Things people do that make it obvious they are cruise virgins

[Laurie S.]

I agree, I take about six pairs of shoes/sandals. One pair is for when I'm diving, with an extra pair of water shoes in case my old favorite sandals give out on me. I take a pair of high heels for the first formal night, a pair of low heel gold shoes for other nights, and two pairs of casual sandals for the rest of the time. I wear my sneakers when embarking and disembarking. This is my vacation and fun time, why should I limit my packing?

[michelle131964]

This, like the purse/lanyard issue and several others mentioned in this thread, is not a newbie vs. experienced cruiser thing - it's just a matter of personal choice.

 

I am an experienced cruiser and I will not cruise with less than 5 pairs of shoes. I usually take about a dozen pairs. That's what I choose to do. I like shoes:D and I like having choices.:) Also, I usually cruise out of drive-to ports so extra luggage is not a big deal. "Overpacking" in the shoe (or any other) department does not make one a cruise newbie. It just makes one an "overpacker". And some overpackers are perfectly happy being so.;) To each her own.

 

I am an over packer also..half the stuff I don't wear but it's there if I need it..Been on many cruises and my packing habits have never changed and I'm totally happy being so!!!!

[mr green]

[quote=ShakyBeef;40718875 - it's just a matter of personal choice.

 

I am an experienced cruiser and I will not cruise with less than 5 pairs of shoes. I usually take about a dozen pairs. That's what I choose to do. I like shoes:D and I like having choices.:)

 

A lady that I met up one time from our area, travelled with four pairs of those rubber 'flipflops' that were popular a few years ago.

The only thing was she always had a different colour on each foot, except for formal nights when she would break down and don her black pair.:)

 

john

[shrimp56]

A lady that I met up one time from our area, travelled with four pairs of those rubber 'flipflops' that were popular a few years ago.

The only thing was she always had a different colour on each foot, except for formal nights when she would break down and don her black pair.:)

 

john

 

Love it!

[relic2]

A lady that I met up one time from our area, travelled with four pairs of those rubber 'flipflops' that were popular a few years ago.

The only thing was she always had a different colour on each foot, except for formal nights when she would break down and don her black pair.:)

 

john

 

She would fit right in these days. My dd and DGD wear two different socks all the time. I think it is "fashion". I keep telling myself I'm not going to pack so much...until I start packing.

[SXMFreedom]

lol...we do that for convenience....:cool: doesn't automatically flag you as a newbie.

might have something to do with the fact that we're used to it because our job id's are on a lanyard too...

and I don't usually have pockets in what I'm wearing. :D

 

I'm reliant on a fannypack, rather than my pockets, so actually a lanyard sounds good. I am a cruise virgin (3/14). But a lanyard sounds better than stuffing my fanny pack like a turkey (or like a person on Thanksgiving).

[shootr]

I prefer to call mine an expedition pack :-)

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

[4x4bob]

The Howl that Dad lets out when he gets his bill on the last day and finds out that his three kids have run his bill up $175.00 by drinking sodas out of the refrigerator in the room after he purchased them a soda card.:eek:

 

Bob

[griffy116]

We use the lanyards and we are headed for our 16th? 17th? cruise.I just purchased a lanyard from the Coach shop for this cruise. We still take photos of our waiters and wave the napkins even though we wish they didn't do this. We figure if the waiters can do it week after week, we can show them some respect by being "enthusiastic." It's a few minutes..no biggie. We pack less now than on our first few cruises. Our last two cruises have been started in Europe so the streamlining of our packing over the years proved to be extremely helpful and we found that we didn't miss having the extra baggage to lug around. We don't really worry about whether we look like a newbie and we love seeing folks enjoying themselves for the first time on a cruise. It makes us all remember our first cruise. When we stop enjoying the cruises, we will find another type of vacation. Just enjoy yourself. It doesn't matter if you're labeled a newbie or not.

[relic2]

Griffey, great answer. I, too, use a lanyard. I have even (gasp!) used a fanny pack on shore excursions. Convenient and leaves hands free. I have one that will hold my camera safely away from potential danger, but easily accessible. Yes, I AM a tourist. ;)

Edited April 4, 2014 by relic2

[Cruising is Paradise]

Crap. What am I supposed to do with it then?

 

 

Yes, I am awaiting my first cruise in 2 months. :D

 

im going on my second cruise soon and im a bit absent minded sometimes ....i was wondering the same thing. :eek:

[train460]

At work and read thru all 14 pages. really enjoyed.

I am a ulta newbie, second cruise in august and did alot of the mentioned things on "my" first cruise last year but what the hell. i really dont care what others think. I will do whatever is fun for me and don't give a rats a** what others think. I WILL continue to use a lanyard for my pass but i am always wearing a shirt so just keep it tucked under it. Take TONS of pics but i do that anyways. take 100 to get 1 great one.

 

If women think they look stupid "wearing" a lanyard then why not bring a nice necklace or 2 and attach their pass to that and have tucked under their tops?

just my 02 tho.

Michael

[framboesa]

Walking around the ship with a purse.

 

10 cruises and keep wearing a little purse...where else can I put my camera, cruisecompass, lip-gloss and my key/card? :D I usually don't have pockets! :D

[framboesa]

Every ship I have been on lately hunts people down who don't make the drill--and check us off when we get to our muster station. How do you manage that? Actually, I don't need to know as I will always go to the muster drill anyway, boring as they get to be.

 

It used to be a lot easier to skip muster drills.

 

One of the reasons for the Cruise tragedy 2 years ago was the fact that the most part of the people had no idea where was their place in case of emergency, because there was no muster drill exercise :( I always attend to the muster drill I prefer to lose 20 minute than to lose my life trying to find the way to my muster station and difficult the crew work in case of emergency.;)

[Nebr.cruiser]

One of the reasons for the Cruise tragedy 2 years ago was the fact that the most part of the people had no idea where was their place in case of emergency, because there was no muster drill exercise :( I always attend to the muster drill I prefer to lose 20 minute than to lose my life trying to find the way to my muster station and difficult the crew work in case of emergency.;)

 

I agree completely. It's not like it's that hard to go to the muster drill--just a few minutes and it's done.

[ttowers]

I agree with those who posted and said its fun to watch Newbies go Wow at the ship. I am happy for first time cruisers as I always remember my first cruise and that sense of wonder and awe at seeing the atrium. I kept thinking how huge the ship was and felt like I was in a fancy hotel instead of a ship. I say let them have all their experiences whether good or not. It is their first cruise after all. Don't deprive them.

 

The biggest thrill is the ding of your card on the first entry to the ship and you know your on holiday ! It's the best sound in the world !!!

[UlvaZell]

I plan on making a door decoration warning my fellow passengers that we are cruise novices (thought virgin might be a problem for some travelers) and might be caught ...

Taking too many pictures

Hoarding towel animals

having too much luggage etc.

Please help me add to the list things that scream first cruise! Please keep it clean.

 

Packing entirely too much junk. I mean really, some of the packing lists I have seen are insane. I have traveled two weeks at a time out of a carry-on...

[train460]

the wife and i both ride our motorcycles ALOT so we can pack lite when we need to.

I think it would be cool to put something on the door to be able to tell it is ours just haven't come up with anything yet.

michael

[legaljen1969]

I would say that a lot of the things that people classify as "cruise virgin" giveaways are sort part of the "first trip" experience to anywhere.

 

It surprises me how many people make fun of people for taking a lot of pictures. This may be that person's "only" cruise-especially to a particular destination. Please take along plenty of memory cards and be sure to have an extra power source or batteries for your camera. I always take more than one camera on vacation, in case my power is low or something doesn't work on my camera. I went on a cruise several years ago, took only one camera and forgot my charger. I bought a generic replacement charger that was supposed to be compatible with my batteries. Of course I opened it that night and put my battery in to charge. It never charged and I missed having my nice camera for the rest of the cruise. I had to buy a cheapie camera and the pictures left a lot to be desired. Thankfully I did buy extra memory cards too so I had more pictures to choose from since I could take more pics.

 

Take all of the pictures you want to take. You might not ever get back there again. And if you take family vacations like we do, it is fun to watch children grow up in the photos.

 

I am not a cruise virgin any more but I do wear my card on a lanyard. Much easier to keep up with to me.

 

Just because some people have been on hundreds of cruises and have been to the same ports over and over again does not mean all of us have that opportunity and can say "well, next year when I take my fifteenth cruise around the world, I can take a picture of that cute.... that I missed this time."

 

Everyone on here had that first cruise experience at least once. I have "first cruise" every time I get on a new ship.

[srlafleur]

I've been on over 15 cruises and still do a whole lot of the so-called cruise virgin things. Lanyard? Sometimes, for convenience-sake. Gawking at everything? Check. Taking too many pictures? Twirling the napkin? Turning to go forward instead of aft on the way to my room? Check, check, and check (at least for the first couple of days)

I have gotten much better at not over-packing, though. And I don't eat everything in sight, get sunburned, or buy art. But if the timing is right, I may attend the auction, get the champagne and wonder at the people spending money of the "art", most of which hasn't changed in nearly 30 years, over several different cruise lines! I guess the "limited edition" prints aren't all that limited!

[griffy116]

Heading out on our 16th cruise in June. My Grandson is Diamond status on his own. We still do many of the things that were listed as "newbie" mistakes. We use the lanyard...and we didn't use them when we actually were "newbies." We take LOADS of photos on every cruise, even if we've previously been on the ship and/or been to the port. My Grandson's first cruise was when he was three and he's now 20. We have pictures of him with "floaties" on his arms in the pool (now on the FlowRider), pictures of him sleeping in a stroller (and now he's 6' tall), pictures of him trying escargot for the first time, waving the napkin when the waiters entertain during dinner. There are wonderful photos of my Dad stretched on a lounger on their balcony, sitting and talking with a Pearl Harbor survivor, and photos of my parents celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on a family cruise with 27 relatives on board. My Dad passed away a few years ago. We've taken many photos of places, people and things we've seen, from the string rays in the Cayman Islands, to an old church in Hawaii, to a fish market in Greece and the ruins in Italy and in Turkey. Many of these are now black and white prints, matted and on the walls in our home. All of our photos represent a moment we won't ever recapture, even if we visit the same place again, so if we look like newbies when we are taking all these photos, we don't mind--at all.

[TexasR&H]

I'm not a newbie, but I always struggled with where to put the sea pass. Women's clothes don't always have pockets and I hate to put the card in my bra constantly. We can't win!

 

Decided this time to use my cute Coach lanyard I use for my work ID badge. If I'm branded a newbie, at least I'll be a stylish one!

 

As for the overpacking - I travel so much for business that I do anything I can to NOT check luggage. Thus, minimal packing, carry on only, laundry during the cruise, and only a couple pairs of sandals and some tennis shoes (worn on the ship so that no space is taken up in the bag).

 

DH is polar opposite - always packs lots of shoes and clothes, eschews laundry on the cruise, and brings a checked bag. To each their own! :)

[runner2013]

Not sure if this has been said yet, but getting completely drunk the first night on the ship.. Have to learn to pace yourself. :eek:

[runner2013]

Mine will have sparkles LOL

Love this idea..

I love my lanyard, don't care how many people think i'm a dork. It doubles as something to wave in the air if there's something fun going on:D

[Ready2Rock]

10 cruises and keep wearing a little purse...where else can I put my camera, cruisecompass, lip-gloss and my key/card? :D I usually don't have pockets! :D

 

 

Glad I'm not the only one! I need my mini purse!