Markanddonna

I think an inside vs balcony so depends on where you are going. If you are sailing from island to island, a balcony is lovely. If you are on a transatlantic, the wind, spray, weather often prevents you from enjoying a balcony.

Privacy is also another issue. We had an obstructed cabin where the outside platform was frequented DAILY by workers. One even peeked inside...very obvious and was he startled to find me looking right back at him. I thought we wouldn't have that issue on a balcony but then you have the window cleaning guys on their little trolley. That was sure a surprise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! Good thing we were fully clothed..

One trick that I think was mentioned is to keep the TV on the channel that shows the bow view, if you want to wake up with the sunrise.

My daughter, who has never cruised, said that she would feel claustrophobic in an inside. I asked her if she had her eyes open or closed when she slept. It just isn't an issue for us as we like to be out and about the ship.

I think that a balcony is wonderful for those who have some type of physical limitations and can't get around the ship very well. Otherwise, to us, it is all about the price difference.

I bought a port hole stick on for the wall... found it on Amazon.

We have been on three cruises that were at least two weeks long. One was an RCL TA and had a priest who held mass every day and the Protestants who liked old hymns met in the chapel on sea days. I think the later group must have been a group traveling together as they all seemed to know songs and their procedures. Both were advertised in the daily.

The absolute best was NCL on a TA and the ship asked early on if there were any clergy who would conduct a church service. A missionary volunteered and he was amazing. The services were held in the theatre. He also ran a Bible study that met in a meeting room. It was jammed packed. He did this on sea days.

The last one on a 19 night Panama Canal NCL trip had a church service on the weekends in the meeting room and it was run by a very nice Texas preacher. Great job. There was also a rather covert Bible study that was not advertised conducted by a separate group. You were welcome if you found out about it.

I am pretty sure HAL still offers a cabin to Catholic priests to run mass. I'm pretty sure they do in Alaska but I don't know about other destinations.

I think this option is somewhat under the control of the cruise director. We always thank them for doing this.

My last two LONG cruises (14-19 nights) have been on NCL and we really enjoyed the option of sharing a table. We meet so many fascinating people that way. We have a TA on RCL and signed up for MTD but then wondered if it was possible to ask for this option of sharing a table.

We were on a 16 night TA on RCL a few years ago with early dining and we lucked out with some very nice table mates but two couples almost never showed up so we were often a table of six. I think a table for ten is not very manageable.

I have been on several cabin crawls and they were all fun to different degrees. Asking anyone to spring for treats/foods is unnecessary and a way to doom the experience. We were on a recent NCL cruise where the Haven was open to us on the crawl. These gracious people even invited the CC group to come back for the evening when we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you have one, make sure it is broken down into small groups. We were one huge group on one and it was a bottleneck for other passengers and the crew.

Personally, I think they are only appropriate for longer voyages, like TAs or Panama Canal cruises. We have eight sea days in a row on my next one so a crawl would be fun. I don't get involved with much cruise critic activity on 7 nights or less.

I always take out the extremes when I read reviews. People who absolutely LOVED everything with no specifics and those that hate everything and all the food is inedible.

This review is like the later. He lost all credibility with the butler complaint. I guess he wants a European robot that doesn't need to sleep.

BTW- I remember checking out the Haven photos and they do have a photo of a family, so another poster was correct that this person didn't do his homework.

Find out the date that the down payment is due for your cruise and then book it a few days or weeks after. You risk not getting a cabin that you hoped for and the worse case is that there may be no cabins available at all. I think that is unlikely in the Caribbean in the winter. You will find some ship that works for you.

We booked a cruise one month before departure last year and that was our first time "last minute". There are some other downsides. On RCL, you will likely be assigned late seating, but that may not matter to you. Most people prefer early or anytime dining.

We needed to have the safe opened once- my husband made an error...

One of the chief security people came to help us open it- in her presence.

Some safes require you to use a credit card to open the safe rather than random numbers (I think this was on Carnival). We just used out library card but hid it in a pack of candy in our closet. I wasn't going to swipe my credit card in a safe! Try it out before you place anything in the safe. AND as my DH learned, follow the instructions to a T.

We also eat our lunches and dinners pretty much only in the dining rooms. The plates start to fill up when I visit a buffet. I also try to stay away from the rolls and butter. I try to not put anything in my mouth that isn't REALLY worth it.

Once, again...to have that same discipline at home...!

You will find lots of good advice on the ports of call boards. Cartagena is HOT. We took a city tour that could probably be done with just a taxi driver.

Cabo San Lucas is very nice and more "upscale" than many Mexican ports. Be sure to take a Land's End boat tour. That is very easy to do. Just get off the ship and you will find lots of people offering the same tour. The city is clean and a nice walk.

At Puntarenas, I would look into a private tour that takes you to one of the national parks. We went on a ship tour to a private "rainforest" and took a tram tour of the rainforest canopy. It was at the edge of the rainforest and we didn't see any wildlife outside of a cage, so I wouldn't recommend that.

Puntarenas itself is really shabby and is probably the trashiest (as in trash on the ground) place I have ever seen. We were told the locals have the habit of just tossing their trash and the town looks like it is a pretty unsafe place to live.

Good advice thus far. I would just say "Honey. ________ and I really want to go on a cruise but we understand your hesitation. Know that you are welcome but we are going and would be supportive if you wanted to receive some help (therapy) so that you could join us. But, we are going... (broken record)

I used to frizz up multiple times on cruises and then discovered that two things in combination worked:

John Frieda Hot Air Brush

Loreal anit frizz, heavy duty product. Can't remember the exact name. I am amazed how my hair stays straight now.

I think demonyte is probably correct that your TA hasn't even tried. I was on an NCL cruise in April and was upgraded for free from an OV to a balcony at no cost, but I didn't have a TA. Another example of why booking with a TA is often not the best option. You never know which is the best option until all the upgrades and perks are tallied.

If you are the type who just wants to book and not do lots of research, go with a TA after you think you got the best price. There are some who love to keep checking for good advice on different aspects of their cruise and others who don't want to be bothered.

So, if you want to learn a lot about cruising, keep reading these boards and then book yourself directly through the cruise line. Learn the cancellation policies first.

It sounds like you had an unfortunate experience that obviously wasn't your fault. Your neighbors sound obnoxious. I would try a different, more child friendly cruiseline, maybe NCL or RCL.

Generally, I really enjoy meeting new people at the MDR and most often choose the freestyle experience so that we meet new people almost every day. We ask to share a table at dinner and sometimes lunch. I especially enjoy this experience on European/transatlantic cruises where I can meet people from all over the world. Those with a language barrier usually eat by themselves.

Variances in ages, lifestyle choices, race, etc. are no issue for me although I find the elderly are often more interesting and have lead amazing lives. I have learned a great deal about travel from asking about other's experiences. I want to meet people who are not my clones!

I will admit to a few groups I don't want to dine with:

-Families, with or without children as you are often the outsider and I don't want to be privy to the discipline

-Complainers

- Passengers with fur faced, four legged children. I would be thrilled to sit next to a legitimate service dog but have never seen a real one on board. I have seen small, dressed up dogs whose mommies and/or daddies have diabetes and the dog supposedly alerts them about their blood sugar levels. It seems quite insincere when the passenger eats all sorts of sugary food and then just grins. Don't get me started...

I agree that the Bahamas are on my dreary list. I only get off the ship to stretch my legs... and would never schedule a trip just to go there.

I'll chime in on Prince Rupert- not impressed

Astoria though is charming. I was there last month on a cruise and went to a wonderful maritime museum and then took a cab to Fort Clatsop. We had a wonderful day there, felt safe and the whole town is so welcoming...you also aren't approached to sell you drugs or to pick your pocket. Recommended!

Acapulco didn't impress. Felt unsafe it was uninspiring. The only recommended thing was the cliff divers.

I am wondering if the cabin category has a lot to do with the booking. It seems that a person who books a cheaper cabin is going to much less than someone in a suite. What are your experiences with this concept?

Did the OP read the original article? I suppose if you go from room to room with the same wipe, you will spread the germs around. I use wipes in my cruise room and throw it away. I don't go down the hall wiping down everyone's cabin with my wipe.

I don't know why this issue bother some people. I'm sure there are people who NEVER wash their hands after ANY activity and they can claim that they stay healthy. I'm not sure about the others they would be in contact with!

Some people have issues like COPD or maybe suppressed immune systems and taking that extra precaution makes sense. For all of you healthy ones that have no issues, your opinions are really not relevant to people who might struggle with health concerns.

So much depends on where you are going and on which cruiseline you are taking. One reason I prefer to go "freestyle" or other cruise equivalents is that I never worry about other folks seeing me in the same outfits every other night.

Most lines don't have a self service laundry. My thinking is that I can wash out the simple clothes, use downy wrinkle release and use the laundry service bag specials. I also have favorite light weight clothing that I reserve for cruises. The days of heavy suitcases have to go.

Also, invest in nice, lightweight shoes that are comfortable. That usually means fewer shoes which are so heavy.

I remember reading about a certain older "Southern" cook PD who had a cruise. The other passengers reported that she surrounded herself with family and staff to limit her time with the people who paid to be with her and spent lots of time in the casino. The group was disappointed.

I think that I might disagree with some folks here. I think the full transit is wonderful but your time for vacations and budgets might only allow a partial. You might now get the full experience but most of the day is going through lakes, which is lovely but they are just lakes. The canals all work sort of the same way until the new sets open in later 2016.

I had a balcony and truly didn't spend much time on it. It is generally recommended that you walk around the entire ship to get a good experience and that is what we did. Lots of folks had a grand time together on the different decks on the outside or cooler inside AC areas.

You might also consider other cruiselines. All the major ones do it well and most have a lecturer that comes aboard for the day and narrates.

Consider what is important for you and your budget and disregard the "this is the only way to do it" suggestions. I personally would love to do a partial for the different experience. Some people who especially love the history or are engineer types look at the experience differently than many people who just find the PC interesting.

We bring Lysol wipes and wipe down the remote, handles and any buttons in the cabin and hotel room. I press the elevator buttons with my wrist or elbow, never my fingers. We realize that all germs aren't preventable, but our practice doesn't hurt anyone and we stay healthy. I have (knock on wood) never picked up a virus or illness on a cruise.

I wish the cruise lines would put some thought into the canned music played around the ship. If you have a younger group onboard, then more current music would be great. A TA or a long Panama Canal cruise has older cruisers who don't like heavy metal, hip hop, etc. Surely, someone at corporate could put together some blends that better suit the demographic onboard.

I have traveled on the Star for 14 days across the Atlantic and because the outside isn't always conducive to lounging with the cool winds, the inside gets overcrowded. So, the bottom line is that the region where you are sailing may make a difference. If you are in port intensive areas like Alaska or the Baltics, inside lounging or seating may not make a huge difference.