New Cruiser

[newcruiserbridetobe]

Hi everyone,

I am new to cruising, i have never been before. I will be getting married and am planning to take a cruise for the honeymoon. We live in VA and are looking into taking a cruise out of Norfolk or Balitmore (so convenient!). My question for you guys is which cruise would you recommend: the Carnival Pride out of Balitmore going to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport or the Carnival Glory out of Norfolk going to Freeport and Nassau. We are in our early 20's and looking for a fun time and great food (i love seafood!). No offense to anyone with children, but being that it is my honeymoon i hope there wont be a ton of children running around, though I'm sure there will be some. The lady I called with Carnival said since we will be in May, it shouldn't be too bad, schools usually get out in June. Also any info is helpful, we have never been on a cruise and don't know what to do, expect, bring, we are just very excited!

P.S. Should i worry about abductions or anything like that? I've heard those stories, I just hope that somehow they have safety measures on the ships, do they? That does worry me a little.

Thanks!

[TheVegasMan]

For me the more ports the better. The Pride has two different itineraries out of Baltimore. One goes to Freeport, Bahamas and the other goes to Nassau, Bahamas in addition to Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

 

I doubt you'll be kidnapped on any of those islands and the pirates you hear about in the news operate in the Indian Ocean and near Somalia, your cruise goes nowhere near those places.

[A&Jfamily]

Hi everyone,

I am new to cruising, i have never been before. I will be getting married and am planning to take a cruise for the honeymoon. We live in VA and are looking into taking a cruise out of Norfolk or Balitmore (so convenient!). My question for you guys is which cruise would you recommend: the Carnival Pride out of Balitmore going to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport or the Carnival Glory out of Norfolk going to Freeport and Nassau. We are in our early 20's and looking for a fun time and great food (i love seafood!). No offense to anyone with children, but being that it is my honeymoon i hope there wont be a ton of children running around, though I'm sure there will be some. The lady I called with Carnival said since we will be in May, it shouldn't be too bad, schools usually get out in June. Also any info is helpful, we have never been on a cruise and don't know what to do, expect, bring, we are just very excited!

 

P.S. Should i worry about abductions or anything like that? I've heard those stories, I just hope that somehow they have safety measures on the ships, do they? That does worry me a little.

 

Thanks!

 

First, congratulations!

 

Second, if you are going before school lets out, you will see some kids, but not that many. If it was me, I would pick the one to Half Moon Cay (HMC) - everyone on these boards loves that little retreat. Freeport is just OK, IMHO.

 

And no, you do not need to worry as long as you exercise common sense (ie don't walk down dark alleys alone). If you are really worried, book your shore excursions through the cruise line as they have reviewed and selected the tour operators.

 

Have a great honeymoon!;)

[habby]

Personally I'd take the Pride.

 

Do lots of research (you're already off to a good start here). Check the Ports of Call boards, the Roll Call Boards, the threads for first-time cruisers.

 

Pack, then take out half of what you've packed.

 

Congrats, and best of luck to both of you.

[cb at sea]

Do the one with Half Moon Cay---those "private" beaches are great! Neither Nassau or Freeport are too interesting, IMO.

The crime rate for cruise passengers is very low, to non-existant. Just exercise a bit of vigilance--don't flash wads of cash!!!!--and you'll be fine.

[*Mach*]

Hi everyone,

I am new to cruising, i have never been before. I will be getting married and am planning to take a cruise for the honeymoon. We live in VA and are looking into taking a cruise out of Norfolk or Balitmore (so convenient!). My question for you guys is which cruise would you recommend: the Carnival Pride out of Balitmore going to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport or the Carnival Glory out of Norfolk going to Freeport and Nassau. We are in our early 20's and looking for a fun time and great food (i love seafood!). No offense to anyone with children, but being that it is my honeymoon i hope there wont be a ton of children running around, though I'm sure there will be some. The lady I called with Carnival said since we will be in May, it shouldn't be too bad, schools usually get out in June. Also any info is helpful, we have never been on a cruise and don't know what to do, expect, bring, we are just very excited!

 

P.S. Should i worry about abductions or anything like that? I've heard those stories, I just hope that somehow they have safety measures on the ships, do they? That does worry me a little.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! If you can't get answers here you can't get them anywhere!!!

My money would be on the Pride... Those are some awesome ports!! I think you'd have a far better time in Grand Turk and HMC than you would just the Bahamas...

The ships are very safe. I haven't heard anything about abductions, etc. Have no fear... the only thing to fear is weight gain and having FAR too much fun!!!

:D

[newcruiserbridetobe]

Thanks everyone!! I think we are leaning much toward the pride, and more so now with all of your posts, thanks for the help! Do you have any recommendations as far as balcony rooms, I've heard they are worth it. Do you bring cash or credit cards with you or both? How much is your an average bill at the end of the cruise, (including alcoholic drinks lol) ? Anyone ever sailed the Pride before?

 

Again thanks for all the comments!

[momof6crazykids]

Hi everyone,

I am new to cruising, i have never been before. I will be getting married and am planning to take a cruise for the honeymoon. We live in VA and are looking into taking a cruise out of Norfolk or Balitmore (so convenient!). My question for you guys is which cruise would you recommend: the Carnival Pride out of Balitmore going to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport or the Carnival Glory out of Norfolk going to Freeport and Nassau. We are in our early 20's and looking for a fun time and great food (i love seafood!). No offense to anyone with children, but being that it is my honeymoon i hope there wont be a ton of children running around, though I'm sure there will be some. The lady I called with Carnival said since we will be in May, it shouldn't be too bad, schools usually get out in June. Also any info is helpful, we have never been on a cruise and don't know what to do, expect, bring, we are just very excited!

 

P.S. Should i worry about abductions or anything like that? I've heard those stories, I just hope that somehow they have safety measures on the ships, do they? That does worry me a little.

 

Thanks!

 

I understand why you would not want a lot of children on your cruise, No offense taken. To be honest with you, when I go on my cruise with my husband, I hope there won't be a lot of children on board~ and I have 6 children at home:) It matters when in May you plan on going. My children get of school the middle of May so if it is the beginning to middle of May I think you should be fine but more the end of May you may have a bit more children on board. I am no expert on when people cruise, never cruised before but I can help a little bit in the child department :D Enjoy your cruise and Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

[*Mach*]

Thanks everyone!! I think we are leaning much toward the pride, and more so now with all of your posts, thanks for the help! Do you have any recommendations as far as balcony rooms, I've heard they are worth it. Do you bring cash or credit cards with you or both? How much is your an average bill at the end of the cruise, (including alcoholic drinks lol) ? Anyone ever sailed the Pride before?

 

Again thanks for all the comments!

 

 

I've never had anything but balcony cabins and I love 'em!! When I sail on the Carnival Fantasy Saturday I'll have my first ocean view cabin.

I tend to use cash for my Sail and Sign account but I've used credit cards previously. I just like getting off the ship totally debt free!!

I don't think there's a typical amount that folks spend on a ship... That's all up to the individual... how many goodies you buy in the shops... how many DODs you consume and so on... Some folks claim they have folios that total zero... Dunno how they do that but, hey, we're all different!!

:)

[Hockey Addict]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!! You guys are gonna LOVE your cruise!! After you get back be sure to write us a review and let us know how you liked it... we all know you will love it and be ready to book your 1st wedding anniversary cruise!

 

Half Moon Cay for sure... it is awesome.... so awesome that we are going back in September. I wish they had a cruise that just spent 2 days there!

 

Balcony room.... We were barely ever in our room except to sleep, shower and change clothes for dinner. Some people like to sit out on their balcony and relax... that's going to have to be totally up to you.

 

There is so much info on these message boards... have fun looking around and ask away! I am so glad I found CC before we went on our first cruise and I am sure you will be too!

[A&Jfamily]

Thanks everyone!! I think we are leaning much toward the pride, and more so now with all of your posts, thanks for the help! Do you have any recommendations as far as balcony rooms, I've heard they are worth it. Do you bring cash or credit cards with you or both? How much is your an average bill at the end of the cruise, (including alcoholic drinks lol) ? Anyone ever sailed the Pride before?

 

Again thanks for all the comments!

 

I think the balcony is well worth the money - especially for romance on the honeymoon!;) It also means that you get a couch for a sitting area. It is beautiful to have your own place to watch the sunrise, the stars etc.

 

I use a credit card. That way, you know you are covered. I also bring cash - see the other boards about extra tipping for room service, baggage etc. You can figure that you will spend $5-6 per drink. You can bring a couple of bottles of wine on board (one for each of you) and then, if it is available, do one of the packages...

 

I've never sailed the Pride, but have done her sister ship the Legend and loved it. Make sure you eat in the Supper Club ($30 extra per person); it is well worth it.

[Rochmom]

Congratulations, and happy planning for both the wedding and the cruise!

 

I've been on the Glory, and she's a wonderful ship. But I would have to agree that Freeport is nothing terribly special, and Half Moon Cay sounds much more inviting.

 

And yes, I cruise with my kids, but I do appreciate that a bunch of unruly kids is not exactly what you have in mind for a honeymoon. If you can, check to see if there are many posts already on the roll calls for the dates you have in mind. Lots of people post info about their groups there, so you can get a feel for who's already on board. Mind you, only a fraction of the people on any given ship are here on Cruise Critic, but it may help you decide.

 

We brought about $500 in cash on our cruise, but it was a lot more than we needed. You will only use cash in ports, not on the ship. As for how large your Sign & Sail is at the end of the trip, that's totally up to you. The DH and I are not big drinkers, and didn't spend much in the shops, or in the casino (okay, I came out $10 ahead there), the only thing on our S&S was the shore excursions. And we understood the cost of those ahead of time.

 

As for cabins, we have done only inside - we just don't spend enough time in the cabin to pay the extra money for the window/balcony. Some people swear by outside only - we just would rather spend the extra cash on some other feature of the trip. It's totally a personal preference.

 

Keep asking questions, we'll help all we can!

[newcruiserbridetobe]

I've read that there is a couple of nights for teen only dance club...for anyone that has ever sailed the Pride...do they also have adult dance clubs? I'm not sure if there is only a dance club for teens or what. I hope there is also a club or bar for adults?

 

I also wanted to ask about your bottles of wine comment. How many bottles can you bring? Do you pack them in your luggage? Can you only drink that in your room? Someone also recommended for me to bring bottled water? Do I need to and also how much can you bring and how do you pack it?

 

Thanks again guys!

[Rochmom]

There will be several different bars open most of the evening. You can see all the deck plans for the Pride on the Carnival web site, along with a lot of information about that particular ship.

 

If the Pride doesn't have a separate Teen Area (Club O2), they might close the dance club for just a few hours once or twice during your cruise, so the teens can use it. Those events are usually fairly early in the evening, and then it re-opens for the adult passengers to use.

 

If you bring your own wine on board, and want to drink it in the dining room with dinner, they charge a small "Corkage Fee", which means they want to make something off you, even if you byob. I believe if you drink it in your cabin, there is no charge. I'm pretty sure you can bring one bottle per adult.

[newcruiserbridetobe]

Thanks! Do you pack wine in your luggage? I hope they have some sort of screening like they do on airplanes lol. I know you cant bring liquor so they must have some type of screening, I have also heard some people have got liquor on the boat, how do they do that?

[JerseyshoreBruce]

A place sells clear leak proof flasks that you pour in liquor with a funnel then seal it. They don't leak or break. Don't know if I am allowed to tell where on here?

[Hockey Addict]

Pack any bottles of wine, booze, pop and water in your checked in luggage. Make sure you wrap them well. Also I would put them in a big baggie to be safe. You can also get rum runner flasks to put any liquor in.... here's a link... www.rumrunnerflasks.com

 

Don't put them in your carry on's... they could be taken away. A friend of mine decided to take a bottle of liquor with him. He put it in his carry on AFTER I told him to put it in his checked luggage. Yep.. they took it from him.... :rolleyes:

[JerseyshoreBruce]

They are called rumrunnerflasks....google it.

[BullDogChief]

Thanks! Do you pack wine in your luggage? I hope they have some sort of screening like they do on airplanes lol. I know you cant bring liquor so they must have some type of screening, I have also heard some people have got liquor on the boat, how do they do that?

 

First off, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Our first cruise was on our honeymoon as well...I highly recommend balcony rooms...some people will tell you why bother, you're not going to spend much time in your room, etc...all I can tell you about that is we spent a LOT of time in our balcony room, it was our honeymoon...get it??? :D

 

Seriously though, we put two bottles of wine in my backpack each time and carry it onboard, never a hassle. I have never smuggled liquor onboard so can't help you there...sorry...:o...we do bring a 12-pack of water with us...not because the water is bad or anything but because I really don't like paying $3.50 per bottle...plus the smaller water bottles we take to the beaches and stuff...it's not a lot of trouble to bring it so that is what we do.

 

Yes they do have screening, you step through a metal detector and your carry on bags go through an x-ray machine, much like the airports. I have never been charged a corkage fee by the waiter although it always says there is a $15 corkage fee...like I said, though, each time we did it the waiter told us not to worry about the corkage fee.

 

Not sure how much of a partier or game player you are but if you tell them it is your honeymoon they will do a lot of special stuff for you, at least that is what we experienced. :D

 

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and I hope you have a blast on your honeymoon cruise...we did on ours! :D

[newcruiserbridetobe]

Thanks, we are so excited!!

 

I never really worried about smuggling liqour but with the price of drinks maybe I will get 1 flask? Maybe not who knows. But I know we might want to bring some wine with us as well as water. Did you pack the 12 pk of water in your luggage as well? Do they see the flasks when it goes through the screening?

[newcruiserbridetobe]

Oh and I forgot, do you guys bring like back pack type things for going on the beach?

[newcruiserbridetobe]

I just looked at that link for the flasks, i see now they are plastic, that is so cool! I guess they cant see that.

[Hockey Addict]

when you fill the flask, burp the air out....

 

we put water and pop in our carry on... no prob... others have said they carried it on... but your room may not be ready when you get on and will have to carry it around with you...

 

I took my camera bag on shore with me that had extra pockets... then in Nassau I bought a bag with Bahamas embroidered on it to carry anything we bought. I saw people taking back packs and all sorts of bags with them to shore.

[Hockey Addict]

There will be beach towels in your stateroom. They are for you to use on shore and on the ship... DON'T LOSE THEM. If you do you will be charged for them... $22 or so EACH.