What One Piece of Advice

[glrounds]

Don't let anything spoil your cruise, stay positive. People make mistakes sometimes and bad things happen, just go with the flow. Life is just too short to get stressed out about some incident or event. Have fun.:)

 

Be a traveler, not a tourist.

[chicasarita]

The following is simply my opinion which, when combined with a dollar will get me a senior cup of coffee at McDonalds.

 

The one consideration that can completely change a cruise is "ATTITUDE".

I believe in the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: "If you think it will go wrong, then it WILL go wrong; however, if you believe life is good, it WILL be.

 

How to make a good cruise a GREAT cruise:

--Don't gripe about long lines, pass the time by studying fellow cruisers.

--Don't just go to dinner, attend a DINNER PARTY.

--Don't just visit a port, begin an ADVENTURE.

--When the cruise line screws up, put it in perspective, then respond appropriately, not emotionally.

--Don't dwell on the steak that was tough, remember the dessert that excited you.

--When you order a drink, clink glasses (in toast) to your spouse or a fellow traveler.

--You have your own life memorized- stop and listen to what others have to say.

--If you find that you're not "clicking" with someone, consider that you still have 2,000 other people to meet. (and 800 crew)

--Small town people do this easily...say "HI" to everyone you meet in the hallway.

--Elevators are the best places to chat (next to martini bars).

--Never forget to say, "THANK YOU" to cruise employees for ANY service they provide.

--Respect fellow cruisers whether it's giving up a poolside chair or wearing what's appropriate to the MDR.

--When you see a person taking a picture of their spouse/friend, offer to take the picture of them together.

--Just before you leave your cabin, look at yourself in the mirror...and smile.(This one might surprise you)

--Take many things in life seriously, but don't include yourself.

_

 

I feel like I need to print this out and paste it on the bathroom mirror on the ship. What a wonderful list of advice.

[Anthomaniac]

#1 - The most important items to make sure you have with you before you leave home to go to the port-your cruise documents and PROPER ID! Even if you forgot/lost everything else, that will at least get you on the ship, and you can deal with the rest later (just make sure you don't pack them in your checked luggage-have them IN HAND):eek:

 

(My second piece of advice would be to take every review you read on here with a grain of salt:rolleyes:)

 

Some need to be taken with salt lick!!! :rolleyes::eek::D

[MochaZen]

The following is simply my opinion which, when combined with a dollar will get me a senior cup of coffee at McDonalds.

 

The one consideration that can completely change a cruise is "ATTITUDE".

I believe in the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: "If you think it will go wrong, then it WILL go wrong; however, if you believe life is good, it WILL be.

 

How to make a good cruise a GREAT cruise:

--Don't gripe about long lines, pass the time by studying fellow cruisers.

--Don't just go to dinner, attend a DINNER PARTY.

--Don't just visit a port, begin an ADVENTURE.

--When the cruise line screws up, put it in perspective, then respond appropriately, not emotionally.

--Don't dwell on the steak that was tough, remember the dessert that excited you.

--When you order a drink, clink glasses (in toast) to your spouse or a fellow traveler.

--You have your own life memorized- stop and listen to what others have to say.

--If you find that you're not "clicking" with someone, consider that you still have 2,000 other people to meet. (and 800 crew)

--Small town people do this easily...say "HI" to everyone you meet in the hallway.

--Elevators are the best places to chat (next to martini bars).

--Never forget to say, "THANK YOU" to cruise employees for ANY service they provide.

--Respect fellow cruisers whether it's giving up a poolside chair or wearing what's appropriate to the MDR.

--When you see a person taking a picture of their spouse/friend, offer to take the picture of them together.

--Just before you leave your cabin, look at yourself in the mirror...and smile.(This one might surprise you)

--Take many things in life seriously, but don't include yourself.

_

 

 

I think my favorite is "Just before you leave your cabin, look at yourself in the mirror...and smile". This really sets the tone for your day as you leave your cabin.

 

Thanks for the good advice, RotaryScotty! ;)

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Just one piece of advice?

 

Don't try and convince your spouse flying fish exist by having her look for them on the front "secret" deck. She will lose her sunglasses, miss the fish, get mad, and still not believe you.

 

 

still catching a little flak for that one. Like I knew a rogue breeze would swipe them off her skull like that. sheesh

[missdebi]

I always pack my swimsuit, cover up and flip flops in my carry-on so I can enjoy the pool when we embark~in case our luggage is late arriving! Also put in medications you need in the carry on for the same reason!

[MamaParrotHead]

Go into this knowing that it might not be your only cruise, so need to run around like a crazy person trying to get/see/do everything. Take your time, be choosy about what it is that you want to get/see/do THIS time, and you can cover the rest at a later date.

[maxshelby]

3. Get a good spot for sail away. That feeling of "leaving" land and "starting" your vacation is one of my favorite parts!

 

This is absolutely the best feeling! The start of a wonderful vacation ;)

[bougiet]

Re: the showers in the spa. Is the area private so you can shower with your spouse? How about the dressing area after the shower...sounds like a great idea, just don't know the 'details' :p Thanks!

 

Haha, thankfully no they are in seperate areas, womens and mens. :eek:

[Cobra1365]

The following is simply my opinion which, when combined with a dollar will get me a senior cup of coffee at McDonalds.

 

The one consideration that can completely change a cruise is "ATTITUDE".

I believe in the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: "If you think it will go wrong, then it WILL go wrong; however, if you believe life is good, it WILL be.

 

How to make a good cruise a GREAT cruise:

--Don't gripe about long lines, pass the time by studying fellow cruisers.

---My wife and I make a sort of game of this...we try to figure out what lie of work people are in..then if we meet them, we see how close we came...If we don't meet them no big deal...sometimes our guesses are quite funny!

--Don't just go to dinner, attend a DINNER PARTY.

--Don't just visit a port, begin an ADVENTURE.

--When the cruise line screws up, put it in perspective, then respond appropriately, not emotionally.

--Don't dwell on the steak that was tough, remember the dessert that excited you.

--When you order a drink, clink glasses (in toast) to your spouse or a fellow traveler.

--You have your own life memorized- stop and listen to what others have to say.

--- This is my new signature tag line!

--If you find that you're not "clicking" with someone, consider that you still have 2,000 other people to meet. (and 800 crew)

--Small town people do this easily...say "HI" to everyone you meet in the hallway.

---We're from Delaware. We don't have anything BUT small towns!:D "Hi!"

--Elevators are the best places to chat (next to martini bars).

---We never take the elevators. But, that just means an extra drink at the martini bar!;)

--Never forget to say, "THANK YOU" to cruise employees for ANY service they provide.

---SO agreee with this! We also try to engage our waiters/stewards in conversations of their home's. You can also find a lot of great things to do inexpensively in port by chatting up the crew!

--Respect fellow cruisers whether it's giving up a poolside chair or wearing what's appropriate to the MDR.

--When you see a person taking a picture of their spouse/friend, offer to take the picture of them together.

--- I try to always offer to do this...I like to have pictures of my wife AND I so I imagine other's would too.

--Just before you leave your cabin, look at yourself in the mirror...and smile.(This one might surprise you)

--- It might scare me!!!:D

--Take many things in life seriously, but don't include yourself.

---My experience with this was playing our wedding song in the piano bar in front of a bunch of strangers! Not only am I brand new to piano, but it's the first time I've ever tried to play in front of an audience! Turned out to be one of the more memorable experiences of the cruise!

_

 

I join others in saying this is an awesome list. I've included my spin/experience on some of them.

 

Thanks!

[Markmom18]

Haha, thankfully no they are in seperate areas, womens and mens. :eek:

 

:( will have to think of something else I guess...

[missdebi]

I usually scan my passport/birth certificate and other pertinent cruise documents and e-mail them to myself so just in case I can pull them up and get the info off of them.

[mooshell92374]

Don't try to do everything listed in the Capers/Fun Times.

 

This is so true, last two cruises I wore out DH patience with this as I always had us trying to do and see it all, and that is especially hard to do when you want to be at 3 things that are all at the same time. That being said we still had fun but he has made it quite clear that this time we are not doing and seeing it all.

[pauleydm]

I would tell a new cruiser to not pack too much...we did our first cruise, and we ended up not using a lot of things like our portable dvd player and travel sized board games.:)

[DanishDonut]

1. Make sure you get travelers' insurance. You never know when you might need it.

 

Agreed.

[gelo7]

Don't worry, be happy......

[Semrich]

Great words of advice. Too often I've seen people let the unexpected cause too much interruption to the party. I always try to go with the flow and just experience what comes my way :)

 

Come join me cruising friends!!

 

Carnival Victory in May

Norwegian Sky in Sep

Explorer of the Seas in Oct

Norwegian Gem in Nov

Freedom of the Seas in Jan

Carnival Miracle in Jan

Carnival Paradise in Feb

Celebrity Millennium in Mar

 

Yep it's true, I LOVE TO CRUISE!!!

[WinnipegCruiser]

What one piece of advice would you give someone new to cruising?

 

Sign up on CruiseCritic.com and read all you can.

[Cruzface]

Pack half the clothes, bring double the money.

[Mainiac II]

And speaking of packing. If you are a couple, split each suitcase to hold half of each other's things. This has helped us out on two occasions now, because the MIA bag will show, at the first port of call. This time that was three days in! :eek: