Anyone ever take a cruise? Have a few questions.
4bob4
Posts: 212
Hey guys I have a few questions for anyone that's taken a cruise. I have a few concerns first of all being saving money.
1. Anyone ever taken Carnival? Any recommendations or bad comments? Any other good lines?
2. How bad would an interior room be for someone who doesn't like close spaces? Anyone consider themselves "claustrophobic" and able to take an interior room?
3. Considering some rooms on the lower levels, is the motion of the boat worse? How bad is the engine noise?
4. Any good tips or things you'd do differently if you went again?
TIA.
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Comments
2 I have had a balcony room , a large porthole room and a room on the front of the ship right under the wheelhouse ... I did have a fling with a chick that had an interior stateroom and spent a little time in them and would say go for it .... the only time you are in the room is to sleep, shat, shave, shower, and screw ....so why pay more when you wont be staying in the room.The only place i ever felt tight was in the shower and all 4 rooms i have been in the shower was the only tight spot.
3 Lower levels are just fine .... i always say the mid to front of the ship and try and be near an elevator ..... have stayed on the riviera deck and lido deck and the empress deck .... they all work the same .... sometimes a downfall of being on the upper decks is that you may have to go down then walk and use the elevator or steps to get to certain parts of the ship. Motion was never a problem and the only time i had an issue was i left the curtains open and walked into the room and we were at sea and i saw all the waves a moving but the ship was not i got a little wobbly in the knees but after closing the curtains i was fine ..... and noise is minimal ... there are two engines that run generators and everything is electric and pretty quiet.
4 Have a blast and dont be afraid to let loose ..... nobody knows you and get the alcohol card .... its so worth it i think 275.00-350.00 depending on the cruise length, but 1 card will suffice for a couple , never had a problem and you will get your vale for sure ..... if you average 10 drinks a day you make out like a bandit .... a beer is usually 4.50 and a mixed drink like 5.00-8 bucks so if you and your geust drink get 1 card and enjoy yourself.
Other than that one bad experience, I really enjoy cruising. If you can handle the closed spaces, for a first timer, I recommend an inside room, low and midships. That has the least movement if you think you might be prone to sea sickness.
I also recommend taking the stairs instead of the elevators. With all the food you get, I gained 10 pounds on my first cruise. On the remaining cruises I did that and the weight gain wasn't too bad.
Also, to avoid problems when you put your luggage out the night before, buy some nylon straps and put them around the outside of your luggage. You'll have to cut them off when you get home, but you can tell if someone has tampered with your bags.
Good luck.
We've had outside staterooms and balcony staterooms. I don't know what an inside stateroom would look like but, in my mind, it's worth the few extra bucks to at least have a window - much less a balcony. We're not claustrophobic but, IMHO, I'd not go again if I couldn't do a balcony stateroom. I love sitting out there with a cigar and enjoying life.
Marty
I've been on almost 10 cruises with Royal Caribbean, and 1 with Carnival. I've stayed in inside state, Ocean view, and Balcony rooms. Carnival has a slightly larger inside state than most other cruise lines. As far as whether or not you will get claustrophobic in it I can't really say. I don't know you, or how bad your phobia is. My gut would say that unless you are super sensitive most likely you'll be fine. It's like a small hotel room. The real problem with inside states is that the lack of light messes with your internal clock. Keep a watch or alarm handy or you can very easily sleep the day away and not even realize it. I found Carnival to be slightly less all around than Royal. It's not bad, but it's not as good as Royal on the whole. Royal is my bar of what I will be happy with. Royal is more family friendly, Carnival is more "poor college student who wants to drink".
Sleeping on the lower levels is usually fine. It's not engine noise you need to worry about. That is constant, if you can even hear it. The noise you need to be wary of is the disotecs and clubs. If you are near one of those you will most likely hear it all damn night. Another noise to watch out for is near the front of the boats when they drop the anchor. Sometimes if you're close enough it can be really loud. That one's not as bad, and really depends of how light of a sleeper you are. The motion of the boat is best in the middle, usually. Go for middle of the boat, away from the clubs. Unless you plan to be out late every night then it doesn't matter.
Tips that apply to cruising specifically...have a seasick remedy just in case. Bring your own cigars, cutter, and fire. Be ready to tip the staff at the end of the cruise. Carnival might do that pre-paid thing though still. I forget. Not really much else. Standard travel tips apply. Hope that helps. Sorry for drunken rambling.