"I wish I knew before..."

[SnoopyJS]

THANK YOU - We are off on our first cruise since our honeymoon almost 41 years ago. So looking forward to it and more so having read through Cruise Critic threads such as this one.

 

I much appreciate the time taken by people to put their tips up for new cruisers to learn from.

[SnoopyJS]

I just found an item that I will never cruise without. QueasyBeads! They work the same way the SeaBands work but aren't ugly! On my last cruise I hated putting on the SeaBands with my formal attire. Those ugly sweatbands just made me feel less pretty in my fancy dresses. And, when you wear them everyone knows you're seasick. I like this option much better.

 

I came back to find your post Eris to say THANK YOU. I followed your link to Queasy Beads about a month ago and I'm now the proud owner of several very pretty sets ready for my up coming cruise :D

[SnoopyJS]

It only took two days (lol) but I've finally finished this thread.

 

I'm one of those obsessive planners too, however as everyone else has said, I am SOOO glad I found this thread prior to leaving.

 

You have cut my packing in half.

 

We're driving to port, and had planned to leave the morning of, but now we're driving down the night before.

 

I've made my own "can't be without it" list.

 

I am so flippin' excited I can hardly stand myself. I come home from work everyday telling my DH something new I learned and he just rolls his eyes. He's the "tell me the day before we leave and I'll just pack a bag" kind of guy! I think he's getting tired of my daily updates, lol.

 

Thank you guys so much for being willing to share all this great information!

 

My DH is the same. That's why this site is so great so I can obsess without driving him mad for 478 days!

 

Chuckle .... I also like to be 'prepared and organised' .... aka planned to a huge degree ;) .... but this time I can drive my husband as nuts as I like because our cruise is HIS choice of holiday with HIS choice of destination and HIS choice of travel :D :D :D

[Endlessquest]

5 tips I wish I knew before I cruised...

 

1. I would not of upgraded to a blacony cabin from ocean view ($300.00 upsell, only used balcony 3 times for coffee in morning. We really only used the cabin for sleeping, showering and changing.)

 

2. Not have gone out shopping for new cloths for the cruise. What I had already in my closet was adequet.

 

3. Only packed half of what I brought. Self service laundry available on several decks or leave it for your cabin steward, wash and fold was $15.00 per bag.

 

4. Enjoyed more time in the piano bar sing-a-longs and comedy club.

 

5. Not of purchased so many of the photos that were taken. They were all great, but 1 would of been sufficiant.

[LadyTenorJD]

Hi everyone! I've read EV-ER-Y page on this board and have pages of great tips on a word document now. I couldn't get all that help without joining the community to say THANK YOU! I'll be going on my first cruise in March on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas. It's a 3-day out of Port Canaveral and it will go to Nassau and the private island. I'll be going with my BF, who is also my best friend, so it should be a blast regardless ;) We are SO excited! It's the first cruise for both of us. Looking forward to learning more about cruises :D

 

This is the same ship and itinerary I took on my very first cruise two years ago...and now I'm hooked on cruising. I have cruises #4, 5, 6, and 7 planned between May and December of this year. I can't wait!!! You will love cruising. I promise! The food on RCCL is to die for! I love it! I also love food, which is both a good and a bad thing. Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Monarch of the Seas June 2011

Carnival Miracle December 2011

Carnival Ecstacy December 2012 (34th born day cruise!)

Majesty of the Seas planned for May 2013

Carnival Imagination planned for June 2013

Carnival Valor planned for July 2013

Carnival Dream planned for December 2013 (35th born day cruise!)

[LadyTenorJD]

Whoever said to bring power strip ad laptop are so right...I took 1300 pictures on my last cruise, and somehow, half got deleted. It was my born day cruise, and I love pictures, and it really made me sad that I lost so many...some were of folks that we met on the cruise, and now those pics are gone forever. I remember telling my BF that I will be bringing my laptop for the sole purpose of downloading my pics as a back up at various times during the next cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Monarch of the Seas June 2011

Carnival Miracle December 2011

Carnival Ecstacy December 2012 (34th born day cruise!)

Majesty of the Seas planned for May 2013

Carnival Imagination planned for June 2013

Carnival Valor planned for July 2013

Carnival Dream planned for December 2013 (35th born day cruise!)

[LadyTenorJD]

I am sentimental about pictures, so if I see anyone taking pictures, I offer to take for the I divi dual so s/he can have some of him/herself also. It was years before I realized I have pictures of family and friends and few of myself, because I'm always the one behind the camera!

 

While I've cruised, I was always pirate foul for the staff and other cruisers who have volunteered to take photos for me so I could be in them also. I have an expensive camera that will intimidate those who are not photo enthusiasts, so I always set my camera to auto so that those who volunteer to do me a favor can do so easily without feeling foolish,

 

Kindness goes a long way, even on vacation! For those of you who are not afraid of cameras, try it! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Monarch of the Seas June 2011

Carnival Miracle December 2011

Carnival Ecstacy December 2012 (34th born day cruise!)

Majesty of the Seas planned for May 2013

Carnival Imagination planned for June 2013

Carnival Valor planned for July 2013

Carnival Dream planned for December 2013 (35th born day cruise!)

[catsgirl]

I am sentimental about pictures, so if I see anyone taking pictures, I offer to take for the I divi dual so s/he can have some of him/herself also. It was years before I realized I have pictures of family and friends and few of myself, because I'm always the one behind the camera!

 

While I've cruised, I was always pirate foul for the staff and other cruisers who have volunteered to take photos for me so I could be in them also. I have an expensive camera that will intimidate those who are not photo enthusiasts, so I always set my camera to auto so that those who volunteer to do me a favor can do so easily without feeling foolish,

 

Kindness goes a long way, even on vacation! For those of you who are not afraid of cameras, try it! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Monarch of the Seas June 2011

Carnival Miracle December 2011

Carnival Ecstacy December 2012 (34th born day cruise!)

Majesty of the Seas planned for May 2013

Carnival Imagination planned for June 2013

Carnival Valor planned for July 2013

Carnival Dream planned for December 2013 (35th born day cruise!)

 

Thank you for that! My DH is a big camera bug. He doesn't like to hand over his camera to anyone, even me. So I take my point-and-shoot camera and make a point of taking pictures of him. Then I hand my camera to people like you and have you take a picture of the two of us. That way as you said, I know both of us were on the trip!

 

 

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[honeymooner9613]

I know you aren't really allowed to bring food or fruit on board from islands but can you bring sand? Do they like pat you down when you get back on the ship from a port?

[narrow56]

I know you aren't really allowed to bring food or fruit on board from islands but can you bring sand? Do they like pat you down when you get back on the ship from a port?

 

Bringing sand should be fine.

[serene56]

I know you aren't really allowed to bring food or fruit on board from islands but can you bring sand? Do they like pat you down when you get back on the ship from a port?

 

 

you will go through a scanner- they will not pat you down.

I put sand in a small empty pill bottle

[repeater]

you will go through a scanner- they will not pat you down.

I put sand in a small empty pill bottle

 

 

 

Don't take sand from Hawaii, although it's pretty and varied. Pele gets cranky!

[2BACRUISER]

Just finished reading every post. Thank you to everyone who had suggestions. Now to convince DH I'm not crazy for thinking I already feel like a seasoned cruiser before our first cruise!

Ditto, it taken me over four days to get thro all this and my copy & paste finger & mouse are worn out LOL:D

So many great ideas,i will be mostly taking my Yorkshire T-bags, curtain clips, highlighter etc etc.

One of my tips is regarding perfume, why carry loads of heavy bottles when you can get loads of different free samples in the beauty part of duty free before you fly, that way you can have a diff scent everyday and nothing to carry home except the one that you really like and just have to buy a huge bottle of on the way back in;) your treat from OH for planning such a great trip!

2BAC

[Wattle]

This has been a great thread. It's taken nearly 4 days to read them all. We are on our second cruise in May. Our first cruise was in Hawaii, very port intensive, so this will be different. So even though I have cruised before I am taking note of a lot of these suggestions.

It is very true about packing. Pack what you want, then cut it in half! Really. If you are travelling to meat the ship it is a must to arrive the day before. We travelled over 10 hours to meet the ship, and spent the first days on board recovering from the flight. If you want to explore your port, reshurch everything you can. I spent ages on these boards for our Hawaii trip. (Drove hubby mad) but I saved us a fortune in tours by doing our own thing. I am a rathe reorganised person, but I didn't want to miss anything, so I did a lot of work before we left home, and we had a great time.

One last thing, but I don't know how to avoide -my hubby had new jeans to wear on the plane. I had taken them up for him, but I had measured them while he was wearing boats, he was wearing different shoes and the plane, and the pants were too long and he was stepping on them. So while we waited for our friends to arrive to take us to the airport hubby was sitting in his undies while I was taking his jeans up. Our friends arrived and though the look was priceless!!!!

[MaisonRose]

HaHaHaHaHa! New jeans: priceless.

A follow up on my assertion that an over the door shoe holder was the best thing I took.

I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

I am a senior cruiser and had everything from pills holders to (3 kinds) of hairbrushes, little shampoo & creme rinse (like many women I have special preferences), cortisone cream, antibiotic cream, tooth stuff, etc., plus DH had shaving gel..etc. His toilet kit would not fit on any of the handy bathroom shelves. I found this door storage perfect for anything that fit (sunglasses, sunblock). I even stowed some jewelry in it. And I am very low maintainance.

What I probably won't take next time: the little things that the infirmary can provide, like cough medicine.

The other thing: I needed more summer clothes on that Nov. transatlantic from Barcelona to Lauderdale.

Another strange thing on that crossing:

I never saw one pair of jeans. Many many men wore tuxes to formal night- more than half. This for me was a major triumph personally, my blessed DH added four more wearings to his formal wear making it $100 per use since 1986! Ha ha.

[ozarkmama]

One last thing, but I don't know how to avoide -my hubby had new jeans to wear on the plane. I had taken them up for him, but I had measured them while he was wearing boats, he was wearing different shoes and the plane, and the pants were too long and he was stepping on them. So while we waited for our friends to arrive to take us to the airport hubby was sitting in his undies while I was taking his jeans up. Our friends arrived and though the look was priceless!!!!

 

and did you catch it with the camera? :D

[Reinette]

I haven't taken my cruise yet but I wish i had known that if you don't buy trip insurance within 14 days of booking your cruise that benefits are drastically reduced. Most important is pre-existing conditions;for the most part, they will not cover things that you have been treated for within the past six months. If you have a medical condition, make sure you buy this as soon as possible after booking.

 

Lots of other good advice here

[Suzieanna]

:o It took me until my fourth cruise until I realised you could go to the main restaurant for your breakfast and were not restricted to Windjammer and the like every morning!

 

I wish I knew that I am not much good at Poker and I wouldn't have found myself down all those hundreds of dollars within hours of setting foot onboard

 

 

I wish I had known how great cruising was - and I wish I had known about Cruise Critic when I was a real newbie. Still learning though! Keep those handy hints coming!

[CntW82Travel]

the drink they offer when you board the ship is not free!

 

 

 

thank you so much for sharing!

[LewesBeach]

My "Must Haves"?

1. Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets. They are detergent, fabric softener, & dryer sheet in one, and pack flat in a zip lock bag. And a roll of quarters for the washers/dryers.

2. power strip for electronic devices

3. Packable rain gear

[Ohana Travel]

Success!!! I finally made it through all the pages. I still have yet to take my first cruise, but a lot of the tips are something I would consider on a regular trip.

One thing I didn’t see mentioned was a “dry bag”. My bff gave me one for our trip to Spain and now I carry it with me on all trips. Yes, it is supposed to keep things “dry”, but it will also keep the rest of your things from getting wet (think airplane spills). Now it is always in my backpack, takes up no room, and I consider it insurance against needing it.

The cruise specific notes I’ve taken are:

*** $1 and $5 bills for tipping

*** The walls are METAL – magnets for decorating or lights

*** One credit card for onboard spending (or better yet, cash) and one for offship.

I also have a waterproof camera. Since I use it on my canoe, it has a float and I created a “leash” for it – a watercord with a carabineer clip that I usually attach to my surfshorts, but will clip to anything. For the cruise, I will take off the float, but I love the comfort of the leash. I am a believer in more memory cards. I consider them photo albums and if one fails or is lost, I won’t lose the whole trip.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to contribute to this thread. I really have enjoyed reading and being reminded of what works for me.

[aussietravel]

My "Must Haves"?

1. Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets. They are detergent, fabric softener, & dryer sheet in one, and pack flat in a zip lock bag. And a roll of quarters for the washers/dryers.

2. power strip for electronic devices

3. Packable rain gear

 

Do we have washer/dryer available on Celebrity?

[Ohana Travel]

Do we have washer/dryer available on Celebrity?

 

from everything i've read, no :(

[aussietravel]

from everything i've read, no :(

 

That's what I thought too. Thanks

[anandaindonesia]

That's what I thought too. Thanks

 

Just off the Solstice earlier this month.

No, they don't have DIY laundry facility on board.

 

You can wash a few items in the bathroom and hang it dry. Or send to their laundry for a fee.

 

Otherwise bring enough clothes for the cruise (you can wear the same item twice for different days, nobody will notice. It's such a big ship!)

 

Enjoy your cruise!