Just got a nice surprise

[Orcrone]

While I was sitting here reading posts on this board I got a call from my mother who lives in Florida. Next year around spring break she turns 75 and decided she wants to take my family and my brother's family on a cruise to celebrate.

YIPPEE!!!!!!

[FlorenceItaly]

WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Marc, that is FABULOUS. What a generous mother you have. So, when and where????? Keep us posted.

How fun! :).

Marie

[Orcrone]

Marie,

I have to check when the kids' spring break occurs, usually Easter week. She lives about 40 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale, so we're figuring on something leaving out of there or Miami for 7 days. So it will most likely be eastern or western Caribbean.

My mom figures that Carnival will have a few too many kids for her during spring break. I tend to agree. She was thinking Royal Caribbean or possibly NCL if we want a more casual experience. So I guess I have some research to do.

[Vicar]

ORCRONE

MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When do we leave *LOL*


Thats terrific. Have a great time . Keep us posted as to when and where.

[Orcrone]

ORCRONE

MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When do we leave *LOL*


Thats terrific. Have a great time . Keep us posted as to when and where.I'm guessing that my extended family just extended quite a bit more.:D

[Tatka]

Marie,

I have to check when the kids' spring break occurs, usually Easter week. She lives about 40 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale, so we're figuring on something leaving out of there or Miami for 7 days. So it will most likely be eastern or western Caribbean.

My mom figures that Carnival will have a few too many kids for her during spring break. I tend to agree. She was thinking Royal Caribbean or possibly NCL if we want a more casual experience. So I guess I have some research to do.I would recommend Celebrity.

There are :

1)Century(my favourite ship) - Eastern Caribbean 4/16/05
Great itinerary(see my signature), food, ambiance , service!!!
2)Millenium (many rave about this "M" class) - Eastern Caribbean 4/17/05


(Celebrity is also less formal than people think.)

If we didn't book Mercury(Century sister) for California Coastal for 4/17/05 we would be on Century or Millie.

[Orcrone]

Thanks Tatka,

We'll definitely have to check that out. I've cruised with Carnival, Royal Caribbean and pretty soon with HAL also. I'd like to try out different lines. I just called the school. I guess Easter is early next year. Spring break is the week of March 28 (my mom's birthday)!

[Lois R]

;) Are you looking for another sister?:D What a nice Mom you have!

[iluvcruzin]

How wonderful Marc! What a way to celebrate Mom's special day.

As someone who's experienced Spring Break on both Carnival and RCCL, your mom is correct on the Carnival portion. However.. RCCL is now more family oriented than from years ago so you will have a huge amount of children on board on that line too (800 on my last sailing the week before Easter).

Both are great for families with young children. If your mom isn't used to many small children playing, screaming, horseplaying and just being kids.. Then you may want to consider Celebrity, HAL or Princess where the number of children are of a more manageable amount. However, if RCCL is the way to go, select one of the Voyager ships and book early for best pricing. Don't forget to update your C&A if you haven't done so already to get the coupon books onboard and the magazine for coupons on sailings.

[HeatherInFlorida]

What great news! What a great Mom you have:) ! Your extended family resides over on the "one fun wish" thread where you can get ideas about where we'd all like to go;).

[doone]

WOW, THAT'S WONDERFUL. Will she adopt me?????

[Orcrone]

;) Are you looking for another sister?:D What a nice Mom you have!Lois,

My mom only had three sons. She was thrilled when her granddaughter was born. So I'll run it by her. You never know.

[Tatka]

Thanks Tatka,

We'll definitely have to check that out. I've cruised with Carnival, Royal Caribbean and pretty soon with HAL also. I'd like to try out different lines. I just called the school. I guess Easter is early next year. Spring break is the week of March 28 (my mom's birthday)!

Check www.i-*********** (http://www.i-***********) as they have very convinient search system. I always use it just to see all schedules for different ships.

For more info on Century, ask Lois R :) she is the biggest Century fan I know.

Century prices:


I don't know how many cabins your mom is planning to book but rates for 3rd/4th passengers for that week on Century are $331 including tax!!!

I noticed they rased 1st/2nd prices a bit it used to be $600 for a week and now it's $700 (for lowest inside) but it's still well worth it IMHO.

Millenium prices:

Millenium still shows $681 with tax for 1st/2nd pax and $435 for 3rd/4th .

Century has a bit better itenirary as it has St. Maarten instead of Casa de Campo(DR).

I would go on either in New York minute.:)

[Orcrone]

Maureen,

I agree with what you say about the number of kids on a cruise during spring break. On these boards it seems that HAL even had hundreds of kids. But I'd guess that HAL, Celebrity and Princess would be less than Carnival or RCCL. There seem to be a number of Costa cruises out of FLL at that time. Does anyone know much about them.

BTW, what is C&A?

[iluvcruzin]

BTW, what is C&A?It's RCCL's frequent cruiser club - like HAL's Mariner. I'll shoot you an e-mail on the specifics.

[Tatka]

On Century last year in July we had about 300 kids and about 150 were older teens. Kids activities were probably very well orginized because I didn't see kids wandering around looking for trouble.

On formal nights they had speciall pizza party for kids and free activities up to 1 AM.

[Orcrone]

Tatka,

My mom would just be her and her husband. My brother would be him and his partner. My family is DW and two teenage daughters. I'm sure she'll go for all doubles but if not I'll be more than happy to pay the extra. After a week in a cabin with the two of them I'd need a vacation.

I looked at the Millenium. It's itinerary is San Juan and St. Thomas, which I'll be visiting in November and Nassau which I'm not sure I'm too interested in from what I've read. On the other hand, I've probably been to most of the islands we may be visiting, and it beats staying home.

My mom has a TA she loves. I'll probably just let them take care of the arrangements.

Thanks for the help.

Marc

[sail7seas]

That is such happy news and I'm very happy for you.


How wonderful your Mom will spend her special day with her family on a fabulous cruise....does it get much better than that?

Keep us posted as your plans progress.

If you need any more sisters......:D

[jhannah]

I would also suggest looking at the Zuiderdam. The larger vista class ship will be a different experience from your upcoming Maasdam cruise. You'll have some kids, but I don't think there will be an overflow. With any line, it depends on how many spring breaks are at the same time. You can book while on board the Maasdam for shipboard credits. You just might give it some thought.

[Lois R]

Marc:) let me know what she says....I will be ready next year...whatever week you choose:D

Life is funny...my parents had 3 daughters!

[Orcrone]

Jim,

That's a great suggestion for the Zuiderdam. After booking on the Maasdam she could transfer it to her agent. I wonder if we could get the credits for everyone in the party for the spring break cruise, or if it would just be for DW and I.

[flatwallet]

I see you have a large family so it seems you will need some luggage handlers to help out. My DW is really good at this.
Have a great time

[Leslieswiger]

Hello Marc,

You may want and have a look at the following site. www.CruiseOnly.com (http://www.CruiseOnly.com)

All the cruise companies are listed and will give you 360o videos of all the ship.

By the way...I always keep a bag packed, so have mom call when she is ready to go.:cool: You ALL enjoy yourselves:D

[lgt]

Marc,

We are booked on the Westerdam for Easter week (3/27) with 4 teens. We have sailed RCCL, Princess & HAL. HAL had the least amount of kids during breaks, but still quite a few. This was a compromise with the kids. I was surprised at the great prices I got for this cruise. We'll be doing the Western Carib. Email me & I'll give you the particulars, if you like.

Whatever is decided I'm sure you'll have a great time. Happy sailing1

[ekerr19]

Marc-

Please check out the Volendam sailing on 3/20/04 - we are looking closely at that one - and yesterday doone posted they are booked on it as well!

What a blast that would be!

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

What a wonderful mother you have.

Don't forget that the Westerdam has Eastern and Western (7 day) itineraries.

:)

[Orcrone]

Marc,

We are booked on the Westerdam for Easter week (3/27) with 4 teens. We have sailed RCCL, Princess & HAL. HAL had the least amount of kids during breaks, but still quite a few. This was a compromise with the kids. I was surprised at the great prices I got for this cruise. We'll be doing the Western Carib. Email me & I'll give you the particulars, if you like.

Whatever is decided I'm sure you'll have a great time. Happy sailing1lgt,

Ths boards don't seem to have their e-mail feature working quite right yet, but if you'd e-mail me at morlick1@cox.net I'd appreciate it.

[Orcrone]

Marc-

Please check out the Volendam sailing on 3/20/04 - we are looking closely at that one - and yesterday doone posted they are booked on it as well!

What a blast that would be!Love to join you if you go. That one really sounds great. It includes some ports I've never been to. But the kids are out of school from March 26 through April 3. So neither that one or the following one (leaving March 30) would work. We pretty much have to go with a 7 day leaving 3/26 or 3/27.

Marc

[dolphngirl]

Wow- that sounds great!

I'm new to the boards and I had to hop on and say hi to a fellow Chesapeake resident. I see you are on the Maasdam in October- we are thinking about booking it for 3/10/05, but we haven't made up our mind yet. Any advice? What made you pick the Maasdam?:)

[Orcrone]

Hi dolphngirl,

First let me welcome you to the boards. I live off of Mount Pleasant Road in Great Bridge in Tunbridge Station. Are you near?

Anyhow, the thought of cruising out of Norfolk appealed to me; no flights with it's extra expenses and hassles. Carnival has three 6-day cruises each year to the Bahamas. But that was shorter than I wanted and their prices were very high (over $1000 pp for an inside room). Celebrity goes to Bermuda. I'd like to go there sometime, but I didn't like the idea of going across the Atlantic to Bermuda during the end of hurricane season. Radisson 7 Seas is very nice but expensive. The Maasdam had itineraries and lengths I liked and the price was right.

People had very good things to say about the food and service and ambience of the ship. I of course realize that on a HAL board people are going to be biased towards HAL. But listening to the objective comments and looking at pictures I found on the web it seemed like a ship to try. And if worst comes to worst and it's not as good as I hope, it beats 10 days at home.:D

[dolphngirl]

Orcone,

Thanks for responding to me. We are close by, off Cedar Road in Mill Creek Harbor. :D I noticed you are an engineer- my husband as well!

Back to cruising- You know, the thought of getting dropped off at Nauticus and not having to deal with flying to Florida really does appeal to us. Plus I'd rather have 10 days than 7 in paradise.

As a novice cruiser ( only 2 under my belt) may I ask for some more help? Many, many questions!!!

How soon would you book? Do deals get better or worse? What category did you end up going with? Did you use a local TA?

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

[Orcrone]

Orcone,

Thanks for responding to me. We are close by, off Cedar Road in Mill Creek Harbor. :D I noticed you are an engineer- my husband as well!

Back to cruising- You know, the thought of getting dropped off at Nauticus and not having to deal with flying to Florida really does appeal to us. Plus I'd rather have 10 days than 7 in paradise.

As a novice cruiser ( only 2 under my belt) may I ask for some more help? Many, many questions!!!

How soon would you book? Do deals get better or worse? What category did you end up going with? Did you use a local TA?

Any other advice would be much appreciated!Actually, I only have two cruises under my belt, but after spending a lot of time on this board I feel like I know a lot more. Maybe I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.:D

I would book sooner rather than later. Until final payment (75 days before your cruise with HAL) you can always get your money back in full (although some TAs may charge a cancellation fee). If the price goes down before final payment you can always get a price reduction. If they go up then you've locked in the lower price.

Many people on this board go with local TAs. But many of them have sailed umpteen times and have a very solid relationship with their TAs. Being someone who anticipated sailing infrequently I went on the internet and got price quotes from just about every TA and went with the least expensive. It's actually a brick and mortar agency in New Mexico. Once you book on line they transfer it to an agent who you can contact by phone. I've been happy with the service. I think there are some rules about posting TAs names on these boards. If you want to post your e-mail address I'll send you more info. If you don't feel comfortable leaving it on a public board you can e-mail me at morlick1@cox.net.

As far as room selection goes I've driven my TA crazy. Originally I booked a category 'M' inside room. Then a little while later the price of the I, J, and K categories dropped to less money than the 'M'. So I rebooked in category K. Then just two hours ago I decided to go for a window and rebooked in category E. Don't tell my wife, it's a surprise. I debated a verandah (category A or B) but it was over $1000 extra for the room, and I couldn't justify that.

Can't think of anything else to add. If you have any specific questions you can post them as new topics. People here are great about answering questions. Or you can e-mail me and I'll answer as best I can. Either way, I'll post my impressions of the ship when I return in November.

Marc

[HeatherInFlorida]

Marc, isn't that a bit of a trek from Virginia to New Mexico to work with a brick and mortar agent???http://boards2.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif Not to stir the pot, but it shouldn't have been quite that much more to go from an "E" to a "B" category. Should be about $350 or so more per person. That's still a lot of money. There are some really good internet agents and the service is really good. I've used the same one for the last 3 years and I'm thrilled with their service.

In fact recently I happened to see a special lower price at another site and my agent matched it even though I had booked back in April. So you really should give one of them a try. Once you've cruised with a verandah, though, you're spoiled foreverhttp://boards2.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[janisutx]

My mother has paid for a Christmas cruise for my two adult children and me. Your board has been a big help. I've already booked the pink cabana on Half Moon Cay thanks to the nice photos on this board. I also made reservations on the first night for the Pinnacle Grill for $10 each. The HAL agent did confirm that the $10 bargain would not be around for long. It's a first cruise for all of us even though we have all traveled to Europe and South America.

[Orcrone]

Heather,

It was about $160 extra to go from a K to an E, which is what I did today. You hit it on the head with going to the verandah. It was about $350 pp more. I wasn't too clear in my previous post. I meant $1000 extra to go from category K inside to category B.

BTW, keep it hush if anyone e-mails me. I'm not telling DW about the outside room. She'll find out when we get there.:D

[iluvcruzin]

BTW, keep it hush if anyone e-mails me. I'm not telling DW about the outside room. She'll find out when we get there.:D
Gotcha! She will be so thrilled. Maybe you will be lucky and they will bump you up to those verandah rooms that are not filled yet. Wishful thinking.:)

[Orcrone]

Gotcha! She will be so thrilled. Maybe you will be lucky and they will bump you up to those verandah rooms that are not filled yet. Wishful thinking.:)That way we'd both have a surprise!:)

Actually, I was thinking about the verandah (who doesn't). But all the 'S' suites are gone. There was one 'B' verandah mid-ship available. But that disappeared and one aft showed up. Someone must have switched. So that made up my mind for sure. DW worries about seasickness, so we're in a good location now (lowest deck, mid-ship).

But if we get upgraded I'll buy her some bonine.:D

[HeatherInFlorida]

DW worries about seasickness, so we're in a good location now (lowest deck, mid-ship).

But if we get upgraded I'll buy her some bonine.:DGood choice, then. Midships is the place to be. Also, why don't you get her the seabands. I swear by them. I've only gotten sick once when we passed the outskirts of a hurricane on the Bermuda/NY run which can be a killer. But ever since then, I put on the seabands the minute we start to rock a little and then I take them off after a day and I've gotten my sea legs. They're about $10 and the good news is they work from the moment you put them on. And there's no side effects like from medication.

Could be all in my head that they work, but who cares as long as we don't get sick! :)

[Orcrone]

Heather,

What are sea bands?:confused:

[sail7seas]

A couple who are among our very best friends cruise alot. She used to always get sea sick. He is an Internist. She and I were on the phone about 6 years ago and I had read about sea bands. I suggested she try them. How could they hurt? They are non-invasive and could do no harm. All of the meds her DH had prescribed for her had not helped.

He laughed at the two of us but agreed there could be no harm. She bought them; used them; and had the first cruise of her life with no sea sickness. He told us "it was all mind over matter". We told him if that were the case, why did none of his magic meds work in the past? He decided it wasn't worth the debate. :) She always uses them on cruises now and has never been seasick again.

Try them.....they cannot hurt.


Orcrone....sea bands are elastic bands that look similar to wrist bands one would wear when playing tennis. They are stretchy and have a "button" which is to be placed at a specific spot on your wrist. They work on "accupressure" and many find them very effective. You must wear one on each wrist. One...on only one arm.... does not do any good. You will find those "naysayers" and you will hear from those who think them very effective.


Orcrone...What a great surprise "she" will have.

[Orcrone]

SAIL7SEAS - Thanks for the explanation of the sea bands. Where do you get them? Drug store?


Thanks,
Marc

[Orcrone]

Spoke to my mom, trying to nail down itineraries. We think we're going to do a 7 day eastern Caribbean leaving on March 26 or 27. RCI seems to be about $200 more for that week than other weeks.

Right now I think we're leaning towards the Zuiderdam leaving March 26. Stops at HMC, St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau. Her TA gets back into town on Monday and hopefully we'll book by middle of next week.

Someone suggested (sorry, I forget who) that I could book on the Maasdam during our fall cruise and get shipboard credits for booking while on the cruise. Is this a good idea, or am I taking too much of a chance of the price going up?

Thanks,
Marc

[HeatherInFlorida]

Marc, S7S described them beautifully. Yes you get them in the drugstore. They are usually grey and in a little plastic box about 2"x2". They're with the seasick pills.

[a1moty]

If you can't find the "SEABANDS" on the shelf by the motion sickness pills--ask your pharmacist. For some reason, they keep them under lock and key here.
:confused: