I am thinking about going on a cruise with the wife to the bahamas. What do ya’ll recommend?
Which cruise Line?
How many days are the right amount?
Rooms nice?
What can I expect?
I’ve been on Royal Caribbean twice. I went to Nassau with a stop on Royal’s private island of Coca Cay. The private island was a nice place to hang out. You could snorkel, jet ski and do other activities. You had all day to do whatever you wanted on the island and food was provided.
Nassau wasn’t bad, we went to Stuart’s Cove and did a snorkel excursion for $40 that allowed you to swim with sharks at the end which was pretty sweet.
Overall the ship was nice, it was one of the smaller ships. I think most of the ships have pretty much the same activities the only difference will be the size. Depending on when you eat there will be a show before or after dinner that you can check out, there’s a casino and a couple of clubs and lounges you can go to as well.
I’ve been on cruises that are about 4-5 days which is plenty to me. The trip back is your day at sea and it’s usually spent lounging around the pool. Buffet breakfasts and lunches. I’ve found the food to be pretty good, and it’s nice not to have to go around and pay for everything.
They do charge around $25 if you plan on drinking any Coke products. Personally I think it’s a ripoff because I can’t drink $25 worth of Coke but some people do. I stuck with water, tea and juice. If you don’t drink Coke I would just bring a few can drinks on board. It’s much cheaper.
Overall I’ve enjoyed my cruises and would go back again. I’ve had no problems with Royal.
3-4 day cruises, to me, are not worth the expense. As soon as you start relaxing, its time to get ready to go home. Would look for minimum of 5 days. Personally, I’ve found 7 days ideal. 7 day cruise typically includes 1 day at sea. I thought this 1 day would be a waste, but it was awesome and a great break from the port routine.
Have only been on Royal Carribean. For the price, I found it well above average. I do know people who have invested a lot more $$$ in their cruise (Norwegian, I think is what they were on) and had a better experience. Bottom line, is you have many factors to balance…price, length of trip, destinations, food, family atmosphere vs. adult cruise vs. “frat party”.
Never been to Bahamas, strictly covered most of southern Carribean, but IMO, Royal was perfectly fine for those that didn’t have high $$$ to spend but wanted to be gone longer than 3-4 days. Also, Royal had a reasonable mix of entertainment options.
Never travelled Carnival, but I’ve been told that it is an continuous party/Marti Gras environment (not that there is anything wrong with that).
3-4 day cruises, to me, are not worth the expense. As soon as you start relaxing, its time to get ready to go home. Would look for minimum of 5 days. Personally, I've found 7 days ideal. 7 day cruise typically includes 1 day at sea. I thought this 1 day would be a waste, but it was awesome and a great break from the port routine.Have only been on Royal Carribean. For the price, I found it well above average. I do know people who have invested a lot more $$$ in their cruise (Norwegian, I think is what they were on) and had a better experience. Bottom line, is you have many factors to balance…price, length of trip, destinations, food, family atmosphere vs. adult cruise vs. “frat party”.
Never been to Bahamas, strictly covered most of southern Carribean, but IMO, Royal was perfectly fine for those that didn’t have high $$$ to spend but wanted to be gone longer than 3-4 days. Also, Royal had a reasonable mix of entertainment options.
Never travelled Carnival, but I’ve been told that it is an continuous party/Marti Gras environment (not that there is anything wrong with that).
Carnival is the party cruisee line for sure, although they have moderated a bit over the cruises I’ve taken with them. Royal Carribean is more of a middle ground between Carnival and the other cruise lines. It’s not quite as much of a party and not as the others. Devon and I really like the Carnival experience honestly. There’s always something going on, but then again you don’t have to go do it…
Staterooms on boats aren’t very large unless you pay for it. Generally you don’t spend much time there anyway, however I will say that a balcony is very nice to have. The newer ships have lots of balconies as compared to the older ships.
Cruises are great, but for most people it seems to be either they love it or they hate it.
I would recommend go to some all-inclusive resort as opposed to a cruise. I go on a cruise ever year www.therockboat.com It’s a chartered Carnival cruise and the best vacation you can go on if your a music fan. I went on a 7 day regular cruise and was bored. To me all-inclusive is the way to go. I’ve done AI at Cancun twice and it was fantastic and you can find some good deals, but Bahamas, Jamica or any place all-inclusive you can’t go wrong.
[QUOTE=Jimmyhat49er;211131]I would recommend go to some all-inclusive resort as opposed to a cruise. [/QUOTE]
I second that. Cruises aren’t bad, but I’ve always had more fun at resorts. Keep in mind that if you drink a lot on a cruise, you will have a big ass bill waiting on you when you get off the boat. :toast:
[QUOTE=Max Power;211132]I second that. Cruises aren’t bad, but I’ve always had more fun at resorts. Keep in mind that if you drink a lot on a cruise, you will have a big ass bill waiting on you when you get off the boat. :toast:[/QUOTE]
Third. Done Royal Caribbean. Had much more fun at a very nice AI, and spent less money. Turns out the AI really does mean it when they say “all you can drink” for free. Plus steaks on my oceanfront terrace @ midnight (also free). Nice.
[QUOTE=Max Power;211132]I second that. Cruises aren’t bad, but I’ve always had more fun at resorts. Keep in mind that if you drink a lot on a cruise, you will have a big ass bill waiting on you when you get off the boat. :toast:[/QUOTE]
Back in the day, circa 1996, we just bought duty free liquor on the ship and mixed it with coke we purchased at one of the stops. Beat the heck out of paying $25 for coke and $6 mixed drinks. Not sure if they let people do that anymore though. Cruises are fun if you like being on a boat. I like actually having time visiting the places I go to on vacation. Cruise stops don’t allow for much time at any individual place.
[QUOTE=VA49er;211136]Back in the day, circa 1996, we just bought duty free liquor on the ship and mixed it with coke we purchased at one of the stops. Beat the heck out of paying $25 for coke and $6 mixed drinks. Not sure if they let people do that anymore though. Cruises are fun if you like being on a boat. I like actually having time visiting the places I go to on vacation. Cruise stops don’t allow for much time at any individual place.[/QUOTE]
You can buy it on the ship, but they hold it for you till you get off the ship. You can always sneak some in your luggage, but I have heard they started cracking down on that.
[QUOTE=Jimmyhat49er;211140]You can buy it on the ship, but they hold it for you till you get off the ship. You can always sneak some in your luggage, but I have heard they started cracking down on that.[/QUOTE]
That sucks. I guess someone finally wised up to the fact they were losing money letting people actually take the liqour after it was purchased. They were more concerned with mary jane back when I was cruising. Did two in two years but haven’t done one since.
Do AI resorts have the casinos and clubs like the cruise do?
The one thing I would like about a cruise is seeing many different places, although the time is limited at each spot.
has anyone been to a Sandals resort? Possible looking it to going there in the future.
has anyone been to a Sandals resort? Possible looking it to going there in the future.
I went to to the Aventura Spa Palace resort south of Cancun in May. While there, I talked to a guy that was a member at Sandals, but couldn’t go to a Sandals because it wasn’t reopened after the hurricanes yet. He said that compared to the Palace resorts, Sandals sucked. When he got back to the States, he was canceling his Sandals membership and buying a Palace membership.
That said, I have never been to Sandals. Just taking the word of a guy at the side of the pool.
Also, all-inclusive rocks! We had a liquor tap in our room. Free beer from happy waiters poolside. 4 meals a day. All this for the same price as some of the other non-all inclusive places. There was one night that we had appetizers at one restaurant, soup at another, dinner at another, and dessert at the last. And, of course, drinks everywhere. What did it cost us? A $10 tip (which isn’t expected, but sure gets you better service the rest of the week).
[QUOTE=Charlotte2002;211144]Do AI resorts have the casinos and clubs like the cruise do?
The one thing I would like about a cruise is seeing many different places, although the time is limited at each spot.[/QUOTE]
Bahamas does, Aruba does, most other places do not. But if you really want to gamble you should be going to vegas. Odds at cruise ship casinos are horrible.
I’m going on a cruise to Grand Cayman and Jamacia on feb 3rd. 5 night cruise.
should be fun.
i highly recommend a hawaiin cruise. you can fly over and then cruise from island to island and spend all day at a each island. much better than bahama or caribean cruises.
I’ve been on a couple cruises.
Basically what most have stated is true. People usually love cruises or think they are boring. Wife and I are somewhere between. I think a big part of the experience comes from who you go with and what you want to get out of it.
We’ve also been to a few AI resorts including sandels in Negril. It was nice but also the first AI we had been to. We have since been to others including a “Secrets” resort. Sandels has nice staff and plenty of food, etc. However, we were much more impressed with the Secrets resort. Food was great. It was more relaxing, elegant, etc. Again, it depends on what you are looking for, but for the best food, beaches and romance, there are better places for the money than Sandels.
Bottom line regarding the original cruise question. If my wife and were going somewhere by ourselves and wanted to relax, etc. we would probably not go on a cruise but an AI resort. That being said, if you have never been on a cruise, then I would recommend you do so. And as far as the best bang for your buck, there are some very reasonable short cruises to the Bahamas. You can definitely get a cruise to the Bahamas for less than a stay at an AI resort and for less than cruises to other areas of the carribean. And what better way to find out if you and the wife enjoy cruises than to take a short trip to the Bahamas. I would not, however, recommend taking a long trip to the bahamas. If you are looking for a longer trip try something else that allows you to see more islands and areas.
one of my friends went on a sandals trip for his honeymoon, it was a disaster.
I imagine resorts are like doctors, the good ones don’t advertise, they don’t have to.
one of my friends went on a sandals trip for his honeymoon, it was a disaster.I imagine resorts are like doctors, the good ones don’t advertise, they don’t have to.
i just recently went on a sandals vacation and had a blast. it was better than any cruise i’ve ever done. we went to the one in the bahamas and did the all-inclusive package for 8 days, 7 nights. it was a blast. i highly recommend it.
It really deepends on what you want. I’ve done both on numerous occasions.
If you want to stay shitfaced, do the AI. If you want to go to a place like Cozmel or Cancun, just go without messing with a cruise. The cruise will cut into the “fun” time.
If you want to explore and dive in places like Belize, Honduras, etc, cruises are not bad. If you want to explore multiple places, some cruises are good. I won’t do a cruise unless it spends an entire day in port every day or almost every day of the cruise.
The Alaska Cruise is a great one if you enjoy hiking, rafting, mountain biking, sightseeing, kayaking, and stuff like that.