What is it like to go on a cruise?

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Emma

After our first cruise, my husband commented that, "This is the first vacation that I've been on, that I really feel rested....like I've been on a vacation!"

Some of the best things about cruising include:

-Unpacking 1x
-No need for YOU to navigate
-You're assured of the quality of your sleeping & dinning accomodations
-You can relax all day, or you can do something every minute - or somewhere in between...the ship is your "oyster"
-You get to do things you don't usually get to do...you know...."play"

Possible Negatives:
-If you are prone to sea or motion sickness, I recommend getting a prescription patch. I discovered this about myself during a whale watch on a "regular" vacation on Maui. When I went on my 1st cruise, I visited my Dr. and he gave me a prescription for the patch. You place it behind your ear - no one can see it & voila! No problem.
-Don't get too caught up in signing up for a million activities at each port. Select what you & your budget want ahead of time. (The cruise line web sites show these activities & links in great detail.) In a lot of ports you can get off and walk/take a quick taxi ride to a beach or outdoor market quite easily & on your own.

We love cruising soooo much that we have to be careful not to forget that we still do want to see D.C., travel through England and perhaps see the Grand Canyon :) Happy Trails!

Sam L

I think cruises are great! i have been on 7 and am going on my 8th in october.

TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

A cruise vacation is a complete vacation package in one. You board the ship, unpack, and all of your food and entertainment is provided on ship and then the ship (essentially your hotel) travels to places so you can have moire fun on shore. There are two factors to consider when planning a cruise (1) what activities are on ship, and (2) what port stops will be made that I will enjoy.

The activities on the cruise ship can be the most fun. There are always pools and hot tubs and many ship have a Solarium (a cover area) with a pool and hot tubs for adults only. This is in addition to the regular pool and hot tubs for everyone. Some ships have water slides.

Ships have great gymnasiums with a variety of equipment. The RC's Freedom and Liberty have THE best gyms I have ever seen on ships.

The cruise director will organize games and activities around the pool, especially on "at sea" days when there is no port stop. They may also have a midnight party on the pool deck with a buffet, music and dancing one night. Each night there will be a show and it is usually run twice so that no matter what time you go to dinner you can see the show. If you go on the Royal Caribbean ships with the ice skating rink they will have a free ice show that is fabulous. Depending upon which cruise line and ship you select there are other things on board like a rock climbing wall, a full sized basketball/tennis court, a mini-golf course, a roller blade track, a bowling alley, billiards tables, water slides, and a large variety of lounges and bars and fantastic discos.

If you are a gambler there will be a casino, except on Disney ships. Each day you will receive a "newsletter" type flier in your cabin that details the time and location of all of the activities on ship the next day. So you will know what is happening and where. Also, most ships will have a channel on the TV in the room that recaps activities for the current and next day. If there is a port stop the next day most ships will have a presentation in the show room or a lounge that talks about where to shop; then this is repeated on TV.

Most ships these day have 2,000 to 4,000 passengers so things on ship are very well organized and in most cases the ship does not even feel crowded.

When you select a cruise consider that those going to the Caribbean will feature a lot of beach time and water sports related activities like snorkel, jet ski, para-sailing, or just swimming and relaxing on a beach. If you go to Cozumel there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins, if that's your interest. If you go to Jamaica the two main attractions are a river raft float trip (not rapids) and the Dunn's River Falls climb. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. Most Caribbean cruises have a private island stop where the ship takes food ashore for an all day beach party with games and entertainment. Royal Caribbean has THE best private island I have ever been to at Labadee, Haiti. Its a huge place that has multiple beaches and many activities. RC's ships the Freedom and The Liberty which do both the Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries both have stops at Labadee.

Or, if you select a Mediterranean cruise you can go to Rome and see the Vatican and Coliseum, or to Naples and see Pompeii, or to Athens Greece and see the Acropolis. Or you can just do a brief visit to countries like Russia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and/or Norway on a Baltic cruise. So you can see the world from a cruise ship.

OR, you can do like we did on our last cruise and just go and enjoy everything on the ship, but do not even get off at the port stops, or get off for just an hour or so.

Diane B

You and the misses are in for some quiet time, but fun time too. There is lots to do on cruise ships, and you get the fun time of choosing which activities you want to do. When in port, you can "jump ship" and go play, but knowing you have your floating hotel parked at the dock. Plus the food is wonderful and there is so much of it.

Go, enjoy and for once enjoy your vacation without coming back home exhausted. (Well, maybe you will be a little exhauted). Have fun.

Ed S

DONT GO...... you'll be an addict

All kinding aside cruises are great. go on a newer ship, they tend to be nicer.

You are invited to join the hottest new cruise group on yahoo.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cruiseaddict/

randall_nd

We will be going on our 4th cruise in Feb. Once you go on one, you're hooked!! I'd say it's the ultimate vacation. I actually like the sea days better than the shore days. I like to be moving all day long. Like Matthew Broderick said on Ferris Bueller's Day off "The question isn't what are we going to do, it's what aren't we going to do." That's about the size of it too. The only things you pay extra for are gratuities, alcohol, sodas, and shore excursions. I'll tell you what, it's like a floating Golden Corral as far as food. I'd suggest going to cruise line websites and looking at everything. One thing is certain, you won't be disappointed. You'll get a kick out of the towel animals too!! Bon Voyage

Wow

Cruising is the way to go on a holiday. Reall imagine sitting in a coach going from Los Angeles to New York, how boring. Cruise ships offer so many things to do whilst transporting you from one beautiful destinantion to another. Everything is organised on a ship from your visas, food, activities, tours, accomodation and transportation what more do you want. We went on the Queen Mary and it was brilliant. I suggest Cunard and Costa cruiselines. Seabourn is also great. This year we are taking another cruise but on Queen Victoria it is just amazing cruising.

clueless!!!

cruises are awesome!!! the views and pools are great and most have great activities suited for everyone. and at night when, more like if u go to bed, the waves put you to sleep. GOONACRUISE!!!

Michael C

Then a cruise sounds like your kinda vacation. Thats all they are about, going and seeing and doing....

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