Cruises
Every cruise is different and it would be impossible to outline each line, but I will say this, going for the cheapest cruise is an absolute mistake. When you buy the cheapest thing, you will undoubtedly find the cheapest people. No offense to anyone, but the idea here is luxury, or at the very least eliminating ideas and possibilities that aren’t even close to luxurious.
I like good itineraries but I care about them less than I care about the ship itself. The ship can be your best friend. It can be the most relaxing thing you’ve ever experienced in your life. You can do just about anything you want on a cruise ship and that’s why I love them. It is exactly what you make of it. Will there be kids, no question. Will there be old people, yes indeed. But there will also be plenty of single people who are in search of one thing only. Add to that gambling, boozing, eating anywhere anytime and anything, and you’ve got quite the vacation on your hands.
Notes to self:
-The biggest ships on the planet are honestly too big. Weird to say but you will like the idea of seeing people more than once on your trip, and the bigger ships don’t necessarily provide that.
Norwegian Joy - Apr 2023
This trip was more about the kids club and just relaxing. We felt like we had been pretty much everywhere on the itinerary already, so there was very little pressure. Again we chose Norwegian because of the Haven, which didn’t help on the second to last night when my girl got into a bar fight with two old Trumpers! but in any case, the Haven area is still worth it’s weight in gold. The cruise went to Roatan Honduras, Harvest Cay Belize (we did the very hot and mostly boring monkey river cruise tour), cozumel (we had some beers and tacos and shopped), great stirrup cay bahamas (we only got off for a sec). In any case, the kid was sick pretty much the whole time and went to the kids club like once. She also went to the ship board hospital and it was suggested that we spend 5K treating her. We waited and it turned out she needed nothing really. Awesome.
Our staterooms did not have separate living areas and I felt like we should never do that again. Even the small separate living room in the 2 bedroom family suite was better.
Norwegian Epic - Aug 2022
We took a cruise from Civitavecchia in August of 2022. Private car from there to Rome one way cost us $180 bones for 4 people, but it was a nice car :) Mostly I just mean it aint exactly close to Rome. It was another port style city with some, but limited charm. The Ship was the Norwegian Epic for 7 nights. We got the 2 bedroom suite in the Haven and it served us quite well. If we didn’t have the Haven with it’s private pools, bars, restaurants, and skip the line services then we may have hated this cruise. It’s an older ship but we had fun. Tough to stop in a port every single day!
We went to naples (see Naples), Livorno (J rented a car to go to PortoVenere so what does that tell you), Cannes (see Cannes), Majorca - Old town area was cool. Big bus tour seemed decent and shopping was actually fun. Even though it was hot, those winding thin streets were quite cool. El Camino looked rad but we got there at the wrong time. The samaisos were just fine. I could see people really enjoying this place. The passeig Des Born main road is a relaxing walk and the Old Town neighborhood coming off of Placa Major is a huge winding area of fun shops and restaurants, Barcelona (see Barcelona), Ajaccio Corsica - Nah. It's not a bad town but no reason to go back. Much prettier places than this.
RC Oasis of the Seas - Jan 2015
7 nighter. Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten.
Largest boat in the world…along with Allure. They like to say 7 distinct neighborhoods, but I would argue you use far less than that. The main restaurants (with additional charges) are in Central Park, the boardwalk is cool looking but outside of the Mexican place and the aqua theater it wasn’t that useful, the promenade has all the shops and cafes, and the entertainment zone for us was really just the casino.
I got a junior suite and it was very spacious but not very cool. I’m not sure it offered anything interesting except for size (though I did really appreciate the significantly larger balcony). There was a tub (which to some would be cool but I think I would’ve preferred the shower…the tub was thin and not cool). The room also had a walk in closet which was a nice touch and did come in handy. Lastly, I was on deck 11 and I thought that worked out great. I could basically walk anywhere.
Notes
-The basic internet was slow as shit (I would upgrade to premium next time).
-Movie system is pretty cool (though the adult selections are all “scenes”. No movies much less 24 hour action. I guess I would say the variety was surprising).
-Mini bar is very small and just had water and soda and a few candies.
-Windjammer cafe was a joke of a terrible restaurant/buffet.
-The steakhouse was soooooo upsetting. The supposed chef doused my supposed USDA Prime steak with a red wine reduction sauce (charging an extra 18 for it after 35 per person for the rez). The server was very nice, but this is hardly a steakhouse. I would have been better off ordering a strip in the main dining room. I do not think this was really Prime beef, just like I do not think there is an actual chef.
-I wouldn’t argue that the venues were any better than any other ship honestly.
-Like all cruise ships, the spa is a joke filled with hot chicks with very limited experience.
RC Liberty of the Seas - Mar 2011, Feb 2012
Great boat, great amenities, good size. I definitely would never book a cruise without researching it on cruisecritic.com…far better advice than I could ever give.
We did Labadee Haiti and Falmouth Jamaica on one, and Costa Maya and Belize City on another (2 trips on this ship).
Norwegian Dawn - Jan 2009
Good boat. The epic boat is the best Norwegian ship, but overall they have started doing “single” rooms and have better dining options (like you can eat whenever). I definitely would never book a cruise without researching it on cruisecritic.com…far better advice than I could ever give.
We did Samana DR, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Great Stirrup Cay on this one.
Carnival Liberty - Dec 2007
I don’t do Carnival cruises anymore…and I definitely would never book a cruise without researching it on cruisecritic.com…far better advice than I could ever give.
We did Nassau, Georgetown Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios on this one.
RC Radiance of the Seas - Dec 2005
Good boat but starting to age… I definitely would never book a cruise without researching it on cruisecritic.com…far better advice than I could ever give.
We did Ocho Rios Jamaica, Georgetown Grand Cayman, and the RC private island.
Carnival Triumph - Dec 2003
I don’t do Carnival cruises anymore…and I definitely would never book a cruise without researching it on cruisecritic.com…far better advice than I could ever give.
Not sure where we went on this one.
Carnival Imagination - Dec 2002
I don’t do Carnival cruises anymore…and I definitely would never book a cruise without researching it on cruisecritic.com…far better advice than I could ever give.
We went to Key West and Cozumel on a 4 nighter this time.