What do you look for in a cruise?

[chorder]

This April will be my wife and I's 5th cruise we have only been on RCCL so I cannot compare to other lines.I will admit the quality of the food has dropped off a bit since our 1st cruise in 99,but the cost of a cruise really hasn't gone up that much.(just for comparison try a Disney 7 day moderate resort with a dining package L/theme park tickets.I'll take a cruise vakay any day.We just kinda like to to sip a few drinks and relax in the sun.Have never been real crazy about the entertainment or actual cruise activities. We just like meeting different people and seeing the ports and enjoying the warm weather.(we are from Maine)also we have always had good service.and that is good enough for us .what about others?

[above sea level cruiser]

A ship with a watertight hull?:rolleyes:

 

Just kidding!!

 

Actually, we look for anything different. It amazes me that there are so many different aspects and so many different things to do on any ship. I love to explore all the different areas of all ships. Even a cruise to nowhere would suit me. So would staying tied up at the dock and never moving, or a seven day cruise, or a twenty seven day cruise, cruise around the world....OK you get the picture.

 

Have fun!!:)

[sas80]

For us it's a great way to see many different places in a week.

We prefer a bit more activity on a vacation than just 'laying around on a beach drinking'.

A cruise is the perfect way to combine new places, warm sunny beaches, our favorite drinks, new people and a smorgasboard of potential activities to occupy our time!

 

That and we can get fat, cheap! :D

[brmoqueen]

Much prefer a cruise to a land vacation, cuz work cannot get in touch with me....(cel phones are usually not able to work)....and if I'm out in the middle of nowhere, there's not much I can rush home for....for some reason I feel like if I'm in the states then I have to take the calls....

 

Pampering.....Dining (we hate the way the dining is changing---we like the dressing up and several course meals).....sitting on a balcony watching waves and drinking a margarita....meeting people....

 

ANYTHING about a cruise....that's what we like!!

 

Leaving next week on Brilliance and one year and a week til Serenade :)

[melbchick]

Just get me on a ship and I'm happy....I don't care if it goes anywhere. I just love being away from home and the activity on the ship. I'm with the person who doesn't care if you stay at the dock or at sea the whole cruise. I make sure to enjoy the activities while onboard, but I also enjoy meeting new people along with the staff. Living so close to the port is nice as it allows me to take weekend cruises. I have met and kept in touch with some of the crew and when they get time in the port we'll go meet them for lunch or just to chit chat. My family says I just need to go live on a ship....hahaha:p . If I win the lottery I just may do that! :rolleyes: But seriously....I just enjoy being on the ship relaxing and not worrying at all about work, home, life in general!

[hstrybuf]

I like to try new ships, ones that I haven't sailed on previously. I also try to find itineraries with favorite ports or at least one port that we have yet to explore. When I'm on the ship, I'd like to find that it's clean, the service good to great, the crew and passengers friendly. Anything beyond that is a plus!

[SheilaNC]

All of the above AND 'unpacking only once'. I love having my hotel take me where I want to go and then having the option of doing it all or doing nothing at all. We've done both...very port intensive, busy, tiring but exhilarating Mediterranean, physically challenging and amazing Galapagos, relaxing and snorkeling the Caribbean, etc. Each has its own special charm. We've made great friends with whom we keep in touch, decide each day if we want to dress or go to the shows or not. In other words, we love cruising and, especially, the service and pampering as well as enjoying the occasional land trip. For those, we tend to exchange our timeshare so that, once again, we only unpack once. Do you see a trend here/ :)

[Island dreaming]

The thing I like most about cruising is that once you have paid for the cruise you don't have much else to pay for. You only need money for drinks and soviners(sp?). I also really like that it is a lot warmer in the caribbean than it is in Minnesota.

[zotzer]

Above all, I love the pampering and being waited on and taken care of. The coolest part of cruising is it can be whatever you want it to be....whatever you are in the mood for that day. All action, no action, relaxation, excitement...it all goes on all the time, and it is whatever you make it.

 

Tracy

[AFT_LOVER]

since we are Diamond, we are spoiled rotten, just the way I love it! Great polos for my husband, cute tops for me, we each got ear buds radio that is a Radiance Class ship (from party on Radiance last year), tote bags with Radiance engraved in various colors on it, aqua mouse for husband the computer wiz, me a magnet that was Radiance for my fridge.

 

We love to sail around the world, in 20 cruises we have not visited the same port twice. My 25 cu ft Amana is half covered in magnets, so we are working on the other half.

 

I love my verandah as I shoot photographs arriving in port, wave at the hard working port guys who tie us up. Love coffee & danish out on the verandah in our robes after showers. Then to breakfast & off to see the world. We love bus rides that show us everywhere & stop at various places to photograph areas, do some magnet shopping for everywhere we go. After getting very ill in Mexico, we have pledged never to eat off the ship.

 

Good entertainment is a must, great food with great service should follow us, smiles from everyone working or cruising makes our days.

 

5/14 Europe/Scandinavia Member Cruise is next after we are at our timeshare in Maui in February. Then Oct 15 on Freedom. Hope more of you are with me, let me know ;-)

[chorder]

Love to hear that the only real expectation from you all is just getting on the ship and relaxing

[navel1ring]

We can't think of a better way to see the world! We try to see as much as possible in every port. I love dressing for dinner & rarely go casual. Enjoy the shows & best of all basically being out of touch. It's great to step out of reality for a short period of time & enjoy each other & meet great new friends. We plan on seeing all corners of the world by crusie ship!!!

 

Happy travels-

 

Wendy & Tom

[kenandlaura06]

We enjoy the possibilty of seeing several places while only unpacking once, as well as getting pampered and being able to see the amazing sight of seeing the ocean.

[mutual]

We like having to unpack only once, the constant change of scenery, good food and the chance to meet interesting people.

[tinsel57]

Overall, the pampering. We lead very busy lives, frequently working 7 days a week. So I can tell you one of the highlights of my life was when my table waiter scolded me for pushing my own chair in! He said it was HIS job, after all, I was on vacation!

 

Now that is what I pay for and will continue to pay for again and again, gladly with a whopping big smile on my face!!

 

The gentleman was tipped quite well at the end of our sail... now fast forward to 15 months later. New Cruise, Day one, standing in line at the buffet and a voice behind me says, there is a familiar face I have not seen in a while... and it was my table water from the previous cruise! How on earth, dealing with thousands on a weekly basis, did he remember me? I am no raving beauty! Just your typical middle aged housewife!

 

Even though he was not my table waiter on this cruise, at the end of the cruise I tipped him anyway, just for remembering me and coming to say hello!! AND he protested!! Said no please no.. it is not necessary.

 

This is a young man the same age as my son, not a peer and to me, that's just amazing.

 

Second to that is that luxury of going places we wouldn't be brave enough to venture out on our own and yet we not only feel safe but have a wonderful time, without the hassles of fighting language barriers, trying to read road signs in a foreign language plus drive and dealing with currency exchanges, all the while wondering if we're being taken!! All of that's eliminated.

 

I can tell you that Belize and Costa Maya would never have been on my top 10 places to visit list but I did it any way and while they're still not on my tip 10 list. (:)) I am glad I went anyway!

 

Third, even at my middle age, I get to push the envelope and force myself out of my comfort zone to do things I have never done before. Never snorkeled in my entire life but jumped right off the boat into the sea and now you can't get me out of it!

 

I am going on my first helicopter ride this year and hope to zip line too!

 

And lastly, because both of us are having our basic and then some needs taken care of by the marvelous cruise staff, my husband devotes all of his cruise time to being with me.

 

And that is what I call priceless.

[TEXASMUNK]

A crew that knows how to smile and enjoy their jobs.

 

A cabin that is clean and comfortable.

 

A bartender that knows how to make a great martini.

 

A dance band that does not play Hip Hop

 

A pool band that understands the value of a steel drum and Jimmy Buffett music.

 

Shows that entertain, nope, don't expect broadway quality, just enjoyable.

 

A waiter that undersands good service, gives good service and food that is tasty, does not have to be Ruth Cris quality steaks, but good, tasty and enjoyable.

 

AND..passengers that respect each other....all of the above goes down the toilet when Little Johnny or Little Sally are allowed to run through the ship like untrained animals or the mommy and daddy of little johnny or little mary are ill mannered, etc.

[icanflossu]

....all of the above goes down the toilet when Little Johnny or Little Sally are allowed to run through the ship like untrained animals or the mommy and daddy of little johnny or little mary are ill mannered, etc.

 

 

because, apparently, only families on a cruise ship misbehave.....

 

For me, I just love not "having" to do anything, except the muster drill. The biggest decisions of the day can literally be is it time to sit in the shade yet and who's turn is it to get the drinks.....paradise.

[MarilynJeff]

A few years ago I finally got my husband to cruise. Now he says it is the only way to go, as he only moves the bags once and the kids are all happy. We enjoy the cruises that visit alot of different places. Days at sea can get very long. He likes the bigger ships - more to do. I say I don't have to clean, cook, or do dishes - what else could a mom want.

[Merion_Mom]

Put me in the group that says: the ability to do as much or as little as I want.

 

To the cruise ship and its staff, I say:

 

Provide me with a list of activities, then don't care if I don't show up.

 

Provide a variety of good food in several places, and then don't care which ones I utilize.

 

Provide me with a friendly and efficient cabin steward, and then don't get mad if my son doesn't get up until 2 P.M.

 

Provide me with vast entertainment choices, then let me pick and choose.

 

Oh, yes, and: Entertain my children, so that I don't have to.*

 

*don't get your panties in a knot. My "children" are 20 & 18.

[wrp96]

Oh, yes, and: Entertain my children, so that I don't have to.*

 

What a horrible mother you are Carol for not wanting to spend every waking second with your children. I mean, just because they are adults now and can, hopefully, take care of themselves, you mean you don't monitor their every move?

[Merion_Mom]

What a horrible mother you are Carol for not wanting to spend every waking second with your children. I mean, just because they are adults now and can, hopefully, take care of themselves, you mean you don't monitor their every move?

As if they would LET me!

[wrp96]

As if they would LET me!

 

My mother has a saying, "There are some things parents DON'T need to know." My brother and I have always tried to follow with this philosophy. Of course when we were growing up, that particular saying was usually closely followed by "Most parents of teenagers survive and I plan to be one of them."

[JLC@SD]

What do you look for in a cruise?

 

In Real Estate they say Location, Location and Location.

 

For Cruises I say Itinerary, Itinerary and Itinerary........:)

[BonNYTX]

I could embark from Galveston, Boston, Bayonne or Miami. My itinerary could be Eastern/Western/Southern Caribbean, Mediterranean. I could cruise either winter, summer, spring or fall. As long as there isn't a kitchen in my cabin, I am good to go.:D

[Merion_Mom]

I could embark from Galveston, Boston, Bayonne or Miami. My itinerary could be Eastern/Western/Southern Caribbean, Mediterranean. I could cruise either winter, summer, spring or fall. As long as there isn't a kitchen in my cabin, I am good to go.:D

I LOVE it! ;)