If you are considering cruising for the first time

[Suzanne Elise]

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. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by Suzanne Elise
Added info for clarity

[happy cruisers 2]

1 hour ago, Suzanne Elise said:

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. 

Great advice!  So what, if you didn't do exactly as some of the other cruisers.  We never dress up as much as some do.  Chances are you won't see each other again, and who cares what anyone thinks (as long as you weren't really obnoxious!).  You had a great time and that's what's most important.

[tonyfsu21]

It sounds like you enjoyed the smaller ship but I don’t think the company agrees with you re: first time cruiser/smaller ship. Based on the marketing and the deployment of Oasis Class ships for weekend sailings it appears the next generation cruiser is hooked on the biggest ships. The days of bargain cruising are pretty much over and the “free” options are being cut to make room for the millennials who will pay the price for an elevated experience. The cruiser of the past will be phased out and replaced with a generation of family cruisers who will be the new cash cow for Royal Caribbean. 

[ChessE4]

1 hour ago, tonyfsu21 said:

It sounds like you enjoyed the smaller ship but I don’t think the company agrees with you re: first time cruiser/smaller ship. Based on the marketing and the deployment of Oasis Class ships for weekend sailings it appears the next generation cruiser is hooked on the biggest ships. The days of bargain cruising are pretty much over and the “free” options are being cut to make room for the millennials who will pay the price for an elevated experience. The cruiser of the past will be phased out and replaced with a generation of family cruisers who will be the new cash cow for Royal Caribbean. 

The next 2 cruises we have booked are Vision and Brillance with Serenade likely to follow. We still find affordable cruises.  That said, you may be on to something--a migration of cruisers (by demographic) to different lines with preferred class of ship.

[tonyfsu21]

1 hour ago, ChessE4 said:

The next 2 cruises we have booked are Vision and Brillance with Serenade likely to follow. We still find affordable cruises.  That said, you may be on to something--a migration of cruisers (by demographic) to different lines with preferred class of ship.

IMHO, enjoy it while you can because the cruise experience of the past will be phased out. 

[Suzanne Elise]

9 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

It sounds like you enjoyed the smaller ship but I don’t think the company agrees with you re: first time cruiser/smaller ship. Based on the marketing and the deployment of Oasis Class ships for weekend sailings it appears the next generation cruiser is hooked on the biggest ships. The days of bargain cruising are pretty much over and the “free” options are being cut to make room for the millennials who will pay the price for an elevated experience. The cruiser of the past will be phased out and replaced with a generation of family cruisers who will be the new cash cow for Royal Caribbean. 

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. 

[Suzanne Elise]

18 hours ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

Great advice!  So what, if you didn't do exactly as some of the other cruisers.  We never dress up as much as some do.  Chances are you won't see each other again, and who cares what anyone thinks (as long as you weren't really obnoxious!).  You had a great time and that's what's most important.

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 .

[jeffmw]

On 2/15/2024 at 5:40 AM, tonyfsu21 said:

It sounds like you enjoyed the smaller ship but I don’t think the company agrees with you re: first time cruiser/smaller ship. Based on the marketing and the deployment of Oasis Class ships for weekend sailings it appears the next generation cruiser is hooked on the biggest ships. The days of bargain cruising are pretty much over and the “free” options are being cut to make room for the millennials who will pay the price for an elevated experience. The cruiser of the past will be phased out and replaced with a generation of family cruisers who will be the new cash cow for Royal Caribbean. 

Royal would have no reason to focus marketing on its older, less-attractive ships. Companies don't spend money to market old and outdated products. 

Royal's new marketing heavily towards families is both smart and extremely logical. I don't mean to be insensitive to the senior citizen cruisers out there, but old people are seldom marketed to for good reason. Even if they have Super Uber Platinum Plus C&A status, they often cruise in small groups at off-peak times and, most importantly, they have a limited number of years left in them. By focusing on families, Royal gets larger parties in bigger rooms on more expensive ships with the added bonus of indoctrinating a new generation of kids into cruising, hoping they'll grow up and continue to spend money with the cruise line with their kids, etc.

All that said, the lessons above are totally valid. Smaller ships are great for people who don't need the flash of a brand new ship, who simply want to relax, and those who care more about ports and destinations vs. the ship itself.   

[happy cruisers 2]

21 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

old people are seldom marketed to for good reason.

Ha!!  Wife and I like to watch the evening network news.  SO MANY ads for medications we're to ask our doctor about!  Meds for memory, for heart, for elevated A1C, for eyes, for crooked you-know-whats.  Just last night we said something about how it must just be us "old people" who watch the 5:30 pm news because they sure are targeting us with all these ads.  Another reason to turn off the news, I guess!

[Smokey79]

I like some of the advice in this thread but it also has me reminiscing, and I find myself having mixed emotions.

Up until the past few years all my trips were on small boats i.e. Nordic Empress being my first ship. i miss the ambiance of those ships.  I know small is relative as it was huge to me then but you felt valued and appreciated. I know the trend is big is better but I think the small boats have their place and purpose in the fleet. Right now they are older and therefore cheaper but they will be replaced with newer fancier small boats and the words small and cheap (sometimes) will not be mutually inclusive anymore. Enjoy those days.

Personally, I would like to do a trip on something below freedom class but I don’t think I can get my wife to give up the flash of the larger ships for the ambiance and personal touch of the smaller ships as the ship is the vacation now. Maybe Discovery class will be my saving grace. Plus, I’ve spoiled her with the suite life and that’s not really the same on the older ships. My problem is that I cannot really explain the feeling that the staff actually cares if you are having a good time. It could have been just wanting a bigger tip since it was back in days of no mandatory gratuity, or it could have been genuine. Didn’t really matter in the end. You felt valued. My past few trips I’ve not felt that way. 

[Suzanne Elise]

23 hours ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

Ha!!  Wife and I like to watch the evening network news.  SO MANY ads for medications we're to ask our doctor about!  Meds for memory, for heart, for elevated A1C, for eyes, for crooked you-know-whats.  Just last night we said something about how it must just be us "old people" who watch the 5:30 pm news because they sure are targeting us with all these ads.  Another reason to turn off the news, I guess!

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. 
 

[Suzanne Elise]

18 hours ago, Smokey79 said:

I like some of the advice in this thread but it also has me reminiscing, and I find myself having mixed emotions.

Up until the past few years all my trips were on small boats i.e. Nordic Empress being my first ship. i miss the ambiance of those ships.  I know small is relative as it was huge to me then but you felt valued and appreciated. I know the trend is big is better but I think the small boats have their place and purpose in the fleet. Right now they are older and therefore cheaper but they will be replaced with newer fancier small boats and the words small and cheap (sometimes) will not be mutually inclusive anymore. Enjoy those days.

Personally, I would like to do a trip on something below freedom class but I don’t think I can get my wife to give up the flash of the larger ships for the ambiance and personal touch of the smaller ships as the ship is the vacation now. Maybe Discovery class will be my saving grace. Plus, I’ve spoiled her with the suite life and that’s not really the same on the older ships. My problem is that I cannot really explain the feeling that the staff actually cares if you are having a good time. It could have been just wanting a bigger tip since it was back in days of no mandatory gratuity, or it could have been genuine. Didn’t really matter in the end. You felt valued. My past few trips I’ve not felt that way. 

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. 

[Suzanne Elise]

23 hours ago, jeffmw said:

Royal would have no reason to focus marketing on its older, less-attractive ships. Companies don't spend money to market old and outdated products. 

Royal's new marketing heavily towards families is both smart and extremely logical. I don't mean to be insensitive to the senior citizen cruisers out there, but old people are seldom marketed to for good reason. Even if they have Super Uber Platinum Plus C&A status, they often cruise in small groups at off-peak times and, most importantly, they have a limited number of years left in them. By focusing on families, Royal gets larger parties in bigger rooms on more expensive ships with the added bonus of indoctrinating a new generation of kids into cruising, hoping they'll grow up and continue to spend money with the cruise line with their kids, etc.

All that said, the lessons above are totally valid. Smaller ships are great for people who don't need the flash of a brand new ship, who simply want to relax, and those who care more about ports and destinations vs. the ship itself.   

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

[happy cruisers 2]

20 hours ago, Suzanne Elise said:

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. 

I'm very sorry for your lay-offs and I wish you both the best.  I won't stop watching.  

[Last2Know]

On 2/15/2024 at 8:37 AM, tonyfsu21 said:

IMHO, enjoy it while you can because the cruise experience of the past will be phased out. 

….and yet the 70’s Disco Party endures on every single RCL sailing. 70’s night is too easy for the Cruise Director and staff to conduct and there is seemingly no suitable family-friendly replacement.  As an older cruiser, I recognize that disco died when I was in elementary school and look forward to an update of onboard activities.  As an RCI stockholder, I was also pleased to hear about the Discovery class of ship that will cater to those of us not interested in an amusement park at sea. 

[GatorCruiser]

I would say I’m the demographic Royal is marketing to. Gen X with smallish children. I personally love the bigger ships for all that they have including more complimentary food options. My wife and I did sail on Jewel and enjoyed her as well. But options on ships her size are limited for food and drink especially off hours.  

[Suzanne Elise]

10 hours ago, Last2Know said:

….and yet the 70’s Disco Party endures on every single RCL sailing. 70’s night is too easy for the Cruise Director and staff to conduct and there is seemingly no suitable family-friendly replacement.  As an older cruiser, I recognize that disco died when I was in elementary school and look forward to an update of onboard activities.  As an RCI stockholder, I was also pleased to hear about the Discovery class of ship that will cater to those of us not interested in an amusement park at sea. 

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

[Suzanne Elise]

10 hours ago, GatorCruiser said:

I would say I’m the demographic Royal is marketing to. Gen X with smallish children. I personally love the bigger ships for all that they have including more complimentary food options. My wife and I did sail on Jewel and enjoyed her as well. But options on ships her size are limited for food and drink especially off hours.  

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. 

[Last2Know]

16 hours ago, Suzanne Elise said:

I look at icon ant it looks like a minivan packed with toys! 

@Suzanne Elise, That cracked me up!! 

I lived that life while raising four children and putting over 300K miles on each of our two minivans.  Good times.  I may circle back to the larger ships when the newest addition to our family (grandson) is old enough to cruise and we need a greater variety of activities & all the cool toys.