Help never cruised before!

[duchy]

You don't *have* to fly out the day you disembark though. We nested our cruise this year in between Orlando and a few days at Vero Beach . It was very easy to arrange and we just picked up a car at the port and dropped it when we flew out. Even if flying the same day a hire car is nice to have as you can stop off wherever you want in the day rather than a coach transfer that drops you off far too early.

[TGT]

For casual, consider Norwegian Cruise Line (we've been with them in Feb - Hawaii & Sep - Alaska 2018). There's ALMOST no dress code in that jeans are allowed everywhere all the time for dinner (there may be a no shorts type thing) but the 'posher' of the two sit down free restaurants is collared shirt, not t-shirt for men. Not very onerous.

You eat when you like, though you can prebook, but it's not a 2-sitting ship (early/late) and you sit at your own table, you won't get strangers foisted upon you (I hate that). You won't keep your own waiters but if you've never had that you won't miss it [it's something Disney does and I think other lines]

There's activities all day long. Excursions, photo & internet packages can all be bought up front at a discount (they're not cheap!) - but a lot of the excursions were not that much more than local ones, you need to shop around (shoreexcursionsgroup.com or viator.com for comparison).

You can pay up for more special dining - the food there is usually excellent, as it is in the main restaurants, though my biggest complaint was that it was never hot enough. The buffet has a huge amount of choice for breakfast and dinner (don't know about lunch)

Entertainment shows are a bit iffy but I felt the same on Disney.

Bought in the UK your ticket will include unlimited alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks, gratuities, maybe a little free internet, maybe speciality dining meals - depending on your category. If you sign up there are often onboard credit deals - changes every few days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

General cruising

I like a stopping every day itinerary rather than days at sea which are pointless to me and I'm not good on boats anyway.

If you are not a good sailor than middle of the ship is better - middle deck, not front or back, but it will depend on the weather anyway. Balcony, Suite - a suite can work out cheaper than an inside cabin if 3 or 4 of you (but maybe more of a squish).

It's a LONG walk to the restaurants at the back if your cabin is at the front (or vice versa).

Do you like to dress up at night for dinner (then NCL is less likely to be for you) - or maybe just one night dressing up (NCL better). If eating with people in jeans freaks you out (you should read some of the reviews!) then look at other lines.

I pick first on itinerary, then compare cruise line prices for what is (or isn't) included.

Good luck

[mick]

Originally Posted by Greyfriars

The only problem with cruising from Miami is the long journey, you leave the ship at 09.00 and our flight to Heathrow was 19.45!

If we did the Caribbean again we would fly into Barbados and sail with
P and O. No USA immigration, just off the plane and onto the ship.

Having said that we sailed on the Celebrity Equinox and it was unbelievable. We were new cruisers but our friends who had cruised 18 times said it was the best one ever!

See more...

When we cruised from Fort Lauderdale (Emerald Princess about 11 days) we flew into Miami and stayed the night on Collins Avenue then grabbed a cab next day to the port.

We landed back and hired a car from Sixt in FL (free shuttle from the port) and drove up to Highgate for another 10 days.

Our dilemma (which is really too strong a word really ) is when we cruise the Med. First time we flew to Rome so you're straight into nice weather but on our return they got us back to the airport at around 8am and we couldn't check in until around 4pm.

The other option is a drive to Southampton but then you're 2 or 3 days in cool weather getting to the Med via the Bay of Biscay. But coming home you're straight to the car and home by lunchtime. Decisions, decisions

Mick

[duchy]

Loving your first world problems Mick .
Nice thing about Southampton is no airports to navigate though ... but Bay of Biscay ... um yeah

[SquishTheWhale]

We solve the early disembarkation/late flight dilemma by booking a tour that stores our luggage and drops us at the airport afterwards. We've done this with an independent company in Barcelona, but in FLL we have booked this via the cruise line as a disembarkation tour. Saved sitting in the airport all day!

Sailing from Southampton for the first time next week (mini weekend cruise)... hoping the weather and seas behave themselves!

OP, if you are worried about sea sickness then try not to- I get hideously sea sick (ferry to France, never again), but due to the size of cruise ships it's not too bad. If I'm feeling it at all then I take some travel sickness pills and am fine. You don't tend to get rough seas in the Caribbean in Feb anyway.

[Omega1]

Lots of great advice so far. I would echo the advice about not sailing from New York, especially if it’s wintertime. We usually cruise in the Caribbean (between November and February) from Fort Lauderdale and try to avoid flights via the north eastern cities because of possible weather delays. We prefer to plan and book our cruises on a diy basis as it’s usually cheaper but not always. So for our cruise next month, 14 nights on Princess, we fly Man - Atlanta - FLL and return Mia- London- Man. It’s worth checking with the cruise line their cost for flights, Princess charged us £201pp for return flights as there was a special promotion. We fly in two or three days before to allow for any travel disruption and chill in Fort Lauderdale pre cruise. Again, for convenience we rent a car and drop off at the port (free shuttle to the ship). On disembarking we also rent a car for the day, do a bit of shopping, have a late lunch and drop it off at Miami airport. We find it cheaper and less hassle than transfers, especially with evening departures.
We like to book our cruises with the cruise line direct, that’s if it’s Princess or Holland America because in the UK we can’t use US agents. Bookings with RCL, Celebrity, DCL and NCL are different. We find UK agents simply want to sell cruises with no after care (unlike US agents) - we’ve had one or two problems in the past with agents reluctant to chase up errors or amendments on our behalf.
Finding your way through the cruising maze does get easier, but be prepared to get hooked and it is highly addictive- our next cruise will be our 37th (I think)!
For information, on Princess, we prefer anytime dining but prefer a table for 2, so on the first day we have a word with the maitre d’ or dining manager and get a table for 7/7.30 every night. It works really well and avoids long waits or being sent away with a pager, but don’t tell anyone else!

[catlady]

Omega1, we've been looking at Princess? Quick question if I may? Does that mean you have to share a table on anytime dining? Thanks

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by catlady

Omega1, we've been looking at Princess? Quick question if I may? Does that mean you have to share a table on anytime dining? Thanks

See more...

On anytime dining, you have a choice - share (usually 6 or 8) or a table for 2. Depending on the time you go there may a wait, especially for a table for 2.
We always used to share, but the meal could take forever if on a large table and it meant we very often missed the show or something else we planned. We also felt we kept having the same conversations but with different people - a bit like Groundhog Day! We now prefer a table for two and can chat with people on the next table if we feel like it - or ignore them! 😂 Hope this helps.

[catlady]

Originally Posted by Omega1

On anytime dining, you have a choice - share (usually 6 or 8) or a table for 2. Depending on the time you go there may a wait, especially for a table for 2.
We always used to share, but the meal could take forever if on a large table and it meant we very often missed the show or something else we planned. We also felt we kept having the same conversations but with different people - a bit like Groundhog Day! We now prefer a table for two and can chat with people on the next table if we feel like it - or ignore them! 😂 Hope this helps.

See more...

Thank you that is great. We are a 4 and we aren't keen to share except on DCL for some weird reason

[Twentyyears]

If you want to consider DCL and one of the cheaper once a year cruises to the Southern Caribbean from San Juan in early 2020, it was a really good price on opening day. Included St Lucia and was Port heavy.
We are doing the 19th Jan and flying into Miami for a couple of nights, then American Airlines fly around five times a day to SJ which we hear is great fun.
We are then flying back into Miami and driving up to WDW for a week after.
It won't be the cheapest trips re the cruise but just in case. We also fell in love with the Wonder when in Alaska and are looking forward to returning to sail on her.