Tim answers:

I dont think its a good idea. Its gonna be pretty hot out there and you might see girls half naked on the cruise. Dont go.

Tim answers:

Try cruisecritic.com There you can join up(it’s free) and then go to boards, then Carnival, then the Inspiration, and finally to the sailing date. There you will always find many others that are going on your cruise. They usually have a get together on the ship. You can chat with a whole bunch of fellow cruisers. This is the most popular web site for everything cruising. It is not a bunch of critics complaining, but just a very helpful cruise site.

Tim answers:

I’m 31 years old myself and prefer Carnival over Royal Caribbean when it comes to women. Honestly though there isn’t a huge difference I just think the Carnival ships tend to party a bit later and has cheaper drinks. When you combine those two good things are bound to happen.

Tim answers:

The luxury lines, for which you’ll pay between $300 and $500 per person per day. You’d have to drink to the point of alcohol poisoning to make up for the difference in what you’ll pay with the mass-market lines. On some lines, you CAN pay everything up front, by buying a drink card [Celebrity has them, don't know about other lines].

Those tips you seem to resent paying are a small price to pay for the [usually - maybe not on NCL] service you get. More well-deserved than is usually the case in land-based restaurants.

You can check the cruise lines’ websites to see whether they offer drink cards for alcohol. Or, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on “Boards” and then go to the boards for the lines you’re considering and browse to see whether that topic is discussed. Or, if you join CC [it's free] you can post your question or do a search.

Tim answers:

I would go on Carnival, Holland, Princess or Norwegian cruise lines. They all offer different options for a romantic cruise.
With the ship be so big they have areas just for kids and areas just for adults.
Check out this site for really good information on cruises and great deals

http://www.travelaroundsite.com

Tim answers:

A Caribbean cruise is great, depending on where you would like to go. Eastern Caribbean are usually 7 nights and they usually include St. Thomas, St. Marteen, and Nassau, or the cruiselines private island. A Western Caribbean cruise usually includes Jamaica, Cozumel Mexico, Key West, Progresso Mexico, Belize etc.. This also depends on which line you choose to go with. A Southern Caribbean includes San Juan, Aruba, Barbados, and most of the deep southern islands, but this one usually goes out of San Juan, so you would have to plan on flying to the cruiseport.

If you are looking for a cruiseline that is “Youth” friendly then most of them will have families and children on them, unless you book during off season when school is in session, but there will always be children on the ships, just not as many.

The most active cruiselines for your age group would be Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL. You will find more older adults on Celebrity and Holland America, but there are pretty much all ages on most of the mainstream lines.

I would suggest that you look at the three mainstream lines websites: www.ncl.com , www.carnival.com, and www.royalcarbbean.com to get an idea of what itineraries are offered and what length of cruise is offered. Either that or contact a cruise specialist agent to ask these questions. They are trained in all the different lines and will be best able to qualify you to the best line based on your answers to questions they will ask.

My recommendation:
Royal Caribbean offers many things on the ship for all age groups. They have the rock climbing walls, the newest ships have the flow rider, there is also mini golf, pools, games etc.

Carnival offers quite a bit of activities for your age group, and if you are planning on a 3 or 4 night cruise, you will find more people your age on the ship…remember they were once known as the “party” ship. But they are catering more to families now..but again, book in off season (not summer, spring break or Christmas time) and you will find less children on the ship.

NCL offers a bowling ally on their newer ships, along with a variety of other activites to participate in, there are plenty of activities for your age group.

Also, the cruiseline you decide on would be dependant on how much money you want to invest in your cruise.

Good luck in your choices.

Tim answers:

You are so close to your travel dates that you will be paying some of the highest prices for the ships, if you are able to find availability. I just booked a last minute cruise and paid double what I would have had I done it early. So, the best thing is to just see what is being offered. Check with an agent, most likely any group rates/specials they have available will either be sold out or not available anymore. But they will be able to help you with getting everything lined up quickly and make sure you get what you need and such. But honestly, I wouldn’t wait much longer to book this. Prices are going to continue to go up as availabilty goes down, air rates are going to go up, etc. You may consider doing a regular vacation this year and planning your cruise for next year instead.

Also, be aware, I know you are considering going with Carnival. Just be sure to look into some of their newer ships and not just their cheapest ship. They have had some problems recently, especially with boats like Sensation. Port Canaveral has actually had to get involved now and they may not let the ship sail. I guess there were some engine problems not too long ago, so they couldn’t go fast, etc. So just be aware. My suggestion, spend a little more and go with Royal Caribbean. The difference in cost isn’t that much, but the line is a lot nicer, especially if you have a family.

If you don’t know much about cruising, be sure to get a specialist. There are little tips and things you should know about each ship and line that are very important. Carnival is going to be the least expensive line, but the quality is no where near that of other lines. You are going to see more drinking, gambling, smoking, partying, etc that other ships. Royal Caribbean is a little more costly, but definately worth the upgrade.

You will have lots of ports to choose from with your cruise. So the best way to save money is see which home port, the port the ship leaves from, is the cheapest for you to fly into.

But again, be sure to find a travel agent that specilizes in cruises. They will help you plan an amazing trip and get everything you want out of it and also be able to provide you with advice and tips. Also, my travel agent often has group rates available for me when I go. It can save you more money if your agent offers these.

A lot of people say the best thing to do is book with sites like Expeida, Orbitz, etc. I don’t agree at all. The reason is that so many people have had problems booking with these sites. The main thing is that they are not travel agents and will not help you with your trip. If there is a problem, many times they will not help you with it. Not to mention that many cruise lines do not work with bookings that were booked with these sites. I just read a story a few days ago where a lady booked her trip with Cosco because they were giving her $200, so it wasn’ much savings. This was in January, she called them back about a week ago because she hadn’t received any information she was supposed to get, confirmations, etc. But she looked at her credit card statements and had paid for the charge of the cruise. Cosco told her they had no record of her booking and there was nothing they could do for her. So in the end she ended up losing all of her money and not getting to take her vacation. Others have had similar experiences with all these type sites. It can even be less important things where you get on the cruise and discover the ports or itinerary changed, your cabin is different, etc. Some people even arrived at the ships to discover they had no reservation at all.

So my suggestion is to find a travel agent that specializes in cruises. As I said above, most agents will find you the same price and in many cases a lower price than the online discounters. But you will have a reliable source that will keep you informed of any changes and give you all the advice you need to take a safe trip and a nice trip. You just need to decide if saving a few hundred dollars is worth risking not getting to take your cruise at all. Some people have had good experiences with these sites, but I feel it is best to get a good agent to help you.

There are also sites that offer last minute discounts for cruises. The cruise lines offer them rates that are so low you are basically only paying the taxes and fees. But you need to be really flexible and not care what you are booking, as far as destination, line etc. This way you get on the boat really cheap. The problem here is that you have to book airfare, I’m assuming. In this case you will need to book your air close to the day you depart. This will be the point when it is the most expensive. So you may not be saving any money on your cruise because of the high cost of air.

These are just a few options.

Hope this helps!

Tim answers:

I have to agree with the other answerer. http://vacationstogo.com/ is the best site available. Our family has booked I believe our last two cruises with the website and plan to use it again. Both cruises were enjoyable and we received huge discounts.

Another travel website would be http://www.itravel2000.com/HomePage.aspx

Enjoy your vacation.
P.S. I suggest that you ride Royal Caribbean or Princess. Those are my two favourite.

Tim answers:

this is what i did when i was looking. Go to google and type in “cruises” or “cruise vacations” or “discount cruises” or “cruise deals” and just go down the list of all of them. One thing i noticed with Royal Caribbean is that not many, if any at all, offer discounts. Some other lines seem to have more discounts out there on these third party sites, but Royal Caribbean seems to always be the same as whatt the cruise line is offering.

Tim answers:

*UPDATE: Carnival now has cruises leaving from Charleston, SC…very convenient!

carnival has a ship that leaves from jacksonville now. i went in july and left my car there. it is a locked parking lot and everything was fine when i got back. it goes to key west and the bahamas.
hope that helps.

Tim answers:

You have a lot of variables in there, so the cost is going to be impossible to nail down to the dollar. I’ve been on Fantasy twice…here’s a rundown.

First, call Carnival and get the total fare. How much you pay is going to depend on what date you sail, and how you configure the rooms. Usually the 3rd and 4th passengers in a room get about $100 off the normal fare. Port charges are also added, so the price depends on where you go and for how long. Carnival can tell you to the penny what it will cost for the reservation.

Here’s some idea what other things will cost.

In addition to your cruise fare, you will pay for parking at the dock and tips. The amount of the parking fee you can get from the local port, but it usually averages about what airports charge. $15 per day would be a good average. As for tips, they run $10 per person, per day. So a 5 day cruise will cost $50 per person for tips. Keep in mind, however, that you can raise or lower this amount while on board, based on the service you receive.

Most food on Carnival is free. You will have access to at least two restaurants (a buffet, and a more traditional dining room). There is also free room service, and pizza and ice cream available 24/7, free for the taking. Also, the service on board a cruise ship is excellent.

Free things on the ship include: the pool, hot tubs, games such as mini golf, shuffleboard, etc. Fantasy has a small (but fun) water park, including a big water slide….fun for the adults and kids. There will be shows nightly, and entertainment such as comedians, also free.

Carnival, like all lines, will try to sell you extras. Alcoholic drinks run about $6-8 each and sodas are also extra and run about $3 each. Carnival does allow you to bring canned sodas on board, so you can avoid that charge. We bring our own sodas and don’t buy theirs. The line will also allow you to bring one bottle of wine onboard for free. Carnival loves to sell you other goodies like photos, but of course, all this is optional.

Any shore excursions you take in the ports will cost extra, and the price of shore excursions varies a lot. Excursions run about $35-40 on the low end for things like city tours and glass bottom boat rides, per person. If you want to do ziplines and parasailing and stuff like you describe, it can easily go over $100 per person per day. Once you book your cruise, you can get on Carnival’s website and see the available shore excursions and their exact cost before you sail. If you really have your heart set on doing something, I recommend booking early.

Of course, you can have a good time without buying these side trips. With a little planning, you can make your own way on shore and plan your own activities. Having a nice day at the beach with a margarita in your hand is cheap and easy, without buying an excursion from Carnival. The key is simply to plan ahead before you get there. Often the locals provide nice services too, at low cost. Get on cruisecritic.com before you go to plan ahead and find things to do, if you want to save money.

Good luck.