Dizzy from all the decisions!

ScooterAnderson · #1 (**permalink**) July 8th, 2008, 10:07 PM

Hello, Everybody! Thanks in advance for any feedback. My DH and I are planning our very first cruise to celebrate my 50th and our 25th Anniv. I've been reading soooo much, but I'm still confused. We're interested in a 5-day cruise, going somewhere warm and sunny, that has flexible dining options. Don't care what port we sail out of. We met with one agent who was nice, but not very helpful and has only cruised 7 times. I have another agent in the wings who's been on 40 cruises. Do y'all have any suggestions as to lines or would it be best for us to just talk to the 2nd agent and tell her our preferences? I'm feeling VERY intimidated by all of this. Thanks...

richstacy · #2 (**permalink**) July 9th, 2008, 02:18 PM

I think you would be wise to talk to the experienced travel agent and let him find out what you want. Are you interested in lots of 'silly' deck activities or do you want privacy? Is economy your thing or are you willing to splurge little for the 25th Anniversary celebration? I think you'd enjoy a private balcony room for your cruise, but maybe not. A half an hour with an experienced travel agent might really put you on the right track

Good luck and have fun deciding.

Divemaster · #3 (**permalink**) July 9th, 2008, 09:58 PM

What is your date range? Your location seems to be Caribbean (All)? Your days range is 3-6? Plug these into www.vacationstogo.com and see a list of potential cruises. Now shorten the list by flying the national airline of Texas (SWA) which leaves you the Tampa and Fort Lauderdale Ports. Choose a 5 star ship and your choice is narrowed. Click on the name of the ship and you will see its particular amenities.

That is one way to narrow your search. Another is to decide a port you want to visit and work back from there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScooterAnderson

Hello, Everybody! Thanks in advance for any feedback. My DH and I are planning our very first cruise to celebrate my 50th and our 25th Anniv. I've been reading soooo much, but I'm still confused. We're interested in a 5-day cruise, going somewhere warm and sunny, that has flexible dining options. Don't care what port we sail out of. We met with one agent who was nice, but not very helpful and has only cruised 7 times. I have another agent in the wings who's been on 40 cruises. Do y'all have any suggestions as to lines or would it be best for us to just talk to the 2nd agent and tell her our preferences? I'm feeling VERY intimidated by all of this. Thanks...

ScooterAnderson · #4 (**permalink**) July 18th, 2008, 08:00 PM

Friends,
We met with the 2nd agent, and she was WONDERFUL! She fully understood what we wanted and why, and presented us with a good price on a 5 night Caribbean on NCL with Freestyle Dining in November. We paid the next day. We sail on a Sunday and return on a Friday. We're going to book our own flights and will fly down the day before. Any suggestions on hotels? Also, any advice on whether we should stay an extra day after the cruise?
TIA!

Paul Motter · #5 (**permalink**) July 18th, 2008, 09:18 PM

Scooter, I hope you enjoy it. NCL is a good cruise line, and a bit non-tradional.

I noticed you ar in south Texas, so you know some ships sail out of Galveston. Explorer (i think) is a nice ship. 7-days though. I have a feeling you are going to say 5 days was not enough.

Let us know how you liked it!

ScooterAnderson · #6 (**permalink**) November 17th, 2008, 10:15 PM

Hi everybody! Well, we had our cruise last week. We loved it! It was our first cruise, and we chose NCL. We sailed on the Jewel out of Miami for a 5-day cruise with 2 ports-Cozumel and Grand Cayman. We had 2 major mishaps, but we overcame them to enjoy our vacation.

First, DH got the dreaded "G.I." infection. Since we spent the night before embarkation at the Marriott Biscayne in Miami, ate dinner and breakfast in the hotel, then boarded at 2pm and ate in the Garden Cafe at 4pm, we don't really know where he "caught" it. He was sick by 10pm the very first night. We saw the ship's doctor at 9am the next morning and he was put into isolation for 24 hours. They offered me another cabin, free of charge, so that I could stay away from him, and I took it. The cabin was the exact same type, just on the other side of the ship. Same deck, too. The medical exam and medications were free, and they sent him pitchers of water and cranberry juice free, along with fruit and steamed rice and dry toast. By noon the next day he was released from isolation, I moved out of my cabin and back in with him. He was fine the whole remainder of the trip.

EVERYWHERE on the Jewel were crew members with anti-bacterial spray, pretty much demanding that our hands get spritzed. Also, in each elevator car were free-standing, no-touch spray dispensers.

Our cabin was not immaculate when we boarded, and that was a little disappointing. We didn't get our bags until about 7pm that first night. Do you think it was because we didn't know we were supposed to tip the guys at the port of Miami when they unloaded our bags out of our shuttle?

The other mishap was on Cozumel. We decided to rent two scooters on our own - not thru NCL. Thank God we got the insurance that was offered, because not more than 5 minutes after getting on the scooter, while I was practicing in a nearby parking lot, I crashed into a parked car. The owner of the car accepted $100, but the owners of the scooter wanted $310 to replace the mirror and to fix the scrapes. I complained, so they knocked it down to $250. I was way too scared to get back on another scooter, so we ended up renting a VW Beetle for the day. They actually didn't charge us anything extra for it. We had a GREAT day despite the accident. Live and learn! We found a bar on the beach and had beers with lime, sat in the shade, ordered nachos, and listened to reggae music. It was heaven.

The rest of the cruise was without incident.

We purchased two photos, a bunch of t-shirts and watches, and drank. A LOT. We ate in 3 of the specialty restaurants. Our final bill was about $800.

I had to twist my husband's arm to go on this cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and our 25th anniversary. Before we even got home, we was already thinking about our next cruise!!! All in all, a terrific experience. Thanks for everyone's advice.

richstacy · #7 (**permalink**) November 17th, 2008, 11:13 PM

Wow! Scooter. Only 5 days and you've already had more bad luck than some folks have in years of cruising! But the good news is the bad luck is now out of the way. It's all great cruising from here on out

nmnita · #8 (**permalink**) November 18th, 2008, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScooterAnderson

Hi everybody! Well, we had our cruise last week. We loved it! It was our first cruise, and we chose NCL. We sailed on the Jewel out of Miami for a 5-day cruise with 2 ports-Cozumel and Grand Cayman. We had 2 major mishaps, but we overcame them to enjoy our vacation.

First, DH got the dreaded "G.I." infection. Since we spent the night before embarkation at the Marriott Biscayne in Miami, ate dinner and breakfast in the hotel, then boarded at 2pm and ate in the Garden Cafe at 4pm, we don't really know where he "caught" it. He was sick by 10pm the very first night. We saw the ship's doctor at 9am the next morning and he was put into isolation for 24 hours. They offered me another cabin, free of charge, so that I could stay away from him, and I took it. The cabin was the exact same type, just on the other side of the ship. Same deck, too. The medical exam and medications were free, and they sent him pitchers of water and cranberry juice free, along with fruit and steamed rice and dry toast. By noon the next day he was released from isolation, I moved out of my cabin and back in with him. He was fine the whole remainder of the trip.

EVERYWHERE on the Jewel were crew members with anti-bacterial spray, pretty much demanding that our hands get spritzed. Also, in each elevator car were free-standing, no-touch spray dispensers.

Our cabin was not immaculate when we boarded, and that was a little disappointing. We didn't get our bags until about 7pm that first night. Do you think it was because we didn't know we were supposed to tip the guys at the port of Miami when they unloaded our bags out of our shuttle?

The other mishap was on Cozumel. We decided to rent two scooters on our own - not thru NCL. Thank God we got the insurance that was offered, because not more than 5 minutes after getting on the scooter, while I was practicing in a nearby parking lot, I crashed into a parked car. The owner of the car accepted $100, but the owners of the scooter wanted $310 to replace the mirror and to fix the scrapes. I complained, so they knocked it down to $250. I was way too scared to get back on another scooter, so we ended up renting a VW Beetle for the day. They actually didn't charge us anything extra for it. We had a GREAT day despite the accident. Live and learn! We found a bar on the beach and had beers with lime, sat in the shade, ordered nachos, and listened to reggae music. It was heaven.

The rest of the cruise was without incident.

We purchased two photos, a bunch of t-shirts and watches, and drank. A LOT. We ate in 3 of the specialty restaurants. Our final bill was about $800.

I had to twist my husband's arm to go on this cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and our 25th anniversary. Before we even got home, we was already thinking about our next cruise!!! All in all, a terrific experience. Thanks for everyone's advice.

wow, sorry about hubby, but at least you were able to enjoy your cruise through it all. As for not tipping the porter, yes, most of us do, but no, that had nothing to do with not getting your bags. Remember there are a couple thousand cruisers and each with a bag or so, lots to get to the right cabins. Normally they will come in some order depending on your boarding time, you boarded at 2pm, right at rush time...

Again, glad you had a good cruise..Many more to come I hope.

Nita