New to cruising

[Thisguylikestocruise]

My wife and I are in our 30's, no kids.  After doing a lot of traveling, we decided to take a cruise.  Our 1st cruise was in 2017, interior room on Oasis of the Seas w/RC.  Had a great time!  Fell in love with cruising.  Enjoyed the excursions on St Thomas/St maarten, before the hurricane destroyed them.  Did not like Nassau.  We wanted to cruise again right away.  Unfortunately our house flooded twice in 6 months, and other things happened that put vacations on hold.  Now life is moving forward again, we booked another cruise.  This time, it's Harmony of the Seas, and an ocean view balcony. Cococay, St Thomas, St Kitts.  I wanted to try a smaller ship like Rhapsody and considered Carnival Cruise Lines.  Charleston is nearby, but that didn't appeal to me for the price.  Our first experience was good though, so we stuck with RC.  The balcony's are cheaper on larger ships, that's the main reason I choose Harmony.  Ended up getting room 9306, back/port side of ship, 12 rooms from the very back, and a good distance from the elevator.  I noticed deck 10 and above was an extra charge, so higher decks must be better?  We aren't very picky, and all we want is an unobstructed balcony, with a nice view of the ocean. Being mid ship didn't matter to me, because I don't get sea sick.

 

One concern is it's 7 rooms down the hall from Dazzles.  On Oasis I remember the room seemed fairly sound proof, but I do remember Dazzles having loud live music.  Anyone stay on deck 9 on an Oasis class ship, and were you happy with it?

 

Also, I noticed St Kitts doesn't have many excursions.  We're considering staying on the ship that day.  Anything fun to do there? 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Thisguylikestocruise

[Essiesmom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  This is a large website and it can be confusing/bewildering, but there is a tremendous amount of information here.  To start with, back on the main boards page are boards for each of the cruise lines.  For advice about RCI ships, check out the board for Royal Caribbean.  Further down is a section called Ports of Call, where you can research your ports.  As far as cabins costing more the higher up they are, that is because cruisers have decided that higher up is better, and midship is better than forward or aft.  So the cruise lines charge more for those cabins because people will pay it.  EM

[leaveitallbehind]

There is no concern with your location (or any for that matter) with Dazzles as all staterooms are separated by a hallway off the elevator banks and are away from the club location.  You will not have any noise issues. 

 

And yes, most cruise lines - as with most hotels - tend to charge more for higher locations, but that is usually nominal.  But there is no correlation with larger v smaller ships and lower balcony pricing.  All pricing is market driven determined by supply and demand and based on ship, itinerary, time of year, and stateroom category - not the size of the ship.  Often the larger (and newer) ships will have more amenities and venues on board than the smaller (and older) ships which will command a premium price for their staterooms.

 

Go to the Caribbean Ports of Call board to get ideas of things to do in St. Kitts and your other ports of call here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/

 

But there are similar activities that you can book independently for less cost than booking through the cruise line.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[cb at sea]

RCI does a pretty good job of separating cabins from public spaces.  Noise isn't an issue.

[Nic6318]

11 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

 

Also, I noticed St Kitts doesn't have many excursions.  We're considering staying on the ship that day.  Anything fun to do there? 

 

 

Hi there

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic

 

Have you looked at the "port of call" threads on this site? Look down on the main "forums" page. You will find threads for all cruise stops. There will be a lot of information on things you can see and do. 

 

It's been a number of years since I visited St. Kitts on a cruise and I can't remember what I did. I took a quick look on TripAdvisor and saw that there are a number of things that could interest most people. One thing people get to sooner or later if they cruise a lot is, don't necessarily confine yourself to cruise line excursions. There are many reputable companies offering similar or better options most often for a lower cost than those advertised by the ships. If you have never been there before, I don't see the point of not getting off the ship. As you said, after doing a lot of traveling, how many cities did you visit where you decided to not leave your hotel?  

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 7/6/2019 at 9:09 PM, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

 

Also, I noticed St Kitts doesn't have many excursions.  We're considering staying on the ship that day.  Anything fun to do there? 

 

Staying on the ship is always a fun option - have most of the pool to yourself! However, it is also very easy to just get off and negotiate a price with a local for a tour of the island.

[bonsai3s]

On 7/6/2019 at 6:09 PM, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

 

One concern is it's 7 rooms down the hall from Dazzles.  On Oasis I remember the room seemed fairly sound proof, but I do remember Dazzles having loud live music.  Anyone stay on deck 9 on an Oasis class ship, and were you happy with it?

 

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  I may have already answered this question on the Royal Caribbean board...sorry if it's a duplicate.

 

We were on Deck 9, only a few cabins from Dazzles, on the inaugural sailing of the Allure. 

We were happy...we didn't hear a thing coming from Dazzles.  Happy Sailing! ☺️

[clo]

On 7/6/2019 at 6:09 PM, Thisguylikestocruise said:

Anything fun to do there? 

Not trying to be snotty but if you google "things to do in St. Kitts" there are gazillions of links.  I was going to give you one but there are so many.  Some are higher end than others.  And it will give you some restaurants that perhaps not every cruiser will be going to 🙂

[taglovestocruise]

On 7/6/2019 at 6:09 PM, Thisguylikestocruise said:

.  Did not like Nassau. 

With that simple statement you sound like a well seasoned cruiser.  happy cruising