Cruise question

[M_Six]

This is a suite we had on our last cruise 3 years ago. My sister and BIL stayed here with my Mom. It had two bedrooms, a separate living room area, and a huge bathroom with a walk-in shower and a whirlpool bath. Wifey and I had a junior suite and yes, it's just a bigger room with a bigger balcony. A bit more sitting area and a nice bathroom. My brother had the same thing. The food on this cruise was okay, but nothing to write home about. This was a short cruise, so fewer amenities. This was a 3 night Bahamas cruise and this suite ran $2350 with $300 onboard credit.


Enchantment of the Seas by Mark Johnson, on Flickr


Enchantment of the Seas by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

A mini-suite on many cruise lines is nothing more than the ship slapping fake ///M badges on a balcony cabin. Nothing more than a few extra square feet, and sometimes a fancier grade of soap in the bathroom. If you want "the suite life," the cost is usually 3x more than a balcony or mini-suite.....

Perfectly put.

[Tommy-G]

When I was young I did 3 cruises all on Carnival. Young under 25 years old I said….
I would NOT do a cruise right now just bc of the “possible” exposure to other people. I loved cruising bc I love to eat, love to drink, and love to gamble.
My wife will NEVER go on a cruise so my only option would be a dude cruise or if I had a girlfriend. She thinks they are floating cess pools of bacteria and chastises anyone who goes on a cruise…whatever woman!

Do you, but I would not be cruising just after hearing all the stories currently. Go to Sandals or something instead

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

OP, listen to this guy! He knows how to roll.

Here's a few night pictures of "The Haven" private pool/jacuzzi/restaurant/bar area for suite passengers, on the Norwegian Breakaway IIRC:





Take note of all the empty seats! It was more or less this quiet on that entire cruise.

We left NYC during a nor'easter on that cruise, and the ship had the outside decks closed for two days because of the wind, rough seas, and rime ice. I almost felt guilty having The Haven (retractable roof closed) essentially to ourselves on those days, when the huddled masses were trapped inside the ship and couldn't even go outside to walk the open-air pool deck. People would occasionally "coat tail" through the locked swiper-access door into The Haven behind suite passengers, but the GotSL (Guardian of the Suite Life) from the concierge staff would head them off and tactfully send them back out. Another perk is not having to deal with the regular pool deck's lounge chair hogs, since there are more lounge chairs than suite passengers around The Haven's private pool area.

I've heard that the public-facing hotel crew must study the ID card pictures of all suite passengers, and are expected to greet us by name if they see us anywhere on the ship. I believe it, and it seems like they always know my food/beverage preferences by the second or third day in the main dining rooms.

The one thing that I have yet to do is be invited to dinner with the captain on any cruise so far. Plenty of private receptions with the captain and suite life passengers though, and lunch one time with a VP from the corporate office. The captain on the Norwegian Gem and I had lots of impromptu interactions on one cruise. He told me that he was transferring to an Alaska ship as soon as our cruise ended, and wanted me to go along and go bear hunting with him in Alaska. I also have a collection of large paper navigation charts with the route marked out and autographed by the captains back when they offered them as souvenirs.....

[6speedNJ]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Mid 30's. I'm not sure if we have a frequent type of vacation preference. Our most fun vacation was probably going to the US Virgin Islands and relaxing on the beach / snorkeling / exploring the town. We are not adrenaline junkies.

My wife and I cruised 3-4 times a year for the past 10 years pre covid (41 and she’s 37). I’ve been on basically all of the standard lines - princess, royal, ncl, celebrity. If you are into food at all, you go on any of those ships and eat specialty restaurants (which are an extra fee) every night. The main dining room is just not good. If you are sticking to those, I would suggest getting a suite on celebrity. You get your own separate dining room and on some ships, your own pool.

Our last cruise was on Viking. Smaller ships. Food was incredible. We were also 2 of maybe 10 people under 65, but we don’t care and love that.

If we ever cruise again, it would only be on Viking or better.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

...The one thing that I have yet to do is be invited to dinner with the captain on any cruise so far....

You will hate me for this story! Our first cruise was a 7 day Caribbean cruise way back in 1995. The only week I had available happened to be sold out, except for the suites. My travel agent (remember those people) asked me if I would consider upgrading to a suite. I called my business partner, who was a savvy traveler and asked if I should do it. He told me to go for it and I did.

This is back when there were only 5 or 10 suites on the ship. The first morning I go to breakfast, while my wife slept in, and they took me to a table that was elevated and separated from the rest. I introduced myself to the people already sitting. Then, I asked them why the table was separate from the rest and elevated? They said, "Don't you know, this is the Captain's Table!" This particular captain did not like having different people sitting at his table every night so they selected 4 couples for the entire cruise. My wife and another pretty lady sat next to the Captain for 4 dinners out of 7 nights. He did not show up for the other 3 nights, but we got served by his personal staff. He was delightful and entertaining and he did like the women!! The service was impeccable and he chose the wine each evening and we never got a bill. He also invited us all on a ship tour as well as a party in his suite. This was probably the last of this level of personal contact with the Captain as the ships got larger. And to think this was our very first cruise. What a memory.

[Alfisti]

You're all nuts. Petri dish.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

This was probably the last of this level of personal contact with the Captain as the ships got larger. And to think this was our very first cruise. What a memory.

My first cruise was on one of the small ships. Our suite literally had enough floor space to play tennis inside. The only way that I can sail these days is in suites, like a ship-within-a-ship. Definitely not a fan of the current generation of monster floating shopping malls.

Funny story from that first cruise. Being a railroad history buff, we signed up for a 7-mile mountain bike tour of the old Bermuda Railroad. Before we docked, the ship's crew was telling everyone about this crazy eccentric guy named Mr. Mott. He was American, but lived in Bermuda and would run a newspaper ad once per year looking to find a wife.

During the bike tour, our guide changed route by a few blocks to show us a house with 2 acres of land and incredible landscaping. That's a HUGE lot for Bermuda! He led us part-way up the circular driveway, and was talking to the group of us. An old guy from the house yelled down from a balcony, asking who we were and why we were in his yard. I thought for sure that we were about to become guests of Her Majesty's jail!

The two guides rode up the hill to the house, and were talking with him out of earshot for a few minutes. Then, they waved for us to come up to the house with them. Turns out that it was Mr. Mott's house, and we were all standing face-to-face with him...THE Stewart Mott...heir of the Mott family's General Motors fortune! He asked us all what ship we sailed on, where we were from, and even gave us a tour of his gardens. At the end, he said that he would be remiss if he didn't ask the women if anyone was interested in being his wife. I gave my just-married DW the evil eye, to make sure that she didn't raise her hand.

Once we were back on the rail trail, I asked the tour guide what they talked about before we came up. I was certain that he was going to have us all arrested for trespassing. The guide said that Mr. Mott asked them what tour company they worked for, who owned it, and a few other questions. They obviously didn't have permission to be there. Before he waved us up, Mr. Mott invited the two guides to dinner a few days later as his *other* estate in Bermuda! They didn't even know that he had another estate, and the 10 acres it had were considered palatial by Bermuda lot size standards.

I was sad when I saw the news that he passed away in 2008. Despite his radical political leanings, he was really a cool guy in person.....

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

My first cruise was on one of the small ships. Our suite literally had enough floor space to play tennis inside. The only way that I can sail these days is in suites, like a ship-within-a-ship. Definitely not a fan of the current generation of monster floating shopping malls.

Funny story from that first cruise. Being a railroad history buff, we signed up for a 7-mile mountain bike tour of the old Bermuda Railroad. Before we docked, the ship's crew was telling everyone about this crazy eccentric guy named Mr. Mott. He was American, but lived in Bermuda and would run a newspaper ad once per year looking to find a wife.

During the bike tour, our guide changed route by a few blocks to show us a house with 2 acres of land and incredible landscaping. That's a HUGE lot for Bermuda! He led us part-way up the circular driveway, and was talking to the group of us. An old guy from the house yelled down from a balcony, asking who we were and why we were in his yard. I thought for sure that we were about to become guests of Her Majesty's jail!

The two guides rode up the hill to the house, and were talking with him out of earshot for a few minutes. Then, they waved for us to come up to the house with them. Turns out that it was Mr. Mott's house, and we were all standing face-to-face with him...THE Stewart Mott...heir of the Mott family's General Motors fortune! He asked us all what ship we sailed on, where we were from, and even gave us a tour of his gardens. At the end, he said that he would be remiss if he didn't ask the women if anyone was interested in being his wife. I gave my just-married DW the evil eye, to make sure that she didn't raise her hand.

Once we were back on the rail trail, I asked the tour guide what they talked about before we came up. I was certain that he was going to have us all arrested for trespassing. The guide said that Mr. Mott asked them what tour company they worked for, who owned it, and a few other questions. They obviously didn't have permission to be there. Before he waved us up, Mr. Mott invited the two guides to dinner a few days later as his *other* estate in Bermuda! They didn't even know that he had another estate, and the 10 acres it had were considered palatial by Bermuda lot size standards.

I was sad when I saw the news that he passed away in 2008. Despite his radical political leanings, he was really a cool guy in person.....

THIS is what traveling is a all about. You cannot get stories like this while sitting on your couch! Thanks for sharing!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

You're all nuts. Petri dish.

They do tend to have issues sometimes. Covid notwithstanding, a cruise that gets hit with norovirus can be pure hell.

[M_Six]

If I lived on the East Coast, one cruise I might consider would be a cruise to Bermuda. A couple days at sea to unwind, then a few days in Bermuda right there in Hamilton, then a couple more days at sea to relax.

[dreamingat30fps]

I still remember going on a cruise once as a kid with my parents and getting sick as fuck with motion sickness. Then I remember them popping some pills in me that made me into a zombie and all I wanted to do was sleep, but people kept dragging me to places.

Never been on a cruise ship since. I still get bad motion sickness on boats. Motion sickness aside I just don't see the appeal. I would rather spend my time at an all inclusive resort on tierra firma and have all the booze and everything included. You can go on day trips if you want to "explore". MAYBE if it was like an Alaska trip or one of those Europe trips, but honestly most all these places they stop in the caribbean are all pretty much the same and you get very little time at those place... so the "exploring" or "traveling" aspect just isn't there for me on the local cruises. So it's basically a giant floating hotel to me and I'd rather go to a none floating hotel.

Oh and with rona even less... even without rona... I've only gotten sick once at one of those all-inclusive resorts and it was miserable. I can only imagine how much more miserable it would be in that incubator in your tiny room. Baaa humbug!

[Germanauto]

It's something to experience at least once, how much you'll enjoy it is entirely personality-dependent, your budget, and how new/fancy the ship is.

I went once many years ago, I recall the rooms feeling claustrophobic, the food being mediocre, and majority of the people being retirees or families. Caribbean port cities tend to be junk, but you're going to Baja Mexico which may fare better (Cabo is wonderful).

It doesn't seem like a good time to cruise by the way. I will likely be shelving a Euro trip plan too thanks to Covid.

[F30lolz]

I’ve been on four cruises but my last one was back in 2014 through my job for 5 days/4 nights to the Bahamas and other islands (can’t remember) from Ft Lauderdale port. It was Carnival and the food wasn’t that bad and didn’t have issues with other passengers. However, after the 2nd day I was getting bored as you can only eat/walk/drink/dance/gamble so much before it gets played out. My coworkers were trying to drag me into drama so I hid the remaining day until we returned to the port.

Would I go on a cruise again? I would as my wife and son haven’t been on one but I would limit it to 3 days tops or even do the Miami-Bahamas-Miami same day cruises.

[DocL]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Sounds like you've never had breakfast at Cagney's on most NCL ships, which is a free perk of "the suite life" for breakfast/lunch...

The Haven is a totally different cruise experience than the rest of the ship. I know people who have spent $20k on a one week cruise, that's a little out of my budget.

[Tyga11]

I appreciate the insight everyone!

It appears that the ships are older out here on the West Coast. I guess that makes sense since the majority hit the Caribbean.

Has anyone been on Navigator of the Seas?

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

I appreciate the insight everyone!

It appears that the ships are older out here on the West Coast. I guess that makes sense since the majority hit the Caribbean.

Has anyone been on Navigator of the Seas?

I think Navigator was THE hot boat out of Miami back about 10 years ago. That’s all I can say to that

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by M_Six

If I lived on the East Coast, one cruise I might consider would be a cruise to Bermuda. A couple days at sea to unwind, then a few days in Bermuda right there in Hamilton, then a couple more days at sea to relax.

My first cruise was on the Norwegian Crown to Bermuda out of Philly. It did 1-2 days in all three Bermuda ports, which I thought was great! The Norwegian Crown was the smallest ship in the NCL fleet at the time, and the only one that could still fit into the Hamilton harbor.

Unfortunately, the evolution to floating shopping mall-sized ships has meant that the ports of Hamilton and St. George's can no longer be visited by today's mainstream cruise lines. The only remaining port where ships can dock is the Royal Naval Dockyard at the eastern end of Bermuda. There are some cruises that now anchor off-shore and tender passengers into St. George's, but tender ports are always a hassle only made worse with mega-ships and long lines waiting for tenders.

I was on the very last cruise of the Norwegian Majesty in 2009, and we spent the whole week docked in St. George's. When we got back to Philly, NCL turned the ship over to its new owners. The people in St. George's were sad to see the last scheduled cruise ending, and there was a crowd of locals at the fort next to the Town Cut taking pictures as we sailed out of the port for the last time. (For years, it was a Bermuda tradition that all cruise ships entering St. George's be greeted with a cannon firing from the fort, but they didn't fire one as we left.)

The Town Cut on our way out for the last time, which even the small ships barely fit through:



Locals at the fort, taking pictures of our final departure:



Long story short, grab the opportunity to dock in St. Georges or Hamilton if you ever see a non-tender itinerary with those ports! Stepping off of a docked cruise ship in Hamilton and having Wednesday evening's Harbour Nights Festival waiting at the end of the gangplank is a must-experience thing, and I still remember the Gombey Dancer troupe performances on Front Street that night.....

[DocL]

I may as well tell my first cruise experience with my wife.

We had been dating for 2.5 years and I booked a 10 day cruise. She was upset because she didn't want to be out to sea for four days, and only wanted to go on a seven day cruise. So we get three hours out of the port of Miami and I proposed to her and she couldn't call anyone for two days lol. However she almost threw out the engagement ring. I put it in a small nickel bag and submerged it into a frozen drink. I give it to her and all I see is that she's stirring it with the straw and not drinking it. I ask what's wrong and she says there's something in the cup and get's up to throw it out. Holy fuck did I freak out. I got her back to the chair and said let me drink some of it to see what the problem was and then gave it back. She wasn't having any so I had to fish it out with my fingers to give it to her. Not really how I planned. She says yes, but it gets better.

On day five she's in the gym at about 7am and I'm sitting on the balcony enjoying my coffee when the ship starts to vibrate badly, and then starts to slow down. I look up towards the smoke stacks and all I see is heavy black smoke. I knew what happened because I've blown engines before. She comes back to the room and I say we aren't making it back to Miami, the main generator just blew and that the ship was like a turd floating in a toilet. The captain makes an announcement that they have had temporary shut down and will have it running shortly. In the mean time there is no 120v power, only 12v. The radar isn't moving up top and there's no A/C, no running water, you get the drift.

We go to our chairs and meet up with people who we usually sit with, and I tell them what happened, no one believes me. Now it's a few hours and we are still drifting at sea. About six hours later a Navy helicopter flies by and drops a large beacon in the water which the crew retrieves and brings on board. They obviously have no navigation aids at this point. It was bad. That night it was so fucking hot in our room that I took a sheet and a pillow, and I slept outside on the upper deck along with hundreds of other people.

The next day it was obvious the food was going to go bad so they set up barbeques on the decks to cook everything and anything you wanted. They make hourly announcements and everyone still has hope, but I continue to say we aren't making it back. I had looked at the nav channel on the tv and saw that we were about 150mi away from Puerto Rico before all the power went out. I knew that's where they would try to bring us. Finally at night on day six they were able to get some power to the propeller pods and we limped at 10kts towards Puerto Rico until they could tow us in. We made it to a port and we got off and booked our own flight home even though the cruise was going to hire charters. One couple we meet stayed and they told us it took two additional days to fly everyone home, taking the foreign travelers first.

Ultimately we got a full refund for that cruise, and 50% off on our next cruise which we used for the Mediterranean as our honeymoon.

We haven't had any subsequent issues cruising, and have been on about a dozen cruises in the past eight years.

[Tyga11]

Originally Posted by DocL

I may as well tell my first cruise experience with my wife.

We had been dating for 2.5 years and I booked a 10 day cruise. She was upset because she didn't want to be out to sea for four days, and only wanted to go on a seven day cruise. So we get three hours out of the port of Miami and I proposed to her and she couldn't call anyone for two days lol. However she almost threw out the engagement ring. I put it in a small nickel bag and submerged it into a frozen drink. I give it to her and all I see is that she's stirring it with the straw and not drinking it. I ask what's wrong and she says there's something in the cup and get's up to throw it out. Holy fuck did I freak out. I got her back to the chair and said let me drink some of it to see what the problem was and then gave it back. She wasn't having any so I had to fish it out with my fingers to give it to her. Not really how I planned. She says yes, but it gets better.

On day five she's in the gym at about 7am and I'm sitting on the balcony enjoying my coffee when the ship starts to vibrate badly, and then starts to slow down. I look up towards the smoke stacks and all I see is heavy black smoke. I knew what happened because I've blown engines before. She comes back to the room and I say we aren't making it back to Miami, the main generator just blew and that the ship was like a turd floating in a toilet. The captain makes an announcement that they have had temporary shut down and will have it running shortly. In the mean time there is no 120v power, only 12v. The radar isn't moving up top and there's no A/C, no running water, you get the drift.

We go to our chairs and meet up with people who we usually sit with, and I tell them what happened, no one believes me. Now it's a few hours and we are still drifting at sea. About six hours later a Navy helicopter flies by and drops a large beacon in the water which the crew retrieves and brings on board. They obviously have no navigation aids at this point. It was bad. That night it was so fucking hot in our room that I took a sheet and a pillow, and I slept outside on the upper deck along with hundreds of other people.

The next day it was obvious the food was going to go bad so they set up barbeques on the decks to cook everything and anything you wanted. They make hourly announcements and everyone still has hope, but I continue to say we aren't making it back. I had looked at the nav channel on the tv and saw that we were about 150mi away from Puerto Rico before all the power went out. I knew that's where they would try to bring us. Finally at night on day six they were able to get some power to the propeller pods and we limped at 10kts towards Puerto Rico until they could tow us in. We made it to a port and we got off and booked our own flight home even though the cruise was going to hire charters. One couple we meet stayed and they told us it took two additional days to fly everyone home, taking the foreign travelers first.

Ultimately we got a full refund for that cruise and 50% off on our next cruise which we used for the Mediterranean as our honeymoon.

We haven't had any subsequent issues cruising, and have been on about a dozen cruise in the past eight years.

Wow - that's a hell of a story. What was the mood like when you guys slept outside? I know it was probably miserable but were people making the best out of it?

Sometimes experiences like that can be fun as it brings people together

[DocL]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Wow - that's a hell of a story. What was the mood like when you guys slept outside? I know it was probably miserable but were people making the best out of it?

Sometimes experiences like that can be fun as it brings people together

People were pissed off, but I kind of enjoyed it being out in the darkness under the stars. My wife stayed in the room and was miserable, even with the balcony door open. Most people were kept happy because the they just kept the bars open, and no one had to pay for any drinks. You know the deal. Keep people drunk and they'll overlook the misery lol.

The worst part was that they said not to use the bathrooms in the cabins. The restrooms in the public area were like a cesspool with toilets overflowing. It was disgusting. And oh, no showers either. It didn't smell good, but when they got the generator going the power and everything else came back online.

It's a fun story to tell 14 years later.

[BMW F22]

Look into Virgin Voyages. I heard they are super nice and the food and entertainment are great.