12 day eastern mediterranean tour on nieuw amsterdam (may 2011)

[Joycelyn51]

Hi, this is Elaine and Brian from Adelaide, South Australia. We have booked this cruise and as we are first time cruisers and travelling on our own, any advice would be very much appreciated, e.g. how formal is the dinner . . . can Brian wear shirt/time and a "dressy" sports jacket rather than a dinner suit? We have other travel arrangements before the cruise and after the cruise so want to be very frugal with what we take in our luggage. As we are not travelling with friends, how difficult is it to connect with other passengers? Any other information/advice? Cheers.

[basiaZ03]

Hi, this is Elaine and Brian from Adelaide, South Australia. We have booked this cruise and as we are first time cruisers and travelling on our own, any advice would be very much appreciated, e.g. how formal is the dinner . . . can Brian wear shirt/time and a "dressy" sports jacket rather than a dinner suit? We have other travel arrangements before the cruise and after the cruise so want to be very frugal with what we take in our luggage. As we are not travelling with friends, how difficult is it to connect with other passengers? Any other information/advice? Cheers.
My husband and I did this cruise in August. I totally understand about the luggage. We arrived 3 days prior and visited 3 cities in Europe after the cruise. We travelled by train and plane. My husband had rented this tux, and it was waiting in the cabin. Plus he had a jacket. He even rented the shoes for the tux.
I had 2 cocktail dresses with bling on them and they were easy to pack, and a pr of black pants and fancy top.
The best advice and we will do it again on 10 plus day cruises is to sign up for the unlimited laundry.

Also go to Roll Call and and check out the Nieuw Amsterdam and if anyone has started anything for the date of your cruise. That is the best way to hook up with other travellers.

We are leaving on Fri for Fort Lauderdale and will be back Feb 14. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Have you booked a hotel in Venice.?
You may contact me by e-mail
basiaZ03@gmail.com

Barbara

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You didn't give the exact date of your cruise -- but you can find your Roll Call here in this section:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=592

[jtl513]

Your DH will be fine with a tie and sport jacket. :) Be sure to try the Tamarind - and I suggest pre-booking it on the HAL site.

[schoolinmy3]

Hi, this is Elaine and Brian from Adelaide, South Australia. We have booked this cruise and as we are first time cruisers and travelling on our own, any advice would be very much appreciated, e.g. how formal is the dinner . . . can Brian wear shirt/time and a "dressy" sports jacket rather than a dinner suit? We have other travel arrangements before the cruise and after the cruise so want to be very frugal with what we take in our luggage. As we are not travelling with friends, how difficult is it to connect with other passengers? Any other information/advice? Cheers.
We packed light for our Mediterranean cruise last May as well. For five of us we took 3 medium suitcases. We purchased the unlimited laundry onboard and that was a necessity for us as we also had pre and post cruise plans. It worked out great. We packed blazers, dress shirts, Dockers and ties for our guys (husband and teen sons). Instead of dress shoes they wore black casual shoes so we would not have to pack three heavy pairs of men's dress shoes! It is easy to start conversations with table mates at dinner. It also helps to join the roll call for your cruise. We took our first cruise in 2008 and have two cruises booked this year.
Enjoy!
Diane