Can I Cruise

I'm looking for insight or examples of how cruisers extend their vacations by adding on a cruise either  before of after a TA. 

Do you look  at the same ship or other ones in specific areas- what works best ?

Thanks !

Copy/pasted from a cruise group:

Just got off the Magic in New York. It was a great cruise! We even managed to get an NYPD and US Coast Guard escort to the dock because a couple of jerks started a fight that turned into a 60 person brawl. Its all over the news. It is my inderstanding that the people involved had tried to start fight all week and that a couple of shows had to move venues because of it. Why weren’t these people secured in the ship’s brig. This is not the first brawl on a Carnival cruise. They are going to have to deal with this swiftly and severely.

19 minutes ago, CruzCra-Z said:

I wish carnival would get rid of elegant nights and instead make the steak house have "super elegant" night for those who want to dress up. I think it's a shame that some people pass up eating in the MDR on these nights because of the recommended dress code. Let's face it Carniva'sl elegant nights are really anything but so why have them in the MDR.

Great idea. I'd be willing to forego watching people with polo shirts on, who think that they're wearing fancy duds. Nothing against Polo shirts, and, they don't ruin my meal or time eating. 

On 6/26/2022 at 8:41 AM, cruisegirl1 said:

The process seems quite cumbersome and  would be better if you could know of a denial more quickly than just shortly before sale date. 

I do take exception to a few of your comments.  You mentioned you were diamond and sailed in a suite.   Your Crown and Anchor status with Royal Caribbean or your cabin accommodations should have no bearing on a  medical exemption decision.  It would be sad if these two areas swayed a decision in any way. That would give an unfair advantage to many passengers. 
 

Best wishes to your family and I hope that you will be able to eventually take your vacation. 
 

m

 

It's always been in the back of my mind that, if there were slots available in the 10% unvaccinated population, after children were accepted,

Would cruise lines pick the persons

1. First come, first served

or

2. What cabin a person had chosen (suite vs inside) for example
 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, exm said:

Thanks for the replies. 

There's another cruise line on CC where passengers have found that religious exemptions are better approved out of California if that helps. A couple has cruised 2x already this year with that exemption out of Long Beach, CA.

On 6/12/2022 at 8:35 PM, volk904 said:

The cruise lines are foolish if they want the pre cruise testing scrapped.

even with the testing there is people who test positive during every cruise and who know how many who choose not to get tested on board.  If they do away with the test more positive people will board and that turns into more positive tests on board which is bad for everyone.   

For the life of me, I don't understand the logic and I'm in healthcare. Someone tests themselves a few days before going on a cruise. Then, they go to a busy airport, fly for 3-5 hours, stay at a hotel and eat out at restaurants for (sometimes) up to 2 days before the actual cruise- all activities which exposes them to airborne particles, some of which could be the coronavirus. Then, they get on a cruise ship and are suprised that they're positive 3-4 days in. Thank goodness the symtoms are not as severe (for most) than when this whole thing started. 

Just now, smokeybandit said:

Unfortunately this is doesn't necessarily show how many people are being treated for covid vs. how many are being treated for something else and incidentally test positive for covid.

That is correct. If you look at the dashboard, there's a triangle for people who have comorbidities. 

8 hours ago, icft said:

That is the reason I order my eggs over easy at the omelet station. Real, fresh eggs.

I tried poached eggs for the first time on a cruise because the line to make omelettes was so lond and it's become my favorite way to make eggs

3 minutes ago, Can I Cruise said:

Agreed.

Every thread on clothing for dinnner has 3 things in common:

-People who don't care one way (or the other) what people think about what they wear

 

-People who like to dress casually thinking that people who like to really dress 'to the nines'  are snobbish or elitists

-People who dress 'to the nines' thinking that people who dress casually are snobbish or elitists.

 

 

1 hour ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

We are already far beyond requiring or even suggesting formal wear.  Unless you think a pair of khaki trousers and a collared shirt constitutes formal wear.

Agreed.

Every thread on clothing for dinnner has 3 things in common:

-People who don't care one way (or the other) what people think about what they wear

-People who like to dress casually thinking that people who like to really dress 'to the nines'  are snobbish or elitists

-People who dress 'to the nines' thinking that people who dress casually are snobbish or elitists.

4 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Well, Aunt Lydia, I've been reading this thread with great interest.  Just had a conversation with a good friend about something totally unrelated to your question.  Several hours later, it occurs to me that you might be reacting to the last 2+ years of the virus disaster.  You may be interested in moving just to DO something positive, to move forward with your life.  You may find that you're perfectly content as the world opens up and life gets back to normal ... ever so slowly.  Just food for thought.

Thank you so much for your post- it really hit a few major points. 

I love to travel, which I've always coined  as my  "mood alterer".

Making travel (cruising) a priority is something that I've always, in the back of my mind, thought that I'd be doing more of, when I had more time/ retirement. 

This thread has been interesting and I've been inspired at the amount of information that people have brought forward-  from living close to cruise ports vs close to airports leading to travel, locations that one wants to travel to and finally, the importance of  one's surroundings, be it new or familiar, as one reacts and adjusts to the new way & constraints of travel. 

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

That's right!  And T-shirts that don't have sequins.  😆

 

I never understood why sandals are OK but flip flops are a no-no.  Isn't it a fine line from when a flip flop becomes a sandal?

Men need to smarten up and put glitter on their sandals for night time wear and maybe add an ankle bracelet. Make it classy !

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I will butt in since we have often taken long cruises (measured in months) often with pre-post cruise independent land travel.  If you think in terms of typical 7-10 day cruises it might be difficult to think about how to cruise for months.  But there are many long itineraries marketed by some cruise lines such as HAL, Oceania, Cunard, etc.  Just consider that Oceania markets a 180 day round the world cruise which quickly sells out.  But many cruisers on those long cruises only book certain segments so you might find somebody on a ship for 60 days even though the entire cruise is much longer.  While some cruisers think in terms of putting a few cruises together (i.e. back to backs) there are other lines (and cruisers) that think in terms of "segments."  

 

I will give you a simple example.  Last year we booked a 27 day cruise which was actually 13 days from Miami to Lisbon and then 14 days from Lisbon to Monte Carlo.  Our booking was for a single 27 day cruise but we could have booked either of those segments as separate bookings.  Booking the long cruises can involve some various strategies as pricing can vary depending on how and where it is booked.

 

Hank

Thank you for this. I've read that booking early gives one advantages, when considering world cruises.

It's a skill I"ll have to learn, as I tend to book at least 75% of cruises within 1-2 months before the date and some even closer to departure date. 

I'll start looking at the world cruises for 2024,  intriguing at best, and, once plans are in place, there's time to research what else if available. 

5 hours ago, whogo said:

We need at least two flights to reach a cruise port, basically a day in airports and planes both ways, no fun at all. Our solution is to take longer cruises.  Can I Cruise, if your plan is to cruise six months of the year, perhaps the solution is to stay where you are and take only two or three cruises to reach your half year goal.

After reading the posts, I'm beginning to think the same and have wondered if I SHOULD have asked.......how do you plan your cruises for a 6-month period. 

I've read some blogs where a primary cruise is planned and then dove-tail to ones before and after the main one.

Pre-covid, I would cruise Alaska 6-7 times a season, as being on the west coast + the ability to get a last-minute deal was easy. I also flew to Long Beach a few times a year to get on a Baja Mexico cruise , fly to Long Beach for  (many) 4-night cruises to Ensenada and at least once to FL to cruise BTB  because the airfare was higher than the cruise itself. 

With flights rates going up, I would like to simplify and lessen my cruise prep. 

Personally, I have no qualms in moving- family has grown and live all over the US. I'm on my own and have found communities in most places I've lived in- from east coast to midwest to west coast. 

After travelling to Europe via transatlantic cruises, I wish I was younger and applied to be an expat, as a few suggested having a base in Europe for a season of cruising and that also sounds attractive.

3 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I have seen many people move in retirement without proper research only to spend a lot of their retirement funds reversing their decision.  I had one friend from the northeast move to Arizona based on slick marketing only to sell the new house and try to buy back her old one after the first heat of summer.   If you go, rent for a while before making a decision.

This is such a great idea. One poster had mentioned that after SO many Caribbean cruises, from FL, they were done, 

Renting in FL, though sounding expensive now) may be an option.

I've been fortunate to have lived and worked on the east coast (NYC), Midwest and the west coast (LA, SF, Seattle) and also in FL for 6 months during the winter months (many years ago) so I've had a sample of what it's like to live in certain areas. 

3 hours ago, iancal said:

I think that ‘gala’ is a bit of a stretch and has been for quite a few years.

 

You may be right- less people are dressing up and just relaxing, which is why they're cruising in the first place.

Personally, I wear scrubs every day- for 12 hours a day and then go home to relax, in sweats or gym clothes.

We make it a point to really "dress-up" at least once or twice on a cruise, because we want to and enjoy planning what we're going to wear on those nights.

. It doesn't matter what others do, as long as they don't give us the stink-eye because we make different choices when we cruise. 

Now that I've read through this thread, it's apparent that many do. #sad

9 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

Even if one lives near a cruise port,  you will be limited by the itineraries served by that port. Going back and forth to the same Caribbean Islands would be a waste of time after a while. You can't cruise the Greek Isles or Iceland or Asia or many other cruise destinations from FL. So, being in FL would be useless.

Excellent point- and as many others suggested, being close to one geographic area (to cruise) also limits you as to where you end up cruising. Thank you. 

3 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Nebr.cruiser...I read all the previous post...all of them were good responses...but we feel exactly the same as you...we are also "spoiled living in a peaceful and rural location".  * We see cows from our backyard and can fish for trout down the river.

 

OP, "can I cruise,"...Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

We seriously thought about this question years ago...

* We started donating all of our "stuff"...so we'll have very little to move.

* Our goal was cruising...but we had to be near a hospital, an airport, and Costco. 😁

* After extensive research...we had it down to 4 locations in Florida.

 

Just before making the move, the pandemic hit.  It gave us time to reflect and re-assess our choices and situation. Ultimately, we realized we are already "where we're suppose to be".  Having to fly everywhere has been and will be costly...but being surrounded by acres upon acres of vineyards, oranges, and blueberries is not so bad.

Thank you for your thoughtful post. I agree with being close to a good hospital, airport and Costco, lol. 

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Somewhat like the OP, I started thinking a few years ago whether it would make sense for me to move somewhere upon retirement that would facilitate travel (cruising but also other types).  My parents and grandparents both retired to Fort Lauderdale and I know it well.  It would certainly be easy to cruise from there and there is a decent if not huge airport nearby (as well as Miami).

 

On the minus side, I've seen people retire and, unless they are very outgoing or move to a community geared toward retirees, they can end up feeling disconnected and isolated. It seems to be harder to "plug in" to a new place as you get older.

 

I also sat down and thought about the future. The truth is that I enjoy cruising less, and there are fewer small ships that I can cruise on (and not all that many of them have regular departures from Port Everglades).  On the other hand, I've always wanted to travel to Italy and spend 2-3 months there at a time.  With the occasional cruise, when I find one that is tempting enough.....

 

So for me it ultimately makes more sense to stay where I am and downsize. I really like where I currently live. The weather's not bad, I'm close to a major airport and to the East Coast for trips to Europe. And I have my own small community here, built up over years.

 

IMO these are all things that should be weighted against the simple desire to cruise more.

Thank you !   I've flown to Barcelona and stayed for a month prior to doing a transatlantic back to the States. I was planning to do the same thing with flying to Portugal and then Covid hit. 

I'm also hoping to read how people leave their homes and spend time cruising- specifically on how they plan the cruise itinerary.

I'm fairly organized & spent up to 12 weeks away from my residence while working, so I feel confident in that regard.

Thank you for your insight !

5 hours ago, Keksie said:

There are a lot of reasons to live in Florida.  We don't live that close to a cruise port but close enough if we decide to cruise again.  We enjoy being 45 minutes from a beautiful beach, low taxes, small town, and the last 2+ years the freedom to make our own decisions. 

I like the fact that one doesn't have to fly for every cruise. 

I'm on the west coast and have done the west coast cruises and Alaska, still having to fly. 

I went solo on a transatlantic in 2018 and was happy to have found a Roll Call and then, once on the ship, there was a dedicated group for solos, which had planned events.

Some cruise lines have better programs than others. I was on a NCL ship and they have solo cabins and even if you're not in one, you can participate in all of their events, which included sign-ups for dinner , shows. and other activities if you didn't want to go alone.

I tend to be a loner and I found myself having to set up a schedule because the sea days can run in to each other,- I love to relax and, at the same time, have something to look forward to. 

I'm starting on a 2-year plan (of research) to move closer to a cruise port, so I can spend at least half the year cruising. Florida appeals to me because of the number of ports, though the weather is a worry, unless I'm sitting in a pool, lol.. 

Has anyone moved for that reason or have any thoughts on what might or what might not work ?

Thank you,

Aunt Lydia