Cruises

[kimpossible]

I've considered going on a cruise before but I question the sanitary conditions and crew on the average cruise. Has anyone gone and had a good time?

[iris]

The last time I went on a cruise was when I was very young, prehaps 14. It was on a Carnival Line. It was full of geriatrics and families with small children. You should probably look into cruises targeted toward younger adults so that you'll have a better time. I remember having a lot of fun. Just being out on the water is great and the food is wonderful on cruises. I believe most ships offer a very nice spread 24 hours a day. Most also will have a casino and disco and several swimming pools. Mine was relatively clean.

The living quarters were tight, but the crew is wonderful. I remember them bring me fresh squeezed orange juice in the mornings. Truth be told, I was a bit bored, but I was a young 14 year old kid with family tagging along. :rolleyes: Try for one that caters to young couples. Many cruise lines offer a "romance" package with the majority of passengers being young and married or in relationships. I think they offer more sophisticated fun such as dancing to live bands and themed dinner nights for those cruises. I'd love to take my s.o. on one. Stuck together in the middle of the ocean.... :luv:

An alternative that is comparable, if not just a bit pricier, is actually renting out your own catamarine or small boat with a crew. Cruises are about $2K two people if you get a good deal. For that same amount, you can charter a boat in Mexico with your own crew and chef and sail around. If you like water, it's so much better being closer to the ocean. These small boats also offer a chance for snorkeling and picnics on remote islands prepared by your own personal chef. I did it while I was in Cancun and it was heaven. Bob Marley played in the background while my friends and I laid about deck sunning and drinking tequila sunrises. Later we went snorkeling among fishes and parasailing. Best memory of a vacation ever.

[ellsworth81]

I went on a cruise to Bermuda with my family this past summer ... well my brother's girlfriend tagged along. And I sort of became a third wheel/lone wolf. Truth to be told, I was pretty bored on the boat. I didn't come with friends and I'm not much of a mingler AND the crowd is pretty much older than me. The food and alcohol is awesome and pretty much non-stop. I recommend that you try everything on the menu And don't expect to be pampered unless you pay the $$ :rolleyes:

The shows/live entertainment was decent. Casino was alright... but the one pool they had was kinda shady looking since all the kids were in it.

but since it seems you'll be with your BF, you should have a good time, provided you don't get into a fight or something. I imagine there's plenty of couples stuff to do.


but iris's idea of renting out your own stuff sounds great. i'll have to keep that in mind in the future :lol:

[SunWuKong]

i never really understood what the point of a cruise is. i mean, what's the attraction? you're on a boat, but you do things that you normally do on land. so what's the point?

[lethal]

I've been on 2, one with my gf and another couple (Royal Carribean down to Mexico) and one with my family (Carnival in the Carribean).

The family cruise was 10 years ago, so its not much of a reference, but the other one we took December of 2000. It was a 5 day 4 night cruise leaving out of LA with ports of call in San Diego, Catalina, and Ensenada. It was OK, but like Iris said, the median age is much older than any of us. We still had fun due to the 4 of us though.

One big draw of a cruise is that its all paid for, mainly food. We ate and ate and ate. The food was above mediocre, but there was so much of it and you could eat as much as you wanted. To feel validated, we ate a lot. I gained about 10 lbs I think.

Iris, 5K for 2 people with a good deal??? I think ours was about $600 for both of us. I imagine that you'll want something maybe nicer or longer, but 5K?

One other thing to watch is motion sickness. A lot of people get seasick due to the rocking motion.

[iris]

Oops. Typo. I fixed it.

It was an 8 day thing for us including airfare down to the Bahamas and two days in Disney World with accomodations. I calculated 5K for the family - there was 5 of us at 1K each.

The boat thing for the 5 of us in Cancun was around 5K too. Sorry, must have been in "couples" mode.

[nudel]

For cruises designed for young couples, what is there to do? My girl and I are not into clubbing and the such so we’re hesitant about boarding a ship and being held prisoner to such an assortment of entertainment. What I envision is college age people and developmentally stagnant middle age people yelling SPRING BREAK 2003 WHOOOO HOOOOOO! Am i wrong about this, Should I shell out the bucks for a smaller barefoot cruise?

[amietron]

I've only been on one and it was pretty fun.

[kasia]

i used to go a lot with my family. we'd go in huge groups - with 10 or more families, so it was always a lot of fun. when i was younger, i'd go to the teen discos, sneak into the adult discos, etc. I loved cruises b/c my parents wouldn’t set a curfew-since there wasn’t really anywhere I could go. cruises = great way for kids to meet summer flings. I met different kids. Played spin the bottle til morning. Played mafia. Wrapped each up in toilet paper in the middle of the night and went to the top deck of the ship. I know a lot of the other kids did coke and stuff b/c it was so accessible on the islands…

you get treated like royalty. The kids I went with were pretty bratty. Once we asked our waiter if they had chocolate banana shakes. He said, “No.” Then we were like, “Well, can you make chocolate-banana shakes?” And so he did. 15 of em. J We also made him and the busboy cut our food into little pieces and feed them to us. geesh…now I’m kinda disgusted by our behavior.

my parents still go on 2 or 3 cruises a year...with the same friends, minus the kids since we're all grown up. i think it's fun for them b/c they go in a group. they eat together, enter into slot machine contests together, drink together, etc. i don't think it would be as fun for my parents if they went alone.

i think the virus thing is more widespread now. we never really encountered anything like that. once, though, we were caught in the middle of a storm. the waves were 10 feet high, and we weren't able to dock at any of the islands...had to stay at sea. it was kinda scary b/c that happened right after titanic came out. but it was also neat during meals b/c my food would slide everywhere. :)

i think a cruise in asia would be a lot of fun. hong kong, japan, taiwan. but that would be a long cruise, right?

my recommendation: go with other couples.

[kasia]

btw...did you guys know that, if everyone - or almost everyone - on the cruiseship flushes the toilet in their cabin at the same time, the ship will go faster? :) :) :) i've always wanted for that to happen, but it's hard to coordinate. <_<

[princess]

haha whered you hear that?

ive never been on a cruise, but i hope to go someday

[kasia]

Originally posted by princess@Jan 24 2003, 05:28 PM
haha whered you hear that?

ive never been on a cruise, but i hope to go someday
well, it makes sense b/c i think they release everything into the ocean...right?

everyone can flush at the same time and then run up to the deck to watch the brown trail... :)

[princess]

*shrug* hmm its a funny idea tho. :)

[ism]

Originally posted by kasia@Jan 24 2003, 08:34 PM
well, it makes sense b/c i think they release everything into the ocean...right?

everyone can flush at the same time and then run up to the deck to watch the brown trail... :)
LoLz that would be funny. When I was young I thought airplanes tossed toilet waste into the air but know that's not true. I find it odd if ships did the same, but I suppose the ocean can take biological waste... but toilets get other type of waste as well. Ah, another one of life's mysteries.