How will I remember it all

[diverjen]

So in two weeks I will be going on my first cruise. We will be on the Ruby Princess and I can't wait. My question is, how does everyone remember what they want to see and or do on a new (to them) ship. I am not talking about reading the Patter to see what activites are going on the next day, I mean about different bars to visit, the international cafe, buffet, etc. When I board the ship will they give me a guide and a map? Should I be taking down notes to bring with me? Maybe this is a dumb question... I just don't want to miss anything because in my excitement of my first cruise I forgot it was even there.

[Times Prince]

So in two weeks I will be going on my first cruise. We will be on the Ruby Princess and I can't wait. My question is, how does everyone remember what they want to see and or do on a new (to them) ship. I am not talking about reading the Patter to see what activites are going on the next day, I mean about different bars to visit, the international cafe, buffet, etc. When I board the ship will they give me a guide and a map? Should I be taking down notes to bring with me? Maybe this is a dumb question... I just don't want to miss anything because in my excitement of my first cruise I forgot it was even there.

As you check in you will be given a map of the ship.

 

If you are interested in seeing everything, make sure to take the ship tour on embarkation day. They usually make a little treasure hunt out of it, where one has to get a stamp from each area. This is the only time many of us will see the teen and youth areas, craft area, spa facilities, or conference center.

 

You might also want to look at the ship's deck plans online beforehand, and identify those areas you wish to see. For instance there is a cigar smoking area which one might want to see before it becomes.. well, ... a cigar smoking area.

[Amuse Bouche]

So in two weeks I will be going on my first cruise. We will be on the Ruby Princess and I can't wait. My question is, how does everyone remember what they want to see and or do on a new (to them) ship. I am not talking about reading the Patter to see what activites are going on the next day, I mean about different bars to visit, the international cafe, buffet, etc. When I board the ship will they give me a guide and a map? Should I be taking down notes to bring with me? Maybe this is a dumb question... I just don't want to miss anything because in my excitement of my first cruise I forgot it was even there.

 

Yes! Take notes! But don't panic, you will be fine, but notes will help you get familiar quicker.

My first cruise was my honeymoon to Alaska. We knew where the buffet was and the main dining room. It took a while to find other things because we just stumbled into them and then couldn't remember where they were.

Once we got used to finding the casino halfway through the week, we asked about where the fun and music was and our bartender literally walked us down to the disco, which was on a lower deck we'd never been to. So, we got 2 out of 6 days with that. Of course, this was a long time ago, and I wasn't on Cruise Critic at the time.

Today, I still take notes off of here. Food items, special food to seek out, specialty drinks that are highly recommended, good public places to relax, where to find good coffee...etc.

[dmwnc1959]

Now is the time to review the deck plans, not when you get on the ship. Knowing as much as you can before embarkation is key to spending less time 'lost' on the ship.

 

Take some time to go over pictures of the ship as well. Linked below is a photo review I did of my cruise on her two months ago. Each picture has a detailed description of what you are looking at. As you are viewing the slideshow take notes, then go back again and look at the online deck plan.

 

It's always fun to explore a ship, but not when you're lost and spend the whole week trying to figure out which way is the front of the ship, and which way is the back of the ship! ;)

 

Picture review of Ruby Princess

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1752955

 

Ruby Princess deck plans (view Full Screen for best detail)

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/ru/deck_plans/index.html

 

Ship features

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/ru/amenities_publicrooms/index.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!! :D

 

.

[cr8tiv1]

If you have an Apple product (iPad, iPod, iPhone, etc) there is an APP for ShipMate. I have the one for Princess ships, and I think they came out with one for all. Minimal cost for the APP, but it will give you a deck map and all kinds of other good stuff. Or you could carry around the fold up map they give you.

 

I don't remember which is which, but the carpet waves and colors are different for port and starboard. Learn to read the rugs quickly and you will not get lost.

 

Then half the fun of a new ship IS getting lost. You will have so much fun.

 

Renee

[PunkiC]

I remember on our first cruise we walked every public deck, end to end, and looked at everything. Now we are so familiar with the Princess ships that they feel like home, but when we board a new ship from a different cruise line, we still do the end to end walk on every public deck. I suppose you could also walk the decks with cabins, but that would be pretty boring. :p I won't even do that when it would be faster to get from one place to another. I always go up or down to a public deck, walk to the other end of the ship, and then go up or down to where I want to be. It is so much more fun to watch the people and activities than walk by door after door after door after door.

 

Be sure to go outside and walk around all of the outside areas and scope out the best vantage points.

 

The only thing you really need to remember is to get to the ship before it sails. Everything else will work itself out. Have fun! :)

 

A word of caution: Make sure you have comfortable shoes when you go walking. You don't want to destroy your feet the first day. We always take along some "Second Skin" and paint it on our feet if we start to get a sore spot. With all of the walking and dancing our poor feet take a beating.

[caribill]

Two things:

 

1. As suggested by others, study the deck plans of the ship. Best plans are in the Princess brochures and online at Princess.com. Yes, they do give you a deck plan at checkin, but it is not as detailed as what you can fuind before the cruise.

 

2. One thing confuses many passengers, but you do not need to be among the confused. Several of the aft venues can only be reached by the aft elevators or stairways. For example, the traditional dining room deck 6 aft and Skywalkers nightclub. Deck 7 goes all the way from forward to aft, so if you need to go aft while on deck 5 or 6 center or forward, first go to deck 7 and walk to the rear of the ship.

[dmwnc1959]

Two things:

 

1. As suggested by others, study the deck plans of the ship. Best plans are in the Princess brochures and online at Princess.com. Yes, they do give you a deck plan at checkin, but it is not as detailed as what you can fuind before the cruise.

 

2. One thing confuses many passengers, but you do not need to be among the confused. Several of the aft venues can only be reached by the aft elevators or stairways. For example, the traditional dining room deck 6 aft and Skywalkers nightclub. Deck 7 goes all the way from forward to aft, so if you need to go aft while on deck 5 or 6 center or forward, first go to deck 7 and walk to the rear of the ship.

 

Excellent points! And there is only ONE elevator (of the four in the aft elevator lobby of the ship) that will take you to Deck 19, and what I thought was the best sail away point on the ship. I wouldn't have known about it ahead of time if it weren't for Cruise Critic. :D

[jimandtoni]

So in two weeks I will be going on my first cruise. We will be on the Ruby Princess and I can't wait. My question is, how does everyone remember what they want to see and or do on a new (to them) ship. I am not talking about reading the Patter to see what activites are going on the next day, I mean about different bars to visit, the international cafe, buffet, etc. When I board the ship will they give me a guide and a map? Should I be taking down notes to bring with me? Maybe this is a dumb question... I just don't want to miss anything because in my excitement of my first cruise I forgot it was even there.

Half the fun on the first cruise is being overwhelmed! Don't worry about. You will have a great time and no matter how hard you "study" for your vacation, you will still not get to do all the things you would have liked to have done. Don't sweat it.And for God's Sake don't stress out about it! Just enjoy! By the way...we are on the Ruby Feb.17. Here's a link to my photos from the Ruby's sister ship, the Crown Princess. It may give you a better idea of what you will see!

http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/1266336-crown-princess

[Shogun]

Hi |There

 

Part of the fun is turning a corner and finding some thing new, unexpected,

 

do a little planing but not to much,

 

on my first cruise we never did find the mini golf,

 

and if you do miss some thing do not worry just book another cruise,

 

yours Shogun

[Bogof1]

Hi First cruise lucky you. all advice you've previously been given is spot on. My only other bit is try to take your time when you actually board the ship. I was so overwhelmed on my first cruise by the sheer grandeur of the place.....it brought tears to my eyes....I forgot to look at things as I was marshalled to my cabin!!!!! I know they like you to be quick so as to get everyone on the boat but it you can just take a moment to look and marvel. My second cruise coming up later in year and I will be doing just that.

[blazerjan]

Yes.... notes notes notes..... I have a small notebook by my computer. When someone mentions a food they just love, I write it down under "foods to try". Same with things I would like to try while on the ship, (Muts, IC... ) I have notes for different ports I will be going to also. These are just reminders... no big deal if I don't see or do any or all of them... but it helps this old brain remember.... :confused:

[flamomo]

Or you could carry around the fold up map they give you.

 

I don't remember which is which, but the carpet waves and colors are different for port and starboard. Learn to read the rugs quickly and you will not get lost.

 

Renee

 

The little fold out map you are given at check-in is about the size of a credit card, so will fit easily in a pocket!!

 

Re: the carpet border colors in the corridors where the cabins are .... On most Princess ships, on the port side wavy border is all blue, and an the starboard side, there is some red in the border.

For me the color difference makes it easy when I get off the elevator on my cabin's deck, as I can just look left or right at the carpet in the corridor and know which way to turn to get to my "home".

 

ps. In case you don't already know, the port side of the ship is on the left as you face the front of the ship. It's easy to remember that, IMO, because the words "port" and "left" both have only 4 letters!!

[PrincessNancy]

First off, I have to confess that I am the planner in the family. My philosophy on trip planning is that I plan the heck out of my vacation prior to the start of the vacation, and then let things play out as they may during the vacation. This makes my DH much happier and allows us to both relax and enjoy the cruise!

 

 

In the months prior to a cruise I will copy and paste tips, ideas, menus, port maps, great snorkeling locations, places to dine in port, etc that I find on CC into a Word document. I print it out (it has been 20+ pages) and read it through on our flight to the port--this builds my excitement and refreshes my memory. You can also put the document on your I-pad, Netbook, Kindle or whatever other device you are taking.

 

We rarely look at the document again once on board--but do review it occasionally for specific details. For example: noting which deck is the best one for viewing the glaciers in Alaska.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise! Don't worry about missing out on anything. It's easy to fix--you just need to book another cruise!

[Tak8]

Relax and enjoy. Probably, you can't or won't be able to do or see everything It can tire you out very quickly. Pick a few musts and let the rest happen. Hopefully, there will be more cruises in your future.

[StLouisCruisers]

The little fold out map you are given at check-in is about the size of a credit card, so will fit easily in a pocket!!

 

Re: the carpet border colors in the corridors where the cabins are .... On most Princess ships, on the port side wavy border is all blue, and an the starboard side, there is some red in the border.

For me the color difference makes it easy when I get off the elevator on my cabin's deck, as I can just look left or right at the carpet in the corridor and know which way to turn to get to my "home".

 

ps. In case you don't already know, the port side of the ship is on the left as you face the front of the ship. It's easy to remember that, IMO, because the words "port" and "left" both have only 4 letters!!

 

 

The carpet border is RED with a little blue wave on the PORT side and ALL BLUE on the STARBOARD side, just the opposite of what is stated above.

[poncho1965]

Our first was Emerald. I remember being excited, but a bit overwhelmed. Could never remember my way around, it was fun regardless and no stress at all because I knew I could not experience it all in one cruise. I'd walk to my cabin on the wrong side, wrong deck, you name it. Like others have said, now Princess feels like home. Enjoy your first cruise!

[rachelfran]

If you have an Apple product (iPad, iPod, iPhone, etc) there is an APP for ShipMate. I have the one for Princess ships, and I think they came out with one for all. Minimal cost for the APP, but it will give you a deck map and all kinds of other good stuff. Or you could carry around the fold up map they give you.

 

I don't remember which is which, but the carpet waves and colors are different for port and starboard. Learn to read the rugs quickly and you will not get lost.

 

Then half the fun of a new ship IS getting lost. You will have so much fun.

 

Renee

 

Can you clarify the name of the app? I don't see anything appropriate under shipMate.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dmwnc1959]

Can you clarify the name of the app? I don't see anything appropriate under shipMate.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

It's called Cruise Ship Mate and is $1.99 :D

[sminfiddle]

As suggested by others, study the deck plans of the ship. Best plans are in the Princess brochures and online at Princess.com. Yes, they do give you a deck plan at checkin, but it is not as detailed as what you can fuind before the cruise.

I have been giving myself little Pop Quizzes on where the dining and other important places are (what deck).

I was "checking my knowledge" against the deck plans on Cruise Critic and to my surprise, caught an error in the Crown Princess plans.

I knew that I knew where Sabatini's was!

:p I feel pretty prepared now.

[AKman2495]

Yes, study the deck plans every day, at least twice;)

 

But, I did that for months and when I boarded the ship I was a bit confused because there are walls and things on the decks that are not "visible" because they are not 3D.

 

That said, the more you know the layout before you board, the easier it will be to get around.

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

[Texas Realtor]

Lucky you. Explore and enjoy. No matter how you prepare, it will b fun exploring the ship. That is part of the fun.

[davekathy]

diverjen...It can be overwhelming. Don’t try to do it all in one day. A lot of great advice given on this thread. We found the perfect remedy. Longer Cruises or Back To Back Cruises. Have a great Cruise. Like most of us you’ll probably be hooked after your first Cruise.

[cr8tiv1]

It's called Cruise Ship Mate and is $1.99 :D

 

I knew they changed this APP (I am lucky to have "just" the Princess and the All Cruise Lines).

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cruise-ship-mate-carnival/id380449520?mt=8

 

It's too bad they lumped them all together. The "just" Princess one makes it easier to look up something. I love my APP. Makes cruising so simple.

 

Thanks to those who have confused me about the colors LOL . It really doesn't take much to confuse me. I will be on the Golden in a couple of days and will have to make note of the carpet colors. The important concept is that the hall carpets have different colors/designs.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Do as much or as little as you want.

 

Aloha, Renee

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks to those who have confused me about the colors . It really doesn't take much to confuse me. I will be on the Golden in a couple of days and will have to make note of the carpet colors. The important concept is that the hall carpets have different colors/designs.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Do as much or as little as you want.

 

Aloha, Renee

 

 

We have noticed that on some recent cruises some decks did not have the color/design difference on Port vs Starboard.

Thinking that when they replaced carpeting they either forgot or don't do this anymore. :(