"I wish I knew before..."

[KCcruisin07]

I agree with that. On our first cruise people were more dressed up than we were at dinner. Find out how many formal nights there are and what people usually wear to dinner. You can wear dressy slacks and different tops for formal night.

Be sure to go to the Roll Call for your cruise as soon as you make your reservation. There you will begin to "meet" other people going on your cruise and get helpful information.

Also for those who sign up there is a Meet and Mingle Party on most ships if more than 25 people sign up.

Be sure to bring your camera, charger, extra battery, and memory card(s), so you won't miss any pictures. Batteries and memory cards will probably cost more where you are going.

Leave your passport in the safe, and bring a copy with you when you go ashore. (The exception is certain ports, such as Dubrovnik.) Bring a list of phone numbers for your credit card company, travel agent, etc. As an example 800 numbers will not work in Europe.

I didn't read all of the first 25 pages, so I apologize for any duplications!

How many of you did read all that has been written so far? By now you must be cruising experts!!

[florence16]

Im sailing on the Independence of the Seas Oct 28 to the Canaries, a little worried about being sea sick on board if it is rough. We are staying in cabin 8518 any tips?:)

[DandP]

What is the cost of the Chef's Table? Do all lines do this? Does it take most of the evening?

 

$75 per person.. 6:30 pm until about 10 pm (plus recovery time.. just joking.. no recovery needed)

[cruisin_cutie]

• dont book excursions thru the cruise line. SO overpriced and over packed! the best excursion we took was cave tubing in belize. it was only 35 a person (the ship wanted 99 a person :eek:), and it was just my group of 7 friends and the guide!(really though, if its a full day excursion, you *may* want to book with the cruise line to be sure you wont miss the ship)
  
• if the ship allows, bring on the alloted amt of wine. im gonna bring 2 bottles of champagne and make my own morning mimosa's! and, gonna bring a glass to the formal dinner. i will probably pack some plastic champagne flutes from my wedding 7 yrs ago.
  
• dont bother with the spa on board. the services are nice, but SO overpriced! get a massage on the beach. its unbelievable, getting a rub down while listening to the waves.... and really good prices too!
  
• DONT FORGET TO BARTER! while in most ports, its pretty much expected for you to bargain. go low! i got a pendant for $12 that he originally wanted $35 for (but for you? $25) im sure you say that to all the girls!
  

[cruisin_cutie]

Remember that gratuities are automatically added. I forgot all about this on my first cruise and whenever a server brought me the bill, I added a 15% gratuity and cheerfully signed the bill. Cost me a small fortune!

 

oh my lord! we did this too! our bar servers loved us for our ignorance lol :rolleyes:

[kittymac]

Just back from our first cruise, Celebrity Constellation in the Mediterranean Oct 2-9. The tips that were most handy were:

 

- Clip for the shower curtain

- Shoe bag to go over the door - really awesome. We got a cheap see-through one at Target and that was perfect.

- Power strip - I took a small one with three extra outlets and that was fine.

- Ziploc bag to stick the map and tickets in for each day's excursion - especially handy on the one very rainy day we had.

- You can take on 2 bottles of wine (one for each of us) - but note that you will be charged $25 corkage if you take to the restaurant onboard. We drank one in the restaurant and the other in the stateroom.

- Post it note pad to leave sticky notes for our room steward.

 

A few things we took that I thought were clever:

 

- Individual packets of lemonade and fruit punch flavors to drop into the water in the stateroom, since it tasted kind of yucky by itself.

- Small bottle of wrinkle release spray since there are no irons.

- A zip-around file folder with a labeled section for each day, where I had printed out the description of the excursion we were going to do for each day so I could grab it and take it with us. After the day was over, I stuck the daily on-board memo, any photos and postcards that we bought, tickets and other mementos for every day, for simpler scrapbooking later on. This also kept the stateroom pretty tidy.

- We remembered our rain jackets and small umbrellas - not everyone did and we had one very rainy day where people were jealous of our jackets. They are so light to pack it is worth it depending on your destination/time of year.

 

Things I wish I'd known in advance:

 

- There is a clothesline in the shower - wish I'd brought some clothespins to hang stuff with.

- There was an "all you can cram into the laundry bag for $29" special near the end of the cruise - would have waited to do laundry and saved a few $

- The $25 corkage fee - I probably would have brought on better wine.

Edited October 20, 2010 by kittymac

[kittymac]

Im sailing on the Independence of the Seas Oct 28 to the Canaries, a little worried about being sea sick on board if it is rough. We are staying in cabin 8518 any tips?:)

 

We stayed at the end of the ship on our cruise and I found that I always felt a little queasy when I went to bed at night, though I was fine during the day and evening when upright. So, I took a Dramamine every night when I took my other evening pills, and that helped a lot.

 

I also took those little magnetic bracelets as a back-up, we bought ours at REI, but didn't end up needing them at all. It was still nice to feel like I had "someplace to go" if the Dramamine didn't work.

 

Have fun!

[karrie0208]

Im sailing on the Independence of the Seas Oct 28 to the Canaries, a little worried about being sea sick on board if it is rough. We are staying in cabin 8518 any tips?:)

 

 

I read everything on these boards and people said ginger would help. I had ginger gum, ginger candy, ginger pills. On the very first day I felt ill. I took the different ginger items and it didn't help. I had brought some sea bands and put those on. For the rest of the cruise I wore those and was fine...except for the very last day when we had VERY rough seas. My husband went to the ship doctor and got whatever they were giving for sea sickness. I slept for a couple hours and then was ok, but by then the waves had calmed down a bit. If I were to ever go on another cruise I would get a sea patch or some other kind of medicine to help. I wouldn't want to be that sea sick again!

[Scenestealer7]

I'm going on my first cruise in a month as a solo traveler - VERY excited about the trip. I just read through the entire thread (!) and have a bunch of questions:

 

1. What do you use highlighters for? I saw someone mention using them to circle things, but can't you just use a pen or make a list in a notebook? Am I missing something?

 

2. When people are talking about baggage vs carryon, can your carryon be a small rollerboard (like a carryon for a plane)? I never check bags when I travel and would prefer to keep all of my things with me.

 

3. Is there anything different about a cruise ship room than a typical hotel room, other than size? I stay in hotels 3-4 nights/week for business, so I'm pretty used to how to pack and not duplicate what they will provide for me, but all this about duct tape and binder clips and highlighters and extra hairdryers is making me wonder if this is going to be very different than my usual travels...

 

4. My cruise line (Celebrity) says that that the earliest I can book my flight home is 12pm. Is that true? I am heading back to work for a half day so if it's possible to take an earlier flight, I'd love to do that. I have security clearance at the airport thanks to my job, so it only takes me 5 mins or so to go through, and I typically don't arrive more than 35 minutes before takeoff for domestic flights.

 

5. Everyone keeps saying to bring tons of money. I'm looking at the cruise as a quick long weekend getaway and am NOT looking to spend a ton of money, as I'm not really considering it a big vacation. I just want to relax, read, work out, and eat whatever food is provided at the buffet. Probably won't be drinking much and I definitely don't intend to shop. Is the cost really going to be that much more than just the price of the cruise? I was picking a cruise just as an alternative to booking an all inclusive resort, but was planning to just use it as a traveling hotel...

 

6. Is water onboard not potable? I keep reading to bring as much water as you can carry... is that just if you are fussy about your bottled water?

 

7. I'm in my mid-20s and would love to meet some people around my age... any suggestions on how to do that? I'm pretty friendly/sociable :)

 

VERY excited - thank you all for the great advice so far!

[TheOldBear]

I'm going on my first cruise in a month as a solo traveler - VERY excited about the trip. I just read through the entire thread (!) and have a bunch of questions:

 

1. What do you use highlighters for? I saw someone mention using them to circle things, but can't you just use a pen or make a list in a notebook? Am I missing something?

They're for marking events of interest in the daily schedule - If you're not traveling solo each person could have a different color.

 

2. When people are talking about baggage vs carryon, can your carryon be a small rollerboard (like a carryon for a plane)? I never check bags when I travel and would prefer to keep all of my things with me.

 

A carryon is anything that you can schlep unassisted. If everything you want to bring fits - that simplifies things.

 

3. Is there anything different about a cruise ship room than a typical hotel room, other than size? I stay in hotels 3-4 nights/week for business, so I'm pretty used to how to pack and not duplicate what they will provide for me, but all this about duct tape and binder clips and highlighters and extra hairdryers is making me wonder if this is going to be very different than my usual travels...

Well, first of all the room is going somewhere.

 

Most of the suggestions seem going a trifle overboard - but they work for the poster [e.g. Duct tape is good for quick repairs to luggage]

4. My cruise line (Celebrity) says that that the earliest I can book my flight home is 12pm. Is that true? I am heading back to work for a half day so if it's possible to take an earlier flight, I'd love to do that. I have security clearance at the airport thanks to my job, so it only takes me 5 mins or so to go through, and I typically don't arrive more than 35 minutes before takeoff for domestic flights.

You may want to check if they have a early self departure, for folks willing to depart unassisted.

5. Everyone keeps saying to bring tons of money. I'm looking at the cruise as a quick long weekend getaway and am NOT looking to spend a ton of money, as I'm not really considering it a big vacation. I just want to relax, read, work out, and eat whatever food is provided at the buffet. Probably won't be drinking much and I definitely don't intend to shop. Is the cost really going to be that much more than just the price of the cruise? I was picking a cruise just as an alternative to booking an all inclusive resort, but was planning to just use it as a traveling hotel...

Just factor the 'auto tip' or 'suggested daily service' amount into you expenses. On Cunard, that's $11 a day. For our shore excursions, we're just planning on getting off and walking around.

6. Is water onboard not potable? I keep reading to bring as much water as you can carry... is that just if you are fussy about your bottled water?

The wanter the ship makes [distills, de-mineralizes, filters..] is purer H20 than the bottled water.

7. I'm in my mid-20s and would love to meet some people around my age... any suggestions on how to do that? I'm pretty friendly/sociable :)

The same way you would do that anywhere - just talking with folks is a major recreation.

VERY excited - thank you all for the great advice so far!

[The Floaties]

Be sure and join the roll call for your ship here on Cruise Critic. We did just that on our first cruise earlier this month and met some people at a sail away party the frist day. Then we had a Cruise Critic party and a slot pull and met people.

 

You can make a list or circle the things you want to do that particular day, but it is much easier to highlight what you might be interested in doing. You can see everthing that is going on at the same time. It was very helpful for me.

 

Have fun. :p

 

 

I'm going on my first cruise in a month as a solo traveler - VERY excited about the trip. I just read through the entire thread (!) and have a bunch of questions:

 

1. What do you use highlighters for? I saw someone mention using them to circle things, but can't you just use a pen or make a list in a notebook? Am I missing something?

 

2. When people are talking about baggage vs carryon, can your carryon be a small rollerboard (like a carryon for a plane)? I never check bags when I travel and would prefer to keep all of my things with me.

 

3. Is there anything different about a cruise ship room than a typical hotel room, other than size? I stay in hotels 3-4 nights/week for business, so I'm pretty used to how to pack and not duplicate what they will provide for me, but all this about duct tape and binder clips and highlighters and extra hairdryers is making me wonder if this is going to be very different than my usual travels...

 

4. My cruise line (Celebrity) says that that the earliest I can book my flight home is 12pm. Is that true? I am heading back to work for a half day so if it's possible to take an earlier flight, I'd love to do that. I have security clearance at the airport thanks to my job, so it only takes me 5 mins or so to go through, and I typically don't arrive more than 35 minutes before takeoff for domestic flights.

 

5. Everyone keeps saying to bring tons of money. I'm looking at the cruise as a quick long weekend getaway and am NOT looking to spend a ton of money, as I'm not really considering it a big vacation. I just want to relax, read, work out, and eat whatever food is provided at the buffet. Probably won't be drinking much and I definitely don't intend to shop. Is the cost really going to be that much more than just the price of the cruise? I was picking a cruise just as an alternative to booking an all inclusive resort, but was planning to just use it as a traveling hotel...

 

6. Is water onboard not potable? I keep reading to bring as much water as you can carry... is that just if you are fussy about your bottled water?

 

7. I'm in my mid-20s and would love to meet some people around my age... any suggestions on how to do that? I'm pretty friendly/sociable :)

 

VERY excited - thank you all for the great advice so far!

[GlendaleCruiser]

I'm going on my first cruise in a month as a solo traveler - VERY excited about the trip. I just read through the entire thread (!) and have a bunch of questions:

 

1. What do you use highlighters for? I saw someone mention using them to circle things, but can't you just use a pen or make a list in a notebook? Am I missing something?

To highlight those items in the daily newspaper that is delivered to your cabin. There is SO MUCH information in it it is easy to forget that you were going to the wine tasting today, etc.

2. When people are talking about baggage vs carryon, can your carryon be a small rollerboard (like a carryon for a plane)? I never check bags when I travel and would prefer to keep all of my things with me.

Yes, a carryon can be exactly what you carry on to a plane, also. As long as it fits in the x-ray machine coming on board you can roll it on.

 

3. Is there anything different about a cruise ship room than a typical hotel room, other than size? I stay in hotels 3-4 nights/week for business, so I'm pretty used to how to pack and not duplicate what they will provide for me, but all this about duct tape and binder clips and highlighters and extra hairdryers is making me wonder if this is going to be very different than my usual travels...

Some ships don't provide hair dryers so check with your cruiseline for your particular ship. Binder clips can be handy for keeping the shower curtain shut and duct tape will get your suitcase home when the zipper fails, etc.

 

4. My cruise line (Celebrity) says that that the earliest I can book my flight home is 12pm. Is that true? I am heading back to work for a half day so if it's possible to take an earlier flight, I'd love to do that. I have security clearance at the airport thanks to my job, so it only takes me 5 mins or so to go through, and I typically don't arrive more than 35 minutes before takeoff for domestic flights.

They are basing that on the fact that the ship has to be cleared by customs before you can disembark, but they are probably factoring in some security line time, too.

 

5. Everyone keeps saying to bring tons of money. I'm looking at the cruise as a quick long weekend getaway and am NOT looking to spend a ton of money, as I'm not really considering it a big vacation. I just want to relax, read, work out, and eat whatever food is provided at the buffet. Probably won't be drinking much and I definitely don't intend to shop. Is the cost really going to be that much more than just the price of the cruise? I was picking a cruise just as an alternative to booking an all inclusive resort, but was planning to just use it as a traveling hotel...

I think everyone is surprised at how many things there are to buy. You can always put charges on board on your credit card, but you may find that you wish you had a little more cash if you go out and about in the ports.

 

6. Is water onboard not potable? I keep reading to bring as much water as you can carry... is that just if you are fussy about your bottled water?

Water on board is fine. They have their own processing plant. Some people like to bring their favorite bottled water.

 

7. I'm in my mid-20s and would love to meet some people around my age... any suggestions on how to do that? I'm pretty friendly/sociable :)

 

VERY excited - thank you all for the great advice so far!

Just be open to going to a lot of activities and getting involved! You will have a great time!

[Scenestealer7]

Wow, thanks so much jjschmitt and GlendaleCruiser! Lots of great info and I am so excited :)

[marshhawk]

5 tips I wish I had known.....before I crusied.....

1. The show is different every night. (so I only went once) duh!

2. Read you daily paper and figure out what you REALLY want to do.

3. There are great movies on the TV(missed them all)

4. You can order seconds at dinner.

5. There is so much to do that you can't do it all...until your next cruise...because once you cruise you will be ADDICTED!:D

[marshhawk]

5 tips I wish I had known.....before I cruised.....

1. The show is different every night. (so I only went once) duh!

2. Read you daily paper and figure out what you REALLY want to do.

3. There are great movies on the TV(missed them all)

4. You can order seconds at dinner.

5. There is so much to do that you can't do it all...until your next cruise...because once you cruise you will be ADDICTED!:D

[Widespreadpanic]

5. Everyone keeps saying to bring tons of money. I'm looking at the cruise as a quick long weekend getaway and am NOT looking to spend a ton of money, as I'm not really considering it a big vacation. I just want to relax, read, work out, and eat whatever food is provided at the buffet. Probably won't be drinking much and I definitely don't intend to shop. Is the cost really going to be that much more than just the price of the cruise? I was picking a cruise just as an alternative to booking an all inclusive resort, but was planning to just use it as a traveling hotel...

Wow, thanks so much jjschmitt and GlendaleCruiser! Lots of great info and I am so excited :)

 

Just another thought or two - take advantage of the more formal dining room at least once during your cruise. You can be seated with others and get to know more people.

 

Also, if you plan to use it, be sure you are familiar with any internet service onboard. You don't want to be plugged into a wireless system for an hour that has outrageous charges per minute. That is, unless you can afford it :D.

 

Love your enthusiasm!

[stockton111]

We have pre paid the tips.Does the staff know that you have pre-paid? My question is that recommendations on here are to bring lots of ones and fives to tip for room service etc. Since I have pre paid, what is the expectation from the staff? will it be frowned upon if I am not tipping regularly due to the fact that i have pre-paid and or not tipping extra every time. I will tip above and beyond but just want to be sure that i am not going to be seen differently for prepaying. Thanks in advance fo clarifications/responses

Edited October 23, 2010 by stockton111

[Underwatr]

Prepaid tips take the place of the daily gratuity that goes on your account. Staff doesn't know or care that you've prepaid. You can still tip for room service, etc as you wish.

[cruisingnewb]

I don't go on my first cruise until February 2011, but with these boards I already feel like a cruising pro! Since I don't have any experience with cruising I don't have 5 "I wish I would have known" however I do have a few "I'm glad I know this for my first cruise".

 

1. Bring plenty of $1's and $5's. I plan on dealing with strictly cash except for a debit card for emergencies only, so it never crossed my mind to get little bills since I was only thinking of big bills to keep up with them easier.

 

2. Look for private excursions. Right after I booked my cruise I went to look at available ship excursions and the two I wanted to do in Cozumel started at the same time. After reading these boards I started looking around for the same excursions and because they are each 2 hours (compared to 4 hours with the ship excursions) I found if we start once we get there we will be able to do both, have about 1 1/2 to 2 hours incase of any delay back to the ship (or to do a little shopping), and not to mention save about $70 per person.

 

3. Order as much as you want! When I told my boyfriend about this his response was "How much will this cost?" hehe. I love shrimp cocktail and salads so glad to know I can order as much as I want...yummy :D

 

4. Drink coupons, photo coupons, and funship dollars. I like the idea of getting as much paid for as possible before the cruise so I have more money to spend when I sail.

 

5. The pursurs desk has free postcards and playing cards (playing cards are iffy I have heard some people get them and some don't) to play with in your cabin.

 

I planned on taking small gifts for my steward each day such as a phone card, candy, magazine/puzzle book, $2 bill (I know there is a lot of debate about this but they are so cool), soda, maybe roasted peanuts from the local nut store, etc. This is on top of a tip of course. Any thoughts on this?

[stockton111]

Prepaid tips take the place of the daily gratuity that goes on your account. Staff doesn't know or care that you've prepaid. You can still tip for room service, etc as you wish.

 

thanks so am I expected to tip for dinner and every drink etc above and beyond the pre-paid? just trying to understand why woul you pre-pay the tips versus doing it all at the end and during

Edited October 23, 2010 by stockton111

[Underwatr]

I have to admit that I'm fairly ignorant about prepaid tips/prepaid gratuities, but I'd assumed it applies to your daily service gratuity, which covers your steward and diningroom staff (waiter, Maire d', etc.). When you present your card and sign for drinks there's normally a ~15% gratuity added to that bill and I've assumed "prepaid gratuities" doesn't cover that.

[Passin Thru]

Gratuities are paid out of your bill. You need to check the pursers office every day for the balance and to see if it is correct. You may add to tips for anyone who gives you stellar service if you wish (I would reccommend the total ammount ot be 20%) Thats 5% above what you automatically pay. You may also take away any ammount of gratuity you wish but remember Stewards are paid on contract, make lwess than minimum wage and work very hard to please everyone. We have always been generous everywhere we go and it comes back to you 2 X. You cant outgive GOD either!

[Passin Thru]

So Sorry! Drinks have a tip added as bartenders do not get tipped out of the general kitty.

[d4m]

thanks so am I expected to tip for dinner and every drink etc above and beyond the pre-paid? just trying to understand why woul you pre-pay the tips versus doing it all at the end and during

 

No, you are not expected to tip for dinner every night. Many people save their tips for those who serve them in the MDR daily & give a tip at the end of the cruise . Many people also give their cabin stewards a tip at the end.

 

I think when people suggest taking bills in $1's they are to give a $1 or $2 for room service, for those who take your bags at port etc. There will be instances where you may want to tip and some where you may not.

[lady_cruiser]

Eleven pages are a little too much to read right now so if anyone has't mentioned this bring a yellow highlighter so you can highlight the things you want to do that you read in your daily. It saves time later on when you are trying to remember just what page and paragraph you saw something on.

 

And you can order as many dishes as you want. If you want to appertizers, order two. If you want 3 entrees order 3, no one cares. And if you find an appertizer you really like, ask your waiter to have the chef turn in into an entree size. The chefs are more than really to please everyone.