Question about choosing a cruise

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Dear fellow CCers:</p>

<p>I need your help! My mother mentioned to me today that she is considering sending my DH and I on a cruise as our birthday gifts this year.
I know nothing about selecting a cruise and neither does she, so I am reaching out to you.</p>

<p>Criteria:

  1. Port - we are in central/north New Jersey, so we’d like to get the ship somewhere in NJ. We’d rather not have to go to NY.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Price - definitely looking at a budget. We have heard that prices are lower during the winter, so we are looking for something in Feb or maybe early March to keep the cost down.</p></li>
<li><p>Length - my DH is self-employed, so this can not be a long trip. I think it would have to be less than a week. Maybe about 4 days. (I’ve not talked to him yet. Right now I’m gathering info.) Since we have such a short time, I’m thinking that maybe a cruise to nowhere would be what we are looking at, but I’m open to what you all have to tell me.</p></li>
<li><p>Internet - anyone know if it is common to have internet access? If there a free for this? My DH is attached to his computer due to work so this is a very important consideration for him. At this time, he is not able to completely walk away from his clients for a few days. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>My opinion…if you can only be away for four days, and you want to be where it’s warm, you won’t be able to cruise out of NJ in the winter. We just cruised out of Baltimore on a nine day cruise and it took two days at sea to get far enough south for warm weather. </p>

<p>For a 4 day cruise, go out of port Canaveral. Yes, you will need to fly there but you will be cruising where it is already warm.</p>

<p>Internet access is available but it is expensive and slow. </p>

<p>I believe there are also shorter cruises out of New Orleans.</p>

3

<p>I went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas it was fine but not exciting, I would go to some other islands if possible.</p>

4

<p>Go to a cruise-only on-line travel website like smart cruiser and put your criteria in for the days you want to be on your cruise. Allow one day prior to leaving on the cruise to fly to your departure destination. You can fly home on the day to arrive back in port. You can pick a few that interest you and then go to the actual cruise line website and get tons of information. The website cruise critic has a huge amount of information on the ships, the ports, etc. after you get an idea of what you are interested in. You’ll be able to see all your options and you can book with any travel agent you prefer if you are leery of on-line travel agents. I doubt you’ll find a 4 day out of the NE unless it is Burmuda and that is a relatively short season. There is internet like Thumper says when you are on a cruise but it is expensive and it is slow. Prices depend on where you are cruising as each region has it’s “off season” and it’s “in season” but you can gauge the price differences as they will be listed.</p>

5

<p>Thank you.
I think I need to state that we do not want to have to fly to the port. Nor do we want to have to drive far to the port (as we will probably get dropped off so it needs to be somewhat local to us).
We are looking to leave from some port in NJ. </p>

<p>I’m not sure, given the fact that we can only go for a few days, that we can make it to the islands. That’s what made me think about a ‘cruise to nowhere’ kind of cruise. I"ve heard about them, but I know nothing about them. </p>

<p>Anyone been on one of these?</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Are there any ports in NJ other than Bayonne? I’ve never heard of one.</p>

7

<p>The only port is Bayonne. Check which lines leave from there</p>

8

<p>There is a 2 day cruise to nowhere from New York on Norwegian [Cruise</a> Deals | Vacations | Norwegian Cruise Line](<a href=“http://www.ncl.com%5DCruise”>http://www.ncl.com)</p>

<p>Just do a search.</p>

9

<p>If you’re willing to travel in the summer rather than the winter, there are cruises to Canada/Nova Scotia. Not sure about the ports, though.</p>

<p>Cruisecritic dot com is a very helpful website.</p>

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<p>My understanding is that cruises to nowhere (CTN’s) tend to be mainly for drinking and gambling. There quite a lively crowd on the Rollcall on cruisecritic for the Norwegian Jewel Feb. 1 weekender. The nicest I found with your specifications is the Royal Caribbean 5 day cruise to Bermuda and back; first sailing is April 5. That’s the only place you can get in less than a week. Other than the chance for very cool weather, that would be a nice cruise. But it would not be inexpensive.</p>

<p>Internet onboard can be very slow and expensive. A package on Holland America starts at $55 for 100 minutes. If you go to a port, your husband is likely to be able to find free wifi.</p>

11

<p>Bookreader–I dropped my D and her BF off at the Norwegian Lines terminal in Manhattan. It is really an easy drive–just take the Lincoln Tunnel and drive up the West side Highway; the port is on the left and easily marked and reachable. So I’d suggest not ruling out a Manhattan departure–it’s really not a difficult drive.</p>

12

<p>If you are definitive about NJ/NY you can specific that port and still include the number of days, etc., you will see the choices you will have.</p>

13

<p>We did sail to Bermuda from Bayonne on a week long cruise on Celebrity, which is our favorite cruise line. Bermuda is about the same lattitude as NC, so the weather in Bermuda is not very warm until at least April-May. We went in August and it was a very nice cruise, EXCEPT for following in the wake of Hurricane Debbie and trying to stay in front of Hurricane Ernesto on the way home. 20 foot waves in the swimming pool were a sight to see! They did finally drain it when it became too dangerous. We felt very sorry for the passengers who were prone to sea sickness, because we actually enjoyed the rough seas and the weather in Bermuda was lovely. Bemuda is a beautiful island to vacation on. Not much available in Feb or March from NJ, but there are many cruises to NE and Canada which would be nice if you wanted to plan for June or later. If you check “vacations to go”, it lists almost every cruise available around the world and you can search by region, price, and cruise line. Everyone should at least go on a cruise at least once, so try to make the time to enjoy yourselves! YOLO!</p>

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<p>Bookreader, when you really think about it, do you actually want to do this right now? Or are you just feeling pressured to do this because your mother wants to give you a nice gift? You are putting so many limitations on it, there are very few cruises that would even fit your specifications, maybe not any. It can only be for a very short time, so short that you can’t even go anywhere. Husband will be on the internet often (which costs an absolute fortune onboard), and you can’t drive to more than one port…as isn’t there only one in New Jersey?</p>

<p>Maybe you just don’t have time for this right now. Too much trouble and stress to arrange this and not really go anywhere. Think about going another time, when you can go for a week, actually go somewhere you’d like to visit, and don’t have to work. Cruises are great, I love them…but this doesn’t sound like fun.</p>

<p>Is there somewhere else that you could suggest she send you to? Maybe a nice resort in the mountains, skiing and hot tubs, or something relaxing later in the spring? It might be cheaper, more enjoyable, and you could drive there. Plus the internet will be free or cost $10 a day, not up to $1 per minute!</p>

15

<p>Thank you - each one. You all have given me different points to ponder.
I had expected internet to come with a fee, but i had no idea that it might be $1 a minute! My are we spoiled with free WiFi almost anywhere in the states!</p>

<p>And thank you for the websites where I can start researching. I have read that some cruise lines seem to cater to different crowds (party crowd -which we are not), older crowd, etc. I do want to match us to the right cruise line for who we are and what interests us. I do have a learning curve here. </p>

<p>And it is possible that the timing of this isn’t good. Feb is ideal because all of our children will be away for a time (we have a younger child to consider) so it’s an ideal time for us to be away. That said, if I don’t see something that looks like a fit for us, this idea may just have to wait a bit. </p>

<p>Again, thank you!</p>

16

<p>No advice to offer, but I’m getting excited about the cruise DH and I are taking! We’re flying down to Fort Lauderdale on February 8, and leaving on the cruise February 9. It’s an adult-only cruise - NO KIDS! We’ll be stopping at Cozumel, Costa Rica, and Panama. I’ve already signed us up for an excursion to the Panama Canal. Now I just have to make sure our three kids (two ill ones) are “set,” which is not an easy feat.</p>

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<p>Man, I have always wanted to see the Panama Canal. My husband just read this amazing book about the building of the canal, and just the few things he has said about it has made it so fascinating to me. If you aren’t familiar with the story of its construction, I would really read about it before you go.</p>

<p>Now if only the entire boat would be adult-only, that would be magic!</p>

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<p>Oh MaineLonghorn, I"m excited for you! I read about the construction of the Panama Canal with my kids many years ago and it was so fascinating. What amazing things you will see!</p>

<p>I can so relate to your concerns with your kids. I wish you well in finding the right situation for them.</p>

19

<p>I agree with the above poster who suggest Cruise Critic - it is much like the College Confidential for cruise lines you can get suggestions on ports, excursions, cruise lines, beverage packages, packing lists, activities/shows on board, which cabin to choose, etc, etc, etc…</p>

<p>I’ve been on 2 cruises now - 1 in Alaska which I enjoyed the only time I’ll most likely ever see Alaska, but the ports there are SOOOOO commercial. If I ever were to go again, I’d definitely add on the post-cruise excursion to Denali so I had a chance to actually see some of ‘the real’ Alaska, but didn’t have the time or money during that trip. Not that you would be able to do that in the winter anyway.</p>

<p>The second was on Royal Caribbean to Jamaica and their private resort on Haiti. That cruise left from Ft. Lauderdale which is an easy port to find and navigate, but probably farther away than you’d want to go. It was a 4 night cruise which is a good length…long enough to enjoy</p>

<p>We didn’t use internet on our Alaska cruise, but did buy 60 or 100 minutes on the Royal Caribbean and it wasn’t TOO expensive, you can usually get a discount once on board, you don’t want to buy in advance. (and then share the minutes) and it’s enough to check email (and a teens FB page). Also I’d recommend shutting off cell phones while on the ship/or putting them in ‘airport’ mode and only using them in ports - then depending on ports check with your carrier to determine international rates/rate plans. If you receive constant text messages and they are delivered via the ships carrier, that will cost A LOT too. </p>

<p>Alcohol and even soft drinks cost big on cruise ships, but some lines allow you to bring a limited amount on board, check with your cruise line. We’ve always been able to bring 6-8 20oz sodas on board with us and then ration (you’ll get ice tea, juice, lemonade, water, coffee, and the like for free(well included in the price))</p>

<p>All lines are different and personally we liked the activities on board Royal Caribbean better…they have so much to do on their ships…there was an ice rink on our ship with a ice show one night and we weren’t even on their newest and largest ship. But our Alaskan cruise was on Carnival and we believed they had the better food.</p>

<p>Too much more to write here…really go to cruise critic, that CC is just as addictive as this one. :)</p>

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<p>DH bought an hours worth of Internet on our recent cruise. It was for HIS device only and the minutes could not be shared. It was $40 for 60 minutes…very slow Internet. Also, he had to use it in the public areas of the boat as the wireless didn’t connect in our cabin. He uses it exactly ONE time to send off some work things…and that was it. It was our VACATION…away from work!</p>

<p>I loved the cruise, but of I had limited time, I would go to a nice resort or bread and breakfast for the weekend. </p>

<p>If you could fly, you might be able to find a reasonably priced all inclusive for 4 days in the caribbean.</p>