First time and getting a little freaked out

I am planning my first cruise as a college graduation present/birthday present for my daughter in December. No specific cruise selected as yet, but am looking at 5 night Western Caribbean on either Carnival or Royal Caribbean (will be a NYE cruise).

 

So...

 

To save a little, I was looking at a "red eye" flight from Denver which will arrive around 8 a.m. the day of the cruise or an extremely early (5 a.m.) flight from Denver which arrives around 1 p.m. (As background, we are from Wyoming and Denver is a six hour drive for us) **Which flight would be best? Will arriving at 1 p.m. give us enough time to get from airport to pier?**

 

My original plan was to do carry-on luggage only to avoid having to wait for luggage to be delivered to our stateroom. For me, its a control thing (LOL) rather than a cost issue. Is this a good idea?

 

And finally (for now), I do not have a credit card. I carry a debit card only, but after reading the "hold" they do for each day on the debit card, I'm a little concerned. Can I put cash, say $1,000, in the on-board account when we arrive and work off that? (call me old fashioned, but I like to work on a cash-only basis!)

 

I am absolutely looking forward to this and I know it will be a special memory treasured between my daughter and myself for many, many years. My mother took me to Hawaii when I graduated, and was something we talked about often. Now that she's gone it is something I still think about and smile, knowing we were able to share that time together. :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I would do everything you could to arrange to arrive at least one day before your cruise. You are traveling during winter, delays are more likely, and a 1pm arrival gives you very little leeway.

If you can't come a day early, take the flight that gets in at 8am....

 

As far as debit vs. cash...just bring the cash you need. They put holds on debit cards which could tie up your ability to USE the debit card for up to 10 days....(usually not that long, but it can be!). Bring the cash you need...and if you do need to use the debit for something, it will be available.

 

If you can lug your bags around until cabins are ready, go ahead and do all carry-on! We carry on ONLY valuables and what we need until dinner....we check the rest. Lock any checked bags.

I agree with cb at sea. If you must do one of those flights or the other, you're much better off getting in at 8am. Getting in at 1pm only gives you a couple hours leeway and if anything happens to delay that flight, you're going to be seriously scrambling to get on board or risk missing it altogether. Otherwise, your best bet is to arrive the day before.

 

I'm a cash man myself. Store purchases, gas, anything I can use cash on, I normally do. Just my preference. Last year, both my son and I used cash only with our S&S accounts. It's also my little way of controlling my spending (and his). You can deposit cash into your S&S account at guest services or at one of the kiosks. At the end of the cruise, if there's still cash left in the account, you can withdraw it at GS or a kiosk. If you leave the ship with cash still in the account, they'll mail you a check about a week later, as long as it's over $10. If it's less than $10, they automatically donate it to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

 

If you decide to check your luggage and would still rather get your bags right away, then you might want to consider First To The Fun. I'm not promoting it/debating if it's worth it or not, just putting it out there as an option. One of its perks is having your checked luggage delivered to your room faster, as well as the room being available as soon as you board. If you'd like to see what more it offers, check out the Carnival FAQ: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1374/kw/fttf

Have a great time! Last year was our first cruise and we enjoyed it so much, we've recently booked our second. Only problem with that is, it's not until next year.

I pay with cash too. What I do is open my account with credit card and then on the last night I go to guest services pay off my account, so nothing goes on my credit card 😀.

 

Also I stay the night at the airport at a cheap hotel which provides free transfer to the port. Lots of hotels around the airport do offer this service.

 

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Thanks all!!

I agree with the people who suggested arriving a day early. I fly a lot and experienced so many flight delays/cancellations that there is no way I would ever fly in the day of a cruise. If anything happens with your arrival flight the day of the cruise, you could miss the boarding time. If there is no possibility that you can arrive the day before your cruise, then the earliest flight the day of your cruise would be the best choice.

 

As far as carrying your luggage on the ship, you can do that. We did it in the past by accident. LOL. We were so used to getting the Faster to the Fun passes with Carnival, that the one time we weren't able to get them we walked on with our luggage anyway. Once we got on the ship, I realized what we had done. With Faster to the Fun, you can go directly to your room and put away your bags. Since we didn't have the passes that one time, we just waited until the rooms were open. Thankfully, they opened up early. Anyway, if it were me, I would just carry on a small bag and check the rest. They deliver the bags the same day, so to me it's not a huge deal. But if you do end up booking with Carnival and can snag the Faster to the Fun, then I recommend carrying on your luggage and dropping it off at your room.

 

Carnival has self-service laundry. RCL does not, but I've read that during the middle of your cruise they have a special where you can get a bag of laundry done for $35 (or something like that).

[quote name=TNcruising02;52930529

 

Carnival has self-service laundry. RCL does not' date=' but I've read that during the middle of your cruise they have a special where you can get a bag of laundry done for $35 (or something like that).[/quote]

 

RCL does not offer those bags (in my experience) on a short cruise. Never had it on a 7-day...doubtful on a 5. It takes 2 days just to get the laundry back from them.

 

I will also chime in on arriving a day early. We've cruised 5 times now. 4 times, we arrived at least a day early. In December last year, a BIG group of us were going from Albuquerque to LA, a nice, easy flight. We had a 6:30 am departure...arrive around 8 am LA time...lots of time to get to the port. Well, Albuquerque had extensive fog and we sat on the plane for nearly 4 hours. Still made it in time, but it was stressful. And it made me realize just how easily the entire vacation could have gone awry. FIND A WAY to fly in the day before. Especially in winter...especially from Denver. Heck, you might allow even more time...who's to say driving from WYO to Denver will be easy?

If "NYE" means New Years Eve, a red eye from Denver arriving 8:00 AM is not just risky - it is a very bad idea - the idea of a flight arriving at 1:00 PM on embarkation day is that also -- as well as stupid. Either flight would be risky enough in June - but the end of December -- wow!

Airlines also change the times of flights. We have a flight for a June cruise and they've already changed our arriving flight until an hour later. Fortunately, we're arriving a day early or we would be cutting it close...too close for comfort. This would be especially true without having a non-stop flight. Anything can happen. G in a day early if at all possible.

Airlines also change the times of flights. We have a flight for a June cruise and they've already changed our arriving flight until an hour later. Fortunately, we're arriving a day early or we would be cutting it close...too close for comfort. This would be especially true without having a non-stop flight. Anything can happen. G in a day early if at all possible.

 

I had that happen on my upcoming cruise in June. The airline sent an email to me that they changed both my arriving flight and my departing flight times. I had to call them back to change the new departing flight time to a different time because leaving the Houston airport at 10:15 am after arriving at the Galveston port that morning would never work. They definitely can and do change flight times. Anything can happen when it comes to air travel. I always fly in the day before a cruise.

 

Another time the day before my son was set to fly to Houston, United cancelled the flight. He was flying out first thing Saturday morning to catch another flight in Houston out of the country. We thought everything would be fine until we got that the message the flight was cancelled. It was not fun dealing with that scenario.

I am planning my first cruise as a college graduation present/birthday present for my daughter in December. No specific cruise selected as yet, but am looking at 5 night Western Caribbean on either Carnival or Royal Caribbean (will be a NYE cruise).

 

So...

 

To save a little, I was looking at a "red eye" flight from Denver which will arrive around 8 a.m. the day of the cruise or an extremely early (5 a.m.) flight from Denver which arrives around 1 p.m. (As background, we are from Wyoming and Denver is a six hour drive for us) **Which flight would be best? Will arriving at 1 p.m. give us enough time to get from airport to pier?**

 

My original plan was to do carry-on luggage only to avoid having to wait for luggage to be delivered to our stateroom. For me, its a control thing (LOL) rather than a cost issue. Is this a good idea?

 

And finally (for now), I do not have a credit card. I carry a debit card only, but after reading the "hold" they do for each day on the debit card, I'm a little concerned. Can I put cash, say $1,000, in the on-board account when we arrive and work off that? (call me old fashioned, but I like to work on a cash-only basis!)

 

I am absolutely looking forward to this and I know it will be a special memory treasured between my daughter and myself for many, many years. My mother took me to Hawaii when I graduated, and was something we talked about often. Now that she's gone it is something I still think about and smile, knowing we were able to share that time together. :)

 

Hello from Denver Cindy. We have many cruises and the only time that we will fly in for a cruise that day is out of LA. Never know about DIA (the all weather airport that closes in a snow storm. lol)

 

As a tip. We use a Southwest master card. Spend the minimum amount when you get it and get 2 free flights to where ever they go. Put the cruise on that card and use for everything else. Groceries, gas, etc. Pay in full when the bills come in and use it on board for the cruise.

Just a question.

I see many responses from people who use only cash and never have a credit card. Many seem to have plenty of cash to use and also debit cards with large balances.

Why don't people have a credit card? I do understand sometime's it's not possible. I went thru a bad divorce and went on a cash basis for years. But other than that, why don't people get a card and pay off the balance every month? That way you don't pay any interest but have the safety of a credit card when you need it?

Serious question and not judgemental. I have friends who write out checks for everything. I use a credit card and get airline benefits which really add up. Just don't understand it.

Just a question.

I see many responses from people who use only cash and never have a credit card. Many seem to have plenty of cash to use and also debit cards with large balances.

Why don't people have a credit card? I do understand sometime's it's not possible. I went thru a bad divorce and went on a cash basis for years. But other than that, why don't people get a card and pay off the balance every month? That way you don't pay any interest but have the safety of a credit card when you need it?

Serious question and not judgemental. I have friends who write out checks for everything. I use a credit card and get airline benefits which really add up. Just don't understand it.

 

Very good question. If someone is able to pay cash at time of purchase, they surely can pay the bill when it comes a month later. Additionally, there are significant benefits, such as accruing airline miles - as well as building a good credit record which would make any future significant borrowing much easier.

 

Of course, if someone's previous inability to handle credit led to loss of cards, that is one thing; but other than being denied credit, the failure to use credit cards (responsibly, of course) can only be seen as an uneducated and self-harming attitude.

I hope you have a great time on your cruise! The cruise that started my addiction was a mother/daughter cruise to Key West/Cozumel on the little Carnival Imagination, which is still my favorite cruise (and we're still cruisin' buddies!). Like the others, I also go the day before when I cruise - and that includes NYC area cruises which are driveable for us. Boston is a different story and we do the 2 hour drive the same day. There's too much uncertainty with flying now - almost everyone I know who has flown lately has had delays because of weather or mechanical issues...or the crew got in too late and couldn't fly for two more hours. No really! On my husband's last trip he was caught at the airport for several extra hours because of that and missed his connecting flight! Had to overnight in Newark. I did mention to him that trip insurance is always a good idea. ;). And it is - do consider it.

 

As for a cash account on board, that's what I usually do and I start with $200. Have not had a problem with that whether I'm in a Ocean View or a Suite. This way I can add to the account if I want to but I usually get money back. Doing cash does help me to think about what I buy.

 

For those who wonder, I do have credit cards but much prefer cash. Quite frankly, I don't fly anymore (I just don't like it) so an airline card is useless and I have never found card rewards worth it. I know many people love rewards cards and have gotten some good rewards, but aside from a set of really good glass bowls and some discounts on my gas I haven't gotten much. I am trying the NCL credit card now so we'll see, but just not impressed with what I can get (my credit score is excellent). Basically I use my cards to buy online and pay-at-the-pump gas.

 

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Edited May 4, 2017 by cooncat_mom
Fixed all the spelling errors!

 

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For those who wonder, I do have credit cards but much prefer cash.

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Basically I use my cards to buy online and pay-at-the-pump gas!

 

 

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Seems inconsistent for someone who prefers to use cash to pay for gas with a card - which at every gas station I've seen costs more per gallon on a card -- while preferring the risk of carrying cash for cruise spending.

the failure to use credit cards (responsibly, of course) can only be seen as an uneducated and self-harming attitude.

That statement is what's uneducated.

 

Seems inconsistent for someone who prefers to use cash to pay for gas with a card - which at every gas station I've seen costs more per gallon on a card -- while preferring the risk of carrying cash for cruise spending.

Not at all inconsistent. Maybe when it comes to purchasing gas, they prefer the speed and convenience of paying at the pump since most gas stations require cash customers to pre-pay inside to prevent drive offs. If every gas station you've seen offers a different price for cash, then you haven't seen very many. No matter where I've traveled, gas stations that do that are in the minority.

Seems inconsistent for someone who prefers to use cash to pay for gas with a card - which at every gas station I've seen costs more per gallon on a card -- while preferring the risk of carrying cash for cruise spending.

 

Actually, the stations in my area are the same price cash or credit so it's not inconsistent at all. I could get money off if I Iinked my debit card to one of the companies, but not interested in that. :D

 

As for cruising, I have a credit card to use at ports for anything more than little souveniers, which I rarely do, and so I carry a minimum of cash. I'm glad you use your rewards cards to your advantage and are happy with them!

Edited May 4, 2017 by cooncat_mom

That statement is what's uneducated.

 

Not at all inconsistent. Maybe when it comes to purchasing gas, they prefer the speed and convenience of paying at the pump since most gas stations require cash customers to pre-pay inside to prevent drive offs. If every gas station you've seen offers a different price for cash, then you haven't seen very many. No matter where I've traveled, gas stations that do that are in the minority.

 

We obviously travel in different areas - it has been a long time since I have seen a gas station that did not charge more for paying with a credit card (actually they put in in a more generous way - discount for cash). Ever since legislation made it legal, any gas station which does not charge a differential is losing out - the credit card companies nick them anywhere from 4% to 10% on transactions - which, while not much per gallon, is a huge penalty for any retail business.

Typically gas stations enjoy a mark-up of 15 to 25 cents per gallon. At just $2.00 per gallon they will realize at least 8 cents less per gallon (33% to 50% of their margin) by not charging more for credit card transactions to offset the minimum 4% discount credit card companies usually apply.

If you would like to use cash. The card you have you spend as much as you want on it. But you will have to cover that balance at the end. If you want to carry 1000 with you on board and pay at the end you can. Or you can upload the money to your sail and sign card (carnival) or whatever the other lines call it and will be refunded at the end of the cruise. Unsure rather it is the card or in cash. If your debit card is a visa check card that is the same difference. Just use that. As far as the staterooms, I don't think you have much control over taking your luggage to your room yourself. At least I have never know it to happen. Just relax. Only one time my stuff wasn't delivered to the room the night we got there. When I went to the place they said luggage would be located. It was right there. No worries. That's why you should make a tote like bag to carry on with you filled with stuff you may need for one night.

You certainly can consider carry on only luggage (the only way we travel, even for long trips) to avoid any possible issues with lost luggage if you are flying in on the red eye. We have had multiple trips where we had no choice but Morning of flights, but not out of DIA where weather could be an issue. Good luck.

I am planning my first cruise ... (will be a NYE cruise).

 

So...

 

To save a little, I was looking at a "red eye" flight from Denver which will arrive around 8 a.m. the day of the cruise or an extremely early (5 a.m.) flight from Denver which arrives around 1 p.m. (As background, we are from Wyoming and Denver is a six hour drive for us) **Which flight would be best? Will arriving at 1 p.m. give us enough time to get from airport to pier?**

 

My original plan was to do carry-on luggage only to avoid having to wait for luggage to be delivered to our stateroom. For me, its a control thing (LOL) rather than a cost issue. Is this a good idea?

 

And finally (for now), I do not have a credit card. ... (call me old fashioned, ...):)

 

Hey Oldfashioned. Welcome to cruising. Don't do the redeye. Don't don't don't in the middle of the winter try to fly in on the day of. Whether it is 8:00am or 1:00pm, you simply have not left enough margin for error. You have a control thing about your luggage? You'll be exhausted with the day of travel anxiety and not able to enjoy the cruise. Just go the day before. And go sit on a beach.

 

When you get to the pier, give your suitcase to the nice person waiting to make it magically appear in your stateroom. Don't drag it around with you while you are exploring the ship while waiting for your cabin to open.

Hey Oldfashioned. Welcome to cruising. Don't do the redeye. Don't don't don't in the middle of the winter try to fly in on the day of. Whether it is 8:00am or 1:00pm, you simply have not left enough margin for error. You have a control thing about your luggage? You'll be exhausted with the day of travel anxiety and not able to enjoy the cruise. Just go the day before. And go sit on a beach.

 

When you get to the pier, give your suitcase to the nice person waiting to make it magically appear in your stateroom. Don't drag it around with you while you are exploring the ship while waiting for your cabin to open.

 

Thank you! And Go Blue! (my late fiance still holds the record for longest punt at the Rose Bowl from 1981)

I found a flight that comes in the day before, arriving around 10 p.m., giving us plenty of time to get to the closest airport in the middle of winter (Casper, WY) which, in good weather is a 2 hour drive. It doesn't depart until 4 p.m. so we have basically all day to get there. :)

...I found a flight that comes in the day before, arriving around 10 p.m., giving us plenty of time to get to the closest airport in the middle of winter (Casper, WY) which, in good weather is a 2 hour drive. It doesn't depart until 4 p.m. so we have basically all day to get there. :)

Good!

We have a small regional airport 10-15 minutes away. From there it is a 45 minute hop to Detroit or an hour plus hop to Chicago to get on a real plane. On our most recent trip, February, we got to the airport in plenty of time. Weather forecast saying dense fog. Our plane wasn't there. Didn't come. Didn't come. Eventually came, flew around, didn't land, went back to Detroit. So we got a ride to Detroit (2 hours or so), got a later flight from there, got to Lauderdale about 9:30pm on Friday for a Sunday cruise. So we still had a full day to rent a car and drive to an Audubon sanctuary... Meanwhile, back at our home airport, they were fogged in for the next three days. Another couple happened to have been standing next to us as we discussed alternative plans. They were also flying to a cruise, going to Quito to meet up with a Galapagos group. They had allowed an extra day. But they didn't for some reason drive to Detroit that morning and figure how to work around the weather delay. They were going to go back home and try to catch the same flights the next day. I would be very surprised if they ever made it to the Galapagos.

Cruises take too much planning, too much time in preparation, too much financially to be taking chances with weather and other delays.