New to cruising, first post..

[Duff81]

Hi i am new to this forum. Looking at getting lots of tips for our first cruise next year.:) i am just wondering if anyone can help as I'm new to cruising. I messaged Royal Caribbean on Facebook asking when they will be releasing September 2015 sailing dates. We are looking to do a three day bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral as a taster, we will then have two weeks in a villa. The reply i got was "sorry september 2015 is no longer on sale, we hope you can find an alternative date to suit your needs". Are the short cruises being stopped from Port Canaveral? We where really looking forward to our first mini cruise! Thank you in advance for any reply's! :)

[mxylpic]

Hi i am new to this forum. Looking at getting lots of tips for our first cruise next year.:) i am just wondering if anyone can help as I'm new to cruising. I messaged Royal Caribbean on Facebook asking when they will be releasing September 2015 sailing dates. We are looking to do a three day bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral as a taster, we will then have two weeks in a villa. The reply i got was "sorry September 2015 is no longer on sale, we hope you can find an alternative date to suit your needs". Are the short cruises being stopped from Port Canaveral? We where really looking forward to our first mini cruise! Thank you in advance for any reply's! :)

 

RC will not end the short cruises, but right now none are listed for Sept '15. It's possible Enchantment OTS which is now on the 3/4 day run is being moved out and they haven't decided on a replacement ship yet. The 3/4 day runs are a great intro to cruising. If you just wait awhile those days will open up once RC figures what ship will take over.

 

Welcome to CC. Lot's of info here, and lots of strong opinions on certain topics. Have fun.

[BillB48]

Welcome to this corner of the www! I think what you have run into is they actually have not released those schedules as yet. The Enchantment which is presently doing that itinerary has a schedule that only runs through March. I am sure that some ship and more likely the Enchantment will be offering that itinerary at the time you want to go. Royal is in the process of releasing sailings for the remainder of 2015 and 16, but it comes out a few here and a few there. I believe you should have the info you want in the next couple of months.

[39august]

Just wait a bit. There will be some of these cruises, but RCI has not yet released the dates. I expect those will be on line before the end of April.

[SJS]

If you can, I would recommend you do a 4 day cruise rather than a 3 day one. You still have a short cruise but will get to experience two different ports and one day at sea. The 3 day cruises just go by way to quickly!

[Ourusualbeach]

Short itineraries will be released the week of March 31'st according to the recently updated deployment schedule.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2015_2016/14037156_Deployment_Opening_Flyer_FINAL3.pdf

Edited March 22, 2014 by Ourusualbeach

[cb at sea]

Just so you know...the "taste" (or feel!) of a 3 nighter is NOTHING like a 7 nighter! Totally different type of cruise! A weeklong cruise will be more laid-back and relaxing. The 3 nighters are full of folks trying to cram a weeks worth of fun into a short time....so it's more hectic overall. 3 nights means you only get 2 full days. Your first day is only 1/2 day, if you get on the ship early! The last morning you will be OFF the ship before 10am....so that day doesn't count at all!

[Duff81]

Thank you all for your replies, i will just keep looking and hopefully they will release the dates soon. I was looking at a four day one as well, so will probably go for that one.:)

[mxylpic]

Just so you know...the "taste" (or feel!) of a 3 nighter is NOTHING like a 7 nighter! Totally different type of cruise! A weeklong cruise will be more laid-back and relaxing. The 3 nighters are full of folks trying to cram a weeks worth of fun into a short time....so it's more hectic overall. 3 nights means you only get 2 full days. Your first day is only 1/2 day, if you get on the ship early! The last morning you will be OFF the ship before 10am....so that day doesn't count at all!

 

Can't say I disagree. But if I were new to it, I'd hate to find out I'm not a fan of cruising on day 3 of a seven nighter. And really 3 may be not as good as four but it's much better than 0 days on a ship, IMHO. :D

[lovetocruise75]

Welcome!

It is smart to start with a short cruise. At least you'll know if you enjoy sailing.

 

We jumped in with both feet and took an 11 day for our first and loved it. LOL

Have fun!!

[kruise runner]

Welcome

You will get all kinds of info here . Sounds like you have a plan of sorts. Doing a short cruise is a good idea to test out . They tend to get a little hectic ,as said before. If a good idea of cruising is what your after a 4 to 5 days will give an over all experience . We started with a 7 day Eastern loved it and became addicted. Enjoy whatever your choice . Happy cruising:)

kruiserunner:cool:

Edited March 23, 2014 by kruise runner

[beerman2]

Enjoy your planning, it IS an exciting time. Beware you can become addicted.

 

We started on a ship with no balconies to saying I want to go on a bigger one next time, then to a bigger ship next time, to an even bigger ship AND a different cruiseline this time.

 

And even though there is much debate about balcony/ocean view/ inside, now that we have had a balcony room we will never go back to anything but the Balcony.

 

To us it is worth the extra money. IMHO

[Duff81]

Thank you for all the information, we are going to book a balcony room as ive looked at the inside rooms and i am worried i might feel a bit claustraphopbic in one! They are probably ok, but i like the look of the balcony.

We have been holidaying in florida for a few years and got married on cocoa beach, ive always fancied doing a cruise but its took me a while to presuade my husband! Our two daughters age 17 and 15 at the time of travelling will be coming with us, is one room big enough for a family of four?

[Ourusualbeach]

Thank you for all the information, we are going to book a balcony room as ive looked at the inside rooms and i am worried i might feel a bit claustraphopbic in one! They are probably ok, but i like the look of the balcony.

We have been holidaying in florida for a few years and got married on cocoa beach, ive always fancied doing a cruise but its took me a while to presuade my husband! Our two daughters age 17 and 15 at the time of travelling will be coming with us, is one room big enough for a family of four?

 

While technically it will sleep 4 and many people do travel that way I would give a very strong vote to get 2 cabins. Get your balcony with an inside across the hall for your daughters. Everyone will have a bit of privacy and you will get 2 bathrooms.

 

We travelled as 4 in a cabin for the first year but have now switched to 2 cabins and our kids are 10 and 12.

 

You may also find that it is not that much more to put the kids in their own inside than it is to have them pay the 3/4 rate in the balcony.

[nbsjcruiser]

Hi i am new to this forum. Looking at getting lots of tips for our first cruise next year.:) i am just wondering if anyone can help as I'm new to cruising. I messaged Royal Caribbean on Facebook asking when they will be releasing September 2015 sailing dates. We are looking to do a three day bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral as a taster, we will then have two weeks in a villa. The reply i got was "sorry september 2015 is no longer on sale, we hope you can find an alternative date to suit your needs". Are the short cruises being stopped from Port Canaveral? We where really looking forward to our first mini cruise! Thank you in advance for any reply's! :)

 

You could also consider the Majesty of the Seas 4 day short cruise out of Miami once the schedule is released. I've got a recent review of the Majesty and the 4 day itinerary here if you're interested to see what the ship is like - > http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2002740 . We've done that itinerary 4 times. Its a smaller ship but the service and food was excellent in February when we last sailed on her. You could probably get an inside cabin for somewhere around $650 which is cheap for 4 days.

Edited March 23, 2014 by nbsjcruiser