Travel
Brayden (5 1/2) born 12.28.06
Hailey (4 1/2) born 2.25.08
Taylor (8 Months) born 12.26.11
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
RP: If you've been on a cruise
Please share your experience. What cruise line? Where did you go? What did you do? Would you recommend it again (likes/dislikes)?
Brayden (5 1/2) born 12.28.06
Hailey (4 1/2) born 2.25.08
Taylor (8 Months) born 12.26.11
Re: RP: If you've been on a cruise
I've been on 3 cruises, DH has been on 6 and each one is a different experience. My first cruise was on Carnival and it was to the Western Caribbean and it was pretty good for my first cruise. The food was fantastic! Seriously, it was amazing food from different cultures and was delicious...I ate so much that cruise! The entertainment was ok...for being 20 I found the shows to be pretty good, but that was all they had to offer. For being a fun cruise, they didnt really do anything fun till the end when they started hosting the late night parties, the rest of the nights were show and thats it.
We went on Princess for our Honeymoon and first anniversary trip. Honeymoon was to Europe (it was Copenhagen down to Rome) and it was amazing! Entertainment was a plenty (there were days where we had to skip things to go others because there was so much to do) but the food was meh. It was ok. Nothing special! Staff was extremely nice, kind, and accomodating.
Our first anniversary trip was to Canada and New England. This was probably our last Princess cruise due to how rude they were with the whole booking process and lying to our travel agent about fixing their mistakes. I found this cruise to be a little less relaxed, less entertainment than our previous cruise, and the food was worse than the previous cruise. We also had 2 hurricanes come up the coast and collide and make for some extremely bumpy waters. The staff didnt really seem to care as much as our previous one...I think this ship wasnt as pleasant as the previous.
For our 2nd anniversary we're looking into Royal Caribbean for Alaska. We've been dying to go on them for years now and we're excited. I hear great things from people who've been on their ships and cruises, plus it'll be a little close to our age range. Princess is primarily older cruisers, Carnival is much younger, so hopefully Royal will be in the middle!
At sea, heading to Lisbon, Portugal
I have been on 5 cruises, with a 6th one this August to Alaska.
My first cruise was the original Disney cruise and was fantastic. Loved it, can't wait to take my kids on one (umm when I have kids). My 2nd cruise was also on that line, but they have since closed.
My third cruise was on RC and was a Baltimore to Bermuda. I wasn't impressed. I think a lot of it had to do with the ports, b/c they send the smaller, older ships to do that itinerary. Also we had some bad weather coming back and a lot of stuff got cancelled so it was kind of boring the last sea day.
My 4th cruise was our HM cruise on Princess and we loved it. We did the S. Caribbean. The ports were nice, the food was great and we had excellent service. The pool restaurants were always open, fast service and in the afternoon we got warm cookies and milk. We saw a few shows, which were good, but we didn't see that many.
My last cruise was on Carnival and was a W. Caribbean. I liked the ports and had good excursions. I did not enjoy the boat as much as on Princess. The service was lacking and in some instances in the afternoons the pool restaurants would be closed or long wait times for food to be ready. I also found the entertainment lacking, the comedians were so/so and the big shows seemed cheapy? I don't know how to explain it. I will say, that for the value, Carnival was nice and we know what to expect now. This was a family cruise with DH's side, so we didn't pick it ourselves.
We had such a great time on Princess that we're heading to Alaska with them this August.
Wives Unscripted
I've been on 9 cruises.
Cruise Lines - Royal Caribbean, Disney, Princess. My family has done Carnival and Celebrity without me. I loved them all. IMO: Princess had better food. Princess also has fresh-water pools onboard, which was a definite plus. RCL does a great job all-around. Disney was great for kids. (My sister currently works for them as a counselor.)
Destinations - Bahamas, Western Caribbean, Eastern Caribbean, Southern Caribbean. My parents have done Alaska (loved it - DH and I are planning to go in the next few years). All were great itineraries for different reasons.
What Did We Do:
- Bahamas -- Sail & Snorkel, visited Atlantis, Straw Market, Senor Frog's
- Key West -- Southernmost Point, shops/restaurants, really great snorkeling
- Ocho Rios, Jamaica -- Dunn's River Falls, private tour guide who drove us around in his van (so fun!)
- Grand Cayman -- Stingray City (loved it!)
- Cozumel -- Dune buggy tour (were supposed to snorkel but it poured down rain -- still super fun!), beach days
- St. Thomas -- Magen's Bay, sea turtle snorkel
- St. Maarten -- America's Cup 12-Metre Yacht Race (awesome), Orient Beach, tour of Marigot
- Aruba -- Horseback tour to hidden lagoon (fun)
- Curacao -- Curacao factory tour, beach day (beautiful beaches)
- Labadee, Haiti -- Banana boat ride (really fun)
My family has done cave tubing in Roatan and had a blast.
I highly recommend cruising. You're able to make it work for you. If you want to hang out by the pool on the ship all day, go for it. You can take part in ship-board activities. There's tons of excursions at the different ports (adventurous or relaxing).
Some general recommendations I make to everyone:
- Try using a travel agent. They know when cruise lines are running deals and typically know all about the ships and ports. And if anything happens to go wrong, they can help to fix it quickly. The cruise line won't.
- Buy travel insurance. Make sure it covers medical emergencies. They're rare, but helicopter lifts off cruise ships are extremely expensive. Plus it usually covers flight cancellations and other issues.
- Don't book excursions through the cruise line. They tend to be more expensive, more crowded, and they cancel faster in the case of potential inclement weather. There are plenty of recommended companies out there. Utilize CruiseCritic.com to read people's reviews. Book before you go!
Well, since I'm avoiding work:
Cruiseline: Royal Caribbean (Rhapsody of the Seas)
Where: Western Caribbean - Galveston; Key West; Cozumel; missed Grand Cayman due to weather
What did you do: bar-hopping, snorkeling
Liked: inexpensive, fun beach escape in January, silly shipboard activities, drinking in the outdoor hot tub in the rain, delicious food
Disliked: lots of loud drunk people, not very exciting ports
Cruiseline: Princess (Sapphire Princess)
Where: East Asia - Beijing, Tianjin, Busan, Nagasaki, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kuantan, Singapore
What did you do: explored temples, shopped in local markets, visited museums & aquariums, enjoyed a traditional massage and mud bath, sampled the street food, saw a dance performance, wandered botanical gardens
Liked: the huge variety of cultures, the elegant atmosphere and beautiful gowns on formal nights, the gradual change in climate as we sailed south, free shuttle service in most ports, relaxing in the thermal grotto
Disliked: the food on the ship (so much less exciting than the food on shore), the distance from port to some of the cities
Cruiseline: Royal Caribbean (Voyager of the Seas)
Where: Canary Islands - Barcelona, Malaga, Lisbon, Funchal, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Lanzarote
What did you do: did a toboggan run down steep city streets, took photographs of beautiful views, tasted wines at local vineyards, climbed a volcano, sampled fruits in the market, compared the variety of beautiful architecture, roamed historic streets, went ice skating and rollerblading on the ship, got pulled over by the local police, passed out
Liked: keeping in touch with fellow passengers years later, visiting an active volcano, seeing more than one of the Canary Islands
Disliked: lack of activities on sea days, nearly missing the ship
Cruiseline: Royal Caribbean (Vision of the Seas)
Where: Northern Europe - Oslo, Hamburg
What did you do: read by the pool, drank fruity cocktails, saw the highlights of Hamburg, bought duty-free alcohol and cheap wine in Germany
Liked: getting away for a weekend for less than it would have cost to stay in a hotel at home, taking a taxi across town to the port instead of getting on a plane
Disliked: too short, ship felt small and claustrophobic after sailing newer & larger ships
Cruiseline: Cunard (Queen Elizabeth 2)
Where: Norwegian Coast - London, Stavanger, Bergen, Geiranger, Trondheim, Lofoten Islands, Troms?, Longyearbyen
What did you do: admired the fjords, watched the midnight sun start to rise without setting, drooled over the Norwegian crown jewels, hiked behind a waterfall, visited historic buildings, were awed by the stunning landscapes, rode a cable car, toured a brewery, learned about life in the Arctic, watched the Queen of England leave the loo
Liked: the absolutely stunning scenery, the ultra-formal dinners, darts and quizzes in the pub
Disliked: feeling lower class for booking an inexpensive cabin, the condition of the ship during her final season, the evening shows
Cruiseline: Princess (Sapphire Princess)
Where: Alaska - Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Whittier
What did you do: watched humpback whales, stood in awe of tidewater glaciers, toured part of the Yukon, cuddled sled dog puppies, hiked in the forest, rode famous railroads, learned about totem poles
Liked: the scenic cruising, spotting whales from the ship, relaxing in the thermal grotto (a big reason we chose to sail the same ship again)
Disliked: dealing with the timings of the one-way tunnel to get to Anchorage from Whittier
Cruiseline: Royal Caribbean (Vision of the Seas)
Where: Baltics - Copenhagen, Tallinn, St.Petersburg
What did you do: met fellow Nesties and rode the rides at Tivoli, wandered the medieval streets of Tallinn, saw palaces and museums, rode the St.Petersburg subway, cruised the canals, sampled the local food
Liked: the incredibly low price, visiting Russia without a visa
Disliked: not having an overnight in St.Petersburg, only having 7 days, not visiting Stockholm or Helsinki, being the only non-Norwegian people at our dinner table
Cruiseline: Color Line (Color Magic)
Where: Northern Europe - Oslo, Kiel
What did you do: enjoyed the scenery, had a nice dinner for my birthday, stayed up late in the night club, relaxed in the hot tubs and massage chairs at the gym, visited the duty-free shop and drank with our friends in the cabins, watched the evening shows, bought inexpensive meat and alcohol in Germany
Liked: getting away from the weekend, the ice skating performances on board
Disliked: having to pay for everything a la carte
Cruiseline: Costa (Costa Romantica)
Where: Indian Ocean - Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, R?union Island
What did you do: swam at some of the world's most beautiful beaches, went snorkeling, saw dozens of lemurs and chameleons, hiked through some of Madagascar's unique scenery
Liked: not being disappointed by the beaches on La Digue, getting to explore so many different islands in the area
Disliked: the fear of Somali pirates, the sad signs of the problems with the Malagasy economy, every ship announcement being repeated in half a dozen languages and still not knowing what was going on
Cruiseline: G Adventures (M/S Expedition)
Where: Antarctica (Ushuaia, Aitcho Islands, Weddell Sea, Neko Harbor, Port Lockroy, Paradise Bay, Deception Island, Half Moon Island, Arctowski Research Station)
What did you do: wandered through colonies of thousands of penguins, spotted four different kinds of seals, gasped at enormous tabular icebergs, tasted sea ice, rode zodiacs around glaciers and ice cliffs, built snowmen and had snowball fights on deck, stood alone on an iceberg, went swimming in 35?F water
Liked: being in such a remote & unspoiled place, having astonishingly beautiful scenery all around you for days on end, getting to know the crew and passengers, learning about Antarctic research and the lifestyle of those who work there, setting foot on my seventh continent
Disliked: having to go home
I would recommend them all for different reasons, but if I had to put them order of my favorites, they would be...
Favorite destinations: Antarctica, Baltics, Indian Ocean, Norwegian Coast, Alaska, East Asia, Canary Islands
Favorite cruiselines: Cunard, G Adventures, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Color (I'm not a fan of Costa)
What cruise line?
Princess Cruiseline, the ship was the Crown Princess.
Where did you go?
Western Caribbean Cruise - Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Roatan (Honduras), and Cozumel.
What did you do?
In the Bahamas (Princess Cays), we just hit the beach, it was pure white powder sand and the clearest blue water, gorgeous! This is a small beautiful private island exclusive to Princess so it wasn't crazy with crowds of people, loved it.
At Grand Cayman, it was raining so we didn't do much except go to the beach for a bit and then shopped in town. Wasn't totally impressed, the beach was way overcrowded and overrun with people in the water too. Very busy commercialized port.
In Roatan, we went to the Maya Key, a small private island. We snorkeled off the end of the pier, it was the our best snorkeling experience ever, there's a huge reef and we saw so many fish! We loved Roatan, it's gorgeous and the people are awesome. Even though it was pouring rain, we still had the best time here.
In Cozumel, we went to Chankanaab Park, we snorkeled, checked out some of the wildlife and ruins, and just hung out on the beach. I don't love Cozumel, it's super commercialized, but the beaches are nice.
Would you recommend it again (likes/dislikes)?
Yes, I highly rec it, we had a great time, no problems at all! The food was very good, including the buffets and sit down dinners. The entertainment was awesome, especially the hypnotist, hilarious show. We also really liked "Movies under the Stars", they have a huge screen at the pool area and they serve popcorn & pizza, so fun.
This was our first cruise, but would love to go on another! I highly rec getting a balcony cabin, we used ours alot, had breakfast out there and lots of glasses of wine in the evening, lol.