Help!

[A1A]

Hi
Getting ready to take a cruise and I have lots of questions, perhaps someone can help me.
Is there a list somewhere of suggested things I should take on my trip? First, we have decided to leave our 8 day old son with a baby sitter for the 7 day cruise, is that wrong? We will be flying in the day of the cruise and we hoped our arrival at 2:45 PM will not be too late for us to make the ship after a stop at the grocery and liquor store. My wife wants to purchase 2 cases of beer and I will buy 3 bottles of vodka, which we will place among our clothing after we repack in Ft. Lauderdale. We also want to stock up on a few cases of water and some lunch meat so we can make sandwiches if we get hungry after dinner. So many details, so little time. We have been assured that our luggage will arrive to our stateroom prior to the muster drill, which we intend to miss, how boaring, so we will have extra time for the buffet prior to sail away.
Our TA has assured us that we should have no trouble getting an upgrade from our guaranteed inside to a suite since this is our first time we are sailing in the month of April, so we are very excited! We are also curious as to how many outlets each room has as we will be bringing our iron and hot plate as my wife loves to make her own grilled cheese every afternoon. Besides our battery chargers, hairdryer, curling iron, clock radio and portable fan I hope we are okay with outlets. Can someone recommend the proper extension cord to take aboard the ship, we need enough receptacles.
Now I have read that smoking is permitted everywhere on the ship except for the elevators, since we smoke constantly we want to be courteous so have decided that we would never smoke in the elevators when other passengers were present. Utilizing our clock radio to listen to island music, we hope to awake each morning at 5:30 AM to secure a place by the pool. Our friends, who have sailed many times, tell us if we place a magazine and towel on a lounge chair they belong to us for the entire day, so we plan on hitting the pool after lunch. We wanted to know if we should also place a personal article of clothing on the chairs to make it seem more personalized. Any tips on how to secure our places by the pool for an entire week would be appreciated; maybe a professional looking reserved sign? Can we tip the pool steward to block a group a chairs? I also need to know if appropriate to bring my rod and reel as I expect an aft suite and heard that fishing and kite flying is okay from the rear of the ship. If someone can tell me the hottest penny slot to play I would also appreciate it very much!
Speaking of tips, can someone tell me if it is appropriate to tip the crew after the trip is over? We are upset that automatic tips are for 7 days, yet if you think about it we will really only be on the ship for 5 full days, if you discount that the departure and arrival days are really not full 24 hour days. We believe that 1 dollar a day for the cabin steward is appropriate and since we will eat at the buffet one or two nights did not feel the waiters deserve a tip, any advice? Also my wife says it is appropriate to tip the Captain after the cruise any suggestions as to the amount?
Now as far as dress we were wondering what smart casual meant? Since we don’t have a lot of room in our suitcases, minus our beverages, we will be limited as to what we can bring. I was hoping that a smart pair of shorts, a new t-shirt and some boat shoes would suffice. Any help here? As far as the formal nights go I have been told that a nice pair of jeans would be okay, heck, I paid almost $100 for mine, more than most men’s fancy dress pants! Besides, we do not own anything truly formal, we gave the coat and tie thing up when we retired last month. I have promised my wife I would not wear my Yankees ball cap on formal nights so she seems to be pleased.
Hope getting off the ship is as easy as they say we have an early flight that departs Ft. Lauderdale at 7:45 AM. Lastly, can someone please tell me why Princess is better than Celebrity? We know we have a lot of questions here but hope some of you experts can help us out, thanks very much in advance!
Can anyone tell me what I am forgetting?
Smile!
Ken

[Tralynn]

Oh, this is PERFECT!!! hehehe

[mizlorinj]

very cute.

[kruisey]

April Fool

[1 HappyCruiser]

What I can't believe is that someone has the time in their life to make up such dribble.

[Jasperdo]

Don't forget to bring a deck of cards. There are some very nice tables in Horizon Court. Get there about 11:30am, and spend a few enjoyable hours playing Crazy Eights.

[ggprincess2004]

Lol!!!

[mfk68]

Originally Posted by 1 HappyCruiser

What I can't believe is that someone has the time in their life to make up such dribble.

I guess he had just as much time in his life to make up the "dribble" as you have in your life to read and comment in the "dribble"

[ricok987]

When you get upgraded to the suite from the guarateed inside you can bring your sport fishing pole, fish right off your balcony, and anything you catch you can eat right in your suite. You just call down to the kitchen/room service give them your cabin number and the executive chef will come up and prepare it any way you like and serve it to you to dine on your balcony. Boy, those suites sure have their perks!

[Tralynn]

Don't forget to pack your coffee card that you've been using since 1992. Just be careful with it. That paper is getting pretty dang brittle!

[1 HappyCruiser]

Originally Posted by mfk68

I guess he had just as much time in his life to make up the "dribble" as you have in your life to read and comment in the "dribble"

I never got past line two.

[pablo222]

Originally Posted by A1A

Can anyone tell me what I am forgetting?

Coffee Card, Soda Card, Chef's table, Ultimate Ship Tour.

It's important that a new thread be started each day,
to keep from taxing the search facility.

And, what's all this about tipping?

[Mist_ynight]

LOL I love it!

[pablo222]

Originally Posted by mfk68

I guess he had just as much time in his life to make up the "dribble" as you have in your life to read and comment in the "dribble"

Do you mean drivel?

[larsen]

Why not just bring that "8 day old son" along, put a swim diaper on him and take him into one of the hot tubs (he'll love the warm water) or adult swimming pools. And probably with him along you can get priority tendering, just cut in line ahead of everyone else.

[legaljen1969]

What a wonderful April Fools post. Happy Cruiser- why do you want to be a killjoy. I mean, someone has to suck all of the fun out of everything.

[Theora]

Don't forget your crock pot! Also, bring a bunch of candles to give the room some nice ambiance.

Oh, and when you're getting off the ship, especially on the last day, make sure to hit the buffet beforehand so you can grab a bunch of fruit and snacks to take with you for munching while you're on the way to the airport. Bring a small tote bag with you, and stock up!

[LARGIN]

I hate April 1..

[vandalayceo]

Originally Posted by 1 HappyCruiser

I never got past line two.

How do you know it's all drivel?

[ivielane2]

Wonderful post thanks for the good laugh......Happy April Fool's Day to you.