From: bills@sequent.com (Bill Sears)
Subject: Re: Cruise questions
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc.
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 00:22:05 GMT

In article <1992Aug18.201703.2646@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> 21329JMK@MSU writes:
>On a cruise what are the pros and cons on upper vs. lower deck, inside vs.
>outside rooms.  Is the difference in $ worth the difference in location?
>Also what cruise lines/ships are good and bad?  How does one find discounts?

CABINS

It depends upon what your priorities are.  All of the cabins have 
(basically) the same amenities.  You eat the same food, you go on
the same shore excursions, you swim in the same pools, etc.  The
more expensive cabins may have port holes so you can see the ocean,
if that's important to you, and the really high end ones may have
balconies and larger bathrooms including tubs.  But consider how
much time you are actually going to spend in your cabin, and what
you are going to be doing while you are there.  Also to be considered
is how susceptible you are to motion sickness.  The outside cabins
will (by virtue of physics) tend to rock more than the inside ones.
Also, cabins higher on the ship will tend to rock more than those
on lower decks.

In addition, proximity to the ships areas may be important to you.
How long it takes for you to reach the dining room, or the exercise
room, or the sun deck, or whatever may be a consideration.

We took a cruise on our honeymoon.  We had an inside stateroom on
deck 6 (out of 12) at roughly mid-ship.  Our cabin didn't move much
at all, but it was small (10'x14' including the bathroom).  We met
some people who had an outside stateroom on deck 10 in the bow.
Their room was beautiful.  The bathroom (including tub) was almost
as big as our entire cabin.  They had a separate sitting room apart
from the bedroom, and a balcony with a sliding glass door.  Their
cabin was about 25'x20', but it rocked so much that they had to put
strings on their closet doors to keep them from swinging open at
night.  Neither one of us spent very much time in our cabins (just
to change clothes and sleep).  Our cabin was closer to the dining
room and the purser's desk, their's was closer to the sun deck.
They paid $2000 more for the cruise than we did.

At the time, we thought that their cabin was very nice, and how
wonderful it would have been to have a cabin that large, but the
$2000 savings more than made up for the pangs of jealousy.  We
slept better too.

CRUISE LINES

There are a few "well known" cruise lines, and several smaller ones.
Of the well known lines, I can vouch for the quality of the Royal
Caribbean _Monarch of the Seas_.  The travel agent told us that
she books Royal Caribbean as much as possible because she finds
that is where her customers have the best time.  She went on a
Carnival cruise and hated it (well, hate is a strong word, perhaps
didn't enjoy herself as much as she'd hoped is more appropriate).
A guy I work with knows a couple who just returned from a Carnival
cruise.  They were also _very_ disappointed.  Some people on the
plane after our cruise said they had been on Norwegian Cruise
Lines (NCL), and said that Royal Caribbean was better.  A neighbor
went on Holland America, and said she had a wonderful time, but
the crowd was significantly older than she liked (several people
were taken off the ship by helicopter after dying of old age during
the cruise).  A friend of my wife's went on a Princess Cruise and
said it was fun, but nothing special.  I don't know anything about
any of the smaller lines.

DISCOUNTS

Ask your travel agent.  They have the best information.  One travel
agent we talked to told us that cruises are like cars - you never
have to pay list price.  We got a three class upgrade free which
is pretty standard on RCCL.  NCL has a honeymooners half off spouse
fare.  Others have different discounts.  Ask your travel agent.

  bills
--------
Bill Sears            Sequent Computer Systems            bills@sequent.com

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