Back from my cruise!! (Paris, bridge, comparison, European)

[sportsfangal]

Hey there! well, I am back from my first cruise. I went on Carnival Freedom to Key West, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I have to say it was beyond fun!!! I was so impressed by the ship, (even though the decor was a little odd) and very happy with my cabin! especially the comfy bed. I took several great naps!
I was on the Riviera (1st) Deck, and felt much of the rocking and swaying of the boat, but it was relaxing and lulled me to sleep! The food wasn't stellar, but I wasn't expecting it to be, we had early (6pm) dinner, which was nice, great servers and chocolate melting cake for dessert every night! yum!
I really enjoyed all the European staff members and found them to be very helpful.
On the sea days, my friends and I mostly sat on deck in the sun, which was great, I was worried that everyone would be herded around doing all types of cheesy activities, but you really could do your own thing, if you wanted to take a nap in your room, or have peace and quiet and read a book, you could! I think my favorite part was coming back to my cabin and resting!! ha!
As for the ports, Key West was fun, I took the tour and met up with my group for the remainder of their Pub Crawl. In Grand Cayman, I took an island tour, then met up with friends at the Reef Grill on the beach, very sunny and relaxing, in Ocho Rios, I climbed the Dunn's River Falls, and then met up with friends at Margaritaville, which you have to see to believe! Very fun and lots of dancing!
I would definately go on another cruise, and looking forward to different ports, I was worried that a few hours in each port wasn't enough, but it was, I got a great overview of them, but spending a night in a port would be a fun adventure!!
Thanks for all your tips! I used them throughout my trip!!

[Erma]

Yep, cruises are fun! I would like to take the east coast cruise up to Canada. I hear it's a blast with a stop in Boston.

[cb at sea]

Glad you had a great time! I bet you're addicted to cruising now--most are! Let us know when you plan your next cruise!

[sportsfangal]

ooh! that's sounds nice! I would especially like to visit Nova Scotia! there was a ferry that leaves from Maine, but it was only offered in the summer and I missed it by 2 weekends!

Originally Posted by Erma

Yep, cruises are fun! I would like to take the east coast cruise up to Canada. I hear it's a blast with a stop in Boston.

[sportsfangal]

I'm not sure if I'm addicted quite yet, I think I would need to do one more and visit different ports to feel an addiction starting! ha! but I will let you know for sure. the same friends are taking a Disney cruise in May, but I won't be attending that one.

Originally Posted by cb at sea

Glad you had a great time! I bet you're addicted to cruising now--most are! Let us know when you plan your next cruise!

[Erma]

Originally Posted by sportsfangal

ooh! that's sounds nice! I would especially like to visit Nova Scotia! there was a ferry that leaves from Maine, but it was only offered in the summer and I missed it by 2 weekends!

This cruise leaves from Baltimore. Our mailman took his wife on it and he said they had a super time. Baltimore is only 3 hours from us. We drove to JAX to get our cruise last time and I do agree, the Keys were super! We often talk about flying to Miami, renting a car and driving over the bridge to the keys and spending a few days. My friends Grandfather was the engineer for that bridge and it's quite amazing.

[sportsfangal]

what a nice bit of history to drive on your grandfather's bridge!! what I saw of Key West was nice, I think I would like to depart from New Orleans next time. I haven't been to NO since Katrina, but I miss the food and atmosphere of it. I think it would be awesome to spend a few days and then leave for the trip.

Originally Posted by Erma

This cruise leaves from Baltimore. Our mailman took his wife on it and he said they had a super time. Baltimore is only 3 hours from us. We drove to JAX to get our cruise last time and I do agree, the Keys were super! We often talk about flying to Miami, renting a car and driving over the bridge to the keys and spending a few days. My friends Grandfather was the engineer for that bridge and it's quite amazing.

[NORMGLO]

My husband and I leave in a couple of weeks for our annual Holiday cruise of the Caribbean. Reluctantly we started cruising 8 years ago and have not stopped since then.

First cruise was on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas and we loved it but felt that we needed to try some other cruise lines in order to make a fair comparison. We have cruised RCCL, Carnival, Princess, NCL and Celebrity so far. Our favorite is Celebrity - also used them on my Galapagos cruise.

[sportsfangal]

cool! I've heard nice things about Celebrity from the other cruisers on my trip.
I'm going to have to compare them now myself! I would like to do an Alaskan sea/land combo tour. that would be awesome!!

Originally Posted by NORMGLO

My husband and I leave in a couple of weeks for our annual Holiday cruise of the Caribbean. Reluctantly we started cruising 8 years ago and have not stopped since then.

First cruise was on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas and we loved it but felt that we needed to try some other cruise lines in order to make a fair comparison. We have cruised RCCL, Carnival, Princess, NCL and Celebrity so far. Our favorite is Celebrity - also used them on my Galapagos cruise.

[Finger Laker]

I just booked a princess cruise for the eastern carribean in march

excited as this will be the first time out for my wife and myself

sounds like you had a blast