Poll: Are you considering your first cruise? We have a question.

Cheer Mom that's a great idea. I can't imagine getting to go without kids. I get away with friends but my husband and I don't get to vacation alone. We don't have anyone to watch the kids. I'm counting the years until they turn 18...then I have my eye on a river cruise!

TreeStar...the expense is a big deal. I feel like when I plan a vacation I go out of my way to guarantee everyone has a good time. I have backup plans for my backup plans...I'm a big planner. But cruising...I feel like it is out of my control. I can't get angry and take my business elsewhere. I can't checkout and go to another hotel if I don't like the room.

Norovirus is a serious concern. From what I understand the ship encourages the use of hand sanitizer and they clean a lot. I think you can take reasonable steps to protect yourself from this.

Cheer Mom that's a great idea. I can't imagine getting to go without kids. I get away with friends but my husband and I don't get to vacation alone. We don't have anyone to watch the kids. I'm counting the years until they turn 18...then I have my eye on a river cruise!

My parents aren't too far from us, only a couple hours away so we will take the free time when we can get it! He will be returning from overseas shortly before our cruise, so it will be some much needed time alone and away! I haven't seen him in a long time!!

Laughing, Cuizer2. Typically I like to burrow in at home :)

Carolyn

Did you go on another cruise? :confused:

Sorry to hear about your mom, Lmarie6. One of my frustrations with some of the cruise lines right now is how backward they are with onboard Internet. I get this line from cruise line execs about how "our guests want to disconnect" and sure, who doesn't want to disconnect. But some of us have family or other things we need to monitor, and heck, it's not that easy.

Will say I just got off a two nighter on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas and the Internet was fast and efficient. You could even stream Netflix! I think Royal really gets it (and understand that Carnival Corp. is investing big time to get its lines' up to speed). Not just better Internet but it's cheaper in the process which is a win-win.

Carolyn

This is probably my biggest concern right now, except replace "husband" with "boyfriend." I'm trying to get him involved in the planning and help decide on things to do at port, helping to shop for things we'll want to pack, etc. I think he's getting excited for it now, with less than 2 weeks to go!

 

My other concern is being "disconnected" because of the expense of the wifi and text/talk packages for cruising. My mother has cancer (we did not know this when we started planning) and is currently getting regular chemo and radiation treatments, and I can't help but worry about her but I also don't want my phone bill to be hundreds or even a thousand dollars because I want to check in with her. If not for worrying about her, being disconnected would not concern me much.

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Final payment is due soon for my 28th cruise and I have seven concerns:

1) How do I tell which stairs are for going up and which stairs are for going down?

Watch for how your foot feels when you first start using the stairs. If one foot is higher than the other, it's for going up. If one foot feels lower than the other, it's for going down.

 

2) How do I tell which photographs are mine if they don't put our names on the photographs?

You can check out facial recognition goggles (similar to Google Glass), which display names above the photos they scan.

 

3) What time is the midnight buffet?

It depends on if you're following ship time or local time.

 

4) How come the ships don't have cable TV?

It was eliminated, because salt water conducts electricity, allowing other ships to get a free ride on competing cruise lines' cable subscription, while data is being streamed from shore to ship.

 

5) Do they sell the ice sculptures in the ship's store.

Yes, but they cannot sell them to you directly. They have to be packed in dry ice and shipped to your home address.

 

6) If I find a new couch that I like in one of the stores on shore, can I bring it back home with me on the ship?

Not really. It has to be towed behind the ship on a raft. If everyone buys a couch that way, the ship itself could get too heavy to sail.

 

7) How come the ship does not always dock with the port side facing the dock?

Ports that have left-side driving (Bahamas, UK Virgin Islands, etc.) make the right side of the ship, not the left side, the "port" side. So this is legit.

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Good answers!

Cost was one, the only people I knew who had cruised were rich (one a million dollar lottery winner, another probably the richest person I knew the third a retired QC who also had a govt pension of a few hundred thousand a year).

Feeling trapped on the ship was the other, first cruise we chose one that was in port almost every day, now I'd go one one the just cruised around for a month without giving it a seconds thought.

1. Cabin sizes are tough to visualize living in for 1 week.

2. Being a captive customer and not being able to "check out" and go elsewhere if experience is bad/unacceptable.

3. Disease issues - norovirus outbreaks, etc.

4. Clientele of more affordable cruise lines (drunks, food hoarders, obnoxious, low life, foul mouthed)

5. Difficulty/expense of staying connected to work - something not optional for me.

6. My own lack of self control around casinos.

7. Small pool/lounging spaces.