Goin' on a Sea Cruise!

[Spock's Ghost]

In most cases, gratuities are already added to your bill, usually at the rate of say, $11 per day per person, depending on the cruiseline.

Drinks are free, except for alcoholic beverages.

Have fun!

Keep that in mind. I've seen where, at the end of a cruise people end up owing several hundred dollars on drinks alone. At $5-12 per drink, it can really cost you. If you have a beer with lunch, and say 2 drinks with dinner and then 3 more drinks per day.

So $5 for a cheap beer, or a bit more for a specialty beer. Then 2 dinner drinks at $20, then another $30 during the day. You're at $55 per day, or $385 in drinks, is already more than half of the $1300.

 

[Spock's Ghost]

Just something I want to do before I die. Seems exciting. I like boats I just don't like going in the water. And the unlimited buffets sound exciting! I don't really drink booze anyway.

Do cruise ships have free wireless internet?

Typically, no.

Cruise ships use satellites for internet connection. So it's slow, you pay a pretty good amount for it as well. You pay the minute or data. So if you check email or Facebook, a ten minute session can cost from $5-10. You can check with your cell provider and they can let you know if out at sea, and as long as you get a signal.

 

[Mr Light]

So my smart phone isn't going to work either?! I'm questioning taking a 7 day cruise now...

The soda isn't free?! That's another black mark.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Nope, soda isn't necessarily free. The cruise I was on, even bottled water (which was the only beverage I was interested in) wasn't free.

 

[Marc]

Just something I want to do before I die. Seems exciting. I like boats I just don't like going in the water. And the unlimited buffets sound exciting! I don't really drink booze anyway.

Do cruise ships have free wireless internet?

Typically, no.

Cruise ships use satellites for internet connection. So it's slow, you pay a pretty good amount for it as well. You pay the minute or data. So if you check email or Facebook, a ten minute session can cost from $5-10. You can check with your cell provider and they can let you know if out at sea, and as long as you get a signal.

Can't speak for U.S carriers, but having worked for a Canadian cell carrier, I can safely say the prices for using you cell phone on cruise ship are brutal and if it's for data prepare for a very big bill when you get home.

Carriers might provide roaming packages for your destinations which are a much better option but don't use the phone until you're well clear of the ship to make sure your phone doesn't connect through the cellular equipment on the ship.

 

[Garak]

I've rarely had problems with Wi-Fi on cruises - maybe on the days at sea you get a few blackouts - and if you're worried about roaming fees in the USA I always use Roam Mobility which is $1 per day. Seriously.

 

[Mr Light]

I just heard on a podcast that because of the recent food poisonings / flu outbreaks on cruise ships, they force you to purell your hands when you get to the buffet? sounds like a great idea, is that true?

 

[Tom Hendricks]

We're going on our first cruise this August. We're sailing on the Disney Dream and we're really looking forward to it. It's only a four night cruise, going from Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas, then to Castaway Cay and back to Cape Canaveral.

 

[Mr Light]

I kinda want to go on a Disney cruise, but they're like twice as expensive and I can only imagine it's swarming with screaming little kids...

 

[MANT!]

https://vimeo.com/67326569

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I kinda want to go on a Disney cruise, but they're like twice as expensive and I can only imagine it's swarming with screaming little kids...

They have adult only pool and dinning.

 

[Garak]

I just heard on a podcast that because of the recent food poisonings / flu outbreaks on cruise ships, they force you to purell your hands when you get to the buffet? sounds like a great idea, is that true?

There are Purell dispensers all over every cruise liner I've been on but I've never been forced to use them. You just use them.

 

[Scout101]

not wanting norovirus forces you to use them, not the staff. Although they do make a point of trying to encourage it, at least...

 

[Timby]

not wanting norovirus forces you to use them, not the staff.

God. I was hit by norovirus about a year and a half ago, and for three days I wanted nothing more than death's sweet embrace. Getting that on a cruise ship would be one of the worst things I could imagine.

 

[Scout101]

Just had a 3 day bout of that or something very similar myself a week or so ago. Not so much fun.

So yeah, wash your hands on a cruise, try not to touch anything you don't have to (avoid hand rails, banisters, etc), and hit the sanitizer pretty much every time you see one, and DEFINITELY on your way in and out of the dining areas.

Also, when you get it on a cruise, they usually lock you away in the infirmary, so you're now paying to be on vacation, but are essentially a prisoner. Everyone's on the beach, you're not allowed out of the room. So there's that.

 

[Timby]

Right, the worst thing about norovirus is how quickly and easily it spreads.

I'm the director of marketing at a hotel, and we had a norovirus outbreak here about two years ago (a guest vomited in an elevator and apparently it was cleaned with alcohol-based solutions instead of chlorine), knocking out nearly a hundred employees and more than three hundred guests. This happened long before I ever worked at the hotel, thank God, because that must have been a PR nightmare.

 

[AliciaD496]

Yeah, I remember on my last cruise in 2009 there were gel hand sanitizer stations everywhere, and on both sides of the doors entering the dining areas.

My parents and I leave 2 weeks from tomorrow for our cruise. I'm looking forward to seeing some new places and maybe getting some sun! Oh...and the really good food.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm waiting to hear back from a friend, but if I do go it might have to be alone. So now I'm debating going to Disney World (alone) instead. I figure it would be less lonely there than on a cruise with more to do...