Cruises, like them?

Blueface · 12-22-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Where can you find the smoking options on the Cruise line websites

For Royal Caribbean, under Customer Support, under Frequently asked questions.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custom...33&faqType=faq

P.S.
Don't think I was able to smoke on my balcony.
Everyone did it.
Stateroom attendant won't care as long as you don't stink up the room.
I made sure the door was closed at all times.

landhoney · 12-22-2008, 05:10 PM

Thanks for the input all, very interesting. Intersting that all had mostly positive things to say. Good things to think about.

smitdavi · 12-22-2008, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueface

For Royal Caribbean, under Customer Support, under Frequently asked questions.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custom...33&faqType=faq

P.S.
Don't think I was able to smoke on my balcony.
Everyone did it.
Stateroom attendant won't care as long as you don't stink up the room.
I made sure the door was closed at all times.

Is it worth it to pay the extra money for the balcony, or are there plenty of other places on the ship were you can smoke?

Blueface · 12-22-2008, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Is it worth it to pay the extra money for the balcony, or are there plenty of other places on the ship were you can smoke?

Depends on the ship.

Navigator of the Seas has a cigar room.
They have top shelf booze there to choose from and smokes to sell also or you can bring your own.
You can smoke on the upper decks outside.

As far as the balcony goes, I have done one cruise with an inside room (my very first cruise ever). I swore I would shoot myself before I would ever do that again.

I have done numerous with windows and numerous with balconies.
Never again will I go on a cruise without a balcony.
It is simply worth every penny.
I will never buy the old "you are never in the room anyway".
That is BS.
You have to go to the room to shower and sleep.
Make it a big room or as big as you can afford so as to not throw your partner overboard after a couple of days in a cramped room.

floydpink · 12-22-2008, 06:28 PM

I live 1 hour from Port Canaveral, so a cruise is 1 hour away for me.

Last minute travel is usually anything booked under 90 days.

Royal Carribbean does a 3 day cruise for about $250 with an inside cabin and we leave on Friday, wake up in Nassau Saturday amd leave Nassau late and wake up outside their private island for the day and arrive back early Monday.

It's a great weekend getaway and I love the shows, the food is just ok, and I gamble while my wife shops and daugter plays in the many activities.

I don't know about much more than 4 days, although I would love to do an Alaska or Hawaii cruise.

When you figure in entertainment, meals,etc, it's a bargain no matter how many days you go.

The crew is always from all over the world and are top at service.

12-22-2008, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smitdavi

Is it worth it to pay the extra money for the balcony, or are there plenty of other places on the ship were you can smoke?

On all the Royal Carribean and Carnival ships I was on there was a cigar bar and one outside deck they allowed cigar smoking. I always had my cigars in the cigar bar as the wife and I didn't want to spend extra money on a balcony. Really depends on what appeals to you.

We love cruising!!

12-22-2008, 10:28 PM

Another thing,,depending on who you choose to do your cruise thru,,,there are a lot of sites where you can get a really good price on your cruise. Travel agents are not necessarily your best friend,,,I used to use them but now do my own travel planning. I get some awesome deals on cruises:

17 night Transatlantic- Rome, Livorno,Canne,Cartegena Spain, Barcelona Spain, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Madeira Portugal, Ft. Lauderdale Suite w/airfare was $5200 for both of us

12 night Carribean on QM2 New York, Grenada, St. Thomas, St Marteen, Aruba, St. Kitts, Barbados, Puerto Rico Balcony for 2 was $2600

7 night Carribean on Princess St. Thomas, St. Marteen, Nassau, Private Island
Balcony for 2 was $1200

This is just an example as I have about 12 sites I use and we have sailed on just about every cruise line. It really does pay to use one exclusive cruise line so you can upgrade your amenities and your room. As a platinum member you get express checkin,,,which is great so u don't have to wait with the masses. You will get plenty of upgrades as far as wines, special invites, etc.

One thing we always do,,,,,,always befriend your room steward,,always,,,he holds the keys to everything. Since these poor people do not eat the same stuff you and I do we always approached our room steward when he was alone and asked him what he'd like for dinner. They always act surprised because they are not allowed to eat off the menu,,,but its not breaking rules if WE order a lunch or dinner and invite them to our room and have a nice meal. Trust me, these guys will break their necks for you. Our steward offerred to use his account to buy anything we wanted on the ship,,,they get anywhere from 20-40% off anything and we had him buy us some things we wanted on the boat,,,we got some great things with 40% off.

We would usually take second seating for dinner because we wanted to do more things on the islands. If you take first seating you have to always be in a rush to get back.
Another thing, on the first evening dining slip your dinner steward an extra $20 and he will act like you are the only guy at the table,,,he will get you special dinner items as I always asked my guy that I wanted lobster two nights instead of the one night they had it. The same went for the filet mignon,,I wanted it on two seperate occasions and he made sure I had it because I let him know early. When everyone else was asking why I got mine the steward told everyone that I had placed special orders,,,,lol

I love cruising,,it is one of the most economical ways to travel. When you go to the islands,,forget the tours,,,they rip you off. Rent either a scooter or one of those small 2 person cars they have and tour the island yourself. When you find out what islands you will be going to do some study and get a map and do it yourself. The tours only take you to tourist places,,,who gives a crap about that? You paid all this money to see other places,,,so go see them. This only applies to most islands except Jamaica,,,be very careful about doing it on your own there,,,very careful and be back before nightfall.

If you do elect to tour don't use the ships tour. You can usually negotiate with the cab drivers to do a tour,,,trust me, it will be cheaper than the $100-150 they charge you for the cruise line bus tour. In Acapulco we got about 2 other couples to go with us on a tour in a big Suburban,,,the guy first wanted to charge my wife and I $200 for a 4 hour tour. I asked him, how many people will fit into his vehicle? He says inlcuding himself, 6 other very comfortablly. Sooooo, I said how about I bring 4 of my friends and we all give you $300 ( $60 a piece ) and he thought, sure, why not? He gets another $100 for the same thing and we got the best tour of Acapulco,,,places where the tour busses never go and we stopped wherever we wanted to so we could take pictures or whatever. Always negotiate and go in a small group,,,2-3 couples and you will save a lot.

12-22-2008, 05:10 PM	#2
landhoney Mr. Charisma Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Seth Location: In the forest Posts: 2,639 Trading: (32)	Re: Cruises, like them? Thanks for the input all, very interesting. Intersting that all had mostly positive things to say. Good things to think about.

12-22-2008, 06:28 PM	#5
floydpink crazy diamond Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Pete Location: Orlando Posts: 1,955 Trading: (17)	Re: Cruises, like them? I live 1 hour from Port Canaveral, so a cruise is 1 hour away for me. Last minute travel is usually anything booked under 90 days. Royal Carribbean does a 3 day cruise for about $250 with an inside cabin and we leave on Friday, wake up in Nassau Saturday amd leave Nassau late and wake up outside their private island for the day and arrive back early Monday. It's a great weekend getaway and I love the shows, the food is just ok, and I gamble while my wife shops and daugter plays in the many activities. I don't know about much more than 4 days, although I would love to do an Alaska or Hawaii cruise. When you figure in entertainment, meals,etc, it's a bargain no matter how many days you go. The crew is always from all over the world and are top at service. __________________ "If we weren't all crazy we would go insane"

12-22-2008, 10:28 PM	#7
Cigary Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Cruises, like them? Another thing,,depending on who you choose to do your cruise thru,,,there are a lot of sites where you can get a really good price on your cruise. Travel agents are not necessarily your best friend,,,I used to use them but now do my own travel planning. I get some awesome deals on cruises: 17 night Transatlantic- Rome, Livorno,Canne,Cartegena Spain, Barcelona Spain, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Madeira Portugal, Ft. Lauderdale Suite w/airfare was $5200 for both of us 12 night Carribean on QM2 New York, Grenada, St. Thomas, St Marteen, Aruba, St. Kitts, Barbados, Puerto Rico Balcony for 2 was $2600 7 night Carribean on Princess St. Thomas, St. Marteen, Nassau, Private Island Balcony for 2 was $1200 This is just an example as I have about 12 sites I use and we have sailed on just about every cruise line. It really does pay to use one exclusive cruise line so you can upgrade your amenities and your room. As a platinum member you get express checkin,,,which is great so u don't have to wait with the masses. You will get plenty of upgrades as far as wines, special invites, etc. One thing we always do,,,,,,always befriend your room steward,,always,,,he holds the keys to everything. Since these poor people do not eat the same stuff you and I do we always approached our room steward when he was alone and asked him what he'd like for dinner. They always act surprised because they are not allowed to eat off the menu,,,but its not breaking rules if WE order a lunch or dinner and invite them to our room and have a nice meal. Trust me, these guys will break their necks for you. Our steward offerred to use his account to buy anything we wanted on the ship,,,they get anywhere from 20-40% off anything and we had him buy us some things we wanted on the boat,,,we got some great things with 40% off. We would usually take second seating for dinner because we wanted to do more things on the islands. If you take first seating you have to always be in a rush to get back. Another thing, on the first evening dining slip your dinner steward an extra $20 and he will act like you are the only guy at the table,,,he will get you special dinner items as I always asked my guy that I wanted lobster two nights instead of the one night they had it. The same went for the filet mignon,,I wanted it on two seperate occasions and he made sure I had it because I let him know early. When everyone else was asking why I got mine the steward told everyone that I had placed special orders,,,,lol I love cruising,,it is one of the most economical ways to travel. When you go to the islands,,forget the tours,,,they rip you off. Rent either a scooter or one of those small 2 person cars they have and tour the island yourself. When you find out what islands you will be going to do some study and get a map and do it yourself. The tours only take you to tourist places,,,who gives a crap about that? You paid all this money to see other places,,,so go see them. This only applies to most islands except Jamaica,,,be very careful about doing it on your own there,,,very careful and be back before nightfall. If you do elect to tour don't use the ships tour. You can usually negotiate with the cab drivers to do a tour,,,trust me, it will be cheaper than the $100-150 they charge you for the cruise line bus tour. In Acapulco we got about 2 other couples to go with us on a tour in a big Suburban,,,the guy first wanted to charge my wife and I $200 for a 4 hour tour. I asked him, how many people will fit into his vehicle? He says inlcuding himself, 6 other very comfortablly. Sooooo, I said how about I bring 4 of my friends and we all give you $300 ( $60 a piece ) and he thought, sure, why not? He gets another $100 for the same thing and we got the best tour of Acapulco,,,places where the tour busses never go and we stopped wherever we wanted to so we could take pictures or whatever. Always negotiate and go in a small group,,,2-3 couples and you will save a lot. Last edited by Cigary; 12-22-2008 at 10:37 PM.