The Cruise Ship and Cruise Line Discussion Thread!

[Daytona'95]

Cruising is probably one my more favorable activities to do. Even the terrible cruise was more fun than working/school/any other boredom that is Daytona...

In fact, the parental and I are actually planning to go on the Epic either way later this year or right after the new year.

As far as the Freestyle cruising, I may be in the minority here, but I prefer it. Choosing when to eat instead of it being assigned makes it so much easier to relax and enjoy the cruise. Even with having late seating on traditional dinner plans, I still feel like hurried and still have to plan around dinner. Plus the freestyle way gets to let you meet new people(which is great if your table buddies are lame).

Far as personal ranking of the cruise lines i've been on it would be

1.Princess- Never a bad experience on this line. Staff, cleanliness, food etc has always been A++(Original Crown,Grand,Star)

2.RCCL- Now its been many years and I was about 8 or 9 so I cant really have a valid opinion, but the parentals said it was okay, not Princess standards, but otherwise a good cruise.(Splendor)

-1000 Costa- Don't even get me started. Just Don't ever, ever, ever go near this line. Didn't think there was such thing as a bad cruise, I was horribly wrong.(Fortuna)

 

But all in all, I am looking forward to see how this thread pans out, and more importantly would be thrilled to do a TPR cruise.

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

The last few cruises I've been on are all at least 3 years ago. Only cruised with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I'm not a big fan of cruising, mainly because of motion sickness. I ended up pretty much sleeping or lying down for most of the days when I went on an Alaska cruise. Favourite part of any cruise...The food! Mmmmm.

[jbottgen]

While researching a cruise the I am looking at this summer on RCCL, I ran across two pretty cool shore excusions. Coasters in the Carribeen. One is in Labadee, Hatie called the Dragon Tail, and the other is bobsled themed, in Jamica. Both are gravity fed coasters.

 

I like the life on the ships, but nothing beats the shore excursions.

[disneyfan1313]

The last few cruises I've been on are all at least 3 years ago. Only cruised with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I'm not a big fan of cruising, mainly because of motion sickness. I ended up pretty much sleeping or lying down for most of the days when I went on an Alaska cruise. Favourite part of any cruise...The food! Mmmmm.

 

Did you try anything to stop the motion sickness? My wife swears by the bracelets with the pressure point things in them and I know others who say medicine or ginger candies stopped any issues. Plus if you only have done a west coast cruise you might want to try one in the Atlantic during the summer - as long as there are no weather systems in the area the ocean is usually glass smooth.

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

Medicines make me sleep which I hate. I can't seem to enjoy anything if I'm drowsy, other than sleep of course. I can't stand the pressure of those pressure point things, find it so annoying and uncomfortable. Turns out that point it's pressing on is the point that you can push on to make an attacker let go of you, for self defence purposes (learned that from Tae Kwon Do class).

 

I've even tried taking Chinese herbs for motion sickness and it didn't help either. Turns out it's actually an underlying condition of mine that's contributing alot to motion sickness, low blood pressure. Been told it's something I'll outgrow, don't know when though.

 

I have never taken an Atlantic cruise before but thanks for the suggestion. I'll consider that sometime in the future, not sure where to yet.

[stranger3113]

I'm very excited for the new Disney Dream and hope I don't have to wait to long before I can take a cruise on it. I have only been on a Disney cruise (about 6 of them) and I can never bring myself to look at another cruise line. Something about their ships and how beautiful they are compared to other cruise lines. I am worried about the aquaduck sticking out to much from the new ship and ruining the overall look of the ship.

[senna]

A few years back I done a Carnival cruise from Tampa and I loved it and would 100% do another one, but probably a Disney one as I am a DVC member so get it cheaper and get asked on special events.

 

The food and tours were fantastic and it was great to feel that I was away from everything whilist on the ship.

 

Falling asleep sitting on the deck looking at the stars was

 

The only problem I had was getting sun burnt, I thought as it was not sunny I would be ok but I was wrong.

[disneyfan1313]

^^ Welcome to TPR! Very excited about the Disney Dream as well. I'm booked on the inaugural cruise so I will have a first hand report posted here about a year from now. DCL is my favorite as well (been on 9 of them!) but it is good to try other lines to get some perspective. I agree about the beauty of the DCL ships though, I love the classy Art Deco/Nouveau styling especially in the lobby. My favorite between the two is the Wonder - I like the slightly lighter color palate that is used and I prefer Ariel's and the Cadillac Lounge.

 

Oh.. and I wouldn't worry too much about the AquaDuck. I'm sure the Imagineers are putting lots of time into making sure the ship looks amazing even with it.

Disney Wonder Lobby is so beautiful!

[BeemerBoy]

While researching for a possible cruise later this year, I went back and looked at the TPR Cruise from '08.....mainly because of that frickin' awesome zipline!

 

I then realized it was in Haiti, so I checked on it's current status. If anyone's curious, here's an article from the Miami Herald, dated 1-16-10:

 

 

 

Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas returned to Haiti's undamaged north coast Friday, bringing both passengers and relief supplies.

 

The cruise line's decision to continue regular cruise stops at its private resort at Labadee, Haiti, came after careful consideration of how it would affect Haitian residents and cruise passengers, company officials said.

 

``It was not a tough decision once we established that Labadee was not affected by the earthquake,'' Adam M. Goldstein, president and chief executive of the Royal Caribbean International unit said. ``We can take advantage of the opportunity to provide Haiti with supplies and to provide economic activity.''

 

Miami-based Royal Caribbean, which has been operating on the island almost 30 years, recently spent $55 million to upgrade its Labadee beach resort with a pier, a zipline and rollercoaster. The company employs 230 Haitians at Labadee and generates jobs for another 300 at a straw market. The resort is about 85 miles from the capitol of Port-au-Prince.

 

Passengers on the Independence ``gave a standing ovation'' in the ship's auditorium on hearing the line's decision to go to Labadee with emergency food supplies, said Cynthia Martinez, a Royal Caribbean's spokeswoman.

 

But on the message boards of the online site, CruiseCritic.com, comments reflected some split reaction over Royal Caribbean's quick return. Some praised the move, but others shivered. A posting from Bakincakes read: ``It was hard enough to sit and eat a picnic lunch at Labadee, before the earthquake, knowing how many Haitians were starving. I can't imagine having to choke down a burger there now . . .''

 

Still, some travel agents applauded the decision. Said Bob Cook, vice president of sales at Go Travel, a cruise travel agency in Longwood, Fla, ``Anything you can do to continue normalcy in Haiti is helpful. . . . People will feel they're doing more by going there than not.''

 

Stewart Chiron, a Miami-based cruise expert who runs CruiseGuy.com, applauded the cruise line's action.``It would have done more harm than good if they hesitated in going back,'' he said.

 

Royal Caribbean plans to provide at least $1 million in aid to Haiti, working with nonprofit groups like Food for the Poor, Pan American Development Foundation, and the Solano Foundation, a company foundation in Haiti. Its own Crew Relief Fund is available to more than 200 Haitian crew members.

 

In addition, the company said all its net revenue from Labadee will be plowed into relief efforts for a period, though it didn't say how long that would be. The company also set up a process for passengers to make donations to Haitian relief efforts by credit card.

 

On its Friday port call, Independence of the Seas carried rice, dried beans, powdered milk, water and canned goods that the crew quickly loaded in Puerto Rico after the earthquake struck. Food for the Poor will help distribute the supplies.

 

Other ships set to carry supplies to Labadee include Navigator of the Seas, set to arrive Monday, Jan. 18; Liberty of the Seas, slated for Tuesday, Jan. 19; and Celebrity Soltice, scheduled for Friday Jan. 22.

 

Those ships will load goods in South Florida, according to Martinez, Royal Caribbean's spokeswoman.

 

Goldstein, Royal Caribbean's president, met Thursday with former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations' special envoy to Haiti, and Dr. Paul Farmer, deputy special envoy, to discuss relief efforts to the island. Goldstein said Royal's efforts will evolve as the situation does.

 

Leslie Voltaire, Haiti's special envoy to the U.N., said in a statement, ``Given the terrible economic and social challenges we now face in Haiti, we welcome the continuation of the positive economic benefits that the cruise ship calls to Labadee contribute to our country.''

 

Wrote Goldstein in a blog posting, ``There were a lot of discussions about this, but in the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery and hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood. . . . Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most.''

[SharkTums]

There were some really heated discussions on the cruise enthusiast message boards about Royal Caribbean going back to 'Labadee' (private fenced off beach in Haiti) so soon after the Earthquake.

 

I just didn't understand it. RC brings the country money and tourism, they also brought hundreds of pallets of supplies with each visit. Do you really want RC to skip that port and deny the locals that work there money and resources? You boycott something you want to put out of business so why the hell would you boycott a place that needs help!?!?

 

It seriously made no sense to me whatsoever. Especially when all of the Haitians (including the president) BEGGED for RC to come back ASAP!!!

 

On a side note we'll be in Labadee in a few weeks and I'm excited to give them more of my money and support the island.

[stranger3113]

^^ Welcome to TPR! Very excited about the Disney Dream as well. I'm booked on the inaugural cruise so I will have a first hand report posted here about a year from now. DCL is my favorite as well (been on 9 of them!) but it is good to try other lines to get some perspective. I agree about the beauty of the DCL ships though, I love the classy Art Deco/Nouveau styling especially in the lobby. My favorite between the two is the Wonder - I like the slightly lighter color palate that is used and I prefer Ariel's and the Cadillac Lounge.

 

Oh.. and I wouldn't worry too much about the AquaDuck. I'm sure the Imagineers are putting lots of time into making sure the ship looks amazing even with it.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I have been reading trip reports and lurking since about 2005 so I decided I should join. I have to say that I am very jealous of the fact you get to do the inaugural cruise but im looking forward to hearing all about it.

[SharkTums]

I too really want to sail the Disney Dream, but I hate going on cruises for less than seven days. I guess I'll have to wait till the Dream's sister ship comes out so that one of the big ships will do seven day cruises.

 

I know that I could do a 'back to back', but then you lose a day for no reason!

[Meteornotes]

^While I'm far from a cruise expert or anything, I really don't think I'd want to do one that is less than seven days. To me, it would seem like a shorter cruise would be over so quickly, that by the time you're just getting used to the boat, it's time to get off!

 

dt

[SharkTums]

^Exactly!

[taytig]

The Disney Dream is doing some 5 day cruises. I know they are not 7 day, but they do hit a double stop at Castaway Cay. When we book, we are going to try the 5 day. 3 days only good for hesitant cruisers who want to see what cruising is like. 4 Days are good for short get-a-ways, The 5 day is a good compromise.....

[SharkTums]

^Yeah I saw a couple of those five days offered, but to be honest I'm not that big of a beach person so Castaway Cay twice is kind of a let down.

 

I've been there before, it's a very, very nice private island with a great setup, I just have no need to go twice on the same cruise. I would just stay on the ship which is normally fine on port days but in my experience on Castaway Cay from years ago it seemed like the moved EVERYTHING to the island and had very few things to do on board during the stop.

[frozenflames]

I would like to go on another cruise at some point. I've been on two different ones, one on the Carnival Fascination in 2003, and one on Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas, in 2007. While I liked the ships, I never really got to do much on them, mainly because of my age and who I was with. I was going into high school when I went on my first cruise, and as such, was too old for the children's activities, and too young for everything else. When I went on my second cruise, it was a trip/ competition for my school choir, so I was pretty much required to be with them at all times.

 

I would love to be able to go on a cruise and explore everything on my own terms, or maybe do a TPR cruise, if the opportunity ever presented itself (and if I had the financial means). I've been quite envious of my parents lately, as they've gone on a cruise every winter for the past four years, leaving me to be stuck at school.

[Erik Johnson]

My immediate family now has reservations on the new Disney Dream cruise for late April 2011. This will be my first cruise.

[jray21]

Medicines make me sleep which I hate. I can't seem to enjoy anything if I'm drowsy, other than sleep of course. I can't stand the pressure of those pressure point things, find it so annoying and uncomfortable. Turns out that point it's pressing on is the point that you can push on to make an attacker let go of you, for self defence purposes (learned that from Tae Kwon Do class).

 

I've even tried taking Chinese herbs for motion sickness and it didn't help either. Turns out it's actually an underlying condition of mine that's contributing alot to motion sickness, low blood pressure. Been told it's something I'll outgrow, don't know when though.

 

I have never taken an Atlantic cruise before but thanks for the suggestion. I'll consider that sometime in the future, not sure where to yet.

 

TRANSDERM SCOP!!!!! It is the greatest invention known to man. I get extreme motion sickness on boats. We ate on a ship that was docked, and I got so sick! This patch is a miracle. I could also never do any spinning rides, but with the patch, I can ride the teacups as fast, and as many times as I want. It looks like a mini nicotine patch that you put behind your ear. It can make your mouth a little dry, but that is all. I get completely knocked out by Dramamine, but with this patch I don't get any tiredness at all. You also just keep it on, and can swim and shower with it. You change it every 3 days, and it's great! I can't recommend it enough. I have tried everything else, all the natural, unnatural, and in-between and this is the only thing that worked. You can only get it by prescription. Good Luck!

[disneyfan1313]

I gotta admit I am somewhat in the middle of the argument on 3-day vs. 7-day cruises. The majority of my cruises have been 3 and 4 days and I love them because I can do MANY more of them since the cost per day is generally lower. It also has allowed me to try ships that I never would have risked being stuck on for 7 days. Downside (at least from Florida) on 3 and 4 days you generally only go to Nassau....and Nassau sucks.

[moinab]

I've done one 3-night (DCL,) one 4-night (DCL.) and one 7-night (RCCL.)

 

I think the 3 and 4 night cruises are good for those of us who are fortunate enough to be within easy driving distance of the port, although the 3-night really did seem too short, for us. The 4-night was a nice getaway.

 

I didn't even get off the ship at Nassau. My second trip to Castaway Cay, I just did the power walk that was offered, had lunch at the buffet, and headed back to the ship. I'm pretty meh about Castaway Cay. I didn't find it to be quite as wonderful as most people, but then, I live on the beach, so I'm pretty spoiled, that way.

 

I think I may try the patch, on my next cruise. I used Bonine on the Mexican Riviera cruise, and I found that it made me very lethargic. I only need it when the ship is rocking, but I hate that groggy feeling. It pretty much wrecked my day in Mazatlan.

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

TRANSDERM SCOP!!!!! It is the greatest invention known to man. I get extreme motion sickness on boats. We ate on a ship that was docked, and I got so sick! This patch is a miracle. I could also never do any spinning rides, but with the patch, I can ride the teacups as fast, and as many times as I want. It looks like a mini nicotine patch that you put behind your ear. It can make your mouth a little dry, but that is all. I get completely knocked out by Dramamine, but with this patch I don't get any tiredness at all. You also just keep it on, and can swim and shower with it. You change it every 3 days, and it's great! I can't recommend it enough. I have tried everything else, all the natural, unnatural, and in-between and this is the only thing that worked. You can only get it by prescription. Good Luck!

 

I remembered reading about something like that afew years ago in some science magazine. It was originally developed by NASA for astronauts, to help them with the high G and negative G environment. I would guess that it's not supposed to make you feel sleepy either, because astronauts need their full attention at all times. Good enough for NASA, good enough for me I guess.

 

Hope I can get a prescription for it, although I still don't really like the idea of using any medication on rides. (But that's just from bad experiance)

 

Anyways I'm just wondering, are Alaskan cruises usually rough? Or was it just a bad time of the year. From what I remember, it was in Feburary.

[Swiminn6]

I think I would go on a lot of 3 or 4 day cruises if I lived in Florida because it would allow more cruises just like Reed said although if it were Oasis of the Seas or something I would probably book a 7 night. I agree to the people who think the EPIC looks really cool and I think I would save up to have a suite. I just hope the EPIC lives up to how it looks in the renders.

 

Swiminn6 wrote:

I would never. Here is why, 1. You have to buy the room which is your own house so you would basically never go on any other ship. 2. It seems a little boring to me as there's no real appeal to it besides the places it goes to. 3. I love the cruising atmosphere and all the activities you can do aboard a real cruise ship. 4. They even say it's a ghost town sometimes and I would hate that!

 

 

You don't have to buy. They also rent. And people rich enough to live on that boat certainly could cruise on another boat if they wanted to.

 

Well I still wouldn't even if I had the money because the ship seriously looks bland. I don't know, I'm just not a huge fan of the ship.

 

Also we took the 4 night in the parks, 3 nights on the ship for our Disney cruise as it was our first cruise and we didn't want to spend the whole week on ship if we didn't like cruising. We chose Disney because my brother and I were young and we were familiar with Disney. They are good amounts of time for people like us who were first time cruisers.

 

But like I said before to the people who have motion sickness, go on the bigger ships because you will barely feel anything. I have also noticed when you are laying in bed you don't feel a thing!

[jbottgen]

For me, it is 7 nights or more all the time. I did a 3 night once, and it felt just like an expensive weekend.

 

My motion sickness cure is ginger. Fresh, candied, powdered, even ginger ale. They all work pretty good and they are easy to get.

[disneyfan1313]

The first Brewery on a cruise ship? Aida lines has done it with their new AidaBlu ship that is scheduled to have its christening in a few days on the 9th of Feburary. Aida is a bit of a unique line - it is owned by Carnival but it actually caters exclusively to Germans! Anyone is welcome to travel on their ships - but they would feel a bit left out since all the communication is exclusively in German.

 

Not much information or photos are available on this ship yet - but I found this interesting tidbit...

German cruise line AIDA Cruises’ new AIDAblu will have a microbrewery – a first for the cruise industry. The microbrewery, staffed by renowned brewers from Bavaria, will serve the beer it brews for free, while also offering specialty beers for a fee.

 

FREE BEER?!?!

 

So would you sail on a cruise where you didn't understand any of the communications or activities just so you could get free beer? It will be interesting to see if the Microbrewery concept for a cruise takes hold on any of the lines in the states. I can't imagine that they would give away the beer for free - but it would certainly be a fun gimmick. Not to mention they could offer brewery tours and classes as well.

 

Hopefully there will be pictures of the brewery after its christening...but here are a few of the exterior to tide you over...

thanks to cruiseship-gallery.de for the pics..

 

Look at those sexy lips.. what could it be..

...and those beautiful eyes...

Here is the AidaBlu sailing out for the first time!