"I wish I knew before..."

[SunshineCruiser24]

Was fine for Royal and Carnival.

[linnemj]

Thanks for all the great tips from this forum. We just returned from our first cruise on the Norwegian Dawn. We learned quite a bit from this first experience. Some of those are:

 

1. Before you make your final payment, check to see if the price has dropped. We did not realize this and it cost us some money. We should have booked through Costco travel for a better deal.

 

2. We checked a case of bottled water. We used about 12 of the bottles and it was nice to have cold water from our cabin refrig when we wanted it. Bottled water sold by the ship was very expensive.

 

3. The dining rooms were cool and we did not bring enough long sleeve shirts with us on our Western Caribbean cruise.

 

4. We used the power strip since we could only find one plug in the cabin.

 

5. It was nice to sit in the on board library to read in a quiet location.

 

6. Bring lots of money in ones, fives, tens, ect since the shore visits require a lot of tips.

 

7. Amex credit card was not accepted many places.

[Brandywine_101]

That I didn't need to purchase a drink package! I wish I knew that there was PLENTY to drink for free onboard and since I'm not a huge alcohol drinker, that I could've saved myself $200 bucks. Seriously, if you aren't concerned with drinking alcohol, a bucket of soda everyday, and 12 iced coffees, save your money. There is lemonaide, iced tea, water (by bottles, I wouldn't trust the ships water), coffee and hot tea in the windjammer and other dinning areas aboard the ships (I was on Royal's EOS). Since I had purchased the Royal Replinish package, I forced myself to drink fruity drinks (2) frozen coffees (2), and sodas (4) the entire week I was there. I had one beer and 2 glasses of wine with dinner. That's it. The free drinks I mentioned were plentiful, just take a big gulp type of cup and use that. I only used my special "soda" coke cup on the last day and that was to take something to drink with me when I left! Trust me, unless you're a huge drinker, it's seriously not worth the money. My husband had the Premium package and we got every bit of our money's worth with that as he drank his fill of top-shelf drinks. Which brings to mind, though they "frown" on it, if you are with someone who is a drinker and has an alcohol package, just ask them to get you the occasional drink, that worked well also. Bing Bong!

[Brandywine_101]

to take others advice with a larger grain of salt. The biggest regret I have is not packing enough clothes! I read time and time again not to over-pack, to pack and then remove half of what I packed, etc. These people who write that either cares little for their appearance or are happy bumming it about the ship. I only took two cocktail dresses, HUGE mistake. I had one formal dress for formal night, and one for - I thought - would be the only dinner dress I needed for our reservations at Chops. WRONG. We signed up for MTD, but ended up at My Fair Lady each night because we liked the sit-down, being served dinner and did the buffet for breakfast and lunch. That meant I didn't have enough dinner dresses in my wardrobe. Luckily I had a skirt outfit that was dinner approrpriate and got away with wearing that one night. But I still had to repeat the less formal dress the last night aboard. Next time I'll know to take a dinner dress for each night of the cruise. :mad:

[Brandywine_101]

Was fine for Royal and Carnival.

 

I would have felt very uncomfortable in jeans for dinner. I didn't even pack any. But then I only have a few pair, so I guess it's just a matter of style preference.

[srlafleur]

If there are chilled fruit soups on the dinner menu, they make a lovely dessert if you want a little something sweet, but not too heavy to end your meal.

 

If you want to order off the kids' menu, you can. (They have banana splits!)

 

If a dessert comes with ice cream, (for example, by default, Carnival's warm chocolate melting cake comes with vanilla ice cream) you can ask for a different flavor from the menu. I get orange sherbet with my WCMC.

[srlafleur]

Oh, UNPACK. I know it annoys my husband when I scurry around first thing when our luggage arrives, putting everything away, but it makes the rest of the vacation so much more pleasant than living out of a suitcase.

 

Also, if you check bags, cross-pack. Some of your partner's outfits in your bag, some of yours in your partner's. Whole outfits, down to the undies and shoes. That way, if, gawd forbid, a bag gets lost, you'll have some clothes. Unlikely that either will get lost, but even more unlikely that they both would.

And make sure to carry-on and keep with you anything you absolutely can't do without (and goes without saying, anything of value) - meds, mascara, whatever, just in case your checked bags take a side trip to somewhere else.

Trust me - my husband was flying to California on a flight that was continuing to Hawaii. Guess where his bags went...yup. And we had joked about it before he left. He got his bags the next day, but it's not so easy on a cruise ship. We also had a serious delay for out flight to Barcelona that forced us to have a very tight connection in Paris. Our checked bags couldn't run as fast a we could, apparently, so they arrived a day later.:D

Edited March 3, 2015 by srlafleur

[seventysixracing]

Oh, UNPACK. I know it annoys my husband when I scurry around first thing when our luggage arrives, putting everything away, but it makes the rest of the vacation so much more pleasant than living out of a suitcase.

 

Also, if you check bags, cross-pack. Some of your partner's outfits in your bag, some of yours in your partner's. Whole outfits, down to the undies and shoes. That way, if, gawd forbid, a bag gets lost, you'll have some clothes. Unlikely that either will get lost, but even more unlikely that they both would.

And make sure to carry-on and keep with you anything you absolutely can't do without (and goes without saying, anything of value) - meds, mascara, whatever, just in case your checked bags take a side trip to somewhere else.

Trust me - my husband was flying to California on a flight that was continuing to Hawaii. Guess where his bags went...yup. And we had joked about it before he left. He got his bags the next day, but it's not so easy on a cruise ship. We also had a serious delay for out flight to Barcelona that forced us to have a very tight connection in Paris. Our checked bags couldn't run as fast a we could, apparently, so they arrived a day later.:D

 

I'm sure this has been said before in this thread but I completely 110% agree. This time we will be doing this. The worry doesn't stop with the plane, but on the ship as well. One of our bags went to someone else's room somehow. My worry while they were searching was that someone else would go through it (I want to believe that everyone wouldn't but that's just not our world anymore). Luckily Carnival was VERY helpful and even said they would have stewards search each room if needed. Thankfully everything was normal when luggage was received the next morning, but definitely need to make sure for everyone in room to be able to have SOMETHING. Carry-Ons and checked luggage for us will be our most important thing when packing from here on out.

[KKB]

to take others advice with a larger grain of salt. The biggest regret I have is not packing enough clothes! I read time and time again not to over-pack, to pack and then remove half of what I packed, etc. These people who write that either cares little for their appearance or are happy bumming it about the ship. I only took two cocktail dresses, HUGE mistake. I had one formal dress for formal night, and one for - I thought - would be the only dinner dress I needed for our reservations at Chops. WRONG. We signed up for MTD, but ended up at My Fair Lady each night because we liked the sit-down, being served dinner and did the buffet for breakfast and lunch. That meant I didn't have enough dinner dresses in my wardrobe. Luckily I had a skirt outfit that was dinner approrpriate and got away with wearing that one night. But I still had to repeat the less formal dress the last night aboard. Next time I'll know to take a dinner dress for each night of the cruise. :mad:

 

I only bring dresses for formal nights--and only cocktail dresses. I typically wear dressy slacks for dinner. One black pair can get me through the rest of the week with several different tops. I care greatly for my appearance, and do not "bum" around the ship. I just find that I only wear clothing for a few hours at a time, so they can be worn more than one day. (particularly dark pants & shorts)

 

Regarding jeans--we have only seen someone in jeans in dining rooms once in 10 cruises(DCL, Princess, RCL & Celebrity). Just seems hot in the Caribbean to me, so I don't pack them. (I am not a fan of jeans in the dining room, but I do have a couple of pair of dressy trouser jeans that with heels & a camisole could look as nice as some other outfits I have seen). That being said--what someone else wears does not affect my vacation.:D (well, for the most part--a few outfits we have seen have certainly added humor to our conversation!)

 

I do recommend a small supply of basic first aid/meds. We had to buy cough syrup for a child on DCL--like $15 for 4 oz. on board. Ouch. That being said, if I didn't have room, I would roll the dice & only pack what we need! (did a 5 day last year with just a carry on & back pack--we were fine! Didn't need formal wear so that helped)

Edited March 4, 2015 by KKB

[Brandywine_101]

I only bring dresses for formal nights--and only cocktail dresses. I typically wear dressy slacks for dinner. One black pair can get me through the rest of the week with several different tops. I care greatly for my appearance, and do not "bum" around the ship. I just find that I only wear clothing for a few hours at a time, so they can be worn more than one day. (particularly dark pants & shorts)

 

Regarding jeans--we have only seen someone in jeans in dining rooms once in 10 cruises(DCL, Princess, RCL & Celebrity). Just seems hot in the Caribbean to me, so I don't pack them. (I am not a fan of jeans in the dining room, but I do have a couple of pair of dressy trouser jeans that with heels & a camisole could look as nice as some other outfits I have seen). That being said--what someone else wears does not affect my vacation.:D (well, for the most part--a few outfits we have seen have certainly added humor to our conversation!)

 

I do recommend a small supply of basic first aid/meds. We had to buy cough syrup for a child on DCL--like $15 for 4 oz. on board. Ouch. That being said, if I didn't have room, I would roll the dice & only pack what we need! (did a 5 day last year with just a carry on & back pack--we were fine! Didn't need formal wear so that helped)

Thanks for your input. I didn't personally make the reference about the jeans, but yeah, it's too hot for jeans there and again, anything other than a cocktail dress - for me, makes me feel under dressed. I'm not a jeans, slacks woman. A cute pencil skirt, a top and pumps works for me. Just a matter of preference, and I don't like repeating my outfits.

[KSprite01]

I've only been on two, but I definitely remember someone wearing jeans on formal night on Princess. There may have been more than that one (and I remember nothing of attire from the first cruise), it's just that that one stuck out at me.

 

If you have a balcony, it can sometimes get cold out there with the wind, so prepare with something to keep you warm, whether that's jeans or slacks. I wrapped myself up in my shawl but it wasn't quite enough to be fully comfortable. From now on, I'll be taking a pair a jeans with me. It'll also be nice for the plane.

 

Re the grain of salt - of course. Only you know if wearing an outfit twice will be greatly distressing to you. To me, not lugging around a super heavy bag, possibly paying overweight fees, and not having to jam in any port purchases is far preferable to wearing an outfit twice so I try to pack lightly - and actually plan to wear a few outfits twice. (Particularly considering it'd just be worn for an evening and not for an entire day.)

[teecee46]

I bring what I like to wear, casual day clothes, I'm just not into dresses so smart trousers and tops for dinner just as I would if I were going out for a meal at home. I don't "bum around the ship". The whole point of cruising is to enjoy it! If you feel the need to bring 7 cocktail dresses with you that's fine, but if you don't that's fine too. Each to their own when it comes to packing clothes. Nobody gives a second look at what you wear, unless you turned up for dinner in a bikini!

[perditax]

to take others advice with a larger grain of salt. The biggest regret I have is not packing enough clothes! I read time and time again not to over-pack, to pack and then remove half of what I packed, etc. These people who write that either cares little for their appearance or are happy bumming it about the ship. I only took two cocktail dresses, HUGE mistake. I had one formal dress for formal night, and one for - I thought - would be the only dinner dress I needed for our reservations at Chops. WRONG. We signed up for MTD, but ended up at My Fair Lady each night because we liked the sit-down, being served dinner and did the buffet for breakfast and lunch. That meant I didn't have enough dinner dresses in my wardrobe. Luckily I had a skirt outfit that was dinner approrpriate and got away with wearing that one night. But I still had to repeat the less formal dress the last night aboard. Next time I'll know to take a dinner dress for each night of the cruise. :mad:

 

I've been working my way through the whole thread over the course of a few days, and I'd been intending to post something along these lines when I finished: make sure you're thinking about the advice in the context of your own needs and behaviors.

 

Example: Much of the first half of the thread is filled with 'pack half the clothes you think you need', or even 'and then pack half of THAT'. I know from experience that my significant other and I both hate re-wearing 'dirty' clothes, and we like to change a couple of times a day, especially in sticky weather. Yes, it's a tic. Yes, it's something that more extensive future travel may cure us of. But for now, I know that on our first cruise we will be packing more clothes than this thread would like us to, and we will probably end up doing laundry to boot. On the other hand, we won't be hauling booze or bottled water or personal diving gear (and I will be taking the 'very few shoes' advice to heart), so it'll probably be a wash.

[chuchua]

Hi Everyone,

Have a wonderful day.

[KoOlinaCruiser88]

Wow, Brandywine, Thank you for your post on taking enough clothes. We have 3 formal nights on our upcoming cruise. I was beginning to feel like I bought too many dresses (after reading all the other posts recommending we leave half of what we pack).

I, too, don't love wearing the same thing twice. I'm going to stick with what I originally planned to take! ;)

(I should probably try to find a way to eliminate some shoes, though LOL)!

[BLU RAIN02]

Do not pack wrinkle clothes. Iron and fold them neatly. I didn't know no ironing on RCL (only laundry service) my 1st cruise was on CCL and there was ironing rooms to use just in case. You can also bring Wrinkle Releaser to use on clothes while unpacking to get out creases.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Brandywine_101]

Wow, Brandywine, Thank you for your post on taking enough clothes. We have 3 formal nights on our upcoming cruise. I was beginning to feel like I bought too many dresses (after reading all the other posts recommending we leave half of what we pack).

I, too, don't love wearing the same thing twice. I'm going to stick with what I originally planned to take! ;)

(I should probably try to find a way to eliminate some shoes, though LOL)!

You're so welcome. As for the shoes... well, I'm a shoe gal! No such thing as too many. But for the purposes of the cruise, okay, there may be room to double up on those. Pick shoes that can go with more than one of your outfits. But you definitely want a comfortable pair for casual or walking about. Flip flops were a bit too flat for me, I had a pair of wedge sandles with soft insoles that was good (and cute, lol). Enjoy!

[Brandywine_101]

I've been working my way through the whole thread over the course of a few days, and I'd been intending to post something along these lines when I finished: make sure you're thinking about the advice in the context of your own needs and behaviors.

 

Example: Much of the first half of the thread is filled with 'pack half the clothes you think you need', or even 'and then pack half of THAT'. I know from experience that my significant other and I both hate re-wearing 'dirty' clothes, and we like to change a couple of times a day, especially in sticky weather. Yes, it's a tic. Yes, it's something that more extensive future travel may cure us of. But for now, I know that on our first cruise we will be packing more clothes than this thread would like us to, and we will probably end up doing laundry to boot. On the other hand, we won't be hauling booze or bottled water or personal diving gear (and I will be taking the 'very few shoes' advice to heart), so it'll probably be a wash.

Exactly right. My post wasn't meant as an insult to anyone else. And when I said "bumming around" I didn't meant like "stinky bums" I meant casual. I just don't understand - well I don't understand a couple of things on this blog. The first is why people get so touchy and personally "offended" by the things strangers post? The second is... how so many people have given the same advice not to over-pack? I'm wondering what they wear for 5 - 7 days? But like you said, perhaps they're lugging a lot of other things. Last year I purchased a very nice (expensive) four-piece set as my DH and I will be doing more traveling in the months to come. It has a carry-on, and three suitcases of varying sizes. I had the over-the-shoulder carry-on and a medium sized suitcase. My husband (who indeed OVER PACKED) carried the smallest and largest suitcases. We didn't have bottled water, equipment or any other things. Just bags so I could've afforded to pack a little extra. My husband stayed in shorts and Ts (except for some dress nights and port days) and only wore half of what he brought. I wore everything I brought and again, had to repeate a couple of times. I guess the bottom line is to each his/her own.

[suzyques]

took me awhile but I read ALL 97 pages! My first cruise is 41 days on the Carnival Pride. With pages of notes to go through, I should be able to pack what I need (and a little what I don't need in case I need it) LOL

 

but thanks everyone, lots of good advice given here!

[tumblew467]

Sorry I did not read all 97 pages so if this was posted already disregard it. Packing is always an issue. Trying to get everything under the sun in the suitcase. I found this wonderful video online how to pack 16 garments in a 22 inch carry on. I used it several times for my large suitcase and nothing comes out wrinkled.

Here's the link

If the link does not work google bundling method for packing a suitcase. The one above is from packing light dot com.

[Efflorescence]

Sorry I did not read all 97 pages so if this was posted already disregard it. Packing is always an issue. Trying to get everything under the sun in the suitcase. I found this wonderful video online how to pack 16 garments in a 22 inch carry on. I used it several times for my large suitcase and nothing comes out wrinkled.

Here's the link

If the link does not work google bundling method for packing a suitcase. The one above is from packing light dot com.

 

Love the video! I'd never have thought of packing that way. We're headed on a 7-night in May, and our ship doesn't have guest laundry, so this will be a huge help. Thanks for the tip!

 

I've spent my lunch breaks the past week or so going through this thread on my phone, and tonight I finally made it to the end. So many amazing tips, and I can't wait to put some of them to use on my first cruise!

[tropicgirl52]

One of the suggestions early on in these posts is to " Research your ports ahead of time, and reserve private excursions. Never take a ship's excursion -- the financial savings are nice, but the real perk is the smaller groups."

 

I believe the Insurance of booking thru the cruise line far out weighs the benefits, if you book on your own and you are late back to the ship for any reason they will and have sailed without there guests, If you book thru the cruise line they have and do wait for there guest no matter the reason, so my suggestion to you is do you want to worry about the ship leaving without you?

 

I have a question about excursions... If you find an excursion that you can book independently (less$)that is also offered through the ship at the same time wouldn't you still have the same over crowding that seem to be an issue for some? Also iif you are on the same excursion (booked independently)as cruisers who booked through ship wouldn't the ship wait for all of you? Hope this makes sense

[julie3fan]

I have a question about excursions... If you find an excursion that you can book independently (less$)that is also offered through the ship at the same time wouldn't you still have the same over crowding that seem to be an issue for some? Also iif you are on the same excursion (booked independently)as cruisers who booked through ship wouldn't the ship wait for all of you? Hope this makes sense

 

Good point about the crowds, but your tour guide might be able to hurry things up a little and get you where you're going quicker, ahead of the crowds. This works well on trips that have multiple, short sightseeing stops rather than a one destination trip. Or your guide can take you to your destinations in a different order to avoid the crowds.

 

As far as the ship waiting, it sounds good on paper, but there are times it can't wait, no matter what. Sometimes tides or weather dictate that the ship has to leave, or if another ship needs that spot at the pier.

[tropicgirl52]

I usually just say, "bring me two". They will bring one appetizer and when I'm done they bring the other one.

 

Was wondering how things work in the specialty restaurants. Are you able to order as much as you want, like in the MDR, without being charged anything more than the initial price to get in?

[KBD1516]

It has been my experience that I could only order one entree, but anything else I could have multiples. Like 2 appetizers or 3 desserts (hehe)