rusty12345

Just having finished my first cruise, let me add my $.02

 

1. I'm sure this varies by cruise line, but on RC's Brilliance, they are not strict at ALL about dress codes. I saw plenty of people in shorts in the dining room on casual nights, and on "formal" nights, there were men in polo shirts, button downs with no tie, and women in cotton dresses. Several of my cruising companions were disappointed that they went out and bought special clothes for the cruise when it clearly wasn't necessary.

 

2. The advice to bring a 1 to 6 outlet converter is golden--and note on RC's Brilliance the outlets are oriented sideways, so our 1 to 3 adapters that expand normal outlets sideways did not plug in.

 

3. Visiting a different city for one day, every day is EXHAUSTING. I couldn't believe how tired I got--grab sleep where you can because it'll catch up with you!

 

4. Sometimes the photo department will let you gather up your photos and put them in a folder with your name to keep them organized--we didn't find out this was an option til the last day when we were scrambling to try to find all of our pictures, so ask when you first arrive.

 

5. People on here keep saying bring fewer clothes--I have to disagree with that. I wore every single thing I brought, and I was worried I'd overpacked. Keep in mind that on port days, you are likely going to want two outfits because one will get sweaty during the day--and you're not going to want to re-wear that one! It's more realistic to think you'll repeat dinner outfits, but definitely bring at least one outfit for every day and don't plan to repeat shirts you wear in port, at least not in the Mediterranean in August!

 

6. "Comfortable walking shoes" have an entirely different meaning in normal life than on a cruise. Sandals that are fine for strolling around the mall for an hour or two are completely different from shoes that will hold up over an entire day of walking miles and miles up and down hills, stairs, dirt, and puddles. Keep this in mind when deciding what to pack. And oh, NEVER walk 10+ miles in pleather closed-toed shoes.

 

7. It's totally possible to do all the ports of call on your own. I ended up doing this but was nervous about it, and it was totally fine. Get Rick Steves guidebooks to European cities if your itinerary includes them--his practical tips are so valuable and he includes great walking tours that basically enable you to be your own tour guide.

I have a suggestion also about the comfortable walking shoes. Even if you have comfortable walking shoes, and I do, I found I was still getting blisters on my toes so my solution to this is to use vasaline before putting on my socks on the mornings I am planning to walk miles and miles etc. So something else to add to the things that you might find necessary to enjoy your cruise.

Although I've been on two cruises, I found this thread to be quite helpful! I particularly would like to shout out to the person who suggested the white noise app on the iPhone. I normally sleep with a fan on, and my BFF, who is my cruise partner this time around (poor DH gets to stay home by himself) likes a fan too. I was afraid she was going to suggest turning on the tv for noise - well, that would keep me up all night. So I downloaded the white noise app and hopefully will get used to it in time for our cruise.

 

The things I must pack have been mentioned - particularly the over the door shoe organizer. DH & I found that to be very practical to keep all our bathroom stuff in, and keep the counters clean. Royal Caribbean doesn't offer a whole lot of bathroom space in the E1 and D1 cabins. I took highlighters the first time and never used them, so they stayed home the second cruise.

 

One thing I have added to my travel sewing kit: when I bring stuff back from the dry cleaners I take the safety pins and pin them into the lining of my carryon bag. I usually have a half dozen there, in varying sizes. More often than not, they stay there. But a couple times I have been very happy to be able to put a quick fix on a wardrobe malfunction. That's not just a cruise thing, though, that's a travel anywhere idea.

 

I also make sure to pack a couple packets of sink-size Woolite or laundry soap (I have found sink size packets of Tide... once... sure would like to find them again). But in case of a spill or whatnot, or avoiding the $20 laundry bag in mid-week, I can get some undies at least washed in the bathroom sink. Then I use the line RCI has in the showers to dry them with the handy-dandy plastic clothespins I've packed. Not a whole packet of them.... about 8-10 only.

I have found it is just as easy to use shampoo to clean your underware or other things in the bathroom sinks so you might save some space in you luggage this way. I will be taking some of my own soap to use for big laundry as my cruise is 28 days long and I can only pack under 50 lbs in one suitcase or pay for second bag (I might as well use the laundry service on board ship. and pack less)

For a cruise in Europe, do they conduct business and charge you in Dollars or Euro? What do they prefer for tips? And - what kind of cash is used in the Casino - or given to you when you get cash there off your SeaPass? (Royal Carribean)

 

Thanks!

I bellieve they charge you and conduct business in dollars on RCCL. The casino's use dollars also. Some cruise ships they have different computers on that you can charge the amount to your sea pass if you are using the slot machines. I believe you can also use dollars on the tables for the tokens. I bellieve on some ships you can trade your $$$ for euro's which is what we do when we go overseas. we have also changed our dollars at the airport when we arrive in a foreign city. enchange rate is not very good so we only change a little bit at a time.

I, too, am a first time cruiser but I have done a lot of research and have been reading these boards for a while now. So, I have learned a lot.

I think whether or not you will have a fridge in your room depends on a couple things. One, your particular cruise line and, two,your type of cabin. You should check your cruiseline's website and look at the amenities for your chosen cabin category. If you can't find anything listed, you can always call either the cruise line or, if you have one, your TA.

The drink card usually entitles you to 20 sodas which are half a can of soda each.

You should check your cruiseline's website to see if you can purchase onboard credit before your cruise. In any case, when you do your online check in, before you receive your cruise documents, you will have to either register a credit card on which the cruiseline will place a certain, per person, daily hold. This hold is not placed until the day of sailing and at the end of your cruise, your card is only charged for actual purchases and not the entire hold amount. If you are sailing for 7 days , and the hold amount is $60 a day, then the total will be $420 for the week per person. You can also opt to pay cash upfront when you board. If you should exceed this cash amount, you can always add more to it. You can always inquire at the purser's desk about your account throughout your cruise to keep track of your spending. You can also catch and correct any mistakes on your account and not find them on the last day of your cruise and, avoid a long wait.

I wish you the best and happy cruising.

My drink cards for soda was unlimited amount on all the days at sea. Also the coffee card was unlilmited for brewed coffee but had a limit of 15 . This was on a 18 day cruise with Princess. Princess was also giving out 2 for 1 drink cards to some people thru their travel agents. (LILke AAA. Check this out

I absolutly love this thread. I read every single comment and replys. I learned so much from so many people. I tend to travel light and am a vetern traveler having traveled as a backpacker pretty much all over the world.

 

I have never taken a cruise so was reading the differnt things I might consider taking on cruises and I really do appreate all of it. I had never considered a power strip for example and am thinking about it. Also Highliters mini-s are a good idea. One of the favorites I read was about taking envelopes with two one dollar bills in them like one for each day of the cruise. Also including some candy, somthing from home. For example I am from and live in Alaska so I could take a Alaska Magazine and place it under the envelope on the first day. I would also include money in the envelope as well. I appreate learning that a lot of crews like magazines and I could offer that from my home.

 

I do appreate all the suggestions and if some people like to pack heavy and enjoy it that way thats great. I like to pack trim and slim as it where but still pack things like a small first aide kit. I always pack a small first aide kit that actually stays in my small purse I use every single day. It has bandaides,Antiseptic wipes, Adhesive bandages, a couple of Midol. It goes every where I go and ive used it a lot.

 

I appreate all the suggetions and tips and people taking time to write them. I think its great to read them all and get the ideas. I dont think its neccesary to demean or make fun of other peoples helpful suggestions.

 

I also loved the one about a small spray bottle for by the pool. I think thats a great idea. Being from Alaska Im going to work very hard not to get over heated.

 

Also is thier a way to check if we get a fridge in our rooms? Do we check the cruiseline website? I want a fridge and although I dont drink alcohol at all. I want to be able to store juices and cold water in thier and plan to have all the alcohol removed from fridges.

 

Also is the drink card worth it? I like a couple of diet cokes a day and if the cups are small then that might make a drink card worth it.

 

I also plan to prepay all tips so that i dont have to think about or worry about it. Also can we prepay cash before the cruise like send a MO or have it taken right off my Debit card before the cruise? I want to do it that way.

 

Thanks all for answering any questions and thanks all for the tips. Thier was tons of great tips I dident mention that ive now learned.

 

Im also planning my parents anniversy cruise for them so all these tips are great for them,

 

Adri :)

Hi, I have an ans. for you about the prepaid drink cards, My suggestion is that you do not buy a soda drink card because you can usually pick up soda's in ports you will be stopping at and that is the cheapest way to go . I have had a soda card and I found in order to make it pay for me I was drinking too many sodas a dayl Of course it was very convient to have the card because you could go anywhere on the ship and ask for a soda, with the soda's in your room you had to go to your room to get one. You did not say what size ship you were saililng on so again it might be easiser to have a card if you don't want to travel all over the ship to get a drink. I do like the coffee cards however becauses I found out my husband and I do not lilke coffee the ships have but you have to pay for speciality coffees and those that are not liquid coffee that they serve. you can have brewed coffee with the card.

have fun on you trip. We will be going on a 28day cruise in the near future and I am very interested in all the information on thiss tread even though i have been on about 30 cruises.