Who among you had a cruise ship tour?

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Highly Favoured

I have been on two cruise before; the Carnival Destiny and more recently the Sea Princess. I will speak of the latter since this stands out more as it was a longer cruise.

The ship left Barbados(home port) for a 14 day cruise.

Sat Nov 15Port
Arrival

Departure
1
Barbados
11:00 PM
2
Dominica
9:00 AM
6:00 PM
3
Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
8:00 AM
6:00 PM
4
St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles
7:00 AM
5:00 PM
5
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
8:00 AM
5:00 PM
6
Samana, Dominican Republic
8:00 AM
6:00 PM
7
At Sea

8
Montego Bay, Jamaica
7:00 AM
10:00 PM
9
At Sea

10
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
10:00 AM
6:00 PM
11
Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
7:00 AM
4:00 PM
12
Isla Margarita
9:00 AM
6:00 PM
13
Grenada
8:00 AM
6:00 PM
14
Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago
8:00 AM
5:00 PM
15
Barbados
7:00 AM

I am not sure what you will have to pay but there was 3 people in the room and it was about US1500 per person. All meals were included in the cost. Yours might be cheaper or more depending but I went through an agent and did not book online. On board there was an extra cost of 10.50 per day per person for gratuity but if you do not want to participate then you can get it adjusted.

On the ship, it had 3 formal nights but for a shorter cruise it will be less. You should have at least a black dress and another formal dress. You should also bring shoes to go with the outfits. If you do not choose to dine in the restaurant for the formal night you can use the buffet restaurant.

You should also pack some nice clothes to wear in the restaurant at nights. Additionally, some light clothes for the day would be good since the sun will be hot so the less clothes the better. Swim wear is a must either for the pools on deck or while touring and visiting the beaches. Sandals, if you plan to exercise in the gym or on the ship bring appropriate gear. Sun block lotion, motion sickness tablets or arm bands will be necessary. Do not bring any soap, shampoo, conditioner, towels or cream because they will be provided and would only make your suitcase more heavier.

You should consider taking tours off the ship by negotiating with the taxi drivers in the different islands as the ship tours are too expensive. Basically you can(along with others) get a tour for about $20 or 25. On the ship it is far more. Depending on the length of the cruise estimate the amount of tours at the amount of days. You can include a tip and some cash for souvenirs etc. Although I wanted to buy spice in Grenada I found that it was more expensive than in my country as the hurricane destroyed their crops making their products more expensive.

It all depends on what you want to buy. After coming on the ship you will not need any cash especially if you have a credit card. The ship pass is link to the credit card and anything you purchase on board will be debited to your card. The pass is the only thing you will use on the ship and it will be used for entry on ship, on leaving the ship to visit ports daily and to your cabin.

All food is free and juice at breakfast. Any other time you order juice you will have to pay for it. That goes for wine as well. the only thing free is the food and water. There are special restaurants like the 'Steak House' that you have to make reservations for but it is about 15-25 per person. Additionally, there is a special ice cream station that you might have to pay although there is a free one.

On the ship there are many activities including learning the rumba, salsa and lined-dancing that are all free. There are also many opportunities to win things by answering quizzes.

I must mention that there are live bands and shows nightly as well as discos etc.

Many cruise offer sales so you should check regular and sign up to receive special offers. Carnival has a one day sale on Thursday.

It might be much cheaper to leave from your home port (providing you have one) instead of flying to catch the ship.

I hope I helped.

rick d

Yes, over 20 - all were great - 4 all paid for this season - all to Alaska.
I have sailed with Holland America & Princess.
Has for clothes the season for a cruisetour or a cruise is May threw Sept. jeans are fine as both lines have a buffet & other places to eat where you do not have to dress up.
Cash - is only required for casino, excursions, souvenirs, and afew meals on landtour. Depending on itinerary many meals on land are included.
Cost depends on several factors- such as where are you flying from ? First class or coach, what cabin you choose inside or suite, excursions, souvenirs, time of year. May & Sept. offer the best rates.
Example Adults flying from New York coach, inside cabin, 14 day cruisetour- trip cost $5765.00 plus each had spending money of $1000.00 return with about $500.00 each. Same cruise flying First class $7685.00. Went on a 14 day cruisetour with an extra 2 weeks on land cost $16536.00 with each had spending money of $3000.00 came back with $100.00. Do not believe in credit cards.
You can save money by taking an inside cabin(as you are not in it that much) plan your excursions ahead, buy all souvenirs in ports of of call to name afew. Alaska no matter how long you go for is worth every penny. The Scenery, Wildlife, National Parks, People etc...............

randall_nd

You can find a wealth of information at cruisecritic.com. You can even get in touch with other people going on your same cruise. Clink on boards, joing is free, then click on Roll Calls, then find your cruise line, then your ship, then your sail date

Time travler

I did a cruise/tour with Princess cruises to Alaska and it was great. We flew to fairbanks, stayed in a hotel, then the next day, we took a train to Denali. We stayed there for 3 nights exploring all over the place. The we took another train to the port(8 hours) to board on the ship for a 7 day cruise.My favorite shore excursion was the white pass railroad,plus in Denali, we went to Jeff Kings facility( he is a 4 time winner of the ididerod). This so far has been my favorite cruise.

Johan from Sweden

Cruising is great and I was on a four night royal carebean cruise that I loved. Most cruise lines tend to be not so formal theese days and there is always alternate dining spots on formal nights. So I would just relax, skip the tuxedo unlesh you arent going on Cunards grill class or top notch cruise ships like the yact size ones or even the famous Europa. Other than that pack the obvious, swim gear, t shirts, flip flops, good walking shoes, evening dresses or cloths. Dont pack to much thou since storage room on cruise ships is spare.

As for money a good tip is to bring a credit card or simular with you. That would be used for your onboard account. Other than that you would like to have money for mandatory tiping (Usually about $10 per day) and your shore excursions (you would like to take one half day or full day per port of call as a starting point) and theese could be pre booked and payd through your cruise lines web page (recomendeble)

Other than that youre the one that knows best how much money to bring. Try to make an budget and at least estimate how much money you can spent per day (total sum/number of days) so you dont run out of money on the end off the cruise. Also consider that there is a 15% add to all bar/shop notes.

Cruising is fun and you should see a lot off new people and friends if youre the social sort. If youre a kid youll love kids/teenagers club for sure. Johan

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