Cruise Ship Fanatics

any cruise ship fanatics here in the moomba/supra world? how many times have you been, will you go again, worth the money it costs to float?

the wife and i are looking at taking a cruise this year in august. neither of us have ever been on a cruise before and i am looking at getting some general/detailed information from any cruise takers on the site. we are looking at a carnival cruise leaving from galveston and doing the western caribbean set. anyone ever been?

best way to book? with travel agent or cruise line directly?

any additional costs/hidden fees i can expect outside of the 900 a person quote i have for a 5 day cruise, suite room.

perks, discounts, advantage club deals that may be out there i am not familiar with. (example:police, fire, insurance memberships, etc.)

any information anyone has will be greatly appreciated. i'm looking at booking the cruise next week and paying monthly (or whatever options they have) in order to have it paid for by float time.

thanks in advance,
jason

My girl and her family have been on alot of cruises. They say they are fun but you get bored on the ship sometimes. She is actually thinking an all inclusive would be better. Friends of mine have been on cruises and say they are boring. Personally I've never been on one but if they have a bar and I don't have to worry about driving I'm pretty sure I'll have fun.

The one I'm looking at is all inclusive except for alcohol. All food, snacks, lounges, shows, tips, etc are included. Only extra cost as far as I can tell is for booze and excursions off the boat. Not really looking at leaving the boat thou, be to drunk for all that!!

Shes talking about the all inclusive resorts. Like fly to an island or resort for a week, no boat or ship or whatever

I've went on 3 Carnival cruises and they are fun but if you have a lot of days at sea then you tend to run out of things to do. You do have to pay for alcohol and the tips are charged at the end with the extra bill with other purchases on it (alcohol, gifts, etc) that were purchased on the ship. I think I also had to pay for a soda pass for the week too...only thing free was water. It may have changed though bc I haven't went in a couple of years.

You are also able to bring alcohol on the ship. My dad brought beer on and brought a lunch box to fill with water everyday and I brought on a bottle of vodka. We didn't really drink it much though bc you don't spend a lot of time in your room.

Cruises are a great family vacation though bc there is fun for all ages! :)

Jason,

We did a Carnival out of Port Canaveral last Thanksgiving. You and the kids will have fun. You need to buy the soda pass for the kids or you will go broke. Alcohol is expensive, but required. :)

My kids love to swim and, for days at sea, we popped out of bed early, grabbed some primo chairs by the pool, had a little breakfast (included Bloody Mary's & Mimosas) then enjoyed the sun & kids playing. Our ship had water slides that I even enjoyed doing with the kids. Our family enjoyed the movies they had in the evenings outside on the main deck.

Our son was 2 1/2 so we did the cruise line sponsored excursions in Bahamas (private beach) and St Thomas (island tour, beach & shopping) and we did our own thing in St Martin. The ship excursion were a bit pricey per person, but they took care of you first class and you didn't have to hassle with taxis, etc. However, if our son was older, I would have done more research up front and ventured out more on our own. Pre-children, we did that, and would set up our own dive trips, etc. Beyond the initial cost, I'd plan about $500 more per person that you will spend on trinkets in port/on ship and food & drink.

My biggest complaint from the trip was the lines. I felt I was in line for a friggin' week. Line to get on the boat, line to get off, line at the buffets, line at the bars, etc.

My wife and I have been on 10 cruises (8 on Carnival, 2 Royal Carribean. We find that they are an excellent value for a vacation. Included: Room, food (tea, lemonade and water), room service, entertainment, travel, and many options for you to spend your money. What is left to you, alcohol (if you drink), sodas, excrusions in port, and pay resturants on the ship, and tips (paying for your room service and dining service).

You should check prices based on the time of the year; when school is out, the prices go way up. In Oct, we went on a 7 day out of Tampa for $1300 total with tips, taxes, everything (the cruise was $1000 paid up front). Try to find a hotel and food for 2 for 7 days, plus travel for that.
The ship sells "soda cards", if you (your family) are a big soda drinker. However, you can carry on soda, we took a couple of twelve packs, which we didn't drink all of. I also switch out a bottle of mouth wash in my bag with alcohol. Jack and Coke each night were free. Must better than $5-12 per drink.
Cruise ships are all about food. Buffet is almost always open, ice cream and pizza 24/7. Dining room eating is, order anything and everything. In other words, be a pig and try all of those things you have never had before.
The cruise director have lots of activities planned for each day. You choose to go or not. After dinner acts range from comedians to dance/singing. While you may not like it, there are definately things going on all the time. On board casino, if you like to game.
In port, you can go on ship excursions, book your own, or just do your own thing. If you book on the ship, the ship won't leave you, but if you go on your own and forget your time, you will be finding your own way home or to the next port.

The ships are so big, unless the weather is nasty, you shouldn't get sea sick. You will probably be no more than 2 days at sea without a port. If you are planning the carribean, August/Sep is peak hurricane season (also, lower prices). The ship will change your port is weather is an issue. I have been on a ship when a hurricane was hitting our return port, so we got and extra day at sea. Of course, the people who were supposed to go on Sunday, lost a day of cruise vacation.

I highly recommend.

Thanks for the great information guys/gal. This thing is like 8 months away but I find myself day dreaming about it often. Only bad thing about an August cruise is its a week without the moomba on the lake. If this TX drought continues though we won't have any water in the lakes to enjoy in August.

If your a drinker then watch very carefully what you buy at the bar! I've never done it but my brother and another friend of mine have both done cruises and both were hit with outrageous bar tabs when done, to the tune of $700+!

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Originally Posted by jpetty3023

Thanks for the great information guys/gal. This thing is like 8 months away but I find myself day dreaming about it often. Only bad thing about an August cruise is its a week without the moomba on the lake. If this TX drought continues though we won't have any water in the lakes to enjoy in August.

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If he drought continues you may have to come ride the river with us!

Since you have time, shop the cruise line for dates and prices, then compare with internet sites and call a travel agent. It's hard to "know" if you get the best prices as their prices change a lot. I have used the cruise line agent for booking for a while now. My in laws use a travel agent and they are happy. My brother in law used a company that follows the prices and refunded them a few bucks as the price went down. They also got a ship credit or something by using a website. If you find a price you are happy with, then that is what really matters.



Also, there is/may be a fuel surcharge fee. There will be an * item on the bill, "If oil goes above $XX.XX/Barrel, then we will charge an extra amount". I have not had to pay that on a cruise, but if you book now and oil is $150/barrel in Aug, you can guess there will be a fee for that.

Thanks Max, these are the exact thing I'm trying to get info on. Don't wanna get sunk by all the "hidden fees"

Older thread but finally got around to getting our cruise on. With recent events the wifey decided I need some away time to let my hair down and clear my head do she booked us a cruise to cozumel. We leave one week from today. Here's hoping for a good time

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Hot dang! Have a great time, jp.

We go on the 26th, I think I need a vacation before I move and go back to work.

Cozumel is beautiful, go snorkeling there , the water is amazing!!!!

Have fun.

We booked Mr Sanchos excursion and are very much looking fwd to the snorkeling. Free food and drinks are also a plus to!!

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Just got back from a cruise with Royal Carribean yesterday. This is my wife and I's fourth cruise. We did the Western Carribean. Went to RC's privately owned part of Haiti, Jamaica, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. It was a blast. Royal Carribean started offering a alcohol package earlier this year. If you like to drink it is worth the money. They say you need to average 7 drinks a day for it to pay for itself. I accomplished this goal no problem. haha. But everyone in the stateroom has to get it. It was $380 a person if I remember correctly.

We are getting ready to start planning another one for next year.

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Originally Posted by maxpower220

We go on the 26th, I think I need a vacation before I move and go back to work.

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Move? Back to work? Where you going?

I just accepted a position back in Pensacola. We are moving on the 1st of Oct and I start work on the 9th.

We finalized the adoption of our son last Monday. So things are moving quickly. 18 month olds are a full time job.

Congratulations on all fronts! We'll have to meet up on the Flint River next spring.

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Originally Posted by kaneboats

Congratulations on all fronts! We'll have to meet up on the Flint River next spring.

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Yep, to this ^^^^^^^^