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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.
Vacationstogo.com and a question
First has anyone ever booked through this site? Is it reputable?
Also, we are considering a cruise, but I have never been on a cruise and I also get pretty motion sick if not on medication. I can easily take medication and still enjoy the vacation but I was planning on trying to get a room with a window just to make me feel a little better (mostly psychological, I know!), but the oceanview rooms push the cruise just outside of our budget. Do you think we will be ok with an inside room or should we spend the extra $200 for the oceanview room?
Thanks!
Re: Vacationstogo.com and a question
Especially if this is your first cruise, I would consider a different agency. I have had lots of good experiences with CruCon.com and for our first cruise I worked with an independent cruise-only travel agent (Marlene Battle), since I didn't know anything about cruising.
As for the cabin, book low and midship for least movement. And I'd just go for inside unless you can't stand waking up in the dark. Balcony is nice, but I don't think Oceanview adds much. ...others will have other opinions, though.
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I would use vacationstogo.com, but I've always been able to find a better deal elsewhere.
Right now, I'm finding the best deals on Costco travel. The great thing about cruising is that you can usually find some sort of deal - upgraded room, onboard credit, etc. Try seaching through Kayak.com. Also, you can try chatting with an agent from a website like expedia. I recently got an amazing hotel price because the agent found a discount for paying with a Visa card. Spend some time researching, and there are good deals to be found.
Regarding the room - I've had an ocean view room once, and all others were balconies. Obviously, plenty of people are happy with inside rooms, but I really prefer the balcony. Especially for a good-weather cruise, it is SO nice to have coffee and breakfast on the baclony in the morning, enjoy the view leaving port, etc. You can do the same on the top deck with everyone else, but not in your bathrobe :-)
ETA - You can also try calling the cruise line booking dept directly with a quote from a travel website. They will sometimes match, and many people feel more comfortable booking directly.
The key to a good cruise deal is shop around.
I only ever had one minor problem with VTG & they fixed. It didn't get my complimentary bottle of wine; they sent me a check for $29 instead.
If you have to get an inside cabin, when you are in the cabin you can turn the TV to a channel that broadcasts a closed circuit camera mounted on the bow of the ship. It plays bad elevator music in the background so I recommend muting it but it's like a window. At night when you go to sleep turn this channel on & the "natural" light will wake you up.
That said, if you can possibly afford a window, get it.
I'm totally stealing this idea for our May cruise! Thanks for posting this suggestion!
I have motion sickness too (to the point where I usually have to take dramamine the first day or two of any cruise and any day where the seas are especially bad). That said, I've never traveled in any kind of cabin besides an inside. I worry that a porthole window might make me feel more sick and the placement of the room is more important to me than whether or not it has a window. Also, without something that opens for fresh air, I doubt the window will do you much good, many outside rooms have tiny tiny windows (and their prices seem quite high to me).
Anything in the middle of the ship is best, and I think a PP said lower in the ship is better (though I prefer being on a higher level only because it feels "safer" to me). Good luck!
Bonine? (SP) available at the drug store will help with motion sickness.
I would say forget the ocean view I have had all three inside,window and balcony. I do not think think the window is worth it personally but that is just me. The good thing about cruising is that if the price goes down after you book you get the difference. At least my TA got us $400 back and an upgrade on our hm.
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