KansasEMT

I've been doing my homework on the drink package and the daily limit for booze, whether you have the package or not - is 15 drinks per person.  For those with healthy livers, I guess order some buckets/fishbowls for the group lightweight to share when you reach your limit?

That said, I've been on some vacations where the drinks are pretty watered down, allowing you to easily consume 20+ per day while barely getting a buzz.  Some drinks are stronger than others - maybe you can request a little more ETOH in yours?

So I've never sailed with Carnival, but have been corralled in a theater for hours waiting to self-disembark, then herded through lengthy queues.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to be herded into an air-conditioned holding tank is not my thing.  Can we go to the pool area in departure day?  The bar?  I'm happy to wait, just not in a big empty room without even a window.  Does our drink package cover morning mimosas?  What are our options while waiting - ones with sunshine and liquor please?

RCCL took great care of me in the dining room. They didn't offer much in terms of desserts, though. Breakfast in the windjammer was fruit, oatmeal, english muffins with peanut butter. By days 6 & 7, the fruit was getting a little sparse, though.

NCL is awesome for bar service, especially poolside. They also have a in-the-sun hot tub for adults only. More kids on RCI. But the flow rider, rock wall, water slides are only on RCI. My hubby prefers RCI, I prefer NCL.

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For the water slides, body mass does not matter. My husband is a lot heavier than I am and we raced . . . We both had to do some paddling to keep up momentum. Tidal wave is another story entirely. . . .more weight= faster ride and higher climb. I almost touched the top!

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The fresh sea air in the tranquility of your own balcony . . . . Priceless!

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The fresh seafood air in the tranquility of your own balcony . . . . Priceless!

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Just Cruise!!!! How could anything surpass living life to the fullest!

I think the minute you stop following you dreams, you die. Live for today, you don't know about tomorrow...

Amen!

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We hung out with the "over 60" crowd on our first cruise and had a blast! We were 40 at the time and loved hearing their stories over drinks. Even convinced some of them to zip line upside down! We were jealous cause they've been able to cruise so much!

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Just wanted to pop in and thank everybody who responded to the question i was about to ask! Nice to see other vegan cruisers making this more mainstream, too!

Here's mine (it was my first cruise)

Day 1 (departure): cute summer dress with boots and tons of jewelry. Mistakes: boots & jewelry. Should a worn flip flops or sandals.

Day 2 (cozumel): denim shorts and tank by day. White simple dress at night. Was mistaken for being half my age.

Day 3 (Belize): sundress and sandals. Score!

Day 4 (Roatan): tank and shorts by day. Sleeveless pink dress with cardigan by night.

Day 5: Costa Maya: shorts and cute tank by day. Sleeveless animal print dress by night. Cardigan when it got late.

Day 6: (on boat) simple sundress

Day 7 (arrive at port) capri and embellished tee.

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Thank you, Nancy, Sinppu, and TNGALOHA! This was my first cruise and I wasn't sure exactly what to wear. These boards really helped me a lot.

Let's try this again. The white dress for our anniversary dinner was a little big (bought it pre-weight-loss), but it worked. Clearnace at Kohl's. The pink is basically the same, clearance at Old Navy (I think still available), and the blue came from Maurices - perfect for a lazy day drinking rum at the pier.

So i can't add pics . . let me try again.

Finally got pics of two of my dresses. Sorry, but black-on-black photos didn't work incredibly well. The "formal" is from my daughter's 2006 winter formal (never underestimate the power of a good LBD, right?). The white dress was on clearance at Kohl's. I bought it prior to the weight loss, so it's a size 10 dress on a size 6 body, but it still worked!

We loved the free dining. As for WOW style planning, you can't quite do that with cruising. We LOVED sunbathing on our private balcony with a bottle of chardonnay and having those do nothing times. Cruising is so relaxing compared to theme parks.

-lisa (roller coaster enthusiast & WOW fan)

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Warm bread & butter pudding in the mdr. If it's lukewarm, send it back. If it's not hot, it really isn't very good.

Cold blueberry soup at the buffet.

Coconut flan at mdr.

Yummy stuff!

Lisa

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I am just now returning from my first cruise and we obsessed from the time we contemplated cruising until we boarded (and then some). The planning part was fun and really got us excited for all the adventures on board and off.

Give me a few days to get home & post a full review from a virgin cruiser perspective. All the stuff I shoulda known before cruising.

Lisa

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Kansas EMT, I agree with Lisa and geocruiser. You have to be you otherwise this would be a very dull world.

 

By the way where are you from in Kansas?

I was born and raised there. Born in Topeka and raised in Junction City. Haven't been back since the early 80's. Hoping to get to go back this Oct for our 45th high school reunion. ( Wow did that just date me):eek:

 

Can't wait until Marie gets back so we can see her pictures of her in her gorgeous gowns. Sure do miss her and hope she is doing good.

 

Have a great day everyone,

Gerry

Hi, Gerry. Wow, you guys have all been so welcoming! I'm in southwest kansas, between liberal and dodge city. Where are you living now?

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NCL does not have formal nights. They have "dress up/dress down nights. Hardly anyone was dressed up. We wore cocktail dresses and the men wore slacks and a sports jacket and we felt over dressed. :eek: This was our first and only NCL cruise....It was sort of "it is your vacation...do what you want" type of cruise. We actually wound up loving it. I hope you have a GREAT cruise and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY:):):)...

THANK YOU!! I did learn that NCL is not very dressy, but it is an option and ya know what? I might be overdressed, but it's our silver anniversary, and I need a new profile pic and evidence that I do own a dress and can wear my hair in anything other than a ponytail. I'll never ever be as classy as Marie or fashion-forward as Lisa (and that's ok by me), but I think I'm really going to enjoy putting on pretty clothes for a change. :D

Don't lurk, join on in, the more the merrier! :D

Lol- I'm leaving for my very first cruise tomorrow. Will post pics in a couple of weeks. Gotta warn ya - I am by no means a fashionista. I used this forum as my research. I knew better than to wear sweatpants, but was lost when it comes to formal wear.

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So I've been lurking this thread for ideas, inspiration, and well, it's just plain fun to see what ya'll come up with. You ladies all look fantastic and I love your dresses and your willingness to share your sense of style with those of us who are lacking in that department. Just wanted to say "thank you" to ya'll.

There is cave tubing, may an ruins, snorkeling, horseback riding, jeep tours. I haven't done any of them, just having a tough time trying to narrow them down.

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I'm new to cruising and as such, do not own cruise-appropriate clothing. So, I've been shopping and searching and buying and I copied some of your spreadsheets and it's really kept me from over-spending and over-packing. I can match each day's activities with an outfit or two and while some might call it OCD - how awful to live in the sticks and realize the day before your cruise that you don't own a sundress? Or take a 7 day cruise and buy 12 sundresses?

It's really helped me keep my spending in check because i don't wear "nice summer clothes" at home, so I only need enough for my cruise. I can look through the spreadsheet and see where I have enough here, but need something there. And I don't need to pack every summer outfit I own.

Just wanted to let ya'll know that you're not crazy or OCD, you're just great planners. And you've helped a total stranger along the way. So . . . thanks!:D

In "real life" I don't own swimwear or shorts. I avoid people and don't wear dresses. I'm in scrubs or jammies most of the time.

On vacation, I'm with people I love and I'm not serving anybody. There are no bills to pay, meetings to attend, problems to be fixed. There's a pool and nobody cares how much weight I've gained. There's drinks, but no driving home afterwards. There's dancing and a party atmosphere. My phone is turned off and I don't have a care in the universe.

So yes, I will dress and act completely differently while on vacay (I've never cruised before, but I'm anticipating long adventurous days and long nights of dancing, drinking, and playing). The whole point of a vacation is to escape the drudgery of the working life . . . and I'm going to escape completely! I've even threatened to "lose" my passport somewhere fun so I'll be forced to stay there.

I'm going to dress up, look nice, and focus on the fun! Work and home will be just fine without me!