Questions for Newbie Cruisers

[Family-of-4]

Hello all,

 

This is our first post - glad to have found cruise critic. We are planning to take our first ever cruise in Nov 2008 either on the Nov 8th 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise or on the 4-day Nov 9th Bahamas cruise. We are a family of 4 - kids 9 & 6 at time of cruising. We are Florida residents, AAA members and are military.

 

Questions:

1) Is it warm enough for swimming, particularly on the ship, in November?

 

2) Is Oceanview worth the extra cost?

 

3) What is the difference in category levels (8 versus 9 for Oceanview and 10 vs 11 vs 12 for Inside)?

 

4) Being Florida residents, AAA members, and military - are there any discounts available? If so, where best to find them and when best to book the cruise? Is it best to book now even if we're a year out?

 

5) What kind of travel insurance do we need and what is the best company. The Travelex Travelite was the cheapest on insuremytrip.com - is this a good and sufficient policy?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but we are newbies and could use the help. Thanks in advance,

Fam4

[karibritt01]

We haven't cruised yet, but I'll answer what I can. I'm sure someone else will fill in the blanks!

 

1. We are going in Oct, and I have been reassured several times that the pool is fine for swimming most of the time, as well as the beaches at port. It seems that temps there are pretty consistent year round.

 

2. You need to decide how much time you will spend in your stateroom to know if porthole is worth the expense. We opted for the verandah room because we like to get away from crowds. I know we will order room service breakfast most mornings and eat outside. I also expect to use it to relax and read on sea days. Keep in mind if you have a window, you are more likely to spend time in your room some... less cave-like!

 

3. Family of 4 can't use Cat 12, but you can book it and get free upgrade to Cat 11. Cat 11 has single batroom, and Cat 10 has split bathroom. Cat 8 or 9 is either the size of the room itself, or location on the ship.

 

4. Call your AAA TA to get started, finding out about possible discounts. No one discounts the cruise - the difference is the amount of on-board credit they offer. I have heard that Costco has a lower price because they don't charge commission, so you could check on that. The sooner you book, the better your price. Our 10/08 trip has gone up $600 from when I first started looking into it back in June.

 

5. We just used Disney Ins, so I can't help you out there.

[outahere2]

#4 - I'm not sure about the military discounts, but Florida resident rates don't usually come out until a couple of months before the cruise date. With DCL, the sooner you book, the cheaper the price. They are very good about giving you a lower price, if the price drops in the future. I also think they would give you a military or Florida resident rate at a later date.

 

#5 - We usually go with one of the AIG policies available through insuremytrip. We've never had to file a claim, but AIG is a pretty reputable company. If anyone traveling has any pre-existing medical condition, you need to purchase the insurance usually with 15 days of making your first payment, for it to be covered.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hello all,

 

This is our first post - glad to have found cruise critic. We are planning to take our first ever cruise in Nov 2008 either on the Nov 8th 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise or on the 4-day Nov 9th Bahamas cruise. We are a family of 4 - kids 9 & 6 at time of cruising. We are Florida residents, AAA members and are military.

 

Questions:

1) Is it warm enough for swimming, particularly on the ship, in November?

 

 

WE just returned from the Eastern itenary and it was upper 80s everyday accept in Florida. We snorkeled at St. Maartin and Castaway Cay with great water temps. Everyone was going in.

 

On the ship the pools are kept close to the same temps all the time. Mickey pool was 86, family pool was 84 and the adult was slightly cooler but cant remember exactly what. It shows on your TV what the temps are. The big joke around the ship is the reason for the Mickey pool being warmer is because all the little kids peeing in it. Ha H a!!

 

2) Is Oceanview worth the extra cost?

 

I love a room with a view. the inside rooms are so dark you can sleep your day away. I tend to be a bit claustrobic is I cant see out. But honestly we ar ein our room very little accept to sleep and change clothes.

If I had young kids who needed a nap I would want the view for sure while I was int he room with them.

 

3) What is the difference in category levels (8 versus 9 for Oceanview and 10 vs 11 vs 12 for Inside)?

 

 

4) Being Florida residents, AAA members, and military - are there any discounts available? If so, where best to find them and when best to book the cruise? Is it best to book now even if we're a year out?

 

 

For the best price book as soon as you can. DCL does give a military discount to active personnel only.

Florida rates on NOT on all cruises, only those where they need to fill the ship. As stated above about 2 months beofre your cruise you have to start checking for them everyday. Once they are posted they dont last long. You must call DCL and ask for the discount, they will adjust your price and refund you the difference. I dont think you can get military and florida resident both, so see which is the better of the two and go with it.

you can call DCL and ask to be sure if you can get both discounts.

we save over $800 on our 7 day cruise with florida resident rates 2 weeks ago. YEAH!!!

 

5) What kind of travel insurance do we need and what is the best company. The Travelex Travelite was the cheapest on insuremytrip.com - is this a good and sufficient policy?

 

Never used insurance.

 

Sorry for all the questions, but we are newbies and could use the help. Thanks in advance,

 

 

 

Hope I helped a little.

Please ask all the questions you can think of there are lots of great people here to help you.

 

Have a Magical cruise,

 

 

I almost forgot, if you book through a TA or AAA you can still get your florida resident discount but you often have to be agressive with your TA to get it. some say they cant do it, but they can, they just dont like to. Just stick to your guns and demand it, because you are entitled to it.

mom x4,grandma x4

[SweetAngel]

My biggest advice is to take the 7-day trip over the shorter one. If you are like most of us, you will be thrilled beyond belief with your first cruise, and you will be so sad when you have to get off the ship. The first day and last day are full of unpacking and repacking, so a short trip only gives you a couple full days. By the time you start to really relax and unwind, it's over.

 

Plus, the seven-day trip has the not-to-miss pirate night with fireworks and some other shows and special events. So enjoy yourself, and take a week. You won't regret it.

 

The Eastern Caribbean trip goes much farther south than the Bahamas too, which will lead you into warmer temperatures. Although it is usually warm, winter cold spells can sometimes reach all the way down to the Bahamas.

 

The window is a personal thing. Some people really love to have a view while others prefer to use that money on something else. We chose an inside room on our Disney trip so that we could afford some great shore excursions. When my children were young, however, I chose a balcony because I knew I'd be spending a lot of time in the room while they were sleeping.

[Family-of-4]

Thank you all for your help. We've booked the 7 day cruise with Cat 9 room and are really excited! We're confused about the evening meal. Do we have to eat in the rotating dining rooms every night or are there other options. We'd like to use the dining rooms some, but don't want to feel so much on a schedule for the entire trip - want to relax some.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

You dont need to go at all to the dining rooms if you dont want to.

I do suggest doing animators palate on your first assigned night in there because that is the only time they do the color changing show.

 

If your on the 7 day, for 6:30 to 8:30 you can go to Topsiders buffet which is NOT a buffet at night. You are seated and waited on. It is a small but good menu. This is much more relaxed, quieter dinner.

 

also you can use room service or there is food like burgers, pizza, chicken strips, chicken sandwiches, fries, limited mexican foods, wraps, fruit, ice cream.

 

we love Topsiders, I forgot to say even though it is sit down at night, they do have a salad bar, where you help yourself to salad.

 

mom x4, grandma x4

[NancyIL]

Regarding insurance - I compare prices and coverage from Insure My Trip, and have usually gotten the Travelex Travel Lite policy. They cover kids under 16 for no extra charge. When you are getting a quote online, you should base it on the highest per person cost and not on the total price. With more than 2 people in a cabin, the 3rd and 4th passengers pay a reduced rate. If you get insurance based on the total cost of your cruise rather than the highest per-person cost, each person will get an averaged amount of insurance coverage - leaving the first 2 passengers underinsured.

 

Example: passengers 1 & 2 pay $1000/pp and passengers 3 & 4 pay $500/pp. You need insurance based on the $1000/pp price. If you get insurance based on the $3000 total, everyone gets $750/pp in coverage, and that leaves the first 2 passengers underinsured.