It's me again. ;-)
I'm making good progress on my Caribbean cruise plans, but have a few more questions for those of you in the know. Here they are:
- What are your thoughts (good and bad) on one cruise line versus another? In particular, any opinions on Royal Caribbean, Disney, Norwegian Cruise Lines, or Carnival Cruise Lines (and associated companies like Princess)?
- What is the best way to book? Travel agent? Straight to the cruise line's website? Third-party websites? Costco? If it's with an agent, how do you find a good one (other than a personal reference)?
- Is travel insurance worth it or not?
I certainly appreciate your thoughts.
We cruise all the time. I've only tried Carnival twice and those two are far-and-away the worst cruises I've taken. The ships were dirty, the crew - and particularly the purser - was unhelpful, the food was 'meh' and there were several significant errors (they fed my child a severe allergen then gave me a lot of hassle about the visit to the medical staff and in apology served my young children booze - a funny story). My wife and I would rate Princess the top with RC after that.
We always do all of our cruise shopping on vacationstogo.com.
Posted by: Aaron | June 06, 2011 at 04:11 PM
I love cruising me and my boyfriend are 25 years old, I know cruising is well-known and used by the older crowd, but I love cruising because it's the best bang for your buck!
I've cruised twice before on Norwegian and Carnival. I think Carnival is better if you have kids and are in the younger age bracket. There was more "gray" hair on Norwegian.
I checked Travelocity.com and then the actual cruise website and surprisingly Travelocity won both times! So you might want to try them. They also have on-board credit deals, etc., etc. on Travelocity.
Insurance is not worth it.
Posted by: Hannah | June 06, 2011 at 04:13 PM
Have been on Disney and Carnival, though not in the last coupla years...
Both were good value to me. I enjoyed the private restaurant on Carnival. It costs more but more enjoyable if special occasion. Most ships have them now.
I think travel agent worthwhile if have flights, connections, complicated travel arrangements so can call them if problems arise during trip.
If you are driving to debarking point, online booking to me is fine. Word of mouth and online reviews only way to assess travel agents.
Good review on travel insurance at Smart Money: http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/travel/insurance-for-vacation-that-are-canceled-1306253271166/
Posted by: Dr Dean | June 06, 2011 at 04:20 PM
We cruised with Norwegian. Had a great time but it was an older ship and they didn't have a lot for younger folks like us. On two separate dinner occasions, older couples next to us wondered why us young folk were here and not with Carnival. "Carnival's too much of a party boat for us", we replied.
"Really? Then you should go with Royal Caribbean next time. Lots of young folk and stuff to do, not as much alcohol."
We booked with Norwegian. Didn't find much of a price difference between their site and Travelocity and other cruise travel agents.
Posted by: Jim | June 06, 2011 at 05:01 PM
My wife and I did a Carnival cruise once. It was too much of a young with children ship for us. (We were in our late 40's at the time, with no kids.) So we won't be doing Carnival again.
Posted by: Robert M | June 06, 2011 at 05:12 PM
I think the age of the ship is important as well as the route. We have gone on cruises to Mexico quite a bit since we live near the Long Beach and LA ports. Only went on Royal Caribbean once, and was not impressed but it was an older ship. The rest of the time we have gone on Carnival and thoroughly enjoyed each ship we have been on.
I like going through the AAA travel agent. The agent I use was able to get us the best deals and upgrades but also has put us in really good rooms, and can answer questions such as the best time for dinner seating, etc. IMO stuff you can't find on a website.
Posted by: Paula1849 | June 06, 2011 at 05:21 PM
My wife and I did not care for the "Freestyle" cruising part of Norwegian. Not having an assigned table and dinner time meant that instead you:
1) Made reservations in the special restaurants every night (I believe they cost extra)
2) Waited to get into the dining room
3) Hit the buffets (we ended up doing this most nights)
This had been on a NCL America Hawaiian cruise. Customer service on that cruise was VERY disappointing. After days of waiting for shore excursions that left late for people, we ran late one night to discover that it left promptly. Apparently, all they give the bus drivers is the number of people and someone had cancelled and then changed their minds. All they could do is "recommend that we take a taxi". Regular NCL may be better, but a cruise is too expensive to risk that kind of service again.
We have had great experiences with Disney and Royal Carribean. Disney is awesome. If you are not a Disney fan, the Disney characters are not too in your face. Royal Carribean was great as well. If we have a choice, we would go with either of them in the future, with Disney being our first choice.
Posted by: Shad | June 06, 2011 at 05:28 PM
My husband and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon and it was awesome. We heard Carnival was more for kids or party-teens/20-somethings and Norwegian seems geared towards the older set. (We're in our early 30's.) Princess was more expensive compared to Royal Caribbean. We were very pleased with our ship; the only place it showed it's age was on the buttons in the elevators. The staterooms are clean and the common areas are very well kept. We splurged for a room with a balcony, but we rarely actually used it. Next time I would go for an outside room with a porthole. I would have loved a Disney cruise, but my hubby isn't as Disney crazy as I am.
We booked through a travel agent, simply because it took all the stress and worry out of booking and we had enough going on with the wedding. Also, we were flying to Puerto Rico a day early and needed accommodations for one night there. I've done some online searching, shopping for our next cruise and there are some websites that offer great deals, www.vacationtogo.com for last minute bookings at reduced rates but I haven't actually booked through them. We used a AAA travel agent. I don't think they charge anything if you're a AAA member - or the fees are fairly low, maybe $25 per person?
My husband and I did get travel insurance for several reasons. One, we booked WAY in advance, and while we knew our relationship was sound, we both have elderly family members that were in fragile health. If anything happened, we wanted the flexibility to change our plans if necessary. Also, we were going out of the country and planned on doing some risky activities - scuba, snorkeling, etc. If you are badly hurt outside of the US, your insurance usually won't cover it and a helicopter airlift can run into the thousands of dollars. My husband is a bit of a daredevil so that was mostly for my piece of mind. I don't know that I would get it again unless I were traveling with kids or leaving kids behind.
All in all we had a wonderful experience with Royal Caribbean. They have a new ship that was launched this year that is supposed to be the biggest ship to date on the water.
Posted by: Jenny | June 06, 2011 at 05:37 PM
Been on 3 cruises so far. Hopefully many more to come. 1982 to Alaska on Princess. 1984 to Panama Canal on Royal Carribean. 1986 to the Mediterranean on Royal Carribean. I would rank Princess and RC neck and neck as both were very good. Can't speak to any others.
Posted by: Nashville | June 06, 2011 at 05:38 PM
Another endorsement here for vacationstogo - great cruise prices for almost any type of cruise you could want. We build our own shore excursions - I do lots of research. Many of the shore ports also have excursions just outside the gate for you to peruse - saves money.
We bought the wine/beer card - smallest one they had - we don't drink soda, so saved on that. Make sure you budget for the daily tips - the cruise line usually recommends an amount. It's not too much considering what they do for your room and food on those ships.
We liked Holland America in Alaska - our eastern Med was Royal Carribean - it was okay - depends on what you like. Family stuff, parties, gambling, shows, more port stops, etc. Each cruise line caters to a more particular crowd.
Read up on the different lines - I found a library book that rated all of the offshore excursions and also told you what was worth buying/not worth buying in port/on ship. Great resource.
Posted by: Deserat | June 06, 2011 at 05:42 PM
Correction by Nashville:
Just a little error in decades. Make those years 2002, 2004 and 2006. Its been a while but it hasn't been 20 years. Sorry.
Posted by: Nashville | June 06, 2011 at 05:42 PM
I would suggest any of the discount sites you find online. They will give you some on board credit on top of a slight discount on the cruise fare.
The different cruise lines all have a different "feel" to them. I cannot say what that would be for a family since my wife and I do not have any children. We have cruised Princess, Carnival and Norwegian. I like the feel of the Princess cruises more than Carnival. The biggest thing for myself is the number of days at sea. I would trade to a cruise line that offered more days at port over one that has more at sea for a comparable price point.
I will concur on the Hawaii NCL cruise. The service is sub par due to it being a ship registered in the USA and subject to USA labor laws. However, getting to see most of the Hawaiian islands on one cruise was very cool.
Posted by: Neil | June 06, 2011 at 06:05 PM
My parents have been on a few cruises. They were cruising in the French Caribbean in February for 8 days on a Celebrity Cruises boat (Celebrity Cruises is part of Royal Caribbean). They received a discount for booking another cruise while they were on board. They purchased a cruise for themselves and for my girlfriend and I. The four of us went in May for 15 days on a cruise from Miami to Columbia, Panama, through the canal, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico, then ending in San Diego.
It was my girlfriend's second cruise and my first cruise. We both had a great time. The boat was older (1995) and held about 1,800 passengers. The food was fine. The fine dining restaurant was excellent. Never dined in the specialty restaurant. I bought an all-you-can-drink package and got my money's worth, even on shore excursion days. My girlfriend just bought a water, juice, and soft-drink package.
We took some shore excursions through Celebrity and did others on our own. Crusing is great for seeing many different places you wouldn't normally go to but it limits you if you really like one place and want to stay there. The longest we were in any one port was about 9 hours.
On our cruise since it was 15 days and because of the places we went to, it was almost all older couples in their 50's, 60's, and 70's. My girlfriend and I are both 29. We both had fun and met some cool people. We only saw a handful of kids under 18 and only a few 20-40 year olds.
To answer the questions:
1. This was my first cruise so I can't do a comparison with other cruise lines
2. My parents received a discount for booking another cruise while on board---of course this means you have to book the first cruise somehow. Not sure the best way?
3. We didn't buy travel insurance since the weather was fine and the cruise was only booked about 2 months in advance. Also, I was sure that I would be able to get away from work and that nothing else would come up that would stop me from going on the trip.
Posted by: jimtheman | June 06, 2011 at 07:20 PM
When booking, I always use Cruisecompete.com to search for pricing from agents.
I know others have mentioned this but make sure to use the cruisecritic.com MB's for advice on excursions and other options not offered by the cruise lines. If you end up on St. Thomas, e-mail me for info on the best excursion you'll find.
-Jeremy
Posted by: Jeremy | June 06, 2011 at 07:26 PM
We've been on a couple Norwegian cruises. Both had older, smaller ships with fewer amenities, but had more time at port. We liked the Freestyle dining, so that we could work dinner around the off-ship activities.
I also suggest looking at cruisecritic.com for info about specific ships, itineraries, and ports.
If you are willing to do the extra planning legwork, I recommend booking excursions independently. You'll get more choices and lower prices.
Posted by: jdgjdg | June 06, 2011 at 10:43 PM
Hi,
Im in europe,
what is cashback or chargeback on a credit card?, is it when you get extra money back after a transaction?
thanks
Posted by: jack foley | June 07, 2011 at 05:32 AM
I have been on 13 cruises since 1969 to mostly the Carribean but also Alaska & Mex Riv. I have been on Celebrity, NCL and Carnival.
I HATED the snooty attitudes of the pax and staff on Celebrity. Found the food to be only fair and SMALL portions.
I am so so about freestyle dining on NCL. I like to get to know tablemates but also like to meet others and meals are a good way.
In spite of being 'older" (58 on my last one) I prefer Carnival for the range of activities and food. Since I tend to travel a bit off season I have never had issues w/druken rowdy 18-20 somethings.
Do use either vacations to go or cruise complete to find the best deals. do sign up for the message boards at cruise critic and cruise addict to find out a BUNCH about you ship, itinerary, menus, shore excursions and the people going on the same cruise.
Try to book most of your shore excursions yourself. Generally, it is 1/2 the ship price or less.
Depending on your itinerary, I do have a large number of files w/info from my previous trips. Feel free to email me.
Posted by: Holly | June 07, 2011 at 08:14 AM
I'm probably in first place among your commenters for cruise experience. It is my family's preferred vacation method. I have been on over 30 cruises and my wife has been on over 35.
First and foremost, regarding best method of booking. Cruisecompete.com. I repeat.... crusiecompete.com. I have no affiliation with the site but it has saved me thousands of dollars over the years. It's a website where agencies specializing in cruises put in competing bids to book a cruise for you. Just find the cruise(s) you are interested in, look for the best price you can online, and then put it up for bid.
You also have to be careful when you ask about various lines. Generally they are broken down into 3 groups.
Mass Market such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean
Premium such as Celebrity, Holland American & Princess
Luxury such as Crystal, Regent Seven Seas
If you can afford just a bit more, I highly recommend moving up from mass market to premium.
Of the two giants in the mass market industry I much prefer Royal Caribbean. I have been on 3 Carnival cruises. The first was mediocre the last 2 ranged from bad to terrible. I'm not a big fan of Royal Caribbean but I think it is better than Carnival. We won't cruise on Carnival at all anymore.
Among the Premium lines our favorite is Celebrity but we have been very happy on both Princess and Holland American. I believe Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean and Princess and Holland American are owned by Carnival.
Again, if the price gap isn't too much you would be well served by going premium rather than mass market.
I would also recommend that you check out cruisecritic.com for reviews of various ships, ports and cruise lines. Many of the people answering questions on their forums make my wife and I look like newcomers to cruising.
Enjoy
Posted by: Weston | June 07, 2011 at 09:40 AM
I've never gone on a cruise and thankfully my wife is not really one that's interested as well. I would love to hear reasons that you should, but I prefer to be on land and on a shoreline beach any day.
Posted by: Money Beagle | June 07, 2011 at 10:04 AM
I like Holland America best. I don't like Norwegian. They nickle and dime you on everything it seems. Check out Cruise.com. They show the rooms and where the room is on the ship and if its still available or not.
Posted by: billyjobob | June 07, 2011 at 10:57 AM
For me, most cruise crews have been fine; my problem is with the riff raff people on some ships. I gag when I see their behavior. Being stuck with people like that on a ship is not my idea of a vacation. They whine, they treat the crew badly, on and on. Just some ships; careful what you choose.
Posted by: Jenna | June 07, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Have cruised both Royal Carribean and Princess. Both good, but RC seemed more family oriented. Another plus of RC in my experience was not as much up-selling. The basic fare is not sufficient for the cruiseline to be profitable, so they will push booze, gambling, photos, spa treatments & excursions. Much less (almost none) of this on RC as compared to Princess.
I've used agents, but usually book directly. I recommend one for your first cruise, particularly since you need to coordinate flights simulataneously. An agent will often get you an on-board credit, but changes to your travel plans will need to go thru the agent. Word of mouth recommendations are the best, IMO.
I usually book a cruise at the last minute and forgo the insurance.
Posted by: Catherine | June 07, 2011 at 12:06 PM
I have been on three cruises. Holland american alaskan cruise, disney cruise and Carnival cruise. I would rank them as 1,2,3 in that order. Like I have said before i will not go on another cruise. It is too much money and I question the safety of some carribean ports.
We always use a travel agent. Why? because my in laws have always done this. There is bound to be a cheaper way.
Get travel insurance if you are traveling with old people. My in laws came with us and they are not in prestine health.
My suggestion is save your money and NOT go on a cruise but send your kids to a college and not a community college.
Posted by: Matt | June 07, 2011 at 03:08 PM
I've got to respond to Matt when he says "It is too much money" My experience is the exact opposite.
Probably the main reason that we cruise so much is because it is so incredibly cost effective. We generally don't book a cruise unless we can get it for approx $100 per day (inc taxes and port charges but not including tips and extras such as alcohol and excursions)
When we factor in travel expenses, meals and lodging we are very hard pressed to find a restful interesting vacation for $100 day per person other than cruising. Particularly if we wanted to eat at restaurants roughly equivalent to what you get for free on board ship.
Sometimes we are a little over $100 day per cruise and sometimes a little under. It's just a matter of good informed shopping. We could probably save even more, but my wife is a teacher so we are usually restricted to sailings in the more expensive peak seasons when schools are out.
Posted by: Weston | June 07, 2011 at 05:33 PM
Given our limited experience (see previous post), here's some of the pros and cons we've found with cruising.
Pros: Accommodates traveling with people with different interests -- spend time together on board, and do your own thing in port, or vice versa. No repeated packing & unpacking, since your "hotel" moves with you. Conveniently see a variety of locations. I'm told the Disney line provides lots of children's activities, so you're not always stuck watching the kids.
Cons: Limits independence -- you're stuck with the ship schedule. Limited time in each port. You're with lots of other tourists. We're not that interested in most on-board activities we've seen, so we look for cruises with few sea days and use those as rest days between action-packed port days. Possible sea-sickness.
Another recommendation of mine is to not pay for a great cabin view. We never spend much time awake in the cabin, and the public spaces have much bigger windows.
Posted by: jdgjdg | June 07, 2011 at 06:10 PM