Is this crazy? 4 cruises in a row?

[jarz85]

Hi guys, just throwing something out there...

 

I'm so fascinated by cruise ships and planes it's ridiculous.

 

Unfortunately, where I live we get maybe 3 cruise ships a year and as for planes, well nothing big... and it SUCKS! I guess there isn't much demand for people to visit my city and I understand that.

 

Anyhoo... to satisfy my craving I came up with an idea....

 

4 B2B Caribbean cruises. 4 different ships, 3 or 4 different cruise lines. I want to do this as cheap as possible so it would be an inside cabin all the way... and I will be coming by myself, as the other half is not interested in cruising :mad:

 

I'm planning to do this in January or February because that's when there are like 5000 ships in every port. I know crowds will be massive in the ports but i really don't care. I just want to photo/video every ship possible.

 

I would also post extensive reviews from each ship.

 

Just wondering if this is doable or am I crazy??? As I'm paying $2500+ airfare to/from Florida I can't exactly come over a few times a year for a cruise!

[runner15km]

You only live once, go for it. !:)

[beachbum53]

Hi guys, just throwing something out there...

 

I'm so fascinated by cruise ships and planes it's ridiculous.

 

Unfortunately, where I live we get maybe 3 cruise ships a year and as for planes, well nothing big... and it SUCKS! I guess there isn't much demand for people to visit my city and I understand that.

 

Anyhoo... to satisfy my craving I came up with an idea....

 

4 B2B Caribbean cruises. 4 different ships, 3 or 4 different cruise lines. I want to do this as cheap as possible so it would be an inside cabin all the way... and I will be coming by myself, as the other half is not interested in cruising :mad:

 

I'm planning to do this in January or February because that's when there are like 5000 ships in every port. I know crowds will be massive in the ports but i really don't care. I just want to photo/video every ship possible.

 

I would also post extensive reviews from each ship.

 

Just wondering if this is doable or am I crazy??? As I'm paying $2500+ airfare to/from Florida I can't exactly come over a few times a year for a cruise!

 

I don't think it's crazy to want to do four cruises back to back. However, spending nearly an entire month sailing around the Caribbean might be a bit extreme. While there are some ports that are worth seeing at least twice, there are a few that the cruise lines could skip altogether. Before implementing your plan, take a good look at the various itineraries offered, and choose wisely.:cool:

[sail7seas]

Not the least bit crazy. There are a small number of people who stay on cruise ships for months. There are even some who actually call the ship home. Some have worked the numbers and say it can be less costly than a nursing home. :)

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

If you can afford it and can manage to be away from your home that long, definitely do it. Some people sail around the world and spend months on board. Your plan is quite modest in comparison. I hope your "other half" won't miss you too much for that length of time.

[Essiesmom]

You can do it easily if you sail from Miami and Fort Lauderdale. In both ports, you could sail one ship, come back to the port and go to another ship. You might even get in more cruises is you take 4-5 day cruises, such as on Celebrity Constellation and whatever Carnival ship is doing short cruises. If you really want to see as many different ships as possible, choose at least one cruise that goes to St. Thomas and St. Maarten (you could visit those ports on different cruises). Also, as real shortie, 3-4 days to the bahamas, on a day when there are a lot of ships in Nassau. A website that may help you in viewing itineraries and ports is http://www.cruisetimetables.com. the top list of ports is departure ports, and shows what ships leave when, and their itineraries. the second list is ports of call. Have fun planning! EM

[tak81288]

I don't think it is crazy, especially since you are coming from such a long distance and are paying so much for airfare. As another poster mentioned, you do want to choose carefully so that you are not taking pictures/filming the same things over and over again.

 

You are correct that there will be several ships in many of the ports. I would look at all the islands you want to visit, what ships will be on the days you will be there for each cruise, so that there isn't a whole lot of overlapping.

 

You may need to a short break between maybe at least one of the cruises in order to fly/drive to a different embarkment city in order to get a little bit more variety of the ships/islands you will see. (like if one cruise ends on a Saturday, take that day to drive/fly to another city and leave out of a different port for your next cruise on a Sunday/Monday). Only so many ships leave out of each port and doubt want to keep seeing the same ones week after week as you are hopping from one cruise to another.

[Beth C]

Another option (rather than doing all B2B's in Florida) could be to fly to California (most likely cheaper than FL) and sail over to Florida for the caribbean cruises. There's tons of 10-14+ day cruises for the Panama Canal to pick from :)

[groinky]

Another option (rather than doing all B2B's in Florida) could be to fly to California (most likely cheaper than FL) and sail over to Florida for the caribbean cruises. There's tons of 10-14+ day cruises for the Panama Canal to pick from :)

 

Think this a brilliant idea! This is the best of CC. Good advice and suggestions!

[sail7seas]

Another option (rather than doing all B2B's in Florida) could be to fly to California (most likely cheaper than FL) and sail over to Florida for the caribbean cruises. There's tons of 10-14+ day cruises for the Panama Canal to pick from :)

 

 

Great idea. :)

 

 

OP would get to experience Panama Canal and have a somewhat shorter flight.

 

[jarz85]

WOW! Thanks for all the replies it has been great.

 

Think this a brilliant idea! This is the best of CC. Good advice and suggestions!

 

 

Trust me, this trip will be researched like crazy. I'm even considering this itinerary..

 

Alaska > Pacific Coastal > Panama Canal > Caribbean > Carribbean

 

If only I could find someone to drag along with for the ride, who wouldn't mind sharing inside cabins! That would reduce the price by 1/2!

[Essiesmom]

WOW! Thanks for all the replies it has been great.

 

 

 

 

Trust me, this trip will be researched like crazy. I'm even considering this itinerary..

 

Alaska > Pacific Coastal > Panama Canal > Caribbean > Carribbean

 

If only I could find someone to drag along with for the ride, who wouldn't mind sharing inside cabins! That would reduce the price by 1/2!

 

Your problem there would be - noone is doing Alaska in January. Alaska starts in May. EM

[Krazy Kruizers]

Another option (rather than doing all B2B's in Florida) could be to fly to California (most likely cheaper than FL) and sail over to Florida for the caribbean cruises. There's tons of 10-14+ day cruises for the Panama Canal to pick from :)

 

Some of those are called repositioning cruises and some of them are not cheap no matter what category you book.

We have done quite a few of them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

WOW! Thanks for all the replies it has been great.

 

 

 

 

Trust me, this trip will be researched like crazy. I'm even considering this itinerary..

 

 

Alaska > Pacific Coastal > Panama Canal > Caribbean > Carribbean

 

If only I could find someone to drag along with for the ride, who wouldn't mind sharing inside cabins! That would reduce the price by 1/2!

 

This is a great idea.

Just watch out for the Jones Act on the part where you do the Alaskan cruise and then the Pacific Coastal.

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

You are not crazy -- if you don't mind all packing and unpacking and going through security and checking in all the time.

Do let us know what you final plans will be.

[6rugrats]

This is a great idea.

 

Just watch out for the Jones Act on the part where you do the Alaskan cruise and then the Pacific Coastal.

Except OP wants to cruise in January, which means no Alaska cruise, as Essiesmom has pointed out.

[jarz85]

Your problem there would be - noone is doing Alaska in January. Alaska starts in May. EM

 

Except OP wants to cruise in January, which means no Alaska cruise, as Essiesmom has pointed out.

 

Yeah I noticed that. Seems I would have to change my dates to April and that would suck! Although I could throw in a TA if I went at that time haha .

 

Once I've come up with a vague itinerary ill let you guys know!

[Jasalth]

I don't think you are crazy at all! It is actually something I am "planning" on for Hit the Lotto day! Only because I would have to bring my husband. And I can't take a cruise w/o my kids. And by the time I could afford it, I would have to take their families along to I am sure..

 

My husband really wants to do Asia and Australian cruises. Airfare is the real killer for 4 people. It would cost more to fly than to sail!

 

So if we ever do get to go, we are going BIG. British Isles, Land Trip to a Russian River cruise, Land trip to the Med, flight to Australia, then hopefully a TA or repositioning back to the US.

 

Just remember to budget for laundry costs on the ships! Would probably be cheaper and easier than packing for 4+ weeks.

 

I would so share a room with you even not knowing you! Except my husband wouldn't be happy with me cruising w/o him :D

[BeagleOne]

Go for it! If you plan it right you might be able to do Panama Canal, AND western/eastern/southern Caribbean. Please keep us updated.

 

About 5 1/2 years ago one of your countrymen, who for some reason has always been a Green Bay Packers fan, sold most of his stuff and moved his wife and two kids to GB for football season. That was Brett Favre's last year as a Packer and the year they just missed going to the Super Bowl. The guy made it to every game except the Thanksgiving game, got to see one of the most exciting seasons in team history, and he and his family had an absolute ball. Two years ago when the Packers went to the Super Bowl he flew all the way back to the U.S. just for the game! He had an unusual plan, went for it, and didn't regret it.

 

So...I would repeat, GO FOR IT! It's definitely an unusual idea, and it will take a lot of work to plan, but IMHO you'll regret it if you don't do it!

 

Also, since you are plane-crazy, you MUST include St. Maarten on at least one itinerary, and bring an air band radio. Maho Beach there is a must-see for any plane fans. And if you plan any trips out of Fort Lauderdale, the airport is just a couple of miles from the cruise terminal, so you can turn on your radio and watch planes come and go to your heart's content while waiting to sail away!

 

Also...Barbados has a Concorde museum! With an actual Concorde.

[meggie711]

I think it's a great idea! One of my biggest goals for our upcoming cruise is to get pictures of every ship in the various ports. I already counted and I will be seeing 16 ships in addition to our ship, NCL Epic, which I will also be seeing for the first time. I now want to have a collection of pictures of as many ships as possible. Makes perfect sense to me, as my dad had the same obsession with trains. He kept a log of the number for each engine he would see, and he would fill in the empty spaces as he saw a new one. He died last year, and we have enjoyed going through his collection. :)

If you go to cruisett.com, you can see which ships will be at the various ports by day, and that may give you an idea of itineraries you may want to more closely research. I'm excited because we will be in port with RCCL, Carnival, and Celebrity's newest ships on our upcoming cruise. What a way to start my project! :)

[RoofingPrincess]

If only I could find someone to drag along with for the ride, who wouldn't mind sharing inside cabins! That would reduce the price by 1/2!

If only you didn't have a better half, I might volunteer! ;)

[jarz85]

Go for it! If you plan it right you might be able to do Panama Canal, AND western/eastern/southern Caribbean. Please keep us updated.

 

About 5 1/2 years ago one of your countrymen, who for some reason has always been a Green Bay Packers fan, sold most of his stuff and moved his wife and two kids to GB for football season. That was Brett Favre's last year as a Packer and the year they just missed going to the Super Bowl. The guy made it to every game except the Thanksgiving game, got to see one of the most exciting seasons in team history, and he and his family had an absolute ball. Two years ago when the Packers went to the Super Bowl he flew all the way back to the U.S. just for the game! He had an unusual plan, went for it, and didn't regret it.

 

So...I would repeat, GO FOR IT! It's definitely an unusual idea, and it will take a lot of work to plan, but IMHO you'll regret it if you don't do it!

 

Also, since you are plane-crazy, you MUST include St. Maarten on at least one itinerary, and bring an air band radio. Maho Beach there is a must-see for any plane fans. And if you plan any trips out of Fort Lauderdale, the airport is just a couple of miles from the cruise terminal, so you can turn on your radio and watch planes come and go to your heart's content while waiting to sail away!

 

Also...Barbados has a Concorde museum! With an actual Concorde.

 

Thanks for all the info.... I will be in St Maarten in about 82 days :D

 

I think it's a great idea! One of my biggest goals for our upcoming cruise is to get pictures of every ship in the various ports. I already counted and I will be seeing 16 ships in addition to our ship, NCL Epic, which I will also be seeing for the first time. I now want to have a collection of pictures of as many ships as possible. Makes perfect sense to me, as my dad had the same obsession with trains. He kept a log of the number for each engine he would see, and he would fill in the empty spaces as he saw a new one. He died last year, and we have enjoyed going through his collection. :)

If you go to cruisett.com, you can see which ships will be at the various ports by day, and that may give you an idea of itineraries you may want to more closely research. I'm excited because we will be in port with RCCL, Carnival, and Celebrity's newest ships on our upcoming cruise. What a way to start my project! :)

 

You have no idea how jealous that makes me! Enjoy it!

[meggie711]

Thanks for all the info.... I will be in St Maarten in about 82 days :D

 

 

 

You have no idea how jealous that makes me! Enjoy it!

 

Seriously, check out that website, cruisett.com. You may be surprised at how many ships you will see on your upcoming cruise! :)

[jarz85]

If only you didn't have a better half, I might volunteer! ;)

 

I wouldn't be doing it til January/February 2014. She wouldn't be jealous of anything like that. All I would want from the cabin mate is to pay half the cost and thats it. I looked on another forum where people ask for cabin mates and that freaked me out... some of the requests they had, it was like a dating site :eek:

[jarz85]

Seriously, check out that website, cruisett.com. You may be surprised at how many ships you will see on your upcoming cruise! :)

 

I use cruisecal.com as it has a great feature "Itinerary Lookup" you can find your sailing and it shows all the ships that are in your ports at the same time!