Need tips on caribbean cruise

[megeve]

DH and I will be doing a 2 weeks south bound caribbean cruise in April. This will be my first caribbean trip and though DH has been there a few times, they were mostly business trips which means flying in, going into meetings and then flying out! So it will also be his first, get to know this region.

So I am wondering if any of you PSers has done this cruise and can give us a few pointers of what to do, to expect and to avoid? Thanks in advance!

 

[Tanzigrrl]

We always cruise with Royal Caribbean and we go every other year! I especially enjoyed Cozumel, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten (Dutch side). We've always done the week-long cruise so I'm not sure about the route for a 2 week cruise. I'm sure you will enjoy it! Which cruise line are you using and which ship?

 

[decodelighted]

Check out the Cruise Critic forums. You can find other people who are going on your same cruise ... or people who have done it before. They also have members who arrange PRIVATE excursions at 1/2 off the cruise ship's prices. The forums also help navigate different beverage plans, excursions, special services, upgrade opportunities, tipping etc....

I haven't cruised in the Caribbean, but we just recently enjoyed our first cruise a lot more than I ever expected to. I was anti-cruise! I've heard from other Cruise Critic members that Holland America is the best cruise line ... but we had a great time on the oldest ship in Celebrity's fleet.

Have fun!!!!!! Bon Voyage!

 

[GamerGirl]

I second the Cruise Critic site! There is SO much information there. The PORT section of the message boards especially can help you to figure out what you want to do and which ports you really want to make sure that you hit!

I've cruised on Royal Caribbean , Princess and Carnival. Depending on what you are looking for each line has a different feel.
Carnival: Party Boat - they push the drinking a lot - younger crowd and you might see a lot more children on the boat depending on when you are going. A lot more "activities" going on around the boat. Decorations were pretty crazy - neon and loud colors everywhere. We had the worst food on this boat -- buffet was also lacking in anything I was interested in eating (and I am NOT that picky!). The excursions we booked through this line seemed to be the lowest in quality -- think too many people on one activity or just not a great tour or whatever.

Princess: We got an amazing deal on a suite for the 1 cruise on this boat so I may be a bit biased! The suites come with all kinds of extra perks and we were in an amazing location. This boat was much more chill - not as many "activities" on the boat and not as many children either. The crowd was a bit older (we were in our early 30s and while there were definitely others our age on board the average age skewed older). The boat was elegant and the food was actually very good. excursions we booked all met expectations.

Royal Caribbean - This was our first cruise so I probably am a bit biased here too -- there is a good range of ages - I would say atmosphere on the boat is somewhere between Carnival and Princess -- there are defintiely people partying and having a good time but also quiet areas to just relax. Quantity of children depends on time you cruise. Boats we have been on were beautiful. excursions were good - and we were able to book a lot privately to save money too.

Good Luck!

 

[megeve]

Thank you gals for your responses!

Tanzigrrl, I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your caribbean cruises! We will be on Celebrity Constellation and St. Maarten will be one of our ports! Do you know whats the temperature like in this region in Apr/May?

decodelighted, it is wonderful that you had a great time on one of the Celebrity's fleet! It does boost my confidence that maybe this Celebrity Constellations cruise might turn out 'great' too! Which region was your cruise? Thanks for the Cruise Critic Forums and love the private excursion 1/2 price tip! Am going to read up all the informations in this forum now!

GamerGirl, thanks for your review! I hope C.C. will also live up to expections!

 

[panda08]

We went on a Caribbean cruise about 5 years ago with Royal Caribbean and had a blast. The one thing we did that I wish we hadn't was buy the "drink" package. It's basically a package for "all you can drink soft drinks", NOT alcoholic drinks. You get a card you can show anywhere on the ship. I can't remember how much it was. We got it because I thought that was the only option but discovered that the buffets/meal places served lemonade, punch, water and coffee. So unless you gotta drink sodas, I don't think the drink package is worth it.

We cruised with Celebrity to go to Alaska three years ago. We really enjoyed that trip too.

As for shore excursions, we arranged all of ours through RC (since it was our first time) but did our own when we cruised with Celebrity. It is a lot cheaper to arrange on-shore but just keep in mind how much time you have so that you don't miss the boat. The excursions arranged on the ship guarantee that you'll get back on the ship on time.

Have a great time!!!

 

[megeve]

Panda, thats good to know about the drink package, I'll certainly take note of it as I drink only eau! Oh another plus for the Celebrity happy user! I am glad that I did not book any excursion yet as we would love to explore new cities on our own. However, we would probably have to get some reading material on the ports where we will be going to. Any recommendations for read-up?

 

[kenny]

I'd avoid buying fine jewelry.

 

[panda08]

Panda, thats good to know about the drink package, I'll certainly take note of it as I drink only eau! Oh another plus for the Celebrity happy user! I am glad that I did not book any excursion yet as we would love to explore new cities on our own. However, we would probably have to get some reading material on the ports where we will be going to. Any recommendations for read-up?

Even if you don't book any excursions before you get on the ship, they'll give you a brochure after you get on board that'll describe the excursions, to give you the option of buying them on your way to the various ports. Of course, you don't have to go on any excursions, plenty of people just walk around. Since you know where all your ports of call will be, it's easy to just go online to see if there are any interesting places to go. Try tripadvisor.com. Cruise critic may have that info too but I didn't use that to figure out what to do.

Ditto re Kenny's suggestion to avoid buying fine jewelry. There's plenty of shops at the ports of call that'll try to lure you into buying various things. I don't really know what kind of recourse you'd have if you get ripped off.

Cruises will run "shopping seminars" on-board and then steer you to various merchants on-shore. Take the ship's suggestions with a healthy grain of salt.

Oh, and I'd avoid buying art. Many ships run "art auctions" onboard. We actually went to several while we were on our Caribbean cruise and bought two pieces. BIG MISTAKE. It was totally a stupid impulse buy, I don't know what got into me, as I'm NOT an impulse buyer. Since we were in the middle of the ocean and internet access was limited, I didn't do my due diligence before plopping down $$$. After we got home, I researched our purchase, and, of course, I discovered that we overpaid and found online complaints about the company. We disputed with limited success. Because you're on international waters, it's ambiguous as to who has jurisdiction over disputes. Just be careful if you're considering it.

Needless to say, there's plenty of people trying to get you to spend more money than what you paid for the cruise itself. It's very easy to get carried away without realizing it and things can add up super fast. Just something to keep in mind, unless money's no object. You can easily double the price of your cruise with shore excursions, spa treatments, alcohol, etc.

Eeesh, sorry, I've been telling you all to watch out for and haven't said much about the fun parts. On both cruises, I thought the service was wonderful. The staff came from a variety of background and everyone was super friendly. If you're into exercising, the ships have good options. There's pools, saunas, jacuzzis, and depending on the ship, rock climbing, wave pools, etc. In the evenings, there are karaoke lounges and various performances and, if you're on international waters, a small casino. I thought there was plenty to do on-board, as well as on-shore. The food was decent to pretty good. There are usually several specialty restaurants where you pay an extra $20-40 per person to dine there. I didn't try them but my brother did and said it was worth it, as the food was top notch. Not sure where your ports of call are but when we were on our Caribbean cruise, we stopped in the Cayman Islands and did a shore excursion to Stingray City. We hiked the waterfall in Ocho Rios and swam with dolphins in Cozumel.

Hope this helps!

 

[artdecogirl]

How exciting! I loved the cruise we went on and am planning another as well. We went with princess lines and I ditto the drink package advice, I do not think you need it, they have so many other beverages available at all times.. I do wish we had bought the package for alcoholic drinks though and I will tell you those margaritas sure slide down easy while you are sitting on a hot deck by the pool One other thing I would do is right away check out the entertainment onboard, we did not for the first few nights thinking it would probably be lame and then the 3rd day we decided to go see a comedy show and it was great! much better then expected and after that we went to most of the shows offered. Have a great time!!!

 

[artdecogirl]

One more thing, make sure you have the essentials, I had a unexpected visitor about a week and a half early (maybe the heat, I don't know) anyway I paid $26.00 for a very small box of tampons in the gift shop, yikes!

 

[SapphireLover]

My parents swear by Seabourn. A bit more expensive but impeccable service. Much smaller ships and more personal experience.

 

[megeve]

Kenny, I will avoid it like a plague!

Panda, thank you for your additional thoughts! Will do some read up on tripadvisor.com. We are on the southern caribbean route, st Maarten, St John, Aruba, St Lucia, Willemstad, Grenada and a few more!

artdecogirl, thanks, will check the entertainment programmes and make sure I bring enough of essentials when unexpected guest should show up!

Sapphirelover, thanks, will keep that in mind for the next cruise. This cruise is already booked!

 

[decodelighted]

Bumping to see how you liked it?!!! I may, or may not be doing a similar cruise VERY SHORTLY! Squee! (Aside from being a bit spooked by the terrible Cruise accident/capsizing this weekend)

 

[megeve]

Bumping to see how you liked it?!!! I may, or may not be doing a similar cruise VERY SHORTLY! Squee! (Aside from being a bit spooked by the terrible Cruise accident/capsizing this weekend)

Oh deco, do tell!

Sorry, I almost missed this!

Well,TBH, I would say its okay, but if you asked me, I would not do it again. But then, its me. I found out that I am not a cruise person and do not enjoy island hopping experience, I would prefer to stay put on one of the islands for longer days, esp. Curacao, Antiqua and Grenada. However, if you do enjoy the sun and beaches, these islands offer the best sun, relaxation and water sports ever.

Constellation was okay too, its abit old and in need of renovation. Food was lousy in main restaurant but the specialty restaurants were good esp love the italian restaurant! Night entertainments were enjoyable with Sue Denning.
Yah, its a bit creepy right now with this capsized ship to think of boarding a ship! They caught the captain and I hope they put him away for good and never captain a ship anymore. Does this incident affects your decision?

I hope my opinion/experience is not deterring you from booking a cruise. As I said its just me. I think with the right ship recommended above like Royal Caribbean (?) and less island hopping, the experience might be more enjoyable! I have done 2 other cruises so far, 1. from Venice (Italy), Greek Islands, Cairo, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and back to Venice. 2. the Baltic Sea boarded at Schwerin (Germany), Tallin (Estoria), Danzig (Poland) and St. Petersburg (Russia). We enjoyed these cruises very much as there were lots of cultural sights, interesting places, Jerusalem and Bethlehem were phenomenal!

Hope this helps! Whatever you decide, enjoy!

 

[Amys Bling]

Bumping to see how you liked it?!!! I may, or may not be doing a similar cruise VERY SHORTLY! Squee! (Aside from being a bit spooked by the terrible Cruise accident/capsizing this weekend)

Oh deco, do tell!

Sorry, I almost missed this!

Well,TBH, I would say its okay, but if you asked me, I would not do it again. But then, its me. I found out that I am not a cruise person and do not enjoy island hopping experience, I would prefer to stay put on one of the islands for longer days, esp. Curacao, Antiqua and Grenada. However, if you do enjoy the sun and beaches, these islands offer the best sun, relaxation and water sports ever.

Constellation was okay too, its abit old and in need of renovation. Food was lousy in main restaurant but the specialty restaurants were good esp love the italian restaurant! Night entertainments were enjoyable with Sue Denning.
Yah, its a bit creepy right now with this capsized ship to think of boarding a ship! They caught the captain and I hope they put him away for good and never captain a ship anymore. Does this incident affects your decision?

I hope my opinion/experience is not deterring you from booking a cruise. As I said its just me. I think with the right ship recommended above like Royal Caribbean (?) and less island hopping, the experience might be more enjoyable! I have done 2 other cruises so far, 1. from Venice (Italy), Greek Islands, Cairo, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and back to Venice. 2. the Baltic Sea boarded at Schwerin (Germany), Tallin (Estoria), Danzig (Poland) and St. Petersburg (Russia). We enjoyed these cruises very much as there were lots of cultural sights, interesting places, Jerusalem and Bethlehem were phenomenal!

Hope this helps! Whatever you decide, enjoy!

sorry to hear you didnt love it.