1 cruise or 2???

[MillbrookMom]

We have been looking at booking a cruise for sometime now....but budget is an issue and it's been hard finding the right thing for the right price. Anyway, we have it narrowed down now and are trying to decide if we should do one long cruise.......9 night RCCL Explorer of the Seas to the Caribbean from NY in Nov/Dec, 2007 (but since we've never cruised before we are a little worried if we'll get sea sick, or just not like being cooped up on a ship) or if we should break it into 2 shorter cruises so we can experience different ships/cruiselines and itineraries.........4 night Carnival to Canada/New England from NY in July of 2007 and 5 night RCCL Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda in April of 2008

 

What do you think???

[VaBeachCruisers897]

unless you have some type of severe boat \ water phobia..... book a cruise for as long as you can afford. The only downside is that you will not want to book a shorter cruise in the future....................

[karen2cruz]

Welcome to cruisecritic.

 

I was worried to about both issues the first time. As far as sea sickness there are several things you can do, which include the ear patch, bonine (less drowsy than dramamine) and ginger pills.

 

As far as feeling cooped up on Explorer of the seas, no way!!! There are so many things to do - shows, ice skating, lounges with singers and musicians, trivia games, karaoke, gambling, dancing, eating, spa, gym classes. Go and have wonderful time!!!

[barbarah33]

The longer a cruise the better!!

[cruisinbuddy]

My 1st cruise was a 7 night, so have the other three for that matter. After #1, I couldn't imagine doing a short one. If I were you I'd do the longer one. My next one is an 8 night, can't wait. Also my 1st was a tiny ship, 27,000 tons and even being that small, we never felt cooped up. Now the cabins aren't that big on any ship, so if you stay in there all day, then you will feel cooped up. So just use the cabin for sleeping, showering and changing for dinners. You didn't pay that $$ to stay in there all the time anyways. Now if you live near the port and just have to pay for parking, or not even that, then maybe 2 short ones would be ok.

[Happy ks]

I've done both short cruises and 7 day cruises and have to say, hands down, the longer the cruise, the better.

 

If I were you, I'd do the long cruise first, then fill in the cruise blues with the short ones and then only if the port is within driving distance for you.

 

The shorter cruises tend to be on the older, more worn out ships (unless you do a repo, or a one time sailing) and people really do not get the true flavor of what a cruise really is on one of the older ships. So much has changed with the ships in the last ten years, there is a difference with the newer ship.

 

We enjoy the short cruises because we are within an hours drive from the port of LA, so it's a pretty inexpensive getaway. We know to downgrade our expectations and that the ship can't possibly offer the same ammenities as a newer ship.

[PaulfromPA]

Personally, MM, I wouldn't worry about seasickness or feeling cooped up. If those are going to be major issues for you, then it probably won't matter if you are cruising for 5 days or 9. Instead, I would focus on one question: Are you the type of person who needs at least a week to truly wind down, relax, and get refreshed, or can you get your batteries recharged with a short getaway? If you live a hectic life and find that short getaways replenish you, then maybe two cruises spaced six months apart would be better. On the other hand, if you are like me, a week away is the absolute minimum for a truly rejuvenating experience, but 9 to 10 days is even better. Either way, I believe in the motto "there is no such thing as a bad cruise."

 

Enjoy! :)

 

- Paul

[abitaturbodog]

I would go with the longer cruise. I also think that your family would have more fun on a cruise to the Caribbean rather than Canada and/or Bermuda.

 

Have fun!