Travel
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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.
Cruises
H and I have never been on one, but we are thinking about it. I was wondering which cruise lines you were all familiar with and which ones you would recommend. Is food and alcohol all-inclusive on most ships?
Re: Cruises
Food - yes. Except that many have smaller restaurants on board which have an additional charge.
Booze - no. In fact, it's pretty much just juice, water and tea that's free. You're charged for sodas. Many people buy the pass for unlimited sodas if they really need them because it's cheaper in the long run.
Cruisecritic.com is a great resource for researching lines, itineraries, etc.
Ditto cruisecritic. I've used RC and loved them but I think a lot of it will depend on the ship and what you're looking for in a cruise experience and your budget.
Like pp said, usually a big, buffet-style restaurant and one dining room (and sometimes a poolside bar and grill type place) are included - plenty of options. But, many ships have added actual restaurants (Johnny Rockets, etc.) or other dining options that are extra. And yeah, you're looking at downing a LOT of iced tea and lemonaide unless you want to buy an unlimited soda pass. Don't know if buying an alcohol pass is even an option.
We love Royal Caribbean, but we recently went on the Carnival Dream and loved that ship even more. I've noticed the newer and the bigger the ship is, the nicer it is regardless of the cruise line.
We've also heard amazing things about Celebrity and want to check that out next.
Like pp's mentioned, food is included and is absolutely everywhere! The joke is you'll gain about 10 pounds after a cruise! I actually end up losing the weight I gained pretty quickly after getting home since you're not continuing the lifestyle and get back in your normal routine. But, alcohol is extra as well as soda. Some cruiselines offer wine packages, but unless you plan on drinking a ton of wine it's not worth it. I prefer the fruity drinks by the pool and at the shows at night, and a glass of wine only at dinner so it's never been worth it to me. Plus, some cruise lines allow you to bring on one bottle of wine per person, just make sure to bring your own corkscrew and open it in your room or you'll get charged a corkage fee in the main dining room. We open the bottles in our room and request a wine glass from our room steward, and pour own wine and then walk around with it to dinner and such.
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Ditto Cruise Critic for great specific information on cruises in general as well as specific ships and stops.
We've cruised on Carnival and Norwegian. We liked both but liked Norwegian a little more.
Most food is included and very little alcohol is. Occasionally there is a Captain's cocktail party where they give out Champagne cocktails, etc for free but that is just one night if at all.
I have been on Celebrity most often and like them the best, although I did one RCCL and one Princess and liked them both. I have been on a few Carnival ones, too and although I would sail with them again, it wouldn't be my first choice. We are going on a Norwegian one in Nov 2013 and looking forward to it. We plan one in November of this year on Celebrity.
I've cruised on Carnival (1 cruise), Princess (1 cruise), and RCCL (2 cruises). My husband and I are cruising in May in Europe on Princess again. I like both RCCL and Princess, but we chose our upcoming cruise based on itinerary (which might not matter as much in the Caribbean, since cruise ships go to many of the same places there). I did not have a bad experience on Carnival, but I have a friend who did (she said it was basically a party boat). RCCL tends to have a younger clientele than Princess.
And, ditto Cruise Critic. It is a fantastic site and you can search for cruise lines based on what is important to you (nicest cabins, best food, etc.)
As others have mentioned, food is mostly included (except for specialty restaurants) and alcohol is nearly never included. This may be different for the luxury lines.