Questions for first time on RC

Hi everyone. My family and I are new to cruising, and yesterday with the help of a travel agent, we were able to book our first cruise. It is a 9 night eastern caribbean on the Independence of the Seas leaving the 21st of December. We were able to get it for $900 a person including taxes and fees. This is for two interior staterooms for the four of us. Since I am somewhat unfamiliar with standard cruise pricing, I thought I would come here to ask a couple of questions :

1. Do you think this is a good deal for the cruise, ship, and time frame?

2. Do you have any advice/suggestions/recommendations for this type of cruise itinerary? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. My family and I are new to cruising, and yesterday with the help of a travel agent, we were able to book our first cruise. It is a 9 night eastern caribbean on the Independence of the Seas leaving the 21st of December. We were able to get it for $900 a person including taxes and fees. This is for two interior staterooms for the four of us. Since I am somewhat unfamiliar with standard cruise pricing, I thought I would come here to ask a couple of questions :

1. Do you think this is a good deal for the cruise, ship, and time frame?

2. Do you have any advice/suggestions/recommendations for this type of cruise itinerary? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the addictive world of cruising.

sounds like a good price considering you will be sailing over the Christmas holiday.

Can't give advice on the itinerary since you didn't mention what your itinerary is.

Bill

Search and ye shall find a ton of stuff!

Hi everyone. My family and I are new to cruising, and yesterday with the help of a travel agent, we were able to book our first cruise. It is a 9 night eastern caribbean on the Independence of the Seas leaving the 21st of December. We were able to get it for $900 a person including taxes and fees. This is for two interior staterooms for the four of us. Since I am somewhat unfamiliar with standard cruise pricing, I thought I would come here to ask a couple of questions :

1. Do you think this is a good deal for the cruise, ship, and time frame?

2. Do you have any advice/suggestions/recommendations for this type of cruise itinerary? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Not a bad price for a Chritmas cruise.

Also check out your Roll Call here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2347521

Your fellow cruisers might have share some of their ideas for that itinerary.

Go read member reviews of this ship and itinerary.

Best way to get the most info...

Sorry! Forgot to mention the itinerary. We will be stopping in labadee, San Juan, St maarten, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Would you day these are good ports for a first cruise?

We've sailed at Christmas a number of times and it has been a lot of fun. For nine nights at that time of year - that is a pretty good price.

Sorry! Forgot to mention the itinerary. We will be stopping in labadee, San Juan, St maarten, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Would you day these are good ports for a first cruise?

Yes, it's a bit different than the typical 7-day Caribbean cruise.

You may want to look at the specific port of call forums for excursion ideas:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

Sorry! Forgot to mention the itinerary. We will be stopping in labadee, San Juan, St maarten, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Would you day these are good ports for a first cruise?

I would say its a great start. I really enjoyed st maartens my first few times. Labadee is a nice beach day/ relax. Antigua has some great scenery

Thanks for all the input. While it is still many months away, I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for shore excursions at any of these ports (being that there are so many available)? We do not want to overdo it, but would still like to fit in some interesting and adventurous activites.

We did the train ride through RCC in St. Kitts and it was AMAZING! It was long though; between 3-4 hours. You got to see the majority of the island though and they provided free drinks with the ticket. You either ride a shuttle half way there and a train back, or have a short shuttle ride, then train, then longer shuttle ride. Either way it was enjoyable and very educational!

You've got a good deal..and your ports are fine! Labadee is the private beach RCI (and Celebrity) uses. It's a beach day, pure and simple.

As far as the other ports...pick up a guidebook from you library, and start making notes on what interests you! It's going to be SUMMER in all of them, so pack accordingly!

Keep watching the prices on your cruise--at least once a week. If prices drop (and they often do, sometimes only for a day or a portion of a day) you can get the discount as long as it occurs before final payment day (final payment day is the day final payment is due, not the day you actually made the final payment). Sometimes, you will find that another category of cabin becomes the same price as an inside and you may change categories instead of taking a reduction in price. Cruise pricing has little rhyme and reason.

That train ride does sound pretty neat! Thanks for the advice on checking the prices. Any other suggestions for the other ports? While they are expensive through RC, some of the labadee activities like the zipline\roller coaster\jet ski tour look pretty cool. Then there are the cabanas in certain areas of the island. Are these generally worth it? Also, for a first time cruiser, is it recommended to book the excursions through RC or independently, which will save us money? I really appreciate all the helpful advice.

Anyone else?

Hi, I apologize for bumping this thread, but I could really use some suggestions as per my previous post. The whole process can be quite overwhelming at the start. Also, I have been reading that cruising over Christmas can be very stressful due to crowds and this is concerning as it is our first cruise. Can anyone testify to this? What have your holiday experiences been like?

Hi, I apologize for bumping this thread, but I could really use some suggestions as per my previous post. The whole process can be quite overwhelming at the start. Also, I have been reading that cruising over Christmas can be very stressful due to crowds and this is concerning as it is our first cruise. Can anyone testify to this? What have your holiday experiences been like?

All the ships sail full virtually all the time. It's not like there will be 50% more guests on the ship because it's a Chirstmas cruise. The big difference for the holiday cruise will be the large amount of children on board.

I was on a Christmas cruise a couple of years ago. They brought Santa Claus on the ship one day, the kids were able to visit with him. There will be a lot of kids due to school vacation. The ship was also nicely decorated, with a huge Christmas tree in the promenade area (The promenade is a large public area on the ship). On Christmas eve they had all of the "Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers" leading Christmas carols in the promenade.

One thing to watch for - if you are in port on Christmas day the holiday could affect what is open and available for tourists. Stores and tours might be affected. We were in St. Martin on Christmas day and while some things were closed, there were still things you could do.

As for price-any cruise you can get for $100 per day is a great price. For ports I prefer eastern over western Caribbean because there seem to be more ports with green vegetation. I would also suggest reading reviews of your ship and itinerary to see comments of past cruisers.

I was on a Christmas cruise a couple of years ago. They brought Santa Claus on the ship one day, the kids were able to visit with him. There will be a lot of kids due to school vacation. The ship was also nicely decorated, with a huge Christmas tree in the promenade area (The promenade is a large public area on the ship). On Christmas eve they had all of the "Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers" leading Christmas carols in the promenade.

 

One thing to watch for - if you are in port on Christmas day the holiday could affect what is open and available for tourists. Stores and tours might be affected. We were in St. Martin on Christmas day and while some things were closed, there were still things you could do.

Funny you mentioned St. Martin on Christmas, because right now it looks like that will be the port we are docked in on Christmas day. That is a good point.

Funny you mentioned St. Martin on Christmas, because right now it looks like that will be the port we are docked in on Christmas day. That is a good point.

A lot of the stores were closed but we don't go there to shop anyway. Had no problem getting a taxi even with several ships in port. And of course the beaches are always open!

That train ride does sound pretty neat! Thanks for the advice on checking the prices. Any other suggestions for the other ports? While they are expensive through RC, some of the labadee activities like the zipline\roller coaster\jet ski tour look pretty cool. Then there are the cabanas in certain areas of the island. Are these generally worth it? Also, for a first time cruiser, is it recommended to book the excursions through RC or independently, which will save us money? I really appreciate all the helpful advice.

Labadee is an RCCL private destination. Therefore, you can't book any excursions independent of RCCL on Labadee. Otherwise, yes, excursions are generally much less expensive when not booked through the cruiseline.

Maho Beach is a must-see in St. Maarten. We booked through Bernard's Tours, who come highly recommended on these boards. For other excursion ideas, check out the boards for your particular ports of call.

I am taking my first Christmas cruise this year also!

Thanks for the advice. As for Labadee, do you find any of the excursions there to be worth the price, such as the zipline? And one more question- When you book an independent excursion, how difficult is it generally to get to the attraction if it is not right at the port? Is taxi/cab service reliable on these islands?

Thanks for the advice. As for Labadee, do you find any of the excursions there to be worth the price, such as the zipline? And one more question- When you book an independent excursion, how difficult is it generally to get to the attraction if it is not right at the port? Is taxi/cab service reliable on these islands?

The zipline is not worth it to us, but many here have said they enjoyed the 55 second ride in spite of the price.

I would suggest that you determine a budget and narrow down your interests for excursions. Some people want to spend every port-day on the beach. Others prefer cultural excursions and some people like adventure (zip lines, snorkeling, diving, riding horses etc). Some people just walk around the port and shop. And others don't leave the ship.

Once you have an idea of what general activities you are interested in you can search the port boards-but you can also check out Trip Advisor for some great reviews of the specific tour operators/beaches/cultural sites (and which ones to avoid).

If you want to try a zipline-try searching "zipline" on each port of call page and find the best one.

If you want a cheap beach day you can check the boards to see which beaches are close enough to walk or take a short cab ride too. You will learn which beaches are quiet and which ones have bars and food and vendors etc.

If you want an all inclusive beach day you can check the boards to find out which resort is best on each island.

As for booking excursions through the cruise line. If you have a lot of time in port and you aren't going anywhere too far away then it is safe and cheaper to book on your own. If you are worried about getting back on time book through the cruise. But I still recommend you look up reviews of any activity you choose. Just because you book through the Ship doesn't mean you will have a "great" time.

I always recommend getting a personal guide to drive you around and show you the sites. Or a private charter (boat) to take you do what you want. These options can be pricy but usually are great trips that are customized just for you.

Also check out MitsuGirly's reviews. I am not sure which ports she has been to, but if she has been there you are guaranteed a great honest review with tons of photos. I know she has been to St. Kitts a few times at least. Look in her signature for links to various reviews. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2325153

Of course researching for a cruise is my favorite thing to do. I am happy spending months combing through the internet trying to figure out what will make my family the happiest. But always remember the Cruise Line can change or cancel your port stops, weather can be unpredictable and all sorts of other things can happen so be flexible and try to keep a positive attitude (and it doesn't hurt to have a plan B)

I think you will have an amazing time no matter what you decide to do. Enjoy your trip.