Suzanne Elise

East Rutherford seems to have a good collection of hotels because it’s near a sports stadium. There’s a huge touristy mall nearby too.

I will admit we could have used an extra free food venue. At night it was a pain to go all the way to the atrium for free pizza which got old. I would love to see something like an automat that could have little sandwiches and maybe fruit cups. Even if the bars had some basic snacks. Also e since we had dinner at 8 we sort of had to do buffet in the afternoon.

I look at icon ant it looks like a minivan packed with toys! We were lucky to be on a fairly uncrowned cruise too.

I recall last year Lyft had access Uber did not.

Adventure has a pretty chapel on the top floor

With the big ships and their costs being in the public eye, I just wanted people to know there are options.

I hear you. You don’t want to feel like you are marching through an amusement park. We had so much space on Adventure of the season the decks. I look at pictures of Icon and it looks like a minivan packed with toys to me. That being said I might enjoy more food choices and seeing the design.

when I watch figure skating the ads are definitely targets to people my age with remarkable precision. Please don’t stop watching the news. We will never be able to cruise again. I’ll explain. We did our budget cruise in part because my husband was laid off from a news network, then 9 months later I got laid off too. It’s tough times in the news industry.

Thanks, My only other cruise cruise 20 years ago was a big one on a different continent and I brought a gown. We just wanted this to be a laid back easy trip. Since we had a car I bought an extra beachy dress at Walmart the night before and that was super useful. I’m a big fan of a beach coverup with a little detail or sparkle, it really can do double duty .

Im sure that’s true, all the commercials are for the big ships. I just wanted people to know it’s possible to check out cruising with less of an investment. I think part of our success was incorporating Galveston as part of our vacation that included a shorter cruise. A big part of that was there were TONS of flights to Houston and it made the while thing doable. BTW we also loved the Houston farmers market and Buck-ees.

We went on our first cruise in 20 years last year and I just thought I would share what we learned. You don’t need a huge fancy ship on a long cruise to see if it’s a good fit. A smaller older ship has plenty of sun, sea, music and new things to experience. Do grab any available discounts (in advance on the royal website) for things like drink or water packages if you can get them. The offers do go away. Rookie mistake in waiting. if you are doing a shorter budget cruise you will be just fine without premium dining. This may vary from port, but we toured Cozumel on our own and were really glad we did that. There are lots of beach clubs you can do on your own or go into town. I am glad we rented a car. I’m not glad we got a parking ticket. In Galveston we did a hotel with a shuttle but it was a SLOW process, might not have made that a priority. An air b and b and an Uber booked ahead would have probably done the trick, though do plan for parking. We made the trip to the port and the port stay an important part of our vacation, we stayed 2 nights before and that helped us feel less stressed embarkation day and we loved Texas. if you don’t have a passport BRING YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE! Our travel agent never mentioned this and thank heavens we had backup documents. There are beer buckets on board but we didn’t really budget enough for drinks. We did bring soda and water on and grabbed more in port. The ship has plenty of food but grabbing a quick snack isn’t always easy, not the worst idea to bring a few nibbles. It can be cold and hot and everything in between. Layers are great. Talk to people, make friends, we got to interact with all sorts of folks from all over. Try things you would not normally do, trivia, shuffle board, hide ducks, dance class, ICE SHOW. We ate a lot of Indian food on board. We avoided crowds by doing everything on the late side, later meals all day. Grab a paper cruise compass. Don’t worry about keeping up with everyone else. We didn’t have all the magnets or sparkle water bottles or fancy outfits but we had a great experience.

Interesting. When we went last year, flights to Houston from NY were impressively low. That was a big part of the reason we were able to try a cruise. We rented a car and made visiting Texas and Galveston part of the adventure.

We loved going to Buck-ees. A year later my husband still talks about it.

We actually really enjoyed visiting Galveston a lot, and it was one of reasons we decided to cruise. We may just go back there for a vacation.

I didn't go but people on my cruise did. The people who paid through the ship for an excursion liked it, but it rained and they didn't get full value. I think you could save a lot by just taking a cab and paying at the door but probably isn't all inclusive.

I think there is another taxi stand about two blocks north of the cruise pier. I got a parking ticket there. I would think if you just get away from the port a little you will have no major worries. you could also hire a driver or rent a car. Car/ dune buggy/ jeep rentals are cheap and easy there and good for going to the wild side.

In Cozumel all the beach clubs are pretty close to the port on the side with the calmer water. Honestly you can save a bunch of money by just taking a cab and paying at the door or online. People on my cruise were bummed because they paid for a full all inclusive day and then it rained. if you do your own thing you can stay as long as you want and then go shopping. I think all the beach clubs are nice but that one I think had a lagoon and some cool features.

We also stayed at the same hotel. They do charge for cruise parking. We did find the shuttle slow but it worked for us. Overall we really enjoyed Galveston a lot. We booked directly for a regular room and organized the shuttle and parking on arrival.

I would say in Cozumel it's very easy to do your own thing, be it beach or shopping or both in the same day. Cabs or even renting a car/scooter/dune buggy. The beaches on the "wild side" are beautiful and we enjoyed the less touristy vibe there. (Rougher surf though) I have not been to CM, but my relative was just there and it's a more rural area and I would think you might find more call for having some sort of organized excursion there. She did a combo of cenotes and a mayan ruin tour through a local vendor.

Yo it goes to the Azores? That is the top thing on my bucket list!!!!!! I may have to consider. It's not such a large ship I would be worried about waves. Edited: I checked. It doesn't stop in the Azores.

So I had a co-worker go on an Oasis class and he felt there was not enough common outdoor spaces. I went on a Voyager (Adventure) and there was an ABUNDANCE of outside space and decks, plenty of chairs, room to roam. Well priced too. I think the one downside is there is not a lot of variety of included dining, but honestly the expansive outdoor space and lack of crowds were great. I think for adults its a good fit. My only other cruise was on Celebrity in 2006.

I have done a lot of solo traveling. Go for it! You will feel powerful when you overcome that anxiety. Vegas is a great destination for solo. Married now I ate breakfast in the MDR by myself and had a nice chat with my neighbors. I do meet so many more people when I am by myself.

If we didn't like something they were very quick to replace it. This only happened with one entree. Welcome night fish was awful. We almost set back the lamb shank on bon voyage night. It was truly ugly and tasted really bland. The were totally fine with multiple starters which we did quite a bit-- I really liked the salad and got that every night. But our one multiple entree request got a sad look from the waiter and it was a no. Sides were fine, dessert was fine but entrees were in a different category on Adventure

One other note, there are plenty of places you can snorkel from the beach, and they have pretty moderate costs. I will say having done both I saw a LOT more with a guide but they are both cool experiences.

We did a private excursion-- we had an overnight in port and I booked a night snorkel, it went great. A LOT of people rent cars in Cozumel too. During the day it was great, we did have some challenges navigating and parking at night. The beaches on the 'wild" side of the island are beautiful, you could get a lot of bang for your buck renting a car and beach hopping. We did pay to go into one to go snorkeling.