GOING ON A CRUISE

[Alphathree33]

Cruise line: Royal Carribean

Questions:

- What's included in the price? I know "most meals" are included but not drinks. Are "most activities" included as well? e.g. the ship has rock climbing, theatre, basketball, golf, etc.

- When will we need formalwear and what constitutes formalwear? Will we need to get dressed up for dinner every night?

- Do you HAVE to get off the ship at every port?

 

[Crusty]

Please tell me you haven't actually made your reservations yet... these are questions you should be asking beforehand!

 

[Alphathree33]

We made the reservations; the ship had good reviews. If we have to pay more for activities when we get there it's no big deal, I'm just curious what other people have experienced.

Same with dinner - no big deal either way, but need to prepare ourselves.

 

[rh71]

- spa is not free, gym is, and all activities you mentioned are included... don't forget ice skating depending on the ship. Rink was too small to really get any speed... did the rock climbing and it was pretty challenging, whereas I've made it to the top at other places, I failed here. Food & non-alcoholic beverages 24/7 is great
- there are 2 or 3 designated formal nights in the dining room... you can forego that and just hit the buffet areas those nights instead. Formalwear is not necessarily a tux - you can just wear a suit/tie. And unless you want to be stared at, you may want dress pants & shoes too. I hated doing these as I was on fricken vacation but it was good to do at least 1 night as they have a bunch of areas where they take your picture and sell it to you. It's not a giant ripoff... it's a decent deal.
- you can stay in your stateroom the entire length of the trip if you wanted to.
- The one thing we didn't like about Royal Caribbean is that it didn't have "freestyle dining" which is somewhat of a Norwegian Cruiselines trademark (but Princess was freestyle as well)... you basically are stuck with people at your dining table every night (unless you hit the buffets). Fine if you don't mind putting on a fake smile and holding meaningless conversations. Not a big deal, but just a bother.

I would say Royal is one of the top 2 cruise liners along with Princess... their shows were great, their service & professionalism top notch and their ships well cared for.

 

[Jeeebus]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33
Cruise line: Royal Carribean

Questions:

- What's included in the price? I know "most meals" are included but not drinks. Are "most activities" included as well? e.g. the ship has rock climbing, theatre, basketball, golf, etc.

Most "on-ship" activities are included. Not sure about rock climbing, but all the shows etc. are generally included. All meals will be included and there's usually food at all hours. Any excursions on-shore are usually extra.

- When will we need formalwear and what constitutes formalwear? Will we need to get dressed up for dinner every night?

Depends on the length of the cruise. Most cruises 7 days and longer have at least one formal night (most guys wear a suit, a fair portion wear tuxes, and a few slackers who like to stand out will wear polos. You don't have to eat in the dining room on one of those nights if you don't want to dress up (there are always other dining options). Most nights you'd be fine with a pair of khakis/polo/etc.

- Do you HAVE to get off the ship at every port?

No

 

[z1ggy]

I highly suggest you do off ship...Which cruise are you going on btw? I went on a 4 day one about 4 years ago that hit up keywest.. a private RC island and another island as well. If you have younger sons or daughters...prepare to never see them because there are tons of other younger adults there..I was 17 and I think I saw my mom like 3 times the entire cruise..poor mom.

 

[TuxDave]

I only went on one cruise from NCL and at least for them the answers would be:
1) All food is included except for several specialty restaurants which you pay a flat fee. Tea/Coffee/Water is free. Soda/Alcohol is not. Some facilities are not paid for (massage) and some are (theater/gym/basketball). Gotta look those up.
2) Varies per ship but formal wear = suit. My cruise had a formal night and it wasn't required.
3) No.

 

[edro]

My Cruise tips:
1. Review the actual ship before you book the cruise. Older, smaller ships are not nearly as fun. Use CruiseCritic.com as a source.
2. If you are under 50 years old, do not cruise on Norwegian (NCL).
3. Get off the ship at every port. You will be bored with the ship after a few days at sea anyway.
4. Book your excursions on shore, not through your cruise line. (If you are a risk taker) The ones through the cruise line are guaranteed to get you back to the ship in time, but they cost more and are more boring and safe. We found the ones not through the cruise line were cheaper, more fun, less people, and not as commercialized.
5. We loved pretty much everything about Royal Caribbean and hated almost everything about Norwegian. You chose well with R.C.
6. You typically have 2 "formal" dinner nights on a 7 day cruise. You do not HAVE to go to them though. You can go to one of the other restaurants those nights if you want to. We really enjoyed the formal nights though. Unless you are an antisocial person, you will probably enjoy dressing up and eating with other couples.
7. Watch your bar tab if you drink. It is not uncommon to rack up a $500 bar tab if you drink moderately. A couple that went with us had a $2,000 bar tab at the end, because they buy drinks for everyone. Of course, they are seasoned cruisers with money to blow, so its no big deal to them.

8. Pack liquor in your CHECKED LUGGAGE. We have done this twice, and have received our liquor both times. Drinking a few mixed drinks in your cabin, or in your drink container is MUCH MUCH cheaper than buying it from them. Mixed drinks are ~$8 each. They have warnings that say if you do this, they can kick you off... but they won't. They want you to spend money on board. The worst that happens is they confiscate your liquor. Read more on CruiseCritic's forums. Also, if you buy liquor on shore, they confiscate it until the last day and deliver it to your room.

 

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: edro
My Cruise tips:
1. Review the actual ship before you book the cruise. Older, smaller ships are not nearly as fun. Use CruiseCritic.com as a source.
2. If you are under 50 years old, do not cruise on Norwegian (NCL).
3. Get off the ship at every port. You will be bored with the ship after a few days at sea anyway.
4. Book your excursions on shore, not through your cruise line. (If you are a risk taker) The ones through the cruise line are guaranteed to get you back to the ship in time, but they cost more and are more boring and safe. We found the ones not through the cruise line were cheaper, more fun, less people, and not as commercialized.
5. We loved pretty much everything about Royal Caribbean and hated almost everything about Norwegian. You chose well with R.C.
6. You typically have 2 "formal" dinner nights on a 7 day cruise. You do not HAVE to go to them though. You can go to one of the other restaurants those nights if you want to. We really enjoyed the formal nights though. Unless you are an antisocial person, you will probably enjoy dressing up and eating with other couples.
7. Watch your bar tab if you drink. It is not uncommon to rack up a $500 bar tab if you drink moderately. A couple that went with us had a $2,000 bar tab at the end, because they buy drinks for everyone. Of course, they are seasoned cruisers with money to blow, so its no big deal to them.

8. Pack liquor in your CHECKED LUGGAGE. We have done this twice, and have received our liquor both times. Drinking a few mixed drinks in your cabin, or in your drink container is MUCH MUCH cheaper than buying it from them. Mixed drinks are ~$8 each. They have warnings that say if you do this, they can kick you off... but they won't. They want you to spend money on board. The worst that happens is they confiscate your liquor. Read more on CruiseCritic's forums. Also, if you buy liquor on shore, they confiscate it until the last day and deliver it to your room.

How did you book shore excusions without going through Royal Carribean? Did you just look up the locations online (e.g. the Bahamas, St Maarten) and then find activities directly

 

[edro]

You just walk on shore and talk to 1 of the 50 people holding huge signs asking you to take their tour.
You can also deal with them. YMMV.

 

[Alphathree33]

Originally posted by: edro
You just walk on shore and talk to 1 of the 50 people holding huge signs asking you to take their tour.
You can also deal with them. YMMV.

OK, I'd be willing to do that as long as such people will actually exist when I get there.

Just to be clear, that's what you did - you didn't book in advance.?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

Originally posted by: edro
My Cruise tips:
1. Review the actual ship before you book the cruise. Older, smaller ships are not nearly as fun. Use CruiseCritic.com as a source.
2. If you are under 50 years old, do not cruise on Norwegian (NCL).
3. Get off the ship at every port. You will be bored with the ship after a few days at sea anyway.
4. Book your excursions on shore, not through your cruise line. (If you are a risk taker) The ones through the cruise line are guaranteed to get you back to the ship in time, but they cost more and are more boring and safe. We found the ones not through the cruise line were cheaper, more fun, less people, and not as commercialized.
5. We loved pretty much everything about Royal Caribbean and hated almost everything about Norwegian. You chose well with R.C.
6. You typically have 2 "formal" dinner nights on a 7 day cruise. You do not HAVE to go to them though. You can go to one of the other restaurants those nights if you want to. We really enjoyed the formal nights though. Unless you are an antisocial person, you will probably enjoy dressing up and eating with other couples.
7. Watch your bar tab if you drink. It is not uncommon to rack up a $500 bar tab if you drink moderately. A couple that went with us had a $2,000 bar tab at the end, because they buy drinks for everyone. Of course, they are seasoned cruisers with money to blow, so its no big deal to them.

8. Pack liquor in your CHECKED LUGGAGE. We have done this twice, and have received our liquor both times. Drinking a few mixed drinks in your cabin, or in your drink container is MUCH MUCH cheaper than buying it from them. Mixed drinks are ~$8 each. They have warnings that say if you do this, they can kick you off... but they won't. They want you to spend money on board. The worst that happens is they confiscate your liquor. Read more on CruiseCritic's forums. Also, if you buy liquor on shore, they confiscate it until the last day and deliver it to your room.

How did you book shore excusions without going through Royal Carribean? Did you just look up the locations online (e.g. the Bahamas, St Maarten) and then find activities directly

I remember having to book the shore excursions on the boat. This shit can run expensive. My mom went hardcore and she booked like $1000 worth of excursions for each person.... Depends how much you want to spend, but definitely throw in at least one solid experience. I know some of the older folks didn't go hardcore like us but they went on one helicopter ride onto a glacier which was more than enough of a thriller for them.

 

[GoSharks]

Originally posted by: Alphathree33

Originally posted by: edro
You just walk on shore and talk to 1 of the 50 people holding huge signs asking you to take their tour.
You can also deal with them. YMMV.

OK, I'd be willing to do that as long as such people will actually exist when I get there.

Just to be clear, that's what you did - you didn't book in advance.?

Depends where you are going. Walking onto shore works well in the Caribbean or Mexico. Alaska and the British Isles (just got back last week from 12 nights on Crown Princess), you probably want to plan ahead.

 

[ElFenix]

you definitely need an 'on a boat' t-shirt