For those that have cruised before:

Charlene&Steven · July 2009

I have a few questions..

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type?

2. What line did you cruise with?

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go?

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website?

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know?

Thanks!

Me&Mr.T · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? We stayed in a normal cabin, w/ oceanview, towards the center of the ship (less motion sickness there)

2. What line did you cruise with? Royal Caribbean

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? 5 nights, we went to Key West, Cozumel, and Belize

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? through a TA (Liberty Travel)

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? pay attention to the excursion descriptions if you take excursions through the cruise. There were two excursions we went on that were nothing like the description, which was very disappointing. I love cruising though, and can't wait to cruise again!

Cortney81 · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? the very first cruise I went on we had an inside cabin with no window..it was okay because it was me and two girlfriends but it sucked not having a window. the second cruise, we stayed on a window view and LOVED waking up in the morning and being able to look outside...

2. What line did you cruise with? 1st Carnival 2nd Royal Caribbean I think

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? both were full weeks: 1st was Eastern and the 2nd was Western Carribean

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? through a TA

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? be prepared to pay for extras on the ships, like your alcohol and any shopping you do. They do not handle much cash on board and give you a card to swipe and if you are not paying attention the bill can rack up at the end of your cruise! If you leave the ship in port, definitlly watch your time to ensure you are back at the ship in time.

I personally HATE cruising. I hate being on some elses time line and being rushed. I think cruises are great if you are not sure what Islands you might want to visit and gives you a good glance at a couple. The only cruise I will ever do again would be Alaska!

eastcoastimelda · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? We had an outside cabin with oceanview. I liked having a window. We were on a lower level, I believe

2. What line did you cruise with? Royal Caribbean

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? 7 days to Bermuda. We had to leave Bermuda a day early b/c a hurricane was approaching

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? I went with a friend who worked at AAA so we booked through them

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? I liked having the late dinner (8 pm, I think). We didn't feel rushed to get back on the boat. Although we weren't really hungry for the midnight buffets!

Tabby2727 · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? We had an oceanview room, they seem twice big as the inside rooms. They say the lower you are in the ship (we were on the 2nd floor) the less movement you feel. Friends were jealous of our view.

2. What line did you cruise with? Royal Caribbean - Our friends have cruised on a lot of different lines and highly reccommend RC over Carnival. They said Carnival was for those younger (25-) and do nothing but party all the time. RC treat you great. We really liked them too and we're 30.

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? 4-5 nights I believe out of Miami. We went to the Bahamas, Cococay (RC private island-it was great there too) and to Key West Florida.

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? We booked ours over the phone with RC. If you see the price lower at all you can call them and get your reservations lowered to that price. I think I saved around $200 by doing this. Ours only cost $600 for 2 people when we went 2 years ago.

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? Try to get on a newer ship. They were renovating ours when we were on it so somethings were unavailble (front deck of ship, rock climbing wall, just a few things). Also, you don't have to book excursions threw RC, there are a lot of people who provide their services a lot cheaper and maybe better then the ones listed on line/the ship. Don't over pack, you won't need that many clothes. Always do the sit down dinners instead of the buffets. The food is amazing!! be prepared the pool water on the ship is VERY cold. If you go to a private island (Cococay, Labidee, etc) you have to snorkel at least once. It's amazing down there!! We have pictures of stingrays, baracudas, tropical fish, etc. Their private islands are wonderful and you don't feel swamped by the locals trying to sell you stuff. I didn't really care for the Bahamas (they have a poor side and and a rich/travelers side), but I hear a lot of other islands are wonderful. Have fun!!!

DrVWife · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? I have stayed in a oceanview room and a balcony room. The balcony was nice to get up in the morning and order roomservice for breakfast and then enjoy it outside. We could also sleep with the door open at night and hear the ocean roll by. Do you need it, not necessarily. As a rule most people don't spend a lot of time in their room. If I were to do it again I would go with the oceanview and save some money but if it was my first cruise and I had the money to splurge a bit...get the balcony room!

2. What line did you cruise with? My first cruise was with Carnival and my second was with Royal Caribbean. IMHO, huge difference between both. If you want to party the whole time...go Carnival. They, as a rule, cater to a younger set and therefore have more activities going on. Royal Caribbean is a step higher in service. In the dining room I was able to get escargoe every night because I mentioned to our waiter that I liked it. He said he would have it for me every night if I wanted it. Just little touches like this that make the service better.

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? Both were a week long and both were southern caribbean. I left out of San Juan, PR for both. On Carnival, I went to St. Thomas, Antigua, Guadlelupe (which I dont't think they do anymore) and Aruba. With Royal Caribbean I went to Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. I liked the Royal Caribbean intinerary better.

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? Both cruises were booked through a TA. I would highly recommend using a TA for a first cruise.

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? Do feel like you have to do everything. It is your vacation and you make it how you want it! But definitely get off the ship and explore the islands...there are quite a few great excursions with the cruise lines and if you are not satisfied with what you got...go talk to the purser's desk. My on experience with great customer service is a bit of a long story but basically I mentioned to the purser's desk that I was not happy with something and my DH and I got a $300 bottle of wine for free!

MizBiscuit · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? We had a suite. I loved the space it gave us and the balcony was great. We poked our head into an inside stateroom and an ocean view room (the ones with just a window) and decided that we could never cruise without at least a balcony. It was worth the extra just to be able to sit out there and read when at sea instead of having to go to the pool deck and be around all the other people.

2. What line did you cruise with? Carnival. I know a lot of people don't like that line but DH & I loved it. There was always something going on and you could do as much or as little as you wanted.

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? 7 day Eastern Caribbean. Ports were Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? Booked through AAA and will probably do so again.

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? If you plan to fly make your own flight arrangements. We booked a flight through Carnival and it was the most stressful part of the whole honeymoon. Our flight to Miami (after a layover) was scheduled to land at 3:15, we were a few minutes late, still needed our luggage, and had to be on the ship by 4. We (and about 6 others that had the same problem) ran onto the ship AT 4. I was not a happy camper.

Some other random things: Your room key (for carnival for sure, I am 99% sure it works the same on other lines) is your onboard "credit card" if you want to buy something it gets charged to your room. You can either put a credit card or cash down, your room key is the only kind of "money" that on board things take (shopping, casino, alcohol). Watch the sunset from the tallest part of the ship at least once, wear sunscreen ALL THE TIME (being in the middle of the ocean is a lot different then the beach), eat from each...section, for lack of a better term, at least once (ie, dining room, burger line, pizza line, buffett, etc) and take lots of pictures.

TheLinkBride · July 2009

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? Lower level

2. What line did you cruise with? Royal Caribbean

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? 7 days, Western Caribbean

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website? Directly through cruiseline, but there are some great sites now that you can use to get deals.

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know? I had a lot of fun on it. Now I sort of prefer going to one place and staying there, but I think cruises can be a lot of fun too.

Charlene&Steven · July 2009

Thanks everyone! We're still trying to decide if we want to do it or not, or just try to take a trip somewhere else. It would be our first cruise...5 nights on Royal Caribbean leaving out of Tampa and stopping in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. I'm not too sure about the go-go-go aspect and feeling like we're on a time crunch when the ship is docked...I kind of like going to a place and being on my own time schedule. This isn't until February though so we still have time to think about it, but your answers helped, so thanks again!

bridz2be · July 2009

A little late, but here are my thoughts!

1. What type of room have you stayed in previously and what did you like/not like about each type? For our first cruise last year we stayed in an oceanview room and we loved it. I tend to feel confined easily and like lots of natural light, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about an inside room. We loved watching the ocean go by. For this cruise (leaving Friday) we booked a balcony room, mainly because it was only $300 more than the oceanview. I'm looking forward to spending time out there reading, breakfast, etc. to have some outside without having to go up to the decks.

2. What line did you cruise with? Last year we cruised with Norwegian and we were happy, but it was also our first cruise and we didn't have much to compare it to. While they had lots of things to do, it probably wasn't as much as other cruise lines. We went to the casino once, but other than that really just relaxed and went to the shows on the at sea days. We really spent a lot of time exploring Bermuda. This cruise we are with Carnival. It leaves out of Baltimore and I htink attracts a lot more families than the ones leaving out of Miami or more southern ports. Regardless of whether it is a more party boat, we'll still do as much/little as we want so that doesn't really bother me.

3. How long was your cruise and where did you go? Last year was a 7 night cruise from Baltimore to St. George, Bermuda and we absolutely loved it. We were docked in St. George for 3 or 4 days and loved that we had that long stay and it really gave us time to see the entire island and enjoy the beaches. We thought that this was a good pick for our first cruise - we weren't sure if we'd even like going on a cruise and it wasn't as busy.

This year, its a 7 night cruise from Baltimore and we'll stop in the Grand Turks, Half Moon Cay and Freeport, Bahamas. I'm not sure if we'll like the busy schedule of only having a day on each island, but its worth the try. I don't really have any expectations except to relax

4. How did you book - through a TA or directly through the cruiseline's website?

1st cruise we booked through AAA. This time around we booked through Travelocity--we got the balcony upgrade for not much, plus we have an onboard credit for anything.

5. Any tips to cruising or things potential first-time cruisers should know?

It is worth trying to find a room more in the middle of the ship and on the middle - lower levels since you supposively don't feel the motion as much. And be prepared for drinks to be outrageous. Last time we didn't buy that many drinks, but still felt that it was a lot.

I do recommend cruisecritic.com. You can read lots of reviews on all of the ships and the reviews are up to date and usually pretty detailed.

For those that have cruised before:

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