The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[nickieluv]

A lot of people have been talking about cruises lately - how far in advance do you need to book them? We are thinking about a February 08 cruise - are we already too late? Can anybody pm me a good travel site to book from?

[Serendipity]

Hey Nickie. You can book cruises as far in advance as you want and up to just a week or so before. The advantage to booking early, though, is that you have a better pick of the cabins. We booked ours now for September and were able to get a grand suite with a large veranda but there were some cruises we looked at that were completly full except for a few inside cabins. If you're willing to do your homework, you can get a pretty good deal last minute.

We have our best luck at the cruiseline website. It takes some bouncing back and forth between sites to find jus the right one, but it's worth it when you go to book it that you don't go through a middle man....we've had a bad experience booking through travelocity. They're ok for airfare, but the cruise was almost a disaster.

Our favorite lines? Princess, Holland America (more geared to older cruisers), Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, in that order. Haven't tried Norwegean or Carnival. Don't think you could pay me to take carnival.

[Elizabeth]

Hi Nicki,
I just returned from an Alaskan cruise less than a month ago. We cruised with Celebrity. It was our first cruise and we enjoyed it very much. The staff bent over backwards to see we were happy and comfortable. It was a beautiful ship and the food was outstanding. They have 1 staff member per every 2 guests. I understand Royal Carribean is geared toward the younger crowd and also has great kids programs. I can't wait to take another cruise now

Oh, I'm so glad we booked a room with a veranda. Alaska in the summertime has mostly daylight and we would have missed alot....sunset around 11 pm and sunrise about 4 am.

[pinkbugs471]

Like Jo said, you can book in advance up to two years out, of as little as two weeks away. We like to book in advance because we make monthly payments. Our final payment for the cruise in Feb 08 is due the at the end of Nov. Everyone has different tastes. I love Carnival. The discounts we get are amazing. I book directly through Carnival and use the same vacation planer every time. He knows the type of thing we like, and watches out for all the discounts and credits for us.

We sail out Saturday afternoon from Miami.....

[fairladyj]

We have taken 5 cruises on Norwegian - I love the "unstructured" nature of the cruises - like in their commercials.

If you want to use a travel agent - we go thru AAA - you can get some pretty good deals through them. Sometimes you get the best deals booking early - we usually book 1 year out. Last minute can be good, if you are not picky about location/type of cabin.

Most lines also have "loyalty" programs - discounts for repeat bookings - another reason we stay with Norwegian.

Not sure I could do a cruise on MF - even though I generally don't gain any weight -- especially on lines with structured meal times.

[bikipatra]

We sail out Saturday afternoon from Miami.....

Have a great time!

[DogMa]

I love Norwegian, too. I've taken maybe five with them. The ones I would avoid are Costa and Princess (if they even still exist; it's been a few years). Although my main objection wouldn't be that big a deal on Medifast: The food was AWFUL.

Edited to add my best cruise experience: My friend and I decided to play bingo one day, and we won a free cruise. And on the free one, we had a far nicer cabin than the one we'd paid for on the original trip. I got to the ship halfway convinced that there was some catch and it wouldn't REALLY be free. But it was.

[Serendipity]

Robin, Princess is actually rated in the deluxe catagory outranking RC and Norwegian, I think. They may have upgrade their service in the past few years. Our Princess cruise was phenominal.

[nickieluv]

Thanks to all you experienced cruisers for the advice. I'll let you know what we come up with. This will be our first one and I am really excited. We wanted to do Disney but they are all booked into September 08 - I think I'll check Royal Caribbean first because of the kid-friendly angle. Off I go!

[DogMa]

Oh, Disney was fun, too. But we had to book that one WAY ahead (of course, it was also a New Year's Eve cruise ... President Carter and his family were on our trip, too!!).

[nickieluv]

Well, I talked with a vacation planner at Celebrity and everything was all set - and then my mother decided she didn't want to go until 2009. I can't see paying all that money for a cruise and then not being able to do anything at all after 7pm (that's when the baby goes to bed and yes, we were counting on Grandma and Auntie to babysit one or two nights) so we decided to not go on a cruise after all. In 2009 we'll have a new baby so I don't see us going then either - and the more kids we have, the more expensive it becomes! So perhaps for an anniversary trip we will leave the babies with Grandma and take a trip - or this will indeed become a retirement venture in 30 years. I'm sure they'll still have cruises then. And maybe they'll have invented some quick way to travel that doesn't involve flying.

[Elizabeth]

Niki, they have child care and programs on the cruises...its a wonderful vacation for all. The children can stay in the program until 2 am...Celebrity charged after 10 pm but minimal. My 8 yo son had such a good time....he didnt' want to leave his friends. You can grab a phone and check in on them anytime or just pop in on them to see how they are. I was uneasy about the whole thing...I'm a worrywart, but the staff were so professional, reassuring and fun and it seemed all of the children had a blast.

[nickieluv]

That's the thing, Elizabeth, I just know I couldn't do it. My daughter will only be 2 and although she's quite independent, Mommy isn't so sure about it. I thought I read, too, that the programs are only for children over 3. My 16-year-old stepson is another matter - I know he'd probably have a great time hanging out and what not, so I feel a bit badly about that - but I'm just not ready to leave my daughter with strangers. With other trusted adults coming, we could have a couple of nights where my baby spent the night with them and I would have no worries, but I just know without that assurance I would not be able to let go and enjoy myself.

However, my husband seems to have some sort of plan up his sleeve. I don't know what could change my mind, but I'm willing to talk about it. There may be more to this story.

[Mike]

In 2009 we'll have a new baby so I don't see us going then either -

... and she sees the future. A woman of many talents.