Well, I am back from my 8 day cruise in the South Caribbean. Before I get back into financial topics, I thought I would give feedback on my vacation as it was my very first cruise and I wasn’t sure of what to expect. This review could be considered on topic as most people do set aside money for their vacations. Cruises are typically more expensive than staying at a resort, so hopefully this review will help you decide whether or not the extra money for the cruise is worth it.

To start things off, we decided to arrive one day early in Ft. Lauderdale. And it is a good thing that we did! Although we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on time, our luggage decided to take the scenic route through Miami! Our luggage did not make the connecting flight from Washington, so the airline put it on a plane headed for Miami instead and then they drove the luggage up to us. We were very worried that it wouldn’t arrive before the next morning when we were due to board the boat, but it did in fact arrive just before 7pm.

In Ft. Lauderdale, we stayed at a little beachside hotel called the Avalon Waterfront Inns. When you check out their website, the place looks fantastic. Unfortunately, when you are up close and personal, it does not look nearly as good.

It could definitely be a nice place, but there was a lot of damage to the building. There were metal pillars supporting the verandah roof. The building as a whole looked run down. And, although we booked at the Avalon, they ended up giving us a room in a small little apartment building that used to be called the Ocean Wave. They had obviously bought that owner out, but I was still unhappy. I had booked a room at the Avalon, not the Ocean Wave. And the worst part was the fact that they are building a new Hilton hotel right beside the Avalon. Needless to say, it was extremely noisy all the time. Luckily, we only stayed there one night.

The next day, we boarded the Carnival Legend. I believe there were roughly 2,100 guests on board and 950 staff to take care of us. The boat was humongous! We boarded very quickly and they served us lunch.

Let me give you my general impressions:

Food: The food was great. We mostly ate at the Truffles restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This was the sit down restaurant where you would have a selection of 5 or 6 different meals to choose from. The food was always great.

On the Lido deck, there was a buffet style restaurant. You could get the usual stuff such as hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches. They also had a different specialty each day such as Chinese food, Mexican food, etc… The food here wasn’t bad and I ate quite a few late night “snacks” here.

Cabin: We had a cabin on Deck 1 with a window. The cabin was very nice and quite big. I am glad that we didn’t upgrade to a balcony room. I cannot picture any time when I would have preferred to sit out on that balcony rather than on the Sun Deck. The cabin came with a TV with a few cable channels. They also showed 3 different movies throughout the day and rotated one new movie in each day.

The only negative with our cabin was that, being on Deck 1, we had a few bars above us on Deck 2. So, when we went to bed, we would sometimes hear women walking with high heel shoes or someone dragging a chair along the floor. It would probably have been best to get a room above Deck 3 as all the bars, casinos and shops are all located on either decks 2 or 3.

Service: The dining staff were fantastic. We had a waiter and a busboy dedicated to 3 tables. So for our sitting (there were early and late sittings for dinner), they had to take care of 16 people. Great service.

The cabin staff were great as well. They kept our cabin spotless. You would step out of your room, sit on the deck for an hour, and when you came back, the room was spotless.

Entertainment/Activities: Now here is a part that I found lacking. While on the boat at our days at sea (of which we had 4), there was really nothing to do. Sure, you could sit at the casino, but I don’t enjoy that. They had a basketball court, but it was always overrun by 7 and 8 year olds. The organized activies that they did have all cost money - bingo, aerobics, arcade, etc… And none of them really interested me either - even less so when they cost me money.

We had dinner at the early sitting which was at 5:45PM. By 7:15PM, we were done dinner. Then, we would stroll around the Lido deck because there was nothing else to do. In hindsight, I would probably go for the late dinner sitting next time. That way, right after dinner, I could attend the show and then hit the different bars which didn’t open until 9PM anyway.

The night shows which consisted of a live 7-8 piece band, singers and dancers catered more to the older people on the ship. They would sing songs from Frank Sinatra and that era. Personally, I found all the shows boring.

Excursions: The offshore excursions were great. In Panama, we visited the historic city of Portobello and, of course, the Gatun Locks. We were lucky and we actually got to see a huge oil freighter going through the canal. Across the front of this oil freighter, there was the largest “NO SMOKING” sign I had ever seen.

In Costa Rica, we went for a bike ride looking at the wild life. We saw some sloths and a few howler monkeys. We then stopped at a beach and walked along the ocean. It was beautiful.

In Belize, we visited some Mayan ruins. The ruins were called Altun Ha and it was very cool. The ruins dated back to 200BC. This tour fascinated me and I intend to do some reading on the Mayan culture in the near future (inbetween my financial readings!).

Overall Feeling: For me personally, I think that I would prefer going to an all inclusive resort as opposed to a cruise.

First of all, drinks are not included on a cruise, and let me tell you, these add up FAST!

Secondly, when you are out at sea, you are trapped on the boat. Now luckily, I did bring some books with me, so I was able to get quite a bit of reading done on those days. Although we did get to go on a beach during one of our excursions, it wasn’t the same as having a beach available all the time as you would on a resort. Also, the pools on the boat are very small and quite busy. You can’t really swim in them. They are really more like a big hot tub.

Thirdly, we had a very rough day at sea our first day. It was so windy, that they closed off the Sun deck (deck 10). That means that all 2,100 people were crammed onto the Lido deck (deck 9). It was almost impossible to get a chair that day. And the waves were really high. My wife got seasick and even I had to take a motion sickness pill. When I lined up at the purser’s office to get my pill, everybody in front of me were asking for the same thing!

Lastly, on this particular cruise, I felt like I was being “nickel and dimed” to death. I had to pretty much pay for everything other than food and lodging. Bingo cost $20 US. I don’t mind playing bingo for 30 minutes when I am waiting for a show to start, but I sure didn’t want to spend $20 to do it. Even when I went to the arcade, every game cost $1. Personally, I think that those games should be free. There were quite a few teenagers and kids on board.

The cruise director (which I nicknamed “Infomercial Lenny”) was always trying to sell you something. Whether he was telling you to visit the shops, play at the casino, buy bingo tickets, etc… Like I said earlier, it seemed that just about every activity cost extra.

Next time, I will go to a 5 star all-inclusive resort. It will be much cheaper; I won’t have to worry about carrying my “Sail and Sign” card around so that I can buy drinks; and I will be able to choose between the beach or the pool.