Best Cruise

I wanted to make a suggestion about cruises in general...if you are looking to spend less you are better off going somewhere all-inclusive (this is a personal feeling) what no one takes in consideration is that your drinks (aside from soda) are not included in almost all cruises, so you end up spending upwards of an additional $1000.00 on drinks! I can tell you Mexico (Bahia Principa Coba) is awsome with great night life at the resorts you never have to leave! We absolutly love it...we go every year! I would say talk witha travel agent...it doesn't cost you more to work with one and they are VERY knowledgable! Good luck...you will love it...everybody needs to get away from the kids for a week once a year I think! It makes you all appreciate everything more!
T.

My husband and I went on an Alaskan cruise with Amsterdam. It was the single best vacation I've ever gone on. I'm not really a sandy-beach, lay around in the sun, kind of vacation person. We saw whales and sea lions and bears and eagles. We saw huge icebergs and glaciers. We took a canoe trip in a crater lake and ate outside under a canopy of huge trees. We saw a wildlife preserve center. I took hundreds of pictures. Alaska is just so beautiful. It was so nice being able to walk around the deck, holding hands with my husband. Very romantic.

The only warning I have about a cruise is a lot of them are all-inclusive. You don't use any cash on the boat. You just sign off on receipts and then pay up at the end. It can add up FAST.

Also, if you do the Alaskan cruise, there is a three hour time diffence by the time you are out at sea. I really regretting signing up for the 8pm dinner time. I was starving by the time dinner was served.

J.,

First off, my husband and I love crusing. To me, it is the ultimate vacation. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, or you can do all kinds of things. The best cruise line we have found is Royal Caribbean (sp). The rooms are a little bigger, the attendents seemed a little more professional. We took advantage of the free shows on board, if you want to eat at the "special" restaurants on board, you need to make reservations when you first get on board otherwise they get filled up. We also ordered some fruit and champagne waiting in our room for us when we boarded because you can't get anything to eat right away. You have to go through the safety drills first and it's nice to have that food waiting for you in your room, just a thought no matter who you go through. Don't be fooled by those commercials, saying, "most cruise ships make you follow their routine". That's not true. You can eat in the dining room if you want or don't want, depending on how you want to dress. Some people dressed in tux's and long evening gowns and others were just in a nice dress and nice pants and jackets. But the food you got in the dining rooms (the lobsters and steaks) we also got in other areas of the ship too so if you don't want to dress that night, don't feel like you're missing the best meal. You can get it somewhere else. The shore excursions are a little overpriced for what you get, depending on what you want to do. Sometimes it's fun to go do things. We've done horseback riding, exploring, snorkeling, and some walking tours. So decide what you want to do and have a great time -- personally, we think cruising is a wonderful way to vacation. We can't wait for our son (17 months) to get a little bigger to start taking a Disney cruise so he can get addicted to :o)

I went on a Holland America cruise a couple of years ago to the Western Caribbean. It was great! There were a lot of fun excursions and the destinations were great too. The boat was very clean and the people who worked on it very friendly. I would definitely recommend that line. My mom has also taken a cruise with them to Alaska and she loved that as well. Have fun!!

A couple of years ago my husband and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise (Serenade of the Seas was the boat we were on, but I think they are all great) and we loved it. We went to the Eastern Caribbean.

I have cruised all the lines that are out there. For romantic at least in my opinion I really like the Norwegian Cruiseline. The Romantic Suite category is amazing and the best part is that you can reserve wherever you want to eat at night and have your very own table for two.
Alot of cruiselines now offer a bar package option too if you want to drink. For a set price you can drink to your hearts content and no surprise at the end of the cruise. I have never used it because we are not drinkers and mainly drank from a soda card.
I prefer cruising rather than a resort because I like unpacking once and having a new destination every morning!

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises and loved every single one of them. Mine were unique though. I went on a chartered cruise called The Rock Boat. It's basically Summerfest on water. 35 rock bands playing all day and all night, having dinner at the same table with you, standing next to them in line for your morning omelette, etc. It was amazing. Anyway, in the last 3 years we have stopped at Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Turks & Caicos. Cozumel had fantastic snorkeling and scuba (better than Guam & Hawaii), a beautiful National Park, and we went swimming with dolphins. Playa del Carmen had just touristy shops, but a nice beach (no snorkeling). Grand Turk was my favorite. My cruise this January was actually the first time Carnival ever stopped there. The beaches were amazing. The water was crystal clear as far out as I was willing to swim, the bluest blue I've ever seen. Absolutely perfect.
There are so many different cruises out there, that you need to decide what you want before you start looking. Do you want quiet, romantic, fun or adventure? Tropical or not? What age do you want to travel with, some will have families, some all old couples. I would recommend Carnival if you want people your own age and without kids.
Next summer my whole extended family is doing a cruise to Alaska together.