When I plan a cruise with my family, here are a few things I think about that help us decide. Sometimes it’s a new ship we want to check out, it may be particular ports we would like to visit, and sometimes it’s just “we need a cruise” and don’t want to fly across the U.S. to get to a port so we look for a port close to home to leave from. We usually try to cruise 3 times a year and like to choose different ports or ships as much as possible. Although, I will say we are starting to run out of options… We do end up repeating some ports but can’t complain about it. For example, Cozumel is one we have been to many times and never get tired of it. It seems to always fall into a port stop on all the western Caribbean itineraries. We can always find something to do there. We have been swimming with the dolphins at Dolphinaris, gone on jeep tours, ATV excursions, experienced different beach clubs, grabbed our own cab to the beach for the day, and even just got off the ship and hung around and shopped in the port. I can’t say we have ever had a bad day in Cozumel.
So after we decide when and where we would like to cruise, we book it!!! Then the research fun begins…First I like to read a little about the ports that I am not familiar with. Learn some history behind them, options on sights to see, safety in the ports, etc… I always like to teach our son Matthew about places we are going to visit. I want him to realize how fortunate he is to be cruising as often as he does and appreciate all he is able to learn. Next, we usually glance at excursions offered by the cruise line, then we search private excursions and compare pricing and options offered. I sometimes refer to cruise critic for info, but not as much as I use to in the past. My final and best place to go for info is Trip Advisor. I can always feel like I am getting good, reliable, honest information from real people who have experienced them before. I go to Trip Advisor for information on any vacation I am planning as well as reviews on hotels and more.
The next thing we do is set a budget for the ports we will be stopping at. Then as a family we go through our options and decide what is important and what is not so important to see and do. If we don’t think we will visit a port again or at least not for a long time, we may tend to splurge a little more on an excursion there if we see something we really would like to do. Ports we visit more frequently we tend to do our own thing or maybe cheaper excursion, or just make it an inexpensive beach day. So when we are finished planning our excursions we usually have one type of adventurous excursion, one where we see some historical sights, and the rest more beach type days without breaking the bank. In the past, when we first started cruising we always booked a lot of pricey excursions. We just wanted to do it all and then ended up paying for it later. Well we also weren’t able to cruise as much as we do now. We have learned over the years that we would much rather cruise more often and relax than do anything and everything less often. So we do a lot of research on outside excursions instead of the ones the cruise ships offer. You can save a lot of money as well as getting a smaller crowd and more personalized service. We do excursions through the cruise line when we feel it’s safer in a particular port or it’s just something we want to do and can’t find it anywhere else. When we started cruising we always did excursions through the cruise line, but after years of experience we feel comfortable doing our own planning. So stick with what you feel comfortable with and remember to do a lot of research. We always pay cash and always use cash in the ports. I have heard a lot of horror stories of people with problems using their debit and credit cards. So for the ports we plan ahead and bring the cash we plan to spend and bring a variety of bill amounts, such as $1’s, $5’s, $10’s, etc… I highly recommend this, and don’t forget a few smaller bills for tipping on your excursions.
Well as an example on choosing excursions, I will talk about our next cruise on the Carnival Vista coming up this March.
We first decided we wanted to cruise the Vista when we heard she was being built. Although we would have loved to cruise on her while she was in the Mediterranean, it wasn’t in the budget for us at the time so we decided to book an itinerary once she came to the U.S. (Although we do have big plans to make the Horizon our 1st Mediterranean cruise in 2018). The Vista is offering 6 and 8 day itineraries from Miami and since the 8 day had a couple new ports for us and sounded more exciting, we chose the 8 day. Our son loves to cruise as much as us and he has been talking about the Vista for over 2 years now and is beyond excited to ride those pedal cars up in the air…So I guess you might say we chose this particular cruise for the ship, with the ports not far behind.
We will be visiting 4 ports
8 Day Itinerary
Miami, FL 4:00pm
Fun day at sea
Grand Turk 7:00am-2:00pm
La Romana, DR 9:30am-4:30pm
Bonaire 1:30pm-10:30pm
Aruba 8:00am-4:00pm
Fun day at sea
Fun day at sea
Miami, FL 8:00am
We will start the cruise with a sea day up front. That is always nice. It gives you time to unwind and relax before hitting the busy port days. For some, it’s also nice to have some time to recover from embarkation day. Embarkation day can be exhausting. Most people are up early on cruise morning with excitement, and some are flying or driving to the port. After all the hustle and bustle of getting to the port, checking in, getting on the ship, exploring the ship, muster drill, unpacking, and don’t forget all the food and drinks!!! By the time dinner hits, you are ready to collapse the first night. So the first day being a relaxing day at sea is great!!!
Our 1st port will be Grand Turk. This will be our 4th time in Grand Turk and it is a beautiful, relaxing, and safe port. The beach is right there when you get off the ship.
Although there are excursions offered here most people get off and just head to the beach. You can lay on the beach and see your cruise ship. For us we usually head down to Jack’s Shack on the beach and have a few drinks and snacks and our son loves to play with the famous dog that lives at Jack’s Shack name Topher. Topher is always hanging out playing in the water with the crowd.
Towards the end of the day we usually head up to Margaritaville (which is right at the port) for a drink and back to the ship. Although last June when we were there we just went directly to Margaritaville and hung out at the pool all day. It turned out to be such a great relaxing day and so we decided to do this again. Since we will be the only ship in port that day, we should be able to grab some prime lounge chairs and have a great day. Matthew loves the pool and they have a Flo Rider right there as well. So it looks like we have Grand Turk settled.
Next stop is La Romana, Dominican Republic. With this being a new port for us we want to see some sights and do something exciting or adventurous.
I have read about some caves they have there, but they do not allow photography in the caves so that choice is out for us. I like more than mental memories. I have read zip lining is popular in La Romana. We love to zip line, although last time I zip lined I hurt my shoulder so I think the best thing for me is to not attempt it again for a while. We love riding ATV’s as well. We usually do private ATV excursions because they do not usually have an age requirement like the cruise line excursions do. Our son is able to ride on the back of one of ours with private companies. But make sure you do your research… We did a private tour in Amber Cove last year and the brakes went out on my ATV and I crashed into a dirt barrier wall. Well the whole time I was so terrified of them trying to charge us for damages, etc…that I didn’t even realize I was a little hurt. Anyways it all turned out ok. They were actually glad we didn’t make a big deal about it I think. They kept asking if I was ok. We were just waiting for them to try to give us a hefty bill at the end. We ended up having to leave my ATV where it crashed (the whole wheel was off of it) and the tour guide gave me his to ride and then he doubled up on a little motorcycle with the camera guy. I was just thankful our son was riding with my husband Jamie and not me.
I had a few minor scraps, aches and pains for a few days but no permanent injuries. But just another reason why I can’t stress enough “DO YOUR RESEARCH”.
Well, back to La Romana…We are still trying to decide what to do here so you will just have to wait for our cruise review in March to find out what we decided to do.
On to Bonaire…I’m excited about visiting Bonaire. It’s another new port for us. Bonaire is known as being a diver’s paradise. Well there are no divers in this family although we do enjoy snorkeling. After a lot of research, we found through Trip Advisor we decided to rent our own golf cart and tour the little island ourselves.
I am really excited about this. We have written down a few places we want to make sure we see and will add more to it before March. A few interesting places are Goto Lake where the flamingos hang out. I am really excited to see the flamingos. I think it will be very cool. Another place is Rincon Village, which is full of history. The salt flats, and the Cudushy distillery where they make their own signature alcohol.
I emailed the Bonaire tourism office and they sent me maps and other information on Bonaire. We will map out all of the sights we want to see and it is sure to be a fun filled day. The golf carts are very reasonably priced. $90 for 2 people or $100 for up to 4 people (for the whole golf cart not per person). Plus $100 refundable deposit. When you break that down per person, it’s much cheaper than an excursion. Our son Matthew will love helping us map out our adventures and navigating us through Bonaire. Once again we are the only ship in port so it shouldn’t be very crowded.
Another good tip that is good to do is to find out how many ships are in port when you will be there. It can also help you decide what you want to do. You probably wouldn’t want to head to the beach if you are the last ship in port. It may be very hard to find a lounge chair. There are a few websites you can find this information at. One website we use is cruiseTT.com.
Last but not least, Aruba… This port was an easy decision for us. We were in Aruba several years ago and went on an excursion through Carnival called the Kukoo Kunuku. It’s an open air bus excursion with a beach break. It was so much fun I wanted to do it again and take Matthew this time. I think he will love it. You take a tour from one side of the island to the other. See some sights, then end up at the beach. The bus ride is fun with Caribbean music playing and everyone gets maracas. I really enjoyed seeing how one part of Aruba was tropical and the other was like complete desert. Very strange. Not what I expected at all. Well the excursion still gets a 5 Star review on Trip Advisor so I am sold on it again. The price is right also at only $49.99 for adults and $42.99 for kids. Not bad for a full day of sights, beach, & fun!!!
Then after all these amazing ports we will end our cruise with 2 awesome sea days on the Vista. With all the wonderful amenities the Vista has to offer, it is sure to be a memorable time.
Remember to do your research, it only takes a little time and effort to save a lot of $$. Make a budget and stick to it. You will be able to cruise more by planning ahead. You will find your vacation much less stressful and enjoy coming home NOT having to pay it off before planning the next.
I think we have made some budget friendly choices and can’t wait to share them with you. Now it’s time to relax, enjoy the holidays, and after the new year start our pre cruise diets and plan our packing, because March will be here before we know it. VISTA HERE WE COME…
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY CRUISING!!!
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