Tips for Honeymooners

[shabadoo24]

My fiance doesn't check these boards so I wanted to take the opportunity to get any recommendations from previous Oceania cruisers on how I should best utilize the ships services to make the honeymoon a little special for her.

 

Tips on roomservice, places/times to do dinner, etc would be very welcome. A trip to the spa is a given but if there's anything special/unique there to consider please let me know! As background we're foodies, love wine, relaxation and enjoy history/culture (thus the itinerary) We're taking the Aug. 6 Barcelona-Istanbul cruise if that helps.

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

Joe

[NAS-KARR]

One of the most obvious would be a nice dinner on your balcony with bubbly and all. I think you could come up with a rose somehow. Also bring along one of these Christmas window candles that are battery operated (u can't go lighting any flame anywhere on the ship you know).

 

Good Luck e CIAO,

[almtyrob]

Being married 30+ years its hard to remember those days, but breakfast in bed comes to mind. Followed by a couples massage. Champagne on the balcony (if you've book such a cabin), chocolate covered strawberries, dinner in the cabin...followed by dessert:D ! Good luck on your life together!

[dest1ny]

We will be on the same itinerary but in Apr celebrating our 25th. Bali massage for two /battery operated flicker tea light candles for balcony and tub (if you booked a PH). I bought a set of 20 for $20 so we can have faux-candles all over for atmosphere Defintely dinner in from room-service on several nights :)

Enjoy and good luck on your lifes journey together

[CathyCruises]

This is not what you are necessarily looking for, but the very best suggestion I can give you is to arrive at least one day early. That will give you an opportunity to unwind from the international travel, give your bags a chance to catch up with you if, god forbid, something awful happens, and it will allow you to REALLY enjoy your cruise once you board.

 

I say this because on our cruise out of Barcelona last fall, we rode in from the airport with a young couple on their honeymoon, and they were totally exhausted. Hadn't slept in like 40 hours. Luckily they recuperated for a day in Barcelona, and when we saw them again on the ship they looked and felt 100% better. I kept thinking what a shame it was not to have allowed some time to see the beautiful city, too. It is one of my all time favorites and even a day and a half is not enough, but at least you can get the flavor.

 

Obviously a day or more post-cruise in Rome would be fabulous too--both are spectacular and loaded with history!

 

Best of luck to you!

 

Cathy

[Rob & Beckys mom]

My fiance doesn't check these boards so I wanted to take the opportunity to get any recommendations from previous Oceania cruisers on how I should best utilize the ships services to make the honeymoon a little special for her.

 

Tips on roomservice, places/times to do dinner, etc would be very welcome. A trip to the spa is a given but if there's anything special/unique there to consider please let me know! As background we're foodies, love wine, relaxation and enjoy history/culture (thus the itinerary) We're taking the Aug. 6 Barcelona-Istanbul cruise if that helps.

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

Joe

 

Bring some of your own wine in your checked luggage or buy some in your first port. Remember the bubble wrap & ziploc. Wine we buy at home that cost $17 is $50+ on the ship.

 

Jan

[shabadoo24]

Thanks to all for their great feedback. We're actually going to start the honeymoon a day early in Barcelona for the same reasons you gave about unwinding, we're also staying a day later in Istanbul to get a bigger bite out of that city as wel.

 

Great ideas on the battery operated candles- would never have thought of that. We'll definitely be bringing a few favorites for wine. Again, thank you all for your great advice and well-wishes. If any other ideas come to mind, feel free to share. Look forward to meeting so many friendly folks like you on the cruise!

 

Best Regards,

 

Joe

[JimandStan]

Joe-

 

You picked a fantastic itinerary for your honeymoon cruise!

 

Just be aware that there is the temptation, on this itinerary, to do too much. There is always "a DaVinci that you really must see"; or "the very best example of a true Rennaisance whatever"; and, if you're anything like us, those kind of choices can be tough to turn down.

 

Touring all day is exhausting (especially day after day after day) and although everyone says that they're "not going to kill themselves" the truth is that you will.

 

That being said, have you considered booking one of the cabanas? At first blush it may seem extravagant, however, the cabanas are a wonderful place to be pampered and relaxe.

They're semi private, and you'll feel so much better about yourselves for napping in the Cabana, rather than in your room, because you can sightsee from your day bed.

In fact, those "Balinese Day Beds" are the perfect place from which honeymooners should toast Monte Carlo, or the the bay of Naples, or Santorini.

Cabana boys are always there to bring you a glass of champagne with, perhaps, some strawberries as you leave port. ;) It's heaven.

When you get up there after a day of touring, they'll bring you iced or hot towels (depending on the weather) to rejuvinate you.

If you'd love a big pitcher of well iced water, or a bucket of beers, or a martini, or hot tea, or iced tea, or ice cream, the cabana boy will go and get you whatever your heart desires :D Very relaxing after being on your feet all day....and all this with a perfect view of the ship sailing out of port.

 

.....also, folks who book a Cabana for the full cruise get 25% off all spa services during port days.

 

Have a great honeymoon and promise me you'll get "preposterous on the bosporus" ;) At least once!

 

Wishing you a long and very happy life together!

[shabadoo24]

We're in JimandStan! Great tips and we'll definitely look into the Cabana- I think you have us sold! As for your recommendation, we have taken up the rallying cry "Preposterous on the Bosphorus!" We might just have to take a day to slowly marinate in the cabana and enjoy a day off from the rigamaroll of touring. Thanks again!

 

Joe & Kim

[rreett]

Perhaps ask for your dessert to go one night & enjoy it back in your cabin or on your balcony.

[merryecho]

Even though you can't do it together, one of my favorite memories of Istanbul is going to a traditional steam bath. There are some ancient ones, all marble, gentle steam, and filtered light. you just lounge in there pouring bowls of cool water over yourself, then a masseuse (of the same sex) scrubs you down with a loofa and gives you the best massage of your life. I felt like I had a new, and improved, body. Afterward you have your own little cabin with a chaise in it where you wait for your body to de-liquify. Very sensual.

[sacway]

Joe -

 

How thoughtful of you, bodes well for a happy marriage. So many excellent ideas already. Tongue firmly in cheek, here are a few more to use or discard.

 

JimandStan have great tips. The steam bath in Istanbul sounds great, too. One way not to overdo port activities is to think of each stop as a "port appetizer". You can always come for a longer time later. Pick one primary activity as a must-do, based on your shared interests, and be flexible about the rest. We try to plan no more than 1/3 of our time, and often go back on board for lunch (it's already paid for, safe and tasty, and if one of us needs a rest, the other can go off alone for a while) then go out again in the afternoon/evening.

 

Plan at least one picnic breakfast or lunch for a city park or on a beach. Easy to do in most ports on foot, you just buy the ingredients at a shop on the way. If you walk a quarter mile off the tourist track, you can usually find a beautiful, intimate, unforgettable place.

 

My brother had a great time shopping for carpets in Istanbul. If you have just set up a place of your own together, you might want to bring along a swatch of sofa fabric and pick up something fabulous just before your flight home. Similarly, you could buy some kind of beautiful textile in Barcelona and use it for a spread or tablecloth in your cabin, to give it some pizzazz.

 

What is your sightseeing style? My spouse loves to read newspapers in plazas while I visit churches and museums, creating ample opportunities for small surprises. These can be gifts presented to one another at dinner or even mailed home from port for the delayed surprise. (We've even gone into supermarkets and emerged with "presents" for each other -- a soda pop, a magazine...)

 

When to eat, other than room service, depends on what you two want. Elaborate table service? Specialty meals? Tapas early in the evening was a favorite for us.

 

If your partner likes to dance, and you don't, much, go dancing anyway, every night. One song a night ought to do the trick.

 

Pack lightly so your bag will have space to offer your spouse at the end of the trip.

 

Go easy on yourselves. Of course you'll pack sunscreen and use it consistently, but then, one day maybe someone forgets and gets burnt, and then you can't do the couples massage. Or, you plan to catch the local bus and go to the beach, and the bus you catch goes the other way, which you realize when it drops you in the most unscenic part of town... Whatever happens, keep your sense of humor when things go right and when they go amiss.

 

Have a great honeymoon cruise!

[merryecho]

Wow Sacway- those are all beautiful ideas no matter how long you've been married. I printed that out and tucked it in my suitcase. Thank you!

[shabadoo24]

Thanks again folks. I'll keep looking at this post for more ideas, but i think you've put me on the right track... :)

 

Best,

 

Joe

[lcand1923]

I don't know if your intended is a "collector" or if you are, but I do have a suggestion that will be meaningful in the future.

 

On your honeymoon, pick up something small at each port: one friend would collect a matchbook, another bought a Christmas Ornament, a third would buy a refrigerator magnet. One of the best suggestions I have found came from a Cruise Critic Message Board. Someone said that they bought a keychain at each port and then hung them on the Christmas Tree. As they said, every port has keychains and most have something to do with the port.

 

If your intended questions your purchases, say something like, "I want to remember the first big journey we had together. Hopefully, there will be many more."

 

If you "do" a Christmas Tree, or just throw these items in a big brandy snifter or cookie jar, they will bring back many memories, laughs and much happiness.

[merryecho]

Ica- great idea! Can you imagine how those silly souveniers will be treasured in 50 years? My new favorite collectible is 'floatie' souvenier pens- that have something that floats up and down when you tilt the pen. I get one everywhere I go, and keep them in a pot on my desk.

[lyndenfa]

we collect key chains and have a bulletin board with them hanging. we have now begun a new bulletin board. always have fun looking, remembering and shopping for them. used to bring some back for gifts but no one needs any we have given so many!!