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Cruise advise anyone

G

griz400

Well-Known Member
We booked a carnival cruise for early may, Caribbean to Grand Cayman and to Cozumel, prepaid everything, gratuities and insurance also, bought 1 excursion in Cayman islands, stingray swim, and looking at another in Cozumel by http://www.cozumelwatersports.com/ -- an all exclusive at Mr Sanchos http://www.cozumelwatersports.com/ToursExcursions/MrSanchosAllInclusive.htm

also bought what they call fttf (faster to the fun )through carnival, lets you board early, tender boats first, etc, etc

what to look out for, etc, etc .....

also looking at all the rums on the islands -- never even heard of some ... 7 fathoms rum distillery there :cheers:

tell me what you all know ..............
 
I did a mexican cruise once, and didn't care for mexico.

rule #1: smuggle in some booze, drinks are expensive, just don't smuggle in too much or you'l get it confiscated. I just bring 12oz of vodka in a water bottle and i'm good for a 3 day trip... for a 5 day trip see rule #2...

rule #2: at first port, bring two empty water bottles out, and smuggle more vodka back in with them.

i'm a big NCL guy myself, but cruising is cruising. can't remember if carnival has pre-assigned seats for dinner, but if they do, and you don't like your group, fk em, and have them switch you to a new table for the next night, they will do that with no issue.

you might be a big buffet fan, etc, and I am, but we also like to do at least one fancy upcharge dinner, the steakhouses were pretty dam good, but they look at you funny when your ask for A1 :)

I've cruised probably 10-12 times, out of Miami/laud, mostly carribean stuff because mexico was a turnoff for me, I rarely do excursions tho, I found it easier at some places just to do a self guided thing, but a stingray swim might be interesting

take advantage of room service, its usually pretty good and you can get things like tomato juice and orange juice that you can't get at the breakfast buffet. I found it nice to have my coffee and a danish delivered at 8am instead of having to chase it down, then go to the buffet and stuff myself.

if your a drinker, visit the duty free store, they have some good deals, and you get them on the last evening before returning home.

find the cafe that's open till like 2am, there is usually at least one, and go there for burgers/wings late at night.. one of my favorite things.

if you or spouse are on a diet.. 86 the diet for the week, its impossible, just eat and eat and eat.

be nice and get to know your room steward, they will take excellent care of you if they think your a swell guy, lots of ice, towel animals on the bed, turn down room when you leave right away, etc.

look into phone service at the ports, AT&T didn't work for me most times, but other providers work just fine, and no upcharge.

if you plan on internet access, it will be S-L-O-W and expensive. consider just bringing your tablet/laptop to the port and finding wifi for 10 minutes so you can checkup on email.

oh, and good luck in the shower ! i'm only 175 lbs and I barely fit, I have no idea how heavier people bathe in a cruise shower, and i'd stay away from pool/hot tub, overcrowded and gave me heebie-jeebies, but of course i'm a florida guy so pool/hot tubs are not a real big deal to me.

have fun and stay safe in mexico, that whole country scares me !
 
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Hi Griz,

Spim hit it pretty much on the head. While we have been on a few cruises we've only been on one Western Caribbean (Mexico) cruise. We went on Royal Caribbean. It was actually our first cruise and we learned a few things, we went on Liberty of the Seas a huge ship, about 6000 passengers, the ship was too big, and we went with another couple, won't do that again either.

Here's things to do, eat in the dinning room, and use open seating, that way you won't get stuck with assholes you don't like. We have always hooked up with other people and you can just meet up at the dinning room, also you won't be stuck with eating at a set time. The buffets are just O.K. for breakfast and lunch, for dinner the food is much better in the dinning room and the specialty restaurants.

I've never been able to get away with this but if you can avoid formal night, I don't know why this tradition continues apparently back in the day every night was formal night, now it's just one night.

Like Spim, we've only been on one Western Carib. cruise, I did like Cozumel, and it's true in Mexico, DO NOT DRINK THE WATER, they do have a pretty good beer in Mexico SOL, I won't even get a mixed drink with ice.

We like Princess Cruises, and we also like the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, we also like 10-14 day cruises, but we have the same expenses going the FLL and home, if we lived in Florida we would probably take shorter cruises more often. Also we like outside balcony staterooms. We've already booked for next year going on the Crown Princess (new ship) and we're going to be on the Lido Deck (deck 16). Choice of rooms is an advantage for booking early.

Communications, Spim is right the WiFi on board is crappy, but I don't really care. When we leave Port Everglades, I turn my phone off, and don't use either the phone or the computer until we get back to port. That's why the second and third week in January you won't see me on the forum.

On shore excursions, we just play it by ear, if we book an excursion we do it when we get to port, not only does it save about 30% we can as a local, usually a cop or an official, what's the best thing to do, we haven't been steered wrong yet. Personally I just like to go to the beach, but living in FL that's probably not a big deal for you.

Booze and jewelry. Honestly I don't remember about the jewelry in Mexico, St. Thomas is a mecca for jewelry, no customs, no tax and really good prices. Booze, we have never had a problem bringing booze on the ship, we will get a bottle or two of rum at the first port, last year it was Nassau, just put it in the beach bag and bring it back on the ship. We have never been questioned.

While it's not mandatory if you have passports, bring them, and also take them with you when you go ashore. We've never needed them but you never know.

Damn, I thought I was just gonna make a few comments, this turned into a book.

Have a safe and fun trip, you're gonna love it.

Lou
 
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Jeff,

I just thought of a couple of other things.

There's no reason to get to the ship early, say your ship leaves port at 4:00PM there's no reason to get there before 2:00PM, if you do you will just stand in line for hours, if you get there 2 hours before sailing you will just breeze through and walk right on the ship.

The same is true for leaving the ship when you get to port, Cozumel is a deep water port, the ship will dock, no tenders, just wait about 10mins. after the ship docks, you'll walk right off. Also any shopping you plan to do, do it right before you go back on board, say the ship leaves port at 7:00PM just plan on being back to the general vicinity of the ship say at 6:00 do your shopping, all the shops are generally located at the dock area and then board the ship, we like to be back on board about 20-30mins. prior to sailing.

If I think of anything else I'll post it.

Lou
 
i purchased the fft -- now, we can board at 11:00 am, have lunch, and bags right to the room, and your room is ready soon as you board, (was 49.95 -- for the room) not per person http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/103013
grand cayman is a tender port, we live in tampa, 14 miles from port, so, instead of ruining all day saturday, we decided to get there around 11 or so, and have lunch on ship,
the stingray thing is here -- (in cayman) http://www.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/417084 -- this seems nice, the boat and all, and its short, like 3 hrs max, will give us time at margaritaville and shop in port

this cruise is sorta like a (test cruise ) for wife, she got sick on a cruise we took on a small ship to bahamas on a day cruise some years ago, just seems funny, we dont go for like 40 days or so, and we are looking at a 7 day cruise already ... lol
if all go well and she dont get sick, we may do this like 2 times a year, we been looking at quit a few different ones ...

looked at the big ship (oasis of the seas) goes out of canaveral, and thats only a 2 1/2 hr drive ..., but there is like 2 or 3 more out of tampa that we are looking at ...

look at the pics of the boat on the stingray swim
 
Jeff,

It sounds like your day on shore at Cozumel if already pretty full, but if you have any spare time try to do some scuba/snorkeling, it's one of the best places that I've seen, there's a reef about 100yards or so off shore that's really fantastic.

Lou
 
Grizz - must be going on the Paradise. We did the 5 day from Tampa to Grand Cayman and Cozumel in Aug 2012. We did the stingray swim and the family really enjoyed. Cozumel we did a taxi ride of the island which had good reviews but wasn't for us. Was way too long. Drove the entire perimeter of the island - about 2.5-3 hours with stops. Taxi had crappy air and the kids and wife complained the whole time. Have fun.
 
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if the test goes well, look in september for some ridiculous deals.

We've done last minute cruises (scout them on vacationstogo.com) several times, and the deals are great for last minute but even better for last minute sepember, we've done several 3 and 4 day'ers for $99 +tax + tip (prepaid) and a couple of 5 day'ers for $209 + crap. its almost cheaper than stayin at home.

parking is ridiculous at the east coast ports, not sure sure in tamps, but if your that close, a taxi or a friend to drop you off is the way to go IMO. I've tended to favor miami/laud over tampa due to my general disfavor with mexico, but i'm also pretty bored with the caribbean as well by now. My next cruise (already paid for) will be LA to vancouver. and just did the hawaii thing last april, that was pretty cool.

service on NCL (and I assume on RC) was always fantastic, I wish I could get treated like that in the states !

I absolutely love breakfast buffet's, If my wife would let me i'd move into a hotel that offered one and live there full time.

you will most definitely need your passport, can't even check in w/o it, rules have changed in last year or two on that.

i don't mind getting on the ship early, if you get there super early or about 2 hours before its the sweet spot, the 3 hours before time frame is when I stand in line for too long. we've gotten there super early, had a big lunch on the boat, and hung out near the pool and people watched while catching a lil' buzz.

clubs are usually pretty active if your a clubber, entertainment can be average at best on the smaller ships. casino's are generally your standard casino, overcrowded and smokey, hit that during non peak hours, avoid texas holdem, the rake will be absolutely ridiculous.

balconies can be cool if you have one, we do a balcony for the scenic cruises, but not for nassau and such.

i can't stress enough the deals you will find out of florida in september.... (and the worst time i've found is june)

oh.. almost forgot, visit cruisecritic.com you will be able to look at really specific reviews of your exact boat, exact cruise, just ignore the negative nancy's, those idiots are mad before they show up, and mad when they leave, but you will find a few reviews that will go into Ridiculous detail about the ship and the excursions, right down to what they ordered for lunch.
 
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well, we took the anytime dining, which i think will fall in good cause we dont plan to be on a schedule, i'm not even takin a laptop, and actually will be shutting off cell phone when we pass egemont key leaving tampa bay, and when in cozumel, i think the mr sanchos thing on the beach is what we will do there, its 49.95 per person, and all you can eat and drink, and you know, ole griz will drink a few frozen drinks, they are open from 9-5, and we get off ship at 11 am, get there bout 12, leave after about 4hrs or so, go see margaritaville, wife wants some silver or something, there is a fat tuesdays there (my hangout in the keys ), lol, also another place called senoir froggs or something, supposed to be good frozen drinks, also, i guess the vanilla, chocolate, and tequilla is good there, and rum and rumcakes in grand cayman ???

we have someone droppin us off and pickin up, and watchin pets -- lol ...
i want to bring back rum, different kinds -- 7 fathoms rum at caymans i guess, just different kinds you cant get here ... i hear tortuga and blackbeards rums, anyone ever tried these ?? some people told me you can buy some of these on ship ( in the duty free )and same price you will find ???

also, i bought rum runner flasks -- for the luggage .... lol ... you ever use them ?

didnt realize though, will be cayman island -- on cinco de mayo and cozumel day after ....
 
I took a Carnival cruise to Cozumel with the wife a couple years ago out Tampa. Cozumel, Mexico was very pretty. The water was crystal clear and the food was great. We did have a bar try to stiff us on conversion rates but cleared that up pretty quick when we called them out on it.

As for the cruise line itself. The atmosphere was extremely young. Seemed like there were two juveniles for every adult that was there. The beer is stupid expensive and the food was plentiful, yet bland. The "big dinner" that they give you was also equally bland. The food just didn't have much flavor although the 24 hour pizza place did come in handy a few times.

The shows on the cruise were great. There was a piano bar that was open until 2am, a dancing show and a pretty funny comedy show. We enjoyed going to the art auction where people were pissing away money like the federal government and that was quite exciting.

All around I wouldn't do another cruise with Carnival. Would probably do an Alaskan cruise next time around, but $$ wise it's quite a bit more.
 
HAHA, Believe or not Mexico doesn't celebrate Cinco de Mayo. they celebrate their independence on Sep't 16th.
I was in Mexico over May 5th one year and asked where are the best "parties", they just laughed and said it's not celebrated.

Looks like you have a lot planned out. Sounds like fun and have a great time.
 
Enjoy. We did ncl to Mexico and a few other places last year. Had a blast, And we'd be back there again later next month if we didn't just buy a second house.

Señior frogs was ridiculously priced for drinks, but what else would you expect.

We drank, had a good time. Next time around we won't be doing near as many excursions. We enjoyed the boat too much to pay to leave.
 
Eat until you're tired then sleep until you're hungry.

Have fun I love cruises never been to the Caribbean yet it's on my to do list.
 
I've been on quite a few cruises (mostly Carnival, but NCL and RCR also). Last was a cruise out of Tampa in November. Tampa is an interesting port as it takes about 2 hours to get to the gulf. You'll have coverage the whole way out. Remember to turn your phone off and if you think you want to use it internationally, be sure to call your carrier and switch to their international plan. You will be able to switch back when you get back and they prorate it out. Alternatively, if you use a carrier that uses SIM cards (ATT) and your phone is unlocked, you can buy a SIM card in port cheaper than the international plan.

Tampa and port canaveral were the easiest port, and Miami being the worst.

Don't pay for the wifi as it just plain sucks. We wait until we get the port and find someplace that has wifi (Starbucks, restaurant, etc) and clear your email out or check your favorite forum. If you don't like your dinner company, have them switch you. We've had some good ones and some bad ones.

Carnival allows you to bring a limited amount of soda on board and sprite and vodka look similar (along with water) and cola's match your dark drinks. There is always water, iced tea, and lemonade available and the ice cream is pretty good as well. Bring a couple of water bottles as the glasses they have are small.

Let me know if you have more questions about carnival, but they are known as "the fun ships", so it will be a much younger crowd. September cruises are always cheaper, but that is because it is hurricane season. :)
 
Seadoobuddy said:
HAHA, Believe or not Mexico doesn't celebrate Cinco de Mayo. they celebrate their independence on Sep't 16th.
I was in Mexico over May 5th one year and asked where are the best "parties", they just laughed and said it's not celebrated.

Looks like you have a lot planned out. Sounds like fun and have a great time.
Click to expand...

Not to steal the thread, but a little historical perspective from out here by the Mexico border ...

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England.
In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in
Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after it's stop
in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of Mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But
as we know the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and
the cargo was lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting it's delivery,
were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of
Mourning, which they still observe to this day. That day we now know as Cinco de Mayo was
originally sinko de mayo
....and now you know the rest of the story.
 
The ports at and around Mexico normally have pretty good diving and most have some sort of a Stingray swim/snorkel.

I personally like the Stingray thing as it is VERY interactive. If you are not a diver, the coral is normally plenty good for some snorkeling. Cozumel for example is rated within the top three dive locations in the world. Thus, even 100 miles from there, there is good diving.
 
Hey Rod, actually I did know that!

Jeff, pack light, all you need is a speedo and a tooth brush. That's going to be a sight. :cool:

Lou
 
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LouDoo said:
Hey Rod, actually I did know that!

Jeff, pack light, all you need is a speedo and a tooth brush. That's going to be a sight. :cool:

Lou
Click to expand...

Lou, just spreading the wealth of knowledge.

Jeff, I do not even know you, but if you follow Lou's advise you probably should NOT post pictures here.

Rod
 
Cruise advise anyone...?
Click to expand...

Personally...I'd stay away from Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

But then...I'm politically a believer of reciprocity. You fck me or mine...my patronage won't be steering your way.
 
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we went to bahama breeze last weekend, sat around and practiced up on the margarita thing, practice i find works out good, we practice when we go to the keys, after all, you wouldnt play the super bowl without practicing ... frozen drinks , cant let glass slip out of your hand ...

we are doin the stingray thing in cayman islands, then mr sanchos all inclusive resort in cozumel, i can dive there or snorkle, we just never cruised anywhere, went some places, never on a ship, weird thing is, i already started planning a 7 day cruise for november ...
 
We have done 9 cruises on Carnival. The submarine in Cozumel is fantastic. You take a catamaran for quite a ways over to the reef and then go down. It was amazing. In Grand Cayman they have a semi-sub but it is no where near what was offered in Cozumel. Corona is the cheap beer there and I think it cost $1usd or 5 pecos. Did you get a balcony room? If not it may not be too late to upgrade.
 
cha ching cha ching, trivial i guess, but got an on board credit ( 60.00) cause rates went down 30.00 ea. ..... guess that will buy a few "drinks of the day"
when i booked like 2-3 months ago, booked with the price guarantee .....
 
thanks for all advise, leavin in am, shuttin off cellphone when we leave tampa bay, leavin laptop at home, will be havin drinks, snorkeling , relaxin, lol ...
mostly margaritas ... see you all in a week ...
 
griz400 said:
thanks for all advise, leavin in am, shuttin off cellphone when we leave tampa bay, leavin laptop at home, will be havin drinks, snorkeling , relaxin, lol ...
mostly margaritas ... see you all in a week ...
Click to expand...

Your phone will be working 2-2.5 hours after you "depart". You can do what I did and taunt my friends with pictures!!
 
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