiday now a black tie event.

Would recommend a balcony room if you can, it’s nice to have and the rooms are considerably bigger.

Elemonator

Royal Caribbean are fantastic. I have just returned from Florida on the Caribbean cruise. The crew were amazing. The entertainment is fab. But it can quickly turn expensive.

First of all, formal attire is only accepted in some restaurants for events like the Captain's Dinner. At least that is the way it was on my ship.

Drinks were 12 dollars each on the ship I was on. I had a soft drinks package and that included as much as I wanted in the restaurants and bars throughout the ship. The packages are expensive so do your sums as a previous poster recommended.

The onshore trips are scarily expensive imo, I saw jet-skis that were 120 euro each for half an hour or so and that was the one of the cheaper ones I saw. Organise your own. You'll find plenty of businesses beyond the port gates willing to show you around and do tours. Royal Caribbean got a commission from the ones in the port. I've never done the European cruise, but having travelled Europe a lot, my advice would be to research these things intensively as a lot of Europe can be very "samey".

Professional photographers will be throughout the ship and will take pictures of you having dinner and in your formal wear. They are not too probing. At the end of the cruise, you can purchase these pictures. This can turn out quite expensive too.

If you want wi-fi, it is actually very fast on the ships. It is highly advanced technology. But it is expensive. You can get a economy package that allows just emails and so on, a more expensive one that costs a bit more but you can get streaming, and an all inclusive package that includes the same features across multiple devices.

It is a totally different holiday and you will get hooked. Consider the cruises out of Florida, they are actually reasonably priced at certain times of the year and there is multiple companies such as MSC, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Nordic?, Carnival Cruises and much more.

DON'T FORGET A PLUG ADAPTER! American plugs and European plugs across the ships. I acquired an adapter late in the cruise through a lend from a crew member but the voltage was too low.

twowheelsonly

Been on a couple although not in the Med, nor with MSC.

First cruise we went on, out of New York, the guy behind us in the queue spotted our passports and got chatting. He was Irish but living in NY for 30 years and going on his 28th cruise. His advice was not to buy a drinks package so we took that and worked out perfectly (and subsequently). His knack was to find a bar you liked, make a quick assessment of the bar staff and give a half decent tip to the one that was doing the most chatting to customers. Did that, and it saved us a fortune !! 2 days later discovered that he had picked the same bar and same barman

Do your maths on the price of the package taking into account the trip itinerary. Bear in mind that you'll be off the ship for most of the days from early morning. By the time you get back, maybe have a rest, grab a shower, head for something to eat and go to a show there won't be a lot of time left for drinking - especially if you're up again at 7 the next morning. (The beer package on that first cruise would have meant drinking 10 bottles a day each just to break even - I'd do that, but not every day...)

Food is generally good, most ships have a buffet and a few other restaurants and on top of that an 'exclusive' restaurant or two where you have to pay a little extra, usually not a whole lot.

Only once have we gone on an official ships excursion - and that because it would have been awkward to organise. A bit of research beforehand will throw up loads of options at each port.

On Sea Days spend some time at the pool /hot tub /jacuzzis. That's where you'll meet and get chatting to people easiest.

I'd second the poster that suggested checking out the Caribbean. Been there twice and it really does feel that bit special. Most of the islands are unbelievably cheap as well and the locals really do look after visitors. We went last year from New Orleans - 9 day cruise and a few nights in NO but they also do 7 or a (too short) 5 day one as well. IMO it'd be worth pricing just to see the difference. A 7 day would still have you home in 9 to 10 days and we found NO a lot cheaper than Vegas or NY. We've used Tour America a few times and found them very competitive in comparison to doing it ourselves but there's plenty of other travel agents or DIY options available as well..

Enjoy !!

sc86

Sono wrote: »

Bought it before hand but you can purchase it any time when you are on board. As soon as we got on the ship the staff were pushing us to upgrade our drinks package to the higher one saying the one we had wasn’t great, there was nothing we lacked and got good use out of it believe me!

You are right about the suit, feck that ****e it’s a holiday now a black tie event.

Would recommend a balcony room if you can, it’s nice to have and the rooms are considerably bigger.

if staff start annoy me i wont be long telling them where to go

itl hopefully be warm for a suit!

sc86

se conman wrote: »

Every extra can be purchased at initial purchase of cruise.
While it was me that suggested brining a suit, I also said a jacket would do.
Remember you are on your hopefully only honeymoon and will be eating in a nice restaurant so it is nice to put in that bit of effort.
Not being a snob but it did annoy me a bit seeing a few couples where the lady made the effort and the gent was in jeans and a tee shirt.

i dont want to show her up:D

sc86

twowheelsonly wrote: »

Been on a couple although not in the Med, nor with MSC.

First cruise we went on, out of New York, the guy behind us in the queue spotted our passports and got chatting. He was Irish but living in NY for 30 years and going on his 28th cruise. His advice was not to buy a drinks package so we took that and worked out perfectly (and subsequently). His knack was to find a bar you liked, make a quick assessment of the bar staff and give a half decent tip to the one that was doing the most chatting to customers. Did that, and it saved us a fortune !! 2 days later discovered that he had picked the same bar and same barman

Do your maths on the price of the package taking into account the trip itinerary. Bear in mind that you'll be off the ship for most of the days from early morning. By the time you get back, maybe have a rest, grab a shower, head for something to eat and go to a show there won't be a lot of time left for drinking - especially if you're up again at 7 the next morning. (The beer package on that first cruise would have meant drinking 10 bottles a day each just to break even - I'd do that, but not every day...)

Food is generally good, most ships have a buffet and a few other restaurants and on top of that an 'exclusive' restaurant or two where you have to pay a little extra, usually not a whole lot.

Only once have we gone on an official ships excursion - and that because it would have been awkward to organise. A bit of research beforehand will throw up loads of options at each port.

On Sea Days spend some time at the pool /hot tub /jacuzzis. That's where you'll meet and get chatting to people easiest.

I'd second the poster that suggested checking out the Caribbean. Been there twice and it really does feel that bit special. Most of the islands are unbelievably cheap as well and the locals really do look after visitors. We went last year from New Orleans - 9 day cruise and a few nights in NO but they also do 7 or a (too short) 5 day one as well. IMO it'd be worth pricing just to see the difference. A 7 day would still have you home in 9 to 10 days and we found NO a lot cheaper than Vegas or NY. We've used Tour America a few times and found them very competitive in comparison to doing it ourselves but there's plenty of other travel agents or DIY options available as well..

Enjoy !!

how much was the drinks package?
will be going to vegas again later on the year so not interested in long flights over that side of the world this time

sc86

Elemonator wrote: »

Royal Caribbean are fantastic. I have just returned from Florida on the Caribbean cruise. The crew were amazing. The entertainment is fab. But it can quickly turn expensive.

First of all, formal attire is only accepted in some restaurants for events like the Captain's Dinner. At least that is the way it was on my ship.

Drinks were 12 dollars each on the ship I was on. I had a soft drinks package and that included as much as I wanted in the restaurants and bars throughout the ship. The packages are expensive so do your sums as a previous poster recommended.

The onshore trips are scarily expensive imo, I saw jet-skis that were 120 euro each for half an hour or so and that was the one of the cheaper ones I saw. Organise your own. You'll find plenty of businesses beyond the port gates willing to show you around and do tours. Royal Caribbean got a commission from the ones in the port. I've never done the European cruise, but having travelled Europe a lot, my advice would be to research these things intensively as a lot of Europe can be very "samey".

Professional photographers will be throughout the ship and will take pictures of you having dinner and in your formal wear. They are not too probing. At the end of the cruise, you can purchase these pictures. This can turn out quite expensive too.

If you want wi-fi, it is actually very fast on the ships. It is highly advanced technology. But it is expensive. You can get a economy package that allows just emails and so on, a more expensive one that costs a bit more but you can get streaming, and an all inclusive package that includes the same features across multiple devices.

It is a totally different holiday and you will get hooked. Consider the cruises out of Florida, they are actually reasonably priced at certain times of the year and there is multiple companies such as MSC, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Nordic?, Carnival Cruises and much more.

DON'T FORGET A PLUG ADAPTER! American plugs and European plugs across the ships. I acquired an adapter late in the cruise through a lend from a crew member but the voltage was too low.

12 dollars for a drink wont be long adding up!
self employed so will need good internet to keep eye on the business while im away

Elemonator

sc86 wrote: »

12 dollars for a drink wont be long adding up!
self employed so will need good internet to keep eye on the business while im away

I'd definitely agree. Depends on yourself of course. I know that it wasn't worth me getting the drinks package because I was a week at sea and I wasn't going to be drinking everyday. We docked in Port Canaveral at 5am so I didn't want a hangover going to on tours in Florida and then flying to London.

The internet is genuinely good. I think it is a service called Voom. 17 bucks a day though. There is a computer room on board but it was very well hidden, all the computers were in the card room. Asked a staff member where it was and even though I was given correct directions, the ship was so big that I still had to do a bit of looking.

deadl0ck

I see celebrity x cruises are sailing from Dublin this year. Anybody any experience of them? I've been on one cruise before with MSC and was very impressed with it, and ice read a fair bit about RCI being excellent too, but not heard much about celebrity

deisemum

I've been on 2 cruises with MSC and was very impressed with them. The first one was on the MSC Splendida from Barcelona and the second was on the MSC Orchestra from Venice.

There were all ages onboard from families to young couples, middle-aged and elderly. The drinks package was half the price of the RC package and we found it very good value as it included wine, spirits, beers, soft drinks, speciality coffees, ice cream and bottles of water.

I'm looking forward to booking another cruise.

spurious

We used the buffet after one night in the main dining room. Not that there was anything at all wrong with the dining room, just taking almost two hours for dinner seemed a bit of a waste to us.

On the gratuities issue, pay the suggested daily rate. It gets split between everyone, including the unfortunates working in the laundry or kitchens all day, who never get a chance to interact with passengers and get individual tips. By all means tip extra any staff you meet if you want to.

A couple of bottles of handwash will help ward off any possible norovirus situation, though generally the staff are excellent managing hygiene and any possible threats. No harm do your own bit too.

deadl0ck

Anybody gone on a med cruise at end of March / start of April ?
I'd love to go, but my wife is worried about choppy seas as she get seasick easily enough...

coylemj

deadl0ck wrote: »

Anybody gone on a med cruise at end of March / start of April ?
I'd love to go, but my wife is worried about choppy seas as she get seasick easily enough...

Did an eastern Med. cruise at Easter in 2016 from the Adriatic to Greece and back, started and finished in Venice, no problem with rough seas. On Med. cruises, the ships tend to do a loop around the western or eastern Med. so you're never that far from the coast. The Med. cruises (usually 11 days) which take in Cyprus or Turkey do involve a long run though open sea where you would be potentially exposed if there is rough weather.

The cruise ships all have stabilisers - large metal fins which extend from the hull under the water line and which eliminate roll (listing left, right and back again) but people who don't have 'sea legs' can still feel a bit queasy in any kind of rough seas.

twowheelsonly

sc86 wrote: »

how much was the drinks package?
will be going to vegas again later on the year so not interested in long flights over that side of the world this time

As far as I remember it was $500 dollars each. (9 day cruise) However, between bucket deals of 6 bottles for the price of 5 and the local friendly barman giving 2 for the price of 1 we made massive savings. Our total ships spend on that trip was about $800 and that included cigarettes, t-shirts and souvenirs etc as well as extras in the speciality restaurants.
You don't spend cash on the ship BTW. It's a card that everything is charged to. It's a good idea to bring a neck lanyard and wallet just to carry the charge card / room key - you'll probably pay a tenner on the ship for one that you'd get in a pound shop !!

Mc-BigE

Doing the Baltic cruise with MSC this summer, quick question about currencies , going to be in a few different countries that don't use euro, Denmark, Sweden, Russia.
I have a revolut card which I intend to use, but worried about Russia, should I get russian ruble's , use euro or dollars, or just use the card. What would you recommend

Rambler3

Hi all..I'm going on a cruise with my wife for our 30th wedding anniversary soon..we are looking at the mac carribean seaview ship for our trip..my question is should we buy a drinks package or just pay in the bars and restaurants..we are just moderate drinkers the (1or2) gang..😆..we are confused with all the packages on offer and would like advise...thanks a million..mike...👍

Declan1

Rambler3 wrote: »

Hi all..I'm going on a cruise with my wife for our 30th wedding anniversary soon..we are looking at the mac carribean seaview ship for our trip..my question is should we buy a drinks package or just pay in the bars and restaurants..we are just moderate drinkers the (1or2) gang..😆..we are confused with all the packages on offer and would like advise...thanks a million..mike...ðŸ‘

What is the cost per day of the drinks package? Generally you will have to book it for both of you. There will also probably be a service charge applied. Maybe you're getting a special offer but in my experience the drinks package is very bad value unless you plan to drink all day every day. Remember you will probably be off the ship most days anyway.