More cruise questions from a first timer...

[bethnjim]

My husband's mother has generously offered up a cruise, on her dime, for graduation presents to my husband and his sister and myself. We are all graduating college this year or have already graduated and she wanted to treat everyone. We talked about going on a cruise in the summer months, but the more we talked, the more we decided that we would rather take one in December to the Carribbean.

We are looking at a Carnival cruise to Western Carribbean that leaves out of New Orleans on December 26th and returns on December 31st. The timeline works out perfect. THe only problem is that I want to spend Christmas day with my family at my mom's....so flying out the day before is going to be a problem. Has anyone had experience with flying out on the morning of the cruise. We can get a flight at 5am which puts us in New Orleans by 8or9am and the boat doesn't leave until 4pm. Also, is there anything else I should know about a cruise. We are leaning towards a room with an ocean view. Is that good?? They don't offer balconies on this ship.

Any info would be great!!

[Annette]

We've flown out morning of on both of our cruises. We took really early flights just in case they got delayed or cancelled. We arrived at the port with plenty of time to spare. Our first cruise had an 11pm departure and the second left at 5. We were on both ships around lunchtime. It was great being the first few on board and not have to wait long for the lunch buffet. We had a balcony on our first cruise (was our honeymoon) and opted for the inside cabin on the 2nd cruise. Since we were in our room mainly to sleep, the extra money for a window or balcony wasn't worth it the second time around. You can't really see much at night anyway....

What ports are you stopping at?

If you need extra info, visit www.cruisecritic.com. They have lots of info on the ships and message boards. Have fun!
Oh, another tidbit.... the ships usually give spa tours on the first day, so if you get to the tour early, find out if they need volunteers. We did this and got a free reflexology (foot and leg massage)for an hour!

[JillianS]

Hey.
I've worked for Carnival (as a dancer mind you) for the past two years..what ship are you going on? (name of the ship)
The timeline for the flight itself seems fine, but what happens if the flight is delayed/cancelled etc etc? Yes, the ship will leave at 4pm, but that's the time it actually pulls anchor and leaves the dock. passengers need to be borded before then and have gone through boat drill (a legal requirement on any cruise longer than 3 days)...Getting there in the morning, you're more than fine as the passengers from the cruise before yours won't even be fully disembarked until like 1030 and then embarkation for new passengers won't even start until 11-1130 or so. But bear in mind that if you arrive later, you could be facing a gigantic line. (tho if you arrive late enough, most passengers will be onboard already and the line will be short!)
THe only concern I would have would be what happens if the flight is delayed (which happens more often than you'd think..)

[bethnjim]

The name of the ship is Sensation. We are really nervous about the flight being cancelled. We have NEVER had a flight cancelled or even delayed that we have flown on, but there is always a first. PLUS, I am not sure how long the drive is from the New Orleans airport to the port. I am not even sure what we would say to the taxi driver to get from the airport to the port. Questions, questions, questions!!

Also, if we do an inside room...is there a certain level we want to be on??

[Aimee]

Hi - I'm a NOLA native and I've taken 2 cruises out of the port of New Orleans.

The airport to the cruise terminal is about 30 minutes, give or take. You may be able to get a shuttle through Carnival at the airport. Or, you can just take a taxi. You'd just tell the taxi driver that you need to go to the Julia St. Wharf/Cruise Terminal. They'll know where to take you.

With an inside room, the higher the better to avoid the "dishwasher" effect with all the sloshing. I've been on 2 cruises, supposed to leave on my 3rd on Saturday (unless T.S. Katrina has something to say about my flight to Miami) and I've always had an inside room. It's just not worth the extra money for me to have the window or the balcony.

If you get a chance to spend some extra time in NOLA, I highly recommend it. It's a fantastic city!

[bookworm]

If you need to fly same day, look into booking the flights/cruise as a package. I can't remember what it's called, but there is some way to book that if the flight is delayed, the cruise line is responsible for getting you to the next port to meet the ship.

I'd strongly recommend splurging on a cabin with a balcony, if you are someone who likes to be outside but not surrounded by people. The outdoor areas can get crowded--I liked having a beautiful spot to have a glass of wine, feel the breeze, and be alone.

[JillianS]

As for cabins, if you don't want to spend the extra money on the outside room, then don't. Sensation is a fantasy class ship, and the outside cabins don't have balconies anyways..so all you'll get is a window or porthole, some which don't even open...not exactly worth it..unless you're thinking about a cabin up on verandah deck, they MIGHT have balconies ( I don't remember..it's been awhile since I've worked on a fantasy class ship..)
As for what deck you want to be on, it's a bit of a tough call. I would recommend either Empress or Upper (7 and 6) if you can. Empress tends to be a little busier as that's the same floor as the purser's desk and shore excursion desk and i believe the photo gallery as well...but you're pretty much right in the middle of things. Easy access to everything, you'll have an easy time finding your cabin when you embark as you actually board the ship on Empress deck. (though some home ports they change that, depending on the water levels...but it should still be empress deck)
Upper is still high enough that you will be close to everything, but it's going to be a lot quieter as there are nothing but cabins down there.
as for main and riviera, main's not too bad, pretty much the same as upper, but you definately get that feeling of being 'down there'. Riviera really feels like you're at the bottom of the ship (eventhough there are 4 decks below ya where we lonely crew members have our cabins ;) (though on other types of ships, crew cabins are spaced randomly throughout the ship decks, we're in the "inside cabins"--this is how the newer ships offer more "outside cabins"). It's cheaper down there on riviera, but there's a reason. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible, but I'd definately rather be higher.
As for sea-sickness, it really depends. The front of the ship tends to be worse. And usually the higher you go, the rockier it is (though the lower you go, the louder it is)

anyhow, if you have any more questions feel free to ask :)

ETA-

I forgot to mention, be aware of what your cabin will be under/on top of...ie: make sure to not get a cabin underneathe the disco, I've heard complaints that you can hear the music/at least the bass through the floors and the disco stays open til 3am..
Being under the theatre would suck, but the latest shows are the midnight comedy shows, which aren't very loud to begin with and the end at around 1am. Other shows go on in there at night as well (ie the main revues ;) but I'm assuming you'd be going to those anyways, and the late seating for those start at 1030 and are usually over by around 1145-12.

[Atlanta_eBride]

The one thing that I wasn't prepared for the first time I went on a cruise was the expenses in port. For whatever reason, I was thinking everything but drinks were all inclusive - and on the ship they are - and wasn't even thinking about enjoying myself at the stops. Once you get into port it costs money to do everything. Just to keep in mind as you budget for your trip.