<p>DD told me today that she and a group of friends obtained a very favorable rate for a five day cruise over spring break and will be cruising to the Caribbean. It is a Carnival Cruise and I have so many worries about cruising in general: food poisoning, physical safety, kidnapping, drunken behavior, bedbugs, on and on. I have no reason to believe my DD won’t be cautious, but I can’t help but remember all the shows about missing people on cruises. </p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with Spring break cruises and the Carnival line?</p>
<p>Your daughter is grown up, and without being mean your opinion is dead to her. Its time to let her go and live the life she wants to live. If she was raised the right way she won’t get drunk or do other irresponsible things. Think about this from when you were a young adult.</p>
<p>I did a 5 day Carnival cruise this spring (it was around the time of spring breaks- there were a lot of college students on the ship but there were also a lot of families) and LOVED it, though it was Bahamas and not Caribbean. Honestly, I’ve never felt safer- even when we were off the boat. They dropped us off in pretty touristy places and there were guided shuttles everywhere that you could pre-arrange. It was so fun, nice, and easy that I’m seriously considering another cruise for my upcoming honeymoon.</p>
<p>Food poisoning: no more dangerous than eating anywhere else IMO. Actually, we ate in a restaurant on the boat every night and it was FANTASTIC. </p>
<p>Physical safety, kidnapping, & drunken behavior: really no different than any other type of spring break. Most events are on the ship and indoors so there’s only so much trouble you can get in to. Really, it’s just basic safety that you’d use anywhere. </p>
<p>Bedbugs: check the beds THOROUGHLY before you put anything down. I don’t personally know of any bed bug infestations on ships recently, but they’re not too difficult to find if they’re there. Do not bring luggage in until you’ve looked under the mattress and in every small crevice in and around the bed. </p>
<p>The only tip I have is that alcohol is VERY pricey on the ship. If she plans on drinking, tell her to do so in extreme moderation. You do not pay for it up front- you settle your tab at the end of the cruise. It can come as a shock if you’re not prepared. You can bring wine on the ship- I think it was two bottles per adult. Something to consider to save money.</p>
<p>Remember, if a story makes the news it is because it is HIGHLY unusual. You will never see a headline that says “another student home safely after an uneventful trip!”</p>
<p>take a look at cruise critic website and forums. They have a ‘roll call’ section where people can post if they are going on that specific cruise. You can see the sorts that might be on the ship. (I would expect the demographic of that board does skew older, so it may not be representative of the entire ship). </p>
<p>Agree on the alcohol comment. I’m not sure what the policy is when they come back from shore excursions. Rum is cheap in the Caribbean.</p>
<p>nj, it was interesting. In the Bahamas there is a beer that is my mom’s maiden name so we naturally bought quite a few bottles. We were supposed to check it when we got back to the boat but the ladies who were running the table told us that it was actually optional.</p>
<p>They might have just been clueless but it was weird. We did have to declare it when we got back to America though.</p>
<p>I was suggesting you buy liquor on shore excursions to drink on the ship instead of paying their inflated rates! You can bring back 2 quarts of liquor when you’ve been outside the US for 48 hours, however you do need to be over 21.</p>
<p>Every cruise I have been on has screened bags after shore excursions and collected bottles to be returned after the final destination. They don’t want the liability of extra drunks after a shore leave, and they dont want to miss the opportunity to sell booze to passengers.</p>
<p>My D did the same thing when she was in college. It’s fun and it’s probably safer than going to a resort by themselves. There will be lots of families. </p>
<p>Use common sense–part of the reason why some people have problems is that a lot of folks leave their common sense at the dock–get really drunk and walk around alone–especially at night, enter parts of the ship that are clearly marked “for crew only,” leave their cabin unlocked, go into strangers’ rooms, etc.</p>
<p>No I know- that’s what I was talking about. We were told that you could buy on shore but that you had to check it (and leave it) at the table by the boat before you got back on and then you would get it back when you got back to America. They let us bring it on rather than having it stored. </p>
<p>We might have misunderstood the policy. I assume it’s because they want you to buy their alcohol on the ship to drink rather than cheaply on shore.</p>
<p>Eta the policy that dragon describes is what we understood the policy to be. I think the ladies working that day were misinformed.</p>
<p>Wow I wouldn’t be worried about a Caribbean cruise at all, they are very tame. I Suppose some people are worry warts and will get a long list of unlikely problems like that to stew on.</p>
<p>Although a large amount of passengers, including my mother was sick on her Alaskan cruise recently. They kept saying that it was seasickness, when this huge amount of people were sick.</p>
It’s extremely rare for people to get food poisoning on a cruise. That type of stomach illness is almost always norovirus, which spreads easily and rapidly anywhere where a large number of people are in close quarters.</p>
<p>My D had the same great deal last year on a spring break cruise. All of her friends were signing up, etc. In the end, everyone backed out except she and her BF. So they went on a cruise with a bunch of old couples and families. They had a blast and were fine!</p>
<p>Just back from a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean. As to liquor–has to be turned in and held until disembarkation. They checked pretty carefully. They had hand sanitizers all over the ship and it was virtually required to use them to enter the major dining areas. As to the Caribbean–not my favorite.</p>
<p>And I believe that only cruise ships are required to report outbreaks to the CDC, which is why they always get big publicity when it happens vs. at a particular school or other outbreak.</p>
<p>Son and his GF are on a cruise right now. (Their third this year, second just the two of them this year). 22 years old. I just remind them to be safe off the ship. Stay together. Go to beaches, etc that are popular. I don’t expect them to drink excessively… that’s where trouble starts, especially in crowds. The ship itself is fine. Fun and relaxing.</p>
<p>We did a Western Med cruise last year with Norwegian. Every time we entered a dining hall or restaurant, the greeters squirted our hands with germ killer stuff.</p>