Want to take my first cruise (1 Viewer)

[MD Mike]

So I have never been on a cruise ship and would like to take a trip this year. I was looking at ships leaving Baltimore and was surprised by some quotes that said $430 a person for five nights to Jamaica and then I go through the process to set up the cruise and it ends up being like $900 a person with taxes and fees and pound me in the butt expenses.

So anyone that has any experience with cruises can help me find a deal or help me by telling me what to look for would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Kain8]

Shoot Jeremy an e-mail and she (yes, she) will help you out wonderfully.

She got the wife and I a freaking balcony suite upgrade for no charge when we went on our honeymoon a few years back. Not saying she'll be able to do all that for you, but she does awesome work.

jeremy@cruiseexperts.com

 

[Jeff]

I’ve only been on two cruises, one short cruise with my wife and one cruise with my kids. Had a great time both times, but took all in stride. Lots of fun, great food. Negatives were small accommodations and shower was tiny.

Lisa and I had a $800 bar bill on the one by ourselves since we were getting away from tiny kids at the time.

The family trip was with two other families and the kids roamed in a pack. Told them all to get with the neares adult if one fell overboard and died. Other than that, gave them he room charge and it was free soda the whole time.

Both were on Norwegian Cruise Lines and we’re mammoth ships.

 

[allforcharity]

Cruising is a nice getaway. I've been on lots.

If you're not sure, try a very short getaway, something that's offered in the 3-5 day range, just to test it out. Cruising is best when the ship goes somewhere that you really want to go, where you can get off and enjoy the ports of call. It's less of a vacation (although in most cases, still okay) if you're mostly planning to stay on the ship.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I've cruised several times - it's a lot cheaper when you live within driving distance of four major ports. Here's some info I hope you'll find helpful:

Taxes and port fees are normal and shouldn't vary too much, but get an out-the-door price before committing. Those fees can easily add a couple hundred bucks per person.

For me, the fare is generally 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of the cruise. You will pay daily gratuities for each member of your party, you'll pay for anything you drink beyond coffee, tea and water, and you'll probably want to shop, gamble in the casino, go on excursions, etc. For example, I took my family on Harmony of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) a few months ago. Our total fare for five was about $3500, but the total cost of the vacation was a little over $5000 - and we did it pretty cheaply. No excursions, friends drove us to and from the port so no travel costs, and we brought our own alcohol to defray most of the drinking costs. Still, we shopped in port, gave the kids money, bought soda packages, had a couple of meals in specialty dining, etc. Even "cheaping out" on a cruise adds up quickly.

Different cruise lines attract different types of people. Keep this in mind when choosing who you sail with. I prefer Royal Caribbean: family-friendly, but enough partying that I can still have plenty of adult fun, food is generally very good, wide selection of ships, and fares are pretty reasonable. I've also sailed with Carnival (more partying, food wasn't as good) and Holland America (mostly older crowd, quiet, everything is shut down by 10pm).

 

[SuckoutKing]

Took a week long Alaska cruise. Was awesome nice smooth sailing. Great views! Late July- late August best time.

 

[MD Mike]

Thank you for the great information. Going to discuss with the wife again

 

[moose]

prestigecruises.com will have pretty much all the specials offered by every cruise line.

Other sources: travelzoo will sometimes point out great deals and also try costcotravel.com, they frequently use their purchasing power to arrange extra deals like extra on-board credit etc.

The tipping charges can be high but on a regular vacation I'm tipping the valet, the bag guy, the concierge, the maid and the waiter anyways. Your room, meals, travel expenses (moving the boat port to port) and entertainment are all included in a pay one price. Drinks can be a fair expense but if you are planning on heavy drinking then packages can be found which include your booze. Just watch how much the 'included booze' is costing you. On my next cruise, adding booze was $1100 more for 7 days. We figured my wife and I can enjoy ourselves plenty on $100 of booze/tips per day and still finish ahead.

 

[Tracy]

This is great info! Thanks everyone we were really disappointed when one sight gave a wrong quote (it wasn’t connected to the cruise line)

So we were looking at cost and it said starting at $700 per a person and it ended up the total cost for three people was like $3,000. We were looking at leaving from Baltimore but I’m wondering if another port I’m driving distance is cheaper.

What would you all say the average cost for three adults (two rooms) would be? We’re only interested in max 5 nights and we’re open to going anywhere.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Yeah, booze packages are a nice convenience, but you have to drink a lot to cover the cost.

Also, most cruise lines require you to purchase the package for everyone over 21 in your cabin. My wife is a very light drinker, so this effectively doubles the cost for me to buy a package.

 

[Tracy]

I've cruised several times - it's a lot cheaper when you live within driving distance of four major ports. Here's some info I hope you'll find helpful:

Taxes and port fees are normal and shouldn't vary too much, but get an out-the-door price before committing. Those fees can easily add a couple hundred bucks per person.

For me, the fare is generally 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of the cruise. You will pay daily gratuities for each member of your party, you'll pay for anything you drink beyond coffee, tea and water, and you'll probably want to shop, gamble in the casino, go on excursions, etc. For example, I took my family on Harmony of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) a few months ago. Our total fare for five was about $3500, but the total cost of the vacation was a little over $5000 - and we did it pretty cheaply. No excursions, friends drove us to and from the port so no travel costs, and we brought our own alcohol to defray most of the drinking costs. Still, we shopped in port, gave the kids money, bought soda packages, had a couple of meals in specialty dining, etc. Even "cheaping out" on a cruise adds up quickly.

Different cruise lines attract different types of people. Keep this in mind when choosing who you sail with. I prefer Royal Caribbean: family-friendly, but enough partying that I can still have plenty of adult fun, food is generally very good, wide selection of ships, and fares are pretty reasonable. I've also sailed with Carnival (more partying, food wasn't as good) and Holland America (mostly older crowd, quiet, everything is shut down by 10pm).

Can I ask what the cost was for each adult. We were looking at Royal Caribbean Cruises and it ended up being around $3000 for three adults. Which was way more then the original per person price they have on the first page.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Can I ask what the cost was for each adult. We were looking at Royal Caribbean Cruises and it ended up being around $3000 for three adults. Which was way more then the original per person price they have on the first page.

Keep in mind that the cost will vary SIGNIFICANTLY based on ship, itinerary (where and how long), time of year, cabin class, and any promotions that might be going on.

We paid a total of $2350 for two adults (including $220 taxes and port fees) for a seven night Caribbean cruise out of Miami in October (off-season, so prices are lower). This was an interior stateroom.

 

[inca911]

Reminder to pack a separate bag on boarding day with swimsuit and other key items. While folks are waiting for bags + gear to arrive at their cabin, you will already be enjoying the pool. Royal Caribbean (RCC) has massive boats. There is tons to do on the boats, but it is also very busy no matter where you are located. Being first off in the morning is key to staking out a good place for the day. The shore excursions offered by the boat are also relatively crowded. RCC runs some good sales from time to time, so it's worth taking your time to see what's being offered. We rarely spent time in the cabin on the several RCC cruises, so a balcony/suite really wasn't worth the extra money we spent.

 

[CraigT78]

I've been on at least 10 cruises. Love em. Pool, Bar, Spa, and Casino all in one place? Yes please. Mostly out of Galveston as I can drive there and save on airfare. Been to mostly the same places, but I don't care. I always get the interior cabin as it's pitch black for sleeping and the cost is so much less. Only in the room for sleep, sex, and shower so it's all good. The bar charges add up quick. I don't drink much (haha) and I can easily spend $100+ a day just on booze. Wife doesn't drink more than one so the drink packages are out. If you are a gambler - tip well and you might find yourself a free drink card. I've gotten on on 7/10 cruises. Tipping and port fees add up for sure, but call the cruise line and ask for the best rate. I've always found the best deals to be direct - but have used an agent from time to time. I've gone on Carnival and NCL - prefer NCL.

 

[DrStrange]

Prices vary a lot. Really, a massive amount. So does the experience, each line offers something a bit different.

Where you stay on most ships matter a lot. Inside (no windows) rooms are the least expensive. Then come outside (no balcony, just a porthole or window) rooms. One step up are balcony rooms. The biggest dollar rooms are suites and perhaps owners suits. This choice alone might make a 3x to 10x price difference from an inside room to a suite with a butler.

Which cruise line you pick matters a bunch as well. No doubt you have seen all sorts of advertising for the large boat cruise lines. I'd guess there might be a 2x price swing from most to least expensive. This makes a difference, pay attention. Cheaper isn't always better. Cruises targeting twenty somethings looking to party don't always fit a family of four. Cruises that are children friendly can be troublesome for a couple on a romantic get-away. 24 hour a day, cheap plentiful food might sound good but an extra $100/person to get on a cruise line with better food is often worth it. (well at least it is for me) I have been on summer trips where 40% of the passenger list is under 18, something we found undesirable. We have also been on trips where (it seemed like) half the passengers were 75+ and in wheel chairs, something we also found undesirable.

Please be mindful that teenagers and cruises can become a difficult mix. Yes, the cruise line has a lot of cameras and security personnel but even so the kids can get into a fair amount of trouble. The cruise lines are very good with kids 12 and under, but the 13+ kids aren't so easy handle. There aren't so many restrictions about "consensual" sexual conduct between adults and youths or between two (or more) teens. Under age drinking is not much of a problem - not unheard of, just not common.

Perhaps you have seen ads for river cruises on smaller and more expensive ships. That cruise might run five figures for a couple on a week long trip. You might not have seen similar ads for domestic (USA) river boats, but they are out there and roughly just as expensive.

Likely you haven't seen much about the higher end / smaller ships who operate more on the lines of "if you have to ask about the price, maybe you can't afford it" If you do a google search for cruises, these will pop up along with the big ship lines. Often these trips are all inclusive, including booze, excursions and fine dining. They should be for the price. Want to sail around the world for a six month trip, spare no expense? A hundred thousand bucks, per person - butler, valet and private chef included. I'll need to have quite a run at the card table for that to happen.

Off season trips are often bargains. Same thing with last second purchases - unsold rooms are bad for the cruise line. Best situation would be to live in the departure port, but my parents went all over the world on trips they got the week of departure living in Texas - good deals even paying for last second airline tickets.

Repositioning cruises where the ship is going from one side of the ocean to the other - eg winter in the Caribbean and summer in the Mediterranean - are "deals" so long as you understand the ship is mostly traveling, not stopping. Much cheaper than flying, no jet lag and a great way to have a peaceful journey.

Some deals that seem wonderfully cheap end up having potential problems. We got a super good deal on a week out of Puerto Rico - just under $400 per person for a balcony room for a week. The barb on the hook? Most of the ship was sold to a gay centric travel agency which meant you needed to have an open mind about such things. Let's keep in mind a swath of the Caribbean got wiped out by last year's hurricanes. So trips to those islands might be cheap, but tourists should be mindful about what to expect.

Every time the ship docks, it incurs a fee - typically per passenger. Those port fees are one of the most significant costs to run a cruise line. The more stops a ship makes, the higher the price of the trip (this is partly why a repositioning cruise is so cheap). One reason why a 3-5 cruise can be cheaper per day is you often only stop once or twice. My wife and I like sea days - the fewer stops are a good thing for us. Other people feel exactly opposite.

My rule of thumb is that my room fee roughly covers cost for the cruise line - room, board, basic entertainment, fuel, etc. and capital costs. Everything else you do is a chance for the cruise line to extract value. Booze and even soda is ouchy expensive. The casino has a huge house edge, bingo is even worse. Please don't buy the "art" unless you know exactly what you are doing. Don't get me wrong, you can have a great trip without getting into big money but you have to be mindful of how fast the extras add up.

Shore excursions are expensive, but come with a "we will not leave you behind" guarantee. You can get better deals on the docks from third party vendors, but you are on your own if they run late or turn out to be scamming you. Common sense will be helpful - a $125/person day at the beach from the cruise line is the same day at the same beach using a taxi and local vendors for $40/person. On the other hand, the third party excursion to see the ruins where you get back 30 minutes before departure might not seem as wise a bargain when you see the ships sailing out to sea as you drive back towards the port.

Travel agents can prove very helpful for novices booking one of their first cruises. I encourage people to focus on value vs price. This is a situation where you largely get what you pay for. I especially want to note that inside rooms can be VERY difficult for people with phobias and/or motion sickness. You'll be happy to spring for the extra bucks if you avoid those types of problems.

I would be remiss if I didn't say something about individual travelers. Getting a room for one can be difficult. Sometimes you can't even pay for a double occupancy without taking the second person along. Most cruises are not set up for individuals or have only a handful of rooms set aside for such travelers. good luck, you will need it as a solo traveler.

Most important, have fun -=- DrStrange

PS I failed to mention that the price for a trip will be affected by the age / size of the ship. The newest/biggest ship, complete with the cast of a current Broadway show will be more expensive than a twenty year old smaller ship where the crew also serves as the cast for the nightly entertainment.

 

[allforcharity]

Remember, per person costs in a package can go up if the number of rooms you need go up.
Two adults in 1 room will be standard price. 3rd and 4th person sharing in the same room (kids) get a decent price break.
One adult in 1 room gets charged a single supplement fee. It won't cost as much as 2 adults in 1 room, but it will cost a lot more than 1/2 that cost.
Groups of adults on cruises should always book rooms in pairs, unless you've got money to burn, or else if the cruise line offers "special" 1 person cabins.

 

[BiGGyT]

Crucon.com usually has the best deals, get the free drink package and gratuities, nothing extra but excursions. I also look at cruisesonly.com to find a cruise easier than on crucon.com

Enjoy, try to do it all, and have fun!

 

[pltrgyst]

We had never taken a cruise before, but we've taken four in the past 18 months since my wife retired. They were:

- Mediterranean Cruise Ships (MSC) "Divina": 7 nights to the Caribbean (Miama, San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua & Barbuda, Guadalupe, Barbados

- Royal Caribbean "Brilliance of the Seas": 15 nights to Barcelona (Tampa, San Juan, the Azores, Malaga, and Ibiza)

- Norwegian Cruise Lines, "Epic": 7 nights to the Caribbean (Port Canaveral, Bahamas, Jamaica, Caymans)

- Carnival Cruise Lines "Magic": 7 nights to the Caribbean (Port Canaveral, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya)

The three Caribbean cruises were chosen to sample places we hadn't been to previously.. We booked them all through vacationstogo.com. All costs up front, no surprises. We'll stay with them for the future. Their last-minute cruise emails provide lots of bargain opportunities.

Depending on the route, balcony rooms can be of little value -- it gets cold crossing the Atlantic. Ocean-view rooms are often the sweet spot -- larger than either balcony or interior rooms.

Our favorites by far -- and by far the best food -- were MSC and RC, with Carnival the bottom of the barrel. We'd like to try Celebrity and Princess in the future, possibly up the Alaskan coast.

Internet connectivity sucks on all of them, at any price. Bring lots of books, or a loaded Kindle.

Fitness centers are always great! Excellent opportunity to get (back) into a workout rhythm.

Lots of entertainment on all, but Carnival's shows were mostly much later in the evening than the rest.

Liquor quality is generally pretty poor, with very high prices. Ditto wine.

Try to minimize the number of stops at ports/islands owned by the cruise line. They're generally worthless -- nothing more than a beach with really bad food and the same gift (mostly jewelry) shops you see everywhere.

Enough bobbing around for now - we're flying to Martinique on Saturday for ten days... :

 

[davin]

I heard aurora star cruise lines got some killer casino chips

 

[namsupak]

I heard aurora star cruise lines got some killer casino chips

I see what you did there. haha.

 

[moose]

Last Oct we went on NCL Escape for 7 days which at the time was their largest ship and 5th largest in the world. Total cost for 2 adults and one 14 year old child, sharing one cabin, including the alcohol/pop package for the 3 of us was $1790.75, inside cabin. After booking we were given the opportunity to bid on a balcony cabin, so we bid the minimum and 3 days before we sailed, NCL took our bid and for $100 more we were in a balcony. Escape sailed from Miami on a Western Caribbean route.

We didn't pay for any excursions and made our own arrangements. For example in Cozumel we bought tickets to a local resort, which included waterslides and non-motorized watersports. I think we paid about $30 a person and split a cab there with another couple that cost us another $10 each way. The same package including transportation through the cruise line was about $75 per person.

On a different trip, we just walked to the beach and paid someone $10 each for a beach chair, and umbrella and it included a bucket of beer and wifi access.

Room charges for the trip totalled around $300, which was mostly just the daily $15/pp tipping fees (under 18 was $7.95/day).

NCL for us was the right mix of fun crowd, not too old and not too young with good food. We took the kid to the teen club and signed him up the first day. After that he would just disappear and be off doing the activities with the teen club. Days at sea he would meet up with us for dinner and evenings he just had to be back by 11 pm. Mostly he was playing basketball or video games or watching movies. He loved it.

 

[Justin Olson]

I have done the alaskan inside passage cruise through Princess from Seattle, I have done Caribbean through Royal Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale, and i did a family mexican riviera cruise with Norwegian from LA. I used the Norwegian to have 6 of us in a Family Suite. Family Suite on Norwegian Star is a killer deal because you get large room with concierge. Down fall is no balcony. All were very fun. Princess was most old fashioned with very very good food. Norwegian was cheapest. would rebook with Royal Caribbean in a heart beat next because it fit our style of middle of the road better. did all research on cruisecritic.com

 

[trever]

Personally, I HATE cruises but my parents love them and have almost literally been on every possible cruise there is. Their advice:

1. Match your cruise line to your demographics: old people, party boats, family boats, etc. you'll have more fun if the other people onboard are there for the same reason
2. BYOB - a bottle of your favorite spirit goes a long way and your cabin steward will happily provide ice etc. for you
3. If you're going to drink, get the all inclusive package. Paying by the glass is EXPENSIVE
4. Be flexible on your travel dates, prices on the same ship to the same destinations vary widely one cruise to another
5. Use an independent agent for bookings and be clear with them about what kind of experience you are looking for

EDIT: To be clear, while I really, truly hate cruise ships, it isn't because there is anything inherently wrong with them (obviously millions of other people really like them), they just aren't for me.

 

[pltrgyst]

....2. BYOB - a bottle of your favorite spirit goes a long way and your cabin steward will happily provide ice etc. for you

Note that this is not permitted by most cruise lines. NCL was the sole exception among our four cruises, and they only permit one bottle of wine (no hard liquor) with the payment of a hefty "corkage" fee.

Also, you cannot buy a bottle at one of the ports and drink it on board -- the ship will hold it for you until the end of your cruise. Most lines won't even let you buy a bottle *on board* to drink on board. NCL was again the exception here, but their prices are roughly three times US retail.

 

[trever]

Note that this is not permitted by most cruise lines. NCL was the sole exception among our four cruises, and they only permit one bottle of wine (no hard liquor) with the payment of a hefty "corkage" fee.

Also, you cannot buy a bottle at one of the ports and drink it on board -- the ship will hold it for you until the end of your cruise. Most lines won't even let you buy a bottle *on board* to drink on board. NCL was again the exception here, but their prices are roughly three times US retail.

Correct, you'll have to smuggle it onboard.

 

[Jz44]

I had never been on a cruise until I got married, and I've only done 2 since, but I love them. Our honeymoon was a 12 night Venice to Barcelona on NCL and the 2nd we had two free plane tickets we had to burn in a month so we booked a quick/cheap 4 night Caribbean on RC.

On one we meet a ton of people, did excursions at almost every port, paid for the room fees on the craps table and had the time of our lives. The other we stayed to ourselves, didn't spend any money in ports and mostly just relaxed together.

We probably won't do RC again, there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with it, it just didn't fit our personalities. If we'd have done then first I might not like cruises as much, so you'll need to find the line that matches you best.

Everyone here had covered the big stuff so it don't have much to add, but you can make a cruise be whatever you want it to be, so keep looking if you haven't found what your looking for. You can always look at cruise critic to learn about the different ships and itineraries you're looking at too. There are a lot of big-time cruisers on there who know their stuff.

 

[moose]

I had never been on a cruise until I got married, and I've only done 2 since, but I love them. Our honeymoon was a 12 night Venice to Barcelona on NCL and the 2nd we had two free plane tickets we had to burn in a month so we booked a quick/cheap 4 night Caribbean on RC.

On one we meet a ton of people, did excursions at almost every port, paid for the room fees on the craps table and had the time of our lives. The other we stayed to ourselves, didn't spend any money in ports and mostly just relaxed together.

We probably won't do RC again, there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with it, it just didn't fit our personalities. If we'd have done then first I might not like cruises as much, so you'll need to find the line that matches you best.

Everyone here had covered the big stuff so it don't have much to add, but you can make a cruise be whatever you want it to be, so keep looking if you haven't found what your looking for. You can always look at cruise critic to learn about the different ships and itineraries you're looking at too. There are a lot of big-time cruisers on there who know their stuff.

I'm in a Barcelona/Naples/Rome/Florence cruise next fall. Any recommendations?

 

[BigChief]

We enjoyed NCL out of New York City. I believe it was the Norwegian Gem. Down to the Carribean and back. Loved the flexible meals, and the fact that the buffet was always open.

 

[pltrgyst]

Correct, you'll have to smuggle it onboard.

That's hard to do -- every cruise we've been on uses x-ray machines similar to those used at airports for all packages.

 

[Jz44]

I'm in a Barcelona/Naples/Rome/Florence cruise next fall. Any recommendations?

We stayed a couple days in Barcelona, if you do nothing else there you have to go to the Sagrada Familia. It. Is. Amazing.

Naples we split up because my wife had been there before. I climbed Mt.Vesuvius and did Pompeii and she did Herculaneum. Other options there we heading out into Tuscany so it depends what you're into. Vesuvius was really cool, but it's a tough hike if your not good in altitude or able to get around pretty easily. If you're going to do one of the ruins there and it's your first time it's Pompeii. I got back to the boat early and eagles around the area near the dock to just to explore in Naples and there are some cool things in that area, and some kind of Castle over looking the port if you get a chance to look around.

Rome is really hard to do in a day, plus the bus ride from and to (I assume) Civitavecchia takes up a few hours. If your really into the Vatican you can do a full day there that will get into some pretty cool areas. I've heard going into the colosseum is meh. We did a city tour that stopped there for pictures, and quickly at a bunch of other places. We went past the St. Paul basilica, stopped at Trevi fountain walked to the Pantheon and the plaza where the column of Marcus Aurelius is and had some free time for lunch at Piazza Navona with the fountain of Neptune and an Egyptian obelisk. We were supposed to get a quick tour of St Peters basilica too, but the line was too long for us to get in and have time to get back to the boat, so we hung around the square for awhile. We didn't get to spend a lot of time any in place that way, but we got to take in a lot for one day. It really depends on what part of the city interests you the most with the little time you're gonna have.

Florence/Pisa we were there on the day all the museums are closed (Mondays?) so we did a self guided city tour. Basically they dropped off in Pisa to snap a picture of the tower, because that's all that's there, then took us to Florence, gave us a map and 5 minute overview and let us go. There's a ton to see in Florence, but if you're not doing the museums (do them if you can) they're mostly free and all easy to walk to so go explore on your own. One cool thing we did there that not a lot of others did was go to Santa Croce. Dante, Galileo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Machiavelli and others all have tombs there.

I don't think you can go wrong with anything you're taking in any of those cities, so look at your options and go with what sounds the most interesting, have a blast, be and be prepared to still have things you want to do "next time" and trade FOMO with people who did different excursions because they're almost all great.