Thanks for bumping this… brings back memories. Anthem of the Seas was our last pre-COVID vacation, in Feb’20 out of NYC. It was also our 1st trip to DHS, the sailing had a stop at Port Canaveral and we did the WDW 1/2 day shore excursion.
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@SneakyPete gets the credit.
I only spend a few hours a week daydreaming about getting back on a ship. 
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My issue with cruises is that I book them so far out!
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I’ve stopped booking.
I wish I could stop looking. 
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An old thread rises from the dead, I see! 
We are planning a RCCL cruise in January 2024. It just seems we can get a lot more for a lot less on RCCL than DCL, despite the nickel and diming that RCCL does. The DCLs are “too” Disney, I think. We don’t care about the characters, and we can see Broadway shows on RCCL…whereas the shows on Disney are all…Disney. Nothing wrong with that, except we’ve seen them a thousand times.
We are seeing a lot of complaints about the current state of affairs on the RCCL ships right now. Like everywhere else, they are facing staffing shortages, and so service appears to be sub-par from what it used to be. Hopefully that returns in full force by the time we go.
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I can see an advantage to the nickel-and-diming. Nothing is free, you are charged one way or another. So, if those extras aren’t things you’d use, you’d save money going on a cruise that costs less, and skipping the extras.
My family expressed an interest in cruising ‘one-day’, so I’m pondering one, maybe 2027? I’d like to show them the joys of a live-aboard first, and maybe I can convert them.
Well, that didn’t last long. Looks like early 2024 now. We’ve had 4 weeks of vacation this year, and 3 trips/4 weeks planned for next year. Otherwise I think the family could talk me into sooner.
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What are you thinking about doing
It is so exciting! Planning a cruise seems to have a lot in common with planning a Disney trip.
This is what we know so far.
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Port will either be Galveston or NOLA. We live in the DFW area and I see no reason to drive farther for our first cruise.
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Plan on focusing on a cruise that will make DD (then 13.5ish) happy. So, the whizbang activities will be key. Like those airbikes or water surfing stations. Plus, I love me a water slide and as a sun-phobic red-head can’t stand pool chairs.
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Not really concerned about the ports, I’ve been to most of them, and the family has been to none.
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Vaguely thinking about bringing a friend for DD. She is used to lots of freedom and I’d worry about someone snatching DD and doing something bad. But I wouldn’t worry with a friend. She has one that has been on 4 cruises.
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Thinking about picking a boat (or maybe two) and then watching for a last-minute bargain. We can travel last-minute during the school year.
ETA: I am strongly leaning toward RCCL because of the whizbang activities. Maybe I could learn how to surf : )
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We just booked our January 2024 cruise…RCCL’s Allure of the Seas for a four night cruise out of Port Canaveral. It is just my wife and I, but we are traveling with some good friends of ours.
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I got interested in cruising mid 2019 and am still waiting to go on my 1st. I booked a Princess Alaska for 2020, then moved 21, moved 22. It sailed without me June '22 because I had a family emergency. So I immediately rebooked for 2023, that same one in August and another Princess cruise in fall Canada / New England, because I’d be with the group I was originally booking to be with. It seems unreal that those cruises are a year away again now, sigh. I will choose one; they are refundable deposits. Not sure if I want to be 100% solo for the Alaska. My first idea for cruising was to do DCL to Nassau and Castaway Cay. I still really love the idea of going on DCL but have a hard time with the significant price difference between them and other cruises. I was interested in getting the military discount but hated that you couldn’t book it until 2 months before the cruise. I don’t know if that’s still the same today because my research was in mid 2019.
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I haven’t been on a cruise yet but decided long ago that RC was the one for my family if we go. Kids are currently 15, 13, 10. The amazing array of activities on the ship is what convinced me. Plus I have a good friend who cruises and she exclusively does RC.
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As a liner, I’ve been getting a feel for prices. I thought I’d start to watch for last-minute prices. Although, January 2023 isn’t last minute yet. (Thinking vaguely Jan 2024) But, I thought I’d start now so I can figure things out. There isn’t an Unofficial Guide to Cruising.
I found this while getting a feel for how much it will cost to add a second kid.
5 Night Western Caribbean Cruise
Leaving from Galveston, Texas
onboard Adventure of the Seas
14 Jan, 202319 Jan, 2023
| 1 room | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 adults | |||
| 1142 | |||
| 1 room | |||
| 4 adults | 501 | ||
| 1643 | to add a 4th person to the room | ||
| 2 rooms | |||
| 4 adults | |||
| 1283 | 141 | ||
| to add another room and another person |
ETA: I read that RCCL decided to not do last-minute fares. That is a bummer if they keep to that.
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Our TA was able to book us on RCCL using a group rate that was roughly $100 cheaper than RCCL’s refundable deposit sale price.
So it is worth asking a reputable TA to see what pricing they can do.
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FTFY. The last one was 2010, I think?
What category of cabin are you looking at?
Hmm, you are right. 2010. I remember when I found THE DW Guide, I felt like I’d found the next-level planning to the repetitive stuff on the internet. Researching cruising, I wished for an unofficial guide. 12 years is a long time.
Cabins - Probably interior, center-center, since I’ve never been on a cruise before. I’d hate for one of us to be miserable from being seasick. I see us as being the sleep-only in the cabin people.
We are still in the really really early planning. I was trying to get a feel for how much it would cost to add a 4th person. So, I was shocked when adding another room and another person was cheaper than just adding another person. But then I looked on Jan 2024, Harmony, and adding a person was $269 and a person and a person and a room was $803 which is more in line with what I’d expect.
I’d be open to using a TA, and I know one here. But, I suspect that I’d be a high-maintenance customer, so I don’t know if she’s want to.
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This would be very unusual. 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin are generally much less expensive than 1st/2nd in a new cabin.
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Yes, I was shocked. If you look at the table, that is what I got. I googled to see why. Other people had seen the same thing and were confused. It seemed to be when the cruise date wasn’t too far in the future and while technically every stateroom can fit four, some really can’t. So adding a fourth would be a tiny upgrade within the interior category. I saw posts on this back to 2010.