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Newbie with questions


johnscutie

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Hi! My DH and I are thinking about a cruise for next May or so and have never been on one. I have done a lot of reading and research, but I still have some questions. Perhaps someone here knows the answers:

 

1) Do Carnival or RC serve diet drinks? Particularly Dr. Pepper? Or Coke Zero? We have no problem buying the drink cards, but we are both diabetic and neither of us are fond of Diet Coke, which seems to be the only thing most restaurants carry. I am wondering if the cruise lines are the same way.

 

2) We are both big, tall people and sleep in a king size bed. I have noticed that the twin beds in most of the cabins only make into a queen sized bed. Is anyone able to tell me, especially on Carnival, which type of staterooms/suits will make into a king? I have read the brochures, but I keep getting confused, they seem to contradict themselves on this.

 

3)I want to use a prepaid cc for putting money in an onboard account. I have never purchased a prepaid cc, and I have heard that some of them work on the cruise lines, and some of them don't. Who knows which kinds work and where I would get that kind?

 

4)I am a little worried about not finding much to do during the day on the ship. We are not sports oriented. If the pool is full, we won't climb in. We don't sunbathe-there is skin cancer in our family. We don't really gamble. Does that leave us much to do?

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice I have already gotten. I have been copying it off and have made myself a great big file of the best ideas I have found.

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Hi! My DH and I are thinking about a cruise for next May or so and have never been on one. I have done a lot of reading and research, but I still have some questions. Perhaps someone here knows the answers:

 

1) Do Carnival or RC serve diet drinks? Particularly Dr. Pepper? Or Coke Zero? We have no problem buying the drink cards, but we are both diabetic and neither of us are fond of Diet Coke, which seems to be the only thing most restaurants carry. I am wondering if the cruise lines are the same way.

 

2) We are both big, tall people and sleep in a king size bed. I have noticed that the twin beds in most of the cabins only make into a queen sized bed. Is anyone able to tell me, especially on Carnival, which type of staterooms/suits will make into a king? I have read the brochures, but I keep getting confused, they seem to contradict themselves on this.

 

3)I want to use a prepaid cc for putting money in an onboard account. I have never purchased a prepaid cc, and I have heard that some of them work on the cruise lines, and some of them don't. Who knows which kinds work and where I would get that kind?

 

4)I am a little worried about not finding much to do during the day on the ship. We are not sports oriented. If the pool is full, we won't climb in. We don't sunbathe-there is skin cancer in our family. We don't really gamble. Does that leave us much to do?

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice I have already gotten. I have been copying it off and have made myself a great big file of the best ideas I have found.

 

1. Can't answer this one, I don't drink soda.

2. I'm not sure why they call the 2 twins put together a queen, they are about the size of my king at home..........

3. Don't know, I use traveler's checks with a credit card in case we go over.

4. Me too! Only I don't gamble at all. I find plenty to do. There are demonstrations, classes, shopping, etc.

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Those prepaid cards cost money! Either just use cash or keep the cash handy to pay off your regular credit card!

RCI uses Coke products. If you really want Pepsi, you can bring some onboard with you.

I've always found the beds to be a bit larger than queen, but not quite King. My hubby is a big guy and we're very comfortable.

I would make sure there are few sea days--stick with itineraries that have lots of ports. I love sitting by the pool and reading--but if you're not into relaxing, and don't "play well with others", then you won't want to have day after day on the ship. Perhaps a shorter cruise would be right for you--at least, as a start!

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I know on RCCL the only diet sodas that I've seen available (either in the fountain or in the can) are Diet Coke and Diet Sprite. You can bring your own soda on either line.

 

I would not use a prepaid CC. I know that American Express Travel Cards are specifically disallowed from use, but I don't know which others won't work. If you don't have a regular credit card and don't want to use your debit card, then just bring cash to use as a deposit on your onboard account or get traveler's checks.

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Hi! My DH and I are thinking about a cruise for next May or so and have never been on one. I have done a lot of reading and research, but I still have some questions. Perhaps someone here knows the answers:

 

1) Do Carnival or RC serve diet drinks? Particularly Dr. Pepper? Or Coke Zero? We have no problem buying the drink cards, but we are both diabetic and neither of us are fond of Diet Coke, which seems to be the only thing most restaurants carry. I am wondering if the cruise lines are the same way.

 

2) We are both big, tall people and sleep in a king size bed. I have noticed that the twin beds in most of the cabins only make into a queen sized bed. Is anyone able to tell me, especially on Carnival, which type of staterooms/suits will make into a king? I have read the brochures, but I keep getting confused, they seem to contradict themselves on this.

 

3)I want to use a prepaid cc for putting money in an onboard account. I have never purchased a prepaid cc, and I have heard that some of them work on the cruise lines, and some of them don't. Who knows which kinds work and where I would get that kind?

 

4)I am a little worried about not finding much to do during the day on the ship. We are not sports oriented. If the pool is full, we won't climb in. We don't sunbathe-there is skin cancer in our family. We don't really gamble. Does that leave us much to do?

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice I have already gotten. I have been copying it off and have made myself a great big file of the best ideas I have found.

 

1. All cruiselines serve diet drinks, but the selection is limited, and usually the most economical for the cruiseline. You can bring on whatever you want to drink in the way of soda/juice, etc. Every cruise, after flying in, we stop and purchase a 12 pack of Pepsi and Diet Coke. We have a soft collapsible cooler that our cabin steward kept filled with ice. Every day we added a few more sodas to the cooler. You can also bring bottled water, and/or drink packets for them made with Splenda or other artificial sweeteners.

 

2. The two beds together feel a little larger than my queen size bed at home. NOt sure how large you are (no offense intended), but together we're about 400 pounds and when each is laying on their side of the bed, we don't touch, if that helps.

 

3. I don't recommend the pre-paid credit cards. If you don't have a credit card, I suggest getting an American Express card. There is no interest as anything on it has to be paid off monthly. Use that for your sign and sail account, and then go down every few days to pay it off with cash or travelers checks. Or you can put down a deposit in cash, they refund you what you don't use at the end of the cruise. There are ATM machines on board.

 

4. We don't get in pools on cruises either as they are always full. During the day on sea days, the ship offers many activities like craft classes, movies in the lounge, art auctions, tours of the behind-the-scenes stuff like the kitchens, they have game shows with audience participation in the theaters. There are also open air but covered areas on many ships where you can lay and relax without sun and people watch, or read a book, or just hold hands and look out into the wild blue yonder. Keep in mind that many cruises only have 1 or 2 days on the ship while the rest are in port where the opportunities are endless. Go to http://www.cruiseclues.com and you can see listings for many of the ship's daily activities.

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Now I know what I need to. Especially thanks BCS819, for posting the iteneraray. Now I know what all there is to do, I am pretty sure I won't be bored. I knew there were activities, but I couldn't find a listing aside from the casino, the library and some games. I especially appreciate the info about the beds, I am not worried about that now. We are both large, but we will fit. LOL!:D

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No problem. I would also recommend that you consider a balcony cabin. It's a nice place to spend some quiet time and almost all are covered. Enjoy meals out there, or relax after a day in port. We sleep with the door open every night listening to the ocean.

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