Strophic

I don't understand...you mean you prefer interior over Oceanview or balcony? Or just that the money difference isn't worth it to you?

I cannot imagine a cruise with an inside cabin...

I would probably not pay more than $50 to upgrade from interior to ov/balcony. I just do not spend any time in my cabin except to sleep and change clothes, and I prefer having the darkest environment possible to sleep.

So I shared this thread with my boyfriend when he got home from work and he agrees with a lot of you! :) He especially agreed with the notion that he is more afraid of the unknown than the actual trip, since he has never had an experience like this before he has absolutely no idea how he will feel about it. But he is feeling better about going on the cruise and probably just needs to see that ship in person.

The quote function isn't working for me :(

 

 

 

In Costa Maya, you can walk through the "tourism village" and find the cabs in behind the tourism village. Grab a cab to Mahahual

 

http://www.visitmexico.com/en/mahahual-costa-maya

 

The cab ride was $6/person to Mahahual back when we went, and $4ish/person back to the ship. The cab drivers all wanted US $$. There's a malecon you can walk along, and beautiful clear water and sandy beach. Tables and chairs are available and you are expected to purchase something from the restaurants that supply them.

 

I'm smiling just thinking about it -- feels like time for a W. Carib cruise :)

 

(Glad my story helped reassure you....)

 

Are you booking your shorex through the ship? Is this your first cruise, too?

Ooh that looks like fun...this will be my third cruise, although my first was on Disney Magic at age 5 and second was Carnival Triumph at age 13, so it's been quite a while for me.

We are doing private excursions that we found through TripAdvisor. I think we're saving several hundred dollars between us by going this way.

I am very pro-interior stateroom and even I would have taken that offer. What a steal!

Edit: Aaaand I just realized I accidentaly gravedug a thread from several months ago, whoops x_x

Did you have anything helpful or just need to be snarky & pretentious?

Rekt.

Which ship and itinerary are you on? We may be able to give you additional cheerleading ammo!

We are going to be on the Carnival Magic for a Cozumel-Belize-Roatan-Costa Mata cruise :) We already have a cave tubing and ATV excursion booked for Belize and a Horseback/Monkey Park/Snorkel excursion for Roatan. I will be finalizing the Cozumel excursion once I get a firmer answer from bf on whether or not he wants to spend the money (since he told me he wanted to do it) and then Costa Maya is just going to be a free day.

@VennDiagram, thank you for sharing your story! It was a relief, honestly. I hope my boyfriend falls in love with cruising too.

Plot twist, what if he has a great time and I end up hating it? That would be egg on my face—

How much is the drinks package, how many drinks per day do I need to break even, do I need to tip extra to the bar staff, what happens to my overall cost percentage if I have a few beers instead of a cocktail. how do I know which cocktail to order to get the best bang for my buck, what happens on port days if I drink less than on a sea day, what happens if I have a sea sick day and can't drink at all, if we both get the package but don't order the same drinks who is getting the best deal, OMG I'am going crazy trying to make the numbers add up. If I skip the drink package I would be able to buy a printer for computer I could of bought instead of the cruise. Hold on for a minute while I do some number crunching, darn, I need a new calculator, maybe I should cancel one of the excursions and get a solar powered calculator instead, wait, I need to compare the cost of a solar calculator to cost of saving electricity or buying batteries..... Golly gosh, maybe I do need the drinks package..

Haha, that kind of thing is exactly what I was afraid of. Thankfully we don't drink alcohol so we're just gonna bring two 12-packs of Coke on the ship.

I agree with the others in pulling up some videos like on You Tube and have him watch those. You can also tell him how much you guys deserve a vacation and you'd be glad to compare prices for different things.....then go out and get a some hotel prices for a week long vaca at Myrtle Beach......then add in all your food, gas, extras for entertainment, etc. See if you have much of a difference.

 

FYI....we haven't been to MB in about 6 years now, but we rented a house a few years in a row and just the house cost us $3000 for one week. Granted hotels will not cost that much, but that still didn't include our food and entertainment for the week. :)

I really like this idea. A mock budget for a land-based vacation might rely put things in perspective. We have been watching videos, but I don't want to go overboard to the point that there are no surprises left or overhype it to impossible expectations.

I bet he ends up loving it then!

Thanks, I hope so! Like I said I hope it's not too uncommon to experience these feelings early on and still have a great cruise when it finally arrives.

Don't mean to sound harsh, but if he is worried about spending money on a vacation with you but doesn't blink an eye about buying an electronic, maybe it is a relationship problem that you are unaware of.

 

Ii had a choice between a computer or a vacation with my husband/boyfriend etc, I would choose the vacation hands down. Stuff is stuff, memories last a life time. Just saying.......

 

I mean, will he ever want to really vacation with you, or is he all just about stuff. Money is a huge part of relationships. If you didn't make the comment about him buying all these electronics, I would think differently.

 

But the idea of showing him videos of the cruise ship etc might help. We got super excited for our trip after we kept watching different videos etc.

I'm actually considering getting a new computer myself. I love gaming with high resolutions and good frame rates, so I understand his desire for one. I will probably put off buying it for another month or two due to the trip, but I'm definitely all about the electronics too.

He actually brought up that exact point himself—there's always going to be a new "thing" to buy, and he doesn't want to always be passing on vacations. I dunno, maybe he's just like a baby bird who needs to be given a gentle push out of the best. He -wants- to do the trip, he's just having trouble reconciling the fact that it's not going to be free.

You can save a lot of money by not taking ships' excursions. I do not know where you are going but go to the Port of Call forum and do some research. Many ports can be done on your own. Others with a private excursion. Join the Roll Call for your cruise and see if you can join in with others.

We found all of our excursions through TripAdvisor :) Definitely not paying extra money for the ship-sponsored trips when there are cheaper, very well-reviewed companies out there.

Certainly wouldn't worry over $1200/person, which is "chump change" for a 7 day cruise. If anything, I'd worry about the quality of what I'd be getting for so little a cost.

We're saving money by getting a guaranteed interior stateroom and by driving instead of flying. But we're going to the steakhouse and doing excursions in three out of four ports so I am also in the camp of thinking it's quite a good price for what we're getting.

Drama

Going to complete strangers searching for approval for decisions made or not made.

Seeking relationship advice on a public internet forum.

 

Bottom line

This is between you and your boyfriend. No one else.

You both need to put on your big boy and big girl pants and sit down face to face and talk.

Geez, I was just asking if anyone had ever had a similar experience, I never asked for relationship advice. I think you are looking for drama where there is none.

Hello neighbor! I live in NC too!

 

So, my question here is......have you guys ever spent a week in Myrtle Beach? I'm guessing no or he would not be stressing over paying this amount for a 7 day cruise. :D:)

Hey there! Indeed we have never been to Myrtle Beach, and his last vacation was maybe... eight years ago? I just am hoping it's a relatively common thing for people who are concerned about the expense to end up having a great time.

This is like watching a Jerry Springer show.

I didn't know this was a therapy board.

How is it anything like either of those things?

Canceling is not an option because our deposit is non-refundable. He told me that half of him still really wants to go, and he is hesitant to even cut back on the excursions, which I offered to do, because they sound fun and he wants to do them.

He has a habit of getting really hyped up for gadgets and then not liking them as much in practice. He traded his XBONE for a PS4 and then a couple months later traded the PS4 for an XBONE. He even got a high end computer last year and then ended up returning it because he didn't care about the graphical improvements as much as he thought he would. So I don't think it's just a matter of practicality.

I think the main thing is that he is putting up a lot of money now for something he won't receive for another four months, and he's never done something like that before. Even though we can afford it, he's never spent money and not gotten an immediate return.

Has anyone ever experienced this with a travel partner? My boyfriend has never been on a cruise before and is struggling with the cost—right now we're looking at about $1,200 per person for our 7-night including everything (excursions, transportation/parking/etc) and he's having a hard time with it.

I feel bad because I sort of went full speed ahead into this cruise thing because I just got my vacation schedule at work and my days don't roll over, so I really wanted to take a great trip at the end of the year. We don't make huge salaries, but we don't have a rent expense and his student loan payments have started up yet, so I think it will be easily affordable, maybe more than he realizes having just started a higher-paying job.

I wouldn't call it cold feet exactly because we are still definitely going, but I am worried that he is going to be crunching numbers every day instead of enjoying the trip. He's not used to taking vacations and has said a couple times that with the same money he could be buying a high-end computer that will last for years. Which... that's true, but I feel like when you look back on your life you will think of a vacation sooner than a computer, especially since he tends to like the idea of new gadgets more than he likes them in practice.

I guess I am just hoping that he can still enjoy the cruise. I know it's a lot of money and I know it will be worth it for me, but I never had any doubts. Has anyone every traveled with someone who felt "buyer's remorse" or been that person themselves?

Don't worry about the rude people responding. I agree it's very gross and would not want to be on a cruise with nudists or immediately after. I don't even like seeing guests go to the buffet in their housecoats. LOL

There's no way nudists are sitting on a towel every time they sit down. Even on their own balcony they're probably sitting naked on the chairs. Many years ago I accidentally went to a cottage resort which did not advertise that it was for nudists. I didn't know until I got into the pool area. They were naked in the hottub and pool and when they were on the chaise lounges, no one was using a towel. The only time I saw any towels was when they wanted to dry off. Needless to say I packed up my family and left

Do...do you actually think there is a difference between swimming naked and swimming in a swimsuit? The pool water touches every part of your body either way, the swimsuit just keeps people from seeing your bits.

Guess I'm wondering who on board would pressure you to drink? Do you have problems in your daily life with folks pressuring you to drink, such as when you go out to dinner or to other social engagements? Seems incomprehensible that someone would pressure someone else to drink! Does this actually happen?? :eek:

In this case I didn't mean peer pressure so much as pressure to spend more money by buying alcohol.

Welcome to Cruise Critic, Strophic!:) (cute screen name, BTW;))

 

On my first cruise in 2005, I was pregnant with my second daughter. I had a great time, even though I was the only adult in our large, extended family group who didn't drink at all, the whole cruise. I had a few fun "mocktails", and lots of decaf tea. And I had a great time and got totally hooked on cruising. I didn't feel like I was missing out on the fun of cruising by not drinking. Not at all.

 

Now, where I did feel deprived was in the tuna melt category. The deli onboard made great tuna melts back then and I was having such a craving for them all week long, but could only have one serving of tuna a week, per doctor's guidelines. It took a lot of willpower to be a "good girl" and eat only one of those tuna melts all week.:(:p

 

Have a great booze-free cruise!:)

Haha, half of the reason I am not having kids is because there's no way I could give up on sushi for nine months :P I am glad to hear you had a good time!

I think I will be entertained by the people watching, from a safe distance of course.

Sounds like it will be a lot of fun!

We're doing the Cave Tubing with Butts Up as well, plus their ATV trip.

Roatan is gonna be our busiest day with Horseback Riding + Monkey Park + Iguana Park + Snorkeling

Cozumel will likely be a Chichen Itza tour.

Costa Maya we are leaving as a free day with no plans...I would feel like I missed out if I skipped excursions on too many days, but I think picking one port to be your free day is a good compromise :)

No, Bottemless Bubbles does NOT include the virgin drinks.......would be nice if the had an in-between package. They weren't as expensive as the ones with the alcohol though.....I think they were $5.75-ish. I usually had one a day...... the Bottomless Bubbles I believe is fountain pop (not canned) and as with any fountain pop/soda... (sorry, Canadian wants me to say pop) I find it doesnt taste as good and with the heat the ice melts quickly making it more watered down...

 

I bought a Tervis (?) Tumbler from tge Red Frog pub and filled it the canned pop I had pre-ordered. Stayed cold for a long while, didnt lose it bubbles as quickly.....

 

Have a great cruise!!!!!!

Ah, that is a bummer. I don't drink much plain soda and I know I will be eating more than enough not to need the extra calories, so I guess I will skip the Bottomless Bubbles then. My boyfriend will definitely have it though...he is a Coke Zero addict :P

Not only will you have a great time without drinking, you will save a ton of money.

Haha, we're a little bit over-budget already, I can't imagine what our spending would look like with booze added on. My boyfriend is already balking a little bit at the idea of paying eight bucks for the one margarita he is planning to have, let alone multiple drinks. I am quite happy to funnel that money into shore excursions :)

I bit the bullet and booked it today, so I guess I will be the guinea pig! It has good google reviews, so I am crossing my fingers and hoping that this is just a really good deal.

I don't drink and have never felt left out. There are some of the frozen cocktails (I remember a mango one and the Miami Vice) that i got without the alcohol. Still came with the umbrellas' cherry, etc......and they were yummy. I also preordered a 6 pack of Coke from the Fun shop. It was in my room when I arrived and I popped it into the fridge...... You'll have a great time..... ( and check online for a Carnival bar menu......thats how I knew about the frozen drinks.......)

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking of getting Bottomless Bubbles for myself but didn't know if they included virgin drinks like Shirley Temples. I remember drinking a million and a half Shirley Temples on my first Carnival cruise, but that was over 10 years ago and I'm sure it's not the exact same system in place today. I'd probably get the package if I could get virgin mixed drinks and skip it if it was only straight soda/juice.