Cruises - Is this a good deal for first time cruisers ?

We are really intrigued by this offer - http://www.crystalcruises.com/VoyageDetail.aspx?CID=2207

It sounds very reasonable and being that this will be our first cruise and possibly the only one for several years after, I wanted to go on an all inclusive luxury liner.

The price seems right - about 5k for 2 including airfare from ORD and back. The food part of the voyage sounds great as well, with the restaurants like nobu etc being highly rated. The one drawback I see is the potential ages of the travelers with my wife and I being under 32 but I think that would be ok.

What do you all think ?

YOu might try this link:

http://www.seabourn.com/find-luxury-cruise-vacation/FindCruises.action?destCode=ET&dateCode=&shipCodeSearch=&durationCode=&portCode=FLL

Seabourn is truly luxury with all restaurants and food and wine included, also tips. However, airfare is not included.
Might check out the Forums on CruiseCritic.com

I did look at your site and do think that there are a lot of activities and interesting guest lecturers. Not sure how big the ship is; large Seabourn ship is 450 with very personal service.

The cruise only fare with Crystal is a better value..... LIS-ORD can be had for good rates if you work with a TA who has cruisefares (oneway rates). Plus you can probably get some ship credit tossed in

I think this is the first sailing that will be "all inclusive" for crystal, but yes as a younger person myself be prepared for an older crowd

we personally don't like crystal, many do.....some pax on our rssc cruise this year said they liked it and there were many raves by pax on the crystal trip we took........

The price is certainly good, but you will be amongst the very youngest on board (barring some of the crew members). If you have not cruised before, be sure that the many sea days will not be a problem for you with sea sickness. There is only one port stop during the voyage, and the Crystal ships are not extremely large -- 900 pax, 50,000 BRT (think - possible rough seas, and the lowest priced cabins are not necessarily mid-ships, which are generally the "calmest").

We are really intrigued by this offer - http://www.crystalcruises.com/VoyageDetail.aspx?CID=2207

The one drawback I see is the potential ages of the travelers with my wife and I being under 32 but I think that would be ok.

Your age shouldn't be a problem, it's only a 10 day cruise during Spring Break period. Now if you were doing a longer cruise in the Fall then you'd more likely be the youngest passengers on board. :)

I've got to be honest, I don't know that I'd necessarily say it's a great choice for a first cruise. A lot of people taking cruises tend not to like trips that are very sea day intensive, and this is basically an all-sea day trip. (I'm personally not one of those, I happen to like sea days myself). But if you don't know that, you could find yourselves going stir-crazy by the time you see land again.

Also, my personal guess is that you're likely to be amongst the absolute youngest on the ship. I honestly don't see Crystal as likely to be that much affected by the spring break crowd (especially for this type of itinerary). But I'd guess that it's very likely the average age is going to be 20 years older than you. (Not that I'd say that's necessarily a bad thing, I'm used to being on the younger side myself on cruises, but I'm still about 6 years older than you, and I still tend to be on the younger side, depending on type of itinerary). And itineraries like this tend to skew towards the older side, not the younger.

Obviously, this is all just my opinion.

a trip to cruise is wonderful . but age is the problem

I am not so sure that a ta is a great first cruise, unless you both know you don't want to do anything but hang on the ship for many days. I happen to find them absolutely boring myself, even with many activities. Can you consider a cruise with several ports? Then it's fun to have done some research and get off and go sightseeing, either on your own or with a ship's tour.
However, if you want a stretch of time with no cell phones, no work interruptions and lots of time to sit in the sun, then this ta could be for you. Can you stay in portugal for a few days after disembarkation? Lisbon and the surrounding areas are lovely.

Your age shouldn't be a problem, it's only a 10 day cruise during Spring Break period. Now if you were doing a longer cruise in the Fall then you'd more likely be the youngest passengers on board. :)

Young people don't exactly "flock" to the upscale lines such as Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea, et al. The average age will be 50s & 60s regardless of the time of year.

Further, I am in agreement that a long transatlantic crossing might not be a good first cruise. Unless, of course, one can keep one's self well entertained (or you don't need that much to keep you occupied). While I personally love days at sea (as opposed to shore days--I live on land, I cruise for a different environment) they aren't for everyone.

Yes, for god's sake don't cruise with older people. [redacted] Restrict yourself to only your peer group, for the rest of your life, anywhere you go, anything you do; that is only common sense.

Set aside the age questions for the moment, we've done 15+ cruises over the years and have yet to consider doing a TA, DW and I could spend 7 nights abroad at the casino with no dry land in sight, but .... we could hit Sin City for that & much more. When we began cruising in the 90's, we're seen as the youngest, things are different nowadays with AARP membership in hand for more discounts ....

The high-end Crystal Serenity 50,000 ton ship with azi-pod can only be so stable in maneuvering in the huge Atlantic, so sea sickness could be a problem depending on weather during your crossing. We once ate in the near empty MDR at 6 pm heading out to Bermuda b/c the seas were so rough that practically everyone ordered room service, and it was a 90,000 tonage ship being tossed in 15+ waves for 18 hours until we rode out the storm.

For next Spring, an alternative for 1st. time cruising - might want to look into one of the Panama Canal repositioning options - from one of the Miami ports down & around, up the Pacific coast to Los Angeles, generally for 12 to 14 days on one the main lines. For dining, one can always book the upscale steakhouse, French & other ethnic restaurants. Upgrade to a suite or above, and you will have a butler at your own disposal - it should be within your budget range, with OBC factored in. And, you are typically no more than 2 or 3 days from land - or as we say, after rocky sea days "oh, finally foot on solid land"

Just pennies for your thoughts ....

Yes, for god's sake don't cruise with older people. They are all deaf, stupid, and hate life and anyone younger than themselves. The food will all be soft, because they have problems chewing, and dinner will be served at 4 p.m. every day. People outside your own age group have absolutely nothing of interest to say. Restrict yourself to only your peer group, for the rest of your life, anywhere you go, anything you do; that is only common sense.

Good grief, I think you could fit in a bit more melodrama here if rework it.

I don't think anyone is implying some moral valuation of "older" people. However, I think it is completely fair to say that, for example, younger folks in their 20's are likely looking for a completely different vacation experience than say, folks in their 50s/60s. Heck, as someone in his 40's, I darn sure know my SO and I are looking for a very different vacation experience than we pursued in our 20's.

And, with that in mind, and accepting that most people have limited discretionary dollars and time for their vacations, I've got know problem with them making their own choices regarding "age appropriate" vacations.

Let's not twist this into some "societal" worth discussion; it's a freakin' cruise...

Regards

Worth reading twice......posts 7 and 11.

First cruise, transatlantic, Crystal, your age......not really a good mix at any price. Toss in that it is the ships first all inclusive cruise and you have a very slim shot at happiness.

"Let's not twist this into some "societal" worth discussion; it's a freakin' cruise..."

That's exactly my point. :mad: Or did you not understand facetiousness and sarcasm without little icons to tell you? :rolleyes: :p

My own two cents from my background of 130 cruises, #131 coming up Dec 7th

I agree don't do a transatlantic for the 1st time voyage, it could end up being your last if the seas are not smooth which is always a risk on a voyage like this, the great price notwithstanding.

Crystal ? For a very monied, older crowd for sure that likes to dress extravagantly each evening and show off their jewels. Also Crystal passengers are the only luxury passengers that need to be lead by the hand 18 hours a day with most everything being organized for them.

Seabourn or Regent if you could find a good price would be my recommendations for an equally five star product where people don't need to be lead by the hand and dress to impress everyone on board.

Worldspan
130 cruises strong

I like Crystal, but 10 days with one stop makes me wonder what you would do with your time. There is only so much eating, drinking, and gambling that you can do. The lectures and entertainment are worthwhile, but again will not occupy that much of your time. If you want to spend a lot of time reading or napping, maybe this is for you, but I would guess that you will be bored, and will be anxious to get off at the end (and the disembarkation process is a pain, even on Crystal).

I agree that Regent is worth checking out, but even then I wouldn't do a TATL cruise for my first time. If I were you, I would start off with a cruise of no more than 7 days, maybe in the Caribbean, maybe including the Canal. There will be several stops. You don't have to get off if you don't want. Or if you want to wait until summer, Alaska is great!

"Let's not twist this into some "societal" worth discussion; it's a freakin' cruise..."

That's exactly my point. :mad: Or did you not understand facetiousness and sarcasm without little icons to tell you? :rolleyes: :p

When communicating with human beings, I generally first assume that if my point was not clearly understood, then perhaps my transmitter is broken, not their receiver.

Regards

Thank you all so much for your input. There was no disrespect or slight towards the elderly intended nor (I had hoped) implied and which @sylvia hennesy seemed to take issue with.

I did contact a few travel agents, some from the cruise and one independently. Only the independent one re-affirmed what @PIONEER, @Letitride3c, @randeman et all have said below - namely that for a first time cruise, we should NOT do a transatlantic one that is so long on the water, when the seas are uncertain and with such little schore excursions planned.

And as @scubadu and others suggested, what we wanted to do in our 20's [not that long ago] is much different than what we would want today. We are not the spring break kind anymore but are still active travellers and explorers so would ideally have liked a little more trips outside.

There is a 10 day cruise from Barcelona to Rome with Chef Jaques Pepin on board which appealed to everything but the wallet - 10k without an all inclusive. I did consider it heavily before thinking of how many just air/hotel trips we could have to all the other places we have not done yet in that price.

At this point, I am now looking at carribean and as @Letitride3c suggested, the Panama Canal cruises. Trick would be now to fit it within 5k for a couple or see if we can do Alaska later on in the year.

Once again, thank you all for your responses, this content is what makes this board great to be a part off!

On coffee break & doing a quickie lookup, just a sample suggestion on what to expect and how I would've booked one - sail the NCL line with Free Style Cruising of any-time dining (more comments at the bottom) Royal Caribbean has similar ones but it's priced higher. Outline below is within your 5k budget, as planning a cruise can be overwhelming for those new to it:

Wed, Mar 28, 2012 (board early, typically 12 noon - full welcome luncheon)
11 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise - all abroad by 2 pm for 4:00 pm sailing
Itinerary: Roundtrip Miami Ship Name: Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line Stateroom: BA, Mid-Ship Balcony, 166 sf, balcony 37 sf
Day 1 Miami, Florida -- 4:00 pm
Day 2 At Sea -- --
Day 3 Samana, Dominican Republic 10:00 am 5:00 pm
Day 4 Tortola, Bvi 9:00 am 6:00 pm
Day 5 Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles 8:00 am 6:00 pm
Day 6 St. John's, Antigua 8:00 am 5:00 pm
Day 7 Roseau, Dominica 8:00 am 6:00 pm
Day 8 Bridgetown, Barbados 7:00 am 5:00 pm
Day 9 Basseterre, St. Kitts 12:00 pm 7:00 pm
Day 10 At Sea -- --
Day 11 At Sea -- --
Day 12 Miami, Florida 8:00 am -- (Sun, Apr 8, 2012)

Price Summary Total (for 2)
Cruise Rate: $2,898.00
Flights: $1,106.40 (optional add-on, by NCL including airport transfers) ***
Travel Protection: $310.00 (optional) ***
Cruise Taxes and Fees: $323.76
Total Price: $4,638.16

Booked via TA, a $75 OBC (On Board Credit) issued per cabin, good for drinks, soda & premium coffee, photos & gift shop purchases, etc. excluding gratitudes or casino plays.

All cruise lines have ships based at Miami so pricing & competition is real serious, a 12 days/11 nights Caribbean sailing tend to attract a mixed passenger matrix with less "spring break" crowds (our friends once sailed a sold-out one with 1,000 children & teens mixed in among 3,000 pax during the winter break) For this, 7 different ports over 12 days plus optional time for MIA if desired, pre or post-cruise.

As balcony guests (although sailing for 1st. time) - use dedicated line for balcony & above guests at pier check-in, usually quicker & shorter wait, plan to arrive early if using your own AIR & coming from the hotel to take advantage of the full day abroad. Many new pax. do not realize that lunch is included - the buffet is open (for NCL ships - the main dining room is open for a relaxed sit-down full 5 course meal while the room steward clean & prep the cabins after the morning pax's disembarkation) and, usually a speciality dining room is open for balcony+ pax. Balcony pax on NCL ships has exclusive access to a designated/specialty dining room daily for breakfast in addition to the buffet & main dining room.

For Caribbean waters, a balcony is nice (however, small) for 2 to sit, relax & enjoy simple contential breakfast over room service - or sit back to watch the ship set sail for the next port of call or watch the sunset with warm sea breeze.

You will need to add gratitudes for 11 nights, that's now $12 p/p per day or $264 for this one. We usually tip a bit extra/up front in cash once we embark and meet our room steward team in person, it's well worth the "thank you" smiles & extra services in return for the rest of the cruise.

Fine dining in NCL's signature restaurants like Le Bristo (french) and Seafood & Steak house will have a surcharge, but it's worth the extra for many. They also have Cooking Light for those minding the calories and the cafe is open for 23/7 comfort food services except during sail away & disembarkation morning.

If you got miles to burn, even OW only and do your own flights, you will pocket the savings vs. cruise air, maybe arrive one day early to avoid flight delays/cancellation, and use available hotel credits to rest up overnight. If so, you might not even need travel insurance = more savings.

Homeward bound immediately after the cruise, NCL will, for an extra fee, directly transfer your checked luggage to the airport depending on the carriers so you don't even have to worry about checking in - NCL will print your BP & you can do the Express walk-off for a quick taxi-ride or opt for the airport transfer bus from the pier for a PM flight.

If you do a 7-9 nights Caribbean cruise, the package prices will be lowered & you should be able to upgrade to a full suite with butler services. Looked at the Canal ITN and realized that prices are much higher than what I last looked at, so it will be a challenge to not break your piggy bank.

What's not included is the cost of all shore excurisons .... budget accordingly. (use cruisecritic.com's boards - plenty of useful & detailed info)

If you have/find a great independent cruise TA, work with him/her to find deals - cruiseline will sometimes price match it or give identical OBC when asked, so let them earn the commission for your booking. Cruising is "addictive" and unless flying, no TSA involved (yet ....)

"I generally first assume that if my point was not clearly understood, then perhaps my transmitter is broken, not their receiver."

Gosh, I don't. But then, I assume that most people have a brain.:)

aterug: I didn't "take issue"; just with the idea that old people should travel together (some of my best friends are...), or young people will find it horrible to be surrounded by them, or vice versa, or that as human beings, we must travel in our little peer-group packs for the duration of our lives.
Live a little! Eat dinner at 4 p.m. with a coupon, you might like it!!:p

Yes, for god's sake don't cruise with older people. They are all deaf, stupid, and hate life and anyone younger than themselves. The food will all be soft, because they have problems chewing, and dinner will be served at 4 p.m. every day. People outside your own age group have absolutely nothing of interest to say. Restrict yourself to only your peer group, for the rest of your life, anywhere you go, anything you do; that is only common sense.

Wonderful. Love it ^

"I generally first assume that if my point was not clearly understood, then perhaps my transmitter is broken, not their receiver."

Gosh, I don't. But then, I assume that most people have a brain.:)

Takes me back to second grade.

:rolleyes: Apparently, age correlates little with maturity. :rolleyes:

Setting aside the juvenile comments - we love TA's but wouldn't do one for the first time and would certainly pick a larger ship. We did a TA on the Westerdam (Holland America) and encountered rough seas. Didn't bother us as we're sailors but alot of people were ill. If you like to drink (I do) you should take into account the extra costs as a previous poster mentioned. Some lines, Regent and soon Crystal are all inclusive. When we sailed Crystal they offered free drink in the casino and as I'm a casino rat that worked for me. Royal Carib, HAL, QMII, etc. do not, however. We have a 10 day over Christmas and New Year's coming up on Noordam (HAL) in the Caribbean. We like a variety of lines and, as this cruise is sold out, should be fun!

Like other posters, I would suggest you consider whether you want to try a TA crossing as a first cruise. Like others, we ourselves love them, and have averaged at least one a year for the past few years, four on Oceania Cruise's (http://www.oceaniacruises.com/) 684-passenger ships and one on RCCL's much larger Oasis of The Seas (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSiteletSub.do?pagename=sub_royal_advantage_ OA&pagenameMain=royal_advantage_main&discriminators=0&SID=P3033551347&247SEM=), with two more booked for 2012.

Still, quite a few experienced cruisers don't like them at all for factors such as those cited above (there's a reason they're often a bargain ;)) and it would be worth spending some time researching on Cruise Critic and similar sites.

We've sailed on four other cruise lines (although neither on Crystal nor a "six-star") but there are so many variables among cruise lines, the individual ships and their features, and itineraries, e.g. port-intensive vs. sea days, regions, that I can only point them out along with some of the potential pros and cons.

I hope you find the cruise that is as close to perfect as possible for you. ^

On coffee break & doing a quickie lookup, just a sample suggestion on what to expect and how I would've booked one - sail the NCL line with Free Style Cruising of any-time dining (more comments at the bottom) Royal Caribbean has similar ones but it's priced higher. Outline below is within your 5k budget, as planning a cruise can be overwhelming for those new to it:
.
.
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If you have/find a great independent cruise TA, work with him/her to find deals - cruiseline will sometimes price match it or give identical OBC when asked, so let them earn the commission for your booking. Cruising is "addictive" and unless flying, no TSA involved (yet ....)

This was really good, thank you! I will be working with a TA - looking at the Celebrity Solstice on a Caribbean cruise in Feb at the moment!

Have heard good things about Solstice - let us know how you do! I enjoyed Celebrity.

If you're young, your first trip should be on one of the larger RCCL ships. Doesn't have to be Allure or Oasis; the Freedom class is a lot of fun, too. Unless you're gay, and then it should be Celebrity. Carnival can be fun, but it's usually overrun with kids and noisy. Holland America is for newly-wed or nearly-dead. Princess is 40-60s in my experience.