Bad idea?

[phnx118]

Hi All, I have been lurking on these boards for a long time, but not really posting much, but now I would really like to reach out for some advice. I have been trying for years to get my DH to agree to a cruise, we did have one booked last year, but we had to cancel. It took another year for him to agree to try again and I am beginning to wonder if I made a poor choice in the cruise I booked.

First it is still more than a year away, not sure I want to give him that much time to change his mind:p

AND..its a 12 night cruise..is this too long for a reluctant cruiser? He had never been on a cruise before, and the only one I have been on was..well..a very long time ago. Opinions?

[spookwife]

yes 12 nights is too long.

 

I'd start with a 3-5 day one first then expand if he ends up liking it after all.

[GORDONCHICK]

It could be, but my very 1st cruise was a 12-nighter, which began my love of cruising! I don't think 3-5 night cruises are good for much other than finding out if you get seasick. For all it takes to get ready and to the ship, I won't cruise for less than 7 nights! And I do get seasick - I just take Bonine every evening before dinner and will take another if I see the barf bags laying around (good indication that it might get rough that night).

[Georgiaboy6985]

I just went n my first cruise on the Carnival Freedom February 3rd. Ill agree with the previous poster that 12 nights might be too long for your first. My first was a 6 day. it wasnt bad at all i had a goodtime but by the fifth or 6th day u might be thinking about a shorter one. BUT i just booked another one for january 2014 on the Carnival Dream and its a 7 day. Cant wait. Its all according to your preference, but id start with no more then a six or 7 day if i were you

[janetz]

Yes, 12 may be to long for him. Where are you going? I would maybe think about switching to a 7 day. ;) I see your in NH. Have you looked into cruising from NY, NJ, or Boston?

[Georgiaboy6985]

hey whats the 5000+ club?

[wwcruisers]

Hi All, I have been lurking on these boards for a long time, but not really posting much, but now I would really like to reach out for some advice. I have been trying for years to get my DH to agree to a cruise, we did have one booked last year, but we had to cancel. It took another year for him to agree to try again and I am beginning to wonder if I made a poor choice in the cruise I booked.

First it is still more than a year away, not sure I want to give him that much time to change his mind:p

AND..its a 12 night cruise..is this too long for a reluctant cruiser? He had never been on a cruise before, and the only one I have been on was..well..a very long time ago. Opinions?

 

Well, IMHO -- it could go either way. If your DH (and you) love the ship and itinerary, 12 days will not nearly be enough. But, if that doesn't prove to be the case, you may both be pretty miserable. It's not like a land vacation, where you can easily pack up and go home early. As to booking a year ahead, I don't see anything wrong with that. It will give you plenty of time to research your ship, your route, and everything you want to see and do on the cruise. And, we can help you with that -- no need to lurk any longer! :D

[janetz]

hey whats the 5000+ club?

 

Over 5000 posts. ;) I spend too much time here...

[Georgiaboy6985]

lol oh ok

[Pam in CA]

I agree that a 12-day cruise might be too long but it really depends on the individual. If you live near a port and your cruise line offers a "Bon Voyage Experience" where you can board for several hours, explore the ship and amenities, and are wined and dined, that's a great way to introduce someone to ships and cruising. They can see and read the dinner menus, take a peek at cabins, see the ship's newsletter of activities, check out the gym, etc.

[BobE]

12 days for the first time may be too long...or then again...not long enough...I'm trying to talk my wife into a 181 World Cruise....No luck so far, but she is considering a 35 day out of New York....after 31 cruises, 7 days never seems long enough....Good Luck with the husband....gee, how could he not like cruising.....

 

Bob E:D

[Underwatr]

Our first cruise was 10 nights. A 3-5 day cruise has a different vibe than a cruise of a week or longer. I wouldn't encourage a reluctant first-timer to book less than a week...

[London-Calling]

Too long?

 

For us Brits the standard cruise length is often 14 nights.

 

I have done shorter cruises, but I can find that it can take a week to get into ship-board life. I only really start relaxing and getting in the swing of things during week two.

 

Mini-cruises all far too rushed - it's all preparation and travel and very little outcome!

 

Anyway, day 7 -12 will go much quicker than day 1-7.

 

He will love it.

[Hlitner]

Well, we used to wonder if a 7 day cruise was too long. The we wondered about 10 days. Then 2 weeks, then 3 weeks then 4 weeks, and we finally did 2 months (still too short). But for the OP we have no advice since there is just no way to predict with new cruisers (or some experienced cruisers). If he enjoys the experience then 12 days will be fine. If he hates the entire concept then 1 day will be too long. But, you never know till you try. For us it has been the cruse from hell. DW did love her first cruise and then it started "when are we taking another cruise." Now, after more then 2 years at sea, more then 65 different ships of 14 cruise lines it is still the same....."when are we taking another cruise or even worse...."we are taking another cruise NOW!"

 

Hank

[Teeara]

12 days might be too long for a hesitant cruiser. 7 days is perfect for a first timer.

[johneeo]

yes 12 nights is too long.

 

I'd start with a 3-5 day one first then expand if he ends up liking it after all.

 

I strongly disagree.

 

I could not imagine taking a 3 day cruise.

 

Anything less than 7 days is NOT a real cruise.

 

And if he cannot enjoy a 12 day cruise, toss him overboard. Not worth keeping.:rolleyes:

[hladygirl]

Our first cruise was 15 nights. My dh did not want such a long cruise. He caved and agreed for me to book it. After 15 nights he did not want to get off the ship. Next cruise was 12 nights and he felt it was too short.

[trish1c]

It would be way too long for me. My 1st cruise was only 4 days. I wanted to make sure I really enjoyed it & didn't feel trapped. 7 days is perfect. We usually cruise for about 10 days & that is too long for me, even though we like cruising.

[Essiesmom]

I would not do a 3-5 day cruise. As another person mentioned, the ambience is different on the short cruise...Groups of people trying to cram a week of vacation 'fun' into three days. Even with the Celebrity short cruises, done on Constellation this year, there is a difference in the passenger behavior on 4 and five day cruises. Much more dignified by just adding that day. What does your husband think he won't like about cruising? EM

[kitty9]

12 nights are too many for someone who is being difficult. Just imagine how miserable you'll be if your DH hates the cruise.

[room010]

Which cruise line, ship and itinerary have you booked? It can make a huge difference.

[Happy ks]

I'll agree with others, a 3/4 night cruise just isn't the same experience as a 7+night cruise. We've been on plenty of 3/4 night cruises, as a fill in fix in between longer cruises.

 

I think a 12 night cruise sounds perfect for a first time cruise.

[Cruisin' Chick]

You might consider combining a short cruise (3 to 4 days) with a land trip. That way, if your husband really doesn't like cruising, you won't have to hear about it for a whole week. But do advise him that the first day is often spent getting used to the layout of a ship and the last day is often about packing to get off the ship (or you can live out of your suitcase, which would give you more time).

 

When I first started dating my hubby, he had already been on a cruise. He had also gone on this one-day cruise that was a gamblers' special type of cruise (that one-ship cruise line is out of business now, I believe). He suggested I try it out as I've just been on very short (three hour cruise in a marina and a day trip to Catalina Island) cruises, so we went on one (San Diego RT to Ensenada) before booking a 7-day cruise on a Carnival ship. Despite my tendency to have motion sickness, I liked the 7-day cruise and since then, any vacation longer than a couple of days (aside from our honeymoon in Hawaii) has involved a cruise. Our last three cruises have been two week cruises (and yes, I pack a lot of ginger).

[tak81288]

I guess it depends on why he thinks he won't like cruising.

 

With that being said, 12 nights may or may not be too much but it depends on the itinerary and ship you have chosen.

 

If he likes to see new places, but isn't sure about the actual "cruising" part, it may be okay if you booked an itinerary with several ports and very few sea days. That way, even if he doesn't like the cruise, then there will be more time spent in the ports than on the actual ship so he should still have a relatively good time.

 

If you didn't book a port intensive itinerary, then hopefully you booked a ship that has many amenities on it that will hopefully keep him busy so he doesn't get too reckless or feel as though he is "stuck" on a ship.

[Cuizer2]

Hi All, I have been lurking on these boards for a long time, but not really posting much, but now I would really like to reach out for some advice. I have been trying for years to get my DH to agree to a cruise, we did have one booked last year, but we had to cancel. It took another year for him to agree to try again and I am beginning to wonder if I made a poor choice in the cruise I booked.

First it is still more than a year away, not sure I want to give him that much time to change his mind:p

AND..its a 12 night cruise..is this too long for a reluctant cruiser? He had never been on a cruise before, and the only one I have been on was..well..a very long time ago. Opinions?

 

You haven't posted much. Considering that this is your first post, I'm going to have agree with you.

 

First cruise is a twelve nighter. I would not recommend that. Something in the three to five night range would be better. That said, I first cruise was 14 nights in an inside cabin on a very old ship that really didn't have much to offer. If that was all there was, I don't think I would have continued (I am less than one week away from my 22nd cruise). However, we were docked next to the Carnival Jubilee one day and I could see that ship had more to offer. So my second cruise was three nights on the Carnival Holiday. That was when I could see there were real possibilities. My third cruise was a one week cruise on the then two year old Carnival Pride. That was the cruise that hooked me.

 

Here is the thing. Anything less than five nights and all you really get is a taste (kind of like eating only one potato chip). One week is fairly standard and gives you a very good feel for cruising. Longer than one week and it is pure heaven.

 

But there are other things to consider. A three night weekend cruise is more or less a party cruise. By the time you get to six to eight nights you start to see a more family oriented group of passengers. Once you get past eight nights you start to see an old group of passengers, as most young families cannot afford the cost of three or four people for nine or more nights.

 

You don't mention the cruise line or where you are going, but that also makes a difference. For example, Carnival, Disney, NCL and Royal Caribbean are all family oriented. Princess is family oriented when kids are normally out of school and more adult oriented when kids are normally in school. If you go on HAL and Celebrity when school is in session you will see very few kids. Once you move up into the luxury cruises (Seabourn, Regent, Silversea or Crystal) you are not likely to see many kids at any time.

 

I've been on one week cruises on Carnival and NCL during school time and there were still 100 to 150 children on the cruise. I've been on longer Carnival and NCL cruises during school time and there were maybe 20 kids. Of course I've been on the large Royal Caribbean ships for one week during school vacation and there were 800+ kids on the cruise. Then again, I was on a ship that was definitely not family oriented during the summer (school vacation time) in Alaska for two weeks and there were very few kids. On the other hand, I took a nine night cruise on Princess in the summer and there were lots of kids. So cruise length and time of the year make a difference.

 

Where are you going? The Caribbean is very kid friendly, while Alaska and the east coast of Canada less so.

 

Is you husband more interested in non-stop activities or educational lectures? For activities, check out Carnival, NCL and Royal Caribbean. For educational lectures check out HAL and Celebrity. Princes is sort of halfway between the two. The luxury lines expect you to entertain yourself but do have a very good educational program.

 

So there are many factors to consider. A good travel agent might be helpful to you. However, note I said a good travel agent. Interview a few and pick one that is interested in what you want to do, not what they want you to do. Also check for membership in professional travel and cruise related organizations. And find out what kind of experience they have cruising. Some specialize in one line, and will try and steer you in that direction. That is great if that cruise line is a good mix for you. Not so good if it isn't.

 

Perhaps the best example of this comes from a review I read. The family wanted a "Disney" experience. Simple logic would suggest a cruise on a Disney ship (or at least Carnival). But no, the agent put them on a Celebrity ship and they hated it. That was not Celebrity's fault, is was an agent that took advantage of a family that didn't do their homework and didn't realize what a bad choice Celebrity was for them, or they didn't know that Disney operates cruise ships. Meanwhile the agent probably got a higher commission from Celebrity and made a lot of money off the family, though likely lost a long term customer.

 

My agent provides good service, but no perks. The result, she has been there when things didn't go right and as a result I have booked thirteen cruises with this agency totaling over $30,000 over seven years. Some agents provide perks, but what they are really doing to cutting into their commission. This is great until something goes wrong and the agent doesn't provide the service necessary to fix the problem. Want a few examples?

 

1) I signed up for luggage express at the end of an NCL cruise. But because of a delay in debarkation they would not take my luggage to the airport for me as I had an early flight. It took several calls over several weeks to get my $15 refunded. For that small amount I would have given up.

 

2) She also got up at 5:00am too make sure I got a very hard to get cabin on a cruise I wanted. There are only four on the ship and they sold out within the first hour that they became available - and I got one of them.

 

3) I receive a huge $600 price reduction on one cruise. That meant my agent lost at least $90 in commission. Yet I had no trouble getting the refund. Some agent charge for this, as it is cost them money in lost commissions.

 

4) I also had to cancel a cruise once and rebooked a less expensive cruise. Some agencies charge a fee for cancellations (as they will not receive a commission, though they did spend time booking the cruise). I did not have to pay a fee.

 

So perhaps the perk I receive is the good service.