Should I go on this cruise? Help! (page 2)

daystar

Thanks for the advice everyone! I have some numbers to look at and, maybe, some planning to do!

Ellie

Hi Daystar, I hate to put a dampener on things and be the only boring person on the board but I personally think you should stay at home and save the money.

I'm sure you deserve the holiday but when it comes to looking after kids you can do with all the money you can get, theres bound to be some suprises along the way when you come to move into your new place and a little set aside would not harm.

Besides, could you not save to take your son on holiday next year?

pratt1

Will you take your son?

Most cruises has a lot of activities for kids, so I'll bet, he would have a great time a well.

Even if you go by yourself, the change of senery and pace would do you good.

I say go for it! All work and no play makes Jack a very sad guy.

gumby

While I was scrolling down and reading the replies, my thought was maybe you should stay home, take care of buisness, and plan a trip once you had things done you want to accomplish......then I read this part

I make good money and so it's not like this would set me back badly, but it would set me back a little.

Start packin fer cripes sake! I would go. Your an old bastard and life goes by to quick. Make some memories and have some fun.

Gumby....who's envious he gets ta be with pretty women on a ship

Lady Lee

I've been on a cruise Royal Carribean "Vision of the Seas" The trip was awesome - to Alaska and back to Vancouver.

A few things to know (on the ship I was on):

At the beginning of the cruise you get a "ship" credit card. Every time you buy something the cost is added to your card. At the end of the cruise people had their bills tacked to the door. Some people had pages of extras they had to pay for.
All the food is free so there is no expense there (unless you go to a couple of the upscale restaurants onboard. But the buffet and dining rooms were free. Eat whatever is on the menu
All non alcoholic beverages served during meals were free (pop, coffee tea)
ALL alcoholic drinks are NOT free.
We had several cans of soft drinks in our room when we got there. They were NOT free. We had to read the fine print on that one. So be cautious.
Tipping is mandatory. If you go to the webpage of the cruise line they usually provide guidelines about how much to tip (tipping is done at the end of the cruise)
Off ship tours are NOT free. They are managed by the tour companies. You can get off the ship and wander the port cities. You cannot buy alcoholic drinks in port and use them when you get back on the ship. They will be taken from you and held until the end of the cruise.
Photos are expensive. We had a couple of dress up nights where photographers had people waiting to get their pics taken. You can get the photo taken for free. You pay only if you want to keep them.
Extra perks like massages, and a few other personal things were extra cost that would go on your ship card.
The onboard casinos can be fun but set a limit and absolutely stick to it. Casinos are cash only and there was an ATM at the door

So, if you are a non drinker you extra bill at the end of the cruise is practically nothing. We didn't drink much so our bill was under $50. I think we got caught with the drink they handed us as we boarded the ship. And we bought a couple of small things at the gift shops.

If you are a drinker - be very careful. It adds up pretty quick.

Now something to think about in your decision.

Do you like these people enough to spend every waking minute with them?
If you prefer to wander out on your own at some point can you leave the group? Will they pressure you to stay with them? Will you feel guilty about going off on your own?
Are you comfortable enough with the group to say you are going somewhere else or off to try something on your own?

Ideally you would want to be comfortalbe enough and assertive enough to follow your interests without alienating the group or one of the other people.

If you are very carefull with your money there is no reason why you couldn't go with the 1/3 of the money you have now and a bit of extra spending money and still have a good amount for theose essentials when you get back.

OK One other thing. As the only male in the group are you going to be expected to pay for their drinks and other extras? Would you expect yourself to do this for them?

daystar

Lady Lee

Wonderful! Exactly the sort of response I'm looking for.

I do drink some, so I will definitely keep an eye on that.

Do you like these people enough to spend every waking minute with them?
If you prefer to wander out on your own at some point can you leave the group? Will they pressure you to stay with them? Will you feel guilty about going off on your own?
Are you comfortable enough with the group to say you are going somewhere else or off to try something on your own?

I'm pretty close friends with one of them. The rest are all really just acquaintances. I don't think I'll be pressured into staying with the group if I wanted to venture off on my own. And even if they were to try to pressure me, I'm a bit of an old fogey to put up with that. Naw, they're all fun, nice gals. If either of the two younger girls were to try to put pressure on me, I'm sure their mom would have my back anyway.

As the only male in the group are you going to be expected to pay for their drinks and other extras? Would you expect yourself to do this for them?

I think that perhaps one of the daughters might try that, but I'm fairly impervious to such manipulation. Otherwise, no. I'm there with them as a friend.

I'm still going to think about it all for a bit. This is an opportunity I'm not likely to get again soon. I'd thought about a cruise recently anyway, but the idea of going completely by myself wasn't all that appealing.

Thanks so much for the info and such!

Lady Lee

Glad it was helpful. Definitely check out the cruise line on their webpage and read all the fine print. That's where you are most likely to get caught up with extra fees. I swear some people must have had bills that cost more than the cruise itself.

Something else I thought about after I posted was that the "girls" might want their own "girl's time" so you might have more time than you think to wander off on your own.

We were on a 7 day cruise. The shows in the evening were fabulous so definitely check them out. There were 2 dress up night (jackets required) for the men. You don't have to go to those but it was fun and nice to dress up for dinner and the show later.

Dining rooms in the evening are NOT casual. Jacket required (it might be different on your ship so check this out. You might need to bring that old JW suit with you.

Daytime attire is much more relaxed everywhere on the ship but I don't recall bathing suits in the buffet area.

Royal Carribean caters to mostly 40's up. Other cruise lines cater more to older groups (I think the Norwegian line ismostly retirees) And the Carnival lines cater to younger. The webpage should let you know what to expect on board and what dress codes are.

OH and PACK LIGHT. Our room was tiny. We asked for tiny because we really didn't expect to be there very much. Basicly we only in our room to change and to sleep. The reat of the time we were on the top deck watching the sites go by.

serendipity

hi daystar,

I skimp in other areas to have money for vacations, so I say go for it. It's stressful being a single parent, and you deserve a break from the daily routine.

Frog

i figure a happy dad is a better dad than one that just provides :)

but having said that you must be torn for a reason, and you know what's best for you & your kid I'm sure :)

Good luck, and don't worry about it too much, you do go you have a great time, you don't go you won't know what you've missed out on. no mistakes can be made here. x

undercover

You sound like a frugle kinda guy...which is normally a good thing.

But you say you haven't had a vacation in three years. And this trip will set you back "a little". And you want to go.

It sounds like you "need" to go. You need a vacation, you need some time to relax. Most trips and vacations set people back some. But the memories of a good trip are definitely worth the money spent.

Go for it, have fun, take pics and cherish your trip for years to come.

Should I go on this cruise? Help!

Share this