Cruise out of Galveston/New Orleans

[Cohiba]

Hey All,

My wife and I know nothing about cruises and need some help. What we have seen on TV makes us ....not to happy about a cruise. It looks like a herd of people leave the ship, a herd of people sightseeing, herd of people doing the same stuff on the port of call. Hmmmmm. We don't know anyone who has taken a cruise....so we have no real reference.

What are the pros & cons of taking a cruise? Best time, least amount of kids on the ship, entertainment on and off the ship? Best location to have a room on the ship and anything else.

We use to live in Galveston and would see a lot of cruise ships. So, we went and got our passports....but never went.

Also....best places to cruise to out of New Orleans/Galveston ports. Where to purchase the package....off the internet through the cruise company or a travel agent?

Thanks!!
Cohiba

 

[badrinker]

I've been on several, and have sailed out of Galveston and New Orleans. Had a good time on all of them.
You can follow the crowd if you want, or you can go off and do your own thing (within limits). The sunning decks do get crowded when you are at sea.
If you want to avoid crowds, get a room with a balcony ($$), so you can have a place of your own to sit and enjoy. I like people watching (and I'm cheap) so we would get a regular room. The higher up the ship you go the higher the price, and outside rooms are higher priced. Inside rooms don't have any windows obviously, I much prefer outside rooms.
We used "Cruise depot" out of Florida, however it's been 3-4yrs ago since we last went.

 

[msgunner]

Use - vacationstogo.com - also another good resource is Cruise Critic - I have been on many of cruises out of the NOLA port and all have been great. Do your research before hand on Cruise Critic - a lot of times you can book excursions before hand or at the port for 1/3 of the cost. ALSO - if you go Carnival - you can EACH bring 1 bottle of WINE or Champagne on board - also sneaking liquor is VERY easy if you dont want a $600 tab when you get off the boat.

The best time for value is October - March - this is considered their offseason - I have gone on a 7 night cruise for about $450 during this time. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions

 

[1911Sooner]

I think I can help you as I love to cruise. Imo it is the best value out there. I like Royal Carribean the best but it also cost the most. Carnival is not far behind and it the best one if you have kids. Norwegian is my least favorite but it's still awesome! I prefer to sail out of Galveston as opposed to N.O. Only went to N.O. once and that was on the Norwegian.

I like to stay as high as possible and as far front as possible. If you are low and towards the rear you will hear the engines and they are loud. Also find out where the anchor is and try and stay away from that. When you port they drop it and if you are sleeping it will wake you up.

It's really not bad at all entering and leaving the ships. Never had any problem there. If you drink don't buy alcohol on the ship as it's expensive. Instead buy it on land and just drink there as it's much cheaper. $1 Corona's in Cozumel, etc. We usually only do one excusion on the trip. We pick the place we want to do that and then just go sight seeing at the other ports. We have been to Jamaica, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Grand Caymens,Honduras, Guetamala, and Belize. I loved Jamaica but the wife hates it. Neither of us liked Guetemala(can you say the hottest place on Earth?) The other places are great but Grand Cayman is very expensive.

If you have any more questions feel free to pm......

 

[BadgerLB]

Use - vacationstogo.com - also another good resource is Cruise Critic - I have been on many of cruises out of the NOLA port and all have been great. Do your research before hand on Cruise Critic - a lot of times you can book excursions before hand or at the port for 1/3 of the cost. ALSO - if you go Carnival - you can EACH bring 1 bottle of WINE or Champagne on board - also sneaking liquor is VERY easy if you dont want a $600 tab when you get off the boat.

The best time for value is October - March - this is considered their offseason - I have gone on a 7 night cruise for about $450 during this time. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions

This...

We've gone on a few... 2 leaving from galveston, one from san diego, and one from ftl.

Carnival is good if you're on a budget, I'm not a fan of rccl, but that was just my personal experience, princess cruises are super nice. We snuck liquor on on each cruise we went on with the exception of the one from FTL... but that was just because we didn't want to mess with it.

You don't have to stay with the herd, and in my opinion you get the most bang for your buck on a cruise... If I didn't have kids we'd do at least 1 a year.

 

[cowzrul]

Went two months ago on our first cruise. We did Royal Caribbean and stayed in a balcony room on the 9th level. I liked being up higher and towards mid/front of the ship. All my other sea experiences were on Navy ships in the Marine birthing area so I knew what it was like to stay below sea level. We did 3 excursions. One was pathetic. One was ok, and my dive excursion was the bomb!

Already planning two more trips because we got hooked. I liked being able to see the shows, bingo, sit on the deck. My wife and I should have been born in the 1800's cause we are fuddy duddies. We didn't have problems with the crowds because we hung out with all the people in walkers and canes.

 

[MaddSkillz]

Cruises are awesome. I've only been on Royal Caribbean so can't comment on Carnival. My wife and I love to cruise. Book excursions or just get off the ship and sight-see and eat local cuisine or chill on their beach... Whatever. So many options and it's a blast. I highly recommend a balcony room. It's very much worth it.

 

[man of many calibers]

Cruises are the best way to vacation in my opnion. This fall we will be doing cruise #9 and I see no end in sight. We also try to go out of Galveston when we can because of the ease of driving down there and handling our own luggage.
Carnival is usually the cheapest, but you also get the kind of people who are looking for the "cheapest".. Royal Caribean and Princess are my top two favorite, but you will also pay a little extra. As for the crowds, yes.....getting on and off there are always crowds because there is usually only one door. I don't notice the crowds while I am on the ship so much or while I am on the islands. It is like having the benefits of an all inclusive beach front hotel, except you wake up at a different island every morning.

 

[harley128]

Went on Carnival couple yrs ago out of Galveston. We used vacations to go,,, (or was it discountcruises.com)....No matter,--most are pretty close on price. I would pay the extra for a balcony room however. It's worth it. The Carnival route was Cayman Islands, Cozumel, etc. It was great. Food was good, entertainment was good, and gambling was good! Even came out a few $$ ahead!! You will enjoy it!

 

[gmar]

I guess the real question is not what cruise line to take but how do you sneak alcohol onto the ship?