Interesting point regarding the suites. We had the pleasure of booking suites on two cruises with our favorite line Azamara. Then their prices launched into the stratosphere, and I could not possibly justify the jump from their "standard" balcony cabin. Perhaps it's different with other lines, but for us, it was purely wasted money that could have been a deposit on a second cruise.
@@davidh9844 Oh I agree with you David. When I am booking any cruise, I check all options for cabins and then decide if I want one so much that I have to give up another cruise later in the season. Only one time did I book something so special that I “lost” a later cruise due to the cost. I can’t say I will never do that again but I surely don’t plan on it.
We’ve been balcony people since our second cruise. On our last cruise, we splurged for a “grand suite” on Royal, and that may have been a mistake, because we really enjoyed the extra space, nicer patio loungers, and specialty breakfast venue. Uh oh!
I literally am never in my room except for a quick change so I don't get balcony rooms myself. If I wanted to stay in my bedroom on a vacation, I would stay home.
I stayed in an oceanview cabin on my most recent cruise and loved it. Words can't fully express how much joy I got from seeing the turquoise water of the Caribbean through that window. Now, I don't think I can ever go back to an inside cabin.
I understand some of the points, but like you completely disagree with balcony being overrated. Its so enjoyable to go out and relax enjoying your own private space. My wife would disown me if I booked otherwise. I like the drink packages because I worry much less about spending on board. I'd rather just pay ahead and relax, not think about every purchase. We also really enjoy the specialty dinning, the food is typically tremendous for the most part. Worth it to us if you have the money.
The drink package is NOT over-rated. If you drink anything, Specialty Coffee, OJ, Champagne, Bloody Mary's, Wine for dinner, that night cap, Soft drinks, Juices, (Some cruises bottle water, write down what you think you will drink, X2 for each, why? It is going to be hot or you will still drink more when you have it available to you. Drinks are usually $9 or $12. Even Soft drinks are $6 or $8 specialty Coffee's. When figuring it remember the tip will be added on. For each there own but if you get it, no surprises at the end.
@@kjwinston77 I totally agree, you don't even have to be a big drinker to make the drink package worth it, people just do it wrong. You can make up the drink package by just trying things. I feel so reserved whenever I'm on a cruise without the drink package, but when I buy it, I just get whatever I want. If I want to try a cocktail or something I've never heard of, if I don't like it, it doesn't matter. Instead of getting whatever juice they're offering on the Lido deck, I get the specialty juices which are generally better and more varied. I'm a big coffee drinker, so getting specialty coffee drinks is always fun. It's such a stress-free way to enjoy a cruise.
We like the photographers. Since we only cruise about every 18 months our formal nights are special to us and we always hope for professional photos but we don't always get them. When we can't get one we do complain at the end of our trip to the pursers desk.
Having discovered balcony cabins on our last cruise, we will never again book anything less. Also on our last cruise, we visited a private island for the first time, and found it pleasant, but hardly something to write home about. Totally agree that the spa and drinks package are overrated - and a ripoff to boot. Most of the other items on your list are a matter of personal preference - what cruise line one chooses, and what activities one does once on board. Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware.
I agree that Spa treatments are outrageously priced, but my hubby always pays for a pass to the steam rooms, he loves them. Usually around $199 for a 2 week cruise. Then he can go anytime, need to get the pass as soon as you board, as they limit the number.
Spa treatments are over priced (except on port days) but idk how anyone cruises without the drink package. My wife and I prob save at least $500 getting the package than if we just paid for each drink individually
To me, a balcony experience depends a lot on who is occupying the cabins on either side of you. I've had balcony cabins where I can't really enjoy being on them because my neighbors are on the balcony all the time, yakking and yakking. I was on a two-week cruise once where the people next to us were ALWAYS on their balcony when we went on ours--and the guy tended to WHISTLE. Seriously. Try to enjoy a sunset (or sunrise) while listening to bad whistling.
Before I ever took my first cruise ever I saw those commercials with adults sliding down those chutes to the pool. Well. let me tell you, I was in superb shape and got into one of those enclosed slides to the pool and, guess what? I was stuck. Just a trickle of water going through. Tried moving every way possible. Forced myself to finally reach the end and everyone let out a big cheer with applause. Never again!
If food is already paid for, eating at a restaurant would end up causing you to pay double for your meals. I thought the cruise lines pride themselves on there good food. Now I'm confused. I just want a ticket across the ocean in a nice comfy boat with no screaming and decent people to talk to. Have fun
Yes, you do have many videos and I really appreciate and enjoy them. Thank you. We, (my husband, daughter and 3-year-old grandson), just returned from a 4-night, (itinerary was changed due to Covid restrictions but we managed), cruise on the Disney “Wonder”. We embarked and returned to San Diego. My daughter and I have cruised a couple of times before this one. This one was the first for my husband and, of course, my grandson. As a pretty novice cruiser I realize I don’t have a lot of experience; however, since my first cruise a balcony is a must. Like you sitting out there with morning coffee or afternoon tea or cocktail is one of the best experiences. I look forward to you videos. Again. Thank you
We were offered an upgrade to a suite on a long Asian cruise....there were 3 of us traveling so the cost was spread over 15 days and 3 people....sooo worth it. Came with lots of bells and whistles...best $$ we spent on a cruise.
I don't like it when people say things are overrated. These are personal preferences. What I like and you like can be totally different but that doesn't mean you or I are wrong.
I don't like inside cabins as I can't get acclimated. But love oceanview cabins. I do like a balcony but find I don't use it much as I really prefer to be out on a deck. I think the hot tubs are too hot and not a fan unless it's really cool outside. I don't enjoy the cruise line islands. I want to see foreign ports . I use those port days to explore the ship and have a laid back day. HATE THE SMOKING IN THE CASINO!!!!
The greatest feeling is having the balcony door open a bit while laying back in bed and hearing the waves and feeling the sea breeze come in, also the smell
In a former life I was a merchant mariner. I'd cruise to go to sea, and a balcony would be essential. OTOH most of the drink and fancy food not so much.
One huge point of cruise shopping, including art, is most of purchases being duty free. Un US taxes are high and shopping on cruises saves a lot of money without breaking the laws, if you know the rules.
I got a balcony cabin on a Disney Cruise, and it was a really large one towards the back of the ship. Total time balcony was used in a week , between my kids, Wife, and myself..... About 10 minutes. Never booked one again. We like to be on the ooen deck when approaching a port, and when looking at our surroundings. We didn't like the limitation a a balcony cabin.
In my cruise journey, I am beginning to realize that short cruises (less than 9 days) are overrated as being enough time to relax. Trying to cram a lot of experiences and airport transfers in a few days leads to a hurried vacation.
NCL has an excellent free at sea option. We did it on our last cruise in 2019 and are taking advantage of it again in November. If you do the math, it's a no brainer
I prefer a balcony but on our last cruise we had very loud neighbours and seemed to ALWAYS be on their balcony. We avoided our balcony bc of the noise 😢
I love the balcony to go outside first thing in the morning, check out the weather, the sunrise, watch as we go into port and the dock workers prepare to welcome the ship. The water slides and roller coasters are not for me - I’m on a cruise to be at sea. Massages are vastly overpriced and overrated. Art auctions are wasted on me. I do like a drink package if it’s rolled into the cost of the cruise.
Whether or not a balcony cabin is worth the money really hinges on how much time you spend in your cabin and how much you value private outdoor space. If you’re the sort of cruiser who is never in your room and prefers the full sunshine and people watching opportunities of the upper decks to a quiet, shaded verandah, then sure, a balcony’s not going to have much value for you. But as someone who really enjoys a quiet spot to read outside and watch the sea go by, a private balcony is a luxury I adore. I spend a ton of time onboard out on mine. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I wouldn’t cruise if all I could afford was an indoor stateroom, but it’s definitely important to me especially on less port intensive cruises. I could probably deal without one in Alaska, as I did prefer the top deck and the lower promenade decks for soaking up the scenery than I did on my balcony which offered a more limited view.
Personally, I find balcony overrated. I'm almost out most of the time attending sports activities, trivia or bingo and by the time I'm back in the room, it's almost night time and there's nothing else to see outside. Maybe a different experience if I travel with a company.
I like a balcony if it's not too expensive and I use it HOWEVER I will take an ocean view cabin over an inside. I have to have a view of the outside. As long as I can go onto the decks and view, an ocean view is a great cabin instead of a pricey balcony.
Seems most cruisers enjoy having a balcony and is likely the main reason they are included in the vast majority of cabins on the most popular modern cruise ships.
What's overrated? As an experienced cruiser, I can tell you: 1.The North Sea pod, or whatever that thing is on Quantum Class ships; why? if you visit London, you can get on the London Eye and see all of the city below you. You can do the same in Vegas on the High Roller Ferris Wheel, or here in the DC area, you can do the same thing on the Capitol Wheel in National Harbor; 2. Beach Break: why do you need to pay 30 bucks to go to some bloody beach when you take a taxi to do the same thing? 3. Rock wall climbing: RCCL has these on many of their ships; it looks interesting, but do you need to go on a cruise to do that? Aren't there places in your neck of the woods to do this activity? 4. Atlantis submarine excursion: one of most contrived things ever created by an entrepreneur who probably bought one of Disney's subs from their old ride, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and shipped it to wherever the Atlantis subs are available, e.g., Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St. Thomas, etc. 5. Shopping tour: like the Beach Break, another dumb idea to take people from the ship to visit favored shops that give kickbacks to the cruise lines in exchange for bringing pax to their stores. 6. The ATV or 4X4 jeep adventure rides: another idea to take people who probably have no driver's licenses--like me--to drive these vehicles on rough terrain; as for the 4X4 Jeep ride, I've been on one of these on Kauai in Hawaii, riding through Fern Gully and wrenching my spine with every bump. 7. Zip line rides: heck, everywhere you go in the Caribbean and Central America,, wherever a cruise ship docks will have these rides. Are they worth the money? Not sure, because I'm scared to death of being in high open spaces, and that probably includes riding a zip line aboard RCCL's Oasis Class ships! 8. The Flow Rider thing on RCCL's Freedom and Oasis Class ships: why cut a check or whip out a credit card to board a ship to do this ride when you can do the same thing at your local beach? 10. The Alcove experience on Celebrity's Solstice Class ships: a true waste of money I've probably described elsewhere. 11. The Galley Tour: another contrived activity where you enter the Galley (the ship's kitchen), see a bunch of chefs leaning against their grills, see and taste some goodies on trays, and then leave the space. I did exactly that once on aboard Costa's Carla C in '91 and refused to do it again. What's the point of doing this so-called tour if nobody points out where your steaks, lobster, veggies, desserts, soups, etc., are cooked and otherwise prepped? I want to see: here's where servers drop off and retrieve their orders; here's where cooks get their raw ingredients from the store rooms and then start cooking your order; and here's where the breads and pastries are baked and set out to be served in baskets. I want to go out on THAT kind of tour, not this BS nonsense. In contrast to host Gary, there are at least two experiences that are worth the money: balcony rooms and specialty restaurants. Balcony rooms provide the extra space in your cabin so that you don't need to go above to the higher open decks to see the ocean and island views. Specialty restaurants such as Qsine,, Chops Grille, Lawn Club Grille, and Brazllian Churrascurias aboard Celebrity and RCCL ships are special experiences and really should not be missed. Let me talk about the Lawn Club Grille and Qsine. First, there's the Lawn Club Grille; found on Deck 15, these venues are found aboard Celebrity Silhouette and Reflection; you can either cook your chosen meats on the open flames or you can ask a chef to cook if for you if you have no experience as a grillmeister-like me--. The venue is outside but within a glass hut; there's a lot of food made and served to you so come hungry. Qsine is on many Solstice-class and Millennium Class ships, and offers whimsical ways to present your food, which you order on iPads, e.g., spring rolls inserted into actual bedsprings, marshmallow skewers placed in fake grass panels, desserts ordered on Rubic's Cubes; and filet mignon served in an painter's palette dish. All of your food is prepared and served to you by your own "personally assigned" chef.
I've been going on cruises: Celebrity, Royal, Carnival, Princes, HAL for 25 years, and am surprised that art auctions are still being done. Even more so, that new cruise ships are being built with dedicated art auction areas. Do people really buy the art? The area always looks like of dead, and the type of art they sell is not appealing to me. I guess I would need to hear from someone who is into it. The cruise lines wouldn't be doing them if they didn't make money. Interesting!
The ships make a fortune on the art auctions. The art auction manager is one of the highest earners on the ship. You can make 6 figures. The art department is actually run by Park West on the ships. They aren't even our employees. I have seen people by $30,000 in art.
@@2000konnie It surprises me too. Because they purport that the art is undervalued when it is sold and will go up in value yet there is evidence that it is in fact overvalued when it is sold. As well, I have seen people buy $25,000 pieces of jewelry in the EFFY shop. I don't think they have any idea whether they are paying a fair price or not. BTW the gift shops on cruise ships are run by outside companies too. They are not owned or staffed by the cruise line. Same with the Spas. The gift shop managers make a lot of money too. One told me she made $5,000 commission on a 10 night cruise. The port shopping guides too, make bundle.
@@burningblue1254 all is to Cater to the rich, or want to be rich. Every thing in the shops use your expensive WiFi and find what you can buy it for somewhere else. Why buy shirts, when you can get two for the same price on shore. I would never buy anything thill the store has a sail or look at a price of art before the auction.
@@kjwinston77 I agree with you for the most part. However if you want a cruise line logoed shirt, or mug etc. then you are stuck. As the cruise goes on the sales get better. First its 10% off then 15% etc.
All of the above. As for the balcony it's better if you know how to use it. Coffee at 7, dinner at the other 7 can be fun. I might add that the food is starting to get a little overrated. The same food all the time. And the enforcement of that 30 minute lounge chair is also overrated or non existent.
How do the cruise lines handle food allergies like soy or gluten? Are any cruise lines better about food allergies, since food is such a big part of cruising?
I'm a balcony only cruiser. So many people want a mall at sea experience and I want to be left alone to read or listen to music in my own private area and actually see the ocean.
One of my fondest memories of a cruise hot tub was on Cunard (so fewer kids), sailing from Canada to the US along the coast, and looking for whales. Only thing that would have made whale watching better was a glass of champagne. Agree with what others have said about “art” auctions. But on Celebrity when there was glass blowing, I was tempted to get a glass sculpture.
One more point on drink packages. I don’t believe they include tips. Even if there’s an incentive to get your money’s worth and get lots of drinks, you’ll have to factor in the extra $ for tips.
@@LinusCello75 On Carnival's website they say cost for drinks packages include the 18% tip. Check with your cruise line. Don't make assumptions about drinks packages since they do differ. Find out the specifics. How many drinks a day allowed., upper limit on the cost of a particular drink (usually the highest priced brands are not included), when does the "day" start and end. Also check which day of the cruise the package kicks in. For example, Texas has some liquor laws that don't allow alcoholic packages to start immediately when you board. (And you have to pay state sales tax on alcohol and cigarettes you bring back from your ports of call. Port of Galveston has the details on their website.) The rest of this goes beyond tip question and is for everyone especially an inexperienced cruiser. The real question is are you going to drink enough alcohol, sodas, specialty coffee, etc. to make the cost worthwhile. Is your cruise port intensive? Are you going to drink a lot ashore? Do you want to drink top shelf alcohol? If you are OK with drinking lower priced alcohol, will the drinks served at The Captain's Reception or other events suit you? Are you bringing any allowable sodas and wine on board with you. (Different cruise lines have different policies on this and different amounts if they do allow it.) And some of the more expensive lines include wine and beer with lunch and dinner. You really have do the research and read the fine print. Or find yourself a really good cruise travel agent to do it for you. And if you decide to get the drink package buy it ahead of time. You save money if you get before you board the ship. And policies and prices change. Check and double check, prices especially. Remember that usually every adult in the same cabin has to buy the drinks package. A cruise line may grant an exception on a case by case basis. For instance, a pregnant woman or other medical condition. No guarantee on this. And you have to contact the cruise line ahead of time. The earlier the better.
There are cruses that have education refreshers for medical professionals, and there are cruses that are just educational. You have to look online and book through the company that hires the teachers.
Two days before this was posted, a couple intending to go on a cruise for their honeymoon posted this question on the Reddit r/cruise sub: "Balcony ... is it worth it?" By far the most responses said "yes," but more revealing were the "like" votes for the "yes, get a balcony" argument [76 votes] compared to the like votes for "no' [5 votes]. Many of the answers were "it depends" and those weren't counted. But even most of the 'it depends" leaned toward the balconies.
I don't go for the amusement park style atmosphere on cruise ships. They attract a particular crowd of people I really don't want to cruise with; children. I prefer my cruises to be more quiet, peaceful & relaxing, rather than the loud screaming and running up & down the hallways you get on some cruise lines. If HAL wants to staff servers on the buffet line, I'm good with that! 👍 Enjoying Life One Port at a Time! ❤️
Speciality dinning 🍽 ...one of the saddest memories of my life...food burnt my toung on the first bite...it was called a tomatoe soup bite, waitress pushed EXTRAs Harder than a car salesman. Miserable meal 😪
My wife likes cruises I tolerate them , it annoys me to think you have to pay extra to get better food ! Overrated holiday best thing is get a balcony, the only thing I liked was the entertainment at night gets boring if your on sea to long, and personally I don't like dressing up for captains nights also not at portion enough some places need two days
@@davidinger961 agree w u ...my fav place to avoid the crowds was the spa and gym. I skipped half the meals and ordered smoothies from the gym. I enjoyed the shows as well ...did NOT like dressing up either
Does anyone know what type of prizes they usually give out for bingo? Is it vouchers to use on-board, merchandise, money etc? Or are there no actual prizes at all?
Different prospective. As a blind cruiser I love the inside cabins. Don't really care about the views in my case. The spa is a big waste of time and money I've got my massage guy at home to go to, don't need an overpriced cookie cutter massage. Love the casinos even won $750 one night. I prefer to interact with something then simply sit and listen to a show. I do love stand up comedy though and listening to classical music. One of the ships I was on offered chocolates with classical music; delicious. Finally the food. Speciality dining is a big bore. You get so much food for free why go pay for it? I'm not a big drinker, maybe two a day if that, so no drinks package either. In April 2024 I'm going on a four night cruise solo; in the past it has always been with my sighted partner. It should be interesting, and if it turns out to be a disaster; lesson learned but I've done my research and I don't think it will be much difficulty. I won't be the first blind person going on a cruise on my own.
My favorite part of the cruise is having breakfast on the balcony with my daughter in the mornings in our robes. It’s so peaceful, and quite a view. We wouldn’t cruise without a balcony, so for us it’s well-worth it!
I've never really cared for hot tubs. I guess if I had a private one at my house that would be OK. But when I see 20 people sitting around in that tepid bubbling water all I can think of: PEOPLE SOUP!!
So, we always take water test strips to make sure it's safe. So far they have been 100% safe to use. Cruising to us is first and foremost a floating spa to revive the body and soul.
"People Soup"! I guess there should be cannibals with pins stuck through their noses and cheeks, while their skin is covered with tattoos. They're all standing around the big cauldron, stirring the pot and waiting for the dinner bell to ring for their main course of the day. :-)
I am an eye doctor, my wife is a public health microbiologist. There is a positive correlation between being in a cruise ship hot tub and contracting Nora- Virus.
I don’t think any of it is overrated. All of it depends on someone’s perspective and what they want to experience. You can control your experience by choosing the right ship, right itinerary. You can choose to do or not do anything you want on a cruise.
You're absolutely right. So...i've decided to avoid ALL of those annoyances one can encounter on a cruise...and i've been on several (cruises). My next 'experience' will be a flight to New Orleans to enjoy five nights at a luxury hotel with pool and fine dining. Then...a flight to the Caribbean....San Juan, Puerto Rico, for another ten nights. Again, at a luxury hotel with pool and ocean front beach. Going in August 2021...low season....stock up the fridge with my favourite foods and booze and enjoy the sea view scene from my ocean front room. YOU enjoy the cruise.....
Thanks for video. so to summarize- the constant “upsell” is the issue. Cruising used to be seen as a relaxing experience and one could pay one price. It appears stress now comes from trying to NOT spent too much. I understand once one ship has something new ( art gallery, slides, fancy casinos, etc.) others need to get them. Smaller ships prob have less opportunities to spend more than larger which may be good.
All those upsell things are highly profitable, the cruise lines make a *LOT* of money from them. So the profit they make from upselling things to the typical passenger is built into the fare, which is cheaper than it would be if they didn't expect to make extra money from art auctions, gambling, stuff bought at the spa, etc. Therefore, while I don't ever use any of them (unless I score a free basic drinks package), I like that those things are on board, as my cruise fare is cheaper because they expect to upsell things to more impulsive passengers.
I agree with you. The upselling starts as soon as you board the ship with questions about whether you want to upgrade your drink package to the Premium level, photo packages, internet packages, casino chips and slots packages, wine packages; specialty restaurant visits; spa visits; and other upgrades. The trick you need to be able to perform is resisting these efforts to get you to spend more money on whatever you're already spent to enhance your cruise. Not easy, especially if I'm a single guy who has an eye for pretty ladies making a persuasive case for an upsell on photo packages, drink packages, or specialty restaurant deals.
simple rule, if it is being pushed and heavily promoted by the cruise line and the crew, it is over-rated. and if not over-rated then it is definitely over-priced.
Drink packages are already overpriced, like the drinks themselves. I'm trying to recall how much I used to pay for a freshly made strawberry daiquiri back in the '80s that didn't include the souvenir hurricane glass it was served in--less than 5 bucks? That drink is no longer freshly made: it's a pre-mix beverage poured from a gallon jug into those same souvenir glasses or a mason jar mug and it costs 3x as much. I'd rather buy a $5 bottle of Bud Light instead of that daiquiri! Wines are way overpriced, and you can be tricked into buying a bottle you thought was priced at 48 bucks but when the bill comes, the price turns out to be 3x higher. That situation happened to me aboard the Celebrity Solstice 11 years ago. I was so mad I stormed out of the MDR. I was later mollified by the wine steward who reduced the price over 90 bucks. The lesson I took from that situation was to pre-purchase 3- bottle wine packages that will last during a 2 week sailing: I've already paid for the vino and won't get billed an arm-and-a-leg for it except for the tip for serving it.
@@shepwillner7507 i got a drink package on my last cruise and i really liked it - there’s no way i got enough drinks each day to justify it monetarily but it was awesome not having to think about it (and getting patron, grey goose, jameson, etc) in every one of my drinks
This is actually why I love cruising so much. There is something for everyone, which is why we can never say anything is over-rated. I am busy and constantly in demand so when I go on vacation, I don't want to schedule things, I want to relax and not be around too many people unless I feel up to it. I'm claustrophobic so an inside cabin is out of the question. I've had ocean view cabins, but once I got a balcony, I spend a good 60% of my time in the cabin. I sat on the balcony reading for several hours. *Hot Spa Tip:* I love the Spa treatments but HATE the upselling so here's a suggestion. Last time, at the beginning of the session, I mentioned how stressed I was and that I was *"giving this one last chance because the last time the woman kept trying to sell me things, which stressed me out!"* After I said that, the technician didn't try to sell me a single thing for the entire 90 minutes. It. Was. Heaven!!
What is one person’s “overrated” is another person’s “wow I loved that” on the cruise ship. That is why I think that it is nice that there is a variety in the different things that are offered on ships, different types of ships in their appeal, and different destinations to choose from.
Always something for everyone in the family, from wild and crazy, to sitting in the shade napping. Each family member/generation can enjoy a cruise together unlike many other holiday trends. We have one rule, meet to dine each evening and share tales of your day.
I have a theme that I would like you to do a video of. I know that most of your video's focus on the good things, but since you have been on so many cruises: what was the: worst buffet, the worst speciality dining, the most over rated excursion, the most over-priced experience, the worst bed/sleeping experience, the worst show/entertainment (commediens who was not funny, WestEnd Musical with dancers who could not dance...), the most UNDER-wealming experience on any cruise you have done?
I always thought I was a balcony forevermore kind of girl...But then a killer deal for a mediterranean cruise came my way in an oceanview, and now I'm a "Whatever way I can cruise" kind of girl! lol
Being a dedicated Cunarder I am used to a different experience so some of these things never even come into play. I agree that I like my balcony stateroom and also being a teetotaler the drinks package has limited appeal - give me one specializing in coffees, teas and cocoas and I would be more receptive.
Being honest, I have booked a balcony for the first time intentionally for a upcoming 2 week cruise this Nov solely because of Covid. My thought is if we get stuck out at sea or contained to my room I wanted more room/view & more natural light so I wouldn't feel trapped or enclosed. I've cruised 5 other times; 2 inside, 2 windows, and 1 balcony (that my roommate upgraded us to), and I had no problems with any but my favorite had to be the handicapped with port window, BIGGEST BATHROOM EVER!! But I was with someone that needed it. The balcony we had it was fun to watch the last minutes peir runners and as we woke up early on our return day we saw that, but if it wasn't for covid I'd still be happy with the other more economical options.
The only problem with your Covid plan is that most ships don’t confine you to your own cabin. They have a designated quarantine area and move you to a cabin there.
@@gaymoravec382, oh I'm aware. I was thinking more along the lines of stuck at sea, not able to go into port, etc. Like the Princess (?) ship that couldn't dock back when Covid started. Worse case scenario I know, but JIC If I got Covid, which I already had before & I was stuck in bed for 4-5 days straight and don't remember mich about it really , I figured they'd quarantine me like you said or get me odd the ship so that wasn't actually a factor.
Agree with all but balcony. I’d never go without one. Decks are crowded, no chairs, noisy. Love to sun on my private balcony, eat breakfast in morning and wine at night.
@@argonaut816 hmmm. There are designated smoking areas. No smoking allowed on balconies. Never came upon it, and I can smell smoke like you. Sorry you experienced that.
As I mostly cruise with Princess , I know where the smoking areas are. We always book far away and never have a problem. I have upper airway issues so I have to be careful. I also get what I call “hotel throat”, from AC all the time. My own private fresh air access is important.
@@argonaut816 Yup. A big reason why we think balconies are overrated. We couldn't use it because of neighbors that would smoke even though it was against the rules. We just find quiet deck spots other places.
I'd rather cruise less often than choose an inside or sea view cabin. We spend a lot of time on our balcony/patio at home so it'd feel weird not having a balcony... 😂
Yeah, I used to always get inside rooms, with the idea that we won’t spend much time in the cabin anyways, but once we finally broke down and got a balcony cabin it REALLY changed our cruise, as we spent very little time up on deck, as we preferred o kick back on our balcony as it was almost like having a private cruise.
I love having a balcony, but I wouldn't pass up a cruise if it meant having an inside. 8 out of the 10 I've done have been balconies. Insides do have their advantages though. So cool and dark for that afternoon nap after you've been drinking margaritas in the sun all day. The other cabin a lot of people seem to not want is a lower deck one. Those two cruises we did an interior cabin were also on deck 1. It was amazing on port days. The mad dash headed UP to cabins was skipped for a single flight of stairs down, and conveniently in the reverse for getting off on port days. Really, just about every room on the ship has some advantage to it.
I have to be honest I don’t think I could ever book anything outside a balcony again. I love to wake up grab coffee or room service and just sit out on my balcony watching the water. It a peaceful start and a finish to the day. But to each it’s own 😉
I always try to get a Balcony AFT for it is great to see the Sunset and enjoy that Bloody Mary in the morning. We have had a Suite but it was in the center of the ship and we felt not as good as the AFT.
@@rgruenhaus Been on almost 100 cruises-mostly inside but balconies too! When I relax,I want a sun bed for reading,dozing,fab! Also to chat to like-minded folk next to me! Balconies small except Suites,etc. No way!
@@rgruenhausit is still fresh air. However small it’s somewhere to sit and watch and listen to the sea and relax. I live to be able to pop out first thing to see where I am and last thing at night. The thought of being inside a room with no fresh air or view is awful
It seems like the cruise line's private island would be a great place to house the big resort stuff that they use to get people excited to book with them without having to sacrifice that space on board the ship.
My wife and I were planning on buying a drinks package on one of our 12 day cruises and it was going to cost $1800 Australian. We ended up adding up our total drinks over the time on board and it came to only $750 for the both of us, and we didn't hold back on the amount or the quality of the beverages.
I love your channel, you are so thorough and thoughtful! I would not do any upgrade...I like to pick everything about my cabin and do not want to change it. I LOVE having the balcony, it's actually my favorite place on the ship. Enjoying the ocean from the decks is usualy too crowded and noisy and loaded with reserved chairs...very bad. I am not interested in specialty dining--the main dining room is great for me! On my last cruise I cruised alone and was assigned to a table with lots of other singles. We like our combradery and the specialty dining would interrupt that...plus why pay more, the dining room food is delicious! I wouldn't want to have all the water slides and stuff taken away, so many young people like them, but I have no use for them myself. I am clastaphobic inside those closed water-filled tubes! Regarding private islands, I would rather stop at a real country's port. However, if I lived in southern Florida (which I don't), I would like those weekend cruises from Miami that JUST go the private islands. That could be something I would do as another fun thing, not be part of a bigger cruise. I am bored by shopping and especially dislike the art auctions. The spas are a waste of time and money. I can do that at home, why waste doing that when on a ship! The drinks packages, I can't fathom them! I will drink two liquor drinks a day and wine at dinner. What do people use with those huge packages--get a liquor drink once an hour? I want to experience my cruise, not be drunk all day! Regarding the casinos, I am not really a gambler, but when I visit my brother and his wife wife live in Las Vegas, when I visit them, we will go play then. Better ods in Vegas than on a ship. Something I miss that I thought every ship SHOULD have is an expert talking about some of the designations. Maybe the last few cruises I was on that did not have this was an anomaly, but that would NOT be someting overrated for me! What I enjoy on the cruises is being on the ships themselves, leaving and arriving in port, meeting new people, the great food, trying out various bars, relaxing on the balcony, swimming in every pool, exploring ports, the shows, dirty comedies, some of the music groups, and dancing the night away! Oh, and simply walking and walking and walking all around all the decks, exploring every inch of the ship. Looking out to sea and seeing other ships in the distance, or at a neighboring slip at a port. I'm crazy for cruise ships just for themselves!
I realize that your comments are based for the broad range of cruise passengers who travel on very large ships with a myriad of attractions. Having traveled on the larger ships, my wife and I prefer the smaller ships like Regent, Seaborne and Oceania that are more all inclusive and generally are not designed for families with children. Of course these cruise lines are much more expensive and don’t have the large amusement attractions that larger ships feature. Personally, we’d always want a room with a balcony in the quiet areas of the ship that you’ve highlighted.
My wife and I will be going on our first cruises with Celebrity Equinox in mid October to the ABC Islands and Oceania Vista on December 30th to the Caribbean as well. We did a A1 Aqua Class balcony cabin on deck 11 mid ship with Celebrity and a PH1 Penthouse Suite on Oceania also on deck 11 mid ship as well to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I take it you have been on these two lines before? Your comments relflect why my wife and I at 56 chose these two cruise lines to sail with here in 2023.
My wife and I upgraded to a Princess mini-suite on our first cruise because the price difference was only a couple hundred dollars. The difference between that cabin and the inner, ocean view, and balcony cabins is well worth the cost when you consider the extra space you get particularly with regard to the bathroom and closet.
The speciality dining offers a smaller, more intimate dining experience which can be nice, but typically the main dining room food is quite good, so the up charge seems a bit of a waste. I enjoy the days the ship visits their private island, because I never go ashore there. People who stay onboard have the run of the ship, nothing is crowded, and you can do anything you please without a line or a wait. The go carts and water slides seem to be on ships that cater to families and young adults. I try to avoid those ships altogether. A balcony is essential. Starting the day on the balcony with coffee, or just occasionally escaping the crowds on your own balcony is wonderful. I would find it impossible to drink enough every day to come close to having the drinks package make financial sense. As for the spa, as you indicated they push other products and services, and if you get a massage or other treatment early in the cruise, you will be berated with daily marketing attempts to draw you back for the rest of the cruise. Shopping, art auctions and the casino offer no attraction to me whatsoever.
I don't bother with massages for precisely the reason you mention: the constant pitches for overpriced creams and lotions you won't use when you get home. I don't bother attending art auctions because one has to be able to discern whether a work of art is worth its weight in your suitcase, and I don't like Champagne. I stopped playing bingo because the people who play this game are usually the ones who do this at their retirement homes: they're the ones who have huge numbers of cards at their places, at the ready to win the games. I stopped going ashore at private island visits because they're PITAs with queues for food I prefer not to eat in the open air, e.g., BBQ chicken, ribs, mac 'n cheese, etc. So, like you, I stay aboard and relax in a nice lounger or at a table in the shade where I can sit and do my adult coloring book or write my memoirs or the cruise ship review for Cruise Critic. When the time comes for lunch, I'll gather up my belongings and head in to the uncrowded buffet line. After eating, I can return to another table near the pool to continue what I was doing before I got the hunger pangs.
And not only the libraries, the book shelves should be filled with books purchased from book stores where the ships make their home ports. Those book shelves should also be filled with DVDs; game cartridges; and other things, e.g., writing materials such as post cards, tablets, journals, and pens for writing on these items. I also agree about having more covered areas on the pool and higher open decks to avoid overexposure to the sun's rays. As people get older, their skin becomes less able to absorb UVA and UVB rays, and if you're not protected with sun screen lotion, you can get a painful sunburn. I've had many sunburns in my life, and most of them have happened on Caribbean cruises to teach me something important: get the heck out of the sun and into the shade to avoid getting burned.
I don't honestly see the point of cruising if you're not going to have a balcony. You may as well just stay at a hotel on land and fly to your ports of call. As for dining, I do think some lines push the specialty dining a bit too much but my wife and I do eat at specialty restaurants once or twice per cruise. It's a lot less hectic, usually a lot more intimate and romantic and *can* be a lot higher quality food. I've never complained about the food in any main dining room but the food in the specialty restaurants is often as good and as creative as you'll find in the best restaurants in a big city, and you'll often get a view and usually a lot more personal service in the bargain. Not worth doing every night but for a special treat, sure.
The drink package isn't bad but if one person drinks a lot and the other does not drink hardly at all, it's very wasteful because ships like Carnival make EVERYONE in the same room buy it.
I've never been able to figure out why cruise ships are into art auctions. I never EVER look at the art that's available on the ship and wish the space was utilized for other ventures. Also, I will not cruise on a ship with race car tracks and wild ride simulators. They are for the very young, and, for me, cruising is about relaxing and getting away from all the stress and noise. Also, nothing is nicer than having a cabin with a balcony to enjoy breakfast in the morning, or a cocktail late in the evening!
Why? The ships make a fortune on the art auctions. The art auction manager is one of the highest earners on the ship. You can make 6 figures. The art department is actually run by Park West on the ships. They aren't even our employees. I have seen people buy $30,000 in art.
@@PristineMindset I don't make judgements on what people spend their money on. I have seen people buy $30,000 worth of art and drop $25,000 on jewelry.
Balcony all the way. I use it all the time. I also used the thermal spa part of the spa daily ( the hydro pools etc) but didn’t get any extra treatments. The thermal spa pass was worth it for me.
I love on-board casinos and drinks packages. I never actually use them, I just appreciate that they are massive profit centers that effectively subsidize the rest of the ship.
Only a couple of my adult children will get a drinks package. It is nice because they will buy the wine at dinner because of the discount. You need to really drink a lot to make it worth it. My husband and I have never visited the casino or purchased the drinks packages. We’ve only cruised Princess (20 cruises) and we really like the mix of clientele (families, young people, old folks (of which we are)). We would cruise even if there were no island stops. We love sea days. But we do love Princess’s private island. It is undeveloped, minimal shopping, great place for nature walks.
For us the drink package worked out well for us. At $13 a drink it was easy to hit the $52 per person mark each day. We are wine and cocktail drinkers. If you just drink beer, I could see it not being worth it.
We love the balcony cabins and won't cruise if we can't get one. We love being able to just sit quietly together and get fresh air and look out over the water on sea days. When we went to Alaska, our balcony was actually on the very back of the ship. Yes, there was noise, but it wasn't horrible and we got to see the glaciers on both sides, just a few minutes later than everyone else.
Agreed. I have spent dozens of hours looking for flying fish or, more accurately, meditating about flying fish. Having breakfast on our balcony is one of the best parts of cruising.
I get so seasick that I’ve asked to be changed from a suite to an ocean view. I tried the looking at the horizon as it’s recommended and that made me feel worst cause the water movement made me more dizzy.
@@user73958 I get what you are saying, but why not do both? You can hang out in your jammies on your own balcony and have breakfast. (Ok maybe not in alaska) but that is what we do on tropical destinations. then you can go up on deck later.
Love a balcony room! Sometimes you just want a quite relaxing space to soak up the cruise experience & listen to the sea. Feel cruise resorts are pushed way too much, personally I don’t want a Caribbean Blackpool. I’m sure lots will disagree.😂🛳
If we didn't have the drink package my wife would drag me to the art auction and jewelry showcase for the "free" drink and that route would cost thousands more than a drink package.
I like balconies, but if I had to travel inside cabins to afford cruising I would. You can always find a quiet corner on a ship to watch the water go by.
We had an inside cabin on the newly-launched Solstice and we loved it. Bigger because of it's odd shape. SO restful, quiet and pitch dark. Our favorite 'new' ship still, with plenty of deck space to enjoy the outdoors.
Like either an inside or an balcony cabin. 1st cruise I took we had a balcony cabin and we were spoiled from that day on. But we did try an inside cabin once. We were with a group of friends, they booked the cabins, and it was a pleasant experience. I had the best sleep of my life, being rocked by the waves, and in total darkness. Also, made new friends. Either cabin is good for me. I think it's a matter of what you want to spend your money on. Keep up the great work Gary!
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I'm a balcony and suite cruiser. Everyone has their preferences and we should do what makes our cruise the best experience for you.
Interesting point regarding the suites. We had the pleasure of booking suites on two cruises with our favorite line Azamara. Then their prices launched into the stratosphere, and I could not possibly justify the jump from their "standard" balcony cabin. Perhaps it's different with other lines, but for us, it was purely wasted money that could have been a deposit on a second cruise.
@@davidh9844 Oh I agree with you David. When I am booking any cruise, I check all options for cabins and then decide if I want one so much that I have to give up another cruise later in the season. Only one time did I book something so special that I “lost” a later cruise due to the cost. I can’t say I will never do that again but I surely don’t plan on it.
We’ve been balcony people since our second cruise. On our last cruise, we splurged for a “grand suite” on Royal, and that may have been a mistake, because we really enjoyed the extra space, nicer patio loungers, and specialty breakfast venue. Uh oh!
@@lisawilson7889 You are in trouble now! Hard to go back when you were treated to Royal accommodations.
How much more are suites? I’ve never been on cruise. But I’m planning one now…
Balcony is NOT overrated! Why would someone think an inside cabin is just as good? Only for travelers that are NEVER in their room.
You answered your own question. I’m never in the room other than sleeping and bathing, so I’d rather get the cheaper inside cabin.
I literally am never in my room except for a quick change so I don't get balcony rooms myself. If I wanted to stay in my bedroom on a vacation, I would stay home.
People with inside cabins are never in their room. Ehy? Because there is nothing to do in an inside cabin. A balcony? That's heaven!
I stayed in an oceanview cabin on my most recent cruise and loved it. Words can't fully express how much joy I got from seeing the turquoise water of the Caribbean through that window. Now, I don't think I can ever go back to an inside cabin.
I understand some of the points, but like you completely disagree with balcony being overrated. Its so enjoyable to go out and relax enjoying your own private space. My wife would disown me if I booked otherwise. I like the drink packages because I worry much less about spending on board. I'd rather just pay ahead and relax, not think about every purchase. We also really enjoy the specialty dinning, the food is typically tremendous for the most part. Worth it to us if you have the money.
Same!
The drink package is NOT over-rated. If you drink anything, Specialty Coffee, OJ, Champagne, Bloody Mary's, Wine for dinner, that night cap, Soft drinks, Juices, (Some cruises bottle water, write down what you think you will drink, X2 for each, why? It is going to be hot or you will still drink more when you have it available to you. Drinks are usually $9 or $12. Even Soft drinks are $6 or $8 specialty Coffee's. When figuring it remember the tip will be added on. For each there own but if you get it, no surprises at the end.
@@kjwinston77 I agree. My huz and I aren't drinkers but we got lots of iced drinks and that made it worth while.
@@kjwinston77 I totally agree, you don't even have to be a big drinker to make the drink package worth it, people just do it wrong. You can make up the drink package by just trying things. I feel so reserved whenever I'm on a cruise without the drink package, but when I buy it, I just get whatever I want. If I want to try a cocktail or something I've never heard of, if I don't like it, it doesn't matter. Instead of getting whatever juice they're offering on the Lido deck, I get the specialty juices which are generally better and more varied. I'm a big coffee drinker, so getting specialty coffee drinks is always fun. It's such a stress-free way to enjoy a cruise.
I'm really surprised onboard photographers didn't make the list
Probably just got forgotten, since barely anybody cares about them :P
I care about them... They're the ones blocking the stairs when I'm trying to get to my dinner reservation.
@@snerdterguson And don't forget them blocking the exit from the ship when everyone's trying to get ashore.
We like the photographers. Since we only cruise about every 18 months our formal nights are special to us and we always hope for professional photos but we don't always get them. When we can't get one we do complain at the end of our trip to the pursers desk.
@@dons123111 I like them - we didn'T see them at MSC - it was a curise in winter - but with NCL we got some amazing pictures.
Best part of the day - wake up and step out to the balcony to see sunrise and smell fresh ocean air :)
Having discovered balcony cabins on our last cruise, we will never again book anything less. Also on our last cruise, we visited a private island for the first time, and found it pleasant, but hardly something to write home about. Totally agree that the spa and drinks package are overrated - and a ripoff to boot. Most of the other items on your list are a matter of personal preference - what cruise line one chooses, and what activities one does once on board. Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware.
I agree that Spa treatments are outrageously priced, but my hubby always pays for a pass to the steam rooms, he loves them. Usually around $199 for a 2 week cruise. Then he can go anytime, need to get the pass as soon as you board, as they limit the number.
Spa treatments are over priced (except on port days) but idk how anyone cruises without the drink package. My wife and I prob save at least $500 getting the package than if we just paid for each drink individually
I love balcony cabins. Really enjoy having my coffee and light breakfast out there. Find myself out on the balcony almost anytime we are in the cabin.
To me, a balcony experience depends a lot on who is occupying the cabins on either side of you. I've had balcony cabins where I can't really enjoy being on them because my neighbors are on the balcony all the time, yakking and yakking. I was on a two-week cruise once where the people next to us were ALWAYS on their balcony when we went on ours--and the guy tended to WHISTLE. Seriously. Try to enjoy a sunset (or sunrise) while listening to bad whistling.
If I had a whistler next to me he’d have gone overboard 🤣🤣
Before I ever took my first cruise ever I saw those commercials with adults sliding down those chutes to the pool. Well. let me tell you, I was in superb shape and got into one of those enclosed slides to the pool and, guess what? I was stuck. Just a trickle of water going through. Tried moving every way possible. Forced myself to finally reach the end and everyone let out a big cheer with applause. Never again!
I would be claustrophobic in those tunnels, especially if like you, one did not slide along.
If food is already paid for, eating at a restaurant would end up causing you to pay double for your meals. I thought the cruise lines pride themselves on there good food. Now I'm confused. I just want a ticket across the ocean in a nice comfy boat with no screaming and decent people to talk to.
Have fun
Yes, you do have many videos and I really appreciate and enjoy them. Thank you.
We, (my husband, daughter and 3-year-old grandson), just returned from a 4-night, (itinerary was changed due to Covid restrictions but we managed), cruise on the Disney “Wonder”. We embarked and returned to San Diego. My daughter and I have cruised a couple of times before this one. This one was the first for my husband and, of course, my grandson. As a pretty novice cruiser I realize I don’t have a lot of experience; however, since my first cruise a balcony is a must. Like you sitting out there with morning coffee or afternoon tea or cocktail is one of the best experiences.
I look forward to you videos. Again. Thank you
Agree! Great to hear you enjoyed Disney. I’m looking forward to my trip on them next year
We were offered an upgrade to a suite on a long Asian cruise....there were 3 of us traveling so the cost was spread over 15 days and 3 people....sooo worth it. Came with lots of bells and whistles...best $$ we spent on a cruise.
I don't like it when people say things are overrated. These are personal preferences. What I like and you like can be totally different but that doesn't mean you or I are wrong.
I don't like inside cabins as I can't get acclimated. But love oceanview cabins. I do like a balcony but find I don't use it much as I really prefer to be out on a deck. I think the hot tubs are too hot and not a fan unless it's really cool outside. I don't enjoy the cruise line islands. I want to see foreign ports . I use those port days to explore the ship and have a laid back day. HATE THE SMOKING IN THE CASINO!!!!
I have wondered that did someone make a survey and found out Smokers loose more than Non Smokers?????
The greatest feeling is having the balcony door open a bit while laying back in bed and hearing the waves and feeling the sea breeze come in, also the smell
In a former life I was a merchant mariner. I'd cruise to go to sea, and a balcony would be essential.
OTOH most of the drink and fancy food not so much.
One huge point of cruise shopping, including art, is most of purchases being duty free. Un US taxes are high and shopping on cruises saves a lot of money without breaking the laws, if you know the rules.
I got a balcony cabin on a Disney Cruise, and it was a really large one towards the back of the ship.
Total time balcony was used in a week , between my kids, Wife, and myself.....
About 10 minutes.
Never booked one again.
We like to be on the ooen deck when approaching a port, and when looking at our surroundings.
We didn't like the limitation a a balcony cabin.
In my cruise journey, I am beginning to realize that short cruises (less than 9 days) are overrated as being enough time to relax. Trying to cram a lot of experiences and airport transfers in a few days leads to a hurried vacation.
Great video Gary. Spot on !!
Love your expertise, we should call you the Cruise Professor.
NCL has an excellent free at sea option. We did it on our last cruise in 2019 and are taking advantage of it again in November. If you do the math, it's a no brainer
I love balcony cabins, some of the specialty dining is worth the money.
Wow, balcony cabins to me are worth every penny. That privacy you can have outside, a quiet spot of your own....love it.
I prefer a balcony but on our last cruise we had very loud neighbours and seemed to ALWAYS be on their balcony. We avoided our balcony bc of the noise 😢
one persons over rated experience is another persons must have.
I love the balcony to go outside first thing in the morning, check out the weather, the sunrise, watch as we go into port and the dock workers prepare to welcome the ship. The water slides and roller coasters are not for me - I’m on a cruise to be at sea. Massages are vastly overpriced and overrated. Art auctions are wasted on me. I do like a drink package if it’s rolled into the cost of the cruise.
Your videos are very good, I am thinking of experimenting with a cruise so thank you
I declined an automatic upgrade option for our cruise based on your videos!
I don’t agree with every item on the list, but to each his/her own! Thanks for another cruising video!
I LOVE the private islands!!!! NOT OVERRATED!
Totally agree! Where else can you enjoy a day of bliss in tropical heaven?
I love the balcony too
You just listed everything on a cruise, over rated or not. If all of those things you just listed were not on a cruise, what would be??
You obviously don't have a family to say that amenities are overrated like golf, flowrider, coasters and hot tub.
I would love to do the Casion but having asthma I can't spend more than five minutes in one because of the smoking.
Whether or not a balcony cabin is worth the money really hinges on how much time you spend in your cabin and how much you value private outdoor space. If you’re the sort of cruiser who is never in your room and prefers the full sunshine and people watching opportunities of the upper decks to a quiet, shaded verandah, then sure, a balcony’s not going to have much value for you. But as someone who really enjoys a quiet spot to read outside and watch the sea go by, a private balcony is a luxury I adore. I spend a ton of time onboard out on mine. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I wouldn’t cruise if all I could afford was an indoor stateroom, but it’s definitely important to me especially on less port intensive cruises. I could probably deal without one in Alaska, as I did prefer the top deck and the lower promenade decks for soaking up the scenery than I did on my balcony which offered a more limited view.
Personally, I find balcony overrated. I'm almost out most of the time attending sports activities, trivia or bingo and by the time I'm back in the room, it's almost night time and there's nothing else to see outside. Maybe a different experience if I travel with a company.
I like a balcony if it's not too expensive and I use it HOWEVER I will take an ocean view cabin over an inside. I have to have a view of the outside. As long as I can go onto the decks and view, an ocean view is a great cabin instead of a pricey balcony.
Balcony. Always. 💗
Seems most cruisers enjoy having a balcony and is likely the main reason they are included in the vast majority of cabins on the most popular modern cruise ships.
Thanks.
I think that any activity I can do easily on shore, i.e. gambling, is something that I would not need on a cruise…
What's overrated? As an experienced cruiser, I can tell you: 1.The North Sea pod, or whatever that thing is on Quantum Class ships; why? if you visit London, you can get on the London Eye and see all of the city below you. You can do the same in Vegas on the High Roller Ferris Wheel, or here in the DC area, you can do the same thing on the Capitol Wheel in National Harbor; 2. Beach Break: why do you need to pay 30 bucks to go to some bloody beach when you take a taxi to do the same thing? 3. Rock wall climbing: RCCL has these on many of their ships; it looks interesting, but do you need to go on a cruise to do that? Aren't there places in your neck of the woods to do this activity? 4. Atlantis submarine excursion: one of most contrived things ever created by an entrepreneur who probably bought one of Disney's subs from their old ride, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and shipped it to wherever the Atlantis subs are available, e.g., Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St. Thomas, etc. 5. Shopping tour: like the Beach Break, another dumb idea to take people from the ship to visit favored shops that give kickbacks to the cruise lines in exchange for bringing pax to their stores. 6. The ATV or 4X4 jeep adventure rides: another idea to take people who probably have no driver's licenses--like me--to drive these vehicles on rough terrain; as for the 4X4 Jeep ride, I've been on one of these on Kauai in Hawaii, riding through Fern Gully and wrenching my spine with every bump. 7. Zip line rides: heck, everywhere you go in the Caribbean and Central America,, wherever a cruise ship docks will have these rides. Are they worth the money? Not sure, because I'm scared to death of being in high open spaces, and that probably includes riding a zip line aboard RCCL's Oasis Class ships! 8. The Flow Rider thing on RCCL's Freedom and Oasis Class ships: why cut a check or whip out a credit card to board a ship to do this ride when you can do the same thing at your local beach? 10. The Alcove experience on Celebrity's Solstice Class ships: a true waste of money I've probably described elsewhere. 11. The Galley Tour: another contrived activity where you enter the Galley (the ship's kitchen), see a bunch of chefs leaning against their grills, see and taste some goodies on trays, and then leave the space. I did exactly that once on aboard Costa's Carla C in '91 and refused to do it again. What's the point of doing this so-called tour if nobody points out where your steaks, lobster, veggies, desserts, soups, etc., are cooked and otherwise prepped? I want to see: here's where servers drop off and retrieve their orders; here's where cooks get their raw ingredients from the store rooms and then start cooking your order; and here's where the breads and pastries are baked and set out to be served in baskets. I want to go out on THAT kind of tour, not this BS nonsense.
In contrast to host Gary, there are at least two experiences that are worth the money: balcony rooms and specialty restaurants. Balcony rooms provide the extra space in your cabin so that you don't need to go above to the higher open decks to see the ocean and island views. Specialty restaurants such as Qsine,, Chops Grille, Lawn Club Grille, and Brazllian Churrascurias aboard Celebrity and RCCL ships are special experiences and really should not be missed. Let me talk about the Lawn Club Grille and Qsine. First, there's the Lawn Club Grille; found on Deck 15, these venues are found aboard Celebrity Silhouette and Reflection; you can either cook your chosen meats on the open flames or you can ask a chef to cook if for you if you have no experience as a grillmeister-like me--. The venue is outside but within a glass hut; there's a lot of food made and served to you so come hungry. Qsine is on many Solstice-class and Millennium Class ships, and offers whimsical ways to present your food, which you order on iPads, e.g., spring rolls inserted into actual bedsprings, marshmallow skewers placed in fake grass panels, desserts ordered on Rubic's Cubes; and filet mignon served in an painter's palette dish. All of your food is prepared and served to you by your own "personally assigned" chef.
I've been going on cruises: Celebrity, Royal, Carnival, Princes, HAL for 25 years, and am surprised that art auctions are still being done. Even more so, that new cruise ships are being built with dedicated art auction areas. Do people really buy the art? The area always looks like of dead, and the type of art they sell is not appealing to me. I guess I would need to hear from someone who is into it. The cruise lines wouldn't be doing them if they didn't make money. Interesting!
The ships make a fortune on the art auctions. The art auction manager is one of the highest earners on the ship. You can make 6 figures. The art department is actually run by Park West on the ships. They aren't even our employees. I have seen people by $30,000 in art.
@@burningblue1254 That is fascinating. There must be some sort of collectors for that type of art. I'd love to see who buys it.
@@2000konnie It surprises me too. Because they purport that the art is undervalued when it is sold and will go up in value yet there is evidence that it is in fact overvalued when it is sold. As well, I have seen people buy $25,000 pieces of jewelry in the EFFY shop. I don't think they have any idea whether they are paying a fair price or not. BTW the gift shops on cruise ships are run by outside companies too. They are not owned or staffed by the cruise line. Same with the Spas. The gift shop managers make a lot of money too. One told me she made $5,000 commission on a 10 night cruise. The port shopping guides too, make bundle.
@@burningblue1254 all is to Cater to the rich, or want to be rich. Every thing in the shops use your expensive WiFi and find what you can buy it for somewhere else. Why buy shirts, when you can get two for the same price on shore. I would never buy anything thill the store has a sail or look at a price of art before the auction.
@@kjwinston77 I agree with you for the most part. However if you want a cruise line logoed shirt, or mug etc. then you are stuck. As the cruise goes on the sales get better. First its 10% off then 15% etc.
All of the above. As for the balcony it's better if you know how to use it. Coffee at 7, dinner at the other 7 can be fun. I might add that the food is starting to get a little overrated. The same food all the time. And the enforcement of that 30 minute lounge chair is also overrated or non existent.
I was wondering when someone was going to bring up cruise-owned islands.
How do the cruise lines handle food allergies like soy or gluten? Are any cruise lines better about food allergies, since food is such a big part of cruising?
I'm a balcony only cruiser. So many people want a mall at sea experience and I want to be left alone to read or listen to music in my own private area and actually see the ocean.
When you are on Seabourn which is the only choice I will ever make, none of this matters!
Why don't we all just sit in our inside cabin and not do anything. Thats to me sounds like a wonderful cruise. WOW
Special dinning is awesome also would never sail without a balcony
Agreed and the price is minimal for the food and service.
I am surprised the new programs like The Key on RC didn't make this list!
One of my fondest memories of a cruise hot tub was on Cunard (so fewer kids), sailing from Canada to the US along the coast, and looking for whales. Only thing that would have made whale watching better was a glass of champagne.
Agree with what others have said about “art” auctions. But on Celebrity when there was glass blowing, I was tempted to get a glass sculpture.
One more point on drink packages. I don’t believe they include tips. Even if there’s an incentive to get your money’s worth and get lots of drinks, you’ll have to factor in the extra $ for tips.
@@LinusCello75 On Carnival's website they say cost for drinks packages include the 18% tip.
Check with your cruise line. Don't make assumptions about drinks packages since they do differ. Find out the specifics. How many drinks a day allowed., upper limit on the cost of a particular drink (usually the highest priced brands are not included), when does the "day" start and end.
Also check which day of the cruise the package kicks in. For example, Texas has some liquor laws that don't allow alcoholic packages to start immediately when you board. (And you have to pay state sales tax on alcohol and cigarettes you bring back from your ports of call. Port of Galveston has the details on their website.)
The rest of this goes beyond tip question and is for everyone especially an inexperienced cruiser.
The real question is are you going to drink enough alcohol, sodas, specialty coffee, etc. to make the cost worthwhile. Is your cruise port intensive? Are you going to drink a lot ashore? Do you want to drink top shelf alcohol? If you are OK with drinking lower priced alcohol, will the drinks served at The Captain's Reception or other events suit you? Are you bringing any allowable sodas and wine on board with you. (Different cruise lines have different policies on this and different amounts if they do allow it.)
And some of the more expensive lines include wine and beer with lunch and dinner.
You really have do the research and read the fine print. Or find yourself a really good cruise travel agent to do it for you. And if you decide to get the drink package buy it ahead of time. You save money if you get before you board the ship. And policies and prices change. Check and double check, prices especially.
Remember that usually every adult in the same cabin has to buy the drinks package. A cruise line may grant an exception on a case by case basis. For instance, a pregnant woman or other medical condition. No guarantee on this. And you have to contact the cruise line ahead of time. The earlier the better.
I love a balcony cabin too!
I hear a lot about spas. Are there chiropractors on cruise ships?
Always balcony
We always get a balcony cabin
Another great topic with interesting and entertaining insights. Thanks Gary.
Are there educational cruises? I would like a balcony room.
There are cruses that have education refreshers for medical professionals, and there are cruses that are just educational. You have to look online and book through the company that hires the teachers.
Two days before this was posted, a couple intending to go on a cruise for their honeymoon posted this question on the Reddit r/cruise sub: "Balcony ... is it worth it?"
By far the most responses said "yes," but more revealing were the "like" votes for the "yes, get a balcony" argument [76 votes] compared to the like votes for "no' [5 votes]. Many of the answers were "it depends" and those weren't counted. But even most of the 'it depends" leaned toward the balconies.
I don't go for the amusement park style atmosphere on cruise ships. They attract a particular crowd of people I really don't want to cruise with; children. I prefer my cruises to be more quiet, peaceful & relaxing, rather than the loud screaming and running up & down the hallways you get on some cruise lines. If HAL wants to staff servers on the buffet line, I'm good with that! 👍
Enjoying Life One Port at a Time! ❤️
Speciality dinning 🍽 ...one of the saddest memories of my life...food burnt my toung on the first bite...it was called a tomatoe soup bite, waitress pushed EXTRAs Harder than a car salesman. Miserable meal 😪
My wife likes cruises I tolerate them , it annoys me to think you have to pay extra to get better food ! Overrated holiday best thing is get a balcony, the only thing I liked was the entertainment at night gets boring if your on sea to long, and personally I don't like dressing up for captains nights also not at portion enough some places need two days
@@davidinger961 agree w u ...my fav place to avoid the crowds was the spa and gym. I skipped half the meals and ordered smoothies from the gym. I enjoyed the shows as well ...did NOT like dressing up either
Does anyone know what type of prizes they usually give out for bingo? Is it vouchers to use on-board, merchandise, money etc? Or are there no actual prizes at all?
It usually is cash. A few lines may have some extras like free cruise vouchers for thew last day (but that is more rare)
This grandma go on the water slides
Different prospective. As a blind cruiser I love the inside cabins. Don't really care about the views in my case. The spa is a big waste of time and money I've got my massage guy at home to go to, don't need an overpriced cookie cutter massage. Love the casinos even won $750 one night. I prefer to interact with something then simply sit and listen to a show. I do love stand up comedy though and listening to classical music. One of the ships I was on offered chocolates with classical music; delicious. Finally the food. Speciality dining is a big bore. You get so much food for free why go pay for it? I'm not a big drinker, maybe two a day if that, so no drinks package either. In April 2024 I'm going on a four night cruise solo; in the past it has always been with my sighted partner. It should be interesting, and if it turns out to be a disaster; lesson learned but I've done my research and I don't think it will be much difficulty. I won't be the first blind person going on a cruise on my own.
Once I sailed in a balcony cabin I didn’t want to go back. I love being able to step out in the fresh air and seeing the view, whatever it may be
Absolutely!
In my mind a balcony cabin is mandatory with the cruise ships getting so big that there is no quiet space on board anywhere.
NBC.
Vista suite if available. Balcony is a must for me. I need that serenity.
Always a balcony
My favorite part of the cruise is having breakfast on the balcony with my daughter in the mornings in our robes. It’s so peaceful, and quite a view. We wouldn’t cruise without a balcony, so for us it’s well-worth it!
Fantastic!
We just discovered ( prior to covid) that princess do included breakfast room service. We never went yo the MDR or buffet again. What a luxury
I've never really cared for hot tubs.
I guess if I had a private one at my house that would be OK.
But when I see 20 people sitting around in that tepid bubbling water all I can think of:
PEOPLE SOUP!!
So, we always take water test strips to make sure it's safe. So far they have been 100% safe to use. Cruising to us is first and foremost a floating spa to revive the body and soul.
You're basically simmering in very diluted bleach water. Pretty unlikely to catch anything.
Bath with Friends
"People Soup"! I guess there should be cannibals with pins stuck through their noses and cheeks, while their skin is covered with tattoos. They're all standing around the big cauldron, stirring the pot and waiting for the dinner bell to ring for their main course of the day. :-)
I am an eye doctor, my wife is a public health microbiologist. There is a positive correlation between being in a cruise ship hot tub and contracting Nora- Virus.
I don’t think any of it is overrated. All of it depends on someone’s perspective and what they want to experience. You can control your experience by choosing the right ship, right itinerary. You can choose to do or not do anything you want on a cruise.
You're absolutely right. So...i've decided to avoid ALL of those annoyances one can encounter on a cruise...and i've been on several (cruises). My next 'experience' will be a flight to New Orleans to enjoy five nights at a luxury hotel with pool and fine dining. Then...a flight to the Caribbean....San Juan, Puerto Rico, for another ten nights. Again, at a luxury hotel with pool and ocean front beach. Going in August 2021...low season....stock up the fridge with my favourite foods and booze and enjoy the sea view scene from my ocean front room. YOU enjoy the cruise.....
@@brucemarsico6 LOL…..enjoy your trip.
The main reason is cruise line competition.
Exactly! What’s important to one person may not be to another. We’re all different.
Fair point except for the cabin upgrades ?
Thanks for video. so to summarize- the constant “upsell” is the issue. Cruising used to be seen as a relaxing experience and one could pay one price. It appears stress now comes from trying to NOT spent too much. I understand once one ship has something new ( art gallery, slides, fancy casinos, etc.) others need to get them. Smaller ships prob have less opportunities to spend more than larger which may be good.
All those upsell things are highly profitable, the cruise lines make a *LOT* of money from them. So the profit they make from upselling things to the typical passenger is built into the fare, which is cheaper than it would be if they didn't expect to make extra money from art auctions, gambling, stuff bought at the spa, etc.
Therefore, while I don't ever use any of them (unless I score a free basic drinks package), I like that those things are on board, as my cruise fare is cheaper because they expect to upsell things to more impulsive passengers.
@@Dave_Sisson that's a really good point!
This is why we went from RCL to Celebrity. More relaxing and it felt like a cruise not an Activity driven machine.
I agree with you. The upselling starts as soon as you board the ship with questions about whether you want to upgrade your drink package to the Premium level, photo packages, internet packages, casino chips and slots packages, wine packages; specialty restaurant visits; spa visits; and other upgrades. The trick you need to be able to perform is resisting these efforts to get you to spend more money on whatever you're already spent to enhance your cruise. Not easy, especially if I'm a single guy who has an eye for pretty ladies making a persuasive case for an upsell on photo packages, drink packages, or specialty restaurant deals.
simple rule, if it is being pushed and heavily promoted by the cruise line and the crew, it is over-rated. and if not over-rated then it is definitely over-priced.
Drink packages are already overpriced, like the drinks themselves. I'm trying to recall how much I used to pay for a freshly made strawberry daiquiri back in the '80s that didn't include the souvenir hurricane glass it was served in--less than 5 bucks? That drink is no longer freshly made: it's a pre-mix beverage poured from a gallon jug into those same souvenir glasses or a mason jar mug and it costs 3x as much. I'd rather buy a $5 bottle of Bud Light instead of that daiquiri!
Wines are way overpriced, and you can be tricked into buying a bottle you thought was priced at 48 bucks but when the bill comes, the price turns out to be 3x higher. That situation happened to me aboard the Celebrity Solstice 11 years ago. I was so mad I stormed out of the MDR. I was later mollified by the wine steward who reduced the price over 90 bucks. The lesson I took from that situation was to pre-purchase 3- bottle wine packages that will last during a 2 week sailing: I've already paid for the vino and won't get billed an arm-and-a-leg for it except for the tip for serving it.
So true. Great observation.
@@shepwillner7507 i got a drink package on my last cruise and i really liked it - there’s no way i got enough drinks each day to justify it monetarily but it was awesome not having to think about it (and getting patron, grey goose, jameson, etc) in every one of my drinks
This is actually why I love cruising so much. There is something for everyone, which is why we can never say anything is over-rated. I am busy and constantly in demand so when I go on vacation, I don't want to schedule things, I want to relax and not be around too many people unless I feel up to it. I'm claustrophobic so an inside cabin is out of the question. I've had ocean view cabins, but once I got a balcony, I spend a good 60% of my time in the cabin. I sat on the balcony reading for several hours.
*Hot Spa Tip:* I love the Spa treatments but HATE the upselling so here's a suggestion. Last time, at the beginning of the session, I mentioned how stressed I was and that I was *"giving this one last chance because the last time the woman kept trying to sell me things, which stressed me out!"* After I said that, the technician didn't try to sell me a single thing for the entire 90 minutes. It. Was. Heaven!!
What is one person’s “overrated” is another person’s “wow I loved that” on the cruise ship. That is why I think that it is nice that there is a variety in the different things that are offered on ships, different types of ships in their appeal, and different destinations to choose from.
Definitely !!!
I agree with you
Always something for everyone in the family, from wild and crazy, to sitting in the shade napping. Each family member/generation can enjoy a cruise together unlike many other holiday trends. We have one rule, meet to dine each evening and share tales of your day.
@@SandyToes75 You all have it DOWN!
I agree. Sometimes you need the security when traveling with kids. Or if u are travelling for the first time.
I have a theme that I would like you to do a video of. I know that most of your video's focus on the good things, but since you have been on so many cruises: what was the: worst buffet, the worst speciality dining, the most over rated excursion, the most over-priced experience, the worst bed/sleeping experience, the worst show/entertainment (commediens who was not funny, WestEnd Musical with dancers who could not dance...), the most UNDER-wealming experience on any cruise you have done?
I always thought I was a balcony forevermore kind of girl...But then a killer deal for a mediterranean cruise came my way in an oceanview, and now I'm a "Whatever way I can cruise" kind of girl! lol
Being a dedicated Cunarder I am used to a different experience so some of these things never even come into play. I agree that I like my balcony stateroom and also being a teetotaler the drinks package has limited appeal - give me one specializing in coffees, teas and cocoas and I would be more receptive.
A specialty tea package…..please!
Being honest, I have booked a balcony for the first time intentionally for a upcoming 2 week cruise this Nov solely because of Covid. My thought is if we get stuck out at sea or contained to my room I wanted more room/view & more natural light so I wouldn't feel trapped or enclosed. I've cruised 5 other times; 2 inside, 2 windows, and 1 balcony (that my roommate upgraded us to), and I had no problems with any but my favorite had to be the handicapped with port window, BIGGEST BATHROOM EVER!! But I was with someone that needed it. The balcony we had it was fun to watch the last minutes peir runners and as we woke up early on our return day we saw that, but if it wasn't for covid I'd still be happy with the other more economical options.
The only problem with your Covid plan is that most ships don’t confine you to your own cabin. They have a designated quarantine area and move you to a cabin there.
@@gaymoravec382, oh I'm aware. I was thinking more along the lines of stuck at sea, not able to go into port, etc. Like the Princess (?) ship that couldn't dock back when Covid started. Worse case scenario I know, but JIC
If I got Covid, which I already had before & I was stuck in bed for 4-5 days straight and don't remember mich about it really , I figured they'd quarantine me like you said or get me odd the ship so that wasn't actually a factor.
Agree with all but balcony. I’d never go without one. Decks are crowded, no chairs, noisy. Love to sun on my private balcony, eat breakfast in morning and wine at night.
Sorry have to disagree. I can smell a smoker from 50 metres.
@@argonaut816 hmmm. There are designated smoking areas. No smoking allowed on balconies. Never came upon it, and I can smell smoke like you. Sorry you experienced that.
As I mostly cruise with Princess , I know where the smoking areas are. We always book far away and never have a problem. I have upper airway issues so I have to be careful. I also get what I call “hotel throat”, from AC all the time. My own private fresh air access is important.
@@argonaut816 Yup. A big reason why we think balconies are overrated. We couldn't use it because of neighbors that would smoke even though it was against the rules. We just find quiet deck spots other places.
I'd rather cruise less often than choose an inside or sea view cabin. We spend a lot of time on our balcony/patio at home so it'd feel weird not having a balcony... 😂
Yeah, I used to always get inside rooms, with the idea that we won’t spend much time in the cabin anyways, but once we finally broke down and got a balcony cabin it REALLY changed our cruise, as we spent very little time up on deck, as we preferred o kick back on our balcony as it was almost like having a private cruise.
Me too, as a private person I neeeeed that balcony private time to take in the sea
I like it to just "count the waves" and look for that whale!
@@kjwinston77 or flying 🐟
I love having a balcony, but I wouldn't pass up a cruise if it meant having an inside. 8 out of the 10 I've done have been balconies. Insides do have their advantages though. So cool and dark for that afternoon nap after you've been drinking margaritas in the sun all day. The other cabin a lot of people seem to not want is a lower deck one. Those two cruises we did an interior cabin were also on deck 1. It was amazing on port days. The mad dash headed UP to cabins was skipped for a single flight of stairs down, and conveniently in the reverse for getting off on port days. Really, just about every room on the ship has some advantage to it.
I have to be honest I don’t think I could ever book anything outside a balcony again. I love to wake up grab coffee or room service and just sit out on my balcony watching the water. It a peaceful start and a finish to the day. But to each it’s own 😉
Depends on the size of the balcony! Not every cruise line has adequate Balconies! Two chairs in a closet with sunlight and fresh air is not a balcony!
I always try to get a Balcony AFT for it is great to see the Sunset and enjoy that Bloody Mary in the morning. We have had a Suite but it was in the center of the ship and we felt not as good as the AFT.
@@rgruenhaus Been on almost 100 cruises-mostly inside but balconies too! When I relax,I want a sun bed for reading,dozing,fab! Also to chat to like-minded folk next to me! Balconies small except Suites,etc. No way!
@@rgruenhausit is still fresh air. However small it’s somewhere to sit and watch and listen to the sea and relax. I live to be able to pop out first thing to see where I am and last thing at night. The thought of being inside a room with no fresh air or view is awful
It seems like the cruise line's private island would be a great place to house the big resort stuff that they use to get people excited to book with them without having to sacrifice that space on board the ship.
My wife and I were planning on buying a drinks package on one of our 12 day cruises and it was going to cost $1800 Australian. We ended up adding up our total drinks over the time on board and it came to only $750 for the both of us, and we didn't hold back on the amount or the quality of the beverages.
I love your channel, you are so thorough and thoughtful! I would not do any upgrade...I like to pick everything about my cabin and do not want to change it. I LOVE having the balcony, it's actually my favorite place on the ship. Enjoying the ocean from the decks is usualy too crowded and noisy and loaded with reserved chairs...very bad. I am not interested in specialty dining--the main dining room is great for me! On my last cruise I cruised alone and was assigned to a table with lots of other singles. We like our combradery and the specialty dining would interrupt that...plus why pay more, the dining room food is delicious! I wouldn't want to have all the water slides and stuff taken away, so many young people like them, but I have no use for them myself. I am clastaphobic inside those closed water-filled tubes! Regarding private islands, I would rather stop at a real country's port. However, if I lived in southern Florida (which I don't), I would like those weekend cruises from Miami that JUST go the private islands. That could be something I would do as another fun thing, not be part of a bigger cruise. I am bored by shopping and especially dislike the art auctions. The spas are a waste of time and money. I can do that at home, why waste doing that when on a ship! The drinks packages, I can't fathom them! I will drink two liquor drinks a day and wine at dinner. What do people use with those huge packages--get a liquor drink once an hour? I want to experience my cruise, not be drunk all day! Regarding the casinos, I am not really a gambler, but when I visit my brother and his wife wife live in Las Vegas, when I visit them, we will go play then. Better ods in Vegas than on a ship. Something I miss that I thought every ship SHOULD have is an expert talking about some of the designations. Maybe the last few cruises I was on that did not have this was an anomaly, but that would NOT be someting overrated for me! What I enjoy on the cruises is being on the ships themselves, leaving and arriving in port, meeting new people, the great food, trying out various bars, relaxing on the balcony, swimming in every pool, exploring ports, the shows, dirty comedies, some of the music groups, and dancing the night away! Oh, and simply walking and walking and walking all around all the decks, exploring every inch of the ship. Looking out to sea and seeing other ships in the distance, or at a neighboring slip at a port. I'm crazy for cruise ships just for themselves!
I realize that your comments are based for the broad range of cruise passengers who travel on very large ships with a myriad of attractions. Having traveled on the larger ships, my wife and I prefer the smaller ships like Regent, Seaborne and Oceania that are more all inclusive and generally are not designed for families with children. Of course these cruise lines are much more expensive and don’t have the large amusement attractions that larger ships feature. Personally, we’d always want a room with a balcony in the quiet areas of the ship that you’ve highlighted.
My wife and I will be going on our first cruises with Celebrity Equinox in mid October to the ABC Islands and Oceania Vista on December 30th to the Caribbean as well.
We did a A1 Aqua Class balcony cabin on deck 11 mid ship with Celebrity and a PH1 Penthouse Suite on Oceania also on deck 11 mid ship as well to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.
I take it you have been on these two lines before? Your comments relflect why my wife and I at 56 chose these two cruise lines to sail with here in 2023.
My first cruise was in a balcony cabin as it was our honeymoon, and we loved it, so we’ve never booked anything else.
My wife and I upgraded to a Princess mini-suite on our first cruise because the price difference was only a couple hundred dollars. The difference between that cabin and the inner, ocean view, and balcony cabins is well worth the cost when you consider the extra space you get particularly with regard to the bathroom and closet.
The speciality dining offers a smaller, more intimate dining experience which can be nice, but typically the main dining room food is quite good, so the up charge seems a bit of a waste.
I enjoy the days the ship visits their private island, because I never go ashore there. People who stay onboard have the run of the ship, nothing is crowded, and you can do anything you please without a line or a wait.
The go carts and water slides seem to be on ships that cater to families and young adults. I try to avoid those ships altogether.
A balcony is essential. Starting the day on the balcony with coffee, or just occasionally escaping the crowds on your own balcony is wonderful.
I would find it impossible to drink enough every day to come close to having the drinks package make financial sense.
As for the spa, as you indicated they push other products and services, and if you get a massage or other treatment early in the cruise, you will be berated with daily marketing attempts to draw you back for the rest of the cruise.
Shopping, art auctions and the casino offer no attraction to me whatsoever.
I never buy at the art auctions but i do attend a couple of times as I like to learn about art and the artists, lots to learn from these folk.
I don't bother with massages for precisely the reason you mention: the constant pitches for overpriced creams and lotions you won't use when you get home. I don't bother attending art auctions because one has to be able to discern whether a work of art is worth its weight in your suitcase, and I don't like Champagne. I stopped playing bingo because the people who play this game are usually the ones who do this at their retirement homes: they're the ones who have huge numbers of cards at their places, at the ready to win the games. I stopped going ashore at private island visits because they're PITAs with queues for food I prefer not to eat in the open air, e.g., BBQ chicken, ribs, mac 'n cheese, etc. So, like you, I stay aboard and relax in a nice lounger or at a table in the shade where I can sit and do my adult coloring book or write my memoirs or the cruise ship review for Cruise Critic. When the time comes for lunch, I'll gather up my belongings and head in to the uncrowded buffet line. After eating, I can return to another table near the pool to continue what I was doing before I got the hunger pangs.
I wish they would put the libraries back and have more covered seating on the decks. I love being outside but can't take the sun beating on me.
If you go on a nice ship with a walk around promenade deck, they are covered by the deck above coming out over and life boats.
@@chriswilliams6568 but there are no chairs there usually.
@@kimpulsipher647 oh, we have often sat out on decks on a Princess ship, I can’t remember about Celebrity.
Cunard Queen Mary 2 ; loungers on deck 7 under the lifeboats and a library 😊
And not only the libraries, the book shelves should be filled with books purchased from book stores where the ships make their home ports. Those book shelves should also be filled with DVDs; game cartridges; and other things, e.g., writing materials such as post cards, tablets, journals, and pens for writing on these items. I also agree about having more covered areas on the pool and higher open decks to avoid overexposure to the sun's rays. As people get older, their skin becomes less able to absorb UVA and UVB rays, and if you're not protected with sun screen lotion, you can get a painful sunburn. I've had many sunburns in my life, and most of them have happened on Caribbean cruises to teach me something important: get the heck out of the sun and into the shade to avoid getting burned.
I don't honestly see the point of cruising if you're not going to have a balcony. You may as well just stay at a hotel on land and fly to your ports of call. As for dining, I do think some lines push the specialty dining a bit too much but my wife and I do eat at specialty restaurants once or twice per cruise. It's a lot less hectic, usually a lot more intimate and romantic and *can* be a lot higher quality food. I've never complained about the food in any main dining room but the food in the specialty restaurants is often as good and as creative as you'll find in the best restaurants in a big city, and you'll often get a view and usually a lot more personal service in the bargain. Not worth doing every night but for a special treat, sure.
The drink package isn't bad but if one person drinks a lot and the other does not drink hardly at all, it's very wasteful because ships like Carnival make EVERYONE in the same room buy it.
I think it depends on the age range of the cruise population
I don't care about roller coasters etc.
I've never been able to figure out why cruise ships are into art auctions. I never EVER look at the art that's available on the ship and wish the space was utilized for other ventures. Also, I will not cruise on a ship with race car tracks and wild ride simulators. They are for the very young, and, for me, cruising is about relaxing and getting away from all the stress and noise. Also, nothing is nicer than having a cabin with a balcony to enjoy breakfast in the morning, or a cocktail late in the evening!
I’ve never seen much interest full stop in any art auction. And certainly Europeans, Australians and Asia’s laugh at them.
Why? The ships make a fortune on the art auctions. The art auction manager is one of the highest earners on the ship. You can make 6 figures. The art department is actually run by Park West on the ships. They aren't even our employees. I have seen people buy $30,000 in art.
@@burningblue1254 To add to that the artist is appealing to a specific audience. If you go to Sandals hotels you can purchase artwork from them too.
@@PristineMindset I don't make judgements on what people spend their money on. I have seen people buy $30,000 worth of art and drop $25,000 on jewelry.
Why do you think lines have art auctions?
Balcony all the way. I use it all the time. I also used the thermal spa part of the spa daily ( the hydro pools etc) but didn’t get any extra treatments. The thermal spa pass was worth it for me.
I love on-board casinos and drinks packages. I never actually use them, I just appreciate that they are massive profit centers that effectively subsidize the rest of the ship.
I also love both of these packages because I know I'll use them, especially onboard casinos--my escape from dark, overcrowded disco dance floors.
Only a couple of my adult children will get a drinks package. It is nice because they will buy the wine at dinner because of the discount. You need to really drink a lot to make it worth it. My husband and I have never visited the casino or purchased the drinks packages. We’ve only cruised Princess (20 cruises) and we really like the mix of clientele (families, young people, old folks (of which we are)). We would cruise even if there were no island stops. We love sea days. But we do love Princess’s private island. It is undeveloped, minimal shopping, great place for nature walks.
Most overrated? Swimming with the dolphins. Especially since you have to keep up with the ship.
I've been on only one cruise, to Alaska. We had a balcony, and we felt it was well worth it. We were out there all the time, we loved it.
For us the drink package worked out well for us. At $13 a drink it was easy to hit the $52 per person mark each day. We are wine and cocktail drinkers. If you just drink beer, I could see it not being worth it.
We love the balcony cabins and won't cruise if we can't get one. We love being able to just sit quietly together and get fresh air and look out over the water on sea days. When we went to Alaska, our balcony was actually on the very back of the ship. Yes, there was noise, but it wasn't horrible and we got to see the glaciers on both sides, just a few minutes later than everyone else.
Agreed. I have spent dozens of hours looking for flying fish or, more accurately, meditating about flying fish. Having breakfast on our balcony is one of the best parts of cruising.
I get so seasick that I’ve asked to be changed from a suite to an ocean view. I tried the looking at the horizon as it’s recommended and that made me feel worst cause the water movement made me more dizzy.
I got upgraded to a balcony on my Alaska cruise, and I literally never used it. I went up to the top deck instead to see the scenery.
@@user73958 I get what you are saying, but why not do both? You can hang out in your jammies on your own balcony and have breakfast. (Ok maybe not in alaska) but that is what we do on tropical destinations. then you can go up on deck later.
Love a balcony room! Sometimes you just want a quite relaxing space to soak up the cruise experience & listen to the sea. Feel cruise resorts are pushed way too much, personally I don’t want a Caribbean Blackpool. I’m sure lots will disagree.😂🛳
Well I for one fully agree with you.
I agree with you!
If we didn't have the drink package my wife would drag me to the art auction and jewelry showcase for the "free" drink and that route would cost thousands more than a drink package.
I like balconies, but if I had to travel inside cabins to afford cruising I would. You can always find a quiet corner on a ship to watch the water go by.
I get the absolute best sleep in an inside cabin!! Completely pitch black and the gentle waves rock you right to sleep
We had an inside cabin on the newly-launched Solstice and we loved it. Bigger because of it's odd shape. SO restful, quiet and pitch dark. Our favorite 'new' ship still, with plenty of deck space to enjoy the outdoors.
Like either an inside or an balcony cabin. 1st cruise I took we had a balcony cabin and we were spoiled from that day on. But we did try an inside cabin once. We were with a group of friends, they booked the cabins, and it was a pleasant experience. I had the best sleep of my life, being rocked by the waves, and in total darkness. Also, made new friends. Either cabin is good for me. I think it's a matter of what you want to spend your money on. Keep up the great work Gary!
@@Kittie28 Although I prefer a balcony cabin, I can see how people with sleep issues would benefit from an inside cabin.