Question For All First timers & those that remember the first time?

[Puffthefish]

Cruises just sounded boring. Uh, you sit on a boat, eat a lot, hang out in large crowds of rude people, and only have a limited time at the beach? What is there to do on a boat?

 

 

 

 

I am always interested in what keeps folks from cruising. Many friends of ours him and haw about taking the leap. I understand that some folks have extreme motion sickness and I understand that.

 

My question is...

 

What was the number one concern that you had to overcome before you were able to say - "Let's book it; I'm taking this Cruise"!!!!.

[VaBeachCruisers897]

I miissed a couple days and I missed a lot. I hope some of the recent posters return to the board after their cruises since it looks like a bunch of you are leaving in the next couple of days...

 

Off topic Q for "Niele da Kine" - Is it impossible to get "Ka'au Crater Boys" cd's in Hawaii? Living on the east coast I look forward to listening to Island985 when I get to work - that would be the overnight show for you : )

[ncook1970]

Hi WeBeGone. I think I like your approach!

Would you mind directing me to where the most affordable cruises are? And the best cabins for the best price? We have a 13 year old daughter also who we want to bring with us so she needs to be entertained, and if we're lucky, if the cruise is affordable enough, we could get a great cabin with separate area for our daughter. (I'm thinking on bringing her cousin with her so she is occupied).

[JWestShuh]

I actually have a fear of the ocean :) - Well, large bodies of water. I had to get over my fear that if anything happened that I would have to wait it out in a smaller boat in the middle of the ocean until rescued. Very unlikely I know, but still something I had to get over :)

[Disneyite]

Forget every idea you have ever had about packing for a cruise.

 

Pack a couple of swim suits, a few pair of tops and shorts, underwear etc. and one nice outfit and comfortable shoes.

 

You don't need anything else.......no shoes that match everything...you get the general idea. People just over :(pack.

[WedNoMor]

I had to get to the ship... first year I drove to Florida from Upstate NY.. with the kids - in the WINTER...! :eek:

 

I really HATE to fly - so as soon as I book the cruise I start thinking about the stupid plane ride. I have gone to Las Vegas four times from here in Syracuse, NY... So flying to FL is so much shorter. I am flying out this Saturday to get to Mom/Dad's in WPB, FL to pick up Mom for our June 6 FOS cruise.

 

I started telling myself that it takes off from here everyday carrying not only people but letters and packages too and they always get to their destination - and so I am just another little letter.

 

I know that my boyfriend's Dad will not fly and he will not take a cruise either, just too many anxieties about such things out of his control.

 

I'd rather search for ways to overcome my fears because I want to experience my world.

 

p.s. The Valium that the doctor gave me works great too...!:eek:

[CALIBLUGIRL03]

Hi!! I booked my first cruise a few weeks ago for Feb 2011. I couldn't decide if I wanted to do an all-inclusive or a cruise. My main reason for hesitating on the cruise was I didn't think I'd get enough time at the ports. I also didn't really want to be at sea all day long (sea-sick). So when I found the S. Carib cruise out of PR and it had a port a day I could not resist. I've never been outside of Cali/Nevada/Arizona/and a few others so this is going to be my first "real" vacation!

 

I hope to get a taste of each island and maybe even discover a place I'd like to return to and do an all-inclusive trip one day!

[UlvaZell]

I am always interested in what keeps folks from cruising. Many friends of ours him and haw about taking the leap. I understand that some folks have extreme motion sickness and I understand that.

 

My question is...

 

What was the number one concern that you had to overcome before you were able to say - "Let's book it; I'm taking this Cruise"!!!!.

 

There really wasn't one...

[_tinkerbell_]

I am always interested in what keeps folks from cruising. Many friends of ours him and haw about taking the leap. I understand that some folks have extreme motion sickness and I understand that.

 

My question is...

 

What was the number one concern that you had to overcome before you were able to say - "Let's book it; I'm taking this Cruise"!!!!.

 

We are just over 3 weeks from our first ever cruise and the reason behind never booking one before, even though people told me too. I was scared!

 

I am afraid of the sea and all that lurks in her, I also don't do boats. Again a huge ship is not exactly the same as a pedalo bobbing about just off the beaches of Spain and I suffer from motion sickness. Roll all that and add the fact I am scared of heights and there ya go :eek:

 

The thought of a cruise always excited my husband and although I agreed it sounded fab, I just kept fobbing off the idea.

 

Well all I can say is I AM SO EXCITED !! I can't wait to go our first one on FOS soon but although I stlll have my fears, you only live once and you should not let anything get in the way of fun, having a new experience and making new memories !!

 

:D

[Chi Diva]

I had always thought I would like to cruise. When I was younger I would go to the travel agent and stock up on the lovely, glossy brochures. I would pour over them for hours, reading them from front to back, even the small print about policies and everything. In the end though, the cruise prices as listed in the brochures were a major deterent. (Little did I know then that you don't pay the brochure price!) But more than that, the pictures showed a more "mature" clientel. I worried that I would be out of place and no where near refined enough to know how to cruise.

 

When my husband was heading overseas to do a tour of duty in Bosnia we were looking for something special to do during his two week leave in the middle of his tour. My husband was a little reluctant because he can be prone to motion sickness. Truthfully, we both were just not entirely sure that we would like the experience, and I still had my brochure hangups. But after discussing with our travel agent we jumped in with both feet and booked a back to back cruise of the Eastern and Western Caribbean on Carnival. It was a little risky going for 14 days when we weren't sure about things. Of course, we LOVED it. My husband had little difficulty with motion sickness and it was the perfect break for us from the stress of deployment.

 

That was some time ago. We haven't been on a cruise since because we have been dutifully spending our vacation dollars on our son and Orlando theme parks. Our son has just joined the naval reserves so he will be taking his own cruises. And my husband and I, we can't wait to get back to cruising!

[cpygrl]

My primary concern about cruising was claustrophobia. I was (and still am) concerned that I will have a panic attack staying in such a small cabin, and we can't afford the swanky suites :) When we got married almost four years ago, we had originally planned to take a trip to the Bahamas or somewhere similar, but wedding bills got in the way, and we postponed it. We're pretty settled now though, so we decided this year would be a good year to try a cruise and have a kind of "second honeymoon" :) I'll just stock up on some good benzos in case of claustrophobia!

[Scarlett3]

Primary reason for not cruising before? Not enough knowledge about it, but mostly ~ COST!

[Goldmoon]

My primary concern about cruising was claustrophobia. I was (and still am) concerned that I will have a panic attack staying in such a small cabin, and we can't afford the swanky suites :) When we got married almost four years ago, we had originally planned to take a trip to the Bahamas or somewhere similar, but wedding bills got in the way, and we postponed it. We're pretty settled now though, so we decided this year would be a good year to try a cruise and have a kind of "second honeymoon" :) I'll just stock up on some good benzos in case of claustrophobia!

 

Try a port hole cabin or picture window cabin... porthole cabin costs the same as an inside cabin.. but you can see out, and often are on several different levels of the ship. On some ships the porthole cabin can be larger. You have to check on the cabin though as some are bunk beds and some are the twin/king beds. The only down side is if you book early saver on a porthole cabin as they only have a few chances of getting a lower price later on is lower as they sell out as they are a good buy, and you can only get a lower rate if the price drops on the same cabin type.

[karrie0208]

In October (4 months) we will be going on our very first cruise. We are in our late 50's and never, ever thought about cruising. My sisters have both been on cruises and loved them. We liked to take car trips to nearby states with the kids when they were growing up. We bought a pop up camper and have been camping for a few years. We really love driving around the countryside and seeing what our country offers. Never gave cruising a thought...except... I alway said if I were to go on a cruise it would be to Nova Scotia or Alaska. WELL...the AAA newsletter offered a bus trip to Baltimore where we would catch our ship to Nova Scotia (I am very afraid to fly) I told my DH..this is the trip for us...wanna go? He said YES! So I am planning away. Nervous..yes.:o What if I don't like this? or that? :confused: Apprehensive...yes. Excited..yes! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!:D

[UlvaZell]

There were no concerns...

[Schoifmom]

My husband said that he had seen the movie Titanic too many times to be comfortable on a ship. I assured him that they DO have enough life boats and there WILL NOT be any iceburgs in the Bahamas. After several years, we now have our first cruise booked!

[CathyI8205]

The only problem we have is the money. I'd love to cruise regularly. As it is, once every couple of years is what we can manage. We saved, saved, saved, for our first one, knowing we'd love it.

 

It's the money for us too. After this first cruise I think we'll be hooked too. I've already bookmarked our next cruise.

 

Do you cruise the same places over and over again?

[Adri204]

I had always thought I would like to cruise. When I was younger I would go to the travel agent and stock up on the lovely, glossy brochures. I would pour over them for hours, reading them from front to back, even the small print about policies and everything. In the end though, the cruise prices as listed in the brochures were a major deterent. (Little did I know then that you don't pay the brochure price!) But more than that, the pictures showed a more "mature" clientel. I worried that I would be out of place and no where near refined enough to know how to cruise.

 

Its my glossy brocure twin its awesome to meet others who do and did the same thing. I have poared over glossy cruise ship brocures for ever studying everything reading every single word no kidding and studying the ports etc.

 

Finally I just decided enough of this. Im tired of studying the itenarys I want to be on one of the itenarys, I want to be on the ships. I want to go on the ship and do lots of fun things and have some great expierences and see differnt places.

 

Ive backpacked for years so this is a big big big change from that and im excited,

 

Adri :)

[Swells1]

I can't believe I'm the first one to mention this! I had always imagined a cruiseship as one big, floating intestinal disorder. (I know people who still believe this!)

[mitsugirly]

I took my first cruise when I was 22, so money was the issue. I think back then it was a lot more expensive than it is now. It has become more affordable and more people are cruising these days.

 

My biggest concern now...over 20 years later is...

I am not as carefree and I worry a lot now. Over things that could go wrong, something happening to the boat, lost luggage, missing the ship while at a port, all kinds of things. :eek: So I think this might be a more stressful trip (at least until I get on the boat and see that things will go smoothly).

[VaBeachCruisers897]

There have been tons of great posts while I was away!!! If anyone is new to the board please consider answering the question...

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE :D

[minni323]

my first cruise was 3 years ago and it was only from friday to monday but i had so much fun, and i decided to go because my friend and her family was going and invited me. it wasnt expensive even with airfare and i just wanted to try it out. now im about to go on a seven day cruise with my mom and its her first time so im crossing my fingers that she likes it, she is a little paranoid about sea sickness and just being on the boat in general. Although she did say today that maybe she can find me a husband while on the cruise :eek:

[beachluvr65]

Balawana

 

have your wife research Ginger. It has helped family members who suffered by the kind of motion sickness that you describe afflicts your DW...

 

Rick

[MrsPete]

Our concern was money.

Ditto. I had the impression that cruising was something for the ultra-rich. I didn't have any concrete information to back that up; it was just what I assumed was true.

 

Once we found ourselves hooked on cruising, however, my father-in-law expressed an opinion that I found odd: He thought he'd be bored just sitting around a ship all day! We've told him about the plethora of activities, and I think he might be interested now . . . but his opinion is probably just like my original thoughts about money: Not something he'd looked into, just the impression he had.

[gtlovell]

DH is part of the "OMG I'll be trapped on a ship and bored" group. I told him that many many people seem to say the exact same thing and then love it. So we are booked on a 7 day in September. I really, really hope it goes well. Or it will probably be our last cruise (at least together :D)

 

 

I was worried about that too! NO WAY do you get bored unless you really want to. You'll get an activity list everyday in your room. You'll soon find you can't go to everything so you have to pick and choose. There are movies, boat tours, food classes, wine tasting, towel animal folding, art auctions, dances, bingo, shows...do I need to go on? :)