First time cruiser, what are the things I need to know!

[Jessicalou]

Hi all,

 

We are thinking of booking a cruise on the Sun. We have been told two prices, one guarantees the cabin number and the other price doesn't and you find out when you get there, all I know is that it is on deck 8 in the middle of the ship. I have no idea which is the best option?

 

Plus could anyone tell me about the prices of food, drinks and excursions please. I want to know that I can afford to have a great time before I book the cruise!

 

I hope I can, because we are cruise virgins and very excited at the prospect!!

 

Thanks for your help.

 

JL

[4774Papa]

Hi all,

 

We are thinking of booking a cruise on the Sun. We have been told two prices, one guarantees the cabin number and the other price doesn't and you find out when you get there, all I know is that it is on deck 8 in the middle of the ship. I have no idea which is the best option?

 

Plus could anyone tell me about the prices of food, drinks and excursions please. I want to know that I can afford to have a great time before I book the cruise!

 

I hope I can, because we are cruise virgins and very excited at the prospect!!

 

Thanks for your help.

 

JL

You asked a lot of questions. I will try to assist.

 

First, your choice between a guaranteed cabin (usually a specific cabin type like balcony or inside) and a specific cabin. Some cruises offer a guarantee when cruises are not selling as well as they should. A guarantee cabin will guarantee you a specific cabin type like balcony, but you could receive that cabin anywhere on the ship. You may get one of the worst cabins on the ship, or a good cabin.

 

Cabins to avoid are ones with partially obstructed views, where the lifeboats block part of your view or a cabin under the garden cafe or fitness center (noise from above). You can study the cabin layout of the ship and pick a cabin that has only other cabins above or below your cabin. Also, cabins in the middle of the ship tend to be more stable, if you might be prone to seasickness.

 

You can save buying a guarantee. My Son did so on Epic and save a couple of hundred dollars pp.

 

It is a personal choice to trade certainty for chance vs, savings.

 

The prices of drinks depend on the drink. Tea, regular coffee, etc. is free, but alcoholic drinks, specialty coffee and sodas are a cost.

 

A regular beer will cost about $4 plus a service fee. A martini will generally run $10 for a large one.

 

Food is free, unless you eat in a specialty restaurant, where fees per person will run from $10 to $30 each.

 

Excursions depend entirely on the port and type of excursion. You can review some on the website.

 

If your 7 day cruise will cost you $1500 per cabin, you can count on a bill at the end for the mandatory tips, drinks, excursions with service charges for about half of that. Of course, it depends on how much you drink and what type of excursion.

 

For example a full day 9 hour excursion with lunch in Italy might cost you $150 pp. A three hour walking tour might cost $40.

[Jessicalou]

Thanks so much for that information!

 

We are hoping to book either this evening or at the weekend on the Baltic Cruise on 11/08/12. Once you have booked, do you get access to book excursions online? I'd hate to miss out on tours or trips because it's too late when we're on board.

 

Thanks again, SO excited now!

[4774Papa]

Thanks so much for that information!

 

We are hoping to book either this evening or at the weekend on the Baltic Cruise on 11/08/12. Once you have booked, do you get access to book excursions online? I'd hate to miss out on tours or trips because it's too late when we're on board.

 

Thanks again, SO excited now!

It is good to book excursions before you travel. Does your cruise depart in November or August? Americans tend to put the month first, Europeans the day, except people like me that served in the military put the day first.

 

If your cruise in August 11, you should book soon. One thing, check the roll call for the specific cruise that you are going on. You can find deals on private cruises that are sometimes cheaper than the ship's excursions.

 

On a Baltic cruise, specifically, I recommend taking a private tour in St. Petersburg, Russia. You will be there two days. You can take a tour with a Russian tour company like Red October or SPB for a lot less than the cruiseline excursion.

 

Also, think about the Berlin excursion. A lot of people are disappointed having to travel so far just to get to Berlin. If you have never been there, perhaps you wish to do it, but it involves a lot of time on the bus.

[Jessicalou]

Once again, thanks.

 

Sorry, yes 11th August (2 weeks!!! :D)

 

I am so new to all this and so apologies for all the questions. I would love to go to Berlin but my partner served in the Army in Germany for 22 years and so I will go to whereever he would like to go as he's seen most of it, I've seen none!

 

The St. Petersburg stop is the one that concerns me, particularly as it's a 2-dayer. I have read that you need a visa if you want to go off alone. We are both desperate to have a good excursion here as this is one place that we are dying to see. Do you need a visa to use one of the other tour companies rather than NCLs? Or is this covered by a group visa thing?

 

I really feel we need to do a lot more homework, unfortunately we only found out it was possible for us to get time off for a holiday yesterday!

[Jessicalou]

I wish I was going away today to get away from the Olympics debacle, it's a stone's throw from my house and all the roads and transport systems have come to a halt and it doesn't start for another 6 hours!

[Big Chik]

Check the port info on CruiseCritic. Its often possible to get local excursions cheaper, and we often just use local transport, or opt to just explore the port town itself.

 

I've not done the Baltic but my parents did and loved it, but the language might be more of an issue than in the Med - eg, I can blag my way along in pidgin French, Spanish and Italian, but my Estonian/Russian ain't so hot!!!. :-) I'm not sure how much English is spoken by the locals in the Baltic ports.

[Clay Clayton]

Jessicalou

Welcome to cruising....I have a close CruiseCritic pal who is on "your" cruise and any ship she is on, is sure to be a fun one. I highly suggest you go to the rollcall and introduce yourself and read the older posts...you may find someone who is looking to share a private tour which IMHO is the way to go...so much better than the ships tours. You can find "your" roll call here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=34697232#post34697232

[www3traveler]

Thanks so much for that information!

 

We are hoping to book either this evening or at the weekend on the Baltic Cruise on 11/08/12. Once you have booked, do you get access to book excursions online? I'd hate to miss out on tours or trips because it's too late when we're on board.

 

Thanks again, SO excited now!

The Sun will be in The Caribbean in November 2012. She will leave the Baltic's at the end of September. In May of 2013, The Star will be doing Baltic's.

I never book an excursion until I am on board a ship and can talk to the people at the Shore Excursion desk. If for some reason your shore excursion is late returning to the ship, IF you have booked through Norwegian, the ship will wait. If you do a non Norwegian excursion or you go off on your own, depending on the port, the ship may or may not wait for you. If you miss the ship, it would be your responsibility and your expense to get to the next port of call.

[MilesV]

How exciting. You are gonna love cruising!!!

 

It is very improtant to try to move your bowels at least 8 times a day to make room for the rest of the delicious food. I usually set up a lounge chair in the buffet as early in the morning as I can and stay there until it is time to get ready for dinner. You will absolutley love it!!

[dexddd]

Once again, thanks.

 

Sorry, yes 11th August (2 weeks!!! :D)

 

I am so new to all this and so apologies for all the questions. I would love to go to Berlin but my partner served in the Army in Germany for 22 years and so I will go to whereever he would like to go as he's seen most of it, I've seen none!

 

The St. Petersburg stop is the one that concerns me, particularly as it's a 2-dayer. I have read that you need a visa if you want to go off alone. We are both desperate to have a good excursion here as this is one place that we are dying to see. Do you need a visa to use one of the other tour companies rather than NCLs? Or is this covered by a group visa thing?

 

I really feel we need to do a lot more homework, unfortunately we only found out it was possible for us to get time off for a holiday yesterday!

 

 

We've done the Baltics on the Sun but it was the 12 day when it used to leave from Dover. As others have said, you can go to the ports of call section for info on tours and your roll call.

 

To simplify a bit, you need a visa if you go on your own in Russia. If you go on an organized tour thru NCL or a tour operator you won't need it. Some independents that regularly come up as good are SPB, DenRus, Anastasia (might have merged with someone else). Some want you to get an organized group of like 6, 8, 10, 12, etc. Some will also offer a larger bus experience.

[4774Papa]

Once again, thanks.

 

Sorry, yes 11th August (2 weeks!!! :D)

 

I am so new to all this and so apologies for all the questions. I would love to go to Berlin but my partner served in the Army in Germany for 22 years and so I will go to whereever he would like to go as he's seen most of it, I've seen none!

 

The St. Petersburg stop is the one that concerns me, particularly as it's a 2-dayer. I have read that you need a visa if you want to go off alone. We are both desperate to have a good excursion here as this is one place that we are dying to see. Do you need a visa to use one of the other tour companies rather than NCLs? Or is this covered by a group visa thing?

 

I really feel we need to do a lot more homework, unfortunately we only found out it was possible for us to get time off for a holiday yesterday!

If you use one of the Russian tour companies in STP you don't need a visa. They arrange for the group visa.

In order of priority you should see in and around STP the following:

 

1)Catherine's Palace

2)Peterhof (usually done with Catherine's Palace for cruise ship groups since they are close together some miles from the city.

3) City tour including Peter and Paul Fortress and Hermitage.

4) Church of Spilled Blood.

5) St. Isaacs Cathedral

6)Kazan Cathedral

 

In two days, you will probably get to do 1 through 3, perhaps 4.

[emcelh]

Thanks so much for that information!

 

We are hoping to book either this evening or at the weekend on the Baltic Cruise on 11/08/12. Once you have booked, do you get access to book excursions online? I'd hate to miss out on tours or trips because it's too late when we're on board.

 

Thanks again, SO excited now!

 

You can look at what shore excursions are offered in each port even before you book. They're all listed with prices on NCL's website.

 

I don't envy you, having to deal with the Olympics being in your backyard. It must be difficult carry on with your normal life. Good luck.

[Shelli]

The Sun will be in The Caribbean in November 2012. She will leave the Baltic's at the end of September. In May of 2013, The Star will be doing Baltic's.

 

The original poster was writing the date European style, where the day is first, followed by the month; "11/8" really means August 11. Here in the U.S., we'd write it "8/11" instead.

[Jessicalou]

Thank you to all for responses :)

 

We've booked!! 11th August 2012, SO excited. This is my first holiday abroad in 22 years!

 

I will check out everything that has already been advised because I don't want to miss anything and will be VERY grateful to hear of any particularly good excursions that others have been on (within the Russia visa thing because we don't have one).

 

We are fortunate in Germany at least as my OH speaks fluent German, don't know about the rest of the countries but I'm sure it will be fine.

 

Hope you all enjoyed the Olympics ceremony, it was very British twee, but that's how we roll!! We'll leave it to the rest of you to win the medals :( xxx