Stuff you didn't think to do until you were a repeat cruiser

[Fla Senior]

1. Morning coffee on our Balcony.

2. At MDR, order banana split off of kid's menu.

3. Select a least favorite port and stay on the ship. A perfect quiet time to enjoy the ship, especially Serenity.

4. Bring a good pair of binoculars.

5. Always get a port side balcony cabin. The majority of ports will dock on that side.

6. Watch for pier runners - #4 and #5 helpful.

7. Plan more time to relax, you are on vacation, no need to rush.

[AK Wife]

I've been on several cruises but this is my DH's first cruise. I was telling him about all the things we should do, things I thought he would enjoy...he said, "I just want to relax, not worry about what happens next, who's cooking, or where I have to be. I just want to worry about where I'm going to sit and what drink I'm going to order next." Um, yeah, I think I can do that....actually I don't think I've ever just taken time to relax....this time I will! ;)

[joycedeer]

On Carnival ships, do this while still onboard. There are good credits and prices for planning the next one onboard!

 

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[cursor2012]

Third cruise booked and planning no excursions. Planning flights, ground transportation, muster drill, and eating. Rest, relax, enjoy and live in the moment.

 

 

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[SoCalKJ]

The coffee cups are good to use for ice cream.

A bit deeper and the handle is good.

 

DH will actually just grab one of the brown water/juice cups and fill that up with ice cream and spoon it out. He's worse than a little kid! :D:rolleyes:

[SoCalKJ]

* Finally, finally, finally booked a reservation for the Steakhouse on the Miracle in July. This will be my 12th cruise and first steakhouse experience...LOL! :rolleyes: Hopefully, it'll be worth the extra $.

 

* I learned early on to wear my swimsuit on the day of embarkation...it'll be the only time I can have the serenity deck/hot tub ALL TO MYSELF! (well...until everyone else starts to follow suit!) :)

 

* I bring my own large coffee mug with lid and cold drink container with lid...saves spillage and minimizes refills.

 

* Mongolian Wok instead of the usual deep fried embarkation options...prolong the inevitable guilt...at least until we set sail.

 

* Tea Time.

[2Shoes2Go]

Some of our cruises, lately, have had no single supplement. So, we have two adjoining or next door cabins for same price as one together. Twice the space and facilities with visitation privileges :) :D

Also, like child menu banana split and cheese plate for starter at dinner. Often book one on board for the obc; some times it is doubled!

[RWolver672]

We were on the sixth Carnival cruise before we tried the fish and chips. Still haven't tried room service.

Edited April 10, 2014 by RWolver672

[jsjjkelly]

I didn't realize on our first cruise you could order 2 appetizers in the MDR. I ordered shrimp cocktail and after those 4 shrimps were done, and everyone was still eating their salads or soup I said I'm sticking with salads. I didn't realize you could get both!

 

We also didn't do trivia until our 3rd cruise. Definitely do it every cruise now.

 

Sadly, my kids found room service on our first cruise.... it's now an every cruise thing too.

 

We also just did the comedy club for the first time on the Dream. One of the guys was funny, and I'm not sure why we never went before.

 

:-)

Shawn

[retnuh281]

As a rule, the first one back to the cabin in the evening must order room service for the rest of the people. It used to be the roast beef sandwich, as I understand it those are no more. So, something else to curb the early morning munchies.

 

 

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[okgirl]

I like to bring my Carnival Tervis Tumbler to have coffee served in. The waiters always seem to overfill the coffee cup when being served. And it stays hot for a long time.

 

I prefer to have breakfast in the MDR and usually order an omelette but I also ask for a small dish of hollandaise sauce on the side. I even "build" my own special eggs benedict by ordering an English muffin, bacon, poached eggs and sauce.

[retnuh281]

Eat in the MDR for breakfast and lunch. My last cruise I had the buffet only once on a 7 day cruise. Relaxing, better food, no rudeness or bad manners.

 

 

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[Silverspringcruiser]

I'm surprised at all the recommendations to "relax". I find that midafternoon on sea days there's nothing to do but relax.

[Perfect Stranger]

This isn't a "fun" activity but after the first cruise I learned to pack lighter and utilize the self-service laundry.

[mabones]

On my next cruise I'm going to get a nice slushy drink and bring it back to my room so I can drink it on my balcony while reading my Kindle. I've gotten slushy drinks in the afternoon before. I've read my Kindle on the balcony before. But for some reason it never occurred to me to both together. Anybody else not realize a way to have more fun until their 2nd, 3rd, or even later cruise and think why they didn't do it sooner? And what was it?

 

 

Great Idea's in this thread. I never think to bring a drink back with me to have while reading my Kindle on the Balcony. By the way, do you use the Kindle Paperwhite? I have the Kindle Fire HD but was thinking of purchasing the Paperwhite for Vacation. Last cruise I had trouble reading it in the sun.

 

We don't do excursions in every port anymore. I hate being rushed. That is not what Vacation is all about. We need to sit back & smell the Roses!

[rene194215]

Hi Silverspringcruiser :)

 

My answer is slightly outside of the box and really doesn't have anything

in common regarding having more fun, however it is has a common aspect

concerning the title of your post, 'Stuff you didn't think to do until you were

a repeat cruiser'...

 

After our very 1st voyage 31 years ago, my wife & I wrote down everything

we experienced when we got home. From our 2nd voyage on, until the present,

we decided to keep cruise journals.

 

Prior to going to sleep each evening my wife & I discuss the days events and

log them.

 

We have been doing this for over three decades now and have many journals.

The strolls down memory lane are wonderful. In some ways more entertaining

than the photo's or video we have collected over the years.

 

Even picking out/purchasing the journal prior to the cruise has become

a fun task in itself.

 

To us, it is another way, an interesting way, to save and also relive the

voyage...

 

 

 

 

:)

 

I simply love this idea!!! I had attempted on all of my cruises to do this, but somehow never had the time. Always going here, there and everywhere! My next cruise is a solo and I plan on no only writing about the cruise, but in general.

[rene194215]

I always thought to do excursions through Carnival. Did this the first 2 cruises. Next 2 were private ones. This last cruise went with the flow. Got off the ship when we wanted to and had a good time.

 

One thing I have noticed, as each cruise comes and goes I find myself doing less of the activities and actually slowing down and relaxing! What a concept! I have cruised 4 times with my best friend and once with my mom. Always had a great time but always seemed to be going to bed early....:eek:

 

Over all=

Cruise 1- GO GO GO GO GO GO GO (7 day cruise)

Cruise 2- GO GO GO GO GO GO (7 day cruise)

Cruise3- GO GO GO (4 day cruise)

Cruise 4- GO GO GO (5 day cruise)

Cruise 5- GO G (5 day cruise)

 

Cruise 6- G (5 day cruise--- plan to RELAX!!!!!)

 

The above may sound look or sound dumb but it just shows how much I have slowed down and just enjoyed the ocean and being away.......

[Bookbug53]

Great Idea's in this thread. I never think to bring a drink back with me to have while reading my Kindle on the Balcony. By the way, do you use the Kindle Paperwhite? I have the Kindle Fire HD but was thinking of purchasing the Paperwhite for Vacation. Last cruise I had trouble reading it in the sun.

We don't do excursions in every port anymore. I hate being rushed. That is not what Vacation is all about. We need to sit back & smell the Roses!

 

I change the screen to black background with white letters. Helps quite a bit. :)

 

Love this thread. Helpful and friendly!

[CruisingSteelerGirl]

OMG, yes... the pier runners... Best we saw was in Cozumel... not for our ship, though we were waiting for some too, but for the Princess next to us... guy came dancing along, certainly very well "lubricated". He received a "PERSONAL" escort from the security folks. Certainly wish we knew more about that one :)

 

I grab my glass of champagne and place myself strategically on the lido deck or a nice place on the upper deck outside and just watch and enjoy the pier runners! I love it. Also this is perfect when the sun is setting and the Captain sound the horn when leaving the dock. Goosebumps!

[Beachdude]

Aft Balcony. Once we discovered it we, we haven't change in the last ten years.

 

We always go to a loung for a drink before dinner to relax for at least 30 minutes or more. We had a couple travel with us once and they really enjoyed that part of the cruise. Even our kids look forward to that intiment time together. It's nothing special, but it really seems to start dinner off in the right spirit.

 

We used to always have get soshi while getting ready for dinner. Carnival started us on that habit a few years ago when they opened their soshi station at 5:00, so we look for it on all the ships. Its going away on most lines sadly. We will try something new I guess.

 

Burt

[justusfour2014]

Excellent idea, and I think I will try this on my next cruise.

 

This is a fun thread, let's keep it going! I'm going to be going on my 5th cruise, so I'm sure I can learn a lot from this thread.

 

We took our first cruise in March this year. I was upset because our shuttle took so long and we got there at noon. By 12:20 we were on the boat, our room was ready, and we didn't wait around! We just booked our second cruise for this October, and I'm going to wait until noon'ish to show up and board!:D

[justusfour2014]

Something we will take on our second cruise this October is games. Our first cruise "everyone" had decks of cards and other types of games for sea days. We ended up buying an old deck from the casino. Playing cards will be with us in October for sure!

 

We took advantage of room service, but they were 20 minutes late that morning. We'll try again in October as it would be so nice to have a cup of java when I wake and not have to go up top for a cup.

 

Also, I won't take as much clothes this time. I know now what to pack and what not to pack.

[patrice1]

Have always ordered coffee & fruit for the balcony in the morning. This last cruise we headed down to the DR after & will do that every day on next one.;)

 

Read, relax, nap, repeat as necessary!:D

 

Find a bar/bartender you like & go every night before dinner. We have met some amazing people, both passengers and staff, while there every cruise.

 

Tip bar servers $1 every order - they'll remember you AND your folio number & find you in different venues like the casino, dance club, dining room, etc. We have always had wonderful, attentive service.

 

Always do YTD - ALWAYS! If you find a good team, ask for them every night after. Have always had wonderful DR service, especially after we found a great team.

Edited April 10, 2014 by patrice1
add info

[IPlayWithString]

I agree the room service is something a lot of people miss out on! Also, enjoying a nice relaxing nap is something my wife seems to enjoy that we didn't always take the time to do, just relax on the cruise. Thought we had to do everything else.

 

 

The first time we cruised, I was up from around 3 am (because we had to go to the airport) until after 10 pm that night and I was totally bushed. I ended up sleeping until nearly noon the next day.

 

On our second cruise, as soon as we were done with muster drill, I went to our room and crashed for an hour or two.

[Dad4TwoGirls]

I now remember to bring a travel coffee mug - great for loading up on java before going into port, or for just walking around the ship.

 

We now always bring a case of bottled water with us - we couldn't stand the taste of it on the ship!!!

 

Overall, the best thing is to just relax and roll with it. We were really nervous about everything the first time, but after that it wasn't a big deal - now we just focus on spending quality time with our kids on ship and just having fun!

 

Steve