Ok so I was so worried about going on a cruise. When we were brainstorming ideas with some friends they suggested a 3 or 4 day cruise instead of our usual Vegas trip. My first instinct was to say HELL NO. The whole idea of a cruise bothered me. Let me lay out for you my top 5 reason.
1. Being stuck on a boat ummm what would we do for 3 days.
2. Being in the middle of an ocean and getting rough seas which leads to #3.
3. Being motion sick and puking the entire time.
4. Seeing other people with motion sickness puking everywhere (I have a major fear of puke).
5. Eating from a buffet I am SOOOO not a buffet kinda gal for a lot of reasons mostly the germ aspect.
Well....let me tell you it wasn't anything like I had imagined. I am by NO MEANS a cruise expert but I posted some instagram stories from the cruise and got over 20 different messages about cruises and if I liked it. Who would of thought that many people would have similar fears as me. So let me break it down to you, what I loved and didn't love and what was my final take on cruises.
1. Being stuck on a boat ummm what would we do for 3 days.
2. Being in the middle of an ocean and getting rough seas which leads to #3.
3. Being motion sick and puking the entire time.
4. Seeing other people with motion sickness puking everywhere (I have a major fear of puke).
5. Eating from a buffet I am SOOOO not a buffet kinda gal for a lot of reasons mostly the germ aspect.
Well....let me tell you it wasn't anything like I had imagined. I am by NO MEANS a cruise expert but I posted some instagram stories from the cruise and got over 20 different messages about cruises and if I liked it. Who would of thought that many people would have similar fears as me. So let me break it down to you, what I loved and didn't love and what was my final take on cruises.
The Rooms- I was also worried the rooms would be tiny. For this reason I made sure we got a junior suite with a balcony (near the lifeboats). I was shocked at the size of the room. It was actually really good size, it felt like a regular hotel room except for the bathroom. I didn't get a photo of that but it was small. Overall the rooms did not make me feel claustrophobic, but I don't think I could go smaller than this. It was also SOOO clean, but I did bring some clorox wipes.
The Booze and Company -I think what made our cruise was the people we went with. They were SOOO fun and they had been on quite a few cruises so they were very helpful with guiding us. I also had a good girlfriend who helped me a lot to prepare for it. Like telling me I could pack a bottle of wine in my suitcase and helped me decide if we should do the all you can drink package for $50 a day. Here is what was so funny they have a 15 drink limit then you are cut off. I am actually 100% ok with this limit and I think it is actually GREAT. But let's just say I never reached the 15 drink limit but I may or may not have known some people who did. I think if your going to be on the boat a lot like we were it is a good deal. I pretty much drank champagne and wine and those are $12 a drink so if you plan on drinking more than 4 in a 24 hr time frame then it is a good deal.
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The Pool / Customer Service- I totally can see how people get addicted to cruises the hospitality was over the top. I was so impressed by this and we weren't even on a fancy boat. I loved our day spent on the boat and laying out, we chose to face the water over the pool and that was the best choice. We got to see tons of dolphins. One morning we woke up and went to breakfast and there were over 100 towel animals covering the swim deck and bars. It was so cool and such a fun surprise walking to breakfast and seeing that. Which leads me to the next ticket item.
Dining-
Dining-
I was so freaked we were going to have to eat the buffet for all meals. But we didn't. I actually don't think I did the buffet. There definately was an option to do a buffet, but for breakfast we ordered food to our room, lunch we did the taco bar or salad bar. You could also always eat meals in the formal dining room. Dinner was in the dining room where you ordered from menu. Which leads me to the most random thing on the cruise. Mid dinner service the waiters bust out in full blown dance to Gangman Style. I literally was like what the (BEEEEEP) is going on. We ate in the dining room 2 night but on the 3rd night we booked the "Chefs Table". Which was 6 of us that got a 7 course meal in a private room with 3 chefs and 1 waitress serving us. This part was amazing, but what was even cooler is the first 30 minutes of the "chefs dinner" we got to go in the kitchen of the cruise ship. That was insane. It was during dinner service and they have just 1 kitchen to feed 2500 people from. It was so spotless and worked like a machine. That probably was my favorite thing we did on the boat. Except for these pictures....
Entertainment-
Ok this also blew me away there was 24/7 entertainment. From the cruise director dancing on the bar and doing different contests, to the piano bar, to a table side magician during dinner. In the evening after 4pm there was at least 4 different places to hear music. There was a Vegas style dancing and singing show that we went to one of the nights, but where we really hangout at was the comedy club. We went all 3 nights and every night it got funnier. It was my favorite part of the boat as far as entertainment goes. I am sure there was more like we didn't hit up the waterslides, putt putt golf and other daytime things. But we did hit up the casino all 3 nights!
Ok this also blew me away there was 24/7 entertainment. From the cruise director dancing on the bar and doing different contests, to the piano bar, to a table side magician during dinner. In the evening after 4pm there was at least 4 different places to hear music. There was a Vegas style dancing and singing show that we went to one of the nights, but where we really hangout at was the comedy club. We went all 3 nights and every night it got funnier. It was my favorite part of the boat as far as entertainment goes. I am sure there was more like we didn't hit up the waterslides, putt putt golf and other daytime things. But we did hit up the casino all 3 nights!
Full on 90's ship decor as you can see!
We were only on a 3 night cruise so we only went to port once and we got off for most of the day. I won't really offer advice on this but what I will say is the debarking and boarding on and off the ship was painless. It literally took us maybe 7 minutes to get off the boat and into a shuttle to downtown. Also the boarding of the ship on arrival and the debarking was pretty easy. It did take about 45 minutes to debark because of customs but overall it was super simple.
The Negatives- It was very commercial and cheesy at times. There were lines for a lot of things such as long bar lines, bathroom lines, and lines for dinner. The showers never really got hot enough. The food was meh, the chefs dinner was amazing but only 6-14 people a night can do that. But the main dining room food was decent but nothing to write home about. The frozen yogurt machine in the buffet area was pretty tasty. There really isn't a "drug" store or anything there was a tiny story but it mostly had clothes. So if you want snacks bring your own. I also didn't quite understand the need for 50 different photographers and backdrops all over the boat at night, but to be fair we bought 3 photos so clearly people are buying them. Our boat was a bit dated, so I would love to see a newer boat and one that is even bigger.
The Pros or Pleasant Surprises- I did feel the boat move pretty much all the time except when you were right in the middle of the ship. I felt the movement most in the back of the ship where the comedy club was. I wore the scopolamine patch the entire cruise and I had one of my moms electric motion sickness bracelets that I wore. But NEVER ONCE did I feel sick despite feeling the boat moving. We also had incredibly calm seas. I could see if the seas were really rough how that could mess some people up. I also never saw anyone puke but my GF did see a little girl get sick by the pool.
So would I do it again- the answer is probably yes. I would like to try a 5 day one where we could go to 3 different ports. I think it would be fun to wake up and be in a new place everyday. I don't think I would take my kids until they are in like 3rd or 4th grade. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would take Monroe she would have crawled over the railings and fallen off the first day. I was shocked to see how easy it would be to fall off. So now we are talking 5 days away from the kids for a trip. Do we do a cruise or would we opt for a trip to Cabo or PV for 5 days. I think I would still chose a trip on land over a cruise. Mostly because of the sea sickness thing and if you did encounter rough seas that could really ruin your entire trip. But I would like to hope we do another one again and take the kids on one when they get a bit older.
So for those of you first time cruisers that are worriers like me, I suggest starting with a 3 or 4 day. It was the perfect amount of time and we had a blast. I also think that had to do with the company vs the place. It was a weekend cruise so it was a constant party form the moment we stepped on the ship till the end. There were countless bachelorette and birthday parties on the boat, so if you are looking for calm and relaxing a 3 day cruise on a weekend..... this cruise is probably not for you.
The Pros or Pleasant Surprises- I did feel the boat move pretty much all the time except when you were right in the middle of the ship. I felt the movement most in the back of the ship where the comedy club was. I wore the scopolamine patch the entire cruise and I had one of my moms electric motion sickness bracelets that I wore. But NEVER ONCE did I feel sick despite feeling the boat moving. We also had incredibly calm seas. I could see if the seas were really rough how that could mess some people up. I also never saw anyone puke but my GF did see a little girl get sick by the pool.
So would I do it again- the answer is probably yes. I would like to try a 5 day one where we could go to 3 different ports. I think it would be fun to wake up and be in a new place everyday. I don't think I would take my kids until they are in like 3rd or 4th grade. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would take Monroe she would have crawled over the railings and fallen off the first day. I was shocked to see how easy it would be to fall off. So now we are talking 5 days away from the kids for a trip. Do we do a cruise or would we opt for a trip to Cabo or PV for 5 days. I think I would still chose a trip on land over a cruise. Mostly because of the sea sickness thing and if you did encounter rough seas that could really ruin your entire trip. But I would like to hope we do another one again and take the kids on one when they get a bit older.
So for those of you first time cruisers that are worriers like me, I suggest starting with a 3 or 4 day. It was the perfect amount of time and we had a blast. I also think that had to do with the company vs the place. It was a weekend cruise so it was a constant party form the moment we stepped on the ship till the end. There were countless bachelorette and birthday parties on the boat, so if you are looking for calm and relaxing a 3 day cruise on a weekend..... this cruise is probably not for you.
Cheers,
Jess
Jess
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