New to Cruise

My husband and I attended a time share presentation and received a 5 day 4 night cruise. We are responsible for taxes and such but the majority of it is gifted to us. We have never cruise before and feeling a little overwhelmed so I wanted to get one here and ask for some professional opinions. We live in South Florida and would prefer to Cruise out of Port Everglades because it is closest to us but would also drive to Miami. The cruise lines we have to choose from are Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. My husband is in school from September until June so unfortunately we would have to go during summer months. Other then those specifications we're pretty much open. I'm sure the Carribean will be our destination but anywhere is is open. We have 1 year from today July 10th 2017 to book the cruise but no limitation on when the cruise has to be by. Any insight is much appreciated.

Monique McDonald

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Oh my, what a great deal!!

Just know that NCL is a casual line, no formal nights, no dressing for dinner and no assigned dining times. Have a look at the itineraries from Port Everglades (I am not sure if NCL even docks there). See what islands are being offered and look into information to see if there are things you want to do there.

All lines will add on a Service Charge and that ranges from line to line, just figure it will be about $14 per day per person charged to your on board account. Alcohol and sodas are not included unless you have some kind of beverage package. There are still plenty of free beverages and tap water is fine to drink.

Good luck in your research -- and get ready to be bitten by the cruising bug.

The cruise lines we have to choose from are Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian.

From those 3 lines, my first recommendation would be Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas out of Miami. Of the ships doing regular 4 nighters, Enchantment is the nicest.

I would go with Aquahound's recommendation -- we're booked for a transAtlantic with RCI (have cruised mainly Holland America with one non-impressive NCL sailing).

But of course, the cruise should at least touch on some place or thing that interests you! Or not -- if you view the ship/journey as an adventure itself.

Oh my, what a great deal!!

Just know that NCL is a casual line, no formal nights, no dressing for dinner and no assigned dining times. Have a look at the itineraries from Port Everglades (I am not sure if NCL even docks there). See what islands are being offered and look into information to see if there are things you want to do there.

All lines will add on a Service Charge and that ranges from line to line, just figure it will be about $14 per day per person charged to your on board account. Alcohol and sodas are not included unless you have some kind of beverage package. There are still plenty of free beverages and tap water is fine to drink.

 

Good luck in your research -- and get ready to be bitten by the cruising bug.

Thanks!!! First I had to Google "NCL" lol we are very new to this.

I like the idea of no formal nights/dressing for dinner because we don't usually do those fancy things at home.

That line does not leave Port Everglades but it is definitely doable from Miami especially with open bar for the hubby.

Thanks!!!

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From those 3 lines, my first recommendation would be Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas out of Miami. Of the ships doing regular 4 nighters, Enchantment is the nicest.

Thanks for your comment!!!

Is there a particular reason you like that ship better?

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I would go with Aquahound's recommendation -- we're booked for a transAtlantic with RCI (have cruised mainly Holland America with one non-impressive NCL sailing).

 

But of course, the cruise should at least touch on some place or thing that interests you! Or not -- if you view the ship/journey as an adventure itself.

Do you mind sharing what happened with the NCL saling? Or did you write a review of it that I could go and read?

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Thanks for your comment!!!

Is there a particular reason you like that ship better?

I just think it's all-around nicer. I cruised NCL Sky a couple times and was very unimpressed with the ship. To me, Sky felt cheap. Enchantment is much more impressive looking and all the staterooms are more comfortable. Plus, Enchantment has an adults only solarium pool, which is really nice. Sky has an adults only lounging area but there is a kids pool smack dab in the middle of it. It makes no sense. Just do a Google Image search, looking around the public areas of both ships, and you'll see the difference. As an added bonus, the 4 night EOS cruise goes to my hometown of Key West. ;)

Thanks!!! First I had to Google "NCL" lol we are very new to this.

I like the idea of no formal nights/dressing for dinner because we don't usually do those fancy things at home.

 

That line does not leave Port Everglades but it is definitely doable from Miami especially with open bar for the hubby.

Thanks!!!

 

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JMHO, but I would carefully consider any short cruises with an open bar - they're coined "Booze cruises".

While we have never sailed NCL, my step daughter and her cousin were on the Sky a couple of months ago on a five day Bahama cruise with open bar and she said it was a non-stop drunk fest. She said she'll never do that again, and this coming from a 24-year-old.......

I too would go with Enchantment. Its about the newest ship doing the shorter cruises. Royal is still quite casual but overall (in my opinion) provides a very good product.

We would pick a Royal Caribbean cruise because we like RCCL better than Carnival or NCL. ;)

None if the lines you are looking at REQUIRE formalwear.....so don't worry about that. RCI still says they have a "formal" night, but that's simply a suggestion...you do NOT have to wear suit and gown, although long pants for men (dockers or something similar) would be a better choice than shorts on that evening.

Monique, I feel obliged to be Wet Blanket here.

Please tell us more about the timeshare presentation. Was it an organization you know and trust? Will you be expected to attend more presentations/purchase a time share? They can be extremely hard sell.

Did you get a paper with all your obligations noted? (Not just "a few additional fees", but actual dollars.)

I was immediately struck by the statement "4 nights and 5 days" cruise. A four night cruise actually has more like three days; you can get a half day when you board, and a couple of hours the day you depart. That hype started my worries.

Several friends have thought they were getting neat deals for their first cruise, and ended up either losing all the deposits they had paid, or in one case, losing deposit plus the $1500 she paid for an "upgrade". In all the cases, when they went to book, the date they wanted was not available, nor was their next choice, and so on.

I would recommend doing a search on CC for "timeshare", as a starting point.

There are cruises available on the market for very reasonable prices, from agents who will be very upfront about all your expenses. Sometimes the timeshare ones work out well, sometimes not. Please consider all your options, and please come back with more information.

I just think it's all-around nicer. I cruised NCL Sky a couple times and was very unimpressed with the ship. To me, Sky felt cheap. Enchantment is much more impressive looking and all the staterooms are more comfortable. Plus, Enchantment has an adults only solarium pool, which is really nice. Sky has an adults only lounging area but there is a kids pool smack dab in the middle of it. It makes no sense. Just do a Google Image search, looking around the public areas of both ships, and you'll see the difference. As an added bonus, the 4 night EOS cruise goes to my hometown of Key West. ;)

Def don't wanna go on a booze cruise but been to Key West so much too I'd rather have another day in Bahamas if possible

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Monique, I feel obliged to be Wet Blanket here.

Please tell us more about the timeshare presentation. Was it an organization you know and trust? Will you be expected to attend more presentations/purchase a time share? They can be extremely hard sell.

Did you get a paper with all your obligations noted? (Not just "a few additional fees", but actual dollars.)

I was immediately struck by the statement "4 nights and 5 days" cruise. A four night cruise actually has more like three days; you can get a half day when you board, and a couple of hours the day you depart. That hype started my worries.

Several friends have thought they were getting neat deals for their first cruise, and ended up either losing all the deposits they had paid, or in one case, losing deposit plus the $1500 she paid for an "upgrade". In all the cases, when they went to book, the date they wanted was not available, nor was their next choice, and so on.

I would recommend doing a search on CC for "timeshare", as a starting point.

There are cruises available on the market for very reasonable prices, from agents who will be very upfront about all your expenses. Sometimes the timeshare ones work out well, sometimes not. Please consider all your options, and please come back with more information.

It was through Diamond Resorts where my aunt has had a timeshare with for many years. I'm sure they may call us in the future for more presentations but we have already been down that road and know to "just say no".

We did get a paper with all of our obligations on it and have been looking at it closely. I know that there was one cruise my husband was looking at and he had me do a side by side compassion to see what we would.pay if we did it on our own vs with the voucher. Even with the voucher it would cost us $600 whereas by ourself it would be $900.

I did not know you can search CC for timeshare. Thanks!! Will definitely do that now!!

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Oh, good, it sounds like you are considering all the angles.

At the upper right corner of any CC page there is a little "search cruise critic" line, with a spy glass. I just discovered it myself!

You don't have to do the sky on Norwegian to get the all inclusive drinks unless you are limited to 'guarantee' cabin bookings. Norwegian is constantly running 'free at sea' perks, and the drink package is one of the perks you can pick from. You will have to pay a 'service charge' on it which comes to approx $14 pp pd.

I've not sailed royal Caribbean but have heard they are nice. But Norwegian is definitely not bad (I would rate it higher than carnival) and the included drinks def increase its value for me.

Also in my experience Norwegian has more free dining options than other lines - for dinner all lines include a main dining room with sit down service and a rotating menu plus a buffet. Most Norwegian ships offer both of those plus a free pub style restaurant and a few Chinese restaurant. IMO Norwegian also excels at entertainment.

Though if you are unable to get an included drink package with Norwegian I would look elsewhere. Their drink package has too high a purchase price and too many exclusions. Their drinks are also high priced - $10-12 for wine or frozen cocktails, $12-$17 for martinis.

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I've only been on 3 cruises but I can tell you the following:

Interior cabin vs. balcony if you are offed a choice. The interior will be the darkest room if that is the way you like to sleep. A balcony offers privacy when you want to get away from the crowds plus nice views of the world going by. Additionally, try to determine what is ABOVE your cabin by looking at ship layouts and searching in CC. Never fun to find out that a kitchen is directly above your room.

If you think you might suffer from sea sickness, try to get a cabin as close to the middle (front to back and left to right) of the ship as possible to minimize ship movement while in the cabin. The closer you get to the ends of the ship the more movement you'll feel.

Take a power strip for extra electrical outlets in the cabin. Read posts by other CC folks for what to take or leave at home.

Check the Cruise ship's website for what you are allowed to bring on board. Some still allow you to bring canned drinks and bottled water.

Unless you get an unlimited drink package you have to pay for all those drinks at the end. It adds up very fast!

Take the ship's behind the scenes tour if available. Fascinating to see the parts of the ship that are otherwise closed to the guests and see how the crew works and lives. Best to book as soon as possible once on the ship as space is generally limited and only one or two such tours available during the cruise.

Enjoy!

If you take a "power strip", make sure it does NOT have a surge protector on it. Ships electrical system is not like on land. Surge protectors can start fires, which can happen at distance, back in the walls so saying "I'll only use it when I'm in the room" is no solution.

I would do your research on those three cruise lines before you book.

Do you mind sharing what happened with the NCL sailing? Or did you write a review of it that I could go and read?

Sorry 'mo -- I missed your asking above questions. I did not write a review (my bad!). Had just discovered CC at the time.

We sailed FLL to LA through Panama Canal on the Norwegian Star. We were swayed to take NCL because we could get a balcony for the price of an inside on HAL. The outsides of NCL ships are fun with the bright colors and different themes.

The inside of the Star was dreary without respite. Decor consisted of old plastic flowers, apparently never changed -- dusty, laid over or pulled apart, no one ever cleaning or even straightening them. In the room, the slipcover and bedspread were dingy and threadbare (I covered the sofa with our beach towels for the entire trip!). The room steward was sullen and seldom seen, I would have to track him down to ask for creamers for the coffee machine (the coffee machine in the room was the high point of the trip, sad in its own way). Eventually I had to ask some other steward -- and was given half-n-half rather than cremora! Our steward had never asked much less provided both!

The food was totally forgettable including on the US Thanksgiving holiday. Some say this is to drive you to eat in the upcharge restaurants. It worked, once: we ate in the Asian restaurant which was marginally better than the MDR, not enough better to even consider coming back. Back in the MDR, we took to asking for table for two (we NEVER do this), just to be able to finish and get back to our towel-covered sofa to read and knit respectively.

Finally, after Thanksgiving, it was time to deck the ship out for Christmas! with a skinny under-decorated artificial tree propped in the lobby (nothing about the location warrants the title "attrium") and garish die-cuts stuck up randomly around the public areas. These pinups looked like something from the dollar-store. They were so awful it was funny in a sad way.

What I did learn from that cruise is that my DH, dr'spin, does much better with natural daylight, but also that we do not use a balcony during the course of a 'regular' cruise. We only sat out on it during the Canal transit. So now we book Oceanviews of one sort or another.

To the person who advises researching the three lines... Umm, I think that's what NickMo is doing right here right now! To nickmo -- sorry this post is so late, you have probably had to make your choice by now!

OP-I doubt you will ever see this post but thought I would try.  I just signed up for a Diamonds Resort presentation, mainly for the promise of this cruise voucher once done.  Can you tell me more about it now that you have, I assume, booked and gone on the cruise?  Did you have to book through Diamond Resorts or could you go through the cruise line?  Did it end up being a good deal and hassle-free for you? 

Thanks so much! 

I looked up Diamond Resorts Timeshare Reviews on Trip Advisor and found many negative comments, but none about cruise giveaways.  It just seems to me that there have been many consumer complaints about scam timeshare cruise promotions, so I just hope that the OP and anyone else involved with this or a similar company get what they think they are promised.

On 4/2/2019 at 8:05 PM, danak13 said:

OP-I doubt you will ever see this post but thought I would try.  I just signed up for a Diamonds Resort presentation, mainly for the promise of this cruise voucher once done.  Can you tell me more about it now that you have, I assume, booked and gone on the cruise?  Did you have to book through Diamond Resorts or could you go through the cruise line?  Did it end up being a good deal and hassle-free for you? 

 

Thanks so much! 

It doesn't look as if the OP has posted since Set 2017, so I think it is unlikely they will see this and be able to help you 😞

hello friendly people,  my question could be a little bit off topic, I could'nt find  any thread for  my question, anyhow,   #1. can I bring 2 kinds of prescription medication for myself  #2. my scheduled appointment time  for my set sail pass is at 3:30 to 4:00 PM, is it possible to arrive early and be processed at 12:00 noon or  at anytime before my appointment time, my port of call is at Miami Florida  at Royal Caribbean Allure of the seas.. Thank you  in advanced.