Tell Me What You Think

[psychboss]

I am trying to decide whether we should take the 3 night cruise on the Fascination to the Bahamas on Nov 23, 2007. Here is the deal - We are booked on a Celebrity 11 night cruise that leaves on Nov 26th. Our air arrangements (already made) are R/T from Baltimore to FLL on 11/23 return 12/7. We were going to spend the 3 extra days before the cruise buming around in FLL, rent a car and drive around and see the sights, etc. Then I saw this 3 night cruise. DH and I have not been to the Bahamas and are not very likely to fly from BWI for a 3 night cruise. If we take this 3 night cruise we would have to get from FLL to Miami but arrive Fri morning early so we would have plently of time. We would rather not unpack our formal clothing on the 3 night cruise, but if what I hear is true and they do formal night while in Nassau, it would be easy for us to eat ashore. We would disembark Monday morning and have to find our luggage and get back to FLL in order to embark on Monday afternoon.

 

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? ARE WE TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH? I WOULD FEEL BETTER IF THEY WERE THE SAME PORT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?

[letsgocruz1]

Well, from what I read, the ports aren't all that far apart. That said, are you positive you can make it to the ship on time that Friday? Does it give you much leeway in case of flight delays?

 

If you're sure you can make it, then you need to decide which is most important to you...seeing the Bahamas, or visiting the FL/Miami area.

 

If it were me, I would probably tour around FL (do the water taxi) and go to South Beach in Miami. Kinda kick back and relax before the big cruise. But either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

Sorry I can't be of much help. That is a hard decision!!

[Corsair41]

Given the same opportunity, I would certainly do the same. Besides is there any such thing as too much cruising? I don't think so...:)

[firefly333]

Thats why we tacked on a 3 day to make it a B2B, it wasnt worth going to Florida for only one short cruise, but we are on RCI, but still the same principle.

[cusyl]

I think it is doable....also, it would save you hotel fare. When you get off the 3 day cruise just collect your luggage and take a taxi to the Miami port.:D

[Name game]

If it were me, I would stay in Florida for a few days before the 11 night cruise. It's a lot of unpacking, you would need a formal outfit, etc.... From what I remember of a three day cruise, you get on - do the muster drill - see one port - get off the ship. It's a lot of lines, etc... I would relax and explore Florida. I have a feeling the majority of the people on here would disagree with me and choose to do the three night cruise.

[cruisejunkie15]

Well, I am from Florida, and do say that there are plenty of things to do in Florida, if you want to check out the sites.

 

I also did the Fascination, so I am torn. I would take cruising before stayin in Florida, anytime, but I love cruising. I think you should sit down and really analyze what you would want to do, if you stay you can go to the beach, take the water taxi as someone suggested, Miami Beach is always fun both in the day and at night. If you go on the Cruise, you get to also go to a beach, enjoy cruising activities, get to eat some more, get to go on the pools. It really depends on your personality.

 

I would take the cruise anyday, but thats just me. :)

[nothomeonacruise]

Go to Disney! It's right up the coast. It makes a fun trip!

[cruizinronnie]

Go to Disney! It's right up the coast. It makes a fun trip!

FLL is a 40 minute drive from Miami Port. I Live in Jacksonville and fly into FLL when I cruise or go to Miami for business (cheap flights). Carnival has a nice transfer from the airport also that ensures you make your embarkation. It's around $40 per person but worth every penny, picks you up and drops you off at the front door.

[shortstop95]

Do it. As an earlier poster stated it's an easy trip between the airport and ports. Plus there's no such thing as too much cruising. Disney and the rest of Florida will be crowded due to Thanksgiving. I'd do the cruise.

[Mysticks1]

If it were me I would go with the cruise. Considering hotel prices in that area, food costs, rental cars, etc. It would probably work out cheaper to go on the cruise. I have seen many posts with people flying into FLL and cruising from Miami and vice versa so the travel between the two shouldn't be a problem.

[cruiser4life79]

do the 3 night cruise, it's only a 30 min ride up I-95 to fll port, so go have fun enjoy the bahamas, cause you know you would spend more money sight seeing as you would on the cruise.

[dan40]

The travel between FLL & MIA would not be a problem as many have already said. But do NOT think a 3 day weekend cruise on any line is anything like a 7 day or longer cruise on any line. 3 dayers can be fun but are YO! way different from longer cruises.

 

Dan

[Kacruiser]

What a great idea, do the three day cruise. Just pack what you need for the three day cruise in a seperate suitcase or on top of your suitcase so you don't have to unpack everything. Sounds like a great solution and I'd rather cruise then drive around a sightsee anyday.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

We are doing a 3 day before a 6 day in October. We ran into a deal on the Sensation and were planning on going to Florida a few days earlier anyway. So we decided what the heck let's do it. We will be driving from Port Canaveral to Fort Lauderdale. It's a B2B with a drive in between.

[psychboss]

What a great idea, do the three day cruise. Just pack what you need for the three day cruise in a seperate suitcase or on top of your suitcase so you don't have to unpack everything. Sounds like a great solution and I'd rather cruise then drive around a sightsee anyday.

 

I forgot to mention that we have spent a fair amount of time in the FLL and Miami/South Beach area already. Not that we would not enjoy more. We will be back in Feb/08 and Dec/08. DH was not with me but I spent 8 days in FLL at the Renissance (right across from the Port entrance) in March/April with the CLIA Conference. (Yes, I am a TA). We LOVE the FLL & Miami areas and will be back. One of my requirements with CLIA are short cruises and the only one I have is a 4 nighter from about 4 years ago + I can always count it as a ship inspection :)

 

We had already decided that on the 3 night we would skip formal night and that we would pack what we would need in 1 suitcase and the carry-on for Rx and that sort of thing. I do think we will take your advice and use the Carnival transportation back and forth from FLL/MIA. On the way back they will take us to the FLL airport, but as they will leave us on the curb we should be able to hop right in a cab. The only problem would be if there is a custom problem disembarking.

 

I am really leaning towards doing it - but have not bought it yet...

[psychboss]

We are doing a 3 day before a 6 day in October. We ran into a deal on the Sensation and were planning on going to Florida a few days earlier anyway. So we decided what the heck let's do it. We will be driving from Port Canaveral to Fort Lauderdale. It's a B2B with a drive in between.

 

 

WOW CruzVinnieCruz - You ARE a big Carnival Fan. DH and I have only been on 1 other Carnival Cruise and I must admit it was not our favorite. Now as a TA I sell lots of them, and I know that they are hugely popular. But most of my clients tell me it is because of the price and because they have so many ships. May I ask you (without starting WW III) why you like CCL so much? If it is personal and you would rather not get into it here that is fine. Thank you!:)

[fllady61]

i would rather sight see the 3 days before, as there is a chance you would not make it back to the other port in time.

 

If you get off the ship at 10, and have to travel an hour to get to the other port after finding your suitcases, that is another 1-2 hours then waiting in line to park, etc, about 30 min, and all, you have to take into consideration, there may be traffic tie ups, etc, that could make you run late.

 

Enjoy the beach. Sight see, and get relaxed before you hit the ship.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

WOW CruzVinnieCruz - You ARE a big Carnival Fan. DH and I have only been on 1 other Carnival Cruise and I must admit it was not our favorite. Now as a TA I sell lots of them, and I know that they are hugely popular. But most of my clients tell me it is because of the price and because they have so many ships. May I ask you (without starting WW III) why you like CCL so much? If it is personal and you would rather not get into it here that is fine. Thank you!:)

 

We have cruised Princess, RC, and Celebrity in the past and will say for the most part enjoyed all of them. In fact early on we stayed away from Carnival because of the things we had heard, party ship etc.. I think the reason we like Carnival is the other passengers we have met on board. We have met some of the nicest people while cruising on Carnival. We still keep in touch with some of them through e-mails and in May we are cruising with a couple we met two years ago on another cruise. We are in our late forties and do not consider ourselves old but we are certainly not exactly right out of college. On our cruises we enjoy the younger crowd but there seem to be more passengers in our demographics then other lines.

 

As far as judging a cruise line by one ship that's would not be fair. We sailed on Celebrity once and would say that all things considered our Carnival cruises were better than that particular ship. Would I sail Celebrity again absolutely but for now we are very content with Carnival.

[fllady61]

I have not cruised other lines, but we prefer Carnival. mainly due to the fact that it is cheaper. I see no sense in paying an extra 400$ pp for a rock wall and golf course on board. Not worth it to me. I get the same bed, same food, same ports, same casino, same shows (so to speak) on Carnival, and don't pay for the things I don't use or have use for. I seldom even go into the fitness center on the ship.

[psychboss]

We have cruised Princess, RC, and Celebrity in the past and will say for the most part enjoyed all of them. In fact early on we stayed away from Carnival because of the things we had heard, party ship etc.. I think the reason we like Carnival is the other passengers we have met on board. We have met some of the nicest people while cruising on Carnival. We still keep in touch with some of them through e-mails and in May we are cruising with a couple we met two years ago on another cruise. We are in our late forties and do not consider ourselves old but we are certainly not exactly right out of college. On our cruises we enjoy the younger crowd but there seem to be more passengers in our demographics then other lines.

 

As far as judging a cruise line by one ship that's would not be fair. We sailed on Celebrity once and would say that all things considered our Carnival cruises were better than that particular ship. Would I sail Celebrity again absolutely but for now we are very content with Carnival.

 

 

We really did not judge it by the ship. We sailed on the Triumph, in fact except for the fact that there was no couch/chair or other such furniture in our 8B Aft stateroom (only the bed and desk) we really liked the ship. We did not like the LONG lines for food (that we did not think was very good), service was terrible, we were actually 'yelled' at by 3 separate staff members during the week, and we thought the food was Denny's quality (granted we are more use to Celebrity/HAL food). We were with a group of 12 so to be honest we did not get to know a lot of other people. We had a good time, because we with great friends. But I was totally turned off of Carnival - I have NEVER been treated so poorly, and paid for it

[psychboss]

:)

I have not cruised other lines, but we prefer Carnival. mainly due to the fact that it is cheaper. I see no sense in paying an extra 400$ pp for a rock wall and golf course on board. Not worth it to me. I get the same bed, same food, same ports, same casino, same shows (so to speak) on Carnival, and don't pay for the things I don't use or have use for. I seldom even go into the fitness center on the ship.

 

 

I am a TA and I can assure you that Carnival is not always the cheapest. I found a cruise for a client today that was cheaper on RCCL than anything that CCL had. And doing that was not that unusual, BUT you should by and cruise whatever cruise line that YOU are happy with. NO ONE SHOULD TELL ANYONE ELSE WHAT LINE TO CRUISE. Making recommendations are great, but not putting others down.

 

As a TA I will sell anybody what they want, but if they come to me not knowing what they want or never having cruised before there are a number of questions I ask them before I would suggest any cruise line to them. If I have a client that always chooses 5* restaurants and hotels I would not suggest CCL. I have sailed CCL and I beg to differ; their beds are NOT the same, and their food is NOT the same as some of the other cruise lines. I agree that many of their ports are the same, you have to compare how long the different cruise lines stay in the ports, and which ports they go to in each cruise and how may ports they go to in each cruise. Some clients like cruises that are port heavy, some like lots of sea days. In my experience only I would have to say the HAL has the best beds and Celebrity and/or Cunard has the best food. But there are plenty of lines I have not cruised yet - so as I say, that is only my opinion. Each one of us have our own opinion. THAT IS WHY THERE ARE SO MANY CRUISE LINES AND SO MANY SHIPS! AND WHY WE ALL KEEP THEM FULL.

 

Another thing to consider is where you are going. Some port of call, Alaska and Hawaii. Are done MUCH better by a particular cruise line. The line ofter used by those in the know is "so-so owes (insert name of port)". And they are usually correct. They truth is-if you want to really "see" Alaska go Princess and if you really want to "see" Hawaii go NCL.

It does not matter if you have used the cruise line somewhere else and did or did not like it, if you are going to these ports, these are the cruise lines to use. If they cost a little more, there is a reason, save up, you will not regret it!

 

But I still say, If you love Carnival, you should sail Carnival, Carnival has many loyal fans and that is GREAT!

 

I am not real fond of iCCL, BUT I was looking for a 3 night cruise (cheap) to take before our 11 night Celebrity. Carnival had the exact right date, and place and CCL together with my host agency is have a 2 category upgrade sale. So we have booked the 3 night cruise. So I will give CCL another chance, I hope they do better. It is only 3 nights, how much can they screw it up?

[fllady61]

:)

 

 

I am a TA and I can assure you that Carnival is not always the cheapest. I found a cruise for a client today that was cheaper on RCCL than anything that CCL had. And doing that was not that unusual, BUT you should by and cruise whatever cruise line that YOU are happy with. NO ONE SHOULD TELL ANYONE ELSE WHAT LINE TO CRUISE. Making recommendations are great, but not putting others down.

 

As a TA I will sell anybody what they want, but if they come to me not knowing what they want or never having cruised before there are a number of questions I ask them before I would suggest any cruise line to them. If I have a client that always chooses 5* restaurants and hotels I would not suggest CCL. I have sailed CCL and I beg to differ; their beds are NOT the same, and their food is NOT the same as some of the other cruise lines. I agree that many of their ports are the same, you have to compare how long the different cruise lines stay in the ports, and which ports they go to in each cruise and how may ports they go to in each cruise. Some clients like cruises that are port heavy, some like lots of sea days. In my experience only I would have to say the HAL has the best beds and Celebrity and/or Cunard has the best food. But there are plenty of lines I have not cruised yet - so as I say, that is only my opinion. Each one of us have our own opinion. THAT IS WHY THERE ARE SO MANY CRUISE LINES AND SO MANY SHIPS! AND WHY WE ALL KEEP THEM FULL.

 

Another thing to consider is where you are going. Some port of call, Alaska and Hawaii. Are done MUCH better by a particular cruise line. The line ofter used by those in the know is "so-so owes (insert name of port)". And they are usually correct. They truth is-if you want to really "see" Alaska go Princess and if you really want to "see" Hawaii go NCL.

It does not matter if you have used the cruise line somewhere else and did or did not like it, if you are going to these ports, these are the cruise lines to use. If they cost a little more, there is a reason, save up, you will not regret it!

 

But I still say, If you love Carnival, you should sail Carnival, Carnival has many loyal fans and that is GREAT!

 

I am not real fond of iCCL, BUT I was looking for a 3 night cruise (cheap) to take before our 11 night Celebrity. Carnival had the exact right date, and place and CCL together with my host agency is have a 2 category upgrade sale. So we have booked the 3 night cruise. So I will give CCL another chance, I hope they do better. It is only 3 nights, how much can they screw it up?

 

 

If you are a TA, you know that Princess and a few of the others are also owned by Carnival. I did not mean to put down any cruise line. But before i book, I check dates, ports, and price, and Carnival has always been cheaper to me. The cruise we are currently booked on is 400$ pp more on RCCL than on Carnival. and all they offer different is the rock wall, and golf course. so I would rather save the 1200$ and use that money to book another cruise with. again, as you said TO EACH HIS OWN. But I don't trust TA's because when I was first starting to book cruises 4 yr ago, I was given a price, then went home on line and got the same cruise cheaper throug CCL direct.

 

I personally thought the 3 night cruise that we went on was excellent. Although we had an interior room, we loved the cruise. It just was not long enough. The food was great, the beds were very comfy.

 

Carnival has recently put new bedding on most of their cruises. This fall, 2 or 3 ships are being renovated. it is possible that you were on one of those 3 that had not been updated yet. Glory, Sensation, Fantasy, we felt all 3 were excellent beds, and bedding. I felt the food was great, and I am a picky person but my family is even more picky, and they loved the food as well. We wish we could have brought the bedding home with us. Loved the comfortors.

 

Actually, we are looking into an alaskan cruise in about 10 yrs. But that could change.

[LisaT12]

Personally, I can compare RCCL, Princess and Carnival (since I have been on these), I found that the Princess ships (Golden and Grand) are very beautiful, RCCL are also beautiful and offer a wonderful Kid's club. But overall, I find the staff, food (by far) and the cabin's comfort better on Carnival...Hey, just my opinion.

[dan40]

:)

 

 

I am a TA and I can assure you that Carnival is not always the cheapest. I found a cruise for a client today that was cheaper on RCCL than anything that CCL had. And doing that was not that unusual, BUT you should by and cruise whatever cruise line that YOU are happy with. NO ONE SHOULD TELL ANYONE ELSE WHAT LINE TO CRUISE. Making recommendations are great, but not putting others down.

 

As a TA I will sell anybody what they want, but if they come to me not knowing what they want or never having cruised before there are a number of questions I ask them before I would suggest any cruise line to them. If I have a client that always chooses 5* restaurants and hotels I would not suggest CCL. I have sailed CCL and I beg to differ; their beds are NOT the same, and their food is NOT the same as some of the other cruise lines. I agree that many of their ports are the same, you have to compare how long the different cruise lines stay in the ports, and which ports they go to in each cruise and how may ports they go to in each cruise. Some clients like cruises that are port heavy, some like lots of sea days. In my experience only I would have to say the HAL has the best beds and Celebrity and/or Cunard has the best food. But there are plenty of lines I have not cruised yet - so as I say, that is only my opinion. Each one of us have our own opinion. THAT IS WHY THERE ARE SO MANY CRUISE LINES AND SO MANY SHIPS! AND WHY WE ALL KEEP THEM FULL.

 

Another thing to consider is where you are going. Some port of call, Alaska and Hawaii. Are done MUCH better by a particular cruise line. The line ofter used by those in the know is "so-so owes (insert name of port)". And they are usually correct. They truth is-if you want to really "see" Alaska go Princess and if you really want to "see" Hawaii go NCL.

It does not matter if you have used the cruise line somewhere else and did or did not like it, if you are going to these ports, these are the cruise lines to use. If they cost a little more, there is a reason, save up, you will not regret it!

 

But I still say, If you love Carnival, you should sail Carnival, Carnival has many loyal fans and that is GREAT!

 

I am not real fond of iCCL, BUT I was looking for a 3 night cruise (cheap) to take before our 11 night Celebrity. Carnival had the exact right date, and place and CCL together with my host agency is have a 2 category upgrade sale. So we have booked the 3 night cruise. So I will give CCL another chance, I hope they do better. It is only 3 nights, how much can they screw it up?

 

Couple of things here.

You may have many clients that claim 5 star restaurants and hotels but you have darn few that actually do them. I traveled the world on expense account for many years. Even then when it was not my money I found 4 and 5 stars tiring day in and day out. Give me a little Mom N Pop any day.

I'd agree that Cunard does have good food, would not agree that X has better food than Carnival, its about the same. And food is not really the line, its more ship by ship.

and last, you're going to take a Carnival 3 day and just before an 11 day on X. You shall certainly reinforce your dislike for Carnival making that comparison. I'm Carnival Platinum and very much enjoy the line, but I wouldn't take a 3 day on them or any line. As a TA you know you'll see them in their worst light on a 3 dayer. You know they use their oldest ships and they get the most abuse. I can read your future gripes in your present posts.

 

Dan