First Time Cruiser Here...Please Help!

[Megalyn]

You may also want to speak to your doctor about some anti-anxiety meds.  They are commonly used for people with a fear of airplanes just on travel days.  It may be worthwhile to have some on hand just in case.  It will provide you with an option if a storm hits.  Even having them in your possession may give you more peace of mind. 

 

Best of luck & I hope you have a wonderful time!

[Victorious8]

I went on the NCL Epic in March, I am 29 and definitely more of a party girl than most of my friends and it was AWFUL. I had so much anxiety and the ship was PACKED with undergrads on a partially chartered Spring Break trip. Before you pull the trigger on any short cruise in March really research the date to see if you may run into the same issue I did. One of the biggest problems with this group is that the cruise was at MAX capacity since all of them booked four to a room. You literally could not even get into a hot tub, like I mean packed with three rings of people at all times. Even the nicer chill bars were always 3 people deep. It made me feel so claustrophobic. One friend who had never traveled much still had such a great time, but for me compared to all of my cruise experiences it was a nightmare and almost turned me totally off to cruising. I blame myself for not researching adequately, just a tip.

[mjkacmom]

3 hours ago, Victorious8 said:

I went on the NCL Epic in March, I am 29 and definitely more of a party girl than most of my friends and it was AWFUL. I had so much anxiety and the ship was PACKED with undergrads on a partially chartered Spring Break trip. Before you pull the trigger on any short cruise in March really research the date to see if you may run into the same issue I did. One of the biggest problems with this group is that the cruise was at MAX capacity since all of them booked four to a room. You literally could not even get into a hot tub, like I mean packed with three rings of people at all times. Even the nicer chill bars were always 3 people deep. It made me feel so claustrophobic. One friend who had never traveled much still had such a great time, but for me compared to all of my cruise experiences it was a nightmare and almost turned me totally off to cruising. I blame myself for not researching adequately, just a tip.

I’m guessing any short cruise in March will be packed with spring breakers, I’d avoid all of them.

[newmexicoNita]

19 hours ago, JustMe19 said:

Thank you for the info!  I do live in the Northeast and would be leaving in March.  But with NCL offering free flights, I would fly out of any of the ports in Florida.  I live in NJ and could leave from Bayonne but since it will be March, I fear the waters may still be choppy and if mother nature is in a mood, she may decide to rain on my parade so to speak.  I was thinking of getting a balcony room in the hopes of it helping with me not feeling like I am in a confined space.  I am excited but fearful at the same time.

Not meant to be a downer, but remember March is also Spring break time so any ship you take is going to have a lot of families on the ship and are going to be crowded, especially the newer mega ships. As already mentioned the mid ship location will be a bit smoother. that being said, we have sailed in the spring many times and not have a lot of rocking and rolling. We have had rain or cool breezy weather a few times. 

 

For us the ideal ships are the Jewel class ones, not to big but big enough to have activities going on most of the time. 

[Victorious8]

20 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I’m guessing any short cruise in March will be packed with spring breakers, I’d avoid all of them.

 

True - this was different though - this was a hosted cruise targeted to Greek life at a few huge schools. I imagined groups of friends on here being wild - these were THOUSANDS of people and it was really out of control. My friends and I were about 30 but since we look younger staff assumed we were spring breakers and treated us differently. This was the Epic cruise where a woman (not a spring breaker) fell off the ship (was rescued) on the last night. 

[texasgirl29]

If you are anxious about being at sea, I think you should go with a ship that's more sedate --no water slides, zip lines, go carts. It seems to me that being on a thrill ride 17 stories above the ocean is not ideal. I would look at Celebrity and enjoy dining, entertainment and just relaxing. If you can get idea of what your SO thinks is a good time, that would be helpful. 

 

You'll have to decide if fresh air from a balcony or just being able to see the horizon from a window would suit you. 

 

i would recommend looking at videos on youtube to help you decide. You can see interiors of ships including different kinds of staterooms.

[Peachypooh]

My only piece of advice is make it easy on yourself. Cruising out of Bayonne or New York are

within driving distance for you so you won't have to think about flying. Can you push your trip into May? We did

a 5 day Bermuda cruise out of Bayonne on RCL that was great. I suffer from both seasickness and claustrophobia

but have found the magic solution. I always get a balcony to be able to step out and look at the horizon which cures both.

 

[Robinsoncruiseso]

If you can push the date back a little, look at Virgin Cruise Line. Shorter cruises, brand new ship, over 18 only.

[StormiB]

You will absolutely feel the waves more in a balcony than in an interior room. So you will need to balance your need for "feeling confined" with visually seeing the water line. We have cruised multiple times and each time I bring sea-bands for our wrists but have never had to use them. You can pick them up at CVS/Walgreen's/Amazon. The only cruise that was very choppy for us was out of NYC this past December, spring is generally been a smoother ride in our experience. 

[JustMe19]

22 hours ago, StormiB said:

You will absolutely feel the waves more in a balcony than in an interior room. So you will need to balance your need for "feeling confined" with visually seeing the water line. We have cruised multiple times and each time I bring sea-bands for our wrists but have never had to use them. You can pick them up at CVS/Walgreen's/Amazon. The only cruise that was very choppy for us was out of NYC this past December, spring is generally been a smoother ride in our experience. 

Thank you!  I will definitely be stocking up on those!!

 

[JustMe19]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:51 PM, Robinsoncruiseso said:

If you can push the date back a little, look at Virgin Cruise Line. Shorter cruises, brand new ship, over 18 only.

I will check it out, thank you!  Nothing is set in stone yet and I have until Christmas to decide on the destination.  I was looking at Key West/Cozumel. But last night I had mentioned an article I read about Carnival Cruise line having a burst pipe and they were in Cozumel when it happened.  Purposely told him that to "feel" him out and he said he would never want to go to Mexico.  Ugh!

[JustMe19]

On 10/6/2019 at 1:57 PM, Peachypooh said:

My only piece of advice is make it easy on yourself. Cruising out of Bayonne or New York are

within driving distance for you so you won't have to think about flying. Can you push your trip into May? We did

a 5 day Bermuda cruise out of Bayonne on RCL that was great. I suffer from both seasickness and claustrophobia

but have found the magic solution. I always get a balcony to be able to step out and look at the horizon which cures both.

 

Cruising out of Bayonne does sound nice and would probably be less than a two hour drive from my house.  I haven't made any definitive plans as I am still trying to figure out where to go.  If not March, then I was hoping to go in April.  But May wouldn't be bad either, just longer to wait!  Which gives me more time to get bathing suit ready 🙂 

[JustMe19]

On 10/6/2019 at 9:48 AM, texasgirl29 said:

If you are anxious about being at sea, I think you should go with a ship that's more sedate --no water slides, zip lines, go carts. It seems to me that being on a thrill ride 17 stories above the ocean is not ideal. I would look at Celebrity and enjoy dining, entertainment and just relaxing. If you can get idea of what your SO thinks is a good time, that would be helpful. 

 

You'll have to decide if fresh air from a balcony or just being able to see the horizon from a window would suit you. 

 

i would recommend looking at videos on youtube to help you decide. You can see interiors of ships including different kinds of staterooms.

I have been looking at videos and NCL Pearl did not appeal to me at all.  I just didn't get a good feel for the ship. I never thought about the water slides and zip lines.  I am not a fan of either.  I will check Celebrity out, thank you!

[JustMe19]

On 10/5/2019 at 7:12 AM, newmexicoNita said:

Not meant to be a downer, but remember March is also Spring break time so any ship you take is going to have a lot of families on the ship and are going to be crowded, especially the newer mega ships. As already mentioned the mid ship location will be a bit smoother. that being said, we have sailed in the spring many times and not have a lot of rocking and rolling. We have had rain or cool breezy weather a few times. 

 

For us the ideal ships are the Jewel class ones, not to big but big enough to have activities going on most of the time. 

You're right!  I never thought about Spring Break!!  

 

[RedwingHockeyFan]

I've never had an issue with Spring break cruises.  There may be more children but that never bothered me.  An over 18 cruise will still have college age spring breakers which can be worse than children.

 

Also, I have mainly had balcony rooms and I rarely ever have an issue with the movement in the room.  I mostly feel it when I am walking through the interior or sitting down in one of the MDRs.  There are three types of motions sickness and they are all caused by the conflicting information of what is sent to the brain. First, If your body sees motion but doesn't feel it.  this is normally caused by virtual reality simulators and video games.  Second, Your body feels motion but doesn't see it.  This can be caused by riding in cars and the sensation I referred to about walking the interior of the ship and sitting down at the MDR.  The third is when you see and feel the motion but they do not correspond.  This type is where regular sea sickness falls into and carnival rides.  On a large ship you won't get this type unless the waves are relatively large but they normally try to stay away from sailing in waters that rough.  I used to get very sick playing FPS video games so I do not do that anymore.  From all of my cruises I have only ever felt nauseous twice but have never gotten sick.  Both instances the waves were around 7 feet or higher.

[Megalyn]

3 hours ago, JustMe19 said:

Which gives me more time to get bathing suit ready 🙂 

 

Buy a bathing suit - and you are ready!  Please don't put additional pressure on yourself.  

[Peachypooh]

9 hours ago, JustMe19 said:

I have been looking at videos and NCL Pearl did not appeal to me at all.  I just didn't get a good feel for the ship. I never thought about the water slides and zip lines.  I am not a fan of either.  I will check Celebrity out, thank you!

What is it about the Pearl that doesn't appeal to you? We have her booked again in May which would make 4 times. Maybe I can answer some questions. Just so you know the Jade, Jewell and Gem along with the

Pearl are all sister ships.

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Peachypooh

[JustMe19]

17 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

What is it about the Pearl that doesn't appeal to you? We have her booked again in May which would make 4 times. Maybe I can answer some questions. Just so you know the Jade, Jewell and Gem along with the

Pearl are all sister ships.

 

I really can't explain it.  In watching the videos, I really didn't get a good feeling about it.  Like it wasn't the type of ship where I said "oh I gotta get on there" sort of feeling.  Did you ever look at something and know you don't like it but can't really explain why you don't like it?  I know I sound like I am off the wall over here 😞  

 

[Peachypooh]

You don’t sound off the wall at all. And yes it has happened to me. We do alot of driving trips and sometimes we stay at a town along the way that I am glad to keep going for no real reason. In that case the Pearl isn’t for you. I’d like to add that the actual ship is only part of the cruise experience. The first time I was on the Jade I couldn’t wait to get off. But I took her a second time with a completely different crew and passenger list and had a much better time.