First cruise booked...help!!!

[Emsybell]

Hi everyone! Yesterday I bit the bullet and booked a cruise for our 10th Anniversary (albeit belated). Neither my husband nor myself have ever cruised but many of our friends are avid cruisers. Based on their advice and what works best with our schedule, we will be sailing on the Norwegian Gem to Fl and the Bahamas on June 25, 2016. I am looking forward to this trip for so many reasons - I love traveling but usually pack the days so full with running around that I come home more in need of rest than when I left. Judging from everything I'm reading here, it doesn't sound like that will be a concern (if it is, it will be my own fault!). Being that we have NO cruise experience and I am an extreme OCD/Type A personality, I need information/advice of all types. Thank you all in advance!

[Crazy planning mom]

Your signon indicates you live in NY and will be traveling from NY. It doesn't get more street free than that for your 1st cruise. No planes to deal with. Check in should be easy. Try and check n online ahead of time if you can. You will love it and the Gem is supposed to be a nice ship.

[roger001]

It's relaxing, fun, very addictive, the nicest bunch of crew in the world (all NCL crew). So think of specific questions and someone on here will have answers.

[Loucat]

I suggest now that you are registered for the cruise, go on their website and look at what you will need to do.

Look at the ports, the ship excursions, read CC for each port and see what others have done.

Look at dining. Will you eat in the MDR every night or might like a specialty restaurant?

Bring clothing you can wear at least twice. Do not overpack as we all do.

Go and look at recent reviews on CC of your ship and what others had to say.

This should be a fun time to learn about your cruise.

For our first cruise, we booked on a Tuesday and sailed on Sunday. We had no clue what we were doing.

We have now sailed over 35 times so that first experience was something!

If you have specific questions, the many talented CC members are here to help.

[Oldgoat61]

As mentioned on another post.....don't over pack. There is laundry service on the ship if you need it.

Download the iconcierge to your phone, it is free, and you can do lots of things with it.....like keeping track of your onboard account. ;)

[drvalo]

Read the information on the NCL website about preparing for your cruise. You can find it on the MYNCL page (it might be an email)...can't remember.

 

Don't over plan. I know some people get all OCD about that, but if you can, go with the flow. If you looked over the specialty restaurants and find one that you really don't want to miss, then by all means book it ahead of time. But if you live in NYC or near there, you likely have many restaurants that are better than even the specialties on the ship. So, try all the free options first and see what you think. We think the main dining rooms, OSheehan's, the buffet all serve pretty good food and it's included in the price.

 

Try the different activities on the ship. Try trivia or the games. Go to the shows in the evening. Attend the silly game shows (Friendly Feud, not so newlywed game, and so on in the evening) for some laughs. Be game if you are offered a chance to participate. If you don't like something leave or don't do it again. Do you like to dance? then dance. Do you like to sit in the sun and drink? then do that.

 

You and your husband can even do different things and meet up later and share experiences.

 

It seems like every cruise we find something new and interesting to do on the ship.

 

Don't forget about the additional expenses, especially the daily service charge (basically those are the tips for your room steward, the wait staff in the free restaurants, and some behind the scenes staff- please others don't flame me here). It will be added to your bill every day and most simply pay it. Again review the information from NCL. There is good information there.

 

We like NCL because it is casual and freestyle, mostly meaning no set time dining. My husband does not go on a vacation to wear a suit.

 

There are several threads on CC about what to pack that you might not think of...things like power strip without a surge protector or multi-outlet extension cord, highlighter, some soft drink 12-pks for your cabin if you drink those. Anyway, there are several threads on that, just do a little searching.

 

So, go and have fun and welcome to the world of cruising.

Edited October 2, 2015 by drvalo

[pjr107]

Hi everyone! Yesterday I bit the bullet and booked a cruise for our 10th Anniversary (albeit belated). Neither my husband nor myself have ever cruised but many of our friends are avid cruisers. Based on their advice and what works best with our schedule, we will be sailing on the Norwegian Gem to Fl and the Bahamas on June 25, 2016. I am looking forward to this trip for so many reasons - I love traveling but usually pack the days so full with running around that I come home more in need of rest than when I left. Judging from everything I'm reading here, it doesn't sound like that will be a concern (if it is, it will be my own fault!). Being that we have NO cruise experience and I am an extreme OCD/Type A personality, I need information/advice of all types. Thank you all in advance!

Make sure you find your cruise sail date here CC and enjoy chatting with other people going on the same sailing as you. There's usually a meet and greet set up for the first full day at sea and it's loads of fun putting faces to names that you've been chatting with on line. Remember to relax and enjoy the ride! Have an amazing time on your first cruise :)

 

-pj

[Emsybell]

Thank you all! [emoji3]

[Pirate@Forty]

All of the posts above have great advice, I would definitely read them. You'll have many options here on the forums to research. My best advice, think about what you and your husband want to do on vacation. Do you want to relax all day? Do you want to see the sights? How active on the ship do you want to be? How much interaction do you want with other passengers?

 

Once you two think of that then start researching otherwise you'll be overwhelmed with the amount of info out there. There is plenty of stuff to do both on the ships and off and there are plenty of opportunities to not do anything either if you just want to relax.

 

Hope it helps.

[StaceyCT]

I suggest that you spend a little time looking at the map of the ship before you go so that you know the lay of the ship (better) at embarkation and don't spend the first day or two wandering around going "now where is that place again...?"

 

Maybe the Gem is smaller, but I wish I'd done that before my Getaway cruise. :)

[LrgPizza]

As mentioned on another post.....don't over pack. There is laundry service on the ship if you need it.

Download the iconcierge to your phone, it is free, and you can do lots of things with it.....like keeping track of your onboard account. ;)

iConcierge isn't on Gem.

[jaja]

All good advice here.....and yes..the Gem is a great intro to cruising...the staff is great ! and ship size (at least to me) is perfect.

[dlynn0366]

As mentioned on another post.....don't over pack. There is laundry service on the ship if you need it.

Download the iconcierge to your phone, it is free, and you can do lots of things with it.....like keeping track of your onboard account. ;)

 

Is the iconcierge available on the Gem? Is was not this past March.

[skyfire53]

I like planning excursions from independents not the ship....more cost effective..as long as you choose reputable tour groups, they will make sure you are back to the ship on time....what I do is pre book them..then print out the reservation and put that and the amount of cash you will need for that excursion into an envelope with the port name on it...when you get on the ship, put all of the envelopes into the safe and as you stop at a port, take that envelope out of the safe and you have everything you need for that port...I also take an sd card for my camera for each port and one for on the ship....after the port, put it into the safe...that way if you should loose your camera or it gets damaged, you wont loose all of your pictures....dont forget to let your credit card companys and bank know where you will be traveling so they dont think it was stolen and cut that card off....those are just a few of the things that help me...

[Emsybell]

Learning so much already!

[worktocruise610]

@ drvalo - that is the best advice I've seen on here! Helped me some also & I've cruised a lot lol

All I can add is, have fun. Do what makes you happy, if you want to do nothing, do it, if you want to be crazy busy, do that, it's your vacation. One of the best things I've always enjoyed about cruising is when I get home, I don't feel as if I need a vacation lol You'll find a lot of info on here but you need to take some of it with a grain of salt, don't let the drama queens get you down or make you nervous. I'm sure you'll love it, but if not, hey you tried and besides, like they say, even a bad vacation is better than the best day at work :p

[cherrypop]

Best advise I ever got was to bring along a see through over the door shoe holder. We use it in the bathroom for all our toiletries. NCL bathrooms don't have a lot of counter space and this comes is very handy.

[robbinsca]

We always arrive and board as early as possible and then walk around the ship to familiarize ourselves. Then we have a late lunch and start relaxing.....

[dd2355]

dont forget to let your credit card companys and bank know where you will be traveling so they dont think it was stolen and cut that card off....

 

This is important enough to call out separately. Do this. Doesn't take but a moment, and some card issuers even have a way to do it from your online account page.

 

Also, know your card(s) foreign transaction fees; even better get a card that has no foreign transaction fee like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card.

[TNCruzer56]

Find and join your trip`s Roll Call. A great way to meet other cruzers, get advice, perhaps plan excursions.