Only go on adult only cruises.
Cruise ship pointers and advice
- Thread starter Orangepeel
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When I say street food I mean sidewalk vendors. Not the most sanitary settings.
I've done inside rooms (no window), outside rooms with a window, and balcony rooms on the outside of the ship. There are balcony rooms on the inside of the ship overlooking the inside experience area, never get these, the noise is awful. There is zero chance I will ever cruise again without an outside balcony.
Have been on three cruises over three decades and can attest to a decline the experience. Shop the cruise lines like anything else and enjoy because it is fun.
Don’t listen to the negative comments here! Enjoy the excellent food, service and weather and don’t expect too much from the shore excursions.
What about older adult cruises?
The ride down the river from NOL is awesome. It is more than 100 miles to the Gulf and it is a fascinating trip down with lots of other traffic consisting of barge trains and small container ships and tankers. We've done it twice.
Not a lot to explore on your own on the port stops since they are not that long.
Belize is a tender port and the tender ride is fairly long. Best bet would be to take a snorkeling excursion.
As everyone says, be certain to get back to the ship on time since they will leave you.
Carnival would not be my first choice but you'll still have a nice trip. Cruises are an easy and enjoyable winter getaway and are also pretty thrifty since the ship is both your hotel and your restaurant. Carnival ships are quite crowded, but most have a nice piano bar if you want to be a night owl once or twice.
Not a lot to explore on your own on the port stops since they are not that long.
Belize is a tender port and the tender ride is fairly long. Best bet would be to take a snorkeling excursion.
As everyone says, be certain to get back to the ship on time since they will leave you.
Carnival would not be my first choice but you'll still have a nice trip. Cruises are an easy and enjoyable winter getaway and are also pretty thrifty since the ship is both your hotel and your restaurant. Carnival ships are quite crowded, but most have a nice piano bar if you want to be a night owl once or twice.
No. Cancel, get money back.
I agree with what Wayne stated. We have several cruises. Since C-19 the quality of the food on Carnival has dropped, as well as some of the service quality. I don't think we will do another with that line, and we have been on at least 3 carnival cruises.
Royal Caribbean is good, like stated above , avoid the ship interior balcony.
Princess was nice, but it seemed to be primarily really older people like all 70 +. That was about 10 years ago. ( Granted i'm 60 now lol).
Unless you have the means ( can afford) to get yourself to the next port, do the cruise line excursions. If you do an off boat excursion, and its late, you will get left behind, and its up to you, to arrange to get the next port to meet back up with your boat. If the excursion bus breaks down, or anything happens on a ship excursion, they will wait.
If you and your spouse both wear watches, set one to the ships time.
Unless things have changed, you can order more than one entree at dinner, you might need to order both at once, not once you have finished the first one.
There is usually one formal night, where you wear a suit and tie, I like it, you will get hit up for pictures, but hey why not. It is fun to look back on.
We usually do 7-8 day cruises. I would avoid short 3-4 day cruises as they are lower priced and especially avoid 3-4 day cruises around college spring break time. Unless you want to be around obnoxious drunk college kids that can't handle alcohol.
I usually tip my room steward in cash , they work hard.
If flying in to your cruise port, i would arrive the day before and spend a night in a decent less expensive hotel. Any flight delay, and you might miss the boat.
I don't get sea sick , until i'm back on land after 7 days. I never get sea sick on the boat. But if you do, get some anti-emetics or even the sea sick patches from your physician before you go.
You are on the boat with a lot of people, so avoid touching your face , if you have not washed your hands. Especially after touching hand railings and elevator buttons. Norovirus can be an issue, so wash hands, alcohol gel does not kill C-Diff, and most do not kill norovirus, you must use soap and water.
I don't buy drink packages, unless you get a really cheap deal pre-cruise. i might have an occasional libation in the afternoon, or after dinner, and a glass of wine with dinner. I just pay for what i drink. I also don't drink soft drinks, i usually drink water or coffee.
My parents went on a river cruise in Europe and loved it.
^^This.
Mrs. Kira and I are as critical as the cattle ship descriptions above.
However, the two river cruises taken by members of her family -an exacting crowd to say the very least- praised them.
Years ago, a cousin worked for Norwegian. She got her mom and my mom to take a shorter Alaskan cruise.
My dear mom (RIP) said she had a good time but the absence of any descriptions was telling.
Frankly, those colossal ships -anybody know the working capacity?- look like they'd have to be uncomfortable and unsanitary.
Mrs. Kira and I are as critical as the cattle ship descriptions above.
However, the two river cruises taken by members of her family -an exacting crowd to say the very least- praised them.
Years ago, a cousin worked for Norwegian. She got her mom and my mom to take a shorter Alaskan cruise.
My dear mom (RIP) said she had a good time but the absence of any descriptions was telling.
Frankly, those colossal ships -anybody know the working capacity?- look like they'd have to be uncomfortable and unsanitary.
Yep. I've seen pictures
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Balcony is definitely legit but quite often, the cost ratio is too high. Our last cruise was a balcony on the Allure of the Seas, one of the newer megaships and pulling into Costa Maya and Cozumel whilst on a balcony is legit as get out.
Think of a cruise ship as a hotel or resort that moves on the water from place to place. There are different cruise lines, different ships. some will have accommodation for almost 5000 passengers, others for 1/3 that number. food and entertainment is NOT THE SAME on all cruise lines or ships. IF you had a good or bad experience on one cruise does not mean you would have the same kind of experience on another cruise. A short cruise when school is not in session will have lots of children. A two week cruise when school is in session will have almost no children.
thus, the experience on a 2 week Holland America cruise will be quite different than a 5 day Carnival cruise, even though Holland America is a subsidiary of Carnival.
Red Roof Inn is very different from Hilton, and different subsidiaries of Hinton will be different in accommodation and luxury. Same differences apply to cruises. And like hotels, you often get what you pay for.
thus, the experience on a 2 week Holland America cruise will be quite different than a 5 day Carnival cruise, even though Holland America is a subsidiary of Carnival.
Red Roof Inn is very different from Hilton, and different subsidiaries of Hinton will be different in accommodation and luxury. Same differences apply to cruises. And like hotels, you often get what you pay for.
About 25 cruises total, almost all of them on Carnival. . .
If you're sailing out of NOLA for 7-days, you're going to either be on the Carnival Valor or Liberty. They are sister ships of the Conquest class of ships, almost identical in layout and my personal favorites of the class with just under 3,000 pax, not mega-large but big enough to have good ship amenities.
Having visited each of your ports multiple times, here are my thoughts. As for experiencing the local culture, you're really not in port long enough to get an immersive cultural experience; but can experience highlights of culture if you choose the correct excursions. At all the ports I would focus on excursions that are not listed as "beach break" or feature beaches as the central focus of the tour. Carnival's shore excursion pages allow you to filter as to type of excursion, so select "cultural" and "historical" as your filters. Carnival's Mahogany Bay port stop features a carnival owned beach property literally steps from the end of the dock if you want that sort of thing. Popular excursions include interactions with locals birds, monkeys and other wildlife. Snorkeling is OK, but Belize has better snorkeling opportunities.
Cozumel is an extremely popular port for all lines so don't be surprised if there are multiple ships there when you port (Our upcoming February cruise has five ships in Cozumel with over 18,000 pax that day, so we'll stay on the ship). Again focus on the cultural. One option if Mayan ruins are of interest is the excursion to Tulum on the mainland.
As others have noted, Belize is a tender port and about a 20-30 minute trip in. The immediate secure port area is fine, but I would not wander outside the secure area into Belize City on my own. Again, three Mayan ruin tours are Lamanai, Altun Ha, and Xunatunich. Xunatunich is a long day (7-8 hours if I remember correctly) with a long bus ride, but definitely worth it. Also Belize would have the best snorkeling of your three ports.
Most others have suggested only the ship's excursions for the peace of mind of ensuring you make it back to the ship on time. For first time cruisers I would agree. However if you're adventurous and understand the risks, there are some fantastic independent tour operators out there offering things you can't experience through the cruise lines. Just make sure you choose reputable vendors, read reviews and do your own due diligence.
Finally, make sure you understand the difference between ship's time and local time. The "time back on board" will be the ship's time and may differ from local time. I can't remember if there is a time change between NOLA time and ports you visit so it may or may not be an issue. If you use your cell phone for keeping time be sure to set it to NOT pick up the time signal from the local cellular network; this is one of the few times I still use an old fashion manual watch.
You're going to have a great time.
CB
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So when they say boarding time is 3:30pm in New Orleans to get on the ship does that mean 3:30 new Orleans time or 3:30 whatever time the ship is in?
So on mahogany Bay there's a beach to relax right off the port and you don't have to pay for an excursion to do so?
We're trying to figure that out on Cozumel actually right as you posted your comment was what to do in Cozumel if we should pay for a beach excursion or something else.
I agree 100% with what @spasm3 wrote, everything.
I’ve never done a cruise but have zero interest in any ship with more than 150-200 people. I don’t like crowds and would prefer to spend more for a less crowded experience. Family has done Alaskan and European river cruises in small boats with 50-100 passengers and really liked them.
I have heard good things about how well the Disney cruises are organized and the service from friends that have done it but hoping to dodge that entirely with my kids.
I have heard good things about how well the Disney cruises are organized and the service from friends that have done it but hoping to dodge that entirely with my kids.
Whatever you do don't get too sick, injured, or drunk and need to be taken off the boat to go the hospital. It will be worst and likely the most expensive trip of your life.
