Cruise Lines

[bleys]

I've never been on a cruise and a friend of mine insists on doing this for her birthday.. any tips, recommendations, or warnings?

[TheRealDeal]

Don't stand near the edge when someone else is angry at you and no one else is around!

[Davidson Deac II]

Try to avoid this particular cruise line. The food sucks, and they always want you to paint something.

But they do put on one heck of a fireworks display.

[Davidson Deac II]

Oh, and watch out for Icebergs.

[Mayor Qumiby]

If your trying to stay with in a thousands dollar budget or less id say go with carnival there pretty good and had a blast on the valore last year..

However if you have some extra cash to throw around go with a royal carribean ship

[BMorgan]

We are going on Carnival Freedom for a Western Caribbean cruise next month.

The wife did all of the research, planning, etc. Check out the forums on Cruise Critic. com for all kinds of info and tips.

[bleys]

she is on a terror with the research, I just want to direct the decision when needed.. Cruise Critic. com should be beneficial, appreciate it BM.. Quimby, prob have some cash to throw around, but we'll see. cheaper is always convenient.. Carnival advertises some affordable cruises..

I'm looking for more of a party atmosphere.. If I'm on a boat, I want to mingle.. my fear is getting cabin fever..

[Darth Urious]

Norwegian FTW!

I doubt I will ever go on another cruise line...

We've been on both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian... both were great, but Norwegian was exceptionally great...

As far as stops, I prefer Eastern Caribbean... The Virgin Islands and Bahamas...

[Darth Urious]

If you want the party boat, I've heard Carnival is the best for that... but you're gonna have folks that want that on any line...

[g5jamz]

I've been on two Carnivals (1994 and 1997ish)...and on a Royal Carribean in 2009.

Both are adult driven lines as compared to something like Disney. RC was pretty fun and don't know how they compare to Princess, Norweigan, or the others.

I'd say the Carnival and RC are pretty comparable for singles and you should shop the various ships as they probably have themes for your tastes.

Spring Break for instance would be crrraaazzzy.

I've only done Western Carribean (both Carnivals) and the RC was to the Bahamas. You can do it really cheap either way. There's a ship out of Charleston, SC too to the Bahamas. Don't expect much from the islands...but I enjoyed the Key West...Cozumel...Jamaica or Grand Caymans route.

When you realize the stay...the amenities...and the amount of food costs you save on you'd see cruises are a deal.

[g5jamz]

oh...and fair warning...don't wear tidy whities or go commando if you go to the Gauntlet on RC.

[PhillyB]

cruises suck, forget spending your time with some idiotic revelers on a party boat, go after a real adventure. there will be nothing culturally authentic about your experience in any foreign ports of call you reach. you'll be bored out of your mind sitting in your cabin watching an indiana jones movie wishing you could get off the boat and go explore some of the awesome terrain you're surrounded by.

you want an authentic experience? airline tickets to anywhere in the caribbean, latin america, and some countries in south america are relatively inexpensive if you know where to look.

for a thousand bucks you could fly to guatemala and spend a week exploring ancient mayan ruins. you could stay in mexico for a week exploring the beaches of the yucatan peninsula. you could stay in belize for a week snorkeling off the coast and watching wildlife inland. you could backpack across volcanoes in costa rica or explore jungles in panama.

of course this isn't a very popular opinion - 9 people out of 10 would take the cruise any day - but if you want something different, something real - go explore a little.

[bleys]

appreciate the responses.. yeah I was talking to someone else who has been on quite a few and was recommended some fun cruises..

looking like 5 day trip from Charleston to Bahamas on Carnival Dream.. looks pretty entertaining.. the kiddies will be in school at the end of August right?

cruises suck, forget spending your time with some idiotic revelers on a party boat, go after a real adventure. there will be nothing culturally authentic about your experience in any foreign ports of call you reach. you'll be bored out of your mind sitting in your cabin watching an indiana jones movie wishing you could get off the boat and go explore some of the awesome terrain you're surrounded by.

you want an authentic experience? airline tickets to anywhere in the caribbean, latin america, and some countries in south america are relatively inexpensive if you know where to look.

for a thousand bucks you could fly to guatemala and spend a week exploring ancient mayan ruins. you could stay in mexico for a week exploring the beaches of the yucatan peninsula. you could stay in belize for a week snorkeling off the coast and watching wildlife inland. you could backpack across volcanoes in costa rica or explore jungles in panama.

of course this isn't a very popular opinion - 9 people out of 10 would take the cruise any day - but if you want something different, something real - go explore a little.

I definitely appreciate where you are coming from, but it's up to the birthday girl.. there is plenty of time to travel and see the world.. hell, I can get lost in NC and I've seen quite a few places around the state..

it's going to be a busy summer as is.. this is one of many trips..

since you mentioned it, I think my next big trip has to be snorkeling off the coast of Belize for a week..

[BMorgan]

cruises suck, forget spending your time with some idiotic revelers on a party boat, go after a real adventure. there will be nothing culturally authentic about your experience in any foreign ports of call you reach. you'll be bored out of your mind sitting in your cabin watching an indiana jones movie wishing you could get off the boat and go explore some of the awesome terrain you're surrounded by.

you want an authentic experience? airline tickets to anywhere in the caribbean, latin america, and some countries in south america are relatively inexpensive if you know where to look.

for a thousand bucks you could fly to guatemala and spend a week exploring ancient mayan ruins. you could stay in mexico for a week exploring the beaches of the yucatan peninsula. you could stay in belize for a week snorkeling off the coast and watching wildlife inland. you could backpack across volcanoes in costa rica or explore jungles in panama.

of course this isn't a very popular opinion - 9 people out of 10 would take the cruise any day - but if you want something different, something real - go explore a little.

We only have two full "at sea" days on our trip, and have excursions booked for both the Cayman's and Jamaica (not through the cruise line, but highly recommended) that should give our family group (18 of us ranging in age from 2-72) plenty of adventure (snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays) and exploring (besides Dunn's River Falls, we are going to the Coyaba Botanical Gardens and Fern Gully in Jamaica).

The most hiking I plan on doing is bar hopping in Key West, or from my lounge chair on the ship to the bar to get another drink.