going on a cruise. thoughts?

[1s1k52]

Going on a Carnival cruise in May. Not my idea. As it is being sold to me though doesn't sound to bad with the exception of being complete unarmed and defenseless the whole time. Is it bad I want to bring our own life vest like

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/onyx-ou ... st&Ntk=All" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have never been on a cruise so I am open to anything anyone can offer in regards to how it may go. I know this isn't the best cruise line again this cruise line wasn't my idea. Wifes way to take a vacation without dealing with traffic and still trying to save some money etc.

[jbarn]

I have nothing to add other than I told my wife NO WAY on the cruise.

I feel justified based on the cruises recently where they lost power, toilets, etc., for days and days.

[JP171]

go have fun stop worrying about problems, been on a few myself never had a problem, also Carnival Cruise Lines is the largest cruise line company in the world and the number of problems is negligible compared to how many they run. as far as your life jacket leave it at home. no one on a cruise ship has firearms so its no big deal, there are security people all over the place and they will put a stop to the bull, where you need to be cautious is when you get off the boat and even then most of the countries you go to don't allow weapons, stay in the tourist areas and your good to go

[RPBrown]

You can take your own life vest but I think I recall them having vests in each cabin as well as at the emergency floor as well. I think would trust their vests more than this one from Academy only because they are not inflatable. Due to the critters that are in the open waters, an inflatable vest may get easily punctured.

[Oldgringo]

Last one we went on out of Galveston, Royal Caribbean, we were scanned before boarding. We've been on several and if we were to go on another, we'd leave the dress up clothes (2 suitcases) home and just eat on the fantail. Same grub, way less formal.

[Chris]

If you can, get a balcony on the hump in the middle of the ship. It's nice to have some seclusion and be able to see direction. We went on royal Caribbean two years ago. The only thing you really have to be scared of are foreign cab drivers.

Oh, and when you get ready to pull out of Port, go find a spot on a balcony or deck where you can join in with the rest of the ship to boo the late returns. That's incredibly fun and entertaining.

[cb1000rider]

You can take your own life vest but I think I recall them having vests in each cabin as well as at the emergency floor as well. I think would trust their vests more than this one from Academy only because they are not inflatable. Due to the critters that are in the open waters, an inflatable vest may get easily punctured.

Do you carry a parachute on an airline?
It might be amusing to walk around the cruise 100% of the time wearing an uninflated vest... You know, just in case... :-)

[JP171]

You can take your own life vest but I think I recall them having vests in each cabin as well as at the emergency floor as well. I think would trust their vests more than this one from Academy only because they are not inflatable. Due to the critters that are in the open waters, an inflatable vest may get easily punctured.

Do you carry a parachute on an airline?
It might be amusing to walk around the cruise 100% of the time wearing an uninflated vest... You know, just in case... :-)

yea and make sure you yell SECURITY about every 5 seconds or so.

really the number of trips taken by a carnival ship at any given time they have a record that rivals the airline industry or possibly even better. yes they have had a few problems as of late but none of them were really as bad as made out by the news, if you're really interested and willing to listen I'll tell you about it

[RoyGBiv]

Yesterday...

Royal Caribbean cruise's illness tally nears 650 as ship heads home early

In total, 595 of the 3,050 passengers and 50 of 1,165 crew members have become ill, according to Bernadette Burden, a spokeswoman with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They reported vomiting and diarrhea.

The cause of the illness is not clear, though the symptoms are consistent with norovirus, the cruise line said.

[1s1k52]

You can take your own life vest but I think I recall them having vests in each cabin as well as at the emergency floor as well. I think would trust their vests more than this one from Academy only because they are not inflatable. Due to the critters that are in the open waters, an inflatable vest may get easily punctured.

Do you carry a parachute on an airline?
It might be amusing to walk around the cruise 100% of the time wearing an uninflated vest... You know, just in case... :-)

yea and make sure you yell SECURITY about every 5 seconds or so.

really the number of trips taken by a carnival ship at any given time they have a record that rivals the airline industry or possibly even better. yes they have had a few problems as of late but none of them were really as bad as made out by the news, if you're really interested and willing to listen I'll tell you about it[/quote


lol OK even as i was posting that I thought it sounded a little extreme. I haven't been on an aiplane in a long time never been on a cruise. I guess my level of preparedness can come off a little extreme. Thats why I ask. Went on a hunting trip last weekend and I was laughed at off and on the whole trip for having a decent size first aid kit in tow. Better safe than sorry is usually how I look at it.

I don't think we got a balcony as the wife, if I remember correctly,was considerable more. We were told we could always switch rooms if one was available. We never spend time in a room much anyways we are pretty active.

[VMI77]

where you need to be cautious is when you get off the boat and even then most of the countries you go to don't allow weapons, stay in the tourist areas and your good to go

Seriously? You realize this is a gun forum right, not the Brady Bunch site?

[philip964]

Cruises are a lot of fun. Very inexpensive considering what a simple road trip costs. Think of it as the hotel moving, you only unpack and pack once.

There are tons of life jackets, you don't need to bring your own.

Diet before you go so you can gain a few pounds on the cruise. They feed you constantly.

Be careful on the shore excursions. The pavement in quaint little towns can be uneven. You don't want to ruin the trip with an injury.

If you get sea sick, start the dramamine before you get on the boat.

Watch what you eat on shore.

Use the provided hand sanitizer while on the ship.

They make their money from the credit card they give you when you board for your ship board expenses. The bill will always be bigger than you expect.

I don't think tanzanite jewelry is worth a hoot.

Have fun.

[JALLEN]

We've been on a number of cruises, with Royal Caribbean and Holland America.

I suggest picking one that is consistent with your age and life style. Princess tends to get the young families, Royal Caribbean somewhat less young families, while Holland America is a noticeably older and more sedate crowd usually. I don't know how to avoid 100% the occasional random illness issues that some have experienced, or engine problems or fires, etc. Given the number of ships and the number of cruises, I'd have to say it is relatively rare, although if it hits your cruise, it is 100%.

My brother and his wife have gone on a Holland America cruise nearly every year for many years now, and are returning this week from a cruise down to Antarctica.

We enjoyed our cruises. The food was always good, plenty and varied. We have a mixed marriage. I am a devout hedonist and she is a life long sybarite, so we enjoyed the more elegant dinners most nights. I took my Kindle and read and napped at sea. We took a balcony cabin and I could set my GPS on the balcony and "help" navigate, too.

What I liked most was nobody woke me up in the middle of the night to stand watch.

Sometimes they have cruises aimed as certain interests, so nearly everyone on board shares that interest. I missed out on the Dixieland Jam session cruises that went on under my nose for ~30 years or more. I would have LOVED that, and just found out about them as they were booked solid on the last one. You bring your axe and play jam sessions with 3 or 4 bands of professional musicians while you go from port to port. Look for one aimed at your hobby if you can find one.

[Abraham]

"Sometimes they have cruises aimed as certain interests,"

They sure do.

A friend of mine and his family went on a cruise and it was a gay and lesbian cruise.

His wife signed them up this and didn't realize what they'd gotten themselves into and were understandably horrified at some of the antics...

So, it's always a good idea to find out such details.

Oh yeah, there was another cruise for cigar fans - I can just see some tobacco nazi going bonkers on one these because they didn't look into the details prior...

[The Annoyed Man]

Regarding cruises and disease........ it's not so much that the ships themselves are fetid swamps of bacteria, it's that it only takes one sick person carrying a common highly contagious virus like Norovirus (a gastro-intestinal disease) boarding the ship before it spreads at a geometric rate. Norovirus has nothing to do with cleanliness of the ship or the quality of the foods. It doesn't even necessarily have anything to do with the ports the ship calls on, as the sick person may have boarded at the home port. One person with Norovirus can infect 20 people, who in turn infect 20 people each, and before you know it a quarter of the passengers (and crew) are sick.......and it had nothing to do with how the cruise line runs its ships or which ports they called on. It's just a crapshoot, and it is compounded by the fact that a large number of people are confined in a relatively small space for a protracted period.

Airliners also spread disease at an alarming rate, but reports on it are far less dramatic because, extended onboard waits on the ramps aside, the passengers are only packed in for a few hours, and then they debarque and spread out into the population at large. So any illness either carried onboard or contracted on board tend not to get viewed in the light of epidemic.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=71

Q: Why do I only hear about Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships?
A: It has been a particular problem of late for cruise ships because passengers and crew typically occupy close -- and closed-in -- quarters, such as casinos, theaters and banquet-style dining rooms. However, Norovirus has been known to close schools, attack college dormitories and even infect a Hollywood Academy Awards party.

According to a spokesman at the CDC, "the reason you hear about Norovirus on cruise ships is because they are required to report every incidence of gastrointestinal illness. Nowhere else in the public health system of the United States is Norovirus a reportable illness. Norovirus is not a 'cruise ship' illness, but an illness commonly seen in many settings throughout the United States."

There is a LOT of good information on that webpage.