First time ever and officially SCARED

[1stimescardy]

Ok so I am a 25 year old single mom who works and goes to school full time. I have decided to do something crazy... lol I have never seen the ocean, never been on a plain, and have FOR SURE never been on a cruise. I booked the 4/11/2010 Southern Caribbean cruise on Carnival Victory.

 

St. Thomas

Dominca

Barbados

St. Lucia

St. Kitts

St. Maarteen

 

My boyfriend and I are going and this is a new expierence for us both. My biggest concern... MISSING THE BOAT!.. lol I am scared to wander off too far. Is this to much cruise for my first time???? Oh goodness

[meluvtogocruise]

Looking back, my first time was a little scary too. Standing in front of the Imagination I was aw struck at the shear size of the ship.

 

Once I stepped into the lobby all of my fears left. It feels like you've walked into a beautiful hotel.

 

Don't worry, be happy!

 

mel

[hlb76]

This is a doozy for you pick for a first time. I have never been to any of the ports so can't say anything about them. Cruising is great fun and very relaxing kinda. We did do a 5 day once with 3 ports and I felt RUSHED all the time. I love the sea days where you can sit and relax all day. Plus IMO with too many ports you dont get to enjoy the fact your cruising. YOu will love to be taken care of for a week. As far missing the hsip fly in a day early if you are concerned. Feel free to book through carnival things to do while in port. I personally dont I dont care to over pay to be hearded like cattle. I research and go with private vendors so I can make the best of my time on each island. Just do you homework and you will be fine.

[hlb76]

I forgot to mention just have fun. Go with the flow........ Like I said I love the sea days so I would of picked one with less stops my first cruise but everyone different. I'm sure you will love it and wont be your last.

[Guest bahamamama1]

It sounds like you are in for a really great time ! I would say just don't stray too much off the beaten path and I don't know how old you child(ren) is/are, but my granddaughter is 2 and for her first cruise I am playing it by ear and not booking excursions. Also once you board trhe ship you can go to the excursion desk and get more suggestions and advice. However, if you are really that concerned, I reccommend you not book the excursions on your own this time; book through Carnival because at least if you book through Carnival, you are guaranteed the ship will not leave without your group if they are running late.

[FightOnRon]

I have never cruised Carnival (will next year)but have been on four cruises. So what you need to do help with the nerves is get there early. Get there a day ahead of time so that will ease your nerves about the flight (except of course the actual flight which really, flying is pretty safe, it's the aiports that are a pain).

 

Now CCL folks can tell if this works the same way as Holland America,,pay for the airport to hotel and hotel to ship transfers. Then someone gets you to the hotel when you arrive and someone gets you to the ship on time,,no worries. But if you arrive the same day,,pay for the transfers,,then someone will get you there.

 

If you're worried about missing the ship if you get off, but you are doing shore excursions,,use the cruise lines excursions. Again the CCL folks can chime in,,but when you use the cruiselines excursions the ship won't leave without you if something happens (flat tire etc).

 

Make sure you have all your documentation done and have all you need ot get on and off the ship (passports or whatever) ready way ahead of time.

 

Cruising is the greatest,,I am sure you and the children will love it. The hard part after you cruise is going back to land only vacations.

[1stimescardy]

Thanks for all the comments. I am not taking my son (he is 2). It will be just me and my boyfriend. I am however a little concerned that our ship is at a port everyday, but i really wanted to do this cruise and I figured I could spend time on the ship after we leave the islands. I think I am going to only pick two or three shore excursions and on some of the islands just shop and lay on the beach. I am soooo excited but i have never planned or booked a vacation by myself so i am worried about forgetting stuff. lol ;)

[cruzers46]

You will totally enjoy it. We did the Southern route out of San Juan our second cruise and hit some of the same ports: St Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, and Aruba. We really liked Barbados and Aruba. We were just in St. Martin and it was awesome.

 

Just make sure you have a reliable watch and give yourselves plenty of time to head back to the ship. We make sure we are back at least an hour before sailing. We love to watch from our balcony for the last minute runners!

 

We would really like to do a Southern again with the new ports of call.

 

Enjoy yourselves, cruiseing's great!!

[sixy-six]

I have never cruised Carnival (will next year)but have been on four cruises. So what you need to do help with the nerves is get there early. Get there a day ahead of time so that will ease your nerves about the flight (except of course the actual flight which really, flying is pretty safe, it's the aiports that are a pain).

 

Now CCL folks can tell if this works the same way as Holland America,,pay for the airport to hotel and hotel to ship transfers. Then someone gets you to the hotel when you arrive and someone gets you to the ship on time,,no worries. But if you arrive the same day,,pay for the transfers,,then someone will get you there.

 

If you're worried about missing the ship if you get off, but you are doing shore excursions,,use the cruise lines excursions. Again the CCL folks can chime in,,but when you use the cruiselines excursions the ship won't leave without you if something happens (flat tire etc).

 

Make sure you have all your documentation done and have all you need ot get on and off the ship (passports or whatever) ready way ahead of time.

 

Cruising is the greatest,,I am sure you and the children will love it. The hard part after you cruise is going back to land only vacations.

 

Listen to the advise FightOnRon is giving you.

 

I know how your feeling I'll never forget the first time I seen the ship. The things was bigger than any building than any in the town I live in.

 

I think your going to find that the staff is great and more than willing to help you out, at lest they have for me and a lot of people I know. I know its hard right now but just take a deep breath let it out. Now get ready to have the best time of your life. Don't sweat the small stuff, like changes in ports. Contrary to what some people may think Carnival can not control the weather. But they will show you a great time if you let them.

 

Now where is my coconut monkey head drink???? Oh you will have to get one of own when you go.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Ok so I am a 25 year old single mom who works and goes to school full time. I have decided to do something crazy... lol I have never seen the ocean, never been on a plain, and have FOR SURE never been on a cruise. I booked the 4/11/2010 Southern Caribbean cruise on Carnival Victory.

 

St. Thomas

Dominca

Barbados

St. Lucia

St. Kitts

St. Maarteen

 

My boyfriend and I are going and this is a new expierence for us both. My biggest concern... MISSING THE BOAT!.. lol I am scared to wander off too far. Is this to much cruise for my first time???? Oh goodness

 

You are going to need a vacation after you get back to rest up.

 

This ones port intensive and most first timers try to do everything.

 

You will run yourself ragged.

 

I know we did on our first cruise.

 

Bill

[waldocruiser1]

For a first time cruiser, when you get on board, go to your room, turn off your cell phone and leave it in the safe, and if you really want to loose your self leave your watch also, and just relax.

 

My first cruise I was very worried about work back home, and in fact thought I needed to call in on payday to make sure my employees all got paid and there were no problems, when I called the office manager told me what the pay was and that it went fine, YESTURDAY, I had lost an entire day, and life still went on,

 

From that point on I leave everything in the room, and have had more fun and relaxing, I have even gotten sun burned, watch out for this, it will last for months, (not the pain) just the color.

 

Relax and enjoy the fun,

[habby]

First of all, RELAX!!!!

 

Click on this link for the roll call for your cruise. It will give you a chance to meet some of the people who will be with you on the same sailing. Maybe some of them are doing excursions you would be interested in.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1041479

 

 

There's a lot to see in St. Maarten right off the ship. Personally I would use that as a non-excursion port. Definitely book something for Dominica. There's not much to do right off the ship, and Dominica is not known for it's sandy white beaches. In fact, the beaches are from volcanic rock. Not very comfortable. Island is very beautiful though.

 

For Barbados, for a first-time cruiser I would recommend the Boatyard for a beach to just hang out at and relax.

 

St. Thomas is good for either excursions or just walking around the port area.

 

Haven't been to the other islands yet, so can't help there.

 

The Ports of Call boards have lots of info, and there are lots of people around this site who are very helpful.

 

BTW. You made a good first choice by signing on here. WELCOME!!

[5waldos]

Take a deep breath and relax. As advised, fly or drive in the day before so that worry is gone. Book through the ship your off ship excursions- it costs more but you can relax and not worry about missing the ship or getting lost. When you cruise the next time you can get more sophisticated about excursions. Some excursions are 2-4 hours when the ship is at port for 10-12 hours. Go and have a great experience, look around at the shopping (most of it isn't really that great- some things to bring home but be very very careful about buying anything more than small "stuff") and then wander back to the boat. As far as forgetting things- get your passport in order, your medications (if any) in order, and your ship documents. Anything else you forget is replaceable. Do not worry about it! A bathing suit, a change of clothes, and you can easily replace anything else you might not have brought. Enjoy looking up information about your ship and your ports. And don't break up with the boyfriend before then- that will really mess up your plans!

[conchead]

Ok so I am a 25 year old single mom who works and goes to school full time. I have decided to do something crazy... lol I have never seen the ocean, never been on a plain, and have FOR SURE never been on a cruise. I booked the 4/11/2010 Southern Caribbean cruise on Carnival Victory.

 

St. Thomas

Dominca

Barbados

St. Lucia

St. Kitts

St. Maarteen

 

My boyfriend and I are going and this is a new expierence for us both. My biggest concern... MISSING THE BOAT!.. lol I am scared to wander off too far. Is this to much cruise for my first time???? Oh goodness

 

Ok, my first and only cruise so far was 9 months ago.

I was officially scared "youknowwhat"-less.:o

Would we make it to port on time? would all our cruise documents be correct? did we print out what we were supposed to? were we going to hear, "I'm sorry, but we have no record of you"? What if this? What if that? About 75% of that was gone as we walked up the gangway onto the Fantasy, about another 15% was gone when we reached our cabin.

The other 10% dwindled down to 0% by the time the we started pulling away from the dock.

By about 7:00pm, I was addicted. By dinner the next night I was a full blown hardcore cruise addict.

 

Yes, We wer nervous about missing the ship in port, so we kind of

stuck close, came back a couple of hours ahead of time..just in case;)

 

 

Our Next cruise is in 23 DAYS!!!! :D:D

I will be only slightly nervous..we are again driving..and a day early,

but winter weather..has me a little nervous.

We are in the south, some would say deep south so we don't get a lot of

winter precipt but when we do it is often in the form of ice.

I HATE driving, and I Hate Ice, but the whole drive is interstate and should be fairly clear..even with ice...I hope:o

[Tennessee Rose]

Cassondra,

A friend and I are taking our 1st cruise leaving on Jan. 30th. We booked 2 months ago and quickly found Cruise Critics website. We have worn it out! And have read so much helpful info on here. You have found a great source of information especially because there are so many experienced cruisers participating here and sharing a wealth of info. The more we read here and on Carnival's own website, the more comfortable we have felt. We just wish we could leave this week instead of having to wait another month!

 

After reading posts here, we decided to book our own excursion out of Progreso with Autoprogreso. According to CC members, they are very reliable in getting you back to the ship at this port, and have lots of customers from the cruise ships---can't afford to get a bad reputation by not getting people back on time. And they were about 1/3 less than the ship's same excursion. Again, we would not have known to do any of this if not for CC posters! I'm thinking if you are uncomfortable about the time frames, you may feel better booking with the ship. But ask questions on these boards about any specific excursions you are interested in and I'm sure there will be people on here willing to help you find out all your options.

 

Another stress-reducer for me has been to make a list of items to take as soon as we booked our cruise. As I buy an item or come across it at home, I put it in my guest bedroom and check it off the list. Sometimes I just come across something I had not thought of & wasn't on my list (like my mini-flashlight), put it in the "pile" and add it to the list. I've already hung my "cruise clothes" in the guest room closet. So, basically, when I get ready to pack, it's already in one place. No stress, no fuss! My friend has been doing the same thing so we will be pretty much prepared when "our ship comes in"!

 

As the other posters have said, just have fun, enjoy your time. As with any vacation, there will be some item or thing you will forget. You know what---it won't be the end of the world. Have a little laugh, drink some tea, and then move forward. Except make sure the forgotten items are not your ID and passport! Just remember that any unexpected detour may take you to a much better experience than what you had planned for!

 

I know you all will have a great time!

LaRose:)

[jbroons]

Thanks for all the comments. I am not taking my son (he is 2). It will be just me and my boyfriend. I am however a little concerned that our ship is at a port everyday, but i really wanted to do this cruise and I figured I could spend time on the ship after we leave the islands. I think I am going to only pick two or three shore excursions and on some of the islands just shop and lay on the beach. I am soooo excited but i have never planned or booked a vacation by myself so i am worried about forgetting stuff. lol ;)

 

Have your boyfriend take over the travel plans and blame him for any mistakes/problems. Seriously, you will have a wonderful, relaxing (if you so choose) time. ENJOY IT!!

[yakdaddy42]

One suggestion I will put out there is to arrive one day early to your port city.

If you happen to have any air travel delays, most times they wont delay so long as to miss boarding time.

 

Like many have said for the first time, book tours with the ship, and only one per stop. In St Marten take the water taxi to the main town for a on your own day.

 

Just remember to have fun and relax

[Drew B]

One of the great things about cruising, particularly for somebody like you, is that once you book the cruise, everything else is taken care of for you. You don't have to worry about transportation/dining/entertainment/whatever, if you don't want to. You'll love it!

 

It sounds like you are in for a really great time ! I would say just don't stray too much off the beaten path and I don't know how old you child(ren) is/are, but my granddaughter is 2 and for her first cruise I am playing it by ear and not booking excursions. Also once you board trhe ship you can go to the excursion desk and get more suggestions and advice. However, if you are really that concerned, I reccommend you not book the excursions on your own this time; book through Carnival because at least if you book through Carnival, you are guaranteed the ship will not leave without your group if they are running late.

 

 

This is a misconception. They still may leave a Carnival excursion behind if they have to. However, if they do, they are responsible for getting you to the next port. If you book independently, it is up to you to get there on your own.

[vacruizer]

Welcome! You will have such a great time once you are onboard but I remember how stressed I was before the first cruise. I was actually having nightmares! It will all melt away as soon as you are there. :D

 

You mentioned not having flown before. Go to www.tsa.gov and read up on the restrictions for flying - what you can and can't take with you, what has to go in checked luggage, what is allowed in your carryon. The liquids restriction is the toughest - remember you can't take any liquids or gels in your carryon unless they are in 3oz bottles or smaller and they must be in a 1 quart ziploc bag. So make sure you put the giant tubes of sunscreen and that type thing in your checked luggage. I also recommend putting anything liquid in a ziploc (or even double bagged) as I've had stuff leak many times due to pressure changes in flight. I've learned to travel with almost everything in small travel sizes except the sunblock - I need WAY too much of it to only use the little ones!

[cccer]

My first cruise was my honeymoon to Alaska, we did a land package before and the bus was delayed three hours. We arrived at the port and the bus pulled right into the building and we never saw the ship until we got on. We have loved it ever since, of course we have had to wait in some lines to get on, but it is worth the wait.

Just arrive early to the port to get on the ship to enjoy what they have.

You will have a great time.

[dc-snoopy]

Congratulations!

 

The first and most important thing to remember is that you are going on a wonderful fun-filled vacation. Enjoy it as much as you can and don't worry. There is so much to do on a cruise that you should be able to enjoy yourself whatever you do.

 

A few tips of things that will help make things easier:

- Buy an over-the-door shoe rack (the plastic kind--I got mine at a dollar store). Best if you can get the clear ones that you can see in the pockets. Then, smaller items you just put into the pockets and you won't take up the precious little counter space with small items.

 

- Ginger pills (I use a brand called GingerForce). They are wonderful for sea-sickness even if it just a mild headache from motion sensitivity. The best part is that they are all natural and not chemical like bonine and they don't have a soporific effect (causing drowsiness) like some people have with dramamine. There are many choices, but we and several friends have found that the ginger pills work best.

 

- Get a wide-necked water bottle that you can carry with you. In the morning fill it at least halfway with ice from the buffet drink machine and then fill with water. It will stay cold much longer and you need a lot of water in the Caribbean. Get the wide-necked bottle because it is easier to fill. I tried using plain Deer Park water bottles and then bought a bigger narrow neck bottle, but it was hard to get the ice in them. And without the ice, the water is warm by about and hour or so off the ship.

 

- Sunscreen is a must. No matter what your skin type. People forget that the sun in the Caribbean is *MUCH* more intense than anywhere in the US.

 

Please feel free to read my diaries for my last two cruises (links are in my signature below). The Destiny cruise in 2007 has several of the same ports of call as you will have. Beware--they are long, but I've been told by many that it felt like they were cruising with us. This will give you an idea of the good and they bad. Most of us feel that as long as you know what the potential bad experiences might be and can prepare for them, they won't bother you as much and you can concentrate on enjoying the good (which is usually much more than the bad on a cruise).

 

Enjoy and welcome to the club!

[cyntil8ing]

We just came back from a port-intensive Southern Caribbean cruise with many of the same ports you'll be visiting. Dominica and Barbados were my favorites. The whole cruise was fantastic!

 

Here's a link to my photo review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1110255

[stephic411]

You will have so much fun! I am going on my 3rd cruise Jan 9th and I am 24. My boyfriend is 26 and he has never gone before but I know he will love it. It is true that there are a lot of families and older couples but there really is so much to do for everyone.

Don't be stressed though! It is a lot to plan but once you get there you will have no stress! :o

[cccer]

WOW, great pictures in your review cyntil8ing, it makes we want to do a Southern. I always think they are to port intensive, but your pics make it look good.

I really loved the low flying airplaine. It really freaks me out when I drive around O'hare in Chicago and they are a lot higher.

[Biffer1997]

As a previous poster mentioned, liquids must be in a quart sized bag and you are permitted only 1 bag per passenger. You may have larger bottles in your checked bags (at least of now--check the tsa website as you get closer to your trip--they seem to dream up more rules/regulations weekly!). Also, most airlines only allow one carry-on bag (look at the airline website for sizes) and one personal item (laptop, purse).

 

One way to avoid the liquid packing is to come a day early and go to a drugstore/megastore/grocery store to buy some items that could be picked up anywhere. Most airlines charge you around $15 per bag to check and bags must weigh less than 50lbs (or you get charged more), so this would eliminate having to pack as much in your bags, and not deal with packing it/worrying if it will go through security. Once you get there, buy a week supply so you can toss it before traveling back home.

 

Some airline tips:

-you will need to remove your shoes, so wear slip ons to make this easier

-have your ID and boarding pass ready when going through security lines

-if you are taking a laptop, you will need to have it out of the case when going through security

-you can take NO liquids through security--so if you bought a drink at the airport, finish it before getting in line. Also, make sure there are no loose liquids or gels in your carry- on (hand sanitizer, liquid foundation--I even put lip gloss in my quart bag)

--When purchasing souvenirs, think twice before buying snowglobes, etc. You can't carry them in your carry-on (my stepdaughter got one through BARELY-but that was two years ago, so I doubt she would today) and you don't want them in your checked bags:rolleyes:

 

Have a great trip :)