CruiseDork

Strike the correct balance of service and value. Too often we find a cruise line is so focused on revenue that the customer gets lost along the way. For example, I need to know the real cost of the cruise, not some loss-leader cabin price followed by nickel-and-dimeing me to death for everything else. If you want to price things ala carte so that only those who use a particular service pay for it, go ahead but make it all ala carte. Let me pick and choose what I want up front so that I know the total cost of my cruise before I book. Quit pretending that the meals in the dining room have the same quality and class as in the past. The dining room serves (mostly) good meals but they are nothing to write home about. The food and service of the golden years of cruising are now reserved for the upscale add-on restaurants or the Chef's Table events -- at a fee that often puts it out of touch for many. Quit pretending that the entertainment is free. There are fees for all kinds of things now such as classes in the gym, wine tastings, and assorted others. Again, disclose those costs up front before I book. Quit making everything so difficult. Bringing a bottle of wine aboard to enjoy with dinner shouldn't cause numerous folks having their wine "confiscated" because they couldn't find in the fine print buried on your web site that you must carry it aboard rather than have it in the checked luggage. How difficult is it to simply tally the number of bottles carried aboard and those in the luggage and simply confiscate the overage? Pushing minutiae like that onto the passenger is a disservice.

United Air Lines

Port Canaveral is an hour away from MCO. There are shuttles running every hour starting about 10:00 am from the airport and nearby hotels.Rates start about $40pp one way but go down as the party size increases. A good resource for researching transportation to Port Canaveral is http://www.portcanaveral.com/cruising/groundtransport.php

A hard concept for many people is that in the Caribbean, everything is negotiable. Don't hesitate to haggle over prices whether for a cab or a souvenir in the straw market. Second, cab drivers in Nassau are crazy. Remember to keep breathing...

My wide and I and my martial arts teacher and his wife just finished a 7-day Western Caribbean on the Liberty. Dan and his wife were on their first cruise. For my wife this was her third and my 25th cruise. I'm not a fan of the Port of Miami and this trip was no different. Check-in took 2 1/2 hours even though we arrived early. Miami is just one slow port. Sigh... I can see why the Liberty has such a fan base. She is a beautiful ship with very tasteful furnishings. The crew keeps her polished to an absolute luster. One thing I noticed all week was a sense of pride among the crew in keeping her spotless that exceeded just simply being their jobs. Talking to a number of the crew I found a telling statistic. Many of them had been on the Liberty for years on end. Everyone I spoke with told me they specifically request the Liberty when their contracts are up. One reason for that is the Hotel Director, Pier. He spends time with each and every crew member to explain his vision of customer service and what he expects of them. Whatever he is saying works. I wish Carnival would adopt his methods fleet-wide. The weather has been fickle and unusually cold the last several months. Our trip was no different. Ports have been skipped by lots of ships due to winds and storms lately. Captain Nogara proved himself to be an exceptional sailor despite the weather. When the Harbor Master closed the port in Grand Cayman, it would have been easy to simply cancel the port call and have a sea day. Instead, Captain Nogara took us around to the south side of the island (Spott's Bay) and then spent the entire day holding the ship in place with thrusters so that tenders would be able to dock with the ship. An anchor would have still left the ship moving too much for tenders. Consequently, 3,000 passengers spent a wonderful day in Grand Cayman and the poor Cruise Director didn't have to rearrange the entire day like he had to do the first two days when the main headlining act was stuck in New York in the snow... Speaking of the Cruise Director, I envy Butch Begovich. Not for his job, which I could never do, but because at such a young age he has found his true calling in life. If ever there was a born CD, Butch is it. He is funny, charming, personable and has more go than the Energizer Bunny on speed. I dare anyone to keep up with him. One small disappointment I've had over the years has been the decline in food service. Don't get me wrong, the food is quite good and the Liberty is even a notch above for cruise ships. But when you have these mega-ships of 3,500 passengers you don't have the same food service you do when there's only 700 passengers. However, Harry's Steakhouse gives you a taste of the Golden Days of cruising with a meal that will knock your socks off. Dan jokes that he doesn't eat steaks much because he doesn't want to fight with his food (he's a hamburger fan). The Filet Mignon made a steak lover out of him. Butter soft and deep rich beef flavor... now , I'M getting hungry! And the price is actually a bargain. Yes, meals are included in your cruise price but having a true 5-star meal for only $30pp is worth doing once. My only negative was in dealing with the Future Cruise desk. The best time to book a cruise is while you're on one. You can generally get the best price, choice of cabins and other perks by booking while on board. The Future Cruise staff on the Liberty didn't seem to much care if you booked or not -- even when I said I was looking at five sailings with spa suites. They looked up ships and itineraries on the web site (which I can do perfectly well thank you) and filled out paperwork but that was it. Buy some future cruise certificates but don't bother booking a cruise with them. I did book one cruise for our anniversary just because I wanted a specific cabin and it was selling out fast, but they missed out on four more bookings. Call your PVP instead, I certainly will be. All in all, we had a great time on the Liberty and she is a definite ship to sail again. Just don't book deck 6 forward (above the theater). They have some GOOD speakers in that theater and you'll get to hear the late show whether you want to or not... Ask me how I know this.

Already booked a 12 day on the Magic. My wife is so excited she can tell you exactly how many days until we sail!

Hmm...from your requirements so far, my advice would be: 1) Best views from the ship would be Alaska. Otherwise, your views are lots of water or a dock. Another option would be an inland river cruise. 2) Most any ship built in the past decade will have a handicapped accessible cabin. They sell out quick so you'd need to book early to get one. Another aspect to consider is that some ships (e.g. Carnival Miracle) have been outfitted specifically for handicapped access throughout the entire vessel. Every ship has experience dealing with all sorts of handicap situations so just let them know when you book. 3) Weather is not exactly controllable. You'd have to talk to your favorite deity on that one LOL. Stay out of the Caribbean in June through September if you don't like high humidity and heat. Best solution for weather is travel insurance. Rain will not stop a cruise but a hurricane may. However, cruise ship captains have more expereience dealing with hurricanes than anyone on the planet. The captain will reroute the ship to still give you a great vacation. 4) Check with your travel agent about theme cruises. There might be a group your grandma would enjoy participating with having a theme cruise. I've heard of all kinds of theme cruises includng NASCAR fans, Goths, genealogists, Neil Diamond fans, quilters and even nudists. Lots of sites out there for research. My site specializes in tips for new cruisers (cruise-rookies).