Sailin' the seven seas!
 

On the biggest damn cruise ship ever!

On September 8th, me and my family will be going on the what will probably be the best vacation ever. For a week, we'll be sailing and going to Puerto Rico, as well as the St. Thomas and the St. Marten islands.

I've got some disposable cameras, so I'll get them developed and put on a CD so I can post some pics.

If you have any advice, lemme know, huh?

Oh come on! MS Freedom of the Seas? Who names their ship that?

I've never been on a big cruise ship, although we did rent a 40 footer for a week in the British Virgin Islands, and that was amazing. I don't know how a real cruise ship stacks up to that, but it looks like you'll have a good time aboard. Enjoy it!

You can't call a massive floating hotel/city "sailing." You're basically just moving over water. You might as well be in a canal or on a lake, because the chances of you feeling the sea is slim to nil. You'll certainly have fun, but if you ever have the opportunity, charter an actual sailboat in the range of 50-100ft. Now there's an adventure.

I would love to be on a massive moving floating island. And I'm a technology whore, so even being on the boat while it's docked would be cool.

I await pics.

Whatever you do, don't do anything to make them think you're American. They hate us down there. Like, needing an armed guard hate us. Also, learn the exchange rates for the US Dollar, because that's what they use.

My father came to the US from Belgium on the Queen Mary when it was in service. It's actually perminantely docked at the port in Long Beach, CA (about 15 mins from where I work actually). That's a big ship.

I've never been on an actual cruise, but it sounds fun.

I love cruises despite being both a cat, and a fire deity! They're like floating party buffets!

You basically wake up, and eat a nice breakfast buffet, then go out and do fun stuff (or come back later for a early morning buffet) then go eat lunch and return to doing fun stuff (or eat a late lunch buffet) and all come together for a fancy, 4 star dinner (Or the alternate buffet), then unwind for the rest of the evening, watching a performance (balancing acts on a rocking ship? Amazing!) then sneaking out for a late night ice cream/ frozen yogurt cone! (which is sorta a buffet. They have lines.)

I heartily recommend a cruise to anyone who has never enjoyed the finer things in life, and wants to vacation in it while also travelling. I heartily recommend cruises period. I have been on 2 cruises, and after my college days (or not) end, I shall RETURN to a cruise.

Some cruise tips:

1. Drive to your take off port. Trust me. After hours of going through tedious airline security (THIS DS! it looks like it could be a bomb! Way more than most bombs, even! And what's this? Knitting scissors? A lethal weapon!), going through Cruise ship security will be stacking on the pain.

2.Always bring lots and lots of film, or just a digital camera, with extra memory cards to unwind with. Those foreign bastards will bleed you dry for anything, especially film.

3. The ship will rock. Even if it's not as bad a sailboat on choppy water, it will rock and you shall be sick. They sell Dramamine in the onboard gift shop, which is one of the few things worth buying out of the expensive and unneccesary crap they'll push on you. (Why no, I have no need to buy a friggin Rolex in guam!) But know that a real man/woman/cat just toughs it out, so that they can build a tolerance. Also, meditation helps.

4. For the particularly squeamish, the place on the boat that rocks the least is the part that's the lowest in the boat, and is in the center. Sadly, that's where they usually keep the gift shops and engines, so just try and get a room in the bottom and in the center. These will often cost less because they don't have a window. Whoop De Fricken doo. You will spend very little time in your actual bedroom, merely sleeping there for the night.

5. Drinks are bought on a card system, tied to your ship account. Most soft drinks are actually complementary (free), and some of the beers as well, but wine and other things will be an extra charge beyond the cruise package. The best time to get your drink on is with some of the port packages, such as a party boat with snorkeling that will often get you all you can drink for a neat sum.

6. The card system is also connected to other things, like the Arcades. Just like Jillians (Dave and Buster's), you can charge credits to the card and play.

7. Try not to get your hats blown off by the seabreezes on top deck. It's the equivalent of gale force winds, and sometimes makes basketball and tennis kinda difficult, though they do use windshields.

8. If you have an age group, there is a club for it.

9. They always fold your towels into neat shapes after they clean your room (without you ever knowing it, like ninjas!) and leave those chocolate mints. This is common knowledge. However, your fellow ship goers will sometimes neglect them and they will be laid out with their leftovers for roomservice to pick up. They are now fair game to all.

Enjoy the Rich Port (Puerto Rico taken literally), and after visiting the old Fort, try eating at one of the local restaurants! I highly recommend it!

Actually, I went on a cruise last year on Voyager of the Seas (looks pretty much as big as this 'un) and the whole thing still rocked about. Not as much as a sailboat obviously...

HEY! Same one that I went on! Go Voyager!