Opinions Requested. What's the best cruise for me?

[Sharon1225]

My husband and I don't cruise often. We're very locked into Marriott's time share and reward program. He travels a lot on business and has built up a lot of points and we've bought time share points. We're seniors, so it's not likely we would reach elite status on a cruise line even if we weren't locked into Marriott. Nevertheless, we would like to take a cruise ever now and then. It's nice to have all the meals paid for and fun to relax while looking out at the ocean.

 

Since we're already spending a lot on timeshare maintenance fees, any cruise we add would need to be low budget. A beverage package is a must. It'd be preferable for the cruise to be fairly short since my husband is still working. We like ships that are not crowded, have few children, and have good food in the main dining room.

 

We recently got back from a Celebrity Cruise (Constellation). The price was right. They even threw in the beverage package as a perk. What we didn't like was that it was crowded, there wasn't much to do on sea days, and the food in the main dining room was not good. We also don't like the Bahamas.

 

I think a perfect cruise for us would be one that would take us to a vacation area where we could stay a few days at a Marriott timeshare or hotel. I don't think that's available so I guess we're looking for an inexpensive cruise with a beverage package that's not crowded, has good food, and goes anywhere except the Bahamas or Mexico.

 

Any suggestions?

[Gunner22aa]

Celebrity has a good product, so does Princess and HAL and all would be a good fit for your age group.

 

You do have one problem though. That is the crowded thing. Most ships sail at or very near capacity these days and are busy places. Its hard to escape this. If the cruise lines arn't filling them where they are positioned now then they get moved to a market where they will fill up. Carnival pulled out of Europe this year for that very reason. The market was saturated, the European economy was and still is in the basement with the exception of one or two countries and there were enough European brands to handle the demand. Carnival owns some of them as well. You can research individual ships to find out the space to passenger ratio but its pretty much constant. the difference between 40 and 45 sq feet/passenger really doesn't mean a lot.

 

You can find luxury lines where there will be less crowding but they are going to be out of your budget.

 

As to children thats easy. Don't cruise during or near school breaks and you will encounter less children. Also longer trips to/from more exotic locations have far fewer children on them. Our 21 day Asia cruise which was sold out had exactly 3 children on it and the average passenger age was something like 67. We were the teens in our mid 50's. Again these kind of trips can cost a bunch so may be outside your budget as well

 

Although many cruise lines are moving towards all inclusive drink packages not all are there yet. Princess for example is trialing this concept on two of their ships at the moment. If its profitable for them I would expect it to be expanded. If it isn't it could go the way of the dodo.

 

Its a great vacation style and perhaps we will meet on board some day. Regardless enjoy!

[LHT28]

I have heard Azamara is good they have beverages included ..small ships

 

Not many main stream lines will give you what you want ..you need to compromise on some of your wishes

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

Edited January 10, 2014 by LHT28

[CaroleSS]

Have you considered a river cruise? Granted most are longer (I'd not want to fly all that way only to be on a short cruise). But they certainly don't have 1000+ people on them.

 

I doubt you'll find a cruise that will take you somewhere, drop you off and at some future time come and get you.

[Gunner22aa]

Most are 7 days at least with the major brand in the European market Viking. You can do back to back to extend the voyage. They principally cruise the Danube and the Rhine and are great options for history buffs in particular. Azamara is a nice brand as well sailing the old R Class ships that Raddison used to have when they were in the business. They do not however meet your wish of being less crowded as they are middle of the road for passenger/sq foot space wise. Thats going to be your toughest nut to crack. They are more upscale but their price reflects it. They are a good choice for less children and more exotic locations. They are making a name for themselves in the Asian market in a big way. Like Celebrity they are owned by Royal Caribbean.

[Sharon1225]

Its a great vacation style and perhaps we will meet on board some day. Regardless enjoy!

 

Thank you, Gunner. You've given me some ideas. We might want to save our cruise dollars until my husband retires and take a trans-Atlantic cruise. Then we can stay awhile in a Marriott timeshare or resort. Right now, we're taking all our kids and grand kids to the beach. That eats up a lot of timeshare points, so we keep purchasing more. I think we're going to purchase another batch of points this year to boost us to another level. That will raise the cost of our annual time share maintenance fees.

 

Perhaps before the long cruise, we might take a short on in November. I heard there's less children that time of year. You're probably right, though, that they manage to fill their boats one way or another.

[Sharon1225]

Have you considered a river cruise? Granted most are longer (I'd not want to fly all that way only to be on a short cruise). But they certainly don't have 1000+ people on them.

 

I doubt you'll find a cruise that will take you somewhere, drop you off and at some future time come and get you.

 

You're right that a cruise won't come back and get you....at least not without charging you for another cruise and that would be expensive. Actually, Alaskan cruises start in Canada and go to Anchorage. They have some that do it in reverse. One could stay awhile and take another cruise back but there wouldn't be much point since most people have to fly home, anyway. There are cruise and land tours in Alaska. There may be for other destinations, too.

 

There's repositioning cruises that one can get at a discount. Some goes overseas and that would result in having to fly back from that country.

[crystalspin]

That was one freak occurrence -- to have the beverage package included! Not to say there will NEVER be another freak, but you might miss the ideal cruise if you "insist" on that feature... The cruises sell the UBP because it MAKES them money. So if you are on a budget, really really consider if $49 a day APIECE is economically sound. This means embarkation (but not disembarkation) day and every other day including port days when you may be off ship having your fill of $1 beers under a palapa!

 

I suggest multiplying $49 by the days by the two (?) of you and budgeting that much for non-included beverages. I'm pretty sure you will come out ahead!

 

Also, look into whether your cruise line of choice sells pre-cruise bar setup in room. On NCL it is US$80/liter bottle for the 'house' brands ($100/120 for premium brands) plus $3 service fee, no tax, no gratuity, and you get some mixers and/or garnishes for the price. You may have to ask on the specific line's CC board or your roll call, as the lines don't seem to publicize it much (Hint -- it's a good deal compared to by the drink prices IF YOU DRINK THAT MUCH OF ONE LIQUOR). A liter is equivalent to ~22 1.5oz jiggers. You can pour/mix the drink in your cabin and take it anywhere on board.

[Sharon1225]

That was one freak occurrence -- to have the beverage package included! Not to say there will NEVER be another freak, but you might miss the ideal cruise if you "insist" on that feature... The cruises sell the UBP because it MAKES them money. So if you are on a budget, really really consider if $49 a day APIECE is economically sound. This means embarkation (but not disembarkation) day and every other day including port days when you may be off ship having your fill of $1 beers under a palapa!

 

I suggest multiplying $49 by the days by the two (?) of you and budgeting that much for non-included beverages. I'm pretty sure you will come out ahead!

 

Also, look into whether your cruise line of choice sells pre-cruise bar setup in room. On NCL it is US$80/liter bottle for the 'house' brands ($100/120 for premium brands) plus $3 service fee, no tax, no gratuity, and you get some mixers and/or garnishes for the price. You may have to ask on the specific line's CC board or your roll call, as the lines don't seem to publicize it much (Hint -- it's a good deal compared to by the drink prices IF YOU DRINK THAT MUCH OF ONE LIQUOR). A liter is equivalent to ~22 1.5oz jiggers. You can pour/mix the drink in your cabin and take it anywhere on board.

 

Celebrity does that often. I don't know how long they will continue, but they offer that package as a perk frequently. The offer is going on right now. We can't book right now, but it's available. I don't know of any other cruise line that has such offer.

 

Those are some good suggestions. Thank you.

[Sharon1225]

The crowdedness of my recent cruise wasn't caused just by all rooms being filled but by the majority of the ship being herded into the same areas on the ship at the same times. I've been on some ships that had lots of different activities going on all over the ship which caused the population to be spread out around the ship. Other cruise ships had the main dining room open for lunch during sea day and some had more than one buffet restaurant. This ship closed it's bars during the day and it's main dining room for lunch. There was just one buffet. There was an art auction but not much else going on. That put everyone in the pool or buffet cafe. In other words, most of the ship was in the same areas. On one port day, it rained causing a lot of people to go back to the ship. On top of that, more people were in the covered pool area than the open one. We only had 3 bars open which caused the bartenders to be rushed. No, make that 4. The casino was open. Some of the passengers were in the casino.

 

There's probably some ships that even though they are full manage to spread out the ship population.

[boulders]

There are repositioning cruises that go from Vancouver to Hawaii and vice versa. There are excellent Marriott Vacation Clubs in Hawaii. You would need at more than 2 weeks for such a trip though. We often combine a cruise with a timeshare stay in Florida.

 

I would suggest you give Holland America cruises a try. Holland America does a great job of spreading people out on their ships. The MDR is open for lunch. They also have a great room service menu. I haven't been on Celebrity, but have been many times on Royal Caribbean, their sister line. HAL's pool deck and buffet areas are much less crowded.

[Karysa]

My husband and I don't cruise often. We're very locked into Marriott's time share and reward program. He travels a lot on business and has built up a lot of points and we've bought time share points. We're seniors, so it's not likely we would reach elite status on a cruise line even if we weren't locked into Marriott. Nevertheless, we would like to take a cruise ever now and then. It's nice to have all the meals paid for and fun to relax while looking out at the ocean.

 

Since we're already spending a lot on timeshare maintenance fees, any cruise we add would need to be low budget. A beverage package is a must. It'd be preferable for the cruise to be fairly short since my husband is still working. We like ships that are not crowded, have few children, and have good food in the main dining room.

 

We recently got back from a Celebrity Cruise (Constellation). The price was right. They even threw in the beverage package as a perk. What we didn't like was that it was crowded, there wasn't much to do on sea days, and the food in the main dining room was not good. We also don't like the Bahamas.

 

I think a perfect cruise for us would be one that would take us to a vacation area where we could stay a few days at a Marriott timeshare or hotel. I don't think that's available so I guess we're looking for an inexpensive cruise with a beverage package that's not crowded, has good food, and goes anywhere except the Bahamas or Mexico.

 

Any suggestions?

 

I suggest that if you do find a cruise that has everything in your wish list that you come back and share it with the rest of us. Sounds like it would be appealing to many ccer's. Some cruises to Bermuda stay in the same port for several days so perhaps you could look in to cruises to Bermuda. It wouldn't solve the staying at the Mariott but perhaps you could find night life in the port that you would prefer to the entertainment and activities found on cruise ships.

[boogs]

We recently got back from a Celebrity Cruise (Constellation). The price was right. They even threw in the beverage package as a perk. What we didn't like was that it was crowded, there wasn't much to do on sea days, and the food in the main dining room was not good. We also don't like the Bahamas.

 

If you didn't like the food or amount of people on Celebrity, which has consistently been voted one of the top cruise lines, you will not be happy on any of the mass market lines. Your only option is to cruise with the smaller lines, who have smaller ships. However, they cost more - sometimes 2 to 3 times more - and they have fewer activities to keep you entertained.