My 1st cruise experience thread

IZZy

Wheel and tire tycoon
Dec 15, 2007
42,606
15,988
I'm about to board the plane heading to Miami, FL where we will sail on Royal Caribbean's enchantment of the seas.

Never been on a cruise before so really looking forward to it, I will update with pics as I am able, not sure if I'll have any signal once we leave the port. I got some good advice from some members here who have been on a cruise before so I feel like I am armed with enough info to have a headache free experience.

Oh and I am flying United LOL I unfortunately booked before this whole debacle with United happened.

 

ldyzluvdis06

Supercharged C5
Sep 30, 2008
6,349
1,896
Jacksonville, IL
Real Name
Danny
Never been on a cruise before so really looking forward to it. I got some good advice from some members here who have been on a cruise before so I feel like I am armed with enough info to have a headache free experience.

have a link to the advice thread or care to share? i am going on my first cruise next year.
 

IZZy

Wheel and tire tycoon
Dec 15, 2007
42,606
15,988
Well we are back home, the cruise was an amazing experience and was a lot of fun, I truly enjoyed not having signal on my phone and being able to forget everything and just have fun and enjoy ourselves, I'm gonna break it down by location and my thoughts on each one beginning with...

*The cruise ship

The ship is obviously not a new ship but to me it still does its job well, I had no issues with the ship itself, it was noticeable that they are constantly cleaning and painting it even while the ship is in operation. It is not Royal Caribbeans most dazzling cruise ship but in my opinion it still does its job very well.

The positives:

-The staff: super friendly and always willing to help with a smile
-The food: food in the dining room was excellent, had shrimp/roast beef/sword fish etc.
-Entertainment: shows in the theater were good
-Alcohol: we bought the drink package so we definitely took advantage of it, I drank more booze this week than I have in a year lol

The negatives:

-Elevators: this ship had like 5 elevators on the main area and the wait to get on one was simply ridiculous, they must not be sinc'd correctly
-The food: food is in both the positive and negative since the food at the buffet area was not as good as the main dining room specifically breakfast, left lots to be desired.
-The pools/hot tubs: we noticed the pools/hot tubs were randomly closed at different times, I see no reason for this to happen unless it's late at night or they are cleaning.
-The bars: same as above, certain bars closed at random times.

*Nassau Bahamas

Positives:

First impression of the port from the upper deck was great, we couldn't wait to get off the ship and go exploring but... more on that under the negative lol

-Excursions: lots of choices to do activities but we chose to explore the city and go to the beach which I'm not sure was the right idea lol
-Paradise island: we walked around and toured the Atlantis property, holy shit big $$$ here and I can see why it's so expensive.
-Junkanoo beach: this beach was kinda awesome in its own little way, I felt the Caribbean vibe big time and they have beer and food for sale near by, it had a feeling of freedom since it looked like you could pretty much do whatever you wanted and nobody gave a shit, they just wanted dat tourist $$. Basically Nassau is one of those destinations that you only go once, only way I come back is to stay at Atlantis

Negatives:

-Nassau port/downtown was not a pleasant experience, lots of pushy people offering you everything from tours to weed haha, it just overall not a nice place to visit IMO, I have been in the nastiest neighborhoods in Mexico City and I didn't think they were as bad as this.
-Sooo many jewelry stores.... don't know why but every third store was a jewelry store
-Expensive is what comes to mind when I saw prices in Nassau, they obviously know those American dollars are on board.
-Time on port: we spent was seemed a long time at port from 8am to 11:30PM, I would have preferred to spend a longer day at Cococay instead.


*Cococay island

This private island owned by royal Caribbean is amazing, it really gives you that secluded feeling of being in the middle of nowhere and just seeing beautiful sand beaches and clear water.

Positives:

-The beaches: beautiful beaches with shallow water that allows you to do great snorkeling, we rented the equipment and had a blast.
-The food: Royal Caribbean provided lunch while on the island, the food was Barbecue style food that was pretty good.
-Swim up bar on the beach: yeah need I say more? Lol

Negatives:

-Short day: we were there from 8am to 5pm, would've loved to be there longer.


*Key west FL.

Key west was kind of a neat town, good place to walk around and sight see but for the most part not a place I feel like going back to unless it's a stop on our next cruise oh and the chickens walking around town was something to see.

Positives:

-Excursions: lots of choices for activities, we went on a shark and dolphin tour where we were able to see sharks do a feeding frenzy which was badass! Also got to see some dolphins
-Key lime pie: tried the famous key lime pie and it did not disappoint.

Negatives:

-small town: not much else to see once you walk around the downtown area, couple of museums

Pics coming...
 

VenomousDSG

Don't Tread On Me
TCG Premium
Apr 30, 2006
20,625
21,944
Yorkville, il
I've been to Nassau 4 times, stayed on the island a week each time. I can verify those markets and the downtown are a zoo, and loaded with overpriced crap for tourists. And yes, jewelry stores EVERYWHERE, and very overpriced.

The only things worth the money down there are the booze, and the cuban cigars. :D
 
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