pugmadkate

We do like to buy the $250 Beverage Cards which can be used to buy all drinks including bottles of wine. By buying the Beverage Cards I don't have to keep track of a lot of receipts at the end of the cruise.

If I were to buy a pre-paid card, is that a physical card I have to keep on me? I'm wondering because we are traveling with our adult son and niece and her fiancé. I'd want them to be able to use the pre-paid card as well. If it's a literal card, then it would make sense to buy a few cards to pass out. If it's pre-paid on our account, then we could just buy one.

Thank you to everyone for your help. This is the whole gangs very first cruise so we have a lot of questions!

This is great information! Thank you!

So, if did "pay as you go" do we need to buy those pre-paid beverage cards that come in $25, $50 or $100 amounts? Is that a physical card that one must carry or can you just charge it to your room like in hotel? Clearly, I've never been on a cruise!

Are any beverages included for free? Water, iced tea, etc? Or must one buy a beverage package?

Also, if I understand this correctly, everyone in a cabin must buy the same beverage package. That is a problem because my husband and adult son want to buy packages that include alcohol and due to a medical issue, I cannot drink alcohol. I don't want to pay for drinks I cannot have! Any ideas?

Thank you all so much!

I am thrilled to say we have booked our very first cruise. We're taking a HAL cruise in Alaska, June 2018. I asked my travel agent to explain the dress code but wound up a bit confused. She said there is no formal night but that one night is the Captains dinner and men should wear suits/women cocktail dress.

Well, to be honest, we don't want to bring dress clothes to Alaska. Are there alternative places to eat on the night when people dress up? And for the typical dining night, are nice jeans okay? Three members of our party are in their 20s and would need notice if we expected them to dress up beyond that for dinner. What about lunch and breakfast? Are jeans and t-shirt okay for that?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Thanks, all!

Thank you all!

We are in the process of planning our very first cruise! It's going to be Alaska in June 2018. We're seriously considering the Princess Ruby. Three of our multi-generational family are in their 20s.

So my question is if there is a place where they would be able to grab a drink and go dancing on-board at night? Thank you!

Thank you, all!

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I was disappointed to read this, "Fun activities during the day, and a variety of entertainment in the evening is gone...evening entertainment is early and reduced. You can't even find a bar with music and dancing before the late dinner seating easily. Even the evening 'fun & games' activities are held during dinner time if held at all."

The ms Eurodam.

We are planning our very first cruise ever and have decided on Alaska in June 2018. It will be a three-generation family trip, the youngest of whom are in their mid-20s. We've got it narrowed down to HAL or Princess. I'm leaning towards HAL because of the smaller ship/less people but I'm a bit concerned about things I've read that HAL skews towards an older crowd.

Our 20-somethings are not rowdy but they might enjoy a drink and dancing in the evening. Is that available on HAL Alaskan cruises? Does HAL really skew older? Any help is much appreciated!

Thank you all so much!

I'm all about saving some money! How do you go about booking things that are not through the ship? Look up local businesses in the ports we'll be stopped in?

... If you don't have a dart, a butcher knife will do.

My husband just got a sharpener for his birthday. I think I might try this! ;p

We're doing it! We're taking our very first cruise and it's going to be to Alaska in June 2018. It will be a three generation family trip with (so far) eight of us. Having never cruised before, I just assumed I would book all of our excursions through the ship (leaning towards Holland America but have not decided yet.) Now I'm seeing that some people don't do that.

What do you recommend? As a first time cruiser, I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the details and it seems doing it through the ship would be the most simple but I'm open to other ideas. Thank you!

Thank you all so much! I want to see Glacier Bay and the RT Seattle Holland America goes there, so I'm leaning that way. Still have research to do! Thank you, again!

We know for sure we are going on an Alaskan Cruise in June 2018 but that's all we know!

How in the world do you decide between cruise lines? We're stuck between Celebrity, Princess and Holland America. They all look wonderful. Prices are similar.

Tell me your tips and tricks for deciding which cruise line is best for your trip!

Thank you!

Wow, I've already learned so much from this thread!

I was disappointed to read that Holland America allows smoking on room balconies. My in-laws abhor smoke, so that's a nonstarter. It's looking more and more like Princess is our line. Our dream trip to Alaska would be with National Geographic but, oh, the prices! So, we're going to go with a big ship instead and enjoy that.

We are absolutely going to go whale watching. We tried to go whale watching in Costa Rica but the whales were being shy that day (still a wonderful trip!) I like that Princess has the whale sighting guarantees.

Again, thank you! Any tips or advice are much appreciated!

Thank you all for such quick and helpful replies.

I can already see how cruising can become addictive...and I've not been on a cruise ship yet! :)

Hello! I am thrilled to have found this community! As a very first-time cruiser, I have so many questions!

1. What are the benefits of using a travel agent? I've always handled all of my own travel planning yet I see many people use travel agents for cruising.

2. Our very first cruise is going to be eight of us doing an Alaska cruise in summer 2018. When should I aim to make reservations?

3. It's looking like Princess or Celebrity would fit our budget/desires. Any ideas on how to make a final decision?

Thank you!

Kate