Cruising experts??

Celebrity, Celebrity, Celebrity!

The first question is where and when do you want to cruise.

The choices are constantly growing: the Caribbean has three options:

- Eastern, (generally; San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Martin, Nassau - this is my wife's favorite for shopping)

- Western ports (generally; Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel - usually more adventurous shore excursions).

- Southern (generally some combination of: St. Thomas, St. Martin, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Aruba, and Curacao - this is my favorite), you'll need to fly to San Juan.

The next question is how structured you want your cruise to be? Most ocean cruise lines have "assigned" dining times and various dress codes for dinner (formal nights, casual nights, etc.). Others have "Freestyle" or "Personal Choice" Dining. In other words, they have 6-10 restaurants for you to choose from, and you eat when, where, and with whom you want - and dress as casual as you please.

Your budget does come in to play in both departure city and cabin selection. A quick scale, from least expensive to most expensive cabin types is: Inside; Oceanview; Balcony; Suite. The best location for least motion is as close to mid-ship as possible - another factor that not too many people realize is that the higher decks have more motion than the lower decks.

As far as what's included and what's not included in your cruise price, here's a little guide:

- Included - Ship accommodations, ocean transportation, most meals, coffee/tea/juices, most entertainment, and port taxes.

- Not Included - Any item of a personal nature including but not limited to: alcoholic beverages, spa and salon treatments, specialty coffees, shore excursions, gratuities, air transportation, transfers, photographs, medical services,

Two final thoughts; 1) make sure you use a good travel agent; 2) ask your travel agent to price out "Celebrity Cruise Line" for you - absolutely the best (our personal favorite!).

Also remember that "best value for your money" doesn't mean "cheapest". People often confuse the least expensive price with the best value. “Price” is what you paid for your vacation – “Value” is what you get for what you paid!

Have fun - planning is a big part of the enjoyment!

I have cruised with Carnival and Princess. We had a fantastic time with both. I choose cruises to fit our scheduled vacation time, budget and choice of islands. I always start my research on vacationstogo.com. There is so much information there. I just got back from a 10 day Southern Caribbean and we saved money by getting an inside cabin. We could have only sailed 7 days if we had gotten an outside. Carnival is not the party central that everyone claims. The longer the cruises the less rowdiness. I'd go for a 7 day. The western caribbean is the best first cruise itinerary. We love Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Belize the best. For more opinions about everything cruising try cruiseaddicts.com or cruisecritics.com and you can get great advice from veteran cruisers who love to share. Bon Voyage!

I highly recommend Celebrity, Princess, or Royal Caribbean. I have cruised with all three multiple times and the food, service, ships, and staffs are excellent. You need to think about booking very soon to get a good deal in November as cruises do sell out, especially the best deals and cabins.

Royal Caribbean- I have sailed with this cruise line many times, and it's the perfect cruise line for any type of person; my aunt and uncle have been married 10 years, and our waiter thought they were newlyweds because they were relaxed... even though they had two kids. Plus on some of their voyages they go to their own private island, Labadee, which is in Haiti. (The part of the island is owned by Royal Caribbean so the only people on the island are the people from your ship and the ship's employees, and it's a truly gorgeous island, my favorite out of all of the Caribbean islands).

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gohome.do <visit their site to learn all you can

Good luck and enjoy your vacation!

Most ships offer laundry service - some self serve, some you have to send in. You could try bringing cutting down on the stuff you bring and use the laundry service If your main reason for being afraid is lost luggage, then put what you really need (documents, medicines, clothing for some days, etc.) in your carry on and pack the rest in a suit case. I've been on 80+ plane flights including 10 to/from Miami, and I've only had lost luggage once

my husband and I did that for our 15th and we have our 3rd cruise book, they are addicting

We love carnival, and i november other than the week of thanksgiving it is one of the cheaper time of year, which is nice that leave more to spend on the ports, and the ship does not change it level of service, it is top notch all the way. from th room stewards to the server in the dinning room they spoil you rotten! I recommend the dinning room every night.

we stared with a 3day and it was not long enough

I like Carnival. They offer the lowest fares, so you have more to spend on the islands. They have a reputation as a party boat, but on the five day I went on, I did not see this. I took a three day Bahamas, and it was much rowdier.

Personally I prefer Carnival, but it depends on what you're looking for

1. Royal Carrib. -- more elegant and high standard of service, but smaller cabins

2. Carnival -- 24 hour PARTY!!! -- larger cabins

Wear plenty of sunscreen the sun is very intense and you don't want a sunburn. Skip the midnight buffet, it's not that great.

royal caribbean, they have really good food and the ships are really nice.