"I wish I knew before..."

[tropicgirl52]

It only took two days (lol) but I've finally finished this thread.

 

I'm one of those obsessive planners too, however as everyone else has said, I am SOOO glad I found this thread prior to leaving.

 

You have cut my packing in half.

 

We're driving to port, and had planned to leave the morning of, but now we're driving down the night before.

 

I've made my own "can't be without it" list.

 

I am so flippin' excited I can hardly stand myself. I come home from work everyday telling my DH something new I learned and he just rolls his eyes. He's the "tell me the day before we leave and I'll just pack a bag" kind of guy! I think he's getting tired of my daily updates, lol.

 

Thank you guys so much for being willing to share all this great information!

 

My husband is the same way. For me part of the excitement of the vaca is planning, learning and researching where we are going. I can make that 7 day cruise last for months both before we leave and after we get home.😀🚢

Love this thread

[flwrs4ever]

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions and tips.I have my first cruise in September to the Western Carribean and can't wait to enjoy it with all the great dos and donts .

 

If you do anytime seating for dinner ...can you still do a reservation time that day if you know when you want to eat, or is it just show up and wait.

 

I've seen mention of Bingo being expensive, anyone able to give an idea of cost ?

 

Thanks again for all the help !

 

Kym

[GUT2407]

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions and tips.I have my first cruise in September to the Western Carribean and can't wait to enjoy it with all the great dos and donts .

 

If you do anytime seating for dinner ...can you still do a reservation time that day if you know when you want to eat, or is it just show up and wait.

 

 

Certainly most lines let you book, won't say all as I haven't had My Time with them all.

 

 

I've seen mention of Bingo being expensive, anyone able to give an idea of cost ?

 

Thanks again for all the help !

 

Kym

 

No idea we don't play Bingo.

[mzloolue]

Sorry. Confusion.

Edited March 16, 2015 by mzloolue

[PomSaysOm]

I still can't believe this thread is still going after all this time! I've read this thread before both my first and second cruises in 2010 and 2013 and I decided to reread the entire thing as a refresher before this one (May 17th). Took me almost a week of reading on and off but I finally did it!

 

I don't think I have anything else to add that hasn't already been said, but a big thanks to everyone who has contributed!

 

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

[Elaine2]

Really great ideas ! Thanks everyone !

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Fishy tales]

Hi we are Jan and Allan from Newcastle England. This our first cruise but have been recommended to use this site by friends. Looking for people wanting to go on excursions in ports of call but not the official ones as we are told these can be very expensive, usually unnecessarily so. We are retired teachers with a "young" outlook on life. :)

[dltvermont]

Fishy Tales, you should find your cruise's roll call here on Cruise Critic and post your question there as it will only be people on your specific cruise. I bet there will be someone going to the same places as you want to go on your excursions.

[Host Walt]

Fishy Tales, you should find your cruise's roll call here on Cruise Critic and post your question there as it will only be people on your specific cruise. I bet there will be someone going to the same places as you want to go on your excursions.

 

To find the Roll Call for your cruise, use the Cruise Critic Roll Call finder:

 

Roll Call Finder

[First time Fi]

Just one or two plugs (by the desk) and sometimes they're positioned so as to make it diffiicult to plug in a power brick. Or so I hear.

 

I got one of these at amazon for not a lot of money.

 

 

I am going to be on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, will this work? I am also from the UK so different pins etc.

 

Thanks

 

Fi

[Underwatr]

I am going to be on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, will this work? I am also from the UK so different pins etc.

 

Thanks

 

Fi

 

It will work in the North American outlet(s), but you'd still need adapters for the individual plugs you would be connecting. I'm not sure how large those adapters are vs. the adapters but you'd be able to connect at least two adapters to that item.

 

I'm sure you know that we use 120 volts here while the UK and Europe (etc.) use 220-240 volts. Most electronics doesn't care and will be happy at either voltage or something in between as long as you've adapted the sockets to your plugs.

[First time Fi]

Someone posted this link on my thread:

http://deckplangenius.com/Home.aspx

And it's packed with good info on choosing a cabin!

 

 

Phew, had a mini panic after seeing the link.

 

Thankfully my cabin in okay, sheer dumb luck on my part. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

Cheers

Fi :)

[GrannyDee]

To find the Roll Call for your cruise, use the "Cruise Critic Roll Call finder"

 

I cannot find my ship QM2 on Roll Call finder, is this site only for certain cruises?

[GrannyDee]

Looking for information on QM2:

Is there a hairdryer in the cabin?

Can you wash and hang 'smalls' in your cabin?

Does one tip for Room Service even if tips are added automatically to your bill at the end of your voyage?

Edited April 9, 2015 by GrannyDee
correction

[ozarkmama]

Looking for information on QM2:

Is there a hairdryer in the cabin?

Can you wash and hang 'smalls' in your cabin?

Does one tip for Room Service even if tips are added automatically to your bill at the end of your voyage?

 

The Cunard forum is the place to post your questions

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=54

[Host Walt]

To find the Roll Call for your cruise, use the "Cruise Critic Roll Call finder"

 

I cannot find my ship QM2 on Roll Call finder, is this site only for certain cruises?

I've posed this question to the PTB's (powers that be) to see why QM2 is not a part of the roll call finder.

[Underwatr]

Looking for information on QM2:

Is there a hairdryer in the cabin?

Can you wash and hang 'smalls' in your cabin?

Does one tip for Room Service even if tips are added automatically to your bill at the end of your voyage?

I hope you'll come over to the Cunard forum, but meanwhile,

 

- Yes, in a little drawer above the fridge (in case you can't immediately find it)

 

- Yes, there's a rectractible clothesline in the shower. Further, washers, dryers and laundry detergent are complimentary on all Cunard ships (but also in high demand)

 

- It's up to you; we tip a dollar or two for our morning fruit and OJ (the bottle of "champagne" that you're given in your room - Pol Acker is French sparkling wine but not Champagne - is better suited for making mimosas than drinking straight) but there isn't an expectation to do so.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Underwatr

[existential monkey]

So far, every single useful tip I could share, I've seen already posted by another user...except this one:

 

On our first cruise, my husband and I kept seeing masses of land and wondering what each one was. So, on our next cruise, we brought the GPS unit from my car. It told us how fast we were going (land speed, of course), which direction we were traveling, and identified the nearest land masses and how far away they were. Yes, it was just another electronic doodad to take up outlet space in the stateroom, but we enjoyed having it with us. :D

Edited April 10, 2015 by existential monkey

[Elorac123]

took me awhile but I read ALL 97 pages! My first cruise is 41 days on the Carnival Pride. With pages of notes to go through, I should be able to pack what I need (and a little what I don't need in case I need it) LOL

 

but thanks everyone, lots of good advice given here!

 

I have been reading this for days, this is my first cruise coming up in August on the Noordam in Alaska but have been on many overseas holidays.

When you think you have had all the wear out of your undies and socks, don't throw them away, take them with you and throw as you go. ( yes I know, my Mother would have a fit too)

[GrannyDee]

I hope you'll come over to the Cunard forum, but meanwhile,

 

- Yes, in a little drawer above the fridge (in case you can't immediately find it)

 

- Yes, there's a rectractible clothesline in the shower. Further, washers, dryers and laundry detergent are complimentary on all Cunard ships (but also in high demand)

 

- It's up to you; we tip a dollar or two for our morning fruit and OJ (the bottle of "champagne" that you're given in your room - Pol Acker is French sparkling wine but not Champagne - is better suited for making mimosas than drinking straight) but there isn't an expectation to do so.

 

Thank you so much for the very helpful information.

[GrannyDee]

Thanks for the replies to my questions. I will ask all my other silly questions on the Cunard Roll-Call.

:o

[Off2seeAlaska]

Read the daily paper to know what's going on board the ship the next day.

 

Plan to catch at least one sunset and one sunrise.

 

Meet at least one new person each day.

 

As others have said, take half the stuff, twice (or more) the money.

 

Above all else, decide to have a good time before you even go.

 

 

Love these tips:) I cannot wait for our cruise!!

DH has never been (I went with family as a child) and I know he is going to LOVE it!!

We've already decided that we are going to have a BLAST together and we're hoping the trip is fun too :D

[Off2seeAlaska]

My husband is the same way. For me part of the excitement of the vaca is planning, learning and researching where we are going. I can make that 7 day cruise last for months both before we leave and after we get home.😀🚢

Love this thread

 

Planning is SO TOTALLY an extension of the trip!! I LOVE it. I am so excited that I found this site and can benefit from everyone's experience!!

 

I am an avid traveler (usually adventure or budget or both ie: Hostels, camping, hiking, everything independent) So Cruise travel is going to be a brand New Experience!! Thanks for all the great advise!:D

[IslandLife17]

Sort of our first cruise...

 

We had our honeymoon on a Royal Caribbean ship. Not even sure which one, it was so long ago:eek::D

 

Buut, 13 years and two kids later we are considering a cruise for either next year or the year after. If the price is right, we would probably go in Feb 2016, but if we have to save then it would be Feb 2017.

Only February because Hubs is a teacher, we don't like to pull the kids from school, and we like to get away from winter in New York.

 

Anyway, I am feeling very overwhelmed at this stage - and it's just the beginning. First, there are so many cruise lines. And while price is a big consideration, I also don't want to settle and be unhappy with the ship. Saw a great deal for a Carnival ship with our dates, perfect price, but then someone said it was an older ship and another said they smelled sewage the entire time they were on board :eek: Royal Caribbean has some, but they are more $$. We have been to WDW 3 times and think our kids would LOVE a Disney cruise, but I think I wasn't as thrilled with their port choices...

 

Phew! So how did you decide which cruise line to go with? Were you happy?

[KBD1516]

If it helps, RC and Carnival both have good kids programs. And much less $$ than Disney. There are huge difference between the older and the newer ships so that can matter. RC has the most active stuff for kids. Like rock walls surfing machines and ice skating.

 

Also you should watch for a time when the there is an on board credit offer and make the deposit them. Then watch the price because you can get price drops right up to final payment. Also you can make monthly payments which are refundable up to final.

 

Consider the cost of insurance as part of your cruise costs. Anyone can get sick at the last minute and cause you to