Cruise questions - sorry, kind of long?

I have a cruise on-hold right now with Royal Carribean and wanted to know what any avid cruisers out there thought of it before I pay for it, since I have never cruised before.

The cruise is in March, 2009 on the Independence of the Seas. It is a 6 night Western Carribean cruise starting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and stopping in Belize City, Conzumel Mexico, and Costa Maya Mexico. I set up a deluxe ocean view room with balcony on deck six. Would this be bad for sea sickness prone people? I know I get that kind of light headed/gonna throw up feeling when I fly....so figure a cruise might even be worse.

So, what do you think?

What land excursions whould we do?

Should I pre-pay gratuities? Does that cover all gratuities...or do you still tip some people?

Or, should I scrap the whole thing and just fly to Mexico?

Thanks so much!






Answer :
Well....this all depends on what you want. One reason I enjoyed crusing the Carribean was that it was the first vacation I ever took, and I had no idea about the different islands and what they held. Also, cruising is great in that you only need to pack and unpack the one time and your meals are included.

First, I prefer crusing the Southern Caribbean itineraries for one simple reason: you get more stops. Eastern or Western itineraries usually only make about three stops per seven days, and have several "at sea" days. If you enjoy lounging around and relaxing, you'll like at sea days. If you prefer to be busy and active, you may want to look into a cruise with more stops.

Second, the balcony rooms are often not worth the money. The balconies don't have much room, and if you are prone to sea sickness, you can feel more motion on the balcony (granted, it's not much motion, but that could just be my opinion because I don't get sea sick). If you get a nice, ocean view room, I'd leave out the balcony, myself. I prefer ocean view rooms; I feel like why cruise if you're not going to see the ocean?

Of your three stops, the only one I've done is Belize. I did to an excursion on Belize, and it was snorkeling. I usually do one excursion per cruise. It can get pretty costly, otherwise. Royal Carribean's ships have a library, and you can check out a book on your destinations, and make your own plans. Also, the crew will provide recommendations; like if one place tends to overcharge tourists, they'll tell you and that can help you make your decision.

I prefer doing my own gratuities. If you like someone, you'd like him or her to get more than the prescribed minimum. You should give the minimum regardless; that's how the non salaried workers make the bulk of their money. If the service was sucky, make sure to note it in the comment card. They give everybody one to fill out.

I hope that answer wasn't too long! Can you tell I've cruised with Royal Carribean a time or two? :)