vickster6k

Trying to decide on our next cruise. One option is the Gem over Easter.

We will be in St Thomas that day. Will there be excursions like normal?

What will be different?

Do they do anything extra for the Kiddos? We have a 6 year old.

Any and all advice and opinions are welcome!!

Thanks!!

We are trying to decide between 2 cruises, both on the Norwegian Gem; one Jan 2, the other March 22. I have been heavy my entire life. The last few years have really hit me hard though. I have issues with chronic pain which makes weight loss extremely difficult.

I am so tired of going on cruises, dressing up, getting photos of the whole family taken, then refusing to purchase them because I hate the way that I look in the photos. I end up depressed, then I vow to lose weight before the next cruise. And fail.

So here I am, hoping to lose 60-70 pounds. I KNOW it is possible, and it is time.

I will be using My Fitness Pal and Lose It! apps, watching what I eat, drinking more water and walking every day.

Good luck everyone!!

I am also a (previously) loyal Carnival Platinum cruiser. I will no longer be on Carnival but am now researching cruises on NCL. I will be booking 2 7 day B2B or a 14 day within the next week. Carnival made a huge mistake by banning the smoking on all balconies. Had they at least made an effort to make everyone happy by limiting smoking to balconies on 1 side of the ship, or balconies on the rear of the ship, I would not be, no pun intended, jumping ship!

There will be many people cancelling cruises, maybe this will change their minds? Doubtful-have they ever implemented a policy and reneged after?

I haven't decided if we, as platinum cruises will stop cruising with carnival or if we will simply plan on spending the extra $250 to smoke????

Can anyone tell me if there are mini fridges in the balcony Cabins on the sunshine? We are booked in Cabin 6185. If not, I have to request one for medication.

Thanks!!

Just found out they are having a door decorating contest on the Kiss Kruise Oct 13th. I have no idea what to do!! Any ideas? I used to use paint shop pro for graphics but just got adobe photoshop and haven't figured it out yet. wish I could figure out how to take a picture of the Carnival Destiny and add 'wet wild & rockin Kiss Kruise' to it and put the members of kiss on deck. Or try to make an insignia for Kiss Navy. any help will be greatly appreciated!

Vicky

now that you mention it, I think we had one of those 3 to 2 prong adapters on our power strip! Thanks for reminding me, just went & checked to make sure I had one packed!

The one item i can't do without? Has to be comfy shoes! The other is a power strip & extension cord. There is NO outlet in the bathroom. There IS a blow dryer, in the room in a drawer, in front of the big mirror. Our 1st cruise was with an interior cabin, all others have been balconies. Just our preference-we book the kids in an interior cabin & we all hang out in our balcony room. I am fairly sure the interior had the blow dryer in the same place. anyway, you CAN"T unplug the blow dryer, it is hard wired IN the drawer. There are lamps on both nightstands, but they has different plugs, so you can't unplug them and use that outlet. there are 2 open outlets right under the mirror. Only one is a 2 or 3 prong 'american' outlet. The way it is positionsed, right on top of the counter and right under the mirror, there is no way to plug a camera battery or anything other thn a normal plug. The power strip plugs in just fine, then you can plug your extension cord, chargers, alarm clock, etc into that. I use a heating pad for my bak at night, and that needs the extension cord. When we leave the room in the morning, I leave the power strip out, but 'hide' the extension cord & heating pad. Feel free to ask any questions you think of

This info is SOOO useful, not only for first timers, but for anyone that is planning a cruise! I learned many new tricks & made a list of things to do & things to bring. We are booked on b2b2b starting Oct 13th. When we're done with these 3, we will have been on 7 cruises in 3 1/2 years. We are STILL learning!

Some of what I have learned-

*Take a small notebook, best if it has 5 sections. I record all important info in the 1st, flight numbers & times, rental car & hotel reservation confirmation numbers, emergency phone numbers, itinerary, excursions booked etc. in the 2nd. I also carry a folder for Documents (fun pass, printed email confirmations, etc.) In the 3rd section of the notebook I make lists of things I need to purchase before getting to the port etc, ideas for things to do in port etc. In section 4, I jot down names of cabin steward, waiter, bartender, favorite activities director etc. I also record names, adresses & emails of the new friends we meet. Finally I use the last section to journal memories.

*ALWAYS arrive at least 1 day early. On our 1st cruise (honeymoon-july '08) we flew in the day of-one of the worst experiences of MY LIFE!! First flight was delayed due to mech probs. Had 10 mins to change planes in Atlanta then sat on runway for HOURS due to rain! We had been scheduled to arrive in Miami at noon, finally arrived at Miami airport at 3:45!! Because there were 20+ ppl on flight sailing with carnival, and most had transfers (we didn't), they held the ship for us, and someone from Carnival met us at the gate, escorted us to baggage claim, then onto a bus for the ride to the port. GREAT customer service!! Since we didn't have passports at the time, we were STRESSING!! Not worth it!

*For similar reasons, we never fly home the day of debarkation either. We stay at least overnight, longer if possible. This also helps with the 'debarkation blues'. Easier to get off the ship if you still have a short vacation to look forward to-especially for kids!

*Call your bank 2-3 days before you leave to tell them your travel plans. Learned this the hard way when they froze our debit card due to numerous out of state transactions.

*Take a larger suitcase than you need. We stuffed ours full, not realizing how much we would purchase, and that dirty clothes take up more room than clean ones for some reason-had to buy another suitcase & pay to check it at airport!

*I use vacuum seal travel bags. Vacuum at home, on the ship you can roll them to get the air out-make sure they are TRAVEL bags that you don't NEED to vacuum!

*The in-room safe is FREE to use, but you need a card with personal info on a magnetic strip. You DO NOT need to use a credit card and I don't. I use a grocery store reward card.

*When flying, we TRY to get by using carry-ons only. To do this, we go to the Wal Mart near the hotel (there is ALWAYS a Wal Mart near the hotel!) to buy toiletries-shampoo, sunscreen, toothpaste etc. (think cheapo suave brand). Whatever we don't use, we leave on the counter with a note (or give to the steward) explaining that they are welcome to use/donate/dispose of due to travelling/packing constraints. They seemed to really appreciate this.

*My first purchase in every port is a tote bag. I then have something to put all purchases in as well as a nice souvenier.

*Get onboard as early as possible, and walk the ENTIRE ship, before it is full. FINALLY found the door to the deck at the front of the ship on the last day of our 3rd cruise. Wish I would have found it sooner!

*Kids & young adults look cute in braids. 40+ yr old women DO NOT!! Learned this after spending 1+ hour & $40 in Jamaica, then taking them out 2 hours later when DH couldn't stop giggling-live & learn! HOWEVER, for around $10, they will do a TIGHT french braid that makes you cooler and looks lovely.

*We get sandwiches from the deli or room service and put in baggies. we also grab extra individual cereal boxes to take into port with us.

*I take small snack baggies to collect sand from every port. I have had it confiscated twice at the security point before getting back on the ship-now we put them in DHs pockets instead of my tote that gets searched. When we get home I put the sand in old baby food jars with the name of the port on the lid.

*When the casino opens, take your sign & sail card to the teller. They will punch a hole in it & give you a springy cord for it that you can attach to your belt loop or make into a necklace-or get a lanyard.

*Set your watch to ship time & leave it there until you debark. Do not go by local time-only ship time! You cell will not reflect the ship time either, and sometimes if you don't have signal, it won't even update the right local time-do NOT rely on this. (missed our 1st dinner due to this)

*When you go into port, take the coupon for the free charm bracelet. (Carnival owned store) Get it! Then at each port after, go to the store for your free charm. Extras are $5. Great souveniers!!!

*Steam wrinkles out by running shower with clothes hanging in bath-if this doesn't work, they have free irons in the laundry room.

*Printed luggage tags are FLIMSY!! Print & take to local office supply store. They will laminate them inexpensively. Punch hole & attach with small zip tie. Put your personal info inside your suitcase just in case the tag falls off. Use another zip tie to secure luggage zipper closed.

*If you don't intend to use the expensive mini-bar items-or have small children that may get into them-ask the room steward to remove them to make room in fridge for your drinks you carried on.

*Every morning, we check the menu for the MDR on the TV. Then we decide if we will go to the MDR or just eat at the dinner buffet on the Lido deck. Saves time at dinner for the kids to decide AND we know what to look forward to!

*Remember that they automatically add 15% gratuity to every bar purchase. I have never seen this done, but was told that you CAN remove (cross it out) this charge, if you so choose. Add this amount to your running mental tab.

*Get a large SD card for your camera. You don't want to have to download photos every night. You can also store files on this (copies of credit card numbers, passport, travel docs etc) in case you lose anything.

*Take costume jewelry that goes with anything. They have great deals in the funshop ($10 for necklace & earing set) in case you forget to pack your jewelry (I did once). They also have nice pashmina shawls, as well as small dressy handbags-both also $10.

*At dinner every night, have everyone tell what their highs & lows were for the day-it is a great conversation starter and it is a nice way to gauge what your kids are enjoying/not enjoying.

*When you are in port, be prepare to say NO! No I don't want my hair braided, no I don't need a taxi, no I don't want 22 silver bracelets, no I DO NOT want illegal drugs-the locals wait for their ship to come in, literally! Many (especially in the poorer locales) support large families through cruise ship tourism. They can get VERY pushy. Politely, but FIRMLY tell them no, then keep walking. Don't be surprised if they follow. Ignore them if need be.

*Before going into port, ask crew members where the best places are to: call home inexpensively-some places even offer free phone calls with a small purchase, Eat local foods, buy crafts, the best free beaches, the best drinks, etc-they have been there MANY times and are a great source of info!!!

Remember-

*Power strip and/or extension cords

*Baggies-many diff sizes & uses

*Bungie cord-keeps things open OR closed (great when travelling with kids)

*1st aid kit-remember ex-lax & anti diarhea meds-you will be eating different foods in a different climate-you never know!

*Sewing kits with extra safety pins

*Clothes pins or clips-many uses

*Duct tape and or scotch tape

*Night light, tap lights or small flashlights-expecially in an interior cabin-they are PITCH black at all times!

*Luggage scale-overweight charges are expensive & it is a pain trying to re-pack at the airport!

*Cabin door decoration-gets you in the mood & helps you & others find your door.

*Magnetic dry erase boards (& dry erase markers) are great to attach to the outside of your cabin door when travelling with friends/family for leaving notes where you are/what you are doing/when & where to meet you etc.

*Highlighter & black sharpie

*Cooler-if your cabin doesn't have a mini fridge

*Alarm Clock/Ipod dock

*a good book & kids activities for down time/rainy days and the trip to the port

ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!

Sorry 4 the length of this post-I got carried away!!