Cruise line question

[TCB]

Wife has wanted to do a cruise for a while. I have zero interest but thought it would make a great mother/daughter trip. So I thought I’d give them a gift certificate for Christmas for a cruise out of Galveston. What I don’t know is which company to go with and hoped the green screen could lend some advice.

Which cruise ship company do you recommend?

[glen]

Royal Caribbean out of Galveston. Carnival are the get drunk and party out of Galveston. Depends on interests

[Jaycar85]

Which ever one you go with on the 2nd or 3rd day at sea when the customer service line has gone down go to them and tell them to TAKE OFF THE GRATUITY! Everything already has a built in tip so why pay more tips at the end? Just take some cash to tip the people you want so they get it directly.

[Tyrex750]

That's what we did. It was ok, went with carnival on our first one to the Bahamas. Food sucked on the buffet. Go to the dining room ever night to eat.

[tvc184]

Royal Caribbean out of Galveston. Carnival are the get drunk and party out of Galveston. Depends on interests

I have never been on a cruise but have a friend who with her husband has been on about a dozen on both companies.

I was asking about cruises a few years ago. She said that in her experience, Royal Caribbean was the more adult oriented and Carnival was more geared toward families and young adults.

So I guess it is like you described. She said both were OK, but when she and her husband go by themselves, they will only take Royal Caribbean. With the (back then) teenagers, it was Carnival.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I need to do this one time...

[KyleW]

We go with Royal Caribbean. Highly recommended. Galveston just finished the new cruise port and can handle the larger ships now.

[easeup]

Man up and go with them. they will enjoy your company too and you might have a good time

[scott123456789]

Done two on Royal Caribbean out of Galveston. They have an even larger boat there now. Just comparing the boats Royal Caribbean is in a totally different class.

[Ryan C]

We’ve been on Carnival a few times. The wife enjoys it more than I do but it’s not bad. About like flying on airlines. Getting on and off the boat, they herd you like cattle. On the boat, it’s not crowded feeling. Never been on the other so can’t say. The food is good enough. The dining room each night is usually good.

[Wampuscat]

Man up and go with them. they will enjoy your company too and you might have a good time

Like Easeup said, put the ego away and treat the Mrs. to a he/she vacation. She'll enjoy it way more with you there and you might even have a good time. At worst you'll get a few days to a week away from everything.

I've done 3 cruises with the wife (she has done all-girl-trips too) and as far as Galveston's cruise lines, go with Royal Caribbean or Princess. The food & drinks were always spot on with both. When the Shiner Bock ran out after a few days on Royal Caribbean, we started experimenting with the inside bartender's concoctions and weren't disappointed. The demographic and price point was middle-class and higher with both RC and Princess.

We did a 7-day Alaska cruise and 7-day land trip with Princess and their service was a step above Royal Caribbean, we'll use them again. BTW they're cruising out of Galveston now.

Carnival's bartenders were more interested in quantity over quality. The dining hall was disappointing and the only remarkable food was the Guy Fieri hamburger joint (ate there most nights and we aren't kids). Their target demographic and price-point is at the lower end of the scale IMO.

Look at www.vacationstogo.com for pricing and destination ideas or get with a travel agent, they're worth it and can usually get you perks you'd never think about.

[HeyMikey]

Carnival is okay, but it's the Walmart of cruise lines.
On a related note, people watching can be quite "interesting".

[hully1029]

Royal Carribbean for sure. The wife and I have been on 2, 1 with the entire fam.. I can't wait to go back.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[bowhunterhelm]

I’ve been on two. One through Disney and one through Norwegian. Two totally different experiences. Norwegian was like being on the beach during spring break. I would have loved it in my 20’s but I’ll never do it again.
Even with no kids if I ever did a cruise again it would be through Disney, they do offer some out of Galveston but I don’t know their destinations. We left out of Florida.
Cruising just isn’t for me, I much prefer flying to a destination and doing things on my own.

[glen]

You should go on a cruise. If you are wanting to explore the stops you are going in with too high expectations. It is an easy no brainer trip- and go to enjoy the cruise. Get a balcony room- go see a show or two every day- I get up and go work out and then walk every morning and that will be 3 hrs. Seems people that don’t like cruises are expecting way too much with the stops. On stops we have just DIY something. Usually wife will look it up while on the boat. It’s just a no brainer get away and treat it as such