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Anyone ever take a cruise? Have a few questions.

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.

Comments

  • kingjk729kingjk729 Posts: 2,579 ✭✭✭
    1 Yes i have been on 3 cruises ... 2 carnival and 1 royal carribean ..... all have been great. I'd say carnival is a great first timers cruise to test the waters..... I would say if you go carnival to do the dinner club at least once if not twice i think its 30.00 per person but so worth it.
    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.
  • zoom6zoomzoom6zoom Posts: 1,214
    Sorry, never been on one where I didn't have to stand a watch or share a "cabin" with forty other guys.
  • YankeeManYankeeMan Posts: 2,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've been on several cruises and I've run a couple. My advice is to stay away from Carnival. The night before you return to port, you put your luggage out in the hall and they keep it in the hold over night. I had several items stolen out of my luggage and they refused to do anything because I did not report it before leaving the port.

    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.
  • jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    We've done a cruise to Mexico on Celebrity and an Alaska cruise on Norwegian. Both were quite good...Celebrity is more for the younger crowd, I think, and Norwegian was more than excellent. We particularly liked the casual 'freestyle' cruising where you don't have to dress for dinner.

    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

  • RippRipp Posts: 125
    Yeah i have been on 4 cruises and going on my 5th in December! My two cents: 1. Never been on Carnival but have been on a Disney Cruise, two Royal Caribbean, and a Princess. A cruise is probably one of the MOST entertaining things you can do, no matter the ship. I have heard some great things about Carnival and in all honesty i should have went on that instead of Princess. Long story short it was my honeymoon and Princess is FULLLLLLL of old people. And I don't mean like 50s or 60 either. I mean Old. 2. The thing I always tell people about interior rooms is that you will never.... and i mean never be in there. Change, ***, Sleep. That's about it. The room is probably the same square footage as a RV. If RV's are too small then interior rooms are too small for you. 3. As for the motion of the boat.. unless you are a seriously bad motion sick kinda guy then don't sweat it at all. I have been motion sick more then once in my life (trains, cars, etc.) but after the first hour you will never notice the motion. The hardest part about the motion is getting back on land. They call it sea legs. Feels like the ground is moving. 4. Every time there is things I wish I had done differently but that's life. My advice is to just relax and have a good time. If you sign up for the "Men's Sexy Leg Competition" or the "Belly Flop Competition" then just go with it, have fun. (Hopefully) You will never see this people again in your life. Just do me two favors. When you get on the boat just relax. If you dont feel like doing anything then dont. Dont feel pressure to try everything. Sometimes the best part of a cruise ship is just relax. I love looking at the ocean from the top deck. And second favor is to smoke one for me. If im not mistaken Carnival has a 24 hour cigar lounge on a couple of their cruise ships. I know Royal Caribbean turns the library into one for a few hours everyday. Google Cigars on cruise ships. Have Fun!!
  • RippRipp Posts: 125
    Oh and i forgot... if you are worried about the motion sick thing, just do yourself a favor. Talk to your doctor and he will get you the little motion sick bandage behind the ear things. My Mom does it everytime she gets on a cruise (she has been on over 10) as a precaution and never looks back. Better to be safe then sorry.
  • Russ55Russ55 Posts: 2,765 ✭✭
    4bob4:
    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.


    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.
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