"I wish I knew before..."

[Serge1]

Hello

I see a lot of people mentioning taking a power strip on board. What types of sockets are available to plug the strips into.

I need a small three pin and wonder if they are all US type? I will take a multiplug anyway.

I am travelling on the Nautica (Oceania).

Thanks.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Serge1

[mamkmm2]

Hello

I see a lot of people mentioning taking a power strip on board. What types of sockets are available to plug the strips into.

I need a small three pin and wonder if they are all US type? I will take a multiplug anyway.

I am travelling on the Nautica (Oceania).

Thanks.

 

I don't know about Nautica but on Princess and Carnival cruises I've generally found that they have "US" or "North American" type outlets. I've heard some say they have both "US" and "British" with one above and the other below but that may be on limited vessels, I've just never seen them. I think it may be because most cruise ships are registered in the Caribbean and that's the types of plug they use there from my understanding. And many of the cruise ships are built in Japan and they too use the same configuration as the US/No. America.

 

Hope this helps.

[U2_Rocks!]

Celebrity doesn't officially allow extension cords, according to their packing regulations - how hard is it to get one through? Do they put all of the suitcases through an Xray machine?

[First and Ten]

Power strip in the room is good for charging multiple cell phones, tablets. This isn't your home, sometimes you will only have 1 or 2 outlets in your cabin. Make sure you bring a power strip WITHOUT a surge protector....if it has a surge, they won't let you take it on board

 

Literally bring half of the clothes you were planning to pack....one nice outfit (guys, not a tux.....formal night can be topsiders, dockers and a collared golf shirt) 2 or 3 swimsuits is a must

 

Main dining room and "specialty" restaurants way overrated....Food on most cruise lines is wedding food quality. Good, but not awesome....stick to the buffet, food just as good

 

If you like lines and lining up like cattle, go early....you get to stand in line to get on the ship and wander around by the pool with a drink in your hand because nothing is open yet....if the ship leaves at 4, get to port by around 130 and you will stroll on board and get right to your room as opposed to wandering around aimlessly like the cattle that lined up at 10

 

Lastly and most important....HAVE FUN!!!! :D

Edited April 26, 2016 by First and Ten

[Brat81978]

I love this tip. Hadn't even thought about that. My husband saves his coins so he can buy a couple of snickers at work each day. Wonder if he'd be willing to give up his snickers for an extra drink on board? :D

 

I always empty my pockets every night and put all my change in a jar. I just cashed it in and got $52 for our cruise this Sunday!

[Brat81978]

"I wish I knew before"...

 

*Not to stress over what I was going to wear.

*Fear that I wouldn't fit in.:)

*Not to bring a beach bag because I never used it. Instead I used a small cross body purse that held a water bottle, small wallet, etc.

*Bringing a pop-up hamper would be so great for dirty clothes. It folds flat, keeps clothes off the floor and out of my suitcase. Ours had handles in case I wanted to take them to the laundry.

*To bring more casual outfits.

 

To an extent I always look at it as why be so self conscious? What are the chances you will ever see any of these fellow passengers again? Worry about you, and have a great time. Who knows, maybe someone seeing you have so much fun will encourage them to do the same! 😊

[Klynnn3]

Some suggestions: pack your swimsuit in your carry-on' date=' so you can swim the first day before your luggage arrives, when the pools are not very busy. Do not waste time going to Shopping Talks, as they are mainly about jewelry and only cover the stores that the ship has a deal with. If you don't like something in the dining room that you have ordered, ask for something else, and they'll replace it pronto. If you like a certain thing in the dining room, you can always ask for more (my mom had three lobster tails once). You can also customize the meal in the dining room a bit, like asking for mashed potatoes instead of baked, for instance. Pack clothes with pockets, so you can always have a place for your ship card and daily planner. Bring an over-the-door shoe holder to help organize your room (to keep sunscreen, sunglasses, camera, batteries, hair stuff, etc. You can ask for the mini bar fridge to be emptied to make room for your own bottled water, etc that you bring on board.[/quote']

 

 

I have seen many posts in getting mini fridge emptied. When, where, and how do I make the request? Steward only or can I email the request in beforehand? Thanks

[Brat81978]

I have seen many posts in getting mini fridge emptied. When, where, and how do I make the request? Steward only or can I email the request in beforehand? Thanks

I called the concierge desk yesterday and asked for the fridge to be emptied so hopefully it'll be done before I board so I can just put our stuff right in.

[Cruisin'Christine]

To have the mini fridge emptied, just ask your room steward. They have always been happy to oblige.

[Bernie by the sea]

my last cruise I used DropBox to store scanned copies of my passports, insurance, cruise docs. that way you can access them from anywhere with an Internet connection, including phones & tablets

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cruisin'Christine]

With respect to the response that the food in the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants are overrated, so to eat in the buffet. This could not be further from the truth, in my opinion. I am not really a huge fan of the buffet, but I love the main dining room. First, I love being served and having different courses. I like being able to customize my meal. The food in the dining room is always beautifully presented (not so in the buffet) and hot. It is just a lot more upscale and less rushed in the dining room.

[mamkmm2]

my last cruise I used DropBox to store scanned copies of my passports, insurance, cruise docs. that way you can access them from anywhere with an Internet connection, including phones & tablets

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You can do the same thing with OneDrive. And thanks for the idea ... definitely a good idea for a location to store extra copies of the documents we'll need.

[cricket_7]

Subscribing

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[pixiewolf]

I apologize if this has already been mentioned, but one thing I found to be helpful was to have maps of the ship decks handy on my phone. I carry my phone everywhere, and found that to be easier than carrying paper with the deck plans printed on it. Check the app store to see if your cruise line has an app that includes deck plans, and check to see if you can still access them without being connected to the internet (I kept my phone in airplane mode the entire time). The longer we were on the ship, the more familiar we became with the layout, but the first couple days the Carnival app really came in handy!

 

so far I've read 84 pages and you're the first to mention an app. never thought of it and now I have it.

the wife and I thank you!

[SetU2]

The app Shipmate has most deck plans.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited May 5, 2016 by SetU2

[jen_cruiser]

I wish I would have tested out the prescription sea sickness patches before. They made me very drowsy and I kind of missed 2 days of the cruise. Using Bonine now which is over the counter and apparently strong enough for me.

[Gigi loves to cruise]

First cruise in September and all these tips are wonderful. I have been researching for months but still learned so much on this thread. Thank you everyone! I will continue to follow for the next few months.:)

[PDXrae]

What a wonderful idea! Thanks so much for sharing it with everyone.

[mamkmm2]

I've started using Shutterfly to upload my pictures. I prefer it to Facebook for sharing. You can determine who can see your pics and you retain ownership of them and don't have to worry that something you've deleted is going to suddenly come back to haunt you. LOL

 

It's free AND there is an app you can download so you can either do it from a desk top or your smart phone.

 

I map out locations for free wifi when I'm in port. I take a few minutes to hit the free wifi locations before or after an excursion, upload what I can, then carry on. Works nifty and my parents love it because I'm more willing to post pics of our younger kids online where as I'd never do that on Facebook.

[fumita]

such a great thread! only took me 2 weeks to get through the 108 pages...

[jenZ]

The app Shipmate has most deck plans.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

I use the ShipMate app too- especially good when planning pre-cruise.

 

However, it did not work onboard the Celebrity Reflection (did not have internet package) when my iPhone was in airplane mode. I thought I had tested it before I left and that it did work to access deck plans without Internet, but apparently I did not test it correctly!

 

Still a handy little app...

[BOLERO2]

Glad you found the book useful.

Enjoy your cruise and watch out for elbows!

[subeat]

I use the ShipMate app too- especially good when planning pre-cruise.

 

However, it did not work onboard the Celebrity Reflection (did not have internet package) when my iPhone was in airplane mode. I thought I had tested it before I left and that it did work to access deck plans without Internet, but apparently I did not test it correctly!

 

Still a handy little app...

 

On a recent trip to Las Vegas we had plans to visit several different resorts. Instead of having to pull up maps of each property, I took screen shots so I could access them whether I had a good signal or not. I've been planning to do the same with the deck plans from ShipMate since we won't be buying an internet package.

 

Loving all the info in this thread!

[Shawninrye]

On a recent trip to Las Vegas we had plans to visit several different resorts. Instead of having to pull up maps of each property, I took screen shots so I could access them whether I had a good signal or not. I've been planning to do the same with the deck plans from ShipMate since we won't be buying an internet package.

 

Loving all the info in this thread!

 

Screen shots have really helped me. Especially with sales. I just screen shot them and there is the date with the price. Reservations, emails.

 

Also,I joined Kindle unlimited for $10.00 a month. It is pay as you go so you can quit at anytime. But I have found a world of information through the free books! I may only pull one or two bits of information out of the book but I just move on to the next book and take screen shots of valuable info.

Books on cruising, ports, hiking, birds, plants, Mayans and ruins. National parks. The list is endless!

[kruzkween]

fumita...if you'll turn "signatures" OFF in your preferences, you'll only have 54 pages! Makes the pages all full of actual posts and eliminates the "fluff". Is much easier to get thru. Just FYI