STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

Ever been on a cruise?

atlgirl · Gucci

We did a cruise for our honeymoon, on NCL. We loved it! There were two "dress up" nights for dinner, so I got to wear things I wouldn't normally (these were formal dress). There was gambling, a theater for shows - mostly dance musical-type things, which were really well done - and several dance floors throughout the ship, which we used quite a bit.

Our particualar cruise was 8 days and hit 4 islands in the Caribbean. We managed to do a catamaran sail / volleyball outing, snorkeling, horseback riding, shopping, sightseeing, plus one totally relaxing "beach day" on Antigua and of course took in the pools on the two days that were totally aboard ship.

We played scrabble with other couples (I love scrabble), drank a ton, strolled the ship at sunset, met a lot of other great people. I would highly recommend.

The only caveat is that the rooms - at least ours - were very small, so try not to overpack. There isn't much space for everything! We probably could have upgraded to larger rooms, but after the expenses of the wedding (we paid for it ourselves) there wasn't much $$ left to go around. We opted for the longer cruise instead of having bigger rooms.

HTH

-- Edited by atlgirl at 14:02, 2007-03-01

sweater girl · BCBG

I think it really depends on what type of people you and your boyfriend are. I did a couple of cruises back when I was in my early 20's. While I enjoyed them at the time, I don't think I would ever do one again. Now that I've had a chance to travel a bit more...I have realized that I prefer to stay on one island and explore it at my own pace.

IMO a cruise is best for people who:

Might not have traveled that much, and would like to hit a few locales in short period of time.
Are very outgoing
Don't mind being somewhat scheduled

I wouldn't worry too much about getting seasick...all of the newer/larger ships have state of the art "stabalizing" systems which keep things pretty smooth...the only time I could envision getting seasick would be during a storm or something.

-- Edited by sweater girl at 16:01, 2007-03-01

ILoveChoo · Hermes

I like cruises and think they're great for a cheap, easy vacation...they don't require nearly as much planning as going somewhere on your own, and they're lots of fun (but at the same tiem very relaxing)

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

I think a cruise is an awesome idea. Its so nice to get on a boat and just chill and not worry about car rentals or what to do.

Report back to us if you go!

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

In my experience, people either LOVE cruises or HATE cruises. I've never met anyone who was on the fence about them.

Personally, I love them. I've been on 3 and really enjoy them.

As for sea-sickness, the odds of you getting seasick on the cruise ship are pretty slim, because they are so huge. I went on a cruise during hurricane season, and our ship basically followed a hurricane, and I didn't get seasick. However, when you go on excursions and go on the tiny boats to snorkle and whatnot, seasickness is a very real possibility. But, I found that over the counter stuff worked fine for me.

If you are considering a first time cruise, I'd recomment a Western Caribbean cruise, if you are looking at a 7 day. It only has 3 stops typically (Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel/Cancun area). 3 stops over 7 days lets you relax on the boat and you won't feel too over scheduled. I took a 5 stop cruise over 7 days and it was too much.

Also, consider the cruise line. Carnival is good for families and younger couples/groups. Royal Caribbean is good for couples and fun loving older adults, and Norweigen is more for bingo playing grandmas and an older crowd.

Newer ships are bigger and have more to do. Smaller ships are older and cheaper to cruise on.

HTH

-gd