Conference abbott::cruise_travel

       
                         Choosing a Ship...
    
      Pam,
         My husband and I went on a cruise 3 years ago. We had
     never been on a cruise before and therefor were not sure
     what to look for in a ship. We consulted our travel agent
     about what we should look for in a ship.These were his 
     suggestions:
    
        1. How much time do you wish to spend off the ship ?
           This will give you an  idea by how many stops the
           ship is making.
    
        2. What are the climates you enjoy ? What are you personally
           looking to sightsee about while off ship ?
    
         These 2 questions for us were pretty easy. We did not want to go
        to too many stops as otherwise we could not enjoy the ship as much.
        The second was I wanted to do some shopping and St. Thomas was
        the stop for this.
         Other people have told me they like the more stops the better but
        I fell on your first cruise you get to enjoy so much the ship has
        to offer and there are so many activities to do . If you are a laid
        back person you can also do reading and lying by the pool if this
        is what you lkie. All ships basically offer most of the same
        activities it is just up to the individual which ship you try.

    I'm assuming the $1330 was for two people, but where, when and how long is
    your cruise?
    
    My travel agent had warmed me against booking with Carnival during
    school vacation primarily because Carnival has the reputation of
    being party ships.  We ended up booking with RCCL, and was absolutely 
    satisfied.  Of course we were looking for a romantic, relaxing type
    vacation.  We were celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary.  Can't
    wait to cruise again...
    
    Good luck in whatever you choose.

	I agree with .2  we were also told to stay away from
	Carnival for the same reason we were going on our
	Honeymoon and wanted romance and relaxation rather than
	parties round the clock.


	We loved the Majesty.  The only problem we have had the 
	best and won't want to settle for less.  
	We were Category K  which was the Tween Deck.  Cabin #
	6555. We were in a great very central location.  Near the 
	middle of the ship.  Best of luck with your choice.


	Cyndi

	I did a lot of research so if I can be any help drop me
	a line.

I've been on the Jubilee.  It was nice and you would enjoy it since it 
is your first cruise and you have nothing to compare it with.  
However, for a honeymoon trip that you want to be truly special I 
would suggest RCCL.  There really is a difference in quality in the food, 
entertainment, and even the contests and activities.  

FWIW,

Ro

    
    	I agree with a couple of the replies in here.. I would recommend
    	NCL or RCCL for a honeymoon.  I've been on NCL's SS NORWAY three
    	times and loved every minute of it.  Friends have been on RCCL's
    	Sovereign of the Seas and they loved it.  I've heard a lot of
    	folks say that NCL and RCCL are a lot classier than Carnival.
    	Having never cruised with Carnival I can't compare, but from 
    	what I've seen, NCL and RCCL look nicer to me.
    
    	Just my $.02 worth.... :)
    
    	Ed

    
    
    I also would recommend RCCL for a honeymoon.  We took
    RCCL Song of Norway for ours.  There were 300 couples on 
    the ship that were all honeymooners.  They had a cocktail 
    party for the honeymooners one evening.  
    
    The food was superb.  The service was excellent.  You 
    will find that by the second day, the cabin steward and
    waiter will know all your likes and dislikes.   They
    really do a good job of spoiling you.
    
    Also, I was turned off to the Carnival Booklet.  In a
    picture of one of the clubs on the ship the carpeting
    was these huge ugly parrots.  It just wasn't what 
    we wanted for a honeymoon.
    
    I do have a friend who took a Carnival Cruise with a
    group of singles and she never had so much to drink,
    or more fun in her life.  Due to her stressful job
    and all, it was the best thing for her at the time. 
   
    I have heard NCL is excellent too.  The only reason
    why we took RCCL's was because we got a better deal
    for the particular week that we wanted to cruise.
    
    Jeanne
    

    
    How far in advance should/can you book a cruise? I plan on 
    travelling Dec of 93
    
    thanks for any input
    bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

I;m going on Carnival's Ecstasy in May.  I booked it the beginning of November
and I got a good deal.  I don;t know what the "Norm" is but I'd say do it 
as soon as you can.

Have fun.

Nancy

    
    	Usually you can get a better deal the earlier you book.  NCL
    	used to allow reservations two years in advance.... don't know
    	it they still do (haven't saved enough pennies for my next 
    	cruise yet).
    
    	Ed

    Often, if you book 6 months or more in advance, you get upgraded in
    cabins for no extra cost.  My sister and brother-in-law took a cruise -
    the Disneyworld/Bahamas package for their honeymoon, booked it barely 6
    months, and were bumped up to suites!!!!!  Really spoiled them, but
    definitely worth the early booking.
    
    Pat
    

    
    We booked 6 weeks before our cruise and were bumped up
    4 categories from M=the lowest passenger deck inside 
    with two single beds to a H=Larger inside stateroom with
    one double bed and one single bed.   We didn't know
    until we arrived at the ship that the upgrade had been
    made.  
    
    The cost was alot less also.  We paid full price for one
    person category M and half price for the second person
    same category. 
    
    Another couple at our table from Colorado booked their
    cruise one year in advanced and were shocked when they
    heard what a great deal we got.  In fact the two other
    couples did pretty much the same thing (there were 4
    couples at our table).  One couple had cruised many times
    before and always books 2 months in advance.  
    
    On our next cruise we plan to do the same thing.  Another
    thing is some airlines like American for an example will
    allow you to apply frequent travel miles towards cruises
    on RCCL.  
    
    Jeanne
    
    
    
    

    Has anybondy been on the Nordic Empriss.  It is part of the RCCL.  We
    might book this cruise.  The ship goes to Nasau Bahamas , Free port and
    Coco Cay their own private island.  It seems realy nice.  It will cost
    us 725.00 per person.  We were also thinking of staying in florida
    after the cruise for a couple of days.  Isla Marada seems like a realy
    pretty place .  If we go to the keys for two days it will cost us
    875.00 per person.  It sounds like a good price.  I never been on a
    cruise and realy dont know what a good price is.  I talked to Wanda
    from Cruise Doctors and she was very helpfull.  She says if the prices
    go down we can still get that low price.  Also she will set us up for a
    gurantee.  Which means we could get a better cabin for the same price.
    It seems like alot of fun.  If you have been on this ship I think it
    would be great if you could tell me what it was like.  I also would
    like to know how many nights are formal on the trip.  I mean when your
    on vacation sometimes you would like to be casual. I'm looking forward
    for some replys.  
    
    Thanks, Aimee
    
    

    
    Aimee,
    
    Is that for 3 days?   We took a seven day cruise and I
    didn't settle in and start to relax until the 3rd day.
    I guess you have to decide what you want to do.  $725.00
    does seem like alot of money.  RCCL has had some great
    deals where the second person can cruise for half price
    etc.  These are only for certain dates etc.   The Nordic
    Empress does look like a beautiful ship.   
    
    When we took our cruise less than two years ago the two
    of us went for $2,000.  We had a category H room, but
    that was with an upgrade.  I think we booked a category
    M before the upgrade.  
    
    Do what my husband did.  He talked to a few travel agents.
    The prices sometimes differed as much as $200.00 for the
    same cruise, same category.  You really need to shop around
    it's worth it.  We ended up using a travel agent in Chicago,
    and we live in New Hampshire.  
    
   Jeanne
    

    Jeane,
    
         The ship leaves on a Monday and comes back on a Friday.  I have
    talked to at least 4 travel agents.  They all gave me the same price so
    far.  When I had talked to the travel agents I told them to break the
    trip down for me.  They said that they flight was 350. per person and
    that the cruise its self was 375. per person.  I always wanted to go on
    a cruise.  The thing is when I told my fiance the price for a seven day
    cruise he said it was too much money.  I guess over thousand dollars is
    alot of money.  If we stay at the keys for a couple days after the
    cruise It would be nice.  Well if you have any more ideas just let me
    know anything would be a good help for us.  Thanks.
    
    Aimee
    

    One way to evaluate the cost of a cruise is to determine the per-day
    charge and compare that to say, taking a non-cruise vacation or to
    another cruise line's price for a similar itinerary.  Think you'll find
    that in most cases, the cost per day is less than what you would end up
    paying for hotel and meals if you drove or flew somewhere instead of
    the cruise.
    
    Pat

    Obviously, your cost is mostly airfare. You ought to take advantage of
    being there as much as possible either by a longer cruise or your few
    days in Flordia. If the airfare is provided by the cruise line, be sure
    you can do something other than cruise without a penalty. Consider the
    following:
    	if a 3 day cruise costs you 350+350 cruise/airfare, thats $200/day
    	if a 7 day cruise costs you 800+350 cruise/airfare, that  $165/day
    and if you are planning on stopping over in Flordia for a couple of
    days, that's not going to be free. Cruises are good value and when it
    costs alot to get there, you can usually get the best value by taking
    a LONG cruise.
    

          I understand about the 5 day cruise.  I just talked to another
    travel agency and she told me about a deal about a 7 day cruise that
    cost 795 per person.  This cruise is on the Sound of America this ship
    is from RCCL.  The only thing is that it leaves from NewYork.  We will
    have to take a bus to NewYork.  The Cruise goes to Bermuda.  It will
    stay at Hamilton the heart of Bermuda and then will go to St. Georges.
    It seems realy nice.  I have herd so many nice things about Bermuda. 
    That it is a great honeymoon place.  It is expensive but we stay on the
    ship and all our meals are on the ship.  So we only pay for what we
    want on the island.  Has anyone been on the Sound Of America.  If you
    have it would be great if you could tell me about it.  Also another
    thing that might bother me is that we are leaving in october.  so it
    will probly be a little chilly till we get near Bermuda.  We are also
    going on Huricane season.  We realy cant get around that  seems like we
    have to take our chances because its like that for most of the islands.
    
    Aimee
    
         

    CORRECTION  IT IS THE SONG OF AMERICA NOT THE SOUND OF AMERICA 
    
    SORRY, 
    AIMEE

    
    
    Aimee,
    
    There are several notes on Song of America.  6, 150
    268, and 337.
    
    337 has the most information.
    
    
    Jeanne
    

    Aimee,
    
    I think my SO and I are going on the cruise to Bermuda in October too!
    My travel agent told me it will still be beautiful in Bermuda at that
    time of year -- still beach weather.  She said this is by-far the best
    deal going for a cruise and, yes, Bermuda is gorgeous and VERY
    romantic.  I was there about 12 years ago (by plane) and have been
    aching to go back ever since, but it is also VERY expensive these
    days so the cruise is the best of both worlds.  This will be our
    first time cruise and people I know say it's the only way to go.
    I'm psyched!!!!! 
    
    p.s.  I think hurricane season will be over by then too!
    

    Hi.
    
       I know I have herd so many good things about Bermuda.  It is a great
    deal for a seven day cruise.  My fiance and I (soon to be husband and
    wife) will be going on our HoneyMoon Oct. 3.  that is when we will be
    going on the song of america.  Im Psyched too.
    
     Aimee