Need info on first time cruise please

[fonzysmom]

I have never been on a cruise and I am on planning on taking my whole family next year 2010 on a cruise , I want to go some where warm and blue water and white sand to see , we did want to do a cruise and go to Disney world also but I don't know how this all works and going online like you all says is easyer then said to figure it all out I am also deaf so calling is no help to me ,

There will be 3 adults and 3 kids going and I know we will need two rooms , But here is the promblem , we live in Vancouver WA and I don't know how to go about getting everything included , I guess we have to fly out of Portland to LA and then get a rental to get to the Port In LA I am from Cali so I know that part , then take the cruise to Florida then can we go some where else or will we run out of time ? I am thinking 5 or 7 day cruise , can anyone help me please ? Thanks all

[scrapbookingmanda]

If you are wanting to do both Disney and a cruise, I would do the disney cruise with the disney vacation. If you don't want any hassle you can book a complete land/sea package complete with airfare and transfers and you wouldn't have to plan anything else. Of course this can be done cheaper if you individually do the different parts yourself, but it might be worth the extra money to save the trouble. For all advice Disney related, I have to recommend the disboards. Don't know if I can give their exact website on here, but feel free to pm me. They have forums on there for every aspect of disney from park tips to cruising, to transportation. They even have a budget forum which I know for a fact at least one other HCW member besides me posts on. I actually just got off my fourth disney cruise about a month ago and I love them. Best vacations ever in my opinion. Feel free to pm me if you want that website or want any more Disney Cruise info. I have lots more info I could give you, but don't know if you are looking in that direction for your cruise.

[sensible_shopper]

What's your budget?

I think you could fly from Portland to Seattle then Seattle to Orlando or Miami for a Disney Cruise.

Actually, I'm a little confused. Did you want to go to Disneyland in LA then do a Mexico/Caribbean cruise? Or did you want to just do an Orlando DisneyWorld Disney Cruise?

[SaraO]

I've been on a Caribbean cruise and LOVED it. The only thing that was a little sad was how short our time was on the beaches. You will have to schedule "excursions" for the days you are in port at your stops that will take you to the beaches or other fun mini trips. My favorite stop was in Mexico.

[Shop4u]

You can google "cruise" and "forums" to find threads that mention cruises since I don't think we can list them by name on this forum. When my husband and I researched our Caribbean cruise last year, I spent hours on travel threads. December seemed to have the cheapest prices but we wanted to spend the holiday with family so we traveled in January with decent prices.

If you book your own excursions, you can save quite a bit of money. I looked at all the day trips sold by the cruise line and booked the same ones myself. We decided not to buy the "soda card" that most cruise lines offer, where you pay $50-$70 for the week for unlimited soda. We used our sports bottles for punch or tea by the 24 hour buffet lines and brought individual powder packets. If you use Gatorade, bring it yourself. You either won't find it for sale or you will pay a ridiculous price for it. We brought packets for each day.

Most cruise lines have a lecture on each port/country you will visit. They normally have coupon booklets for certain stores where tourists will shop. We brought sun screen but the ship's sick bay had free bandaids, rolaids, motion sickness pills and first aid cream.

Have fun.

[jetstorm]

I agree with booking excursions online through reputable tour companies before you go rather than booking through the cruise line, you will save a lot. I do not agree with going to the cruise line's lectures as they are really trying to get you to shop in certain stores that give a kick back to the cruiselines. You can PM me and I'll give you the name of a site to find any information you could want on cruising no matter where you go or what cruise line it's with. You cruisers out there know what I'm talking about. It can be very hard the first time trying to make arrangements on your own but you can save so much. First thing is to fin dout exactly where you want to go and when you want to travel, and of course what your price limit is, there are many types of cabins on ships and every one of them is a different price. Like I said, PM me and I'll try to help.

[marion10]

Check out Cruise Reviews, Cruise Deals and Cruises - Cruise Critic

[FantasyIsland]

First, I am deaf also and understand how frustrating it is to get information. Some places nearly demand to speak to you.

Someone else recommended Cruise Critic. It's an excellent source for a first time cruiser. We have been on several and are now planning a Mediterranean cruise for Oct 2010.

Sept and Oct are the BEST times for cruises in the Atlantic - and the worst times -- it's hurricane season. It's the BEST times fare-wise. It's risky because your cruise ship can go off on a totally different itinerary (that's permitted) to avoid a storm OR you can ride the end of one. We have ridden the end and I LOVED it, not everyone likes the extra movement, however.

My favorite cruiseline is Carnival. RCI has a focus on sports and we are senior citizens NOT interested in having a climbing wall or skating rink on the ship. Some cruise-elitists will poo-poo Carnival, but don't listen to them. It's all in what you want. I like Carnival's relaxed atmosphere. You can choose to dress-up if you wish, but you can have great dining experiences without. As for ports of call, they are all mostly the same across the major affordable cruise-lines.

My favorites are: St Thomas, USVI; Cozumel, Mexico; Puerto Rico, Puerto Vallarta. I could easily spend a week in these places and love it all, but I'd love to spend a month or longer in Puerto Vallarta area not just the town - I'd like to go more into Nayarit (state) and explore more to the south of PV. PV is very built up and touristy but Nuevo Vallarta in Nayarit is more original and it's beautiful countryside and mountains. If you get to PV, find a tour of a tequila "brewer" - it's such a process and still so rustic and "homegrown".

My never want to go backs: Tortola, BVI; Bahamas (not just poor but the desperation comes through in grabbing you by the arm and you feeling under attack when trying to shop in the straw-market as just an example);

Our short cruise plans will be to Bermuda; Belize; Costa; Canada; southern Caribbean.

I like cruising from Miami. It's an easy port to get to, the embarkation process is a breeze and the folks really have it down well, and the people are friendly - both embarkation staff and fellow cruisers. I will NEVER again cruise from NYC. Ft. Lauderdale is a more difficult port to get to/from the airport.

So far we have had only 1 near-miss of the departure due to airplane problems (our first, no less). Luckily, the plane we were on had about 20 couples also heading for the same ship. We were on a 6:30 flight and it sat on the runway for 5 hours. Because there were so many who had purchased the package including transportation from airport to ship, they held the ship! We were able to pay cash to get on the shuttle at the airport (it costs more than the cab) and travelled with the guaranteed group that way.

With a group of 6 or more folks, you should contact the cruise-line because there are extras they give to groups, discounts as well.

Packing: cruises have guest laundries. Pack light, you'll be bringing home stuff. Pack a soft-foldable suitcase on wheels in your regular suitcase so you have a spare for coming home - you'll want it.

Have a BLAST with your cruise.