First Time Cruiser

[Cupcake]

I've read the information threads by Bats, really good info on the Disney cruise but I think we would not be looking at Disney one. So I wondered if you could help.

We are a family of 3, son will turn 17 next August which is when we are looking to go July/August. He's quite active, loves football and water sports. He's worried about what there will be for him to do on a cruise. Hubby is not a great traveler really, he's better now than he has ever been on planes, but doesn't do many rides at all as he suffers quite badly with motion sickness etc.

So we are looking for a cruise next year to do something different alongside our florida holiday. I took some advice and contacted Travel on a Dream and she has come back with two suggestions

RC - Mariner of the Seas 3 nights incorporating Nassau and Cococay or Carnival Paradise for 5 nights visiting Grand Cayman and Cozumel,I like the idea of this one as the visit to the coral reef could be good, but then would 5 nights be too long for a first cruise, given the issues outlined above.

Really need a ship that is going to have plenty to appeal to the teen. I had also seen a 4 night RC cruise which was about the duration I was thinking.

Be good to hear from anyone with suggestions etc.

Thanks.

[Cloverlady]

Hi Cupcake!

So many similarities in your post to our first dipping our toes into cruisuing experience...

We were a family with a a 17 year old too (and a 14 year old) and with a husband who gets motion sickness a lot on rides etc when we booked our first cruise
.
Like you we weren't sure what to expect. Would the kids be bored? Would I? Would hubby get sick?

Like you, we wanted to do a taster cruise from Florida whilst we were there on a holiday.

Well, we ended up doing a 7 night cruise out of Miami last Easter (2017) We did Eastern Caribbean on MSCc Divina, (beautiful stunning glamorous ship) - and the rest is history! Safe to say we are hooked!
We have done another 2 cruises since then and have another 2 booked, and waiting to book more!

Firstly, seasickness - hubby did not get sick at all, big ships are stabilised so well it is not often a problem.
On our second cruise, ariund the Canary Islands it was ME that got a bit seasick because of the roughness of the seas in January but I solved it very quickly.
When we go cruising we take the seabands and I have no idea HOW they work but they do!
We have also taken sea sickness tablets with us just in case.
I'd recommend you take both those things with you on your first cruise just in case but likely cruising the Caribbean the sea will be smoother and hopefully you'll not need them anyway!

Secondly - Teens on board - Our boys have never been joined clubs on holidays and tend to keep just with each other and us so we expected the same on the cruise, but it was the opposite actually, they heard about football and needing team members and they went along just for that - and we barely saw them again after that!
Most ships have a teen hangout and teens are well catered for with lots of sport and activities, and PS4 Xbox etc etc, some ships have climbing walls etc and most have decent sports facilities.
One night we walked past the teen hangout and expected it to be quiet and deserted but we crept past and the place was jumping! Filled with loads and loads of teens obviously having great fun!
Our boys make several friends who they are still in touch with
I think if your boy gets involved with a team event to start off, he will soon muck in with the other activities

And just to add - you have been offered a cruise on Mariner of The Seas?
We have just last month got off that very ship as we sailed from Singapore to Thailand, to India, to Oman and to Dubai
(a cruise which was just AWESOME by the way! )

Well, Mariner was making its way to Barcelona when we got off in Dubai where it is now currently in dry-dock having a refurb, so if/when you go on it , it will be all refurbed It was a nice enough ship anyway but refurbed will be even better. We enjoyed our 2 weeks on Mariner and got to know it very well.

We are looking forward to our next 2 cruises in October, both from Florida, one to Key West and Cozumel, the other to Belize, Honduras, Cayman Islands , and we cannot wait!

We now love cruising, love how you wake up in a different place every day, love seeing the dolphins etc off the ship, the sunsets and sunrises, we always get a balcony and nothing beats sitting out with a coffee first thing with the beautiful seascapes stretching out for miles ahead of you , or stargazing into pitch black skies at night.
It has become another expensive holiday addiction!

Let us know what you decide to do!

Ooops Ive gone on a bit haven't I?

[Cupcake]

Wow thank you so much for giving me so much information, that was just what I was looking for :-)

Adam (DS) is very good at getting involved, he's not particularly shy, so would imagine he would be straight in there with the sports things and make friends, it's good to know that the teens still get involved in that sort of thing.

Just been taking a closer look at Mariner of the Seas and it does look pretty cool and lots of new features coming to it, so maybe I will look at that some more. I'm now wondering though whether 3-4 nights is enough lol The cruise you have just come back from does sound amazing, we would very much like to visit Thailand so maybe if we like this we will be doing something like that soon.

I have many friends that say once you've done one you get hooked, much like I feel about Disney I guess lol

Can I ask about prices of drinks and such like on board, how do they fare as the drinks package is not free on the cruises I have looked at. Is it right you can take your own drinks onboard for consumption in your cabin? How about soft drinks for the son?

Also, tipping. I was reading about the tipping policy and got a bit confused. Any info you can give would be great.

Any suggestions about positions for rooms on the ship too?

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. I'm really quite excited at the thought of it now.

[Cloverlady]

Hi again!

So glad my reply helped!

Ok, so drinks prices - Prices are not that cheap per drink if buying them individually so if you book a RC cruise I'd recommend waiting until a sale comes on and then book the drinks package. In the sale it makes it much more affordable as ordinary package price is quite high! They do often have sales though

The way I found out about sales was via the Cruise Critic roll call for our cruise.
(Have you seen and joined Cruise Critic? It is a site and forum for all things cruise, mainly US based but everyone welcome, and they have 'roll calls' for each particular cruise by sail date that you can sign up on and see the info others post, just chat with fellow sailors, or see all the latest excursions etc people are recommending etc! ) cruisecritic/rollcalls/

With the drinks package it makes life easy, you can try whatever you fancy, alcoholic (my fave cocktails were Kraken Colada and 'Tropical Old Fashioned' ) and non alcoholic drinks, plus it covers lattes etc in the Royal Promenade cafe . Well worth it even if you don't drink a lot of alcohol just to get iced drinks as and when!

On RC I think you can only take a bottle of wine each at embarkation, most cruiselines limit or forbid your own alcohol you will find There is a limit too to how many soft drinks you can bring - but - you do get all kinds of (quite watery!) squash at meals on RC plus tea coffee etc free. You can but a soda package for your son though

Tipping you can pay auto gratuities which is easiest or you are well within your rights to take those auto gratuities off and tip yourself as you go. Lots of people did this as they boarded and paid as they went.

Positions for cabin - Ive heard mid ship low down is best for avoiding seasickness but as I say big ships are so well stabilised you forget you are at sea most of the time!
If you are splashing out on a balcony all well and good (we do/are doing on future cruises because hubby insists on it even though it adds quite a lot ) but if you want to do inside its really not a problem! You can still go up on deck whenever you want . We had to do inside once on our Canaries crusie as few balconies on that ship and no balconies left when we booked - and it was absolutely fine! Personally although a balcony is nice it would not bother me to do inside again, didn't feel like we missed out.

I do hope this is helpful!

Hehehe, just to warn you of an amusing 'side-effect', when you get off a cruise at the end your body can still feel like you are onboard so for a while you may find yourself feeling like you are swaying when on firm ground! Google it Doesn't last long and it is weird!

[dismadbrit]

We have travelled from Miami and New Orleans on NCL and Carnival which are both large fun ships and great for teens. Both were AI and included tips so that helps avoid confusion. Depending on how much you drink, drinks can add up your bill, though water, tea and coffee are always available in the cafe/restaurants free, it just means you have to walk to fetch them.
We also booked cruise only, not fly and cruise (we usually choose that option when we cruise the Med) as we add a few days at the beginning to see the local area which is a good option if it's only a 5 day cruise.

[Bats]

I can't help with you which cruise line to go with as we only cruise DCL, but I would say 3 nights is too short .. go for 4-7 if you can.

Have fun and please heed the warning about it being addictive - it bloomin is!

Joa

[Cupcake]

Originally Posted by dismadbrit

We have travelled from Miami and New Orleans on NCL and Carnival which are both large fun ships and great for teens. Both were AI and included tips so that helps avoid confusion. Depending on how much you drink, drinks can add up your bill, though water, tea and coffee are always available in the cafe/restaurants free, it just means you have to walk to fetch them.
We also booked cruise only, not fly and cruise (we usually choose that option when we cruise the Med) as we add a few days at the beginning to see the local area which is a good option if it's only a 5 day cruise.

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Thanks very much that's helpful to know about those cruise lines including tips. I will take another look at Carnival as I haven't really looked at them yet. We aren't massive drinkers, but do like to have a couple of cocktails here and there.

Would definitely book flights independently as use air miles for these usually and also would like to add a few days around it to.

[Cupcake]

Originally Posted by Bats

I can't help with you which cruise line to go with as we only cruise DCL, but I would say 3 nights is too short .. go for 4-7 if you can.

Have fun and please heed the warning about it being addictive - it bloomin is!

Joa

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Thanks Bats, have actually just been chatting to a guy at work who used to work on cruise lines and he has said the same, definitely do longer. One i have short listed was 4 nights, but might also look at 7 as they do look quite fab lol

Yeah I have a number of friends that have said the same, once you start cruising you can't stop. But tbh that would be good as I'm not sure how many more holidays the teenager will want to come on, so may be a good option for us with friends going forward.

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Cupcake

Thanks Bats, have actually just been chatting to a guy at work who used to work on cruise lines and he has said the same, definitely do longer. One i have short listed was 4 nights, but might also look at 7 as they do look quite fab lol

Yeah I have a number of friends that have said the same, once you start cruising you can't stop. But tbh that would be good as I'm not sure how many more holidays the teenager will want to come on, so may be a good option for us with friends going forward.

See more...

Just be aware that historically, the shorter Carnival cruises have been known to be pretty 'party-ish'.

[Cupcake]

Funnily enough Bats, I just priced the Carnival cruises up and thought it looked a bit too party’ish for us. Plus the website was very cheap and basic looking. Then the guy at work also said it can be a bit like ‘spring break’ on those cruises, don’t think that’s one for us. Will return to RC.