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first time cruisers- what to expect


clive3761

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hi my wife and myself have just booked our first cruise- canaries from barcelona 21 march 2013 on the norwiegan spirit we are both very exited and could do with any tips that you experienced cruisers can offer.

many thanks in advance

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hi my wife and myself have just booked our first cruise- canaries from barcelona 21 march 2013 on the norwiegan spirit we are both very exited and could do with any tips that you experienced cruisers can offer.

many thanks in advance

 

If you eat at the buffet, take the small (normal dinner plate size) plates and not those dishes that look like small trays. You tend to fill whatever plate you hold. Take a highlighter pen to mark the activities you don't want to miss. Big binder clips for the bottom of the shower curtain to keep it from blowing inwards. Use the stairs. Don't over pack. All clothes need to be multi-use. We take one carryon suitcase each. And we will be on a 46 day trip starting in April! I brought light travel mugs so I could have a beverage (iced tea) that I didn't have to order from the bar. Get a small purse for carrying things on the ship. I carried the newsletter, pen, highlighter, tissues, mints, hand sanitizer and lip balm in mine, but my bag was a very small one. Try to do the Chef's table if they have one. You have to call the dine line as soon as you get on the ship. They only did it once on our cruise and only took 12. It cost a lot, but was well worth the experience. There's a lot of walking on a ship, so good shoes are a must. My husband didn't want to dress up, so he just brought a nice shirt and tie. We didn't do formal nights, but did eat in the restaurant other times. He didn't think he would like cruising on his first trip to Alaska in August. We will be cruising for 39 days in the spring. I guess he liked it! :)

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many thanks to everyone for their help and info,we will enjoy ourselves i am sure.

 

one thing i can`t understand is why you have to pay $12 each everyday grats and also on every purchase you make, i would rather give a good tip to who i feel has given us a good service eg a waiter,cleaning staff etc.

 

dont get me wrong if its the way it is then so be it.

 

still we will soon be enjoying our first cruise

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I've never cruised NCL before, and usually prepay my gratuities prior to sailing anyway. However on the ships that I haven't prepaid, they add the gratuities to your bill daily. If you do not want them to do that, just go to the guest relations desk on your first day and tell them to take it off. You can then tip whoever you want however much you want on the last day.

Having said that, the cabin stewards and waiters work extremely hard on these ships and are on a low wage, depending a lot on gratuities. You will see for yourself, and most of us who have cruised before do not deny them their gratuities and just regard it as part of the cruise fare.

Hope you have a lovely cruise - you will be hooked!

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many thanks to everyone for their help and info,we will enjoy ourselves i am sure.

 

one thing i can`t understand is why you have to pay $12 each everyday grats and also on every purchase you make, i would rather give a good tip to who i feel has given us a good service eg a waiter,cleaning staff etc.

 

dont get me wrong if its the way it is then so be it.

 

still we will soon be enjoying our first cruise

 

I thought this before our very first cruise, and I thought it was likely that we'd be reducing our gratuity amount. After all, I don't tip housekeeping when I'm at a hotel (maybe I'm just cheap).

 

But the level of service provided by the room stewards is top notch and they very much deserve their tips. They not only make the room in the morning but they turn down the sheets at night (and probably clean the room again if necessary). They will likely greet you at least once a day (well, on some cruises, I've never known exactly who my steward is, but that's another matter). If you need something, they will likely be the ones to bring it to you. They are the first line customer service personnel to really help make your cruise special.

 

As far as the dining staff goes, I generally tip 15% when we eat out anyway. If we're eating out three meals a day, that could easily be $10-15 a day anyway.

 

I've only sailed on Carnival, so the only purchases that I know of that you pay a tip on would be the bar sales. Why that's separate, I don't know I guess. Other than that the lines know that you don't really have much choice but to pay their prices....

 

But I think you will find that everyone definitely deserves their tips.

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What to expect .... Expect to book your 2nd cruise fairly soon from when you return home!

 

We've had a few cruises now, and our best was through Alaska on NCL Pearl. We loved the NCL format and am counting down to 2014 when we return to Alaska hopefully on the Pearl.

 

 

Cruises can be exactly what you want, you either have an active one or a relaxing one, or a bit of both.

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Don't worry about your gratuities not getting to the correct person....you will find that the $12 pp per day is WELL EARNED.....and it saves you from the need to carry cash around with you.

 

Everyone who serves you gets their share, so don't worry about that!

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Although the name is Norwegian, the line is mainly run for Americans, so the level of gratuities is based on the American culture- this happens on other lines, too. The basic fare on NCL is usually fairly low, so just look on it as part of the fare. It's just the way it is. ;)

We love NCL, and think it gives tremendous service from very happy crew- enjoy!:D

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I have only sailed on Carnival as well - but the gratuities are absolutely earned! Odds are you will walk away feeling as if that was money very well spent.

 

Congratulations on your first cruise and have an absolute blast!!!

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