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Rookie Cruisers...4 adults.


TNDeb
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I finally registered after reading all I could on this board. What a gold mine this place is!!

 

Next summer (May/June) Hubby and I along with another couple WILL be on a cruise. We want to do a 5 day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean. We will be meeting with a TA in the next week or so. Here are some of my concerns/questions:

 

We would like to stay in one cabin, with a balcony. If there is a couch that pulls out to a full size bed, we're good with that. What are y'all's experience with this?

 

Hubby is concerned about his bar bill...he is a beer drinker. What are the best ways to deal with this? I think some cruises offer a $$ a day for all the beer you can drink. How has that worked for y'all? As for me...I'll have rum runners filled with Capt. Morgan.

 

Shopping...I admit it...this is one of the things I'm most looking forward to. I know it depends on what ports we hit, but what ports offer the best shopping? How far is the shopping from the ports?

 

Excersions....which ones do you recommend?

 

~TNDeb

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I would advise NOT to put 4 adults in one cabin...just too tight. If you must be close together, book side by side cabins... The sofa bed is not comfortable for 2 adult....kids may be fine, but not adults. Ship cabins are nowhere NEAR the size of average hotel rooms. If I couldn't have my own cabin (with spouse or SO), I would delay until I could afford it.

 

Beer runs in the $4+ range, depending on cruiseline. Some cruiselines do offer a "package" for alcoholic beverages....but not ALL do....have your TA look into that!

 

Shopping...depends what you're looking for! More info, please!

 

Excursions....again, more info....what do you want to do? Beaches? Physical activity and adventure? Yes, we know about the shopping!, Get a guidebook on your ports, so you can find out what there is and what interests you....then, we can guide you in the right direction!

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Four adults in one cabin? I don't think so. Think of it this way, take your smallest room in your house and cut it in half, then cut the size of your smallest bathroom in half. Do you think it will work? Four adults in one bathroom will be tricky at best. Some cabins only have beds that pull out of the ceiling or wall. The sofas in some cabins are smaller than a double bed and are very uncomfortable. Good for kids, not so much for adults. And you'll have no privacy.

 

Shopping on the islands isn't nearly as great as it once was. Prices are high, and you could very well find better deals at home. Just know what you're getting to avoid getting ripped off. Location of shopping depends on what islands you're visiting and where you dock. It varies a bit from place to place.

 

I don't think anyone can tell you what excursions to take because we don't know you or your interests. Just look at the list of excursions offered and choose those that interest you.

 

I've not heard of any cruise line, other than the luxury lines, that have all you can drink beer all day long. That just doesn't exist. They do have buckets of beer for a set price, like five bottles for a certain price, but not all you can drink for an entire day.

 

All luggage is xray'd and if they find your alcohol in the bags, they will take it, and those in rum runners will be thrown out. Cruise lines have gotten very savvy at finding smuggled booze. The most you can bring on legally on most lines is wine. No cruise line allows alcohol to be brought on board.

Edited by kitty9
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In my opinion: i wouldn't go in May or June to the Carribean: i went once early in May and said never again: To hot down there:

If you are thinking 5 days why not do 7: Usually you can find better bargins on 7 day cruises:

Eastern Car... is a good place to go for beginners: St. Thomas and St Maartan are fun: of course as for shopping it depends what you are looking for:

I really don't think you would enjoy sleeping 4 to a room : Why not consider one balcony and one inside room ( on the same deck: ) If it were my friends or family with only one bathroom we would kill each other: if you have the insideroom across from the balcony you both can enjoy it .

You didn't give your ages: if you can avoid hurricanes i would shoot for Oct.

Do plenty of research and don't forget insurance: i wouldn't leave USA without it: Enjoy:

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In the summer, you will have a choice of four cruise lines in the Caribbean: Carnival (the most ships); Royal Caribbean, NCL (one ship doing very short cruises to Bahamas); Disney. All the other cruise lines will have taken their ships to Alaska and Europe. In fact, a search brings up only one ship, Carnival Victory, doing five day cruises from Miami calling at Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. Probably not what you were thinking of as Eastern Caribbean. EM

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Generally the cabin configuration for four is either two twins AND an upper/lower (bunk) bed OR a Queen/King AND the upper/lower bed. With four adults, you would have to be on VERY close terms.

 

As a fellow beer drinker and recently on Carnival, there is no unlimited beer card. single imports were $4.95, domestics $5.95 and Fosters "oil can" $6.95. Yes imports were less than the domestics. Around the pool area bars you can buy four beers for a $2 discount off the price of four. If your DH likes Fosters, that is by far the best value for the volume. The bar tab can add up very quickly especially after a day by the pool and losing count of the number of beers consumed.

 

Not sure what itinerary you are looking at but the prices on the islands were not much different than here in the states and the vendors were not very interested in negotiating the price.

 

Still cruise vacations are the absolute best. Good luck in your search.

 

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

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Hi, and welcome.

 

Cabins (staterooms) are notoriously tiny. Highly recommend you get adjoining rooms, not share one.

 

Trust me, shopping opportunities will present themselves, and not far from the docks, either. Vendors know where the river of money flows.

 

Have a great cruise.

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I finally registered after reading all I could on this board. What a gold mine this place is!!

 

Next summer (May/June) Hubby and I along with another couple WILL be on a cruise. We want to do a 5 day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean. We will be meeting with a TA in the next week or so. Here are some of my concerns/questions:

 

We would like to stay in one cabin, with a balcony. If there is a couch that pulls out to a full size bed, we're good with that. What are y'all's experience with this? DO NOT DO THIS. get 2 cabins, even if you must step down to interior or OV. there WILL NOT be enough room for 4 grown adults unless you spring for a large suite.

 

Hubby is concerned about his bar bill...he is a beer drinker. What are the best ways to deal with this? I think some cruises offer a $$ a day for all the beer you can drink. How has that worked for y'all? As for me...I'll have rum runners filled with Capt. Morgan. depends on the line. some only offer specials like buy 5 get 6 deals. it also depends on his level of beer snobbery

 

Shopping...I admit it...this is one of the things I'm most looking forward to. I know it depends on what ports we hit, but what ports offer the best shopping? How far is the shopping from the ports? what KIND of shopping? baubles? liquor? cheesy tee shirts? you need to do research ahead of time as sometimes the prices are no better( and in fact can be HIGHER, or the quality not there) overseas.

 

Excersions....which ones do you recommend? strictly personal prefernce.. we do not do ANY as we find them to be overpriced and do not offer the kind of experience we are looking for.

 

~TNDeb

 

 

seriously if you wish to remain friends DO NOT GET A CABIN TOGETHER. also you will each want to spend time alone..privately.. ;)

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..... We would like to stay in one cabin, with a balcony.

 

If you go 4 to a room, do NOT get a balcony. ...... . someone might get thown overboard.

 

On the Oasis, 16 ounce Coors Light was $6.04 which included tip. No deals on Coors Light.

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If you go 4 to a room, do NOT get a balcony. ...... . someone might get thown overboard.

 

On the Oasis, 16 ounce Coors Light was $6.04 which included tip. No deals on Coors Light.

 

Especially if alcohol is involved~:rolleyes:

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Ah - everyone complains about the rent in NYC or SF... but I'll tell you what's the most expensive rent: Any cruise ship!

 

I will echo everyone else - cruise ship staterooms are TINY! Take an average hotel room, cut it in half if not even less. It's a lot like being in a very nice small motor home if you get my drift. The bathrooms are 1 person at a time, pretty much all the time. And they don't vent super well often times :) And things tend to happen all at one time on ships (e.g. your dinner seating time or the cocktails before with friends, etc.) so everyone will want to use the bathroom at the same time or around and that's just impossible for 4 and difficult for 2.

 

The standard rooms are designed for 2 adults, and perhaps a child or two (though not really).

 

That all said - you could either spend more and all go in on a suite which will give you many benefits above and beyond the extra space which would be special, but it isn't cheap. You do get a lot more beyond the room though and it varies by cruise line.

 

You could also, as I think someone else suggested, get a balcony room and an inside state room across or nearby and share the balcony, but still have the 2 person occupancy. I would never try to fit 2 couples or even 4 adult friends into a typical stateroom if I wanted to not have some type of reailty show drama somewhere in the Caribbean! :D

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Insides on the Radiance of the Seas are about 165 square feet - and that includes closets, usually a desk, and closets. Extremely well designed with tons of storage space but definitely not for 4 adults. Check the size of the cabins (usually given on the cruise line website) and find a room in your house with similar dimensions for an idea of how much room you'll have.

 

DSC00389-1.jpg

 

DSC00390-1.jpg

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Sorry but its a no from me too.

 

I was on Oriana at New Year in a balcony cabin.. next size down from a mini suite at 250 sq ft. Absolutely wonderful for two but four would be a no.

 

One bathroom? Thats a definite no... especially if anyone does get a travel bug.

 

Even in our cabin we needed 'me' time and separated for different lectures and activities sometimes. Great cruise, but would have been spoilt for me with four in it...

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Thanks to everyone for your comment. I am now thinking 2 cabins would work better for us. We travel A LOT with the other couple and always split a room, but the one comment about one bathroom + noro virus...no thank you!

 

All 4 of us are 49-51 in age.

 

For excersions, I'm thinking more of the sight seeing type.

 

Since we're all cruise rookies, we thought a 5 day would be a good starting point. Me personally, I'd LOVE one that lasts longer.

 

As for shopping, Hubby and I will celebrate our 25th Anniversary in 2014, and he's promised me some jewelry. I've heard prices are good in the islands, and he would be game for taking advantage of that.

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As for shopping, Hubby and I will celebrate our 25th Anniversary in 2014, and he's promised me some jewelry. I've heard prices are good in the islands, and he would be game for taking advantage of that.

 

Prices in the Caribbean are no longer good. Bargains, for the most part, just aren't there. Many cruisers have found that you can get just as good a deal back home. And beware, there are some unscrupulous people selling jewelry in the Caribbean. Just know your prices and buyer beware.

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If you really want to hang out together in the cabin, you can try to get two connecting cabins. These have an inside door so you can go from one cabin to the next. If you get two adjoining balcony cabins, some ships allow the balcony divider to be opened. (Not sure which ones do or don't). Note: "Adjoining" means next to each other, but not necessarily connecting. Cheapest would be two inside cabins. I actually prefer inside cabins because I like to sleep late. But 4 adults in one standard cabin? No way I'd do this.

Edited by Jimnbigd
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On Carnival the regular cabins are about 185 sq ft (10 x 18.5)

 

There will be some cabins that have a king/queen bed and a double sofa bed. Most have 2 lower twins (forming a king) and two uppers. Others have a sofabed (like a daybed) and an upper. Who will sleep in the upper?

 

We had an SA suite on the HAL Westerdam that was 500 sq ft. The kids slept on the pulloput sofa. It was uncomfortable because of the middle bar.

 

Another problem is many cabins only have two electrical outlets (a 110 & a 220).

 

If you are looking for a balcony the Carnival Spirit class has a few balcony cabins that connect to an inside.

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I finally registered after reading all I could on this board. What a gold mine this place is!!

 

Next summer (May/June) Hubby and I along with another couple WILL be on a cruise. We want to do a 5 day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean. We will be meeting with a TA in the next week or so. Here are some of my concerns/questions:

 

We would like to stay in one cabin, with a balcony. If there is a couch that pulls out to a full size bed, we're good with that. What are y'all's experience with this?

 

Hubby is concerned about his bar bill...he is a beer drinker. What are the best ways to deal with this? I think some cruises offer a $$ a day for all the beer you can drink. How has that worked for y'all? As for me...I'll have rum runners filled with Capt. Morgan.

 

Shopping...I admit it...this is one of the things I'm most looking forward to. I know it depends on what ports we hit, but what ports offer the best shopping? How far is the shopping from the ports?

 

Excersions....which ones do you recommend?

 

~TNDeb

 

I agree four adults in one room is asking for trouble. You will end up hating each other. My husband and I do use the bars and our bill is normally aroung $600.00 for the cruise for two.

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