btate

I have had such a bad experience with Royal Caribbean that I will never consider sailing with them again even if the cruise was free. I have been pleased with Princess and all the perks I get with being elite. Free Laundry is nice.

I would like to hear more about this port if you see more information on it.

I don't dive, but yes, I hear it is THE place for scuba. While I don't have any first-hand knowledge, I've heard good things about SeaSports Belize ... http://www.seasportsbelize.com

They are especially convenient to cruisers, as they are just a block away from the port.

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you for your kindness in responding. This is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. I have contacted this shop and asked for information. You are great Jan!!!! I love that you took time for me.

Very kind regards,

Byron

You guys know that you can just go to the passenger services desk and ask that gratuities be removed from your portfolio. That way you don't have to tip people who you don't want to. We rarely go to the dining room, so we just get envelopes and tip who we want what we want on each cruise in cash. We do it away from where people wan see, so they get to keep it all instead of a tip going into a pool of several cruise ships. We also tip our room steward in cash as well. Stop paying the head waiter and mater de (yes I said mater. . .) They didn't do the work, your waiter and room steward did! Give them the money!

My 2c. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program already in progress. . .

I am headed out on a back to back cruise in January and looking at shore excursions. We will be hitting Belize two times. The first stop we have booked cave tubing with cave-tubing.com (I highly recommend them! Lots of fun and for a fair price! Been with them 3 times now!) On our second stop, we would like to go scuba diving. I hear Belize is amazing for diving! We will have our own gear, we will just need tanks and weights. We are looking for a shop who will pick us up at the pier and take us on a dive or two that is manageable in the time we have for a cruise ship schedule.

Looking for someone who has experience doing just this and advice that will help us stay on a tight budget and still have fun.

Thanks for your help in advance.

It seems that the music themed Carnival cruises do attract a certain crowd, especially depending on the artist. We are huge Princess fans as well, which is why we tend to steer clear of Carnival. It's a shame about the condition of the ship. I like the smaller ships, and I wish the cruise lines - not just Carnival - would invest some money in revitalizing some of the old classics before they're gone for good.

I agree with the ship size. It seems like some of the new gigantic ships are getting mixed reviews. Bigger is not always better when it comes to cruise ships. I like the size of the 100k ton - 125k ton ships for the most part. I also have enjoyed the 75k ton ships I have been on. It seems like you don't have to walk as far to get where you are going. The good part about the big ships is that I can use the extra walking to walk off some of the food I eat!

I am sorry to hear of this awful experience. I do agree to avoid the older CCL ships snd the booze cruises which are on them mostly.

Princess offers a great experience and we will be on our 6th cruise with them in Feb. on the Sapphire out of Singapore.

The Sapphire is a beautiful ship! It was renovated a couple of years ago and the improvements are very noticeable. I was on it before it was renovated and they fixed a few issues with queues at the food lines. You will enjoy that ship very much!

So sorry that you had a bad experience with Carnival, Byron. Being that that was an older ship, and a 3/4 night cruise you may find it much better on a larger and newer ship, and on a longer cruise. My husband and I had a bad experience on the Holiday back in the '80s and said that we would never sail Carnival again, but we decided to go with a group of friends back six years ago. We went on the Carnival Liberty and had a wonderful time. Being with a group of friends made it very nice, but, I was also surprised that the food and service was much better on that cruise...also our group leader got us a tour of the Bridge which is rarely done these days. Now we haven't been able to cruise for the last six years because of health so I do know that things change all the time. So, can't say what the newer ships are like on there today. Hoping that you have a much nicer cruise the next time. Celebrity has remained our favorite, but I would love to sail Princess. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Our daughter and her guy were just down in FL for the Nascar race...they went with a group of people. They love the races, too.

I have sailed on the Carnival Valor. It was one of my favorite cruises! That is why I said to stay on a newer ship if you sail Carnival. Of the 27 cruises I have been on, this was the only negative experience I have had.

I will embark on my 18th and 19th Princess cruise in January (back to back) on the Caribbean Princess. So far, all of my Princess cruises have all been amazing. With Princess, I always know what I am going to get. . With Carnival. . .Well, lets just say that their name fits them well.

"Now I know why so many people jump overboard on Carnival"

Click here to view the cruise review

Nice to hear that you love Princess. I will sail on the Caribbean Princess in January and appreciate the time you took to comment that it is a nice ship. I also love the Princess line and sail with them almost exclusively now. Royal Caribbean cheated me out of $2000 last month and I will never consider sailing with them again.

I received this ad from a recent email and wanted to know if anyone had purchased this and had the PDF emailed to them yet?  I wanted to know if anyone has actually saved the kind of money this guide claims to save?  Anyone had any upgrades? or even Free Cruises?  I am happy to purchase it if it truely will save me money or get me an upgrade, but for a $37 dollar electronic download or email, this seems to be one of those too good to be true things. . . The site is at:

http://www.intelligentcruiser.com

I appreciate opinions from only those who know. . . If you don't know, it is okay not to comment.

Thanks for your help.  I am sure we would all love to know new secrets if they are really out there!

Byron

Hello,

I think what you are doing is wonderful. Here is what I have done and based on your situation, this is what I recommend and why. .

Not sure on your budget, but if you are in the $5000 dollar range for the both of you inclusive I think you can pull it off very easy. .

I sailed to Alaska this year and that by far was my favorite place I have been on a cruise. All because of the things you see from your stateroom balcony. I highly recommend that cruise based on what you listed in your criteria. It is geared towards scenery on the boat.

I recommend Holland America for your Grandmother. (Not necessarily for you) These guys run a ship to cater for the older crowd. You will have help everywhere you turn with a smile and grattitude from every crew member. They will help her with her food at the buffet and if you choose room service, you will like that as well. Get a handicap balcony if you are on a budget, a suite if you have a bit more money. This comes with easy access to your washroom and a larger room. I am only 40 and was by far one of the youngest on this ship. I liked it, but will wait a few more years to sail Holland America until I need that kind of pampering. I sailed with them to the Panama Canal. Very nice experience with them.

If you choose Alaska, then do the round trip from Seattle. It will likely be a 7 day cruise, but one more day will not hurt. It will be cheaper airfare and also easy to get to. If you fly to Anchorage, the trip to the ship will be harder than if you went to Seattle.

I recommend finding your cruise on vacationstogo.com and then posting the cruise you pick on cruisecompete.com. This will allow you to get the best price. Just read the directions and you will find that it is pretty easy.

Feel free to ask more questions. We all love cruising here and if you want to get the biggest bang for your buck because you are on a budget. . .This is the best way I have found to do it!

With the deals that are out there and a flexible work schedule. . .I am leaving on Saturday out of LA.

I got an inside cabin (my preference) and it was less than $800 for two of us for a 7 day on a big Princess ship. . .Flights were also very reasonable. Couldn't pass it up!

I am headed to Cabo San Lucas next week and would like to get everyone's opinion of what you did that you like and other things that you would pass on after doing it. .

Thanks for your comments.

I am headed to Mazatlan next week and would like to get everyone's opinion of what you did that you like and other things that you would pass on after doing it. .

Thanks for your comments.

I am headed to Puerto Vallarta next week and would like to get everyone's opinion of what you did that you like and other things that you would pass on after doing it. .

Thanks for your comments.

Hello,

I need to get 10 of us from the Miami Airport to the Pier and don't think it should cost $16 a person for that many people for that short of a ride.

Any ideas on how to cut that down a little? I am sure many of you have sailed ouf of Miami.

Thanks for your help

Oh well, Maybe Alaska?

hey Byron

you better hurry chances for alaska are melting away

Just checked out Alaska and the deals are still really good. Especially if you are looking for an inside cabin to put kids in. If I can work out the flights, I think I will do it. I am sure I will be on the phone for a while trying to get them changed if the airlines will work with us.

Well, I booked 10 of us to sail the Mariener of the Seas out of LA on May 31. That is like booking a trip to see the museums in Washington DC and then settling on somewhere in Kansas for a tour of the farmlands. . .

Not sure what we will do at this point, but now I have to look at a totally different vacation. It is hard to get 10 people together for anything, let alone a vacation!?

Oh well, Maybe Alaska?

Hey Byron - we have just booked the Super Shuttle from LAX to San Pedro $17 one way. We booked them from the ship back to the airport as well. Thought that was a pretty good deal.... We'll be sailing on the beautiful Mariner a month before you!

I look forward to hearing about your review. Please include all the little details I would like to know. . All the things to avoid and all the must see events. Not sure if you are in driving or flying, but look forward to hearing about your shuttle experience. That is the only part I don't have figured out yet.

I appreciate your response and look forward to your review.

Byron.. Hi there.. Personally I would opt for super shuttle.. you can hire the van exclusively for just you guys for less than 15 dollars a person

http://www.supershuttle.com/

Joey,

Thanks for your information. I know you are a local to the area and appreciate your advise.

Hello fellow Crazie Crusiers. .

Been a long time.

I am looking for a reliable and inexpensive shuttle service from LAX to San Pedro. I know it is a short ride, but still need one. There will be six in our party and we will be leaving May 31.

I know some of you are in that area, I appreciate any tips.

Thank you in advance!

My wife always gets on my case for having too much luggage. . . the real problem with that is no matter what luggage I have or decide to use, I PLAN to leave some room to bring stuff back from where ever it is I am going. She NEVER has a problem filling up her suitcase (overweight) and then asking me to take a couple extra pair of shoes or something . . . Enough to fill it past capicity. . .

My bags seem to last quite a while. I have bought a few bags from REI.com in their clearance section, and have a friend who gets me OGIO bags at cost. all of those bags, especially OGIO have held up for MANY trips, cruises and getaways.

As for bags, I believe you get what you pay for. . .

Good luck. .

Gone for a while, but just thought I would say hi.