Cruises

[Evolvehawk]

I'm going to surprise my wife and plan a cruise


I've been looking for several hours, and quite frankly, it's a bit daunting.

Royal Caribbean seemed to be the only cruise line with details like what costs extra, what's included, etc.

I'm looking probably at a Caribbean cruise, would prefer to depart from New Orleans.

Most of the options seem to be western vs eastern....I will be taking my son and he's 6....so that's a consideration as well.

I've been looking at Disney Cruises (although they all seem to depart from Florida) as a starting point, but they seem higher than Carnival or Royal Caribbean for about the same thing. I'm concerned that the latter two won't have enough to do on board to keep my kid busy. Cost isn't really a major consideration, so I don't mind spending more money if you get significantly more.

Anyone taken a cruise with any of these lines in the Caribbean have a bit of advice?

[samandbendrivemetodrink]

Re: Cruises

You're a Disney fan, right?

Then if money is no consideration, do the Disney cruise. I've done the Celebrity Western Carribean and the Disney cruise. I loved the ports of call on the Celebrity Western (Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Key West...it was a very diverse itinerary which we appreciated). Celebrity is also known for its food, if that's your thing.

However the Disney cruise was awesome for kids. If you appreciate Disney, you will LOVE the Disney cruise. The kids club was amazing....my son was BEGGING to go everyday. The best part was the visit to Castaway Cay, Disney's own private island....it was a perfect day. Everything that Disney does well.....crowd control, service, etc. was so evident in this cruise. Even though it was at capacity, it never felt crowded, we never waited in line, etc. Plus, because it caters to families, I felt like Disney went out of their way to make separate adult-only sections (the adult pool and adult restaurant were both awesome)....thus, it didn't felt over run with kids.

[Evolvehawk]

Re: Cruises

nvm

[samandbendrivemetodrink]

Re: Cruises




ok, so planning things and working on my budget....lets say I do the Disney cruise

The ports of call, the activities on the ship...what exactly is included in the price of the cruise and what's extra? Any idea what % of the cruise price you should plan on having extra for the other stuff?

If you just go the basic cruise, and they go ashore at the ports, you're just on your own to find something to do?
[/quote]

It depends a lot on how much you drink, honestly. That was always our biggest incidental. You'll also have to tip your waiter, head waiter, and housekeeping (each cruise website should give you guidelines you can get a better idea).

They will rape you on photos if you let them. These are especially hard to pass up on a Disney cruise if you have kids.

The shore excursions will cost you money...but I think everything on Disney's island was mostly free (including the BBQ lunch and kids club activities).

[Evolvehawk]

Re: Cruises

[quote author=samandbendrivemetodrink link=topic=157.msg1308#msg1308 date=1280898400]



ok, so planning things and working on my budget....lets say I do the Disney cruise

The ports of call, the activities on the ship...what exactly is included in the price of the cruise and what's extra? Any idea what % of the cruise price you should plan on having extra for the other stuff?

If you just go the basic cruise, and they go ashore at the ports, you're just on your own to find something to do?
[/quote]

It depends a lot on how much you drink, honestly. That was always our biggest incidental. You'll also have to tip your waiter, head waiter, and housekeeping (each cruise website should give you guidelines you can get a better idea).

They will rape you on photos if you let them. These are especially hard to pass up on a Disney cruise if you have kids.

The shore excursions will cost you money...but I think everything on Disney's island was mostly free (including the BBQ lunch and kids club activities).
[/quote]

I don't drink anymore and my wife doesn't

so seems like the activities and food/drink (non alcoholic) are largely included in the price....as well as castaway cay


so that just leaves planning something on another port of call as an extra...that's not too bad