Hi everybody! *new to cruises*

[BrendaStarr]

Hi! I and my DH have booked a cruise on the Mediterranian next summer - we're cruising on the Galaxy, and yes - we got CC cabin no #1240! We've never cruised before (not counting overnight-cruises from Sweden to Finland or from Sweden to Poland or from Sweden to Germany!) and since my hubby is a left-over heavy-metalfan from the '80-ies with long hair in a pony-tail the question is - will we feel out of place? Of course we'll dress according to dresscode and we both speak English more than well... We wouldn't consider neither of us as good at mingle-ing, but are a bit concearned about not mixing with other people on the cruise... Any input?

[BrendaStarr]

"better" than well, perhaps... And the next-to-last-paragraph would be "none of us would considder him or herself to be..." --- Sorry for that...!

[ISABELLA]

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising.

After taking only 35 cruise, here is what I will recommend:

Just be yourself.

Have a good time.

You will meet wonderful people and will see fantastic places.

YOu might get addictive to cruising and there is no cure.

Have a great time.

[templed]

Pony Tails are cool....

 

 

:)

 

 

No... I don't think you'll feel out of place... I'd just "be yourselves".... you'll find plenty of people to have fun with .

 

Welcome to cruising. Wish I could join ya... but... I'm stuck on the docks for a bit...

[Bruin Steve]

Hi! I and my DH have booked a cruise on the Mediterranian next summer - we're cruising on the Galaxy, and yes - we got CC cabin no #1240! We've never cruised before (not counting overnight-cruises from Sweden to Finland or from Sweden to Poland or from Sweden to Germany!) and since my hubby is a left-over heavy-metalfan from the '80-ies with long hair in a pony-tail the question is - will we feel out of place? Of course we'll dress according to dresscode and we both speak English more than well... We wouldn't consider neither of us as good at mingle-ing, but are a bit concearned about not mixing with other people on the cruise... Any input?

 

There will be almost 2000 passengers onboard...of all shapes and sizes, ages, lifestyles, etc.

 

I'd say the overwhelming majority will be from the US and other English-speaking countries (Canada, Britain, Australia, South Africa), but we've sailed in Europe on Celebrity with a lot of (non-British) Europeans as well...

 

You will not be out of place...You will find lots of friendly people...including some old 80s heavy metal fans-- some of whom who have cut their hair...Also some old "hippies" from the 60s/70s--as some would categorize ME--who now wear their hair short and lead more "establishment" lives...

 

Most people don't judge you by your hairstyle...rather by whether you're a nice person...Yeah, some do...but who needs them? After all, as I said, there will be almost 2,000 passengers on board...You will certinly be able to find lots of people you like and will be able to have an enjoyable cruise...

 

Just kick back and relax and have a good time...Don't worry about such small inconsequential things as "fitting in"...

[BrendaStarr]

Thank you! Well, about the pony tail - I don't think that would be the problem. We're always "ourselves" and have ordinarily no problems with getting to know new people, but my DH is a bit concerned about people's preconception to Men with Long Hair and Motley Crue-shirts... And he's thinking a lot about how to be true to himself and his taste in music and how to still dress according to the dresscodes... ;)

[Bruin Steve]

Thank you! Well, about the pony tail - I don't think that would be the problem. We're always "ourselves" and have ordinarily no problems with getting to know new people, but my DH is a bit concerned about people's preconception to Men with Long Hair and Motley Crue-shirts... And he's thinking a lot about how to be true to himself and his taste in music and how to still dress according to the dresscodes... ;)

 

Well...let's see...

During the day, all over the ship...and while in port, all I wear are T-shirts...my collection is from all sorts of places...Never had a problem...

 

At night, you sort of have to wear long pants and a sports shirt ...I just change for dinner...I guess you could vary that look a little--there are lots of "casual" looks that are a little more "hip"--though they might not allow jeans, for example, in the dining room at dinner...

 

On formal nights, we ALL go out of character and wear a suit or a tux...

 

I just write off those formal nights to "playing the game"...

 

I trust your husband has a few alternatives to the Motley Crue T-Shirts? Heck, I actually KNOW Tommy Lee (really) and he doesn't always wear those t-shirts!!!

[GORDONCHICK]

I didn't see any one mention this yet, but a Med cruise is fairly port-intensive. You may not be that concerned about mingling, but more about getting rested up for the next day.

 

With that said, if you carry yourselves with respect and respect other people, meet up with some on your roll call, you should do more than fine, so don't sweat it!

[Pontius Navigator]

Brendastarr

 

I'd say the overwhelming majority will be from the US and other English-speaking countries (Canada, Britain, Australia, South Africa), but we've sailed in Europe on Celebrity with a lot of (non-British) Europeans as well...

 

Can't speak for the Mediterranean but on our Baltic Cruise last month, from Dover, the majority of passengers were British. We also met Austrailan, South African and Canadian. There were several Japanese and quite a few Spanish and French. After the British the largest contingent was American.

 

Of the crew there were no British and I don't believe there were any European either apart from most of the officers who were Greek.

 

As for language we had more difficulty with the crew than with the other passengers :)

 

As for dress, they came in all shapes, styles, and fashions. While there are formal nights with Tuxedo or Dinner Jackets a dark suit (or any suit) was also acceptable. However national dress was also in evidence. There were several Scots in full Highland rig including kilts.

[dbh62ark]

I saw your note on another thread (regarding Helsingborg) and wanted to reassure you that there are many passengers like my husband and me who love meeting new people who are not just like us, and we especially love visiting with people from different countries. I'm sure that you will find many new friends on your sailing. :)

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[thepeacha]

I am not in the normal cruise demographic either and it has never gottten in the way of my good time- and I meet wonderful people every day on the ships! Anyone who will not speak to you due to a ponytail does not deserve the pleasure of your company. I'd love to sit with you over a drink and hear what life is like in your part of the world- thank you for knowing English so that conversation can happen!

 

My Dh is quite a bit older than me and we get some heat, usually from women in the 45-60 age range- but those who look past our age difference find an educated, funny, engaging couple who did not let an age difference get in the way- why should they?

 

We did the med on the Millenium last Sept., it was fabulous, wonderful ports... you will have a wonderful time and be addicted forever.

[BrendaStarr]

Thanks for all of your replies! Well, we don't look THAT strange, we are both professionals in our 30-ies and we won't necessarily wear black leather and eye-liner to show the heavy-metal-music interest... ;-) In fact - most days we look like any ordinary mom or dad... But one thing for sure, I will NOT put my Swedish national dress on for Formal Night, as I have none and don't expect ever to get one... :-)

As both I and my husband love to be on the sea (the DH has spent some time yachting)there was no doubt about what we wanted to do on our vacation next summer and from what I read in this forum, Celebrity is a great choice for a first-time cruiser. We were a bit concerned about what kind of people our fellow voyagers would be; if we were among the youngest onboard, if people would look at my DH and frown - or rather, the husband was afraid of that... ;-) I, myself, am quite assured I'd get along with most people...

Thanks to this message-board I feel quite confident that we'll have a fantastic cruise ind I'm SO looking forward to it!

 

(Bruin Steve, btw: my husband says to say hello to Tommy - Tommy Lee has always been his favorite among the Motley Crue-members and he's SO talented! So: hello to Tommy from Sweden! ;-))

[adegner]

One thing you will notice about cruising is how outgoing and frienday people are. In a regular hotel or resort, people tend to ignore each other (in my experience anyway), but on a cruise, everyone seems so much more outgoing and happy.

 

My husband wears all sorts of T-Shirts also and I have to tell him, don't wear anything that you don't want people to talk about. We are NFL Packer fans and my shy husband is often astounded at all the comments he receives (always good natured).

 

So, if you would rather blend in with the wall, wear solid colors. :)

[bububr]

Which sailing are you on? We're on the June 9th.

 

We ALWAYS make new friends on cruises, I can't remember a cruise we didn't.

 

As for the pony tail...well I've got the opposite.....Zip..... however I could grow the sides long and try and glue it up into a 'faux'hawk to look hip:D .

 

Anyway we know this is going to be port intensive, thats why we're bringing our family along...to get away from them.......... LOL....however As I said no cruise would be a good cruise without meeting few interesting people.

 

Would love to meet you guys if you're on the same sailing!

 

Dave:eek:

[BrendaStarr]

- bububr -

Hi Dave!

We're booked on the Eastern Mediterranean cruise on the 21 of July, so unfortunately we won't meet you...

 

This is acctually our delayed honeymoon, as we got married last June after almost 7 years together and two children... We'll be enjoying two weeks without children around and drinking and eating whatever we feel is necessary...

[dkjretired]

- bububr -

Hi Dave!

We're booked on the Eastern Mediterranean cruise on the 21 of July, so unfortunately we won't meet you...

 

This is acctually our delayed honeymoon, as we got married last June after almost 7 years together and two children... We'll be enjoying two weeks without children around and drinking and eating whatever we feel is necessary...

 

I know the feeling of traveling once in awhile without the kids, it is wonderful but you will miss them. As a new cruiser I can give you one piece of advice that I am sure most on this board will agree with. Arrive at your port of departure at least a day in advance. Do this on all your cruises....

 

Good catch on cabin #1240, you will love the veranda.....

[BrendaStarr]

When we booked we didn't know that particular cabin was so sought-after, but I guess our TA knew what she was doing... ;-)

We love our kids to death and I'm quite certain that we'll miss them_so_much, but they'll spend one week with DH's mother and her husband in their summer-house on the Swedish eastcoast and one week with my mother in the Blekinge-archipelago of the south-east of Sweden. No better thing than spending some time with the grandmothers, huh?

 

We've already decided to spend two nights in Rome prior to the cruise in order to be sure not to miss the departure, and also: so far I've never been to Rome. I've been to quite a lot of other big cities but never Rome. And I don't want to miss any of the "must-sees" of Rome.

 

Thank you all for the nice reception here on CruiseCritics. I've learned a lot of useful things and I've seen a lot of educational photos and infos and I'm quite assured that we'll have the best vacation ever!