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Need to know for new cruisers

lharry

By lharry,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Hornet441

Hornet441

Posted
Posted
Instead of bringing a nightlight, turn your TV onto the forward ship camera. It will let off enough light to let you get to the bathroom in the dark and you will be able to tell when the sun is up (esp if in an inside cabin.)

 

What a great idea! I love it.

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Sweet Dutch Girl

Sweet Dutch Girl

Posted
Posted

To bring on a first cruise:

 

Anticipation and a good dose of childish wonderment.

Expectations laced with reality.

Excitement and a whole lot of patience.

Understanding that naivete is a good thing, too much information is like cooks spoiling a clear simple broth.

A commitment to ask questions from the staff...they are more than willing to impart their knowledge about cruising.

Remembering to read all the "good" advise from curise critic and then to forget most of it. It's fun to be a fist timer and to stumble about a bit. You only get that initial cruise once...besides nobody likes a know everything who gets all their knowledge from outside sources, personal experience is the best teacher.

 

Have fun, enjoy yourself, read the Carnival schedule diligently each morning and remember to try new things.

 

And my best advise....don't worry about doing everything together with whom ever you are cruising with. Cruising is an excellent place for some alone time or couple time or for kids to enjoy kid time without adults and extended family or friends NOT to be together 24/7. Just sayin.

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magnetlady4u

magnetlady4u

Posted
Posted

We use lanyards that have a Ziploc pouch...so card doesn't fall out. Also we hang them on the door handle when in the cabin so we never forget them leaving the cabin. Bring a fleece blanket to cover up with out on your balcony or up on deck star gazing from a lounger.

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kelkel2

kelkel2

Posted
Posted

We have an alarm clock app on our iPad, if you bring a tablet, you may be able to set that up as your room clock avoiding you having to pack extra stuff. When you fly it does add up! That's what we do, when we go to bed we just open the app and set up the clock and it glows as a digital bedside clock. Love it!

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cruising maniac

cruising maniac

Posted
Posted

We always bring a squeegee to keep our balcony plexiglass (except a cove balcony) clean and clear. Try to find a corkscrew without the little knife or security might take it. Feel free to bring your own pillow. We always do. We use our electric toothbrush in the charger as a bathroom nightlight.

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  • 7 months later...
Mybearsbaby

Mybearsbaby

Posted
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*Get a mug, add some ice cream, then add some hot chocolate. Yum!

* The guava juice is only served in the mornings and is so good! We actually get an extra glass and take back to our cabin.

*In some ports (most all I have been too) you can haggle with the local vendors...if you don't get the price you want, walk away. Often times, they will chase you down and offer a better deal. ;)

*Buy a cheap waterproof watch set to ship time. This cuts out the confusion of time changes, plus stays on your wrist so you don't have to keep track of a phone. DH and I both get/wear one in case one malfunctions. ;)

 

*On port days, especially if you have a balcony cabin, don't miss the free entertainment of late "runners" coming in right about the time of sail away. :D People watching at its finest :D.

 

*if you have babies/toddlers, a fold up stroller is a must. We have an umbrella stroller, but not the $10 cheapie...Amazon has some for about $30-40 that are a lot better, come with a detachable canopy, and a few soft sided storage areas. It was small enough to use on deck, but rugged enough to use in port (for the most part...we also had our jogging stroller for "off roading", but don't plan on bringing it this time. It is just too big.

*We use room service as our alarm clock. It is much nicer to wake up to fresh coffee and Danishes than to an annoying beep...beep...beep...beep! I would only recommend this for light sleepers. I wake at the slightest noise, so it has never been an issue, but it would be rude/inconvenient to have them knocking and no one answer because you don't hear the knocking. ;) They knock, and voila! Awake and breakfast in bed! We usually have a robe and money for tips laying out so they don't see DH in his undies and we aren't fumbling around for tip money.

*if you use stevia, bring your own little packs of it...they only have Splenda, sugar, and one other (can't remember if equal or sweet n low.)

*if you have a baby under 1 year and use formula, get those little stick packs of powder (single serving size). They are very convenient for on the go. I would say bring the little premade bottles as they were the best choice, but Carnival has stopped the bringing on of any bottled beverages. :(

*pack your own conditioner, as this is not supplied...just shampoo and body wash.

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sandi422

sandi422

Posted
Posted

Lots of good ideas here! There is one I disagree with though. The crew generally prefers cash rather than a gift. They see thousands of people in a month. and they have limited space in their cabins. You can offer to pick up something in port for them if they can't get off of the ship. But cash is what they most appreciate. And a sincere thank you. If you have received exceptional service, go to guess services and ask for a comment card. Specify their name and what they did that you appreciated. That means a lot at review time.

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ScottsSweetie

ScottsSweetie

Posted
Posted
I laughed at the $40/liter Bon Voyage price in crazyfrazee's really, really long list of tips... you can tell that's a wee outdated :D

 

Yeah, had to laugh at that one - so I wouldn't cry!

 

Also, the WORST tip on that list was to get your sandwiches ready to take off the ship - absolutely a no-no! I would hate to be told, as a first timer, that it was okay to do that, and then be embarrassed when security stopped me from getting off the ship.

 

That list had way too much misinformation in it. :(

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redeagle79

redeagle79

Posted
Posted
Lots of good ideas here! There is one I disagree with though. The crew generally prefers cash rather than a gift. They see thousands of people in a month. and they have limited space in their cabins. You can offer to pick up something in port for them if they can't get off of the ship. But cash is what they most appreciate. And a sincere thank you. If you have received exceptional service' date=' go to guess services and ask for a comment card. Specify their name and what they did that you appreciated. That means a lot at review time.[/quote']

 

 

We had brought two bottle of wine and only drank one. We give the other one to our steward and he liked it lots since had never had the brand (local Indiana brand). We also tipped cash.

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mrak

mrak

Posted
Posted
Yeah, had to laugh at that one - so I wouldn't cry!

 

Also, the WORST tip on that list was to get your sandwiches ready to take off the ship - absolutely a no-no! I would hate to be told, as a first timer, that it was okay to do that, and then be embarrassed when security stopped me from getting off the ship.

 

That list had way too much misinformation in it. :(

 

A friend in my group managed to take sandwiches off in every port. They dont really search your bags when you leave the ship. Only when you get back on. Just put it under something in your bag and you should be fine.

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loxley

loxley

Posted
Posted
A friend in my group managed to take sandwiches off in every port. They dont really search your bags when you leave the ship. Only when you get back on. Just put it under something in your bag and you should be fine.

I will leave it to others to explain things.

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

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A&Jfamily

A&Jfamily

Posted
Posted

I didn't see this, but I think some key advice is to PACK LIGHT!

 

Let's assume a 7 day cruise. I stick with black as my color basic and pack:

 

3 non-wrinkle dresses

1 pair black dress slacks with 4 dinner appropriate tops

7/8 fresh t-shirts

3 shorts

2-3 sets of exercise clothes

plenty of underclothes

a sweater or hoodie for cool temps

1 pair dress sandals

1 pair casual sandals

water shoes - if needed for shore excursion

flip flops

I wear on tennis shoes, yoga pants and a hoodie. And that is probably too much to pack.

 

I keep all the extras to a minimum, especially if flying. Our must haves are lanyards and command hooks to hang them on the door so we don't lock ourselves out, the portable speaker for the ipad to enjoy music in the room and on the balcony, clothes pins for drying swimsuits in shower, umbrellas for rain, a mini fan (hubby hates "still air"), and a camera. Everything else really isn't necessary IMHO.

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