collegecruiser346

I've always booked inside cabins because I prefer to be up on deck anyway. I'm considering a balcony cabin on my next cruise. I limit myself to 3-4 drinks a day. I'd rather not be hung over and stuck in bed the whole next day anyway. I usually pick 1 or 2 specialty restaurants that interest me and eat in them. If I want to go into the casino a bit, I will, but I live near casinos so I can go whenever I want if I choose to. I often see people at the pursers desk the last morning screaming about their bill and I have to laugh. Did they think the 10 drinks they had by the pool each afternoon were free?

Thanks for your post. That is my plan for Nassau too, except I want to have lunch at the fish fry. Just a question though. Do taxis charge for the distance, or for the amount of people? You had said $27 for 4 people to get to Atlantis from the Sheraton. Is it less for 2 people?

I'm not sure about the price of a taxi, but one thing to think about is that 6 people won't fit in a taxi. You might be able to get a mini van taxi, but from my experiences, most drivers won't let a passenger sit up front. This would mean you would need to get 2 taxis either way. In that case, my guess is that the shuttle would be cheaper.

I took that shuttle. You just walk out of the terminal and once you pay, you get a sticker that allows you ride unlimited throughout the day. I didnt go to the mall or walmart, but I did ride it into Cocoa Beach to go to Ron Jons. If I remember correctly, when I was there last time we got there earlier and left around 5-6. Make sure you ask when the last shuttle leaves Cocoa Beach in case its earlier. I'm going on the Jewel next week, and I'll be doing the same thing.

Sailing on NCL Jewel next week. I hear the charge for the spa is well worth it. Does everyone concur? When are the best times of the day to visit the spa?

I start seriously looking at prices about 60-70 days before departure, which is also when I decide what cruises interest me. Once I find 2 or 3 that I like, I scour all the online booking sites, checking prices several times during the day. (They really do change from hour to hour.) Once I see a price that I'm okay with, I book. I just booked a cruise yestarday, for an August 14th departure. (31 days out) A few days before I booked, it dropped $100pp. Literally 6 hours after I booked, it went up $50pp. However, like others have said, you never know if they'll drop or not, so its a gamble to wait so long.

I don't worry about penny pinching on the cruise, but I also don't spend money on things that I wouldnt spend money on at home. I'm not a big drinker at home, so I don't go overboard drinking on the ship. I might have 2 drinks a day, maybe 3 if I have a glass of wine at dinner. Also, I can't stand massages, so I don't go for any of the spa treatments. I do however like to use the sauna/steam rooms after I visit the gym. I like to explore the ports I visit, so I do excursions on my own rather than booking with the ship. I'll buy a tour book of each port before hand, then just take that ashore with me. They're also good souvineers of the places I've been. I have 2 of biggest casinos in the world within a 2 hour drive of my house,that I go to maybe once a year, so I don't go to the shipboard casinos. I don't go to the art shows, BUT, sometimes they offer prints for around $20. If it is something I like, I'll buy it, then once I got home get it framed and matted. Looks just like the real thing, only 99% cheaper. If theres a specialty restaurant that I really want to try, I'll go, but I won't go to every one of them. I DO spend money on the speciality coffee drinks, but only because I really enjoy a good cup of coffee. I think the bingo in ships is WAY over priced, and usually won't play. Once again, the casino is within 2 hours of my house, and they offer Bingo and I don't play that, so why play on the ship? I do spend money on internet access, but I don't go overboard, and don't use it every day. If I'm on a 7 day cruise, I might log on 3 times during that week. I use my cell phone in port, and if an emergency should arise, I'll make a call on my cell phone while on the ship, but I don't do it to chit chat. I make sure that I have most meals on the ship, but if I get hungry while in port, I'll eat, it just wont be a huge meal. I've never taken soda on board, but I think I will when I cruise in August. Why pay $1.75 for a can of diet coke, when I can bring a 12 pack for $5? I don't buy the cruise pictures because I find most of them are not all that great, and I carry my digital camera with me all the time to capture the spontaneous moments. On my last 7 day cruise, the bill at the end for 2 was just over $500 and that included our tips AND we went to 3 speciality restaurants.

Cunards QM2, Carnival Spirit, Celebrity Solstice and Equinox, Coral Princess, Island Princes, Sapphire Princess. There are several more too.

Obstructed view balconies DO exist, just not on the Spirit. An OV balcony is a balcony that has either a lifeboat in front of it, or one of those life rafts in one of those plastic barrel things.

I was on the Mariner of the Seas last August and one of the ports of call was St. Thomas. I had gone sightseeing during the morning, and had a few hours to sit at a beach and relax. I decided to go for a walk down on of the paths near the beach, and I saw a couple doing "it", right off the path. Being quite open minded, I really did not think much of it, and just continued on my way. Well, later that night once back on board the ship, I went to the newlywed game, and low and behold, that same couple were chosen to be on the game show. If anyone has ever seen the show, you are all aware that they ask several questions about the contestants personal lives. Well, one of the questions they got asked was "Where is the strangest place you've ever had sex?" THEY TOLD THE TRUTH! They said that they had just had sex that afternoon on the beach! I couldn't believe it. It was so funny. Then afterward whenever anyone would see that couple around the ship, they cheered.