Looking for a good cruise to take out of Galveston next summer.?

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sweetescapes_travel

Carnival is my recommendation for summer months out of Galveston. I would highly recommend the 7 night over the 4 or 5 night sailing. The 7 night goes to Jamaica and Grand Cayman both of which are beautiful places. The 4 and 5 night sailing are very reasonably priced, but you will only stop in Mexico, no ports other than in Mexico are included in the shorter sailings. The 7 night also stops in Cozumel Mexico. The Conquest is Carnival's ship that does the 7 night sailing and it is newer and nicer than the Ecstacy that does the 4 and 5 night sailing. If this is your first cruise, you will definitely be impressed. Summer is going to be higher priced than other months, but if you go in May towards the end or towards the end of August, the prices may be a little bit lower. Summer months are peak season for cruises. Cruises are well worth the cost. Your food, room and entertainment onboard is included in the price. If you do the 7 night, don't miss out on climbing Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica (it was amazing) and don't miss out on Stingrays or Hell or 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman. Diving or snorkeling is very popular in Cozumel. Have a wonderful cruise.

Tivogal

my recommendation since it is your first cruise is to find a travel agent specializing in cruises and let them help you with this first one.
they have alot of knowledge to share and probably can get you the vacation you really want.

cruisecritic.com is a great website for info also.

best wishes , it sounds like a really nice idea(your cruise)

wellmaintained

check out this site, www.vacationstogo.com all you ever needed to know about cruising is on this site, and the prices are very cheap also

yomera

This is my personal experience:
I went on the Carnival Ecstasy departing from Galveston about two months ago.
The ship was old and it looked like it had not been updated in 25 years. It was like a trip back to the 80's.
The food was very good (alcohol is not included).
The staff was friendly and the service was great.
The little bars were always half empty and sometimes I felt sorry for the musicians (they were good, but they were playing in an empty place)
The casino was nice, but I tried to stay away from it because I didn't want to keep losing my money.
The shows were just OK, the dancers need to learn more international dances. They just dance like plain cheerleaders. The singers were great. One night they had the guests perform. Unless you are related to them or friends with them, this really sucked. I could care less about some high school girls playing the flute or this other girl singing country music out of tune. Some people in the audience were very loud and I did not know if they were supporting the guests or making fun of them. The big theater felt like a huge low class family reunion. I left after a little while.
The pool was tiny and packed with people (yuck). I guess since it's on a ship it can't have a large heavy pool.
The ship was full of pre-teens.
Some of the activities were kind of dumb (I guess it's just not my type of fun) and at other activities that were kind of interesting they were always trying to sell you something.
The destinations were AWESOME. I went to Chichen Itza and one of the beaches in Cozumel and I loved it!!!! Mexican people are the friendliest people in the world!!!!!!! The guide in Chichen Itza was VERY knowledgeable.
I usually go to beach resorts and I always have a BETTER experience than this cruise. Better shows, better food (alcohol is included), better service, friendly people everywhere and it's even cheaper!!!!
If you have never been to a beach resort or a similar vacation, you will think the cruise is great.... but in reality they are not giving you what your money is worth. Also, cruises are more for families with pre-teens or teenagers. Parents can have fun without worrying where their kids might be (they may be out of sight but they can't go anywhere, they are in the same ship!), and those teens can go to the little teen parties that they have on the cruise.
As you can see, I personally prefer beach resorts over cruises. They are more fun and you can do a lot more!

Julie T

Carnival offers two cruises out of the Port of Galveston. RC offers one cruise out of Galveston during the winter months.

Carnival offers 4- and 5-day cruises on the Ecstasy. She is a smaller, older ship but is a good introduction to cruising. She visits Cozumel and Progresso. Cozumel is a very developed tourist port and there are a ton of things to do and great shopping. Progresso is a developing port with less attractions and more street vendors. But great deals in the open market.

Carnival offers a 7-day cruise on the Conquest. She is a larger, 110 ton ship and in our opinion, well worth the added cost overy the 4- and 5-day cruises offered on the Ecstasy. She visits Grand Cayman, Jamacia and Cozumel. There are many entertainment options and dining option on the Conquest. She also offers a smoother ride than the smaller Escstasy.

For our family, we appreciate the value of a cruise because a cruise offers great variety for our family without having to decide where we are going to eat, someone getting mad about having to go or eat somewhere they don't want to....we have a teen and tween daughter.

Park at Lighthouse Parking instead of at the cruise terminal. If you book on-line, you can save about $30 bucks in parking.

Use a cash account if you want to manage to a budget while on a cruise. You put down a cash instead of a credit card for your on-board account. Notable...Carnival charges your account for the tips ($10 per day per guest) to your on-board account the moment you step on-board, so if you use a cash account, be sure to deposit enough cash to cover your tips ($70x2=$140 plus whatever your on-board spending budget is).

Carnival has a drink of the day special. Drinks run from about $4-12 each plus a 15% gratuity.

Sodas are $1.75 plus 15% gratuity per can or you can purchase the soda fountain card for $38.50 plus 15% gratuity for unlimited by the glass soda (Coke products).

Most of the Carnival ships now allow you to view your tab view the TV in your room. If the Pride does not offer this, you can drop by the purser's office and get a quick print-out.

You pay a premimum for booking shore excursions through Carnival but you get the insurance that if your excursion is running late, they will hold the ship for you. If you book on your own, your on your own while in port.

Be sure to take along a good supply of $1, 5 and 10 in US dollars to use in port for taxis, shopping and tips to the local guides.

You will get a newletter each day in your cabin describing the next day's events. There will be more going on the ship than you can do...don't try to overdo...pick the things you really like and stick to those.

We just returned from our 7th cruise and we spent many days just sitting in lounge chairs and enjoying the ride. Best vacation ever!

To help you budget...here are a few of the "extra costs"-
- Bar drinks - $4-12 each plus 15% gratuity
- Soda - by the can - $1.75 plus 15% gratuity
- Soda fountain card - $38.50 plus 15% gratuity
- Photos - $7.99 to $21.99 (depending on size and style)
- Shore excursions - $50-200 per person per excursion.
- Spa treatments - $50-200 per treatment (but there were many specials on this last trip as many people were skipping the spa...)
- Casino. Use cash in the casino to avoid 3% fee for using card.
- Bingo cards - $5-20...depending on day and games
- Goument coffee - $3.75 and up
- Internet - 75 cents per minute
- Ship to shore phone - $7.99 per minute
- Parking at the port
- Tips for luggage porters - $1 per bag
- Tips - $70 per day per guest

With the exception of tips and parking at the cruise terminal, all of the above is optional. My sister spent less than $400 on our last cruise....

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