As a first-timer, which mistakes did you make?

[Dayenu]

On my first cruise ever I tried to pay cash in a gift shop, and was surprised they only want my key card

Of course it was way before Cruise Critic

[mikehn]

The biggest mistake I made as a first time cruiser was why I didnt start cruising sooner in life.

[Idahobaker]

Biggest mistake was taking too many clothes.

[Andee]

Going on ship's shore excursions.

[jocap]

Not knowing that we could eat somewhere else, as well as the main dining room, which gave us no time between coming back from snorkelling expeditions and 1st sitting....
Jo.

[B&Z's Mom]

Definitely booking ship excursions, and expecting the ship's excursion staff to know intimate details about the excursions. All I needed was CC
I also wish I would have toured around the ship more on the first day so I had a better idea of the general layout. It took me almost the whole week to figure out how to get to the dining rooms Fortunately, NCLs ships have the same basic layout, which is helpful for this directionally-challenged cruiser.

[cb at sea]

Not knowing (on our 1st cruise) that the "Welcome aboard" drinks were NOT free! I know...it was only $3.50 or so (long time ago!) buy it still irks me! And, it wasn't even a GOOD drink!

[aohkay]

Not doing enough research on the ports of call.

Not knowing I could have as many appys or entrees as I wanted.

[momoftwinteens]

Not paying attention to cabin selection advice. We ended up with a very noisy cabin on a full ship, making moving impossible and leaving us bleary-eyed due to lack of sleep.

[beachbum53]

Originally Posted by Idahobaker

Biggest mistake was taking too many clothes.

Us too. I think it's a fairly common thing for first-timers to over pack. Also, as first-timers, there was a tendency for us to want to participate in as many on board activities as possible on sea days. Cruising was new to us, and we were so intent on trying to take it all in. We didn't want to miss anything. But we sure wore ourselves out pretty quickly. By our second cruise, we learned to be more selective about what we wanted to do (or not do) on sea days.

[lahlah57]

Assuming that anything is free!

[calliopecruiser]

My mistake on my first cruise was not exploring the ship well and only really knowing the "highlight" locations - it was half way through the cruise before I discovered some wonderful places for viewing, or for a serene place to chill.

[gymbomb]

We didn't know we should tell someone if we weren't eating in the MDR so our table mates had to wait a while one or two nights.

[usviking]

Not taking advantage of the exercise equipment, sauna, and steam room because I thought they were managed by the spa and subject to additional charges. Now that I know better, I use these facilities regularly.

[Laughing Angel]

I made quite a few mistakes, including overpacking, being unaware of the corkage fee for wine at dinner, packing a travel iron (not allowed--it was confiscated and returned after the cruise) and mixing a little too much sun and tequila on one particular day.

I brought so much stuff that I thought I would need, and ended up using very little of it. That taught me a very important lesson (and helped lighten my load).

[tak81288]

Taking a bunch of water on board. Thankfully, the ship water is fine for us, so I just bring an empty sports water bottle and refill it with water and ice at the buffet. Less of a hassle.

[BLAMBKY]

1st mistake, not signing our passports! Scared the b-geebers out of me when the security guy handed them back and said, not valid passport Jerk, still not over it!
2nd mistake, not wearing board shorts on the FLO rider....

[slm517]

Not realizing the Cafe Promenade or Sorrento's were free until the end of the week.

Not packing enough of my hair products. Curly hair and ocean breezes don't mix well.

[NoobCruise]

I made the mistake of thinking a Mexican Riviera cruise would be warm. It was when we were in port, but I froze on the ship. Should have tossed in some sweats.

2nd mistake was I bought some cute little sandals for the cruise, but didn't wear them until ON the cruise and ended up with blisters all over my feet.

[cybergoodz25]

Not staying up late to take advantage of all of the events happening after 12 am. Buffets, shows,etc....not this time!!!