I am so overwhelmed with all the options out there!!
This will be our first family cruise and I'm paranoid about getting sea sick so I thought a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas would be a good option with an additional 6 days in Florida.
RCCL has a land/sea package with 4 nights on the Monarch out of Port Canaveral and 3 nights at Universal Studios. Part of our trip will also be in the Tampa area because my husband has a friend who lives there.
So...I feel like our choices are limited to Port Canaveral or Tampa cruises.
Should I stick with the Monarch of the Seas or go with a difference cruise line? The reviews for the Monarch aren't that great.
My kids are 13 and 8...so family and kids activities are very important!
Ok, do you have a history of motion sickness? if you don't the chances are you won't be bothered at all..if you do, there are many options for prevention.
If you are not prone, or willing to use the preventions...then I would consider a 7 day, which gives you more options with newer ships...That is if you are not set on the land/sea option...let us know, and, we can go from there...
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I've only experienced motion sickness if I try to read or if there's not enough fresh air. I suppose that probably doesn't mean I'm prone to it.
I'm definitely willing to use preventions.
I also hate to admit this but I do have anxiety so sometimes these things are almost a self fullfilling prophesy if that makes sense...pathetic I know.
I have one other quesiton...I've read there is smoking allowed on ships and that makes me feel sick...I know it's just in designated areas but are there certain ships where it's more of an issue than others?
Other than the casino, there are no other inside spaces where there will be people smoking, some deck areas, but that is also outside, so I don;t think that will be an issue for you.
I am so overwhelmed with all the options out there!!
This will be our first family cruise and I'm paranoid about getting sea sick so I thought a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas would be a good option with an additional 6 days in Florida.
RCCL has a land/sea package with 4 nights on the Monarch out of Port Canaveral and 3 nights at Universal Studios. Part of our trip will also be in the Tampa area because my husband has a friend who lives there.
So...I feel like our choices are limited to Port Canaveral or Tampa cruises.
Should I stick with the Monarch of the Seas or go with a difference cruise line? The reviews for the Monarch aren't that great.
My kids are 13 and 8...so family and kids activities are very important!
Need help please!!
A cruise is a great way for you and your family to have a great time.
If you truly believe you will get sea sick you will get sea sick. However, the size and stability of modern ships makes seasickness far less likely to happen. If you don't get sick while riding in cars or on a small boat you won't get sick on a cruise ship. If you do then over-the-counter Meclizine is the best preventative. I emphasize "preventative" because you need to take it daily and before you get sick.
I also encourage you to try a seven day cruise on a newer ship rather than the 3 or 4 days on an older ship. The Carnival Legend out of Tampa is a good alternative with your schedule. There are also a number of seven day cruises out of Port Canaveral if Orlando is a must.
No matter what I know you will have a great time. Just give yourself some time to relax.
Take care,
Mike
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first thing, welcome, welcome to the wonderful world of cruising, next thing, take a deep breath and relax! we are here to help. I totally agree with my fellow cruisemates on their recommendations. One thing that you must take into consideration is that NORMALLY a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas is a party-hearty, gambling boozefest, not really a family oriented type of cruise. I would definately go on a 7- day on a newer,larger ship for a family, more things for the kids and parents to do on board
I firmly believe that if you have to go through all the hassle of flying to your port you don't want to do anything less than 7 nights. I am going on a 7-nighter in Jan. after doing 11-14 nights on my last 6 cruises. My SIL is cruising with me for the 2nd time since my DH, her brother, passed away in Aug. '08. The first cruise we did (11 nights to S. Carib on Galaxy) was booked before his death and she worried the whole time about seasickness. Fortunately, we had only 2 sea days and she did OK, but I think the her occasional queasiness was mostly in her head. She wanted to do a 5-nighter this time and I told her the same thing I said above. So I found a 7-nighter with 5 ports and only 1 sea day. (Jan. 15th on Summit to S. Carib) We are both happy--I like having more ports than usual on a 7-nighter and she loves only 1 sea day. Two of the ports we saw in '09 (St. Lucia and Barbados), the other 3 she's never seen (St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Antigua). I am excited about Antigua, the only new one for me.
DH and I did 8 cruises in 6 years and I tell everyone not to put off the fun stuff. You never know how much time you have left.
Still cruisin' and intend to as long as I can.
1/02 Explorer E. Carib. 1/03 Explorer W.Carib 8/03 Summit Alaska
2/04 Adventure S. Carib. 2/05 Galaxy P. Canal 6/06 Jewel Brit.Isles/Nor.FJ
1/07 Mercury Mex. Riv. 1/08 Mercury Aust/NZ 1/09 Galaxy S. Carib
6/09 Summit Classical Med. 1/11 Summit S. Carib.
6/11 Constellation Scand/Russia
Thank you everyone for responding to my questions!
Right now we are planning to stick with the 4 day cruise.
We had a family meeting and I laid out all of the options. The kids want to stick with the Bahamas even if it means an older ship with less onboard activities. They didn't want to give up our pre cruise plans in Clearwater (3 nights) or our post cruise plans at Universal (3 nights) for a longer cruise on a better ship. (I like long vacations) And believe me...I really tried to persuade them. We pulled up the ships stats and pictures on the web but in the end we decided that if we really enjoy ourselves on this cruise we'll go on a longer cruise next time...which I'm already planning on!
You still made good choices to include multiple things during your Florida stay. You would always wonder what you missed if you didn't do all you hoped for. Your family will hate to return home, yet will be exhausted and glad. The ship may be smaller than the new ones, but it's in no way tiny!! There will be plenty to do on board, don't worry about that.
Overwhelmed!!!
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