I'm considering taking a 5 or 7 day cruise this year. Any recommendations? Tips?

You’ll need a passport. Depends on where you want to go. Royal Caribbean is an excellent cruise line. :)

I haven’t been on a cruise but my kid was recently on one with his family. He said it was really crowded and it felt like he was in a mall all the time in terms of so many people. Depending on your tolerance for that, you might want to look for a smaller ship rather than a behemoth. Also, I have been to Bermuda – not on a cruise – and that could be a lovely destination, although not in the winter.

@janbb Excellent observation (since I’m an introvert) and suggestions. If I go I’m limited to whatever cruise ship leaves Bsltimore (no flights to concern myself with).

“Shopping mall on the ocean” was the impression I got from watching YouTube videos. But there appears to be enough for “limited income” people to do without spending a lot of money. I’m not really concerned about a destination…just want to experience being out to sea (former Navy,) one more time.

@RayaHope recommended Royal Caribbean and bingo! they leave from Baltimore. Maybe take a look at this. Their offerings look pretty reasonable:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-from/baltimore-maryland

I’ve only been on one Cruise, a Disney cruise. It was 3 days and was fine. Personally, I’d like to have gone to more interesting places. We basically went out to a Disney leased island, the Bahamas and then back. The destinations were pretty good for the kids. It being Disney was good for the kids.

I’ve heard European river cruises are AWESOME. I’ve also heard nice things about Alaskan cruises.

If I were leaving from the Mid-Atlantic for a cruise, I’d probably take a train to NY and do a cruise to Greenland and Iceland. Or I’d fly to Florida and do a Caribbean cruise. I’ve done that once in high school and had a lot of fun.

3 day cruises are the best but I definitely do not recommend taking a cruise longer than 5 days. Cruise ship hallways really start to stink on day 4–5 and they smell god awful by day 7. It’s basically a mix of sour mildew, rotting food & locker room stank. I had to run down the hallways holding my breath to avoid gagging on days 6 + 7 of a Caribbean cruise.

@cheebdragon Being this would be our first cruise 5 days seems practical in case one or both of us get sick or bored. You’ve introduced a scenario not mentioned in the various cruise videos we’ve watched. I don’t think we’d enjoy cruise stink. Certainly something we’d want to avoid. Thanks for sharing.

I would avoid Carnival cruise line.

If the balcony upgrade isn’t a lot more money I recommend getting it.

Cruises usually get cheaper the closer to the date of sailing. Flights get more expensive, but if I remember correctly you can probably drive to that port.

Look at the activities planned within the first few hours so you can get what you’re interested in doing into your calendar.

You can search YouTube for excursions if you need help deciding what excursions you’re interested in.

Consider wearing a mask in indoor places like watching the shows. I personally wear my mask in all public bathrooms. If you don’t have a lanyard so you can just keep your mask handy around your neck I recommend getting one if you plan to use a mask at all. Most people don’t wear them anymore, I realize that. If you get sick on a cruise you can wind up quarantined to your cabin, which is no fun.

You’re expected to tip at the end of the cruise. The housekeeper, waiters, I can’t remember who else.

Read the fine print if tips are included or what fees are added on.

I like dinner either open seating where you can go any time, or the late seating. Usually after being out by the pool or out on an excursion all day, I like to take a nap! Lol. The early seating is usually too rushed for me and interferes with my siesta.

If there is a dressy night at the dining room you can skip it if you want and eat somewhere else. Some people like the “formal” night and some hate it. It’s not really formal technically, but men are usually expected to wear a dinner jacket. More to pack.

I really like cruising. Enjoy!

I know, let’s go to a theme park, that puts around the ocean with no particular destination, burning countless gallons of diesel fuel, that conforms to the laws of the country with the lowest regulatory burdens! Oh JOY! Even the people who like them here are telling you they are unsanitary, and always try to upsell you. From what I’ve seen, the “tourist experience” you receive upon landing is usually some form of a chintzy grift.

There are plenty of on the water experiences that aren’t a direct part of the filthy business that is modern cruise ships. Stay closer to home and ride on a smaller boat, perhaps? I always thought a few days noodling around Massachusetts, catching fish would be pretty fun.

@JLeslie Avoid Carnival? Please explain.

A friend who used to cruise a lot told me that the nicest days on a cruise are the days when you’re just out at sea, no stops in ports. She used to do a lot of Caribbean cruises.

Another friend just took a cruise from London, stopping in Spain and Portugal and said it was really great. He said Spain and Portugal were wonderful and London was his favorite place of the three.

I hear Alaska is an incredible destination, and if you do it, you should do a “land and sea” cruise which is cruising and then bus or train inland. A person who lives in Alaska told me that.

There’s a Jelly who has taken a few cruises and gotten into problems due to having Covid and having to remain in the room for the duration of the cruise, with just getting food left outside the room until the cruise arrived in port. Maybe that Jelly will chime in here. It sounded very unappealing and for that reason, after hearing his tale, would make me not want to take a cruise any time soon. All that money and you’re quarantined in your room with room service. I can totally understand why – I’m not disputing that – I just think the risk of that happening would make me not want to chance it, for the cost. Even before the Covid, I was not too keen on cruises because of the risk of Norovirus. I’m definitely not one who’s paranoid about germs but all those people stuffed in like sardines, with viruses going around, no thank you.

I know this is wildly off-topic, but it’s worth it to see what the site algorithm thinks is “Related”. ——>

@canidmajor hahaha! I never quite know what that algorithm is thinking!

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@janbb, obviously lots of people are having some kinda fun on cruises!

I haven’t been on a cruse but I have been on trips so I can somewhat help. You need to see how much the trip and expenses are, if you have animals you need to see who will house sit or find a boarding place, and have security measures around your house so people don’t break in while you’re away.

Carnival will have a lot of young adults drinking. For a short cruise it’s fine, if Carnival has the dates and times you want I wouldn’t swear them of completely. In Florida the Carnival 4 day cruises get a lot of retirees, so both extremes are on the ship, but generally middle aged adults and older prefer Royal Caribbean for not expensive and up from there like Holland America or Celebrity, and some people really like Norwegian. I haven’t heard much about Princess lately.

Get a balcony room. They are worth every penny, especially if your cruise has Covid issues.
Be prepared to wear a mask while in public areas.
Get half a dozen thin cotton gloves. Wear them in public areas. You’d be shocked at things I’ve seen. People cough into their hands, then hold onto a stairway bannester.

@filmfann I was hoping you’d chime in here!

When I read what you wrote, it makes cruising sound very unappealing.

@jca2 I enjoy cruising. That said, 2 of the last 3 I have been on didn’t end well.

@filmfann What happened?

@KRD Sorry for being mysterious. I thought this was obvious.
I was on the Grand Princess Cruise to Hawaii in March 2020 that had an early outbreak of Covid. Trump considered not letting us back into the country, then sending us to Gitmo. In the end, we were held onboard for 6 additional days, then transferred to Travis air force base for 2 more weeks. 6 passengers and one crew member died, including a man in the room across from me at Travis.
My cardiologist said I had Covid on that cruise, but wasn’t symptomatic. (Apparently even if you have no symptoms, it can damage the heart wall.)
2 years later we cruised on the Ruby Princess to Alaska, with a couple who were with us in Hawaii. My friend, my wife, and I all contracted Covid. We were quarantined, again, onboard.
2 months later we returned to Alaska on the Ruby. Everything went well, and we didn’t get sick.

Oh @filmfann sorry to hear that.

Thanks @JLeslie. Haven’t ruled out Carnival yet as it seems to offer quite a few activities my wife and I might be interested it. But the number of people onboard, children and teens included, is something that may influence our decision. We haven’t done extensive research but we decided a 5 day cruise is probably best since we’re first timers. My wife has health issues as well so I’m hesitant to even proceed with this for fear of being without medical facilities. From the minimal research I’ve done Royal Caribbean appears to be the only line sponsoring 5 days cruises from Baltimore. Right now they have the edge, though the party atmosphere of Carnival is still quite appealing.

There is a doctor on board, but a serious emergency would not have immediate health services like a hospital. You can look into trip insurance. I bought health insurance for my Alaska trip because I had been in a serious accident just a few months before and I was still having symptoms during the recovery. It covered things like being air-lifted, etc. Warning that I have heard of some people being very frustrated with coverage, I guess you need to read the fine print. I bought mine through USAA and I trust USAA, but not everyone can use them.

5 day cruise is a great way to try a cruise. You’ll see what you like and don’t like. I’m assuming you have a port every day, so you won’t be at sea for very long stretches.

@JLeslie Excellent advice. Thank you.

Carnival owns Princess.

Don’t sail on Carnival, because it’s basically a beer party.

However, if you own 100 shares of Carnival stock, you get a (is it 10%?) break on the cruise price.

I hear about all kinds of deals on cruises – two that I hear about a lot are “tips included” and “drinks included.” Well, from what I understand, with the deal where tips are included, people are expected to, and do, tip extra anyway and with the deal where drinks are included, I don’t drink that much and I don’t think I would drink more than two drinks a day if they were free, so that’s not that great of an offer, for me.

It’s been awhile since I’ve visited Fluther. Thought I’d give an update for anyone interested. My wife and I decided to fly to Miami FL to cruise with Virgin Voyages:

https://youtu.be/2-6VpJ5PRY8

The 5 day cruise is scheduled for the end of September with stops in Mexico (Costa Maya) and the Bahamas (Bimini). Unfortunately I didn’t know about HURRICANE SEASON. Otherwise I would have booked different dates.

Their NO KIDS policy was a huge selling point. Plus the “60% off 2nd sailor” promotion in January sucked me in. I booked via a travel agent (no charge) and received a free $300.00 bar tab and a $100.00 onboard credit. The cruise line is all inclusive, no upcharges for restaurants(20+ eateries), no aggressive sales people. Gratuities are pre-paid; additional tipping optional. No dress code (except no bathing attire in restaurants).

Passports are required with Virgin Voyages. We submitted applications for our passports in March. Expected wait time is 13 weeks.

Nothing left to do but wait. Thanks again for the many recommendations.

I watched most of the video. Looks like a great cruise, @SABOTEUR!