Should friends cruise together? Seating?

[madge57]

Well let me put it this way!! (I know you will think what was she thinking!!!) But our good friends at home done't do anything but go to the campgrounds since they have a camper there. So I got on the cruiseship forums and found some people. We met each other at a campgrounds ( ironic) in June and went on a girls cruise in Oct. and then a group cruise in Jan. Some of the people stay friends and others didn't but thats ok it happens!! As for our good friends where we live well they still are at the campgrounds and we are planning more cruises. So just pick what friends you want to go with you the ones that want to stay home or the ones that like adventures!!!! We picked the ones that wanted adventures!!!:)

[caribbean dreams]

we always cruise with friends or family and have a great time, ever hang out together in ports, always do our own thing and meet for dinner.

This year we are teaming up with some very good friends of ours, they cruise all the time also but we have never Cruised together.

Their complaint when cruising with family & friends is they have to wait for the whole bunch to get ready and always argue over where or what they are going to do next. I have assured them, this will not happen, we always do our own thing and won't get mad if they don't want to do what we are going.

DF is thinking she may finally get a relaxing vacation.

[Septemberbride07]

Unless it is a special occasion, I would say invite your friends. I have gone on 2 group cruises, one with family and one with friends. The best part about doing your own thing is meeting up for sail a way from a port or a before dinner drink and tell of your adventures that day. I have an aunt and uncle who have gone on about 10 cruises with a group of about 20. When they went with just their kids, they all decided that the group was the way to go since there was always someone who wanted to do what you want to do. Either way, you are on a cruise! How can that be bad!?!?!:)

[MamaParrotHead]

I think we'd BOTH be bored just the two of us cruising. We always invite one couple with us (last time we made the mistake of inviting a couple we didn't know very well and while it wasn't "uncomfortable", we found we really didn't get along THAT well. Lesson learned). It's fun to be able to split up and the girls do something (get a spa treatment, lay out, cruise the gift shops) while the guys would rather play basketball or volleyball, or catch up on the sports news in the sports bar.

 

We make a plan ahead of time, of what we'd like to do, and ask those cruising with us if they're interested. With the understanding that they can do what they like, when they like, and are under no obligation. It works out great.

[mahwah]

To invite friends or not......that is the question!

 

While I understand that people can "do their own thing" on a cruise, I'm still deciding if we'd rather cruise alone or ask friends to join us. When we've vacationed with friends in the past, everyone says, "we can do our own thing" and meet up for dinner. However, somehow this gets to be, let's do this together, I didn't want to spend that much $ on an excursion, etc......and aggravation follows in many cases.

 

Like the romance idea of cruising w/hubby alone, but think the evening events may be more fun with friends.

 

Do you experienced cruisers out there prefer going on a cruise with your friends or do you think it's more fun to just go and meet new faces??

 

Also, are table assignments given randomly or can you request to be seated at a table with no children. Not a mean mom here (really), but I really would prefer being seated with adults rather than w/families with childen.

Thanks

Barbara

We went on a 7 day cruise with our friends last summer and we will NEVER ask these people to go again. They were so annoying!! Make sure you really know the friends you are inviting. Our friends complained about MONEY the whole time, the husband and wife did a lot of arguing while on board and they were so strict with their 13 year old daughter so therefore our 13 year old daughter was bored and was forced to go around the ship to make other friends. She did hang out with our friends daughter at times, but they always wanted their daughter back at the cabin by a certain time. I don't know...maybe we are too easy on our child, but we felt like she is on vacation too and she is here to have a good time so we felt they needed to lightened up a bit!!! We planned another cruise next summer with other friends and we are looking forward to that! The mom is a lot like me and the dad is a lot like my husband. My daughter will also have a great time with their daughter!!!:D This couple that we are cruising with next summer, likes to drink, this other couple didn't want to spend the money on drinks!!

[Fazzdaan]

We are cruising with friends this year. We don't get to see them enough since there are 2000 miles between us normally and all four of us are capable of deciding we want a quiet day if the mood arises.

 

We have one excursion planned together and will probably visit a port or two together. The gals are planning a spa day for themselves.

 

We are very much looking forward to the trip.

[sep1018]

we are cruising with some of our friends in october. this will be their first cruise, our 4th.when some of our other friends found out about the cruise, they booked also.so it will be around 8-10 couples going.:eek: I think it will be a blast!Just can't come fast enough:p

[Vellamint]

In theory I want to believe the more the merrier but in my past two experiences vacationing (not a cruise) with two different sets of friends I am really hesitant to vacation with friends again.

 

Without going into too many particulars we actually lost some longtime friends we had but this was over issues that had been brewing for awhile anyway.....just being together for 9 days really did the friendship in. Am I sad about it? Not really....they were not the people they were when we first met them anymore.

 

The second set of friends we are still friendly with (as a matter of fact the mom and I go on a Girls Only trip once a year - just the two of us)....but we wont go on a vacation with them again as they bought their kids anything and everything at every moment that they wanted....we dont do that. I like to go on vacation ALOT and dont feel they need every souvenier, etc on every trip but it did make for many uncomfortable moments and - yes - guilt when my kids were watching them spend money like water.

 

We are going on our cruise with neighbors that we really dont know very well....their daughter plays with our daughters..... They seem like a good match but past experience has definite made my nervous. We did not plan this cruise together - they heard about it from my girls and it happened to be the same week that the mom gets off from work every year.

 

SO.....here I am. Hopeful but nervous.

[Illinoisvacationeer]

I went with my wife, 3 of her girlfriends and my SIL:eek:

 

 

 

 

Before we started we made sure it was understood that we didn't have to do everything together and that we all should do what would make the cruise personally more enjoyable. We did some excursions together but went seperate ways on a few.....we did the same with clubs in the evening. There were times when my SIL got "moody" (she didn't stay for a show and went back to her cabin........because she didn't like the song "these boots were made for walkin':confused: )........I let her do her thing and didn't let it spoil my cruise.

 

Overall we all had an INCREDIBLY great time on the cruise....it was GREAT having them there, but at the same time I had a Fantastic vacation with just my wife.................so a mix of both can be done with great results.

I am single and don't cruise alone. I went with a gal I work with the first time.... Hard time... no alone time...She was very dependent on me!

Second cruise me..a co-worker with her boyfriend...and another co-worker good friend... We had made it know were we going to do things on our own.. But what was bad was when the couple would see us on bard or on shore they would turn the other way and act as they didn't see us. We were at same dinner table and they wouldn't talk to us... Weird! Ruined my friendship with my co-worker! Very weird situation! Me and my co-worker good friend had great times together and each had our own time alone also! I am ready to invite her again! I think we will be doing a family cruise here soon! I have always had good luck with family vacations, even though they seem to be a little long sometimes. I think with so much to do on the ship we will enjoy or own times doing what we want and have great dinners to talk about what we have done!

[mosel]

We always cruise with my family. No problem. Last year we invited my husbands family including their teenagers to go. Anticipated alot of problems and we did run into some. My SIL children have not traveled much and have not been disciplined quite the way my kids have been.(Can we say security bringing back the 21 yo one night because she could not find the way to her cabin). Anyway before we went we printed Marty"s rules of cruising so they would know what is expected.

 

THE RULES of CRUISING

1) Do Dress Appropriately

2) Do NOT Be Late For Dinner

3) Do Feel Included

4) Do Not Feel You Have To Be

5) Do Have Fun

6) Do Not Sweat The Small Stuff

7) Do Eat What You Want

8) Do Not Go Hungry

9) Do Make New Friends

10) Do NOT Let Them Into Your Cabin

11) Do Explore The Ship(Not The New Friends Cabins)

 

We are cruising again this year with my SIL and her 16 yo daughter. We did not invite the older two girls because they did not follow the basic rules( like not going to others cabins). So it all depends on whether the friends that are going with you have the same general ideas of manners and respect for the others in the group.

 

We always say it is fun to bring your group but we also sail by ourselves at least once a year. Cindy

[osiebosie]

It's obvious there is no set answer!!!

 

We have a couple we cruise with all the time, and another couple who keep asking us to cruise and we won't. It just depends on the people.

 

We've cruised with mil and sil twice, and the only times we definitely saw them was at the ports. We had a great time!

 

Have fun,

 

Shay

[gottacruisesoon]

Just make sure that everyone is on the same page before you cruise. We talked to our friends and all agreed that we didn't want to feel tied to each other. My dh and I always have one romantic dinner in the specialty restaurant (if there is one) and we let each other know what we are doing but there are no expectations that we will all do everything together. If they want to come along with us they are invited but no hard feelings either way if we or they are not up to it. It is nice though to have another couple along because if I am tired of hanging around dh or he is tired of me we might have someone else to hand with for a while. ;) The key is making sure you travel with the right people.

[ruskatab]

I say you always find out how good of friends they are when you go on vacation with them. Weve found out the hard way but we have a group of 3 families that vacation with the kids every year in Mexico and have a blast with them. Were doing the adults only thing with just the parents on Valor in August and cant wait. The last time we went with a new family we found out they were cheap wads and never tipped or payed all of their share among a million other things and they were not asked and will not be asked to go on a trip with us again.

[gagirl2006]

save to read later

[ktsj07]

we will be traveling in sept. with my mother in law who is very clingy to my husband. she always wants to be with him even at home. i don't know how to talk to her and neither does the hubby. my aunt is scared to go off the boat without someone else even though her husband is there. and my mom just goes with the flow or so i think. what do i do to make this for my family as well?:eek:

[Nanny Needs A Break]

To invite friends or not......that is the question!

 

While I understand that people can "do their own thing" on a cruise, I'm still deciding if we'd rather cruise alone or ask friends to join us. When we've vacationed with friends in the past, everyone says, "we can do our own thing" and meet up for dinner. However, somehow this gets to be, let's do this together, I didn't want to spend that much $ on an excursion, etc......and aggravation follows in many cases.

 

Like the romance idea of cruising w/hubby alone, but think the evening events may be more fun with friends.

 

Do you experienced cruisers out there prefer going on a cruise with your friends or do you think it's more fun to just go and meet new faces??

 

Also, are table assignments given randomly or can you request to be seated at a table with no children. Not a mean mom here (really), but I really would prefer being seated with adults rather than w/families with childen.

Thanks

Barbara

 

I can relate to everything you're saying. Personally, I like to cruise with friends and family. We've had nice trips together, great trips together and a few so-so trips together. It depends on the mix of people. I have one girlfriend I would never ask on a cruise - and strangely enough she is my best friend. However, she is a serious Type A personality and I know she would feel trapped on a ship after an hour, not to mention she has already told me I couldn't get her no matter how I bribed her :rolleyes:

 

So, I turn to friends and family who do enjoy cruising. During the holidays, it's a family matter - after all it's the holidays and since none of us like being home then, cruising is a perfect solution for us - kids and all.

 

However, it's the middle of the winter and I just want a quick get away, I'll ask co-workers who cruise or other friends who enjoy cruising.

 

The trick is making sure the personalities and tastes match up pretty well.

 

Hope this aids with your decision.

[wonderfullife]

I have cruised with kids and with friends. Our cruise with our friends turned out to be wonderful. I think you need to know how compatible you are with the friends and maybe take into consideration the things you do when you do things as a group at home. We had gone on several cruises and our friends got interested in checking it out. They picked a cruise and then invited us with them. They did not want to be convinced to take a cruise they might not like and wanted to pick their own. We were good with that because it doesn't matter to us where we end up.

 

We had an agreement that we did not have to hang out on the ship or do excursions together if we did not want to. As it turned out, we spent a lot of time together and the one port where we had picked different excursions was cancelled due to weather. My husband and her huband had been friends for years and myself and my friend had been also...long before either of us were married. We spend a lot of time doing similar cruise type activities at home so we knew that the types of activities would not create a problem.

 

They got up early and we did not. We all stayed up pretty late with some of us hanging out in the bars and some in the casino. It worked out great because there were always two who wanted to do something the same so we split up here and there and met up after or whenever we ran across each other.

 

We had a table for dinner together and were surprised on board by another couple we all knew. They were at our table also. This was the best cruise ever at dinner because there was no stress over small talk and the worry about saying something that may be offensive to the others because we all know each other and what to expect.

 

When we had to go to Key West a second time, we ended up splitting in groups for a while and meeting up again at the Hog's Breath. My friend and I got some great time together and so did the guys. I would do it again in an instant! It was a much more active and expensive trip that normal but nothing bad and a lot of fun.

 

Whatever you do, set the ground rules first and if you think that someone will not follow the rules, don't go with that couple. It should be a great time either way.

 

Wonderful:cool:

[DaisyL]

We always cruise with friends or family (once just DH and I) and really enjoy it. We've never had to make rules and just do what we want during the day, sometimes together sometimes not, but always meet up at dinner. We make sure we are never seated with strangers for dinner.

 

We make sure to hang out in the same area on an outside deck so this way we'll be sure to find the others. We have cruised with as many as 5 couples and always had a great time. Since we often go out to dinner together while at home, we know we get along.