First time on a Cruise - have lots of questions

I kind of agree with Warren, but I have a suggestion that you might not
have considered.. how about a schooner in Maine?
http://www.sailmainecoast.com/
Hardly the Caribbean, but they have fall foliage cruises in October and
the largest ship carries 40 passengers.

On 6/4/2010 1:41 PM, Ohioguy wrote:
It looks like my wife and I will be going on a cruise in early
October. It just works out that several relatives can come by and watch
our kids (all are 7 or under). I think this will be the first time my
wife and I have had a week to ourselves since our first child was born
over 7 years ago.

My preference for a vacation is actually hiking in the wilderness for a
week or so, but my wife wasn't interested in that. I find that when I'm
around crowds of people, it typically makes me feel worn out. I tend to
recharge when I have time to reflect in nature, in my garden, or similar
activities. Probably has something to do with growing up in the country,
out on a farm.

Anyway, details: we can take a 7 day cruise, with up to a day allowed
for travel on both ends. In other words, we can be gone a grand total of
about 9 days, and wouldn't want to push it past that. Due to a "Disney
on Ice" show that various folks in the family want to see, we can leave
either October 1, 2, 3 or 4. Sort of wish there was a website that could
also lump in airfare - I'm trying to do it separately. (from Dayton,
Ohio) I think we will focus on the Caribbean 7 day trips.

I'm most interested in buffets, magic shows, and perhaps 40's/50's/60's
type nostalgia music shows, or just some variety shows. I'm not very
interested in formal dining, because by the time you've waited to be
seated, waited to order, waited to get your food, and waited for the
bill - I find myself thinking, "gee, I could have fixed something like
that in half the time". I am looking forward to having time to relax and
read as well, rather than change diapers, get kids ready for school, etc.

I've used a website, cruisecheap.com, to come up with some
possibilities. They are all Carnival ships - Legend, Victory & Liberty.
Oct. 3 7 night Western Caribbean from Tampa shows $569 for balcony, so
that is one possibility.

I'm also considering the Norwegian Epic. I think I heard that it has
Blue Man Group show, which I've always wanted to see - and was trying to
decide if it was worth the extra cost. (and smaller room, most likely)

If anyone has advice or suggestions, I'm very interested in benefiting
from your experience to hopefully improve the quality of the trip.

Thanks!

In article , Ohioguy
wrote:

Is it true that you get some perks if you book your cruise with an
American Express credit card, or is this just some sort of Urban Myth?

I often book cruises with an AMEX card and have never received any
perks. I understand there are some with the Platinum Card but I never
thought the higher yearly fee made the perks of that card of value for
me.

--
Charles

In article , Ohioguy
wrote:

I always thought that the travel agents simply made money by adding
on a couple of hundred dollars to the cheapest thing out there, and
folks figured it was ok because of the convenience of them doing most
all the work of getting scheduling and everything to work out. You're
saying it is not like that?

No.

--
Charles

In article
,
Warren wrote:

I'm sure I'm going to take a lot of flak for saying this, but I don't
think a cruise is for you. I doubt you'll be happy.he

Eh. I think he needs a change and likely he will be happy. He might as
well take a cruise and find out.

--
Charles

In article , Marsha L
wrote:

I kind of agree with Warren, but I have a suggestion that you might not
have considered.. how about a schooner in Maine?

He wants magicians, buffets and nostalgia shows. A schooner in Maine is
wrong, wrong wrong.

--
Charles

In article , Ohioguy
wrote:

My preference for a vacation is actually hiking in the wilderness for
a week or so, but my wife wasn't interested in that. I find that when
I'm around crowds of people, it typically makes me feel worn out. I
tend to recharge when I have time to reflect in nature, in my garden, or
similar activities. Probably has something to do with growing up in the
country, out on a farm.

Get a balcony cabin and you can sit out there and avoid the crowds.
Sitting out on the balcony overlooking the sea is restful and you can
reflect in the nature of the sea. Even on a crowded ship.

I am guessing this is something your wife wants to do but it might turn
out better than you think.

--
Charles

He wants magicians, buffets and nostalgia shows. A schooner in Maine is
wrong, wrong wrong.

I was just trying to think of any positives I might run into on one
of those huge ships. The schooner idea is probably a lot closer to what
I would enjoy, but I have to consider my wife. Also, I hate hot weather
- and I think anything over about 77 degrees is too warm. I'm worried
that a Caribbean cruise would just be in the 80's all the time, and
really humid.

Although resistant at first, she did say she would go one one of the
New England/Canada cruises, like these:

http://res.cruisecheap.com/travel/cr...portid=&page=1

I worry that they might be the opposite issue, though - too cold and
rainy. I see that they seem to be 2-3 hundred more than the Caribbean
cruises, on average. I'm guessing that this is because of the Fall foliage?

Anybody ever done one of these Canada/New England cruises? How do
they compare to the ones down South?

On Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:11:40 -0400, Ohioguy wrote:

I forgot to mention, you can get air from the cruise line. I'm not sure
if they have prices online but you can ask your travel agent to quote

That's another thing I wanted to ask - I've never used a travel
agent. Normally I've just taken a train, bus or car to wherever I was
going, then camped, stayed in a hotel, or something along those lines.

I always thought that the travel agents simply made money by adding
on a couple of hundred dollars to the cheapest thing out there, and
folks figured it was ok because of the convenience of them doing most
all the work of getting scheduling and everything to work out. You're
saying it is not like that?

If so, I might have to check out a local travel agency before buying
the tickets myself.

Usually the cruise line is the most expensive place to buy a cruise.
You've already looked on cruisecheap; also look at the prices on
vacationstogo.com and some other online agencies, and also check with
local travel agents (who are not necessarily more expensive, and will
probably provide better service). Some cruise lines prohibit travel
agencies from discounting, but agencies might throw in some kind of
bonus to make up for it.

You are brave, thinking of cruising through the Gulf of Mexico. I
expect there will still be lots of oil around.

On Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:00:15 -0400, Ohioguy wrote:

Is it true that you get some perks if you book your cruise with an
American Express credit card, or is this just some sort of Urban Myth?

I occasionally get special offers, but I don't think there's any kind of
always-on discount. You might get some kind of travel protection,
depending on the type of card you have. The Platinum card supposedly
offers discounts and upgrades on some cruises.

On Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:12:06 -0400, Charles
wrote:

In article , Ohioguy
wrote:

My preference for a vacation is actually hiking in the wilderness for
a week or so, but my wife wasn't interested in that. I find that when
I'm around crowds of people, it typically makes me feel worn out. I
tend to recharge when I have time to reflect in nature, in my garden, or
similar activities. Probably has something to do with growing up in the
country, out on a farm.

Get a balcony cabin and you can sit out there and avoid the crowds.
Sitting out on the balcony overlooking the sea is restful and you can
reflect in the nature of the sea. Even on a crowded ship.

Be careful, though, not to get a balcony right under the pool deck, or
you will not have quiet.