After boarding, the first day

[MauiLvrs]

....and always we like to pick up our life-vests and go and enjoy a drink before muster....

That's a really cool idea... We'll have to test it;)

[MsSoCalCruiser]

The FIRST thing to do once you board is relax. :)

 

You can take care of everything almost at the same time. Go down to the Passenger Services Desk and sign up for the Ultimate Ship's Tour. Then, head on to the dining room for lunch. You can order the soda sticker there.

 

After lunch, head on back to your cabin. Your luggage might be there and your steward will stop by shortly. (S)he will take all your requests. They come around with a clipboard and check off information they need to give you and where they write requests. Check your mattress before requesting a topper. My last four cruises (Star, Island, Crown and Diamond) have all had pillowtop mattresses.

 

I was on the Star last week in an inside cabin. I did not have a pillowtop mattress. I did call to request a topper before I left but they were already out of them. The mattress was very hard (like a box spring). BUT, I would rather have a hard mattress on a cruise ship than my soft mattress at home any day of the week :p

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[ceba]

The first thing I do is drop my bags, put on my flip flops, grab a drink and chill!!!

;) that's pretty much it for the rest of the cruise.

[easy_123]

Thanks everyone for all your responses.

 

Stan

[RNGALNG]

Everyone has given you excellent responses. One thing I didn't see in all of them is this:

 

You did say you wanted to get a drink card. When you go to your first meal - lunch- in the dining room or buffet, there will be waiters who will come around to ask what you want to drink. You can get the coffee card, the soft drink card or the ultimate drink card there. No need to rush and find a place. The waiters will ask for the first day or so and then they won't ask again. But, you can still get any one of them during the cruise if you want one.

 

There will be many people running around the ship as one of the fun things to do once onboard is a hunt. You have to go to many different areas on the ship and, I think, get a stamp on the paper saying you were there. Then at sail away, they give away prizes to those who have filled in their cards. So, those are the people to look out for! Either become one of them, if that is your pleasure, or sit back and watch the others if that is what tickles your fancy! Either way, the ship is there for you to enjoy, and I am sure you will!

 

Happy sailing!

[gator582]

My way of thinking exactly! :). Forgot the quote. Darn. Anyway, put on the flip flops, grab a drink and relax.

[cr8tiv1]

Everyone has given you excellent responses. One thing I didn't see in all of them is this:

 

You did say you wanted to get a drink card. When you go to your first meal - lunch- in the dining room or buffet, there will be waiters who will come around to ask what you want to drink. You can get the coffee card, the soft drink card or the ultimate drink card there. No need to rush and find a place. The waiters will ask for the first day or so and then they won't ask again. But, you can still get any one of them during the cruise if you want one.

 

There will be many people running around the ship as one of the fun things to do once onboard is a hunt. You have to go to many different areas on the ship and, I think, get a stamp on the paper saying you were there. Then at sail away, they give away prizes to those who have filled in their cards. So, those are the people to look out for! Either become one of them, if that is your pleasure, or sit back and watch the others if that is what tickles your fancy! Either way, the ship is there for you to enjoy, and I am sure you will!

 

Happy sailing!

 

Hi RNGALNG...Fancy seeing you online!

 

I completed my first card ever while on the Golden. They gave us 2 days to get all the stamps. I did this, dropped it off in the barrel in the Piazza, then joined my friend for the shopping give aways before heading to the drawing. Well, wouldn't you know...my name was the first to be called and all of my CC friends told me about it later. You had to be present to win.

 

But that is okay, because I did "win" an 8 x 10 from the photo gallery drawing a few days later. You will get drawing entries every time you take formal pictures.

 

My strategy? Get your stamps from decks 5, 6, and 7 on your way to the MDR for lunch. Then do the upper decks just before sail away.

 

You will also get a "free" Bingo Card with the casino stamp. First time for me again. But this card is good only on the first Bingo day and is the last card to be played. Not that easy.

 

So much to do and so little time. You will have many more cruises to do the things you missed on your first cruise.

[catugirl]

We drop off our carry-ons, unpack valuables and place them in the safe. Then we head off to lunch. After lunch we tour the ship on our own (this will be important for you to do, seeing that it's your first cruise and you'll need to figure out the "lay of the land"). By the time we do all that, it's time for muster drill. After muster drill, our other bags have been delivered (hopefully), so we unpack. Then there's sailaway (don't miss that) either on our balcony or up on a higher deck. Sometimes we rest a bit before dinner. I agree that no specialty dining or special tours are necessary on your first cruise. It's special and memorable enough with nothing extra added! You will absolutely LOVE cruising!

 

P.S. There is no right or wrong answer to this because, as you've surmised by now, everyone has a different opinion. Whatever you choose to do on embarkation day will be wonderful!

[Nebr.cruiser]

On Princess, you can go to your cabin as soon as you board; that's what we do, to drop off our carry-ons. Then we usually go have lunch in the buffet.

 

We might wander around a bit, getting the 'lay of the ship', then back to the cabin for a while. The steward always shows up sometime on the first afternoon, usually fairly early and we ask for our special wants; top sheet (blanket if available), extra hangers, empty fridge.

 

If you are on a waitlist or want to change dining times, there will be times set out for that in the bulletin. Also, do sign up for any special dining, ship tours, sanctuary, etc., as soon as you can. We don't normally do any of that, so we go back to the Lido to relax, I visit the library, or sometimes we tour the ship on our own.

 

Sometime during the afternoon there will be the safety drill, then sailaway.

 

Usually luggage is in the room by late afternoon, so we put things away and it will be time for dinner and the fun begins!

[clmom]

We like to get on board as early as possible, drop our carryon bag in our cabin and check it out. Most likely our steward is nearby and pops in to meet us. We never have many requests (keep the ice bucket full). We then head to the buffet for lunch and off to explore the ship. We have fouund that starting at the top and going down, using the stairs is the best method since the elevators are crazy busy with newly arriving passwngers. We usually do each specialty restaurant once so make reservations for those before they get booked up. On our next cruise we want to try to do the Chef's Table so will make sure to get on the list as soon as possible. We then head back to our cabin and unpack if our luggage has arrived before heading to Muster Drill. We then head up to one of the deck bars to grab a drink and go as far forward as possible to enjoy Sailaway. Even though we have a balcony cabin, we ALWAYS go to the open deck for the magic, comraderie and excitement of each Sailaway. We wouldn't miss it. You will love the pampering you will get on Princess. Relax and Enjoy!

[John1519]

I was on the Star last week in an inside cabin. I did not have a pillowtop mattress. I did call to request a topper before I left but they were already out of them. The mattress was very hard (like a box spring). BUT, I would rather have a hard mattress on a cruise ship than my soft mattress at home any day of the week :p

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

What cabin were you in? We are boarding in 20 days.

[jaceyar]

Hi, we embark on an overnight day in Venice. Think we'll dump the bags, freshen up and get back out into that wonderful water-logged city!

 

Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk.

[cariboujerky]

I fish the Bering Sea for a living. When I get aboard our cruise ship I don't have to drive the boat or stand watch,I will never see the bilge or the engine room unless I want , no cooking ,no pearl diving, never see the galley,no storms ,no skipper who thinks you can eat boiled cod and potatos 3 meals a day, being on a boat that don't move is a big plus.Its all relative

[TheCruisingBrewers]

DH and I have a very similar ritual to the others here.

 

Get into the cabin, drop off carryon's, meet the Steward, ask for ice, other things we had asked for, ( if missing, which they never are). Check Patters out for schedule and fun things for the evening, sometimes dining is in a set room on the first night out.

 

DINE Line- for UST or Chef's table, reservation for Sabatini's or Crown Grille.

Make reservations for anytime dining. Also reserve any crucial spa or hair appts for formal days, shore excursions, (If you have not already)

 

Up to buffet for lunch, start the treasure hunt and work our way down, using the stairs. Sort out, if you have not already, which stairwells lead to the dining room(s) you eat in, how to get to the theatre, and casino. Remember sometimes dining rooms are only available via one bank of elevators. Also can get atour of the spa and fitness club, sign up for classes or reserve Sanctuary then too.

 

Meet up with friends or family, Drink and Sailway. It is a tradition we are on deck for it and we head into the mighty blue sea. Finish exploring or get settled in to having fun or in Alaska whale and porpoise watching!

 

Back to cabin to unpack (isn't it sickening how fast that is compared to packing?) get ready for drinks, appetizers and dinner!

 

Stay up late, revel in the first night, do things you love but rarley get to do, dance, drink, gamble, spend time with friends and family.

 

Admire the stars ( if they are out), they are often amazingly beautiful as the ship gets further to sea. I try alway try to remember on that night time out, how thankful I am for being able to be there, and for all those others along with me as well. I also think of my grandfather who was a merchant marine and Navy Submariner, my father who served in the Navy in North Africa and lastly my mother who so dearly loved the sea.

 

Walk out on a deck and get a bit of fresh night air and then sleep knowing you will wake in an amazing new place, after being rocked to sleep as the ship steams on into the night.

 

Make your own memories...

 

Nancy

[ChiefBoats]

You will have to go to the customer service desk and sign up for it. If there are more signed up than the number allowed then it becomes a lottery.

 

_________________________________

Previous Cruises

Alaska - 2008 Island Princess

Alaska - 2009 (B2B) Island Princess

Alaska - 2010 Royal Princess

Alaska - 2011 Golden Princess

Panama Canal - 2012 Coral Princess

Alaska - 2012 Star Princess

Western Caribbean - 2013 Crown Princess

 

Future Cruises

Alaska - 2013 Island Princess

Western Caribbean - 2013 Caribbean Princess

Eastern Caribbean - 2014 Royal Princess

[swazzie1]

There will be many people running around the ship as one of the fun things to do once onboard is a hunt. You have to go to many different areas on the ship and, I think, get a stamp on the paper saying you were there. Then at sail away, they give away prizes to those who have filled in their cards. Happy sailing!

 

The hunt sounds like a great way to get a quick overview of a ship! Is it dependent upon the length of cruise or by ship?

[cr8tiv1]

On Princess, you can go to your cabin as soon as you board; that's what we do, to drop off our carry-ons. Then we usually go have lunch in the buffet.

 

We might wander around a bit, getting the 'lay of the ship', then back to the cabin for a while. The steward always shows up sometime on the first afternoon, usually fairly early and we ask for our special wants; top sheet (blanket if available), extra hangers, empty fridge.

 

If you are on a waitlist or want to change dining times, there will be times set out for that in the bulletin. Also, do sign up for any special dining, ship tours, sanctuary, etc., as soon as you can. We don't normally do any of that, so we go back to the Lido to relax, I visit the library, or sometimes we tour the ship on our own.

 

Sometime during the afternoon there will be the safety drill, then sailaway.

 

Usually luggage is in the room by late afternoon, so we put things away and it will be time for dinner and the fun begins!

 

Hi Nebr.cruiser

 

Is winter finally over?

It is amazing how you will meet someone on a cruise and then see them on Cruise Critic for some other thread. So this is a pre-cruise suggestion. Find your Roll Call and get involved. You will then have many more new friends that you will finally get to meet on the cruise and recognize their call names when you return. Each time you see their name on a different thread, you will remember the cruise you were on and what fun you had.

 

Each cruise will hold their own special memories. Enjoy.