Anybody Like to Cruise?

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RamsJunkie

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I'm a huge cruise fan when it comes around to vacation time. Ive been a lot of places and done a lot of things but never found anything I enjoy more than jumping on a party boat for 7 days and cruising around in the Caribbean. As far as I'm concerned its the best value for a vacation hands down especially if your close enough to a port that you can drive instead of flying. I'm sure I'll be going on another one this summer and was just curious if anybody here might recomend a ship I haven't been on or some favorite destinations in the Caribbean that I might need to go check out. I tried the all inclusive resort earlier this year and went down to Playa Del Carmen and it was a great time but I didn't enjoy it as much as a cruise and the price tag was quite a bit higher. Also only ever sailed on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I found Carnival while being a little lower quality in the food department the entertainment, atmosphere and the people on them (at least the ones ive been on) are a lot more geared to the people looking to have a good time and not just lay around reading books all day. I also like to follow the motto they preach on carnival "the more you booze the better you cruise"!
 

CodeMonkey

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My mom booked an Alaskan cruise for the whole family a couple years ago (her, dad, me and my 5, my bro and his wife) then she got cancer. Good news is she beat that shit! We were able to do it earlier this year. It was such a fantastic experience. Words and pictures can't begin to describe the beauty and gradeur you see on this one. Alaskan cruise has to be on your bucket list. It was an inside passage cruse starting in Seattle with stops at Skagway, Juno, Anchorage, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria B.C. Skagway and Glacier Bay were absolutely incredible.

I've never been on a cruise before and it was quite an experience to be waited on hand and foot like that. The onboard entertainment was great and the food... Psht. They kept me drinking by giving me a punch ticket that if you completed were put in a drawing to have your bar bill payed. My brother smuggled in gin in a wine bottle which he tinted with blue food color. We called the blue drinks we made with it "Romulan Ale". Good times!
 
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Ramhusker

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Avid cruiser here, mainly on Carnival. My 13 year old daughter is even Platinum already on Carnival. I think I have been on a cruise ship the last 9 years during the 4th of July week. I agree it is one of the best value vacations out there. Although, over the past few years, I've noticed Carnival cutting corners and getting a little cheap on passengers. It's still a great value and once you become a seasoned cruiser, you can increase the value of your experience. RamsJunkie, if you haven't been on Carnival's Dream class ships yet, I highly recommend them. As far as ports of call, St. Thomas, Gran Turk, San Juan PR, and Grand Caymans are some of my favorites.
 

rhinobean

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Been on a few cruises and Alaska was my favorite for the scenery and things to do on shore! Did Norwegian to Belize , Honduras and Mexico and liked their ship and crew! Holland AM. to Alaska was nice but older passengers, more laid back. Doing Carnival next year out of NOLA. Usually cruise late fall, winter to get away from cold STL! Alaska's only summer cruise I'd do! No hurricanes there!
 

Ramhusker

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Been on a few cruises and Alaska was my favorite for the scenery and things to do on shore! Did Norwegian to Belize , Honduras and Mexico and liked their ship and crew! Holland AM. to Alaska was nice but older passengers, more laid back. Doing Carnival next year out of NOLA. Usually cruise late fall, winter to get away from cold STL! Alaska's only summer cruise I'd do! No hurricanes there!
Going on the Magic? I love that ship. I did a Med cruise on about her sixth time out. But Hurricane season offers the cheapest fares. You gotta put a little adventure in it bro! :sneaky:
 

rhinobean

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Going on the Magic? I love that ship. I did a Med cruise on about her sixth time out. But Hurricane season offers the cheapest fares. You gotta put a little adventure in it bro! :sneaky:
Gotta get where it's warm!!!! If I could afford it, I'd be a snow bird! Alas, it's not to be! Will be in FL after the first though! Brother in law moved there last month and wants us to visit so, have golf clubs, will travel! :)
 

Selassie I

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Haole
We take the short cruises (3 or 4 days I guess,,, too drunk to remember) to Key West and Mexico quite a bit with our adult friends when we're celebrating a birthday for one of us. We stay very polluted from start to finish and we don't need a designated driver. 3 days is about all I can take on a cruise, but it's just right for a long weekend party with friends. They are way more fun when you go with a nice sized group.

The one cruise I really enjoyed more than any other was the Disney Cruise we took when our boys were younger. Much pricier, but just awesome quality. If you have young children it is a memory they will never forget. Not for partying drunk ass adults even though they do have some nightlife on board... but top notch. They have their own private island too with a Pirates of the Caribbean ship.
 

RamsJunkie

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Avid cruiser here, mainly on Carnival. My 13 year old daughter is even Platinum already on Carnival. I think I have been on a cruise ship the last 9 years during the 4th of July week. I agree it is one of the best value vacations out there. Although, over the past few years, I've noticed Carnival cutting corners and getting a little cheap on passengers. It's still a great value and once you become a seasoned cruiser, you can increase the value of your experience. RamsJunkie, if you haven't been on Carnival's Dream class ships yet, I highly recommend them. As far as ports of call, St. Thomas, Gran Turk, San Juan PR, and Grand Caymans are some of my favorites.

The last cruise I went on was on the Magic out of Galveston and your right it was amazing, by far my favorite ship so far and ive been on about 10 cruises but some were repeat ships. been on the Conquest 3 times, Legend twice, Destiny once and while that was my least favorite ship of the bunch on that cruise we flew down to San Juan to leave out and got to do the southern Caribbean and it was amazing St Thomas was the first stop and is also one of my favorite Islands then we went to Barbados and Aruba. I highly recomend getting down to Aruba if you ever get a chance. very small island but man it was beautiful and the people that live there are from all over the world and very friendly. Havent been to Grand Turk but been to Grand Cayman several times. Isle Roatan is quickly becoming one of my favorite stops. I want to try out the breeze but its so much cheaper to go to galveston living in arkansas I can get there in 8 hours drive time instead of spending a buttload flying to Miami. Its really short notice but I just noticed that the Magic has a hell of a deal the week my kids out on spring break here. its only 669 for a balcony (the only way my wife will go) so I may have to jump on that. it goes to Cozumel(been there a hundred times) Grand Cayman (still havent talked my wife into doing stingray city but ive done it twice what an amazing experience) and Jamaica. Last time I was in Jamaica got into it with my wife we went to Margaritaville and lets say I had about 10 to many and the place was hoppin, I thought it would be a good Idea to say yes when the cab driver back to the boat asked me if I wanted some Marley (I was halfway kidding and way to drunk to have somebody ask me a question like that) and before I knew it he popped the air vent out of the roof of the many van and through a big ole sack of the good stuff in my lap LMAO you can imagine the stank eye I was getting from my wife while this was happening. I didnt let that stop me though the booze had taken over. I was drunk and stupid enough to attempt to sneak it back on the boat(and security in the Jamaica port is a little heavier than in others because of this reason) but I dumped half the bag out and stuck the rest in my wallet and managed to make it back on. However after going through all this I only got to try it once before the wife got unbearable and I finally got tired of the nagging and flushed the rest of it down the toilet. It was an interesting day to say the least. Funny looking back on it though. cant imagine ending up in Jail in Jamaica not one of my smartest decisions.
 

Mackeyser

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Mack
We did 2 cruises, both Carnival out of Tampa. Both were Grand Cayman and Cozumel ports of call.

They were family reunions my dad set up with my 6, him and his wife the first time and my 6, him, his wife and my sister and her husband the 2nd time.

The food was awesome both times. I get seasick (which woulda been really bad as a sailor, but I never got to my boat), I tend to stay amidship or aft and I'm fine. Between the acupressure wristbands and dramamine, I was totally fine, actually.

None of our group really drinks, so it was pretty chill. Mostly, lots of catching up. The excursions were outstanding. In Cozumel, we did a kind of version of "The Amazing Race" with the whole family running around downtown looking for clues. That...was pretty epic.

I'd love to do other cruises with just the wife as time and budget allow... maybe a Med cruise or an Orient cruise. I've been to China, but she hasn't. I'm not sure she'd wanna do a China vacation, but a cruise of the orient with stops in Hong Kong and Shanghai would be really nice.
 

IowaRam

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I was on a three year cruise once , had a pretty good time

carrier_hormuz.jpg
 

PARAM

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I love cruising. We've been on a number of cruises. Eight or nine. Mostly Princess Cruises, though we tried Carnival (who also owns Princess) and Royal Carribean once each. After our last Princess Cruise (to Hawaii) we became "Platinum Members" so our next cruise we get some perks, like preferred embarkation and so forth. I like to drink, eat and visit ports of call. You can get the drinks and ports of call on any cruiseline but good food is a must. And that isn't RC's or Carnival's forte. It is on Princess. RC has some cool style ships with a grand mall that staterooms look out over. The only problem is you can't get food after 11 pm except for a tiny pizza, sandwich shop or roomservice. Princess' buffets on deck 14 are open 24/7 and they have goooood food. If you want to just party Carnival is the young crowd but like RC, no food after 11 (except room service). What my wife likes is the Movies Under the Stars (not available on the Carnival or RC cruises we took; I think it's unique to Princess).....like a drive-in movie on the top deck. I like it because we usually cruise during football season, the playoffs or Superbowl. Cheaper fairs in November though my wife's birthday is early February, so we've taken a few then. I watched the Saints beat the Colts, on that huge screen while eating great food and drinking good Scotch! They show NFL football....regular season, playoffs and Superbowl on that screen, so it's never a bad time (for me) to take a cruise.

On ports of call, the more the merrier. I've visited most of the Islands in the Caribbean. My favorites are Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Marten, St. Lucia, Bonaire and Aruba. We've been whale watching (in St. Lucia and Hawaii), zip lining, snorkeling (always), sailing and I love island tours, especially renting a car if the stay is long enough (Oahu & San Juan). The best cruise we were on was one that started in San Juan and had 10 stops. It was a 14 day cruise that was actually two 7 day cruises. We always get a mini-suite with a balcony.......can't stand a room with no windows that open. If you're going to fly to the port, it's best to go a day early and rent a hotel. That way if there's bad weather/airport delays you don't miss the boat. Our niece got delayed for her honeymoon and had to fly to one of the ports to catch the boat. Expensive and problems with luggage. Usually we drive to Lauderdale (for Princess), though we flew to San Juan (Princess) and Tampa (Carnival). The Royal Caribbean went out of Hoboken, NJ (about an hours drive for us). That was a hoot because for the first 2 days it appeared only three or four hundred passengers were aboard. Winter in the Atlantic can be rough and apparently most of the passengers were sea-sick the first couple days. Then they go buy those circular patches you put behind your ear to prevent further sickness. There's nothing more amusing than seeing a guy with a shaved head, tattoos all over and a little patch behind his ear!! You know it's bad when they have barf-bags in all the restrooms!

On the one Carnival Cruise we took, we got a call a couple of weeks before the cruise from Carnival to upgrade for an additional $100 each. When they sell out the suites/mini suites and get a lot of requests, they call booked parties to see if they want to upgrade to more expensive accomodations. This was a once in a lifetime piece of luck. They upgraded us to the "Owner's Suite" which was phenominal.....actually more phenominal than it sounds. A huge suite, overlooking one of the pools. No balcony but it was the one time I was okay with it. Complimentary Champagne and food on arrival, a hot tub and totally complicated shower. A walk in closet the size of interior stateroom. A bar. A living room with 4 large leather chaise-couches, a large conventional sofa, a couple of chairs and huge TV. A huge bedroom with a comfy California king and another huge TV. Needless to say the party ended there every night (or more accurately, every morning). Also needless to say we'll never enjoy those amenities for that price again.

I've never cruised Holland America but they're more expensive and tend to have an older, more reserved crowd. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are lacking in the food department. But Princess is just right, for me. The one Carnival we sailed we met a couple from Philadelphia (we live in PA). They were smoking a joint on the port side promenade deck. A little too indiscreet but that wasn't the worst of it. We learned she was his stripper girlfriend, not his wife and later he was arrested trying to board in St. Thomas after buying smoke, obviously from somebody the authorities were watching. Well, I guess he left her with little cash and she was caught propositioning multiple passengers and put off at the next port!

It's Princess for me. The entertainment is basically the same on all of them though RC had an ice skating show. Rather unique and obviously quite challenging on less than calm seas! Like I said, good food, good liquor and ports of call for me. That's Princess Cruises for my modest income bracket.
 

rhinobean

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Bob
I love cruising. We've been on a number of cruises. Eight or nine. Mostly Princess Cruises, though we tried Carnival (who also owns Princess) and Royal Carribean once each. After our last Princess Cruise (to Hawaii) we became "Platinum Members" so our next cruise we get some perks, like preferred embarkation and so forth. I like to drink, eat and visit ports of call. You can get the drinks and ports of call on any cruiseline but good food is a must. And that isn't RC's or Carnival's forte. It is on Princess. RC has some cool style ships with a grand mall that staterooms look out over. The only problem is you can't get food after 11 pm except for a tiny pizza, sandwich shop or roomservice. Princess' buffets on deck 14 are open 24/7 and they have goooood food. If you want to just party Carnival is the young crowd but like RC, no food after 11 (except room service). What my wife likes is the Movies Under the Stars (not available on the Carnival or RC cruises we took; I think it's unique to Princess).....like a drive-in movie on the top deck. I like it because we usually cruise during football season, the playoffs or Superbowl. Cheaper fairs in November though my wife's birthday is early February, so we've taken a few then. I watched the Saints beat the Colts, on that huge screen while eating great food and drinking good Scotch! They show NFL football....regular season, playoffs and Superbowl on that screen, so it's never a bad time (for me) to take a cruise.

On ports of call, the more the merrier. I've visited most of the Islands in the Caribbean. My favorites are Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Marten, St. Lucia, Bonaire and Aruba. We've been whale watching (in St. Lucia and Hawaii), zip lining, snorkeling (always), sailing and I love island tours, especially renting a car if the stay is long enough (Oahu & San Juan). The best cruise we were on was one that started in San Juan and had 10 stops. It was a 14 day cruise that was actually two 7 day cruises. We always get a mini-suite with a balcony.......can't stand a room with no windows that open. If you're going to fly to the port, it's best to go a day early and rent a hotel. That way if there's bad weather/airport delays you don't miss the boat. Our niece got delayed for her honeymoon and had to fly to one of the ports to catch the boat. Expensive and problems with luggage. Usually we drive to Lauderdale (for Princess), though we flew to San Juan (Princess) and Tampa (Carnival). The Royal Caribbean went out of Hoboken, NJ (about an hours drive for us). That was a hoot because for the first 2 days it appeared only three or four hundred passengers were aboard. Winter in the Atlantic can be rough and apparently most of the passengers were sea-sick the first couple days. Then they go buy those circular patches you put behind your ear to prevent further sickness. There's nothing more amusing than seeing a guy with a shaved head, tattoos all over and a little patch behind his ear!! You know it's bad when they have barf-bags in all the restrooms!

On the one Carnival Cruise we took, we got a call a couple of weeks before the cruise from Carnival to upgrade for an additional $100 each. When they sell out the suites/mini suites and get a lot of requests, they call booked parties to see if they want to upgrade to more expensive accomodations. This was a once in a lifetime piece of luck. They upgraded us to the "Owner's Suite" which was phenominal.....actually more phenominal than it sounds. A huge suite, overlooking one of the pools. No balcony but it was the one time I was okay with it. Complimentary Champagne and food on arrival, a hot tub and totally complicated shower. A walk in closet the size of interior stateroom. A bar. A living room with 4 large leather chaise-couches, a large conventional sofa, a couple of chairs and huge TV. A huge bedroom with a comfy California king and another huge TV. Needless to say the party ended there every night (or more accurately, every morning). Also needless to say we'll never enjoy those amenities for that price again.

I've never cruised Holland America but they're more expensive and tend to have an older, more reserved crowd. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are lacking in the food department. But Princess is just right, for me. The one Carnival we sailed we met a couple from Philadelphia (we live in PA). They were smoking a joint on the port side promenade deck. A little too indiscreet but that wasn't the worst of it. We learned she was his stripper girlfriend, not his wife and later he was arrested trying to board in St. Thomas after buying smoke, obviously from somebody the authorities were watching. Well, I guess he left her with little cash and she was caught propositioning multiple passengers and put off at the next port!

It's Princess for me. The entertainment is basically the same on all of them though RC had an ice skating show. Rather unique and obviously quite challenging on less than calm seas! Like I said, good food, good liquor and ports of call for me. That's Princess Cruises for my modest income bracket.
How was the cruise to Hawaii? Been looking at that one out of LA or San Diego and wondered how all the time at sea went? Hawaii will be good of course, just thinking the sea days would get old on the way back!
 

Athos

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Personally speaking, I've no desire to be on a boat that long.....Just so.

Plus, I've seen Poseidon. That shit don't end well. :eek:
 

Rabid Ram

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Hmm i was gonna cruise till all the sick reports on diff cruises oh and that last one where they got stuck and all shit in a corner
 

jrry32

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My mom booked an Alaskan cruise for the whole family a couple years ago (her, dad, me and my 5, my bro and his wife) then she got cancer. Good news is she beat that crap! We were able to do it earlier this year. It was such a fantastic experience. Words and pictures can't begin to describe the beauty and gradeur you see on this one. Alaskan cruise has to be on your bucket list. It was an inside passage cruse starting in Seattle with stops at Skagway, Juno, Anchorage, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria B.C. Skagway and Glacier Bay were absolutely incredible.

I've never been on a cruise before and it was quite an experience to be waited on hand and foot like that. The onboard entertainment was great and the food... Psht. They kept me drinking by giving me a punch ticket that if you completed were put in a drawing to have your bar bill payed. My brother smuggled in gin in a wine bottle which he tinted with blue food color. We called the blue drinks we made with it "Romulan Ale". Good times!

I went on a similar Alaskan cruise. Was a great time.
 

PARAM

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How was the cruise to Hawaii? Been looking at that one out of LA or San Diego and wondered how all the time at sea went? Hawaii will be good of course, just thinking the sea days would get old on the way back!

Exactly!

But it was a cool trip. I had never been to California and we went out 5 days early, rented an SUV and stayed 2 nights in Sequoia and 2 nights in Morro Bay before staying in San Pedro to catch the ship. The trip out was 5 days and it was nice. A little long but there is plenty to do and the weather was great. Hawaii was awesome but the trip back seemed long, I suppose because the trip.....Cali, the cruise out, Hawaii was over. I'd do it again but I loved California too and want to do that again. If I do it all over again, I'll do it in reverse.....Hawaii then California (particularly Sequoia) so the trip back will have some anticipation.
 

rhinobean

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Exactly!

But it was a cool trip. I had never been to California and we went out 5 days early, rented an SUV and stayed 2 nights in Sequoia and 2 ni ghts in Morro Bay before staying in San Pedro to catch the ship. The trip out was 5 days and it was nice. A little long but there is plenty to do and the weather was great. Hawaii was awesome but the trip back seemed long, I suppose because the trip.....Cali, the cruise out, Hawaii was over. I'd do it again but I loved California too and want to do that again. If I do it all over again, I'll do it in reverse.....Hawaii then California (particularly Sequoia) so the trip back will have some anticipation.
My brother live in Anaheim so it's set for a place to stay and sight see from! Princess sounds like the way to go to Hawaii! Thanks!
 

RamsJunkie

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19
I love cruising. We've been on a number of cruises. Eight or nine. Mostly Princess Cruises, though we tried Carnival (who also owns Princess) and Royal Carribean once each. After our last Princess Cruise (to Hawaii) we became "Platinum Members" so our next cruise we get some perks, like preferred embarkation and so forth. I like to drink, eat and visit ports of call. You can get the drinks and ports of call on any cruiseline but good food is a must. And that isn't RC's or Carnival's forte. It is on Princess. RC has some cool style ships with a grand mall that staterooms look out over. The only problem is you can't get food after 11 pm except for a tiny pizza, sandwich shop or roomservice. Princess' buffets on deck 14 are open 24/7 and they have goooood food. If you want to just party Carnival is the young crowd but like RC, no food after 11 (except room service). What my wife likes is the Movies Under the Stars (not available on the Carnival or RC cruises we took; I think it's unique to Princess).....like a drive-in movie on the top deck. I like it because we usually cruise during football season, the playoffs or Superbowl. Cheaper fairs in November though my wife's birthday is early February, so we've taken a few then. I watched the Saints beat the Colts, on that huge screen while eating great food and drinking good Scotch! They show NFL football....regular season, playoffs and Superbowl on that screen, so it's never a bad time (for me) to take a cruise.

On ports of call, the more the merrier. I've visited most of the Islands in the Caribbean. My favorites are Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Marten, St. Lucia, Bonaire and Aruba. We've been whale watching (in St. Lucia and Hawaii), zip lining, snorkeling (always), sailing and I love island tours, especially renting a car if the stay is long enough (Oahu & San Juan). The best cruise we were on was one that started in San Juan and had 10 stops. It was a 14 day cruise that was actually two 7 day cruises. We always get a mini-suite with a balcony.......can't stand a room with no windows that open. If you're going to fly to the port, it's best to go a day early and rent a hotel. That way if there's bad weather/airport delays you don't miss the boat. Our niece got delayed for her honeymoon and had to fly to one of the ports to catch the boat. Expensive and problems with luggage. Usually we drive to Lauderdale (for Princess), though we flew to San Juan (Princess) and Tampa (Carnival). The Royal Caribbean went out of Hoboken, NJ (about an hours drive for us). That was a hoot because for the first 2 days it appeared only three or four hundred passengers were aboard. Winter in the Atlantic can be rough and apparently most of the passengers were sea-sick the first couple days. Then they go buy those circular patches you put behind your ear to prevent further sickness. There's nothing more amusing than seeing a guy with a shaved head, tattoos all over and a little patch behind his ear!! You know it's bad when they have barf-bags in all the restrooms!

On the one Carnival Cruise we took, we got a call a couple of weeks before the cruise from Carnival to upgrade for an additional $100 each. When they sell out the suites/mini suites and get a lot of requests, they call booked parties to see if they want to upgrade to more expensive accomodations. This was a once in a lifetime piece of luck. They upgraded us to the "Owner's Suite" which was phenominal.....actually more phenominal than it sounds. A huge suite, overlooking one of the pools. No balcony but it was the one time I was okay with it. Complimentary Champagne and food on arrival, a hot tub and totally complicated shower. A walk in closet the size of interior stateroom. A bar. A living room with 4 large leather chaise-couches, a large conventional sofa, a couple of chairs and huge TV. A huge bedroom with a comfy California king and another huge TV. Needless to say the party ended there every night (or more accurately, every morning). Also needless to say we'll never enjoy those amenities for that price again.

I've never cruised Holland America but they're more expensive and tend to have an older, more reserved crowd. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are lacking in the food department. But Princess is just right, for me. The one Carnival we sailed we met a couple from Philadelphia (we live in PA). They were smoking a joint on the port side promenade deck. A little too indiscreet but that wasn't the worst of it. We learned she was his stripper girlfriend, not his wife and later he was arrested trying to board in St. Thomas after buying smoke, obviously from somebody the authorities were watching. Well, I guess he left her with little cash and she was caught propositioning multiple passengers and put off at the next port!

It's Princess for me. The entertainment is basically the same on all of them though RC had an ice skating show. Rather unique and obviously quite challenging on less than calm seas! Like I said, good food, good liquor and ports of call for me. That's Princess Cruises for my modest income bracket.

Pretty much all the carnivals Ive been on have the big screen outside now and have movies and popcorn at night they call them dive in movies. Never been on a princess my parents really liked it so I thought it might be like Holland America and be more geared to an older crowd. Your right about the food after 11 on carnival theres nothing but room service and a pizzaria however a couple of the nights they do a midnight themed party and serve Mexican food or other types of foods. but normally by 11 ive had enough to drink all day that pizza is a great midnight snack so I'm ok with it.
 

Ky Ram

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Sep 30, 2013
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The wife and I love to cruise. One Royal Caribbean and 8 Carnival. Have had an awesome vacation on almost all of them ( I got food poisoning on this last one and that sucked ass for real).

Best ship:Carnival Breeze
Lots of different dining options, lots of entertainment and lots of bars(y)

Best Port for beaches:St. Thomas
Best Port for sights: Curacao
Best Port for drinks:Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos

We are absolutely addicted to cruising, glad there are other junkies like us here.