Thread: First Timer - Nervous, help please

Hello Everybody. I know this question has been asked a million times and searching the threads did answer some of my questions but i'd like to ask for my personal situation.

I am a (potential) first time cruiser. I'm not even sure where to begin to start the process. But, I am looking for an affordable approx. 7 day to the Caribbean. I live in Central Florida so that is one plus of traveling to the port and saving money on that to hopefully extend to 7 days. I have 7 days vacation and any less would sort of seem like we wouldnt be able to get settled in and experience a good amount of the ship and things to do.

So, I have questions. And if as many as possible could be answered i'd be so thankful.


1 Anyway, I have found 7 day cruises for about $1,200 on the Carnival and Norwegian, including taxes. Is this the FINAL cost? Is this realistic??? ..or are there better deals even??

$1200 is a little steep for a vacation for a person such as me. But I havent had a vacation in years. I mean if compared to $800 or $900, to manage the extra 300-400 extra, these kind of things don't happen all the time and it might prove to be worth it. I mean, we're there on the boat anyway right? So might as well try and get the most of it.


2 Is there a "best site" or a couple that offer and have the best deals. Some of them claim as much as 80% off regular price! Is this true?? Are there websites you guys go to most frequently with the best last minute and special offers??
I tried to look at the skyaution site too. But it looks a little sketchy and after the fees and stuff it doesn't seem to be that much less.


3 Would I be better to use a travel agent or would I find my best price online?


4 How much money do you spend on average on the ship. I drink a fair amount and probably will want to enjoy my share and she probably would too, but probably not as much as me
5 What do the drinks average on price on these ships? Such as Vodka mix drinks and such?

6 What other expenses are very common and how much total should we expect to pay on the ship?


I'm kinda lost about the cabin selections and the categories. From what I get the categories have a letter and number. And the number means what type room (1-bunk, 4 inside, 6 oceanview, 8 balcony). And the letter mean the level (A-lowest and upwards).
7 Is this right?
7b But what does OV mean?

I guess the inside staterooms and outside (oceanview) are the same but if its not much more I think Ill go for outside I guess..
8 And if I get a Guarantee room will I regret it? And are the lower level rooms much worse for the view?


I might get a little motion sick, so I think I've learned that the middle is less pitch and the lower is less rocking.


Wow, this turned out to be a long thread but i just feel like I need human answers and guidance from experienced cruisers like yourselves. I'm scared of reading something online and misunderstanding or being mislead and regretting it. Like I said, I can hardly afford this in the first place so i'd like to do all I can to reduce unpleasant surprises.

Thank You So Much!! And please help a poor, working guy find the best deal to make a dream come true on a much deserved vacation.

Hope that I can help you out and relieve some of your nervousness. You are lucky that you are in Florida so that you can drive to the port. I can understand you wanted to do a 7-day cruise so that you get the entire experience. You are right that with shorter cruises, it seems that you just unpacked when it is time to pack again. Of course, shorter cruises are great if you want a short break or if you want to stick to a budget.

I have commented on your questions below. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns that you might have.

1 Anyway, I have found 7 day cruises for about $1,200 on the Carnival and Norwegian, including taxes. Is this the FINAL cost? Is this realistic??? ..or are there better deals even??

There are some great deals right now. I don't know what type of stateroom you are considering, so can't say if this is a good deal. Is the $1200 for the cabin or for each passenger? You will also need to add money for fuel surcharges, if that hasn't been included in the price. Then there are tips that you will need to add to your onboard account.

2 Is there a "best site" or a couple that offer and have the best deals. Some of them claim as much as 80% off regular price! Is this true?? Are there websites you guys go to most frequently with the best last minute and special offers??

Since you asked this on the Travel Agent forum, all of us agents here will say that our particular sites or prices are the best. Although price is important, service and knowledge is also very important to consider. There are definite advantages to use an agent, the biggest being personal service. An agent will work for you. If you are considering booking directly with a cruise line, remember that they are working for the cruise line. How soon are you traveling? There are some excellent deals out there right now with Norwegian and many of the other cruise lines.

3 Would I be better to use a travel agent or would I find my best price online?
I must say that you are always better off using an agent, but remember that I am an agent.

4 How much money do you spend on average on the ship. I drink a fair amount and probably will want to enjoy my share and she probably would too, but probably not as much as me
5 What do the drinks average on price on these ships? Such as Vodka mix drinks and such?
6 What other expenses are very common and how much total should we expect to pay on the ship?

I 've combined a few questions because they are similar. Sounds like you like to enjoy your alcoholic beverages onboard and it's good that you are budgeting for that. I just got off the Crown Princess and drink prices varied, but averaged around $6.75. That's an average. Beer costs less as do soft drinks, which do incur a charge. Usually a 15% service charge is automatically added to the drink bill. (MSC doesn't do this.). Some people like to imbibe in the ports where drinks may cost less. If you like beer, you can buy a beer bucket, which saves you a little bit. There are usually wine packages as well. Soda packages as well.

Other expenses besides those already mentioned are shore excursions, souvenirs, spa, classes, specialty restaurants, laundry, casino. Of course, it's possible to spend nothing on any of these. It's really hard to give an average because some people spend a lot more on the ship and others spend little or nothing.

I'm kinda lost about the cabin selections and the categories. From what I get the categories have a letter and number. And the number means what type room (1-bunk, 4 inside, 6 oceanview, 8 balcony). And the letter mean the level (A-lowest and upwards).
7 Is this right? - Not exactly. This all varies by cruise line. Since you mentioned NCL, Their A cabins are the best on the ship. Carnival does have the letter and number system, but two G cabins could be on different decks.
7b But what does OV mean? - Oceanview

I guess the inside staterooms and outside (oceanview) are the same but if its not much more I think Ill go for outside I guess..
Check the deckplan and the room description. It will show the square footage of each type of cabin.

8 And if I get a Guarantee room will I regret it? And are the lower level rooms much worse for the view?
You have to be a bit of a gambler to booik a guarantee. Since you say that you are prone to sea sickness as you said, you would like to be lower and in the midship area. With a guarantee, you could be assigned a high cabin at the bow of the ship. Unless you are absolutely sure that you will be happy with any cabin in anywhere on the ship, you shouldn't go with a guarantee.

Hope this helps.

Ma Cruise

HI -- I see that you are new to CLF!!



Please stop by the: Introduce Yourself! section.

Hi, I thought I would comment on your questions also, I hope I can help put your mind at ease....


1 Anyway, I have found 7 day cruises for about $1,200 on the Carnival and Norwegian, including taxes. Is this the FINAL cost? Is this realistic??? ..or are there better deals even??

The Prices are different, depending on When you want to go, and what cabin type you choose. Summer time and Holidays are always more expensive. A travel agent can help you find the best fares, by comparing dates and looking for other specials, such as residency specials, senior specials, past guest specials, military discounts, and others..


2 Is there a "best site" or a couple that offer and have the best deals. Some of them claim as much as 80% off regular price! Is this true?? Are there websites you guys go to most frequently with the best last minute and special offers??

I would suggest talking to several agents, and see who you feel comfortable with. Most of the sites such as 80% off, dont offer you the best locations, they have a certain block of cabins they need to sell.

Most of these sites also DO NOT include your taxes, port charges, and fuel supplements... They just show you the CHEAP price to get you hooked.. I ALWAYS Quote with ALL fees included.
They also do not tell you about the Gratuities you have to pay either...

3 Would I be better to use a travel agent or would I find my best price online?
As an agent, I always suggest using a TA also...
But it is totally up to you.
4 How much money do you spend on average on the ship. I drink a fair amount and probably will want to enjoy my share and she probably would too, but probably not as much as me
I assume minimum $5 a drink.. Sorry I dont drink, but I do know they are expensive and add up...
5 What do the drinks average on price on these ships? Such as Vodka mix drinks and such?
6 What other expenses are very common and how much total should we expect to pay on the ship?
Shopping, Tips, Bingo, Casino, Excursions, and things like that are EXTRA. Depends on each person,
You are looking at $70 PP for Gratuities, then average $100-200 PP for Excursion and the rest is just personal preference on what you want to do.


I'm kinda lost about the cabin selections and the categories. From what I get the categories have a letter and number. And the number means what type room (1-bunk, 4 inside, 6 oceanview, 8 balcony). And the letter mean the level (A-lowest and upwards).
(Carnival) They are doing a Recatagorization right now, so its a little confusing. The letter stands for the Deck its on. and then the Cabin number....

But what does OV mean? - Oceanview

I guess the inside staterooms and outside (oceanview) are the same but if its not much more I think Ill go for outside I guess..
these can change depending on the particular ship.

8 And if I get a Guarantee room will I regret it? And are the lower level rooms much worse for the view?
This is a Personal Preference thing, Some people do not care where on the ship they end up, as long as they are on a ship. Some (like me) like to choose the exact cabin. this is important if you are traveling with other people in other cabins, so you can be assured that you are close to each other.

I hope this Help. Let me know if you have any other questions....

Two very good answers. When I want a specific room due to location or special consideration, I go with the specific room. Otherwise I get a guarantee. On our first cruise we had a guarantee inside cabin and got upgraded to a outside. On our December cruise we has a balcony guarantee since we wanted to save some money and will (hopefully) get an upgrade thus saving $200 per cabin. The basic rule is to take a cabin you will be happy with and consider yourself fortunate if the upgrade fairies shine on you.

Have fun! Cruises are still the cheapest vacation in my opinion (We don't drink, we stay away from the casino, and we are very judicious on our shore excursions. We do not shortchange the staff on tips and if deserved tip amounts greater than the suggested amounts)

I think the answers above are great also I would also like to suggest that since you are new to cruising you should probably seek the assistance of a travel agent. They can recommend which cruise line and cabin selections would be the right fit for you.

On the guarantee cabins.
On Explorer of the Seas, we did an Balcony guarantee, that means we could be anywhere on the ship but we would definitely have a balcony. But, that balcony could also have an obstructed view. We ended up with a 2 category upgrade (larger cabin and balcony) BUT we were all the way forward (bow) on the ship. Not good if you're prone to seasickness.

Now for this upcoming Med Cruise, we booked a Suite Guarantee, and we're assigned currently a Grand Suite slightly forward. It's a great upgrade, so really the guarantees can be good, depending on what you end up with. But not all guarantees are created equal.

On the drink cost.
We do drink while on our cruises. Our bar expense, if cruising with friends and buying rounds on a 7 night cruise can be expensive ($400 - $500), but on our last 5 night cruise, by ourselves, our bar expense was only $125.

I also find cruises to be a cheap vacation. If you compare a land vacation with the costs of airfare, hotel, food, etc. cruises usually come out cheaper.

You've been given some great info. Hopefully you haven't been scared off as a cruise is a great vacation. In fact, any trip over two days in length I've been on since I met my hubby to be (except for the honeymoon) has involved a cruise.

I'm not a travel agent, but I would strongly advise you to involve one with cruise experience in helping you plan this vacation. When selecting a TA, ask them how many cruises they've been on and which cruiselines. Also ask if they charge any cancellation fees, etc.

If you price out a cruise, as explained above, there are many different factors to consider. The same cabin on the same ship on the same date may price differently depending on who you ask. The first thing to be aware of is that there is a "brochure price." Most likely you will never pay that.

Then you need to read the fine print to see if port and government taxes and fuel subcharges are included. Also sometimes prices can rise or drop (just like flights).

A good TA will guide you through the selection of the right cruiseline (if you can go to their agency and just talk about what you want from a vacation, that could help). After you decide on a cruise, get a copy of the deck plan (we have them on CLF; some cruiselines or travel agencies will give you a brochure).

See if you can get a midships cabin. That's what we did for our last cruise, which is a guarantee rough seas one (crossing the Pacific). If you like the cabin you can get, have the travel agent mark the booking "no upgrade" or have it so that you won't be moved unless asked first (we have been doing the "no upgrade" so I don't know what the second is called).

I'm not that sure what the drinks cost (I think around $6 or so). If one of you is into sodas, usually soda cards cost about $5-8/day, depending on the cruiseline. These are usually for unlimited fountain drinks. Most cruiselines seem to stock Coke products.

As noted above, there are some costs that are optional, if you aren't into buying photos, dropping money at the casino, buying shore excursions. Make sure you budget for tips though.

I agree with everything you've been provided so far. It's very good information to use in selecting the right cruise and excursions for you.

Best advice is to seek an experienced agent and work with them. They can provide you assistance with all the information you seek and monitor your cruise to insure you get the best rates.

Of course I'm prejudice on the matter, but it really is the best way to go. Everyone has their own opinion and it's good to seek information from many sources; just don't be swayed by anything or anyone in particular as it really is your choice to make based on what's best for you.

And no matter what you decide, it will be great!

Pete

Yes they all have been great anwsers.. If I might add my 2 cents, my wife gets motion sick very easy.. so needless to say I was very reluctant to even go on a cruse so when I was looking to book i had first looked online to get prices and Ideas of where to go ships to go on before I even went to the travel agent that was had a little back ground about crusing.

Anyway we booked threw the agent cuz everything was as i had found out about it on my own ... I wasn't being feed a line of XXXX . We also booked a balcony room on the 8th deck in the middle of the ship ..it was Perfect the wife didn't even know we were moving

My suggestion is spend as much as you can afford to ... either way your goign to have the time of your life.If you can get a balcony room once you do you'll never want a inside room ever again so you might as well get it out a the way now.

Well that's it get it booked and have fun .. then al you have to worry about is the packing be sure to let us know about your experiance