Honeymoon Booked! 1st time cruiser

Hi!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Conquest for 5 nights in October for our honeymoon. Neither of us has ever been on a cruise.

Any tips or advice would be so helpful!

Hi!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Conquest for 5 nights in October for our honeymoon. Neither of us has ever been on a cruise.

Any tips or advice would be so helpful!

Most of the advice you will find on this forum will relate to shipboard weddings. That being said here is my best advice, Pack everything you think you will need then cut it by a third lol. Take a new in the box power strip in your carry on because there is only one plug in most rooms. The absolute most important thing to take is a happy attitude and lots of fun!

Hi congrats on first cruise

Firstly relax

But suggest finding your roll call for your cruise. That would be first step second ask questions of what you might want to know on that thread is best but I might be able to help on some stuff

Ask about tours. Onboard purchases and extras etc

Good luck and ask away

Cheers

Greg

We just booked our honeymoon too! Any tips or tricks specifically for honeymooners?

Hi BayPlay!

We just booked our honeymoon cruise, so I'm happy to give you my tips. First of all, make a few touches to make your time together special. That might be a special romance package (see what your line offers, such as delivering chocolate covered strawberries, champagne, or roses to your room, or petals on your bed). I see complaints from people expecting these touches for free. We are planning to book them closer to the date.

If you have a travel agent or representative at the cruise line, do mention it is your honeymoon. Thats the only way they will know.

If you are flying, I would come in early that day, or preferably, the day before. I would pack everything in one bag if you can. I packed for a 16-day trip in a carry-on recently. Just so that you show up on the ship with everything, and don't risk losing luggage on the flight. I'd pack another bag inside to carry anything you get on the trip separately on your return.

In regards to excursions, I try to plan something special on 50% of my port days, and the rest, I don't mind strolling around the port area (especially if its a nice one). For honeymoons, smaller activities such as a catamaran sail could be very nice.

Book one night onboard the specialty restaurant on your ship. Great food and service! If they don't have one, look into Chef's Table. It won't be private, but it is still very special.

If people would like to contribute to your honeymoon, they can purchase gift cards or onboard credit.

I hope this helps! Get ready to have fun!

My fiance and I are booked on a Mediterranean cruise next summer for our honeymoon. It's the first cruise either of us have ever taken. We will depart for Europe about two weeks after our wedding, so we have some time to unwind. Any advice or pointers - in general or specific to honeymoon cruises - are welcome.

Thanks!

Hi Barry,

Did you have any specific questions? I've done a Mediterranean cruise, and I would say the tips I listed above would work well on such a trip.

If you can't fly in the day before (and maybe even before that to relax and recover from jet lag), I'd definitely do the morning of, and take the cruise ship transfer from the airport to the ship. We did this in Rome, and stopped by the Vatican on the way to the ship. We actually got to see the Pope, drove by the coliseum, and a few other places. The transfer might have cost more, but the experience was priceless, combined with not having to worry! Lastly, if you purchase your airline tickets through some cruise lines (I typically do not) , they will fly you to your first port if you end up missing the plane.

Congratulations, by the way! I'm counting down to our honeymoon, just like you!

Thanks!

Congrats and best of luck to you as well.

As a first-time cruiser, I'm not sure if I even know the questions that I should ask. At least to start, though, I have a few...

1. What are the things that a first-timer cruiser should know, but could learn from the experiences of other cruisers?

2. What are the extra touches, big and small, that can make a honeymoon cruise special?

3. Without staying confined to our stateroom, how can we make sure we have romantic, alone time on a ship of 3,000 people? (I should note that while we do have a balcony, I would like to have the opportunity to find an intimate place in the public areas of the ship.)

As your points in the comment above, thanks. Since we are in NY and the ship leaves from Rome, we are actually giving ourselves 3 nights in Rome to sightsee and deal with the jetlag. Our travel agent is a friend's mother, so she I'm sure she already noted the honeymoon on our reservation. I'm started to look in the special gifts which the cruise line offers, but I'm not sure if I want to spend the money they are asking for; especially since we get some extra amenities since we are booked in Concierge Class. We are big foodies, so we will probably end up purchasing a multi-night package for dining in the specialty restaurants.

We picked a Mediterranean cruise because we wanted the luxury of a cruise mixed with the history and culture (and beauty) of Italy and Greece. But I totally agree with you on finding the balance of touring and relaxing. I just wonder how we can do that without feeling like we are missing something. When should we say, "Do it all," and when should we say, "Take a break?" The last thing we want to do is return home feeling like we need a vacation after our trip!

Thanks.

My quick tips:

1) Don't try to see or do it all. Read the reviews for ports here on CC, and decide what experiences are valuable for you both as a couple. I'm booking a catamaran sail, because it ensures we will have a day with 12 people as opposed to 3000. I'm also booking a tour through a destination that has beautiful rainforests. I'm okay with going with the flow and figuring out other destinations closer to the date.

2) You don't have to pay for extra amenities. Concierge class is special enough, from what I've heard. We decided to book a balcony (not in Concierge), and will most likely add the Deluxe Celebration Package. That was a special combo for us.

3) Read ship reviews from others who have sailed on your ship. Join the roll call for your week. These are the best ways to find out tips. I'm sure you will find quiet spaces, but I don't know your ship. We are counting on the balcony as our quiet space ;)

4) There may be a party for honeymooners on your ship. I've been told Celebrity does that. :)

5) Relax, be ready to have a good time.

6) Read first-time cruiser threads on CC. They can do a better job than I! I've done Carnival about 5 times, Royal once, and this is my first Celebrity cruise. So, I'm only limited to my own biased experience. Granted, its a good one!

7) I will repeat #1. Don't worry about doing it all (worth saying again)

8) Figure out what you really want, then set a budget. I tend to do this with shore excursions. If you want to have drinks without worrying about paying for them, look at the classic or premium packages to see if either are a fit. The rest you can deal with as it comes.

Thanks, wake. Some good tips. I will certainly consider them as we plan ahead. The Roll Call for our sailing is slowly starting to pick up, and I continue to spend a lot (perhaps too much) time on Cruise Critic doing research and making notes. Every review I read about Reflection says it rarely feels crowded, so I'm hoping that we can find our quiet spot with ease.

Thanks!