Going on a cruise again, finally

[geekette]

Have only cruised twice, last was 2006. This one is next September, several neighbors wanting to celebrate neighbor’s 80th. He has never cruised, never had a passport, and I have him half talked into snorkeling with me. He’s an active guy, grew up in poor mountain farming family, only maintains trout pond and chickens these days. I’m often embarrassed by how much more he accomplishes in a day than I do…. (Chalk that up to a difference in motivation). Good health, may it hold!

Don’t know a lot of details, I know we will drive to Tampa and Aruba is in the itinerary, a long 10 day cruise, don’t know which line. Sounds like several adult kids of the neighbors planning it will go, too. Have never been with a group on a cruise, but I do like these people, all of them. I’ve never lived so intertwined in the lives of neighbors but it’s working nicely for me. Don’t know who is going to mow our lawns, with all of us gone, but tall grass is no reason for me to stay home!

 

[Dori]

Enjoy every moment! DH and I went on a cruise with 31 of our friends in our Florida mobile home park. It was incredible! We even rented a bus and driver to take us to and from the cruise port!

Dori

 

[mentalbreak]

A cruise is actually a great group vacation. And I love that you have built such camaraderie with your community - a rare thing these days.

 

[WinniWoman]

Sounds like a fun time! I’m not a cruise person myself, but I’m sure you’ll love every minute of it being with your friends and neighbors! Enjoy!

 

[pedro47]

Please enjoy your cruise, sounds liked a long ten days cruise to the Southern Caribbean.. They are awesome. Sounds liked you maybe going to the ABC island’s .
Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.

Please check Cruise Critic website for crushing information.
The website is free.
You can check on your cruise line and the itinerary.
Just enjoy your cruising time.

 

[Passepartout]

@geekette Cruising has changed a LOT in 20 years. Get with whichever neighbor is doing the planning. Find out the Line, Ship name, Date of sailing. Nowadays many cruises set up a group facebook page for everyone on the specific cruise to share info. Like get-togethers, shore excursions, packing tips etc.

Mostly, HAVE FUN! The planning is the best part.

Jim

 

[Timeshare Von]

Enjoy! I was once a "never cruiser" but have found I really do enjoy them. My DH, however, is still a "hard no" on going on a cruise.

If you didn't know, here on TUG there is a forum just about cruising. You may find some of the information there of interest and helpful as you plan for your upcoming trip.

 

[Timeshare Von]

@geekette Cruising has changed a LOT in 20 years. Get with whichever neighbor is doing the planning. Find out the Line, Ship name, Date of sailing. Nowadays many cruises set up a group facebook page for everyone on the specific cruise to share info. Like get-togethers, shore excursions, packing tips etc.

Mostly, HAVE FUN! The planning is the best part.

Jim

Cruise Critic (previously mentioned by Pedro47) also has cruise specific "roll calls" for most of the various cruise lines/ships and sailing dates. I have found them (and those on Facebook) to be very helpful in connecting with others before the cruise . . . and organizing small group activities and excursions.

P.S. The roll calls (both on CC and FB) are not set up by the cruise lines, however. They are organized by fellow passengers, and sometimes (on FB) they are created by travel agents trying to get your business. I avoid those because they are way to spammy for me!

 

[Brett]

Wish I was going!
Turns out most of my family gets seasick on cruises (but not on small motorboats and sailboats)

 

[Delexed]

Find out what cruise line you will be on and download their mobile app...it is increasingly an invaluable resource for finding out onboard activities, making excursion/meal reservations, and especially keeping in touch with your group onboard.

 

[PigsDad]

I like doing group cruises with friends and/or family. We tend to just do our own things during the day, and then dine together as a whole group in the evening. Too much "together time" can be taxing and lead to conflicts at times, so we don't kill ourselves trying to line up all activities as a group. It usually works out well doing things this way. We are doing a friends cruise in December with 13 of us going -- looking forward to it!

Kurt

 

[pedro47]

Wish I was going!
Turns out most of my family gets seasick on cruises (but not on small motorboats and sailboats)

Ask your family member to pick a cabin mid ship and below deck ten.
Or ask them to pick an inside cabin with no windows on a cruise ship below deck five and below.

 

[SmithOp]

Wish I was going!
Turns out most of my family gets seasick on cruises (but not on small motorboats and sailboats)

I'm just the opposite, get sick on small boats every time I tried fishing trips. As soon as they stopped and we dropped lines the up and down motion of the waves got me. Cruise ships, no problem.

I leave Saturday for a Thanksgiving week cruise.

 

[pedro47]

I'm just the opposite, get sick on small boats every time I tried fishing trips. As soon as they stopped and we dropped lines the up and down motion of the waves got me. Cruise ships, no problem.

I leave Saturday for a Thanksgiving week cruise.

To the OP..Wishing you a wonderful and enjoyable Thanksgiving cruise.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We just returned from a gambling cruise on the Norwegian Gem. Five of us went. My newfound half-sister (long story on finding family that I detailed last year) was hoping to win the $100,000 Blackjack tournament, but she didn't win. She invited all of us to go.

Only four sisters went, me being the oldest, my full sister, a half sister (the gambler) and a stepsister plus Rick. We had three cabins. My full sister was supposed to be in the same inside cabin as my half sister and my stepsister. Since our father couldn't go, due to his wife's being ill, my full sister had an inside cabin to herself.

I don't understand the inside cabin thing because they were so small and dark. I hope your cabin has at least a window.

The cruise ended this past Sunday.

The cruise didn't go to Stirrup Cay, the one stop where my sister and Rick were planning to snorkel. The water was too rough to anchor. The eight-day cruise only stopped in Nassau, Grand Bahama, and Key West. Key West was beautiful. We could see Atlantis from the cruise ship. I definitely want to stay there sometime.

I suggest bringing board games. Funny that I had so much luggage compared to my sisters, but I brought several board games to play, and some card games as well, but the favorite was Ticket to Ride. All of us played that game many times. We enjoyed it every single game. We played mostly out on the deck by the outdoor eating area in the shade. People would walk by and say, "Ticket to Ride, great game!" Some even said they wished they'd brought the game. It's so fun. I am hoping to get a TUGger I am getting to know pretty well to play with us on Maui a few times. The four of us could enjoy it.

 

[geist1223]

We will never Cruise. Patti gets seasick on a floating Dock. She went on 1 Cruise in her life. It was a quick trip with her Mother from LA to Ensenada Mexico. She had to take so much Seasick Medicine she spent almost the entire Cruise asleep.

 

[SmithOp]

Thanks for the Ticket to Ride recommendation @rickandcindy23 , I just ordered US and Europe on Amazon, it's discounted on BF Deals.

Wife and I are doing a 4 day right after this Thanksgiving week, joined by some neighbors that love playing board games, very competitive.

We love cruising, talking about cruising, and planning cruises. I've already reserved next Thanksgiving, it's a great way to get out of that holiday drudge with relatives you aren't thrilled about seeing . Living close to a cruise port has many advantages.

 

[silentg]

We just returned from a gambling cruise on the Norwegian Gem. Five of us went. My newfound half-sister (long story on finding family that I detailed last year) was hoping to win the $100,000 Blackjack tournament, but she didn't win. She invited all of us to go.

Only four sisters went, me being the oldest, my full sister, a half sister (the gambler) and a stepsister plus Rick. We had three cabins. My full sister was supposed to be in the same inside cabin as my half sister and my stepsister. Since our father couldn't go, due to his wife's being ill, my full sister had an inside cabin to herself.

I don't understand the inside cabin thing because they were so small and dark. I hope your cabin has at least a window.

The cruise ended this past Sunday.

The cruise didn't go to Stirrup Cay, the one stop where my sister and Rick were planning to snorkel. The water was too rough to anchor. The eight-day cruise only stopped in Nassau, Grand Bahama, and Key West. Key West was beautiful. We could see Atlantis from the cruise ship. I definitely want to stay there sometime.

I suggest bringing board games. Funny that I had so much luggage compared to my sisters, but I brought several board games to play, and some card games as well, but the favorite was Ticket to Ride. All of us played that game many times. We enjoyed it every single game. We played mostly out on the deck by the outdoor eating area in the shade. People would walk by and say, "Ticket to Ride, great game!" Some even said they wished they'd brought the game. It's so fun. I am hoping to get a TUGger I am getting to know pretty well to play with us on Maui a few times. The four of us could enjoy it.

We play ticket to ride with family at home, but never thought to bring it on a cruise. Do you also play RummyCUE.

 

[silentg]

We have gone on cruises with my sister and family friend( like a sister). And we have a cruise planned next October with them in New England.
We are also going on a cruise to Mexico 5 days in April , with the travel club, here in our community they have a bus to take us to Port Canaveral and back so this will be a new experience for us. It’s over Easter time. Just me and my husband. We have been meeting lots of our neighbors and hopefully get to know more of them on the cruise.

 

[pedro47]

Ask your family member to pick a cabin mid ship and below deck ten.
Or ask them to pick an inside cabin with no windows on a cruise ship below deck five and below.

Reason: cruiser in mid ship cabins feel less movement of the ship in rough waters.
Reason: Inside cabins: no windows to sea the ocean;. the room may feel like a hotel room with out rooms.

 

[Cornell]

We play ticket to ride with family at home, but never thought to bring it on a cruise

We are a big Ticket to Ride family. You can buy it for an iPhone / iPad. It plays VERY well in that format. Just an option in case you don't feel like dragging along a bulky board game.

 

[PigsDad]

I don't understand the inside cabin thing because they were so small and dark.

We don't mind them on occasion. The size is not necessarily smaller than other cabins; it just depends on the ship. We spend very little time in the cabin and basically just use it to sleep, so no window or balcony is not a big deal, and can be a plus if you like to sleep in. And of course you can save a ton with an inside cabin -- often it is half the price of a balcony cabin.

Kurt

 

[beejaybee]

Attn: Ticket to Ride fans
Do you recommend the Europe version? Family of adult kids and twenties grandsons is gathering here over NYE. All are world travelers so this might be more fun for them.
Re: Games on ship
The problem is finding a place to play. A pet peeve of mine is trying to find an empty table during sea day lunch at the "buffet" and seeing many occupied by gamers without a bite of food in front of them. Please don't do this. I was pleased that on our Celebrity Apex cruise in August one of the 4 dining rooms was set aside for card and other games from 10am-3pm- perfect for playing mahjongg!
Re: FB groups
Thanks to these, I found fellow mahjongg players on a cruise that only DH and I were on, was surprised to be greeted on the Apex by the Texas daughter of long-time friends who saw from FB we were aboard and had FB members join us for "Lunch with Bjorn" in Norway.

 

[rickandcindy23]

@beejaybee We have never purchased another version of Ticket to Ride, so I cannot comment on that.

The Norwegian Gem had a game room that wasn't even used. We did go in that room one night, hoping the lighting would be better. We mostly sat outside. The weather was perfect outside most of the time. The buffet dining room had plenty of tables. We figured the cabins were only half sold. It was a gambling cruise, and this one wasn't advertised on the NCL website. It was sponsored by Caesar's. The next one will be on the Joy next December. We won't be going to that one.

When compared to the price of the same cabin in March to the Caribbean, this Bahama cruise was very expensive. I priced a balcony suite cabin for $2,500 for both of us to/ from San Juan for spring break of 2026 for our grandkids (we take the beverage package and specialty dining package off of the total because the gratuities are crazy high). This gambling cruise balcony suite cabin was $4,500. So expensive. $500 of the $4,500 was the mandatory "had-to-pay-it-buy-in" for Blackjack.

By the way, we take our game out of the box and put it into a Westin beach bag to compact a bit. We put the bag in the middle of our packing cubes of clothes. We took Five Crowns as well, a fun card game, but my sisters were all about Ticket to Ride. There were five of us, so we couldn't play pinochle. We also took a card shuffler. By the way, the 1910 add-on for Ticket to Ride is also discounted currently and comes with full-sized cards for the shuffler and more routes. This 1910 add-on has not been available over the last 9 months anywhere. I was so glad to see it back that I bought two of them. The cards the game comes with are small and bend easily. We wore our original cards out.

We bought a shuffler that charges via USB. No batteries. We keep it in the box and pack it in our carryon.

 

[Ken555]

Depending on the cruise line, some ships offer “virtual balcony interior” cabins, which have a large 4K TV mounted vertically with an image of the outside as if you had a balcony. I've had that cabin type in the past (and booked a very long night transpacific for 2027 in one) and found it a good option. The really great advantage of an inside cabin is that if you want to rest during the day, it’s absolutely dark. Of course, when price is reasonable I choose an ocean view or balcony cabin instead.

The Europe and other editions of Ticket to Ride are excellent.