AlwaysReadyToSail

I am 28 now, and I have done a few different cruise lines. So far I have probably enjoyed Celebrity the most. The people are great, service is great too. There are not too many younger people on them, but I don't find that to be a problem. One of my favorite things about the two Celebrity cruises I have been on were that I didn't see a bunch of kids running around like crazy, and the other passengers were much more polite in most cases. Never had a problem with people bing chair hogs, or rude. There were plenty of events that were suitable for me and my companion(s) and the overall feel of their ships are nice and modern.

I'm trying Azamara next, which may be even an older group of passengers. So far older passengers haven't bothered me one bit. If anything I find them to be the more seasoned travelers with good advice and stories, not doing rookie things like making a big deal over getting into the MDR first. I'll pick an older crowd over a ship full of kids any day.

Age: 28

State: KY

What you do: Accountant

Hobbies/Interests: Traveling of any sort

Family: Just me, but I usually travel with SO or friends or family.

Next cruise: November 2014 - Azamara Journey - W. Med

Last Cruise: October 2012 - Celebrity - E. Med

I generally try not to do anything that isn't free. I bring on my allowable wine (I've also done rum runners...it was fun the first few times I did it, but now it is more of a hassle than it's worth considering I'm not a big drinker..I always bring an empty one with me in case I run out mid way through the cruise). I look for happy hours, events like captains party/past guest party and drink specials when I do want a cocktail. I've never had my account be more than $75 at the end of my cruise. I don't do the shore excursions as I've found I can almost always do something on my own that is better and cheaper if I take the time to plan it out. When I can I'll use public transportation or share a taxi or tour with others.

I also try to travel with budget conscious companions....once I went with a couple that splurges....their bill was huge at the end. I was constantly having to tell them no thanks to joining them on their fee incurring activities.

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I did a similar cruise a few years ago. Generally I find the ship's excursions to be too expensive and too cookie cutter for me. I think my review of these places are in my signature. It was the one where I was on the dream.

We took a can to a beach in toatan and although I've never been to a port beach or cruise ship beach, from the people that I've exchanged cruise stories with, I now try to avoid them at all cost if I can.

Good luck and have fun!

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I personally think that under $100 pp/pd including all taxes and fees for 1st and 2nd pass and discounted for 3rd and 4th are pretty good rates. Look for deals where 3/4th pass are free or more than half off, or where you get free upgrades or obc. Sometimes mid-range or even lower end luxury lines will offer some fantastic deals through upgrades, specials, obc, and simply being more all inclusive.

Two of my fav sites to look for rock bottom prices are vacations to go and **********. Also subscribe to newsletters from the cruiselines and other sites and message boards.

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I use a schwab checking account. It has been great. I absolutely love it for travel. All ATM fees are reimbursed worldwide and no foreign transaction fee, just pay the exchange rate. I LOVE this card.

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I've used rum runners several times and never had a problem. Also used the leather canteen bag things without problem other than some leakage. And I've done the whole skip the booze check-in line thing. All has worked just fine for me. Once I put liquor in a water bottle and it got caught and I've seen the skip-the-line thing not work for some people. It's all a gamble but in my younger days I thought it made it interesting to try. Plus I was a college student with limited funds wanting to maximize fun.

I always take my wine allowance. Generally I still buy a few drinks on the ship and I've almost always had booze left to bring home. (I must plan to drink more than I actually do).

The last two times I cruised it was very port intensive so I just took the wine allowance and that was enough for me. I would buy drinks a couple of times during happy hour and I think my onboard spending was only around $50 total for 10 day cruise.

Upcoming cruise is on Azamara so I really have no need to bring anything onboard to drink. I kind of look forward to that as now I'm getting older and don't find smuggling on booze near as exciting.

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Last time I was in Europe, most places would have a service charge, so I just rounded up to the closest full Euro. Do search each place you plan to visit and look carefully at the bill like others said. My motto is when in doubt if tip is expected leave at least a little, but don't stress over it.

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Thanks for sharing your experience.

I know it's an ancient thread. But I figured some of the participants in it may still be subscribed to the thread and could be willing to share their experience. No hurt in trying. Haha. Thanks again.

Did anyone find out about this?

What was your experience @cwuer?

I have an upcoming cruise booked on the Journey Nov 6, 2014 with an inside guarantee. We haven't been assigned a cabin yet (and figure we won't be until closer to sailing) but noticed that all inside cabins are showing as being sold out today.

I too would prefer any inside to a smaller obstructed view outside. Overall I will be happy either way. All I really care about is getting from port to port and having a place to lay my head at night but I am a little curious how things played out for you.

Our family of 6 has booked 3 inside guarantees on this sailing, and knowing that there aren't a ton of inside cabins and that now Azamara is showing inside cabins as sold out I figure chances are a little increased that one of them may be upgraded. Then again...who knows. We will be happy cruisers either way.

On my last med cruise they took our passports. So we didn't even have the option.

On other cruises I have generally left it in the safe, and made sure to have a photo of it on my phone and taken my passport card and DL with me.

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just checked the stateroom availability on a cruise website. man the oceanviews are mostly unbooked. lots of verandas and suites available as well. if i were a betting man i would expect ACC to just give up on the cat 8 and cat 7 rooms. good luck with the upgrade but one thing you will enjoy regardless is peace and quiet in the MDR and easy access to the specialty restaurants. should be pretty easy to get good seats for evening entertainment.

Could you share which site with me?

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I have assumed that the cabins that are showing as unbooked will be taken up by those who have booked guarantees and haven't had their cabin assigned yet. I suppose it just depends how many are in that situation in each category. Do ACC let one know by email when they assign one with a cabin number, or how does one find out?

Did you find out the answer to your question? I was wondering the same.

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If it says your xpress pass is not yet ready is there any way to see if a cabin has been assigned?

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I read a thread on here about Celebrity's restaurants. They recommend getting a specialty dining pkg because food in the MDR doesn't change each night and isn't very good. This worries me. Never been but footing the bill for two balcony rooms in Jan, and excursions and drink pkg(although that was included). Don't want to throw in money for restaurants too. Please tell me you like the MDR food!!!

 

 

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I have actually always dined in the MDR. I never had a problem with the food, so there wasn't too much draw for me to go the specialty dining route if I was satisfied for free.

Some of my family did specialty dining on our last cruise and said it was fantastic, but seemed to thoroughly enjoy their MDR experiences as well. I felt there was good variety.

The menu changed from night to night, but also had a section of classic dishes that remained the same. On occasion you would see them repeating ingredients but they were always prepared differently so I didn't see a problem with that. (Note I haven't been on Celebrity in a little over a year so things may have changed some since then).

I would say that from my experience the food on Celebrity is as good or better than Carnival. My biggest culinary disappointment was the brunch.

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Thanks! Sounds fun.

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What is White Nights?

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Well Silversea and Seabourn I know for sure don't have inside cabins.

Regent too, I think. I don't know about O and Azamara, perhaps they have inside cabins but they're not considered as luxury as SS, Regent and SB are.

Very true! I know O and Az are a little lower than the others, but higher than the ones in mid...and the super luxury ones generally don't have insides. O and Az seem to have very few insides but it's sort of nice that they do for those who don't mind them.

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Thanks. I was just interested in what others would pick.

I'm not really having to make this decision and I know the categories were loosely based. It was simply a hypothetical question. Thanks for participating though!

I've done inside,outside, balcony, and suite. Personally I don't mind inside, balcony is nice and preferable for me, suite was a little overkill IMO. But I know everyone has different preferences, which is why I was interested in the question.

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I suggest Celebrity. I liked Carnival just fine but after being on Celebrity three times now Carnival just doesn't perform in comparison.

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I know some cruise lines don't allow them but mine has never been confiscated and I don't leave it plugged up, but my mini steamer has been a life saver. Particularly for dinner outfits and formal night.

I'll also add a highlighter and Ginger Root pills (never know when those seas will start rocking)

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Cruisemom gave some fantastic tips.

On my last cruise I organized the tours for a group of five couples that toured together at most of the ports, on another trip I organized a few tours as well.

A tip if you are the organizer. Ask everyone to have their portion of the trip in exact cash for each tour planned, and anticipated tip separately. As the organizer I found it very beneficial to have a lot of small bills to make change for people, because inevitably someone would always forget to have the exact amount.

And def meet on the ship. On one of mine before we tried to meet at the dock and wasted about 15 minutes locating everyone who thought they were in the right place. Everyone is familiar with the ship (for the most part) but each port is different and makes it harder to stay on the same page.

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Just curious as to which you would prefer.

To keep things fair lets say it is a 10 day cruise to same region with similar itineraries. Price is exactly the same if you do inside/high end, ocean view/mid, suite w balcony/low end.

Higher end being lines such as: silversea, Oceania, Azamara, Regent, etc

Mid: Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, etc

Low: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, etc.

What demographic do you fit in and why did you choose as you did?

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I will generally take a long one and a short one to help save on room. Or if my sister or friends are going then we will borrow and switch out dresses from one night to the next.

If only it didn't take up so much luggage I'd wear two full length dresses as I love the excuse to dress up. My next cruise is on Azamara which doesn't have a formal night and I'm pretty bummed about not having a reason to get fancy for at least one evening out of the 10 nights. Then again staying in port until later in the evening may make the lack of a formal night all worthwhile.

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Thank you all for the replies. This helps a lot in my planning.

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