What I didn't know on my first cruise...

[Young cruiser]

I took my first cruise a year and a half ago. I am leaving for number 2 in November. I did find Cruise Critic before my trip but not the Carnival Board. I joined my roll call. I spent most of my CC time on the Fashion and Ports of Call boards.

 

When I was on my first cruise:

 

*we never saw our room steward, and got a towel animal about every other night. (never thought twice about it. Our room was always clean when we returned from the days activities. I never expected to meet him/her.)

 

*our waiter at dinner was like we would have at any restaurant back home. He said hello took our orders,brought them to us, and checked back every once and awhile. (Again I expected nothing more than this. I was very happy with the service we received)

 

*We (three single girls 22-23 years old) we seated at a table for four alone when we asked for a large group. It never occurred to us to ask to be moved or that this was something to com[plain about.

 

*We did meet a women named Ann that worked at the Ivory bar. She was super sweet. We went there every night before and after dinner for a drink and she would talk with us about our day and her life on the ship. (I thought she was the exception. IU received great service all over the ship, but never expected anyone to bend over backwards for me. I remember thinking that it must be hard working on a ship full of people on vacation, when you are stuck working such long hours. I wouldn't be able to. I would be crazy jealous!!!)

 

*we also never ordered room service which I now consider a huge mistake that I will over correct on all my future cruises.

 

Now that I will soon be leaving for another great vacation. I am wondering if my expectations will be different. Will I be disappointed if I don't get an animal every night, like I now know most people do? (I also never thought to tip extra the first time around ;) ) Will I expect my waiter to be more than a waiter and entertain me all night? Since I have heard so much about people having the "best/funniest" waiters on carnival. Will I be disappointed that my waiter was just efficient?

 

 

Just a question is there anything you would have done differently on your first/early cruise(s) now that you have more experience?

 

As long as the ship doesn't sink, I don't get sick, and I make it back the ship on time.... I know I will have an excellent time!!!!!

 

Ashley

[3boymom]

I don't think you're missing anything. Personally, I like having the waiters just do their job. I have no desire to be their friend and exchange addresses or emails at the end of MY vacation. And I know they have no desire either. But some do their job well and make the customer feel extra special. I can take it or leave it.

 

Towel animals, eh - I think they're a bit corny. But my boys love seeing them. I don't care if we get one every single night. I certainly wouldn't make a stink about of not getting any at all, but a few here and there are ok.

 

Room Steward - The last few cruises, the ones I have had were great. I hardly saw them but the room always looked nice. They would always introduce themselves on the first day. I hate to be a bother to them but I'll always smile and wave when I see them.

 

Room Service - it's nice when you need a little something while getting ready to go out for the night.

 

Just my thoughts.

[dragonflymy2000]

what i suggest is go on your cruise with the excitement you had on the first and go with the flow.....you might not ever meet the stweard, make friend with the waiter or order room service and you trip will still be awesome....sometimes i think people "want" too much and forget to just have fun and relax, its a vacation......yes, i have learned many mant things since my first cruise, some have been better than othersdepending on the route, other guests and carnival employees but yet each was fantastic becasue i was on vacation and made it what i needed it to be....have fun and try not to over think....although i love cruisecritic i also think it changes people's expectations (for the good and bad)

[terri910]

What I didn't know on my first cruise (which was back in the 80's on the Carnivale) was that with a little research we probably could have had a great time in the ports without booking the ship's shore excursions.

 

Our shore excursion at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on our first cruise, was not particularly memorable or fun. And I've never cared if we ever returned there!

[trock]

What I didnt know on our first cruise was how much a balcony is worth it!

First cruise obstructed OV.. who cared.. it was our honeymoon

2nd cruise inside cabin.. going with the entire family.. was trying to keep the cost low.. Great for sleeping!!!!!

3rd cruise OV.. no obstruction, we thought, Man this is grand!

 

4-5-6 same as #3

then #7..oh boy.. a balcony

OMG we could never ever go back to an OV yet along an inside! LOL

 

Actually if i could not get the balcony i would go with the inside.. The window is a tease!!!!!

[peachhead11]

I guess we were spoiled. Got towel animals every night and also saw the steward quite a bit. This was on the Inspiration twice.

 

The best part was in the dining room. We had the greatest wait staff. They absolutely did their jobs, but were also fun to talk with and really entertaining. It was a big part of why we loved our first cruise and are going on our third in December.

[scperk]

What I didn't know on my first cruise (which was back in the 80's on the Carnivale) was that with a little research we probably could have had a great time in the ports without booking the ship's shore excursions.

 

Our shore excursion at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on our first cruise, was not particularly memorable or fun. And I've never cared if we ever returned there!

I'm with you about the excursions...Lots of times I ask the crew member that has the best tan which beach is the best for the next port...Remember they go there at least every other week...There are soo many different things to do in each port we try something different when we go to a port we have already been to....just go with the flow and have fun...Dennis

[SimplyAddicted]

The best thing you can do is go with no expectations. You are totally right - you will have a great time. After my first 2 cruises (Pride and Miracle) we tried the Destiny. We had expected a similar experience and got a pretty different one. Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic vacation, but I think it would have been better if we hadn't expected anything.

[Ehpride]

We love the towel animals. One thing that neither of us thought of on the Inspiration was glasses for the towel animals. So we bought a cheap, fun pair of sunglasses for our next cruise to leave out for the room steward.

 

Also, I learned to ask the wait staff what's good for dinner. They know and if I follow their suggestion, I end up with an awesome meal.

[cruiseaddict05]

On our first cruise our room stewards and waiters asked our names and used them the rest of the cruise. Now that we have been on 3 more I am beginning to think that is rare because not a one of our room stewards or waiters have used our names on a regular basis... they may have introduced and asked us our names but it was not the same as the first cruise.

[deborahjo]

Take some time each day to jsut sit some place and people watch. On a cruise that is the best thing I found to do day or night.

[Megnolia]

I wish I had known the symptoms of sunstroke!

 

I also wish I had gone to the supper club since I haven't been on a ship with one since.

[G'ma]

What I didn't know on my first cruise was................

 

What I had been missing the first 35 years of my life.

 

I have corrected all that in the past 33 years and now have 200+ under my belt. (cruises - not pounds).

 

I have always enjoyed myself, always been very pleased with the room steward (even though he may be rarely seen), enjoyed most meals....and any that I didn't like, I simply requested something else. With one exception, I've never said "I'll never sail with ABC cruiseline again", nor "I'll never sail on this ship again". That one exception was a disaster by the name of "Club Sea" which was - well, simply awful and only did about 6 weeks of sailing before closing their door. Even on that, though, my friends and I had a good time together. I've never complained about anything to the Purser's Desk....even though I have brought something to their attention if it needs attention.

 

For the last 20 years or so, I've found out that I much prefer cruising with fewer children....so I go in September, October, November and up to mid-December. Sometimes first coupla weeks of January.

 

I've learned that cruising during hurricane season is an adventure and anyone who doesn't like not knowing where you're going...should avoid the season.

 

I didn't know how many wonderful friends I'd make over the years; cruise ship employees, company employees, past cruisers, etc.

 

I've learned that nothing is perfect, including your vacation; that every member of the ships complement is doing what they can to make sure your vacation is the best.

 

I also didn't know then that, no matter how "experienced" you are, some of us still get that wonderful, thrilling uplift in our mid-section when we first sight our vessel....just sitting there waiting. We still feel like a "newbie" when we first step across that portal that separates land from sea.

[tomboyy]

The best thing you can do is go with no expectations. You are totally right - you will have a great time. After my first 2 cruises (Pride and Miracle) we tried the Destiny. We had expected a similar experience and got a pretty different one. Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic vacation, but I think it would have been better if we hadn't expected anything.

 

If you have more than half a brain and paid more than alittle bit , you'd better expect something:D

[Kurbanfan]

If you have more than half a brain and paid more than alittle bit , you'd better expect something:D

 

I know I do:D

[tomboyy]

What I didn't know on my first cruise was................

 

What I had been missing the first 35 years of my life.

 

I have corrected all that in the past 33 years and now have 200+ under my belt. (cruises - not pounds).

 

I have always enjoyed myself' date=' always been very pleased with the room steward (even though he may be rarely seen), enjoyed most meals....and any that I didn't like, I simply requested something else. With one exception, I've never said "I'll never sail with ABC cruiseline again", nor "I'll never sail on this ship again". That one exception was a disaster by the name of "Club Sea" which was - well, simply awful and only did about 6 weeks of sailing before closing their door. Even on that, though, my friends and I had a good time together. I've never complained about anything to the Purser's Desk....even though I have brought something to their attention if it needs attention.

 

For the last 20 years or so, I've found out that I much prefer cruising with fewer children....so I go in September, October, November and up to mid-December. Sometimes first coupla weeks of January.

 

I've learned that cruising during hurricane season is an adventure and anyone who doesn't like not knowing where you're going...should avoid the season.

 

I didn't know how many wonderful friends I'd make over the years; cruise ship employees, company employees, past cruisers, etc.

 

I've learned that nothing is perfect, including your vacation; that every member of the ships complement is doing what they can to make sure your vacation is the best.

 

I also didn't know then that, no matter how "experienced" you are, some of us still get that wonderful, thrilling uplift in our mid-section when we first sight our vessel....just sitting there waiting. We still feel like a "newbie" when we first step across that portal that separates land from sea.[/quote']

 

You've taken 6 cruises a year (average) for the last 33 years?:confused:

[kolebyt1996]

I wish we would have stayed in the dining room later than we did we always missed the entertainment because we didn't stay long enough.

[trock]

I have to say the best waiter we ever had was on our first cruise on the Horizon.. His name was Celene and he was from Turkey and looked like a younger Andy Garcia;)

 

He knew it was our first cruise and decided he was going to tell us the in's and outs of everything!.. Formal/lobster night.. He didnt come take our order.. Instead he brought out one of each main dish including two lobsters.. - Same with desert.. I have never experienced anything like it since and it was quite entertaining.. One night i had severe sunburn.. could not even move.. Allen went to the restaurant to tell him why we were not coming to diner- we didnt want him to wonder..

 

Next thing i knew Allen was at the door with Celene with a tray of food from the dining room and a "special" vinager concoction for sunburn that Celene made..

 

I surely thought Celene was going to get in 'trouble'.. He said he had it covered! He talked to the Maitre'd... Later that evening the Maitre'd called our room to ask if we enjoyed dinner and to check on the sunburn!

 

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I had no idea the service was this good and I had no idea you can order whatever and as much as you want from the menu:p