New Cruiser -Introduction and Questions

[mrandmrscruiser]

Hello everyone! My husband and I have been married for a little over a year and we are looking into booking our very first cruise! We are both excited.

 

Where would you recommend first time cruisers go on their first cruise? We were thinking the bahamas ,a 4 night cruise on Royal Carribean since we are both unsure how we will do on a cruise OR a 4 Day Cozumel cruise on Carnival. Which would be the better of the two? WHich would have the calmer waters? I know the ocean is not predictable but I just mean in general which one would be calmer? I suffered from motion sickness as a kid and I havent had any problems with it the past 6 or 7 years but I dont know how I will be on a boat.

 

Thanks for your help!

[cb at sea]

Any part of the ocean can be rough or smooth as glass at any given time. There's no way to tell!

 

If you can swing it, do a longer cruise--a 3-4 nighter just isn't the same experience as a 7 nighter! You won't even get to see the entire ship in that short of a time!

 

Either line will give you a great experience--they are more similar than different! Carnival tends to have larger cabins than RCI, but RCI's are well laid-out and sufficient.

 

Bring some sort of motion sickness remedy with you, just in case...feeling nauseated is NO way to spend a vacation!

[Atty]

I agree that if you can swing it, go for a week. On the shorter cruises you just get unpacked and its time to pack to go home. It is also true that you don't get the full cruise experience. However, if you can't swing a week, then for sure book the shorter just remember that generally the experience will be better on a longer cruise. This is true for a couple of reasons. First, the shorter cruises tend to (but not always) be on smaller older ships that sometimes show their age a bit. Second, on the shorter cruises you many times have a booze cruise feel (which, if you are looking for that great but I'd venture to say most of the people on Cruise Critic aren't) and the cruise is geared toward that mentality.

 

On the plus side of short cruises, some of the friendliest people and crews I've met have been on the short 3 nighters I've done.

 

I can't give advice on which one to as I've never sailed Carnival and haven't done the Bahamas.

 

If you can swing it, try a week one that goes down to the S. Caribbean. Most of my favorite ports have been down there (Aruba, St. Maarten, Curacao)

[krystalkruzer]

A 4 night is ideal for a first cruise to see if cruising is for you.My first one was a 3 day. I also was able to see the entire ship and get the full cruise experience which led to an instant addiction :) There was no "booze cruise" feel on any of the 3 and 4 night ones I have done.Cruise ships are very stable and it takes REALLY rough seas before you will feel it.Both Carnival and RC are good,just different.Carnival is more for the fun loving laid back type and RC has lots of physical activities onboard like the Wave Runner and rock climbing.Study what each line offers and browse the Ports of Call forum.

[trish1c]

My 1st cruise was 4 days on RCL's Majesty of the Seas. There was no way I was committing myself to 7 days b/c I was afraid I'd be bored, get sea sick or just not like it. Turns out I loved it & now we're hooked.

Anyplace is a good 1st cruise. I have never sailed Carnival but deserved or not, it's party hearty rep has always put me off. RCL is lots of fun. We're big NCL fans & they Sky now does short cruises. It all depends on what you want to do.

[krystalkruzer]

I have never sailed Carnival but deserved or not, it's party hearty rep has always put me off.

 

Even though it is an old and untrue rep ? Sad that you will never see how much Carnival has changed since way back then. :(

[silentbob007]

I would always take Mexico over the Bahamas, but that's just me ....

[airlink diva]

First of all, welcome to Cruisecritic!! This website is a mine of infomation about the cruise,port infomation,hotels and anything else you want to know about cruising.

I feel that a short cruise is great to test the waters (so to speak) to see if you like to cruise. When I took my first cruise in 2001, it was a three day cruise. There were some that went with me that had cruise before and wanted to do a seven day. But I had fears of not liking it. I was wrong and wish for a longer cruise. But I had fun on the three day and it got me hooked.

As for ships and cruiselines, they all offer something different. I can only speak about Carnival and have always enjoyed their ships,food and staff. I have friends who love RCCL and cite the same things about them.

As for ports, I feel that Cozumel offers so much more to do than the Bahamas so I would pick Cozumel.

Check the ports of call section to see what's offered in the ports, go and check out the ship reviews, post questions about each ship on that cruiseline section. I hope that you take the cruise and enjoy it so much that you are ready to book the next one.

[Sheffie]

Welcome!

 

We have found that the Atlantic is more apt to be rough than the Caribbean.

 

I know for sure that Cozumel's waters are warmer than the Bahamas' waters. That right there would make my choice!

[Roz]

I just got back from a 5-day cruise to Key West and Nassau on the Carnival Fascination out of Jacksonville. I highly recommend this cruise...there were some party hearty types onboard, but they didn't represent the majority of cruisers on this ship.

 

Roz

[lollylew]

My husband and I just did our first cruise in December. It was a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Carnival Sensation. I felt that it was just the right amount of time to get used to cruising but at the same time, left us wanting to do it again (which we are in May..this time on a 7 night Western Caribbean one). Also, like what was mentioned earlier, if you are prone to motion/sea sickness I would recommend two things (these worked for my husband who gets sick easily):

 

1. Start taking, and continue taking, any type of motion sickness medicine while on your cruise.

2. If at all possible, get a room with a window. We had some really rough seas coming out of Port Canaveral and having the window to look out of helped a lot since he didn't feel so claustrophobic like with an inside cabin.

 

Have fun cruising! :)