Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

live_to_cruise

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    177

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by live_to_cruise

    Mixers for young adults?

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    That would be fantastic! It's so nice to hear of someone else in a similar situation. Usually I make a group of friends on the first few nights, but it tends to be a group that is on the trip together to begin with, so it would be awesome to run into someone in the same boat (literally and figuratively!) 

    • Like 1

    Mixers for young adults?

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    I'm a 21 y/o college student in the same situation going on the Epic next week and would be happy to report back regarding any meet and greet opportunities for our age group! I've cruised a lot and there usually is an event like this on the first or second night for either 18-20s or 21-25s, but this has been on Royal Caribbean. I've always been in the "Teen Club age" on my previous NCL cruises, so it will be interesting to see if it's the same for the college and up crowd! 

    • Like 1

    Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Day 4- Cozumel

    I woke up at 7:35 a.m. to a crew member vacuum cleaning the hallway. We’re usually not complainers, but were a little annoyed as this was the second day in a row that this had happened. At least it got us out of bed! I went for a super quick run at the gym around 8:20 (not crowded), and grabbed breakfast shortly after. Breakfast wasn’t as crowded as the previous days which was nice! We went back to the room and changed into bathing suits and coverups before leaving the ship around 9:45 a.m.

    On our NCL cruise to Cozumel three years ago, we walked up to a taxi stand and the man there gave us a good deal including transportation to and from Playa Palancar, with snorkeling and kayaking time included. This time we did the same, walking up to a man near the taxi stand, and got a similar deal, this time without the kayaking. After a 15 minute taxi ride, we arrived to Playa Palancar. We noticed that there was a lot less beach than three years ago, probably because of hurricanes and such. They offered a deal where you could get nice cushioned lounge chairs and an umbrella for about $10, or you could opt for simpler chairs for no charge. We decided to just stick with the simple chairs, as we wouldn’t be laying out for more than two hours or so.

    The snorkeling was great in terms of the fish. There were all kinds of fish if you swam a bit out, and you could go under the water and swim basically right next to them and they wouldn’t shy away, they just kept on with their swimming. This was really cool because I was able to really get a close look at the fish. Also, we were lucky enough to see a huge live starfish on the ocean floor. I had never seen a live one before! All in all, my parents and I agreed that next time we would prefer to go o a snorkeling site with more reef or maybe some sort of underwater wreck. While the fish were beautiful, after snorkeling on almost all of our past cruises, we really find it neat to see fish as well as wrecks/reefs.

    After our snorkel time was up, we went to the chairs and ordered some food and drinks. We ordered shrimp and fish tacos, as well as fresh guacamole, and margaritas. The food, as it was the last time we visited Palancar, was fantastic, and was very reasonably priced.

    When our beach time was up, we headed back to our cab- the driver waits at Palancar until you’re done- and were driven back to the port area. We decided to shop around a bit, as we had a few souvenirs we wanted to bargain for. The shopping area we went to was like an outdoor mall with many stores selling basically the same items, but some had better prices than others. We did experience something interesting that we haven’t experienced before. When shopping, a few different times we were approached by salesmen asking if we would like to “view their flea market,” but they just escorted us into a normal store.

    My eyes became increasingly swollen, red, and itchy after leaving Palancar, and began to water as we shopped around Cozumel. After a while, I was really in discomfort, and assumed I was having an allergic reaction, so we bought some Benadryl from a general store in the port.

     

    We got back on the ship, and went to the medical center, as my eyes had gotten worse. The nurse was EXTREMELY nice and attentive, and gave me some eye drops. The staff at the medical center were so helpful and made the visit seamless. Afterward, we headed back to our cabin for our afternoon canapes and took a nap, exhausted from the hot beach day. We slept until around 6:45, and weren’t up for dressing up and waiting to get seated at the main dining room, so we got dinner at the buffet, something we have never done on a cruise before. The food was more casual than at the dining rooms, but still featured nice selections such as a meat grill section, fish, and sushi. We enjoyed being able to avoid waiting, and were happy to serve ourselves, especially after a tiring day.

    Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Day 3- At Sea

     

    I woke up around 7:30 to a rockin’ and rollin’ ship. I tried to fall back asleep a few times but was unable to because the ship was really moving back and forth, almost in a disturbing way. I eventually got up and went to the gym around 8:45, and it was mildly crowded, about half of the treadmills were taken. It was quite a challenge to stay balanced while running on the treadmill with the ship rocking so greatly, but we managed. We went to breakfast at the Oceanview Café around 9:30 and it was again, very crowded. There were a few empty tables toward the back, and we snagged one by the window. DM had a full plate of food untouched on the table, along with silverware still wrapped in a napkin, and a full drink, but it was gone by the time she returned after getting a bowl of cereal. This almost happened again later in the day at lunch. We weren’t bothered, as it was a simple misunderstanding, but we think it might be a good idea for Celebrity to put little signs that say “still eating” or “finished” on tables so the staff knows when to clear the tables. The boat was still rocking pretty seriously and many people were seasick. I saw a bunch of people with SeaBands and cans of Ginger Ale, and the staff had placed vomit bags in each bathroom. After a very filling breakfast, we headed back to the room to change into bathing suits and cover-ups. I felt a little seasick after breakfast, but I think this was because I had a huge breakfast and was still digesting my food. I had a piece of my never-failing SeaBands motion sickness ginger gum and was good to go. After breakfast, DF went on the galley tour of the San Marco Restaurant, and he had a fabulous experience. His group was lucky enough to have the head chef as their tour guide.

    The weather was pretty cloudy, but with bits of sunshine every once in a while. It was windy, making it cold, on the sides of the top deck, but we found sheltered areas from the wind at the front and back of the top deck, and were still even able to get nice and sunburnt (ouch) even with all of the clouds. We had lunch at the Seaview Café, and enjoyed the healthy options including spinach and quinoa, and a cranberry quinoa salad. We decided to join the High Intensity Dance Class which was poolside. They played popular dance songs like “The Cupid Shuffle,” teaching everyone the moves. People of all ages joined and it was actually a lot of fun! DM went to two back-to-back trivia games which she really enjoyed, and even won one of them! DF spent most of the day in the casino, playing in the various tournaments. Needing to make more room for dinner, DM and I hit the gym again at 4:45 to do a little cardio before the 5:00 flat abs class. We really liked the abs class. It was free and only about 30 minutes, and the instructor was very pleasant and made it an enjoyable experience. I had also gone for a little jog on the top deck jogging track, which was really cool to be able to look out at the water and the horizon from all sides of the ship. Afterwards, we got ready for dinner, as tonight was “Evening Chic” night. Celebrity had advertised this night as more formal than Smart Casual, but not as formal as the former “Formal Night.” We like to dress up to go to dinner, and always have on our past cruises. We always dress especially nice for the “formal” night, DM and I wore fancier black cocktail dresses and DF wore a fancy black suit. We felt that we were some of the most dressed up people on the entire ship, and felt the same way during the other nights as well. This didn’t bother us, of course, for what others wear doesn’t affect us, but was just an observation that stayed the same throughout the cruise. I think we were a little surprised because before the cruise, we were under the impression that Celebrity is a more formal cruise line. This was also the only night that there was a photographer taking pictures at dinner.

    We had made a 6:30 dinner reservation the night before, and were seated on the 2nd level of the San Marco. We took some of our own pictures outside the restaurant, then got some posed ones taken by the photographer in front of a backdrop.

    I had met a few other older teens by the pool, and we made plans to meet up at the Reflections night club for dancing at midnight. Before that, I met up with my friend and we sat in the Oceanview Café again and had tea until exploring the casino for a little. (I felt cool being able to experience all of the things on cruises I hadn’t been allowed to before turning 18). A little before midnight, we headed up to Reflections. There was a staff member at a podium using an electronic scanner to scan everyone’s card, making sure we were 18 and older. We went into the club, and at first the DJ was playing 50’s, 60’s, then 70’s music, and then he skipped to current popular songs. There were all kinds of strobe and colored lights, and a ton of people (all ages ranging from 18-65) were dancing, having a blast. It was a really fun experience!

    We decided to turn in a little after 1, needing to get some sleep before a busy day in Cozumel.

    Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Day 2- Key West

     

    After sleeping like a rock, I woke up around 7:50, grabbed a banana and glass of water at the Oceanview Café and explored the breakfast options. I hit the gym at 8:30. It wasn’t very crowded and was easy to find a treadmill. We went to breakfast around 9:00, and it was very crowded. The omelet lines were pretty long, and this was a bit annoying as you had to cut between the people in line to get to other foods. An arrival announcement was made at 8:00 but I noticed that we had arrived upon waking up at 7:50. We figured that if we waited until 9:00 to go to breakfast that most people would’ve gotten off the ship by then, but this was not the case.

     

    We have been to Key West twice before, eight and nine years ago. Both times we were there, we rented bikes and did varied touristy attractions; the museum next to the port, going to the local key lime shops, the lighthouse, the Southernmost Point landmark, and Margarhitaville. We feel that Key West has a lot to offer, so we never felt the need to lay on the beach (as days at sea are perfect for lounging). We did the same types of things this time around.

    I had gone to the Eaton Bikes website a week or so before our cruise to put a bike reservation in online for the three of us. It cost about $18pp/pd and I selected the time I wanted them dropped off (it was a little hard to predict this a week in advance). They delivered them to us at the Westin valet parking lot, very close to where we got off the ship. The bikes came with free locks, and you could select the bike type when you made your reservation (Cruiser, tricycle, road, etc.).

    We rode the bikes around the corner to Harry S. Truman’s Little White House, to purchase tickets for a tour. The tours run about every 25-30 minutes. Adult tickets cost $17 and I got a student rate ticket for $15. The weather forecast predicted thunderstorms later in the day, so we decided to wait until the weather got bad to go on the tour. We rode to the Southernmost Point, hoping to take a picture with the landmark, but the line was down the street and almost around the corner, so my mom snuck a picture of me standing a little bit away from it while people were transitioning. There was a man selling fresh coconut water (you got a coconut with straw) for $3- it was delicious and provided for some fun photo opps. We rode on a sidewalk path along Smathers beach, then out to a pier-type place, which gave us great views of the absolutely gorgeous water. We rode to a shopping area, heading to Kermit’s Key West Lime Shoppe, where we visited on our previous cruises. The shop is really neat, with key lime flavored everything from jellybeans to cookies to salsa. They offer samples of pretty much everything, so we helped ourselves. We bought some pie, limeade, and cookies, all delicious, and some salsa to take home. On the way out we saw a sign saying something about America’s Top 10 Dessert, which was frozen key lime pie dipped in chocolate on a stick, so we got one of those as well. It was also delicious, and tasted a lot like ice cream. We rode our bikes down to Duval St. to shop, and it was very lively and crowded. After purchasing a few souvenirs, we rode back to the Little White House and went on the 45 minute tour. (I apologize for the lack of photos, but no photography was allowed on the tour). We were able to see most of the rooms, and watch an informational film. It was a very interesting tour, and even as an older teen who isn’t a history fanatic, I was entertained the whole time. The tour ended around 4:05 and the last call for passenger boarding was 4:30, so we rode back around the corner to the port area. The Eaton Bikes deliverer said we could just lock the bikes on a certain rack near the Westin and leave the keys with the concierge. This made it very easy since we didn’t have to call the company to book a pick-up time. We locked the bikes up, handed in the keys, and were back on board by 4:15. We set sail around 5:00 and it was pouring rain. I decided to go to the gym for a quick run, because I wanted to be able to sample a few desserts at dinner. We relaxed in the room until about 6:45, went down to the San Marco where we got a pager for a 30-minute wait. We decided to check out the Oceanview Café again, sampling a few of the offerings before our pager buzzed. Once it did, we headed to the San Marco and were seated at the table next to the one we had the night before, with the same head, Valeriano, and assistant, Santano, waiters, who provided excellent service. The menu was Top Chef themed. DF and I got the tuna, and he also ordered Escargo. Valeriano brought another plate of Escargo for my mom and me to try. We loved it, and used the bread from the bread basket to eat with it, which served as a great complement. For our entrée, we all ordered the redfish with bbq shrimp and it was amazing. Valeriano also brought the mushroom over pumpkin puree dish for us to try, which was also very good. For desserts, we decided to order a bunch and share again. We got the crème brulee, pumpkin, chocolate cake with chai ice cream, and cheesecake with caramel topping. Valeriano brought us two more bowls of the chai ice cream, which I loved as I am a big fan of chai lattes. With the exception of the chocolate cake, desserts were all to die for.

     

    I met up with my friend and we had tea at the Oceanview Café until going to the Adult Comedy Show in the theater at 9:45. It was the same comedian as the night before, and this time he was even better! The show was definitely inappropriate for kids, but was absolutely hilarious. Afterwards, we went to bed.

    Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    We live in the Philadelphia area and have thought about driving to the cruise port in Fort Lauderdale. Thus far, we have flown from Phillie to Fort Lauderdale. Please describe how long your drive took, where to stop, etc. From your posting it appears that you drove straight through, without stopping overnight at a hotel along the way. Any suggestions regarding making the drive as easy as possible.

     

    We were on a time crunch with college classes letting out so driving straight through was our only option! We stopped at one or two rest areas in the Carolinas to sleep for an hour or so, but we had three drivers so we would take shifts.

    Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Day 1

    We drove down to Fort Lauderdale from Philly beginning the night before, and arrived at the port around 11, but a little confusing as to how to get to our ship’s station. We unloaded the suitcases, gave them to the porter, and DF drove the car to the long term parking lot right next to the luggage drop-off ($15/day). DF wanted to clean out the car but DM and I wanted to board, so we went ahead, and this wasn’t an issue with the check-in at all, they said they would look DF up on ship manifest (since we had the boarding pass paper with us). The port was nice, had flavored water available before boarding. We got our security picture taken, then the obligatory picture in front of the backdrop taken, then walked right onto the ship and were offered complimentary champagne or mimosas. Went right up to the Oceanview Café for lunch, got a table by the Sunset Bar, outdoor, in the back. It was lots of the same food, but also different stations: salad bar, pizza, ethnic foods, food salads, etc. The ice cream station was served to you, as opposed to self-serve. I have to say, the desserts weren’t too impressive today. At 1:00 there was an announcement that the cabins were ready, so we went and changed into our bathing suits (had brought them in our carry-on bags) and checked out the room. We had cabin 8080 which was a Concierge class balcony. Very nice, very spacious with lots of storage. We received complimentary champagne and fruit. We went to sit out in sun by pool deck, and it started to thunderstorm, so we explored the fitness center (huge and amazing) and the spa, as well as other areas, before heading back to the cabin to hang out. Our cabin steward came in around 3:00 and gave us all kinds of information about the cabin, concierge service, etc. He was VERY friendly and cheerful. The muster drill was at 3:15, was more extensive than those in past. We hung out in room until sailaway at 4:00, as we had a long trip to arrive in FL, and our bags FINALLY arrived a little after. Every other room’s bags had been delivered by 3:15 except about 5 rooms in our hallway ,including ours. We enjoyed the sail away on our balcony (we used to always go to the top deck for the sail away party, but were feeling a little tired) with our free horderves. We really liked the privacy and relaxing feeling of watching the sail away on our own balcony. I unpacked my clothes, then decided to hit the gym to make room for all of the food I would be eating on the cruise. We went to the San Marco restaurant at 7:15 only to find out that we would have a 20 minute wait to get a table. We thought we would have priority seating as Concierge Class members, but apparently this is only true for the specialty restaurants. You live and you learn, for we decided to make reservations after that. If you choose to opt out of an assigned dinner seating (6:00 or 8:15), like we did, you must sit on the 2nd level. We were kind of bummed out because on our last two NCL cruises, My Time dining was the norm, and we were always able to get a table by the windows to watch the ocean. Our waiter was very busy with lots of tables, but our assistant waiter was extremely helpful and friendly. Celebrity had announced that this would not be a dress code night, and it was very apparent, for all levels of dress were accounted for in the restaurant.

    We went to the comedy show straight from dinner, and the comedian was very funny. I saw that there was a gathering for people my age (18-20) at 9:45, so I decided to go and check it out. It was hard to figure out who was the correct age, but I ended up meeting another girl who was also a college freshman and we hit it off. We were both pretty tired, so agreed to meet up the next night, and headed out. I explored the ship for a while before grabbing a cookie at the Oceanview Café before heading to bed.

    Day-By-Day Review from Older Teen's Perspective: Celebrity Constellation 5-Night

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Hello Cruise Critic! In March I sailed the Celebrity Constellation for the first time, and have decided to write a day-by-day review of my trip. I apologize for the length of this review, as I am a very detailed person vEG2KTyvIR6jtgsnHYeG1ebbaIIIrI3K7rmN39eahfnRT9EytK99wp3IIQn1YLErRmckCNSfo5U8XujpCi7JOLIZpPptH4-Y8JZy57ETH8cTWnsVtjcUbRLhXnq9ukEm9bDIiKDK I have written two reviews before, of my family’s 6/2015 NCL Gem cruise and 3/2013 NCL Dawn cruise.

     

    Some background information: Our cruise was a 5-night sailing on the Celebrity Constellation out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. We traveled to Key West, FL and Cozumel, Mexico with two days at sea. This trip was a combined college spring break trip and birthday celebration, and I sailed with my DM and DF. This was our 6th cruise, but first on Celebrity, and my first being too old for the youth/teen programs. The first two were in 2007 and 2008, when I was in the kids club, on Royal Caribbean (Jewel OTS and Enchantment OTS). The other three were in 2012 on RCI’s Monarch OTS, 2013 on the NCL Dawn, and 2015 on the NCL Gem. We live outside of Philadelphia, PA, but wanted to save money so bit the bullet and drove to Fort Lauderdale instead of flying.

     

    This review will be from an older teen’s perspective. In researching and planning for this cruise, I was disappointed to see that there still is not much cruising information out there for young adults, particularly ones who are college-aged, but are not sailing on a cruise with a large group of college friends. I was apprehensive, for 18 is an awkward age, for you are not allowed to participate in the Teen Club, but are still under the drinking age. I understood that I would have access to the nightclubs and casino, but was apprehensive that there would not be any way for me to find things to do with other older teens in the same situation. Fortunately, my worries were eased and I was able to enjoy a fantastic cruise vacation with my parents.

     

    Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

    A Teen's Review of the NCL Gem 6/21-6/27/15

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Day 6- At Sea

    I slept in until 9:15 this morning, went to a very crowded Garden Cafe for a pre-run glass of water and banana. From 10-10:25 I was able to do my run on the treadmill easily- there were lots of machines available. I had breakfast with my parents at the Great Outdoors before returning to the fitness center to lift from 11-12 (again, mostly every machine was open). Afterwards, I met up with my friends at the Garden Cafe for lunch. We went to the sports deck at around 1:00 to checkout “Teen Capture the Flag”. It was cancelled so I went back to my cabin to pack up my suitcase before going back to the sports deck to play pickup soccer and basketball. There were TONS of kids on the sports deck so we ended up splitting the court with everyone else, which we made do. Afterwards we went to the Garden Cafe to have drinks and sit and talk for a while before going to get ready for dinner with our families. We were all a little sad since it was the last day, but knew we would make the most of it tonight.

     

    My parents and I decided we wanted to have Rachel as our waitress so we went to O’Sheehans for dinner. My dad was thankful he didn’t have to wear dress pants to dinner for once, but my mom and I still wore dresses, as we like to dress up when we get the opportunity. There weren’t too many dinner choices on the menu, and it was mostly “pub food”. My mom and I split the Spinach Artichoke Dip for a starter, which was good, a little too cheesy, and served hot, and it came with tortilla chips (I usually like my dip with pita chips or pita bread but it worked out fine), while my dad had the wings, which he enjoyed. Tonight’s dinner special was prime rib, I believe, so my dad ordered that and really liked it. My mom and I both got the grilled chicken sandwich which came with a side or fries and coleslaw. I put the coleslaw on my sandwich and it was DELICIOUS. For dessert, we got the brownie cheesecake which was pretty good. It was so nice having Rachel as our waitress like old times- she is definitely a GEM on the NCL Gem. (We later filled out a paper about her being our “Vacation hero”). Afterwards, my parents went to the photo gallery to buy some pictures of us, and I met up with my friends to go to the show. We went to the theater at 8:30 because the cruise director, Dan Dan had said seats would fill quickly, but we found that even by 9:00 there were plenty of seats available (I’m guessing people went to the earlier show). This was an aerialist show that was really neat and involved the audience a lot. We hit up our two favorite places for one last time- Bliss to do some karaoke, then the Garden Cafe for late-night desserts. Some of us had to go to bed around 12 because of early flights, so we said our goodbyes, and the rest of us played cards in the card room until we went to bed.

     

    And thus ends my amazing cruise vacation. Thank you for following along and please feel free to ask any questions!

    A Teen's Review of the NCL Gem 6/21-6/27/15

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Thank you for the wonderful, detailed review from exactly the perspective I was looking for! We will be traveling on the Jewel in a few months, and it will be my kid's first cruise.

     

    Unfortunately, they are split into different age groups and we are really curious how to make it work for them so they can have a great time. Sounds like a lot will depend on how stringently the staff adhere to the age policy.

     

    In terms of over 17's joining in on teen club activities, was it less of an issue if the activity was not in the actual Entourage lounge?

     

    I would say that this would vary from activity to activity. For example, we had to sign up for bowling in advance, and the sign-up sheet was in Entourage, so that probably wouldn't be allowed for anyone over 17, and same would go for any other events that you have to sign up for in advance. As for the activities such as Capture the Flag, kickball, and pickup type games, I don't see why that would be a problem!

×
×
  • Create New...