livelaughlove - 08 October 2007 06:35 PM
Does anyone know of any cruises/ really cool activities to do on New Years? My friends and I have been talking about taking one of the dressy cruises or doing something fancy for years… and would like to really act on it this year. Any suggestions??? Thanks!
By the “dressy cruises” I assume you mean Celebrity. Carnival constantly takes shots at them on TV adverts for their ‘stuffiness and ridgid agenda’’. All I can say is that I took a 12 day E Carribean cruise with Celebrity and it was the time of my life. I could go on and on, but I will try to keep it short. It was a bit more pricey than the “fun cruises” that Carnival touts, but you get what you pay for. Celebrity’s motto is “we treat you famously” and I can say that was true on my cruise. Yes, they had formal dinner nights where the gents wore tuxes and the ladies in formal gowns, the semi formal nights where the men wore suits and the ladies wore dresses and casual nights where the men wore pants and jackets and the ladies in dresses or pants suit type things (sorry for the poor description of ladies clothes - I dont shop for them much so I dont know what you call them 
Because of the costs - the ship draws a different sort of crowd. Mostly couples, many elderly and plenty of foreigners. Famalies are rarer and mobs of youngins (think spring break crowd) are more scarce - and what Carnival considers their target audience. They had theatre type shows, even the Cirque de Sole had a company onboard and performed a few times. Comedy, plays, bingo (haha) and so much more. A casino, several bars, tiny shopping mall, spa, gym, pools, food around the clock of every kind imaginable. They even had staff in the bathrooms to hand you a towel to dry your hands after washing - that was a shock. They had a masquerade party - everyone in masks, an all white party where everyone was wearing white from top to bottom in the late evening under black lights - incredible visiual experience, indoor golf, dancing lessons, etc The staff was beyond pleasant, helpful and timely. There is much, much more - check em out http://www.celebritycruises.com/ - sadly the only local cruise for Celebrity is out of Miami on Dec 29th with the following ports of call - 5 day W Carribean cruise (Miami, Florida, George Town, Grand Cayman, Key West, Florida, Miami, Florida) starting at $819 a head on the smaller Century cruise ship (built in 1995 - 815 ft long and about 1800 passengers and 10 decks)
Again, I could babble for ages about my experience, but at least I gave you an idea, and if you want to treat yourself and have half as a good time as I had, you will be talking about it for months. The wife and I are planning our 5 year anniversiary cruise - same ship, same ports of call, just 5 years later!
Good luck.
Oh, one last thing - it is mandatory that anyone travelling on cruise ships that originate at a US port, visit foreign ports and returns to the US have a valid passport beginning Jan 1, 2008 - the wife and I had to get one on ours, and it took 1 1/2 months from start to recipt of the passports. Just begin by visiting the post office, they will get you on your way.
