If you are a first-time cruise traveler, you need to have at least an idea of what cruising is. Your travel agent will only provide you quotes or travel brochures from different cruise lines.

What if you have questions concerning the cruise package offered? What if you want to be informed of the latest in the cruising industry? Who will be your reliable source information to answer these queries?

Bookmark now Cruise Critic and you will be receiving and learning many stuffs about cruising.

Cruise Critic is an interactive community launched in 1995. All seasoned and first-time cruise travelers can join this community in order to share experiences, conduct some research, and planning either your next or your first cruise vacation.

It is a one-stop shop with all the information you need. It includes a complete and detailed cruise vacation-planning guide such as the following:

•  Latest objective cruise reviews of 225 and more ships

•  Business and company profile of 55 cruise lines

•  Useful information on what to do and where to go in more than 135 worldwide ports

•  Ratings and reviews of cruise ships based on the reader’s perception and experience

•  Different cruise package bargains, and

•  Helpful cruise tips both for seasonal and first-time cruise travelers

Cruise Critic helps cruise travelers to sort out the best ship suited to their own personal interests and plan a perfect cruise vacation. They also delivers the latest news and views concerning the cruise industry.

Because of their popularity as a reliable cruise guide, they are one of the online cruise websites that receives heavy traffic with over 160,000 registered online members.

It features the following sections for easy cross-referencing of information and details needed.

•  AT YOUR SERVICE section, where it tackles different issues and offer a clear and concise explanation about the policies, especially on-board rules and regulations

•  BEYOND THE DECK section, which focus on answering different cruise questions straight from the cruise industry leaders. They also offer some behind-the-scene insights regarding cruise operations

•  COMMUNITY section, where it features different reviews of cruise ships, cruise travel packages, and others by the members

•  CRUISE BARGAINS section, where it focuses more on the latest deals offered by different cruise lines

•  CRUISE NEWS section gives latest news and analysis concerning cruising. It is updated on a daily basis

•  CRUISE PLANNING section, where it includes topics like latest cruising trends, different cabin packages, last-minute cruising, and others

•  CRUISE SHIP REVIES AND CRUISE LINE PROFILES section. As mentioned earlier, it reveals the reviews on more than 225 operating cruise ships and the profile of the 55 cruise lines

•  CRUISE STYLE sections with comprehensive reviews, humorous facts, and different ways of cruising styles including:
1.  Romance
2.  Family
3.  Senior
4.  Gay and Lesbians
5.  Disabled
6.  Solo
7.  Luxury
8.  Soft Adventure
9.  Ocean Crossings
10. Holiday

•  DESTINATION section, where it features comprehensive profiles of the 20 cruising regions and more than 135 ports of call worldwide

•  EDITOR’S PICK section, which includes the top personal choices and recommendation and his Top Ten List

•  FIND A CRUISE section, where you can choose the cruise best for your needs, whether by destination, cruise line, or price

•  LINK EXCHANGE PROGRAM MESSAGE BOARDS section, where members and visitors can post all their comments, suggestions, and blogs

•  TRENDWATCH section, which features different issues surrounding the cruising industry that have changed or in the process of change (like solo travel or low carbohydrate cruising)

Current Cruise Critics Prediction

Another feature that Cruise Critics offers is their prediction of the cruising industry. They are conducting it on every first quarter of the year. It also helps cruising industry leaders plan ahead. Here are some of the latest predictions of Cruise Critic for the year 2006.

•  Cruising will be a perfect vacation for families because of family travel packages offered the previous years.

•  Ships without comprehensive children program will have difficulty in managing hundreds of energetic children.

•  Traditional swimming pool will now be out of style. The new approach is the on-board water park.

•  Do not be surprise if Ronald McDonald will say hello to you on-board. Cruise lines are continuing to include favorite brand names into cruise ships and restaurants and dining facilities.

•  Because of the growing amenities of cruise ships, an increase in cruise prices can be expected.

•  More cruise destinations are coming up, with Cunard Lines’ Queen Mary 2 will go around-the-world sailing.

More and more things will happen every year, so always stay informed by Cruise Critic-your one stop shop for cruising information.

If you have looked into having a luxury cruise as an alternative type of vacation it is sometimes difficult to identify which are the good places to cruise around. This page is going to show you some of the positive aspects and cruise information for a cruise in the Med. The Mediterranean Sea, or the Med as it is often known, is probably the most well known cruising spots in the whole world.

Technically it is in fact a part of the Atlantic but the Straits of Gibraltar are only extremely narrow so it is normally known as being a destination in its own right. It offers a coast on 3 continents, Europe, Asia and Africa.

It is actually a pretty big sea which has a total sizing of close to 2.5 million sq. kms. Because it is so huge it is probably the most cruised sea. You’ll find about 120 ports where the many cruise liners stop at. Every single one of those ports has their very own traditions which has developed over a lot of years.

Those ports are in 17 different countries however the major ones in the western Mediterranean cruising are Italy, Spain, France and Morocco. You can stay on the boat at all times or you can expect to have the opportunity to have a day to every place you go to.

A further option, if you have got longer to spend on vacation would be to get off in a number of ports and spend for a while in every one.

As it is such a common vacation destination, there are various companies which do cruises all around the Mediterranean. You may choose to go further for an Eastern Mediterranean cruise and look at several other locations like Egypt, Croatia, Greece or Turkey. You’ll find quite a few islands which can be stopped at on various cruises. These include Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and the Baleariac islands. Of course, the longer you take on your cruise the more islands, ports and countries you can see.

You may opt to make it a relaxing holiday or you could do lots of sightseeing and check out some excellent places, ancient monuments as well as ways of life.

Since the Med was always such a strategic sea all through history, a lot of the cities were captured by diverse armies who have all left a portion of their way of life as history. A few of the most well known areas which the cruise liners visit are Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Venice and Monaco.Monte Carlo, Venice, Monaco and Barcelona. You’ll be able to also see the Vatican, Rome, Mount Vesuvius and the historic city Pompeii. You will always remember the wonderful views which you can get while on the liner. It really is a really distinct way of looking at areas compared to arriving by aeroplane and staying there.

It is an experience which you are going to remember for the rest of your life. Ideally this has whetted your appetite therefore you now understand some more about cruising in the western Mediterranean.

Related Cruise Information Articles

For some people Caribbean cruises are their holiday staple. Every year they take another cruise to a different part of the Caribbean. For others a cruise like this may be on their “must do” list.

Even for cruising veterans, however, it can he hard to decide how long a cruise to take, what islands to see, and   what to do when its time to go ashore. The fact that there are about 43 cruise ports in the Caribbean can make planning particularly challenging.

The best thing about Caribbean cruises may be that they provide ample opportunity to relax and kick back. Surrounded by beautiful blue ocean waters is relaxing in itself. But if you choose a completely all-inclusive cruise, the stress of planning each part of your trip is gone. Let the travel agent or cruise line do all the work. Ship staff can suggest the places to see before getting to port and can even arrange shore excursions for you. One cruise allows you to travel to a variety of places for one price.

Caribbean cruises offer a wide variety cruise styles as well. If you are single and want to meet and enjoy the company of other people around your age group with the same interests, there are cruises just for singles. The same goes for seniors. If you want to relax in a calmer atmosphere with no children on board with only people in your age group, there are cruises specially designed for seniors. Family cruises to the Caribbean cater to the needs of families with children, providing dozens of activities designed for kids of each age group. This not only keeps the kids entertained but also can free up time for mum and dad to have some alone time.

A Caribbean cruise is something that can be planned for any time since the weather is beautiful just about all year round. Shore excursions in the Caribbean can be anything from just wandering through the port towns to shop and eat to snorkeling and scuba diving. In places like Cozumel you can get away from the beach and water for a while and ride an ATV through the jungles.

Some of the possible destinations are Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, the Grand Caymans, and Jamaica. Very popular stops are the Virgin Islands like St. Thomas, St. Kitt, St. Lucia, and St. Martin as well as the Bahamas and the Yucatan peninsula. There are even U.S. destinations on some itineraries like New Orleans, Louisiana and Key West, Florida.

It’s easy to see why so many people choose a Caribbean cruise year after year. With so many destinations and such a variety of cruise styles, you can experience something new every time.

eseacruising.com.au is made up of a team of professionals, the eseacruising.com.au team have over 45 years of combined cruise industry experience specifically in the areas ranging from reservations, inventory management, eMarketing, Graphic Design, Legal, Finance and IT Development. Together, we provide Internet cruise related reservation information and service for cruises departing from Australia. The customer service team of EseaCruising.com comprises of dedicated, multilingual reservation consultants, who are trained to provide the most personal and efficient service to all our customers. To Book & Information on other Costa Sailings eseacruising.com.au GPO BOX 1299,Darwin,Northern Territory,0801,Australia Call Us 1300 366 268
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Find More Cruise Information Articles

Planning your vacation by boarding a Carnival Cruise Line can be a bit tricky. You may have to consider where you’re boarding from before you can decide on your destination. If you’re one from Los Angeles, the first thing you have to find out is the availability of a Carnival Cruise Line departing from Los Angeles. You will find two cruises available; one is for a 4-night trip to Mexico Baja and another one for a 7-night trip to the Mexican Rivera all departing from the San Diego port of call. If you will choose your dates carefully, you will find that some cruise dates are available at greatly discounted prices.  

The Carnival Cruise Line  for Mexico Baja trips are offered for as low as 9 for Inside Cabins on some dates while the 7-night Mexican Riviera which are regular priced at around 9 can be availed  at only 9 also for Inside Cabins. The Mexico Baja cruise will bring you on board the Carnival Cruise Line – Carnival Paradise. Every stateroom in every cruise ship is different but basically has the features.

Deciding on Your Choice of Stateroom
The Inside Cabin of the Carnival Paradise has Pullman-style bunk beds. It has a private bath with shower facilities and a living room with closet and storage space, a vanity and seating provisions. There’s an air conditioning unit with thermostat controls, a television set, a telephone and a personal safe. The only difference it has with an Ocean view Cabin is that the latter has a picture sized window or porthole, it has a larger area and there’s a choice of having a sofa bed or the same Pullman style bunk bed.        

Some people tend to dislike the Inside room for its lack of window although this is really not a big matter since you don’t have to stay in it most of the time. The Carnival Cruise Line will only take 4-nights of traveling. On your first day you will wake up to find yourself at Ensenada, Mexico hence you will be spending most of the day exploring the place. You will only be spending a whole day at the Carnival Paradise on your second day while traveling the seas on your way back to Long Beach, California. For the price of 9 per person which is already all-inclusive of your meals on board, the price seems like a good bargain.        

What Can You Do on Board the Carnival Paradise for your Fun at Sea?  
First off, you will have access to the Riviera Decks. If you want to have simple relaxation to spend your day at sea, you can go to the library where there is a wide selection of reading materials to choose. You can find a massage or loofah room or a fully equipped spa room to complete your relaxation experience. If you want to shed off some of those pounds, get yourself into the aerobics room or jog around a padded jogging track or take a swim into one of two adult pools. If you still don’t want to retire and take a good night’s rest, you can spend the evening at a Vegas style casino and live entertainment or if you just prefer a smooth relaxing evening stay at some cocktail lounge and piano bar.

What to Find in a Carnival Cruise Line – Mexican Baja Trip     
Enjoy a day of exploring Ensenada, Mexico with all its colorful Aztec influenced arts and crafts. Enjoy a day of shopping for fine Mexican silver jewelry and colorful potteries and other handcrafted items. Live music and traditional costumes are always in exhibit at public plazas or you can have additional fun at the beach wind-surfing, sailing, snorkeling or scuba diving.     

What Can the 7-Night Carnival Cruise Line the Mexican Riviera Offer you?

This Carnival Cruise Line will bring you on board the Carnival Splendor which has additional amenities you won’t find at Carnival Paradise. There’s the new Carnival Splendor Seaside Theatre equipped with 12′x22′ jumbo-sized LED screen where you can watch movies, news and concerts. Swing away at a new 9-hole mini-golf course with greens lie any typical golf course. Then there’s the new Thalassotherapy Pool which spews out jets of water to massage your body using a special formulation of ocean water rich in vitamins.

In this Carnival Cruise Line bound for the Mexican Rivera, you will be visiting the more exotic and historical places of Mexico like, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas and you will have three days of sea travel so you can enjoy all the amenities of the state of the art Carnival Splendor.

Your Inside Cabin will have the same basic features as that of the Carnival Paradise and still affordably priced for 7-nights stay at only 9. For a little price difference, you may opt to choose this Carnival Cruise Line. You’ll be doubling your sea travel time to experience more of the hotel-like features that the Carnival Splendor has to offer aside from visiting more exotic Mexican tourist spots.

For more useful information, please visit our website: THE KNOWLEDGE BASE, and look for the http://theknowledgebase1travel.blogspot.com” target=”_blank”>TRAVEL section.

Your first stop is to the cruise lines industry organization, Cruise Lines International Association, Inc. or CLIA. CLIA brings travel agents together with the 23 major cruise lines and helps promote industry safety and regulatory policy. You can link directly to the cruise lines websites by using the Cruise Lines tab at the top of the page, or search for cruises by destination using a drop-down box on the right. CLIA provides cruise accreditation training to travel agents, and you can search for an accredited cruise specialist near you from the website.

CruiseLines.us offers a larger list of links, and includes more diverse cruise lines. You can link to the big lines, but also some you won’t find on the travel consolidator websites like Orbitz and Travelocity. You can research clipper ship cruises on smaller lines like Windjammer, Star Clippers or Windstar Cruises. You can also find Australia or Europe-only cruises, and look up Chinese and European river cruises. If you are really in the chips, you can see about a cruise on the Sea Cloud, which originally was Marjorie Merriweather Post’s private luxury yacht (pictured above).

Cybercruises.com has a very extensive list of cruise lines arranged by type, such as river cruises, sailing ships, and freighter cruises. If you are interested in cruising in Antarctica, up the Nile River, or along the coast of Scotland, this is the place to begin your search.

Finally, Raynorshyn.com offers a bare-bones alphabetical list of links to major and minor cruise lines. It is pretty extensive, and links to some obscure lines and even ferry lines. A neat feature is a list of links to ship webcams. Right now I can see that the Norwegian Majesty is at sea, and the P&O Oceana is in port in Barbados. How cool is that?

I hope these links help you plan your next trip. Happy cruising!

Find More Cruise Lines Articles

When thinking about vacation, many tend to list Carribbean cruises as one of the options. However, there are quite a number of Carribbean cruises lines to choose from. It would be time consuming to pick the very best that meet your need. The following tips can save your time.

1. Determine where you want to go. This will help you to choose from Eastern, Western or Southern Carribbean cruises. Each cruise line has its own itinerary. The Western Carribbean routes include Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Belize, Jamaica and Costa Maya, Mexico. The Eastern routes normally include San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Tortola and Labadee, and Haiti. Whereas the Southern routes may include St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Antiqua, Dominica, Barbados, Aruba, and Curacao. If you have specific locations that you must visit, then that cruise line should be the priority.

2. Check what kind of activities or excursions that the cruise line offers at each port. Are the activities more towards families, or for couples or singles? Those for families will have children facilities on board and excursion that all family member can participate, whereas adult only cruises normally offers more time for them to spend on their own. Thus, pick the one that meet the kind of vacation you are planning.

3. Check the dining preferences. Do you want a scheduled dining times or alternate dining options? If you care about your meal schedule, then this factor too can help you to pick the best cruise lines for you.

4. Gather someone else experience. It can be from families and friends or from other sources like printed materials or the internet. I bet there are so many shared experiences on the net, you just need to look them up. From all these experiences, you should be able to make up your mind.

5. Determine your budget. Some cruise lines are more expensive and luxurious than others. So pick the one that within your budget. Take into consideration extra money you will need like for entertainment, excursions, food, drinks, taxi fares if you stop at port-of-call and plan to visit around the place, or things you might purchase at the stops.

Cruising on the Carribbean could be your once in a lifetime experience. Therefore, it is essential to determine which Carribbean Cruises lines to go with. You can’t go wrong by choosing Carribbean cruises, but your vacation is dull if you choose the wrong cruise line.

Cruise ship employment fulfilled many people dream including myself, to travel the world and get paid for it!

Good, you must have decided to work onboard a cruise ship, when you have reached here! Let me guide you further with my experience, here are the few important things you have to know.

A career onboard a cruise ship can offer a wide range of job opportunities for you. It can be financially attractive and enable you to travel to exotic ports all around the world in a job you will enjoy.

However, finding a job on a cruise ship requires many research, time, and the right qualifications to get you the right cruise ship job that suit you.

There are three most important things that you must have:

It is very important that you can speak & understand English as most cruise ships cater to Americans and English-speaking travelers.

Especially if you work in the front line divisions like Food & Beverage, and Cabin stewards in Hotel, you actually get PAID from the guests directly.

Yes, passport is the most important travelling document in cruise ship employment; all the personnel working onboard a cruise ship must have a valid passport.

Once you obtain an Employee Agreement with a cruise ship company, you will need to apply for C1 Transit & D1 Seaman and B2 Visitor Visa from the United States Embassy. Most cruise ships do visit United State Of America’s ports of call.

Major cruise lines like Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises are based in Florida, USA; hence, the majority of worldwide cruises will depart from Florida or a port in the USA.

These C1 & D1 and B2 visas allow you to enter the USA for a limited time only when your ship calls to a US port, usually 30 days :

> The C1 visa is for seamen and allows you to work in United States’ ports for a limited number of hours or days; and,

> D1 is the visa allows you to transit at USA’s ports.

> USA B2 Tourist Visas are “visitor visas” and are required for citizens of countries that are not included in the Visa Waiver Program.

o All foreign nationals who wish to visit the United States for leisure or tourism are normally eligible to receive a B2 Tourist Visa.

o The maximum length of stay for B2 visitor visa holders is 6 months.

Please contact with the cruise line or agency directly to know what is the specific visa requirements are for your country of origin on cruise ship employment.

Cruise ship jobs are difficult and require lots of long hours. However, you do get PAID to see the world and get the opportunity to develop collegial work relationships that might last a lifetime!

Visit http://www.smart-guide-to-world-cruise-ship.com/cruise-ship-employment.html to further your research in cruise ships employment by reading good quality information and action!

Passengers aboard the cruise ship Oceanos begin to panic when the ship starts sinking. To make matters worse, the captain and most of the crew have already abandoned ship, leaving them to die.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

There are 15,000 cruise ship job vacancies to be filled every year, just to keep up with all the new mega cruise ships being launched. 

The cruise industry is one of the fastest growing job sectors in the world! 

I am strongly advise you to apply directly to the cruise lines that interest you, this is the best way. If you have a good referred local agent by good seamen currently working on board, that will be great too!

Cruising is now the largest growing leisure and travel job industry in the world and looking for new cruise staff who are experienced working in areas such as hotel, casino, beauty therapy, photography, security, retail, food and beverage, administration, entertainers, hotel personnel, IT, lecturers, Security personnel, travel staff, health and fitness, tour coordinator and many more. 

Whatever your background and job experience is, you will find that there are great employment opportunities for you to work on board a cruise ship.

However while you are applying a cruise ship job, please pay special attention to the jobs that are normally filled by the same nationality. 

Cruise ship job vacancies in the engine room or on deck to be filled by the same nationality as the ship’s officers, it is important for communication or language purpose while cruising. 

Most of the ship officers are Norwegian, Greek, or Italian, with a handful of British and American ships. Many of the technical crew jobs in the engine room or on deck are staffed with Filipinos. 

They also employ unskilled workers at entry level for certain jobs. Most of the larger cruise lines have a cadet training scheme on board their ships. 

Job contracts offered by cruise lines are usually of four to six months duration, which are renewable. 

Most cruise lines post job openings, application forms, and information about how to apply on their own websites. Be sure to follow the posted application procedures to the letter. 

Source Article: Visit http://www.smart-guide-to-world-cruise-ship.com/cruise-ship-job-vacancies.html for more information on your cruise ship job vacancies research : )

NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS

Navigator is truly a beautiful, and very large ship. Built in 2002, and refurbished in 2005, she is 1,020 ft. long, with a 158 ft beam. Yep, she’s a wide ship as well. She holds 3,835 passengers, with a crew of 1,185. She is 15 decks tall. Anything you could possibly think of doing, you’ll find on this ship. Here below, is my review of our cruise on her.

BACKGROUND: This was our 3rd cruise. The first was on Majesty of the Seas (Loved her), and our 2nd one was on Norwegian Dawn (loved her as well), and now this was our 3rd. If she would have been our first, I would have possibly had doubts about future cruising. The ship, itself, was spectacular, however, the service was not as good as I thought it would be.

EMBARKATION: This was probably the best thing about the cruise was the fact that we were on the ship within 15 minutes after getting in line to board the ship. Had our welcome aboard picture taken, stepped inside the ship, and got that WOW feeling from the beauty of the ship.

DAY #1: We left Fort Lauderdale at 5:00pm. One good thing about RCCLs ships is that you barely know you’re moving, but unfortunately we were in our room when the ship pulled out, so we seen Fort Lauderdale in our “rear view mirrors” by the time we got back out on deck. I personally, will NEVER stay in an inside cabin again.

We spent this first day browsing the ship, and taking pictures. Navigator is definitely a beautiful ship, but we’ve found that looks are not everything when it comes to a cruise. It takes many other things to make a cruise complete. We stayed up for the late night parade (around 11:30pm), which lasted all of 15 minutes. I have to give RCCL credit on their beds. They have the most comfortable beds.

STATEROOMS: Before I get to day 2…. let’s discuss the Stateroom. We didn’t get a towel animal until the 3rd night, and I think that was only because I asked for one. We didn’t get nightly mints the last 2 nights at all, nor was our bed folded down. Our heater/air conditioning didn’t work in our room the first 2 days we were onboard. We were never addressed by name by our stateroom attendant. (maybe it was because he couldn’t pronounce it, even though our room attendants on our last 2 cruises didn’t seem to have a problem). I would NEVER EVER NEVER stay in another interior cabin. When I asked what it was like to be in an interior room and was told it’s like walking into a walk-in closet and turning off the light and shutting the door, that was explained to me perfectly. It was like a dungeon. And being there was no natural light at all, I believe our bodies dealt with the situation as if it was night time every day in that room. It became the room from hell by the 4th night, because by that night I was sick as a dog. To the point, that I stayed in the room from 6:00pm on the 4th night, until we got off the ship, the morning of the 6th day. And then I prayed that I’d make it home on the 3 hour bus ride.

DAY #2: This ship has a lot of WOW factors. The promenade alone is amazing. This was the day that I mentioned to our stateroom attendant that our fridge wasn’t keeping things cold, and was told that it really wasn’t a fridge, and more like a cooler to keep candies or chocolate that was inside of it from melting. Surely wasn’t like any cooler we’ve ever owned. And even if we would have purchased sodas from it, we never had any ice in our bucket in our room. It was always water when we took a look. It’s 72 degrees today and very windy. We’re about 18 nautical miles from Cuba, headed to Cozumel, Mexico. Too windy to play shuffleboard or miniature golf. We purchased our Welcome Aboard photos for .95. You get one 5 x 7 and one 8 x 10. (prices might have increased since we cruised). If I would have thought of bringing my Crown & Anchor coupon from my booklet that we got as being past cruisers, I could have received a free photo of the ship. I purchased 2 towel animals (sold at the logo souvenir shop in the gift store onboard, for my daughter and granddaughter). They’re really cute. About the size of a beanie baby, and sold for .50 each. Also bought a pen for .50 with a cruise ship that floats inside. We also purchased our “Navigator of the Seas” ship model last night for .00 and a few t-shirts. I sat out on the starboard side of the ship for 1 1/2 hours and only seen 2 people sit down. It felt like I had the entire ship to myself. Would never have known that there were over 3,000 people on this cruise.

MEALS: Before I get to day 3, lets discuss the meals. We’re not into formal dining, so we always go for the buffet on our cruises. Therefore, the only places we ate on this cruise was Windjammers and the Promenade Cafe.

Windjammers: We were not very pleased with the food at Windjammers on NOS (Navigator of Seas). Don’t know how this could be, but Majesty had better food. One morning I got french toast, that was so hard that only the interior section of it, was eatable. And then even that didn’t taste very good. Scrambled eggs were very bland. One thing that was very upsetting for me, was that no cold ice tea was served at breakfast. Everything was pre-made with the ice already in it, and then you just picked up what you wanted. There was apple juice, orange juice, milk, and water for breakfast. Milk was in the little cartons. Don’t even think of bringing milk back to your room because the coolers in the room wouldn’t have kept them cold enough to drink later. I was not impressed with the food at Windjammers at all.

Promenade Cafe: We liked eating here for lunch or a quick snack. The ham sandwiches made with croissant bread was very good. The round-like sandwiches though, had bread that was so tough, that it was almost impossible to bite into it. The cheesecake was very good. Cookies were good too.

DAY 3: Okay…. the morning started off as a total joke. We had a shore excursion in Cozumel to visit the Ruins. The shore excursion was 5 1/2 hours from the time we left the ship until the time we returned. We had received a voice message on our phone in our stateroom the night before that said that Windjammers was going to open at 6:30am instead of 7:00am to allow those that had early shore excursions to be able to eat breakfast before we left for our shore excursions. We thought this was a nice gesture. However, that was until we got to Deck #11, got off the elevator and noticed that a huge crowd at 6:35am was waiting for Windjammers to open, only to be told that they were not aware that they were suppose to open early, and therefore would not be opening until 7:00am. That’s when a herd of people bombarded the stairs and the elevators to go down to Deck # 5 to go to the Promenade Cafe to get something to eat before leaving the ship. We got a banana and a Chocolate covered doughnut. The doughnut was awful. And for me to say that a doughnut is awful, then it had to be pretty bad.

We met at the Metropolis Theater at 7:15 to leave for our shore excursion. (still hungry obviously)

Shore Excursion….TULUM MAYAN RUINS EXPRESS: The ferry ride to get to the bus was a nightmare. We were watching people get sick. I found that if you watch the Mexican videos that they have on a large screen in the front of the ferry, then you didn’t feel as dizzy. You’re sitting inside this ferry, and the windows were covered with sea salt and it was difficult to see out of them, so you felt enclosed. I think this was the reason people were feeling sick. I figured it must happen often though, because they had “puke” bags handy for those that needed them. The ferry was a 30 minute miserable ride.

We then boarded a bus, and spent another hour getting there. You can not get up close to the ruins because they are roped off. We finally split off from the tour guide, otherwise, we wouldn’t have seen everything. He was a talker, and when we noticed that 1/2 of our group was missing, that’s when we realized that people were leaving the group a little at a time to go off on their own. We had a scheduled time to be back at the bus, so I was unsure of why we were walking around with the tour guide to begin with. It wasn’t like you could get lost in this place. This excursion involves a lot of walking. I mean a lot. If you need to use the restroom, use the one near the ruins before the long walk back to the marketplace area. The ones at the marketplace cost to use. We purchased a post card and when asked what it cost and was told .00, my husband about went into cardiac arrest. (It was 70 cents in U.S. money). When we got back to the bus, we were given what they called a “boxed” lunch. We had purchased a hot dog for .50 right before entering the bus. There was a Subway there, but it was packed, and we wouldn’t have had enough time to eat before boarding the bus. Truthfully, you could have brought your sub on the bus. Our boxed lunch consisted of a chocolate chip cookie, a blueberry muffin, a Sun capri fruit drink in a pouch, and Dole fruit in a cup, and Tuna in a pouch that you make with mayonnaise and relish, and crackers. Everything is pre-sealed. If you don’t like the smell of tuna, don’t take this excursion because our entire bus smelled of a large tuna by the time everyone opened their boxed lunches.

When we arrived back in town, the bus does not take you back to the ship. You have to pay .00 per taxi to get back to the dock.

Back on ship….. Our captain specifically told us before we left the ship that we were to stay on ship time. Mexico is 1 hour behind us. So when we were told to be back on the ship at 4:30, that meant 4:30 ship time. However, about 9 people were not back on the ship at that time. And fortunately for some of the passengers, our captain kept the ship there until around 5:10pm waiting for people. As we pulled away from the dock, we noticed a “Pilot” boat pulling up to the dock. My husband said then that he thought that people were getting on it to be brought to our ship. Indeed he was correct. Our ship stopped, to allow the pilot boat to pull up next to us, so 2 people could get on the ship that had missed it. By this time it was 5:30pm. We’re figuring that these were people that used their cell phones to keep track of time, and what they weren’t aware of, was the fact that the cell phones changed time with Mexico time, so when it said 4:30 on their cell phones, it was really 5:30 ship time. Our captain was highly upset and made it a point to announce that tomorrow he would not wait one single minute for anyone. That he had to pull out on time in order to reach the U.S. at the correct time.

DAY #4: This is one thing that I don’t understand about NOS entertainment. They line up all the entertainment on nights that everyone has to get up the next morning and go on shore excursions bright and early. Parades are at 11:45pm, when we have to get up at 6:00am to get prepared to go on a shore excursion. I had called the front desk the night before to ask if Windjammers was going to be open for breakfast at 6:30am, and was told ‘Oh sure, they were open at 6:30 before”. I was like “Oh, no they weren’t.” They had even put on our Cruise Compass Newsletter that Windjammers would be open at 6:30am this time. But were they open at 6:30am? Absolutely not.

They opened the doors at 6:40am. This might seem minor, and would be if you had no plans, but Windjammers is at the Aft of this ship, and where we meet for shore excursions is at the Forward section of this ship. Not that it really mattered, because the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing on this cruise, and we were 30 minutes late leaving for shore excursions to begin with this particular morning. Was later told it was because the tender boats lined up on one side of the ship and then they discovered that the waves rocking up against the ship caused problems for tendering and they had to move the tender boats to the opposite side of the ship. Now here we are, meeting at the Forward part of the ship, and now having to walk the steps from Deck #4 down to Deck #1, (or maybe it was level 2…. don’t remember exactly), and then walk from the forward section of the ship to the Aft section where we had just came from to get on the tender boats. Please remember to wear your walking shoes on this ship. And bring a pair of extra legs if you have them, because your first set is going to feel like hell by the time you’re ready to go home.

Shore Excursion…….. THE MAYAN RUINS OF XUNANTUNICH & MARIMBA LUNCH: After a short (about 15 minute) tender ride to shore, we then had a 2 hour bus ride to get to our destination. Our bus driver was determined to keep his bus smelling pretty, by spraying some sort of red colored freshener throughout the bus. Kinda smelled like cinnamon. Made several people on our bus start coughing and sneezing though. Me included. We went through 5 Eco Systems getting to these ruins. Don’t even bother to style your hair or get prim and pretty for this excursion, because the weather alone, will put a monkey wrench into those plans.

Once we got to the hand-cranked ferry, the bus stayed behind, and we all got on the ferry by foot, and went across this small river. When we got to the other side, we all piled in several mini vans to go up a large hill to the visitors center. Then, we got out of the mini vans, and walked up this large hill (will put the burn in your leg muscles by the time you reach the top), where we could use the restrooms and waited for the remainder of our tour to arrive.

The ruins here are amazing, but the trip to get to them is exhausting. Took tons of pictures, and on our way to return to the ship, we stopped to eat at a restaurant. We had an outdoor lunch that consisted of grilled chicken, brown rice and kidney beans, cole slaw, and some plantation fruit thing. Not many people ate the fruit. The rice and chicken was good. The bottled sodas weren’t very cold though. Neither was the bottle of water that was offered to us when we got off the bus to go to the ruins earlier that day. After our meal, we had a 1 hr, and 40 minute drive back to the tender boats. Seemed like a ride that took forever. Last tender boat was suppose to be at 3:15pm, however, we got back at 3:30pm, and even after we got to the ship, and changed from regular shoes to flip flops in our room, and went back out on deck 4 to look around, we noticed another five tender boats coming in, and by this time, it was around 4:30pm. So much for the captain saying that he wasn’t going to wait one minute. This is the best reason for making sure you book your shore excursions through the cruiseline. If your shore excursion arrives late to get you back to the ship, the ship has to wait for you.

RCCL really needs to better plan their days on this cruise ship. Now we’ve got thousands of people returning from their shore excursions, and there’s no place to eat except Johnny Rockets. Windjammers conveniently closed while everyone was returning from shore, no dining rooms were open, and unless you wanted to go to the Promenade Cafe, that left only Johnny Rockets as a place to eat. And note that even though ice tea is free on the ship, you have to pay for it at Johnny Rockets. There is no dancing at this Johnny Rockets like you see on Majesty of the Seas or the other smaller RCCL ships. Maybe it was because they were so busy due to the fact that there weren’t many places to eat and everyone was starving.

Went to our room around 6:00pm, and I started feeling soooooo sick. Almost like someone had run over me with a truck. Every single muscle in my body was aching. Then I got this horrible cough that made me feel like someone had kicked me in the ribs. My husband and I called it an early night and figured we just needed some rest from the exhausting day.

DAY #5: This day was pretty simple for me. I just laid in bed, sick all day, and prayed that I’d see the next day to get off the ship and get home.

DISEMBARKATION: Another horror story. We got off around 9:00am, because we knew that our bus wasn’t going to arrive until 10:30am. Took us 40 minutes to disembark the ship, and then the one and only soda machine that we seen was broken due to someone trying to stick some sort of plastic card where the dollar bills go in the machine at. So, we sat at the port until 11:00am (bus was late) with nothing to drink. And here I was sick to boot to begin with.

CONCLUSION: If NOS would have been our first cruise, most likely she would have been out last. Either that, or I would have never booked another RCCL cruise. I will never cruise on NOS again. Going to stick with the ships that range from 840 – 980 feet long. Anything larger I will definitely stay away from. Will never book another interior cabin either. Might even consider taking a can of Lysol on my next cruise.I can say though, that I got some fantastic photos of the ship and the ruins. Also the Ice Skating Show on this ship is fantastic.Note: I finally started feeling better about 7 days after I returned from the cruise. But I’m not giving up. I will be going on another cruise soon. : It just won’t be on Navigator. Plus, I’ll never book shore excursions that are going to last 6 hours, and have to be up at the crack of dawn to be able to go to them.

A cruise has been once a simple idea for you to set up. Most you incurred for you to do appeared to be head off to your travel agent and check with only a few brochures. But for the reason that sector has grew it may be an overwhelming mix of itineraries, cruise services, options add-ons and additionally values. Hence how does one read through along with hunt for those presented information and facts to choose the best cruise deal? Those tips listed here will let chose the best cruise and also conserve your funds.

Cruise Deals – Tell You Get the Best Cruise Deal and Save Money

a person. The actual most frantic summer has long been Jan throughout March. That’s where these cruise world textbooks the most cruises. Cruise lines commonly come up with related to 38 p’cent and health of their to choose from revenue currently. This can be the best the perfect time to look for several amazing and last minute deals given that they provide you with lots of incentives.

couple of. Be sure to start up properly in front of your trip or maybe holiday time whether you can unless you desire a last minute cruise deal. For starters you ought to call a cruise line you happen to be a lot of fascinated with and ask for the actual cruise line rep pertaining to any on their cruises as well as staterooms. You are able to enquire about handicapped-equipped staterooms after that if the tone is quotation that means require. It is easy to accomplish afterward to help go overly.

Perspiring deals they’ve functioning and make sure to understand these individuals your actual age and additionally what assert you reside within or simply if you are vacationing with a group of folks and some other several and / or include cruised utilizing cruise line prior to now. Truly include a flight? Do you want a fabulous family deal? It is because your unique predicament might possibly entitle an individual to get massive discounts. Bring regardless of the premium fond of an individual by its cruise line reputation since an individual’s starting cost.

a variety of. Up coming read the Saturday magazine advertisements in the take a trip element and peruse for the purpose of cruise coupon. The larger metropolis newspaper publishers and the tabloids situated in or else not too distant of cruise departure urban centers are good for selecting very good or even cheap cruise deals. A person can rise to check your local library to see a ads when they bear the tv news records. A few regular broadsheets get a hold of there travel postings online.

have a look at. Check out typically the cruise arranging Web-sites. You can find cruise discount agencies which might develop the cheapest cruise rates found everywhere, regardless if everyone desire a luxury cruise and / or spending plan cruise. Significant travelling Web pages including Orbitz, Expedia and even Travelocity as a rule have great deals too. You too can uncover last-minute cruise deals way too. The cruise Net sites’ selling prices are frequently reasonably the same. And also voyage niche sites are commonly related nevertheless considerably larger. Make sure to ask after any additional, mystery or hidden expenses, which include cancelling technology fine. These types of can cost somewhere between not to mention .

some. Be sure you ask your cruise tour operator. Many people wish to have to do business with an important local travel agent or maybe are not the knowledgeable about getting acquainted with online. A choice in which it costs the latest visiting payment prior to you meet up with. A handful of prices are often refundable whether they e book an individual’s cruise. When investing in plus the tour operator, articulate specifically what you are looking along with that you’ll be judging charges. A reliable local travel agent is often very handy if you suffer from afflictions, illness issues, wonderful must have or perhaps demand visas or simply different legal documents.

7. Contemplate placing some “cruise wanted” listing for Craigslist . org online. Often be certain in addition to specific pertaining to what you would like. Subsequently sit by and additionally await response.

6. After you have a number of cruise line and / or cruise plan estimates look at him or her and attempt to get a lower price, extra discounts or else a handful of onboard extras.

Note that should you be best man same maintain in mind from the travel agent you will be obtaining belonging to the cruise line then you need to remain looking for the purpose of that best policy to any local travel agent is not preserving you some cash. That best cruise deal exists this really is simply best for you not to mention could save you money on your holiday very whether for the air conditioning Alaska, South america, the caribbean, Beautiful hawaii, this Bahamas, or perhaps Bermuda. You just need to perform a little study and don’t take over initial deal apparently.