Just booked our first cruise...now what???

[coinkc]

We just booked our first cruise on the Carnival Conquest! What should we be doing next???

 

I saw the online check in option - how soon should we do that and is there a benefit to doing it earlier? We aren't cruising till the summer so have several months to wait.

 

I have been looking at shore excursions. Is it better to book those in advance or wait till we are on the ship? We will be stopping in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman so any advice/reviews for things to do in those places is most appreciated! (We are a group of three adults.)

 

I have been reading about people making dinner reservations and such - should I be thinking about that now? We are going to request the "anytime dinner seating" as we'd rather have the flexibility of not having a set time each night.

 

Any other tips/advice you can pass on? Thanks!

[Anthomaniac]

If you see a shore excursion or dining reservation that you really want, best to book it now. You can always cancel it later on if you need to.

 

If your port is doing staggered check in, you will want to choose your time online.

 

 

 

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[satbeachbill]

Now the hard part - waiting :(

[wanderlust0713]

 

I would say it's better to book shore excursions now or you risk the one you want possibly selling out. You can always cancel for a full refund up until the day before sailing. My fiancé and I did the stingray excursion in grand cayman and we loved it!! In Jamaica we did the waterfall excursion.

 

Happy cruising!

[sid_9169]

Go ahead and do your online check in now, just to get it out of the way... Choose your check in time at the port if that is important, as the earlier time slots disappear, and you'll be stuck with whatever's left. In Grand Cayman, Stingray City is a great attraction for the adventurous. There are several ways to get there, but a smaller private excursion beats the ones run by Carnival.

 

As this is your first cruise, study the deck plans for the ship to figure out where everything is. This will make it easier to get around once you're on board.

[Cruisegirl6]

Call Carnival up and change to My Time Dining because they do have a limit on it

 

If your planning on going to the Steakhouse do make the reservations, you are not charged for it until after you eat the dinner and you can always cancel/change if you wish.

 

Choose the shore excursions you want and I would book them, they do fill up even way before the cruise

 

Do choose and pay for Faster to the Fun (FTTF) if you want priority boarding/disembarkation and luggage arrive to room earlier, these are extremely limited and always book up a long time in advance.

 

If your getting the Cheers package, paying for it earlier before your cruise will give you a discount from $54.95 to 49.95 a day plus the 15% gratuity

[Shaded Lady]

Consider whether you want Faster to the Fun (FTTF)... it allows you to ignore the checkin time you select and check in when you get to the port. You also get to board the ship before everyone else (except weddings, Diamond & Platinum level cruisers). Once onboard, you can go straight to your cabin to drop off your carry-ons. Your luggage will arrive earlier and you get to go to the VIP Guest Service line, if you ever need to go there. You'll get preferred tendering in Grand Cayman. and you get to debark earlier when your cruise is done.

 

The cost is not small- it's $69.95 PER CABIN- not per person... only one needed for each cabin.

 

If you decide to go for it, don't be alarmed if you don't see it available when you log into excursions under your booking on the Carnival site. They only release a few at a time, but if you keep looking, you can usually find it when they offer the next batch.

 

Enjoy your first cruise... don't let comments from friends or from others on this site dictate your experience. One of my favorite quotes about cruising came from something I read here a long time ago:

 

Just my thoughts about making your cruise a pleasant experience...

 

Pull out that childlike awe and playfulness buried deep inside you, plan well before you cruise, choose your stateroom carefully, don't let small inconveniences upset you, explore new adventures, try new foods, talk with total strangers, participate, let yourself go and you will enjoy yourself. Be realistic about your cruise expectations, nothing is perfect, things do happen. If you cruise with a sense of entitlement, you will be disappointed. Pack your humor, imagination, childlike curiosity, flexibility and your brain. Leave your negativity and bad attitude home.

 

Someone will be cleaning up after you all week, making your bed, delivering room service, cooking all your food and washing all your dishes, leaving cute towel animals to greet you, dazzle you with shows and demonstrations, then transport you to exotic ports of call.

 

I follow my own suggestions whenever I cruise and ALWAYS have a great time.

[coinkc]

Thank you everyone! I did purchase the "Faster to the Fun" option as we will want to enjoy every minute we can of this trip and not spend a ton of time waiting in lines.

 

I booked us in an "aft-view" balcony cabin as the pictures and videos I have seen online make it look absolutely gorgeous! The only concern I have is that I have heard the middle of the ship is better for first time cruisers due to being able to feel less motion but we are just going to not think about that and hope that the view is worth being in the back of the boat.

 

Do we have to complete the entire online check in process to choose the anytime dining option?

 

Also, has anybody ever paid for the in-room decoration packages? Trying to decide if it's worth it or not. This trip is to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday!

 

We are all so excited and figure since none of us have ever been on a cruise before we have nothing to compare it to so everything will be new to us! We aren't picky and don't usually go on "fancy" vacations so this will be a whole new experience. :)

Edited January 15, 2017 by coinkc

[CarolinaCookieman]

Since this is your first cruise, you will learn from your mistakes. This is what I do, in no particular order.

 

1. Learn as much as you can about the ship before you board. Figure out, by looking at deck plans and reading reviews what you want to do, and where you want to be on the ship. Nothing will make you madder than finding your “secret space’ on the ship on your next to last day on the ship. Don’t be the one to say, “Darn, I wish I knew that earlier!”

 

2. Make a cheat sheet about shows, dining, activities, shore excursions etc. copy and paste onto a new word document. You can edit it as you go along. It will be redundant in spots, but you will learn a lot of useful information.

 

3. Find videos of the ship. Learn all you can, so when you board the ship, you will know what to expect. My first cruise…I was totally confused and lost for a few days. Don’t be like me.

 

4. Take what people say in their reviews of the ship with a grain of salt, don’t take it as 100% gospel. Some people say the food is great/good/bad/horrible. Some people complain because there is not a chocolate mint on their pillow at night Some people get upset over any and everything. Some people, nothing bothers them. Be like them. Enjoy.

 

5. We are an older couple, in our sixties. Water slides and rock walls don’t appeal to us. They might to you. Any activity you have an interest in, find out about it by searching Cruise Critic.

 

6. We like the specialty dining. I don’t mind spending extra and can afford to do so. We like the service and atmosphere of the specialty restaurants, and the lack of screaming, obnoxious kids is a plus. There is nothing wrong with the main dining rooms.

 

7. Make reservations as far in advance as you can for specialty dining and shore excursions. You can cancel later, and book what you like if you change your mind.

 

8. Make checklists of thing to do before your cruise…stopping mail, newspaper, alerting a neighbor/friend/relative to check on your place while you are gone. You didn’t say if you are driving or flying. Plane reservations, Hotel reservations, port parking, or off-port parking. The sooner the better.

 

9. Clothes. You will over pack. Your wife will over pack. No one else on the ship cares what you are wearing. You will not need 15 shirts, 5 pairs of pants, 5 pairs of shorts, 5 pairs of shoes, or 10 pairs of socks and underwear. Pack lightly, and take advantage of the ship’s laundry service. You do not have to dress up like you are going to a wedding or funeral for “Formal” night, although you can if you want to. It’s YOUR vacation!

 

10. On a cruise, Knowledge is Power. The more you know, the more fun you will have.

[Anthomaniac]

Oh, and spend time here on CC reading about your ship, your itinerary, your home port, etc

 

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[Shaded Lady]

Do we have to complete the entire online check in process to choose the anytime dining option?

 

Also, has anybody ever paid for the in-room decoration packages? Trying to decide if it's worth it or not. This trip is to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday!

 

You will need to initiate the online portion of the check-in process in order to pick a dining time (if you care, do it early or you may be waitlisted for your choice, although YTD is usually the default). You'll also need as part of the setup to set up your account for your Sail & Sign account. I'd suggest that you just set it up as a Cash account for now, go do your research (all kinds of info here in CC about your S&S accounts) then you can go back any time and change it (i.e. set up account with a credit card... WARNING- read the posts on CC carefully before you decide to use your debit card for your S&S account).

 

You can complete all of the online portion of your cruise and you can go back as often as you need it to change anything. I just went into ours to update our records with our new passport info.

 

Next point- is everyone travelling a US citizen? Do you have passports? You don't have to have passports, a birth certificate for a US citizen plus photo ID (driver's license?) will work, but there's a risk- if you have an issue in a foreign port and don't have a passport you'll need to go to the US consulate locally to get them. This is not a huge risk, but something to weigh in here. I personally prefer to eliminate any risks that might give me any headaches, so I always travel with a passport. It only took me 2 weeks and $110 to replace mine a few weeks ago- I think the new passports are only 2-4 weeks to deliver, even without expediting. You'll have to decide which way to go, but make sure at a minimum you can put your hands on everyone's birth certificates RIGHT NOW... don't assume you know where they are and wait til closer to the cruise to locate them. If you don't have them, it could cost you the cruise!

 

One last comment about your cruise documents- if you haven't made final payment yet, don't freak out if you can't print the final docs and your luggage tags. Once you make final payment, you'll be able to print everything.

[KPfromCT]

Spend a LOT of time on CC and researching your ports!! The time should go by relatively quickily!!!:D:D

 

We booked 10 months out ( longest we've EVER booked out ) and now we are down to 5. Went by relatively fast.

 

I just live on this forum!!!:D:D:D

[bury me at sea]

The first thing to do is make absolutely certain you have the required boarding documents and that they will be current the day you board. I go so far as to take possession of everyone's passport and keep it in my cruise file as soon as I book. Admittedly a bit on the anal side.

 

Personally I believe you chose an excellent cabin and I am a big fan of FTTF.

 

I won't repeat any of the wise suggestions you've already received. Will just add, relax, don't try to do everything and ENJOY!

[cloudninecat]

Thank you everyone! I did purchase the "Faster to the Fun" option as we will want to enjoy every minute we can of this trip and not spend a ton of time waiting in lines.

 

I booked us in an "aft-view" balcony cabin as the pictures and videos I have seen online make it look absolutely gorgeous! The only concern I have is that I have heard the middle of the ship is better for first time cruisers due to being able to feel less motion but we are just going to not think about that and hope that the view is worth being in the back of the boat.

 

Do we have to complete the entire online check in process to choose the anytime dining option?

 

Also, has anybody ever paid for the in-room decoration packages? Trying to decide if it's worth it or not. This trip is to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday!

 

We are all so excited and figure since none of us have ever been on a cruise before we have nothing to compare it to so everything will be new to us! We aren't picky and don't usually go on "fancy" vacations so this will be a whole new experience. :)

 

We just got off our 1st and 2nd cruise last month (we did a B2B-Back to Back). We loved it. First we had the aft balcony. Then we had to move rooms for the 2nd leg and had a regular balcony. Let me tell you I much rather have the aft, beautiful view, lots of leg room and no problems with too much motion (and we had some rough seas). On the regular balcony its tough for two people to move around, especially if one of you is carrying a little extra girth. We were more middle of the ship during the second leg. I actually thought the motion was worse than the back of the ship. Do be careful where you book with what is above and below you. Rooms on a deck sandwiched between two cabin decks are best. During the 2nd half we were right below the lido buffet and we heard deck chairs all night and day. My husband can sleep through anything so it didn't bother him but it did keep me awake as it was rather loud. It wasn't enough to ruin my cruise but I definitely enjoyed the 1st half more than the 2nd half.

 

I would suggest that you watch a few videos on what to pack for first timers. Some things might surprise you, like extension cords. I never would have thought of it.

 

I like to go to CC's review section and look at photos of the ships. You'll be surprised how much easier you move around the ship once you are familiar with it's layout. I think you said you were booked on the Conquest, here are the photo layouts for it. http://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/carnival-conquest-262/

 

Most of all enjoy. It's a magical experience. It's addicting. I'm now hooked. We have two more planned for this year already. At the rate I'm going I might make Gold by the time the 1st year is over. :D

 

I hope you have an incredible, magically time.

[May1cruiser]

Great comments about study the ship plans. I also see the carnival app is working on conquest, this will simplify planning each day.

 

Food is mostly on deck nine- you can take steps in the stern up to deck 10 and enjoy some empty tables.

 

Most fun is on deck 5.

 

Conquest is a great ship. Get ready for a smiling crew that will cater to your every need.

 

A vote for yes on room decor. Also, the gift items online are less expensive if you pre purchase. You can carry on soda/wine as well, see carnival FAQ .

 

We have booked heavy excursion cruises and had a blast, we have also booked no excursions and basically had the ship to ourselves while in port. Also a blast.

Some of the excursions were bucket list, such as submarine and helicopter rides.

 

My best tip is to take some time at night and look for shooting stars, completely FREE and memorable.

[Morgan3701]

You can expect lots of photography options. It is a good time to have a formal picture taken to document a special event. (Birthday) Lines are usually not long and lots of background choices for no sitting fee.. Easy :)

 

Enjoy your vacation.. Read and plan.. that is half the fun for me.