new2cruise1981

Aww man. This is my second cruise, first out of NY and I was looking forward to the sail away after reading how beautiful it is. Hopefully, it will still happen but if not, next time. Weather is totally out of our hands. Disappointed, but hopeful.

I have avoided this forum thinking the more I look, the longer the time until the cruise. Sort of like a watch pot never boils. But, I got am email today the cruise is 30 days away. YAY!!!! My husband and I are going too, and I cannot wait. I need this getaway like a fat kid needs cake. This is only my second cruise and the first time out of New York, so I am excited for the sail away. I saw earlier on this forum how great the said away is. 

Halijo, thank you so much for answering my questions. We are mature adults (62 and 64) but I feel like a kid when it comes to cruising. So much stuff to learn. I wish we would have done this sooner. I see that the folks on her are cruise experts. Hope to be one soon 😊

Thanks for the response Halijo1935. I am looking forward to it. Do you think we will see any fall foliage at the end of September? I would love to see that. 

Our first cruise was December 2019 and we planned another cruise for June 2020. We all know that Covid put the brakes on that. My husband has been nervous about cruising since Covid, but he finally said he would go because we had such a great time on the first one. I am thinking of planning a family cruise for 2025. 

We booked this cruise. This will only be our second cruise. The first was to the Bahamas. Has anyone ever taken the New England cruise? 

Hi everyone. Vicky3Vicky, I pray for you and your husband. You have reason to be a little nervous. 

I know that some of the rules in place about mask being required seem extreme, but please, please believe that it is necessary. On April 5th my husband and I took the test for Covid-19. We both were sick for a week and kind of suspected we had the virus. We woke up April 4th with no sense of taste or smell. On April 8th we got the results that we were both positive. Thankfully, as of today we are both feeling a lot better. No fever in two week, sense of taste back, I have my sense of smell a little, my husband doesn't have his sense of smell. But we are on the mend.

I shared this because I want folks to know that I have no idea where we got this. Before we got sick, we would go to the store and keep our distance, keep our hands clean, sanitize, and keep our distance in public. But we weren't the mask and glove wearing folks. We went to the store numerous times when we felt well without of mask. In fact, the last time we went out before we got sick, we went to two supermarkets, the dollar store, the shoe repair store, and three liquor stores (My husband was starting to feel sick and he thought he was catching a cold. We were looking for Rock and Rye, which he swear keeps his cold at bay and couldn't find it until we went to the third liquor store. Little did we know.) I think of all the folks we came into contact that day, also without masks, and I wonder who we could have exposed to this virus. Who may have exposed us to it. I feel enormous guilt about that. Thank God we both started working from home around March 16th so no one had been in and out of our home. 

I know that people have opinions about some of the rules in place. But if my story convinces one person to deal with the inconvenience of wearing a mask, I would feel a lot better about my own decision not to wear a mask before I got sick. My husband's "cold" turned out to be Covid-19. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been in a mask and gloves. 

Thanks for all the great advice and positive feedback. You guys are awesome! Lord willing, this time next year, I will be giving advice on what to expect to a first time cruiser.

Shipgeeks, thanks for all of the information. You got me so excited about this cruise and December can't come soon enough.  I joined the Roll Call for this cruise. So far there are only three people on our Roll Call board but I'm hoping it will get more active.

Underwatr, our ports are Princess Cay, Nassau, and Freeport. We will be in Freeport 7:00 AM - 1:30 PM. I am going to plan an excursion on our day at Princess Cay or Nassau. Those days are nine hours and I have heard to many horror stories of folks getting left. A sister can't run that fast. Nor can the sister's husband 😉 

Thanks for all the feedback. I am keeping the advice in a notebook.

rkacruiser, I look forward to going under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I have driven over it numerous times and I am always amazed by the whole ride. I am going to take your advice about the steakhouse and fancy dressing 😊

Essiesmom, shows how geographically challenged I am. I thought the Bahamas were in the Caribbean. Learn something new everyday.

Swaddy, for my first cruise, I thought a week would be too long. I was worried that if it wasn't for me or I got seasick I would be stuck for a week. But I hear you on the shorter cruise not giving you enough time. Again, learning something new 😊

Hello. This will be hubby and I first cruise. My niece is giving my sister a surprise 60th birthday cruise and the cruise is for seven days. To be honest, I was planning to take a cruise in the future, but I really didn't want my first cruise to be seven days. I couldn't tell my niece no and ruin my sister's surprise. So here I am on a seven day cruise.

We will be sailing to the Caribbean. The cruise leave Baltimore which is great. We live in Philadelphia and the drive to Baltimore is two hours.

Enough of my backstory. My biggest concern is what type of clothes to bring. I know December in the Northeast is cold, but what type of clothing will I need for the Caribbean?

Neither of us are gamblers so the casino isn't a big deal. We plan to take advantage of all the other activities onboard and maybe one excursion. I have read a lot of the boards and the general consensus seem to be that the excursions price through the cruise company are pricier. How do you find out about outside excursion companies? Do I Google?

Lastly, I was cool with cruising in December until a relative told me the the water is rough that time of year. Is this true or is my relative being a hater because I am cruising and she is not? I don't want to spend a week being a coward.

Thank all of you for so much information. There is a lot about cruising that I didn't know. I decided to reach out to a travel agent that specializes in cruises. I also asked for cruises that leave New York or Baltimore since NY is a 2 hour drive from us and Baltimore is 1.5 hours. You all really helped bring some clarity to my plans. I may have to celebrate his surprise 60th a couple of weeks after his birthday.

Oh my goodness! Thanks guys for the quick and smart replies. You can tell I have no clue to what I am doing. Karen, I didn't book yet but my plan was to book tonight. Thank God I thought to put this question out there before I booked.

Most of you are correct. At 60, the booze cruise is a definite no-no. Heck, even when we were younger it wouldn't be something that would interest either one of us.

I think I need to get in touch with a TA and I will. I also think I may postpone the 60th birthday surprise to March or April. Do you guys think a five day cruise is good for first timers? I am just nervous that a week may be too much.

I sure did wait until late in life to do this.

Hello all. My husband will be 60 January 2019 and my plan is to surprise him with a winter cruise. I found a short three night cruise on Carnival that sails out of Florida on January 18th. We live in PA so my plan is to fly to FL the day before departure and stay in Fl a day after we get back.

My question. What is a winter cruise like? My husband HATES flying in the winter (bad experience when we returned home from Vegas for his 50th birthday). I just want to feel confident that the cruise will not be to rough in the winter since:

1. I'm "surprising" him with a winter flight. (yn)(yn)

2. It will be our first time cruising.

3.I am thinking three nights will be just enough for our first time.

Any suggestions to make the nice for him? He deserves it:hearteyes: However, I am flexible to celebrating his 60th in the spring if I have too.