Help a Sherbro: cruises

We went on a cruise about 15 years ago and we had a great time. Just bear mind that the person serving your food probably has a master's degree in their home country and is just trying to put food on the table.
 
therealdope said:
I've never been on a cruise. In fact the whole idea of a cruise has always turned me off, but I'm reconsidering my prejudice against cruises. AS part of a family vacation next summer we are thinking about a 1 week cruise of the Baltics to St Petersberg.

I'm hoping sherbros will be able to help me out here. Looking for advice about choosing a cruise line and any other tips you guys might have. We have a 12 yr old an a 15 yr old. I'd prefer not to be running into Disney characters for 7 days straight :eek:

We would prefer a better cruise line (not looking for bargain basement deals). It looks like the nicer cruise lines discourage bringing kids --- someone recommended Cunard to me and it's pretty obvious they want to avoid kids on their cruises.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.
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Do a Disney Cruise. You won't regret it. I did the Star Wars cruise, and it was fucking awesome.
 
therealdope said:
Cunard is pretty much for adults, Seabourn is apparently even more so. We are debating the northern route and the Fjords vs the baltics.

Right now Royal Caribbean has the dates that our schedule. We checked cruisecritic and trip advisor, the comments are all over the place making it hard to make any conclusions. Someone advised we look at the age of the ship. Newer ships (we're told) make for a more enjoyable vacation.
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Both Cunard and Seabourn accept children. They would be out of business if they didn't. I did the Fjords of Norway on my first cruise, I was young, it was very nice. I think Royal Caribbean has those huge ships I told you to stay away from. Way too many people and traffic. Very annoying. I would say the age of the ship is irrelevant. Some older ships were actually better than the new ones with all the 'bells and whistles'.

I was on the first ship below on my cruise to Chile -- Silver Shadow (Silversea Lines). I would try to stay with a smaller ship. I was on the Norwegian Pearl for the 'KISS Kruise III' and that thing was massive (2nd ship). Not as much fun as the smaller ship. The Silver Shadow cruise was twice as expensive but had much nicer cabins and service. The quality and service seem to drop as the ship gets bigger and with more people onboard.



 
I want to go on a cruise to the Caribbean, or South America somewhere. Would be amazing. Or even the Mediterranean.
 
I've been on about four cruises and they've all been a blast. The food is somewhat mediocre but when you get to your destinations, it is time to eat and drink. And if you're single, you'll have plenty things to do. They have bars, a nightclub and people just let loose. If you're going with your family, there will be plenty of activities for you and and your little ones. They've also got casinos, if that is your thing. All in all, cruises are a blast.

Go with Royal Caribbean, it is a bit more than Carnival, but their cruises are better than Carnival. But I am not hating on Carnival, I've gone on two cruises with them but Royal's ships are much nicer. You're basically traveling on a little city.
 
Phr3121 said:
Both Cunard and Seabourn accept children. They would be out of business if they didn't. I did the Fjords of Norway on my first cruise, I was young, it was very nice. I think Royal Caribbean has those huge ships I told you to stay away from. Way too many people and traffic. Very annoying. I would say the age of the ship is irrelevant. Some older ships were actually better than the new ones with all the 'bells and whistles'.

I was on the first ship below on my cruise to Chile -- Silver Shadow (Silversea Lines). I would try to stay with a smaller ship. I was on the Norwegian Pearl for the 'KISS Kruise III' and that thing was massive (2nd ship). Not as much fun as the smaller ship. The Silver Shadow cruise was twice as expensive but had much nicer cabins and service. The quality and service seem to drop as the ship gets bigger and with more people onboard.



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It's looking like Royal Caribbean is the one that fits with our schedule. And probably the Fjord one as it's 7 days rather than 9 for the Baltics. I'm feeling like the shorter one would be better as a first cruise.

Seabourne and Cunard allow kids but it's obvious they aren't overly catering to them. Cruise critic advises to avoid Cunard and Seabourn if you have kids. Apparently their pool rules limit for kids.

The Royal Caribbean boat that does the Fjords or Baltics is 2600 passengers --- which apparently is not big by today's standards :eek:
 
therealdope said:
It's looking like Royal Caribbean is the one that fits with our schedule. And probably the Fjord one as it's 7 days rather than 9 for the Baltics. I'm feeling like the shorter one would be better as a first cruise.

The Royal Caribbean boat that does the Fjords or Baltics is 2600 passengers --- which apparently is not big by today's standards :eek:
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So, it is the 'Serenade of the Seas'. Yeah, that is a big boat, and they make them two to three times that size. A boat that size will have to stay in deep waters while navigating through the fjords. Beautiful ship. It has all the bells and whistles. It is a small city. You even have a doctor and a clinic. It is the same size as the 'Norwegian Pearl' that I went on my last cruise. I prefer something half that size.

Back in the day you could go to the bridge and the engine room -- smaller ships. Now, both areas are off limits to passengers. My first ship did not even have stabilizers for the high seas. That was some real fun swinging from side to side. It was like a carnival ride.

MS Serenade of the Seas
 
Cruises are swinger fest for couples I noticed the last 2 i been on. If you're an alcoholic like me or a heavy drinker pony up the extra money for the drink package. Carnival cruise line has a 15 drink MAX a day which I hit every night. Pay the baggage guy $20 to get liquor bottles in. Also Marijuana vape pens are the way to go.
 
I did a disney cruise with the family a few year ago, along with another family we know.

Was very good for a family trip with a little kid. Kids club on ship was epic. Parents went to adults only section while kids were at club. Fireworks every night were the best I've ever seen, again kids loved it.

We had a +++ room, so we could sit on the balcony and chat and drink while kids slept. Day outings were again very good.

Here is the key- no young kids ... I would never, ever do another cruise.
 
That's the one thing I haven't done yet. I know you already said no to a Disney cruise, but that's what we plan to do when the kids gets older. Maybe an alaskan cruise inbetween. We were considering a cruise the first time going to Europe, but we decided to plan everything ourselves and just hope on planes and trains instead. Well worth it.
 
I'd lean more toward choosing the one with the best excursions for your kids. The boats advertise things like surf pools and such, but the better things are slam packed. You and the SO may enjoy lying in the sun knocking back drinks, but the kids will be miserable which means you will be too. Figure out what your kids want to do and find excursions they will like.
 
Goon Dog said:
I'd lean more toward choosing the one with the best excursions for your kids. The boats advertise things like surf pools and such, but the better things are slam packed. You and the SO may enjoy lying in the sun knocking back drinks, but the kids will be miserable which means you will be too. Figure out what your kids want to do and find excursions they will like.
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I can't stand beach vacations, and I don't drink.

Looks like we're going to try the 7 day Fjord cruise. THey have some hiking on the day visits.
 
Stay away from deals and cheap cruise lines like Carnival and Norwegian. They attract a ghetto clientele as well as Chinese clientele that will make it a struggle to enjoy yourself. The ghetto people start fights, act rude and are loud and obnoxious. The Chinese have no social manners....cut in lines, no personal space rule, and eat raw onions at breakfast making their breath intolerable in elevators etc.
I have loved Royal Carribean, Cunard and Oceania. Expensive but no riff raff. Royal Carribean is best for families that have kids your kids ages. So much to do.
 
TRD, I was supposed to go on a cruise from Amsterdam, to Brussels (or Antwerp can't remember) an then London

only canceled b/c my ex wife got morning sickness, but it was looking pretty legit
 
I've done 3 cruises; Alaska (Summer 2016), Caribbean (Christmas 2017) and most recently, the Baltic Sea 9-day cruise (August 2018).

For Alaska I used Carnival and it was just ok. for the Caribbean we used Norwegian and we loved it and chose Norwegian again for the Baltic and it was great.

The Baltic Sea cruise, while it's pretty cool, it can feel like a school trip instead of a vacation because there is so much to see and learn. The places you visit are full of culture and history so you spend your time running from cathedral to cathedral, to museum, etc. I tell you this because you're planning on taking your kids and it may be boring for them. Even me that I appreciate history felt sometimes overwhelmed and bored from all the guide/tour lessons and sometimes I just wanted to run to the nearest bar and talk to scandi chicks and shoot the shit with the locals. This ain't a trip for that.

Even though I really really liked it, there were so many things to see and places to visit in so little time, that I felt like we were always against the clock and didn't really have much time to pace ourselves, walk around and enjoy the cities.
Granted, you can choose to do that instead, no one forces you to do guided tour or visit X castles or whatever, but that's pretty much the main point of visiting those places, so it kinda feels like a must. If you want an R&R type vacation, choose a different cruise. We only had 2 days At Sea, which are usually the R&R days and they were very woelcomed by everyone. PRetty much everyoned that I talked to was tired and wanted some rest from all the sightseeing and running around. My iphone clocked us an average of 15km/10 miles/day. It ain't a lot but it's not the level of activity I wanna do while vacationing lol.

In terms of the ship (Breakaway), it was in pretty good shape, recently remodeled and everything spotless. Entertainment wasn't great though. The shows were lackluster, the casino was dead and while there are plenty of different "bars" on the ship, most of them are not open late at night and cater to a more elderly audience. There were basically two bars that were for the young-adult crown and one was pretty lame and the other one was ok which is where me and my party spent most of the time. Service was excellent.

Something else to consider, 80% of the people on the ship were over 60. Very, very few kids and even less young people (20-30). The very few that were there, we ended up hanging out together, which was fun. I actually hooked up with this half-norwegian-half american girl from texas and we ended up getting wasted at the bar every night at 3am to get up at 6 and start our respective tours at 7-8am. Good times, lol.

During the cruise they offer a sale where they double your deposit for your next cruise so I made a down payment of $250 to get $500 in credit for my next one. You have 4 years to use it and it's fully transferable, so that's pretty cool. I'm planning on doing the 14-day Panama Canal in 2020 sailing out of San Diego since I'm doing Iceland next summer 2019.

Having said all that, I did enjoy everything and had a great time 9/10 would recommend.

Sorry for the long response, lol. I hope it helps paint a better picture. Feel free to PM me if you want further details.
 
I Am Legion said:
I have loved Royal Carribean, Cunard and Oceania. Expensive but no riff raff. Royal Carribean is best for families that have kids your kids ages. So much to do.
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Cost isn't the issue. We're going with Royal Caribbean because the schedule works out for the route we want. Cunard seems like a great liner but the dates don't work and their not all that oriented to the kids.
 
therealdope said:
I've never been on a cruise. In fact the whole idea of a cruise has always turned me off, but I'm reconsidering my prejudice against cruises. AS part of a family vacation next summer we are thinking about a 1 week cruise of the Baltics to St Petersberg.

I'm hoping sherbros will be able to help me out here. Looking for advice about choosing a cruise line and any other tips you guys might have. We have a 12 yr old an a 15 yr old. I'd prefer not to be running into Disney characters for 7 days straight :eek:

We would prefer a better cruise line (not looking for bargain basement deals). It looks like the nicer cruise lines discourage bringing kids --- someone recommended Cunard to me and it's pretty obvious they want to avoid kids on their cruises.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Cruises suck. It’s like being stuck in a floating hotel. I’ve been on five. Going on a sixth but at least I’ll be getting paid 4G for it.
 
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