[diirk]

I searched around and didn't see anything covering cruises.

Anyone else here like to cruise?

We tend to go on 1-2 cruises per year. We like them because we get to visit multiple places and only have to unpack once. Sorta like a vacation sampler and then if there's something we really like, we'll go back and check it out in more detail.

We usually prefer Princess cruise lines. A more mellow crowd overall and not a ton of kids running around. Still a good choice for families though.

We've done east and west coast USA. Alaska. N. Europe. Australia/NZ, Hawaii, Eastern & Western Caribbean.

A neat thing that has recently happened, is that Porsche Owners Club has teamed up with Princess. We did a cruise with them last year that was pretty fun. Half the folks on the ship were POC members and the ship had a lot of Porsche specific activities.

We tend to book a mini-suite. More room and not overly expensive.

I want to try one of the new mega ships that Royal Caribbean has. So maybe in the next year or so. Also looking to plan a Japan cruise and debating this year's POC cruise in Dec.

(note) Photo is Kristiansand, Norway.

[vreihen16]

We have platinum status with NCL, and only book full suites so that we get the full first-class treatment with concierge and access to private suite life bar, restaurant, and secret indoor pool. I'm not really a fan of the humongous floating shopping malls that they call cruise ships these days, but NCL has phased out all of the older/smaller ships from their fleet. Sailed through everything including a full-on nor'easter, with 25 foot seas, gale-force winds, and rime ice on the balcony railings and ship's superstructure. Also survived an on-board fire (while docked), where they made all of the remaining passengers and most of the "hotel" staff leave the ship and stand on the dock for a few hours while they put out the fire and cleaned up the impacted cabin.

I had suggested that someone look into European river cruises in another thread yesterday. I've only seen commercials for them and never gone, but they seem to be sort of like slow-moving barges using Europe's historic network of inland rivers between cities. Minimal exposure to rough waters, and the same benefits as ocean cruises of waking up every morning in a different port/city without having to pack and haul luggage.....

[diirk]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

I had suggested that someone look into European river cruises in another thread yesterday. I've only seen commercials for them and never gone, but they seem to be sort of like slow-moving barges using Europe's historic network of inland rivers between cities. Minimal exposure to rough waters, and the same benefits as ocean cruises of waking up every morning in a different port/city without having to pack and haul luggage.....

Been considering one of the European river cruises, but also one of the American river cruises. Still haven't pulled the trigger yet.

[dscabra]

My wife and I have done NCL's Hawaii 7-day cruise on the Pride of America four times and will be doing it for a fifth time in a couple of weeks. It is by far the best way to see a lot of Hawaii without spending half of your time at the airport. We have an Alaskan cruise tour booked for next year with Princess, and a 13-day cruise from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia in February 2025 with NCL. Cruises can be whatever you want them to be; tropical, scenic, adventure, relaxation, etc. Find an itinerary that you like and go for it.

[purpl3ish]

cruises are one of my favorite methods of travel!! i'm a royal caribbean diamond member but also gamble a bit in the casino so they do comp most of my cruises.

I haven't done norwegian/carnival/MSC and some of the others in recent years, I just feel like Royal Caribbean is the best mix of crowd + the ships are amazing. Would love to do some of the transatlantic itineraries or ones that aren't the typical caribbean/mexico destinations.

I think you'd LOVE royal

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by dscabra

My wife and I have done NCL's Hawaii 7-day cruise on the Pride of America four times and will be doing it for a fifth time in a couple of weeks. It is by far the best way to see a lot of Hawaii without spending half of your time at the airport.

That cruise is on my bucket list for sure, but I don't think that I would survive the flight from the east coast even with a layover on the west coast.....

[Theruleslawyer]

I've done a couple dozen. I tend to prefer smaller ships. I'm digging windstar right now at 150-300 passengers. Oceania is pretty good as well, but I did like their bigger 1100ish passenger ships. Their older 600 person R class ships were missing a few things and hadn't got to the intimate level of windstar yet.

[diirk]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

That cruise is on my bucket list for sure, but I don't think that I would survive the flight from the east coast even with a layover on the west coast.....

You can fly into the west coast and hop a ship for a 15 day cruise that departs from different ports. San Fran, LA, Seattle, etc. Round trip cruise that departs one of the aforementioned locations and heads to Hawaii, goes around all the islands with stops on most of them, then returns to the starting port.

Here's an example, but there's tons of different itineraries. This has a lot of sea days, but sometimes that can be a good thing.

Day 1 Los Angeles, California
2. At Sea
3. At Sea
4. At Sea
5. At Sea
6. Hilo, Hawaii
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
8. Kauai (Nawiliwili), Hawaii
9. Maui (Lahaina), Hawaii
10. At Sea
11. At Sea
12. At Sea
13. At Sea
14. At Sea
15. Ensenada, Mexico
16. Los Angeles, California

[diirk]

Originally Posted by Theruleslawyer

I've done a couple dozen. I tend to prefer smaller ships. I'm digging windstar right now at 150-300 passengers. Oceania is pretty good as well, but I did like their bigger 1100ish passenger ships. Their older 600 person R class ships were missing a few things and hadn't got to the intimate level of windstar yet.

Looking to try one of the smaller ships at some point. We do like the larger ones with tons of activities, most of which we ignore, so a smaller ship might be the way to go. LOL

[dscabra]

Our trip to New Zealand and Australia will be on the Norwegian Spirit, which by passenger count is a smaller ship by today's standards. The ship recently underwent a complete makeover and they removed all the kid-specific areas making the ship more adult-oriented.

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/Spir...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[floridaorange]

I cruised from Tenerife, Spain to Cape Canaveral, FL on the Disney Dream, with few people on board, it was 2 weeks and pretty epic. Otherwise, Carnival once and never again, Royal Caribbean was cool as others have pointed out. My first cruise we went through a hurricane and it caused most of the ship to rock and make everyone sick. Otherwise it's been smooth sailing. My Mom raves about her Alaska cruise she went on a smaller ship, loved it.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by dscabra

Our trip to New Zealand and Australia will be on the Norwegian Spirit, which by passenger count is a smaller ship by today's standards. The ship recently underwent a complete makeover and they removed all the kid-specific areas making the ship more adult-oriented.

The Spirit was originally ordered/built by NCL's parent company, and was supposed to do Asian-market cruises. NCL usurped it as the Norwegian Spirit, and IIRC it was running out of NYC seasonally a decade ago. The only complaints from some passengers was that the cabins were a bit smaller than their other ships, because the original was supposed to be Asia when it was built Never sailed on it, but did see it in person once when we were sailing out of NYC on the Norwegian Gem and the smaller Spirit was docked on a neighboring pier.....

[UncleWede]

We sometimes (seem) to rent out an entire deck on NCL with the extended family cruises. Any more, Christmas is at sea.
Considering some cruises this year up thru Italy, but not sure I want to be gone 15+ days. Plus a buffer on each side to recuperate. Also have my eye on those river cruises, both US and Europe.

In all reality, it's a drinking binge where it's pretty difficult for me to get in too much trouble, and I can usually find my way to the pool and find a chair to pass out, if necessary.

[dscabra]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

We have platinum status with NCL, and only book full suites so that we get the full first-class treatment with concierge and access to private suite life bar, restaurant, and secret indoor pool. I'm not really a fan of the humongous floating shopping malls that they call cruise ships these days, but NCL has phased out all of the older/smaller ships from their fleet. Sailed through everything including a full-on nor'easter, with 25 foot seas, gale-force winds, and rime ice on the balcony railings and ship's superstructure. Also survived an on-board fire (while docked), where they made all of the remaining passengers and most of the "hotel" staff leave the ship and stand on the dock for a few hours while they put out the fire and cleaned up the impacted cabin.

I had suggested that someone look into European river cruises in another thread yesterday. I've only seen commercials for them and never gone, but they seem to be sort of like slow-moving barges using Europe's historic network of inland rivers between cities. Minimal exposure to rough waters, and the same benefits as ocean cruises of waking up every morning in a different port/city without having to pack and haul luggage.....

We don't have Platinum status yet, but we're close. We started our cruise experience booking balcony staterooms until we got upgraded to a suite. Since then, we only book suites. The Pride of America has very nice suites with huge balconies compared to other ships. Here is what we have booked for Hawaii:



It "accommodates" six if you use the sofa bed and the additional murphy bed that is in the suite. Not a bad deal if you are traveling with a family considering that NCL often lets additional guests beyond the first two sail for free if they are in the same cabin.

[diirk]

Originally Posted by dscabra

We don't have Platinum status yet, but we're close. We started our cruise experience booking balcony staterooms until we got upgraded to a suite. Since then, we only book suites. The Pride of America has very nice suites with huge balconies compared to other ships. Here is what we have booked for Hawaii:

It "accommodates" six if you use the sofa bed and the additional murphy bed that is in the suite. Not a bad deal if you are traveling with a family considering that NCL often lets additional guests beyond the first two sail for free if they are in the same cabin.

Yep. It's pretty easy to get spoiled with a suite. We had one of the Owners Suites a few cruises ago and it was impressive.

[infinitekidM2C]

Cruises are bomb but don't go cheap else you'll end up at a drunken spring break boat. I've only been on one though it was an eastern carribbean cruise.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by infinitekidM2C

Cruises are bomb but don't go cheap else you'll end up at a drunken spring break boat. I've only been on one though it was an eastern carribbean cruise.

You got something against drunken boats??

[diirk]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

You got something against drunken boats??

We went with some friends on a Carnival cruise. It was a 3-4 day to Mexico. Basically a party boat, which is fine if that's your thing.
It was pretty funny though. Walking down the hall near the cabins was like walking through a dorm. Half the doors were open and folks were walking from one cabin to another, etc.
Beer bongs at the pool. Folks passed out on the loungers.
Thirty years ago this would have been my jam, but not so much anymore.

[Torgus]

I don't get cruises. You are stuck with a bunch of random(usually unattractive overweight) people on a boat. Days at sea are kind of a waste. Being in your cabin feels like a waste of time, it is just a small hotel room, even the Suits are meh I mean they are nice but...I also don't like sitting in a fancy hotel room. I can sit around in luxury at home. I would rather fly to my destination and get a day there vs wasting a day or 3 traveling on the 'slow boat'. The all you can eat buffets are ok, my kid likes it, I think the food is rather crappy.

On Royal and carnival you used to be able to get as much as you want to eat for dinner. Now they upcharge you. Example: $16.99 plus an 18% gratuity = $20 if you want another lobster tail. It was fun pigging out at dinner, no more.

You see more for-fee options available on cruise ships than ever before. You want a nice steak house, you pay. It kind of takes away from the experience a touch.

There is also a lot of waiting around, waiting to get on the boat, get off, gotta get back in time before it leaves which can cut your shore excursions short and limits what you can do. If you had just flown there you would not have those wasted travel days at sea and have more time to spend at every destination.

If you like to just lay around & stare at blue water(which are travel days) I guess it is ok. I guess you can shop and there are activities to keep some what entertained. Kids seem to like cruises and the water parks, bring friends or other family members with kids so they can entertain themselves. If I am going to spend my precious free time and money a cruise is pretty much last on my list of things to do.

edit: As said above some are just party boats. Do you research and understand what you are getting into.

[aktif8]

We did a virgin cruise last year - in a suite - and loved it. Just recently came back from NCL, in a haven suite on the Prima - overall big meh. Food out of the haven was barely edible swill, entertainment was subpar, and you get nickel and dimed for everything. For the $ I spent - well north of 10k - it should have been phenomenal, but I think virgin ruined us. Will likely do virgin Europe next year, maybe their greek island one.

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by Torgus

I don't get cruises. You are stuck with a bunch of random(usually unattractive overweight) people on a boat. Days at sea are kind of a waste. Being in your cabin feels like a waste of time, it is just a small hotel room, even the Suits are meh I mean they are nice but...I also don't like sitting in a fancy hotel room. I can sit around in luxury at home. I would rather fly to my destination and get a day there vs wasting a day or 3 traveling on the 'slow boat'. The all you can eat buffets are ok, my kid likes it, I think the food is rather crappy.

What they are particularly good at is getting you to a bunch of warm destinations that you wouldn't want a whole week at. They provide a reliable known quality experience that you generally need to pay for a fairly high end all inclusive to ensure. They also tend to be cheaper, especially when you factor in a international island flight vs a domestic port.

It's kinda like going to chili's for dinner. Its not the best out there but picking a random restaurant can be a real crap shoot.

[dscabra]

Originally Posted by Torgus

I don't get cruises. You are stuck with a bunch of random(usually unattractive overweight) people on a boat. Days at sea are kind of a waste. Being in your cabin feels like a waste of time, it is just a small hotel room, even the Suits are meh I mean they are nice but...I also don't like sitting in a fancy hotel room. I can sit around in luxury at home. I would rather fly to my destination and get a day there vs wasting a day or 3 traveling on the 'slow boat'. The all you can eat buffets are ok, my kid likes it, I think the food is rather crappy.

On Royal and carnival you used to be able to get as much as you want to eat for dinner. Now they upcharge you. Example: $16.99 plus an 18% gratuity = $20 if you want another lobster tail. It was fun pigging out at dinner, no more.

You see more for-fee options available on cruise ships than ever before. You want a nice steak house, you pay. It kind of takes away from the experience a touch.

There is also a lot of waiting around, waiting to get on the boat, get off, gotta get back in time before it leaves which can cut your shore excursions short and limits what you can do. If you had just flown there you would not have those wasted travel days at sea and have more time to spend at every destination.

If you like to just lay around & stare at blue water(which are travel days) I guess it is ok. I guess you can shop and there are activities to keep some what entertained. Kids seem to like cruises and the water parks, bring friends or other family members with kids so they can entertain themselves. If I am going to spend my precious free time and money a cruise is pretty much last on my list of things to do.

edit: As said above some are just party boats. Do you research and understand what you are getting into.

I would say that most of what you described is the opposite of the NCL Hawaii cruise. The ship is basically your hotel for the week and sails at night (no at sea days). You also get two overnights, one on Maui and one on Kauai if wanted to venture further from the ship without needing to be back at a specific time that evening. Yes, there are upcharge restaurants, but also plenty of included (complementary) options to choose from. This all adds up to a really great way to island-hop Hawaii without the hassles of dealing with airports. Like you said, do your research before booking and understand what you're signing up for. There are a lot of different types of cruise experiences you can do from bare bones to 100% all-inclusive luxury.