1st Time cruiser!!

[lisatx04]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop in and say hi. We are going on our first cruise on 9/11 on Freedom of The Seas. There will be 11 of us going as a group, 8 of which are family, including my 2 kids, ages 14 and 12. We are looking forward to it but I have so many questions!! I am reading all the posts and trying to take it all in. So much information to read through I don't know where to start!!

 

Here are a few questions...

Sea sickness-I'll be bringing medicine to help with that. Any specific kind that you have found that works better than others?

 

Towels-what about towels for the pool/beach? Where do I get them and are they different than towels that are in the rooms for showers? Trying to decide if I need to bring towels or not (I would rather not).

 

Dining-with the exception of the Windjammer and the main dining room, all others are an extra charge, correct? What about the Ben and Jerry's that is on board? My son, 12, is excited about this.

 

Drinks-I am totally confused about how to get something to drink. For example, I only drink water or ice tea. Is that free? I know that a drink with alcohol will need to be charged to the room, right? My kids don't drink soda, but if they wanted to get one, how does that work? Someone told me about a "juice card" for my son. What is that?

 

Activities-free or is there a charge? For example, ice skating and the flow rider?

 

Anything else you think I should know??

 

Thank you all in advance. I am sure there will be more questions as the time comes near!!

[Janet Foster]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and your first cruise.

 

My husband and I get the TRANSDERM RX patches that you put behind your ear. Some folks just use over the counter.

 

Beach towels are furnished for the pool and beach. Generally have a supply at the pool. Take one then when it is dirty or wet change it out.

 

Generally lemonade, water (not bottled) , tea and coffee that is no charge. Anything else is a charge.

 

We always bring a case of water and a case of soda with us on board with our checked luggage. We like having our bottled water on ice so when we get back to our cabin we can enjoy some ice cold water. The room attendants are always so helpful in keeping the water on ice every day.

 

Ben and Jerry's would be an extra charge.

 

All drinks other than the free ones mentioned will be charged to your shipboard account. Plus 15% GRATUITY. The ship is a cashless sytem. Yes there are drink cards available that you can purchase so that you pay one price for unlimited soft drinks.

 

We went on Liberty of the Seas, the flowrider was at no charge. Not sure about the ice-skating. Rock climbing, no charge.

 

Johnny Rockets - Cover charge (added to ship account)

Specialty restaurants - Cover charge (added to ship acct)

 

Just keep searching the boards. You will learn a lot.. and register with your ship's ROLL CALL..

 

You will get to know your fellow cruisers before you go..

 

We are all here to help you

[Krazy Kruizers]

welcome to cruise critic

 

you don't need to take bottled water -- the water on the ships is better than what we get at home

[Suzaloo]

As someone who suffers from seasickness but loves cruises, I can offer some advice. There are a bunch of options available. It seems the most widely used remedy is Bonine, which you can get at any drugstore. It's non-drowsy and effective for many people suffereing from motion sickness. Some people swear by ginger capsules or sea bands. The Transderm patch is only available by prescription in the US and is probably the most effective but also has side effects that some people find very bothersome - I would only recommend it if nothing else works (which is the case for me). Whatever remedy you choose to use, the key is to start it the night before you cruise so it gets in your system.

If you choose to bring drinks on board with you, just be aware that they may be confiscated. It is against policy to allow passengers to bring them but many people do and sometimes the cruise line will allow it and sometimes it doesn't. When you by a drink - any drink they charge for - on the cruise, they will tack on an automatic 15% tip. Do not tip extra unless you want to. We wish we had realized that during our first cruise - we added tip to every drink not knowing they were already added on.

Beach Towels - supplied by RC. There are booths by the pools where you can pick them up. Just make sure you do not lose track of the towels because if you do not return them, you may be charged for them.

[cb at sea]

If your kids don't drink soda all day, then just buy a can of soda if and when you want one. You don't need a soda package to get a soda! A can is $2.25 or so.

Juice is included with breakfast. If you think you'll want some for later in the day, bring a container and pour juice into it, and pop into your room fridge.

[KirkNC]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop in and say hi. We are going on our first cruise on 9/11 on Freedom of The Seas. There will be 11 of us going as a group, 8 of which are family, including my 2 kids, ages 14 and 12. We are looking forward to it but I have so many questions!! I am reading all the posts and trying to take it all in. So much information to read through I don't know where to start!!

 

Here are a few questions...

Sea sickness-I'll be bringing medicine to help with that. Any specific kind that you have found that works better than others?

 

Towels-what about towels for the pool/beach? Where do I get them and are they different than towels that are in the rooms for showers? Trying to decide if I need to bring towels or not (I would rather not).

 

Dining-with the exception of the Windjammer and the main dining room, all others are an extra charge, correct? What about the Ben and Jerry's that is on board? My son, 12, is excited about this.

 

Drinks-I am totally confused about how to get something to drink. For example, I only drink water or ice tea. Is that free? I know that a drink with alcohol will need to be charged to the room, right? My kids don't drink soda, but if they wanted to get one, how does that work? Someone told me about a "juice card" for my son. What is that?

 

Activities-free or is there a charge? For example, ice skating and the flow rider?

 

Anything else you think I should know??

 

Thank you all in advance. I am sure there will be more questions as the time comes near!!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I would not assume you will get seasick, most do not especially on a cruise ship. As a precaution I would take some Bonine or the equivilent with me just in case but again, unless it is usually rough, most people are fine.

 

On the drinks, tea and coffee are free as are juices at breakfast. If your kids don't drink many sodas I would just buy them one at a time. You can get them from any waiters or bartenders. I have never heard of a juice card, there is a soda card but that is for folks that drink a lot of sodas.

 

To the best of my recollection, the activities are free but it has been a while since we sailed on RCI. You might also venture over to the RCI board here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

 

I would also suggest checking out your roll call for your sailing on the Roll Call forum.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Kirk

[Happy ks]

Your questions have pretty much all been answered so I just have a few comments.

 

I don't think you should buy your kids unlimited soda cards if they only drink one or two a day, it would cost a lot less to buy them by the can.

 

Whatever seasick method you want to use, try it at home before you go. Everyone is different, I will take a half a tab only at bedtime, the next person will need to take 3 tabs a day. You never really know until you're there if you will need seasick meds, sometimes the sailing is smooth as glass.

 

Have fun planning and try not to overpack...everyone does the first time ;)

[Poodle Lady]

I decided not to get the soda package because I only drink 1-2 sodas in a day, at most. You can get a can of soda at any bar, just show your sea pass card and sign for it. Remember that they add 15% gratuity so you don't need to add more. I think it's about $2.24/soda, gratuity inclu

 

I get seasick so i came prepared with everything. I ended up using Bonine(two pills every evening), sea bands(got 'em at Walmart!) and Big Red gum. DS24 tried the Bonine, but still felt bad so he used the patch for the remainder of the cruise, as did DH. DD18 never felt sick, but she had a headache probably from the motion of the ship. Ginger chews took care of her.

 

The thing I wasn't prepared for was how I would feel after getting off the ship. I've been off the ship for 3 days now and i still have the occasional "lurch". The first day off was the worst--we went out for dinner that night and all 4 of us had our heads on the table at one point! Not to worry though. We just kept taking the Bonine and things are better today.

[bbwex]

Let me discuss seasickness first, before I get into some of your other questions.

 

Well, this is a large topic, and some background information will really help you before we get to remedies.

 

First of all, most people don't get seasick, and if you do, it almost always passes in a day, once you get your sea legs. Yes, I know, there are some people (a very small number) who seem to take several days to get over it.

 

Seasickness is primarily caused by a conflict between the eyes (if they are not seeing the motion) and the inner ear which detect the motion. So, prevention is somewhat easy -- stay someplace where you can see the motion until you get your sea legs. Staying out on deck and watching the horizon is often the cure, and the fresh air will help as well. If you are inside, stay near a window so you can see the horizon. If you are not feeling well, do not go inside and lose sight of the seas. The other thing is to eat normally. While this seems counter-intuitive, an empty stomach is not the answer. Keep away from greasy foods and don't overeat, but eat normal meals at normal times.

 

A ship's motion is a complicated matter. The size of the seas (height of the waves), frequency of the waves, and distance between the waves are all factors, and they interact with the size of the ship as well as the direction of the ship as opposed to the direction of the waves. Stabilizers do help, but do not and cannot stop all motion. What seems odd is that you will notice motion, but notice very small seas, and sometimes get little motion in seemingly heavy seas. And do not think that the new, super large cruise ships won’t move in the ocean. The ocean is much bigger and more powerful than any ship no matter how big!

 

As for the old saying of staying in a low cabin, that is not so true any longer. With the very large superstructures on modern cruising ships, the center of motion is significantly higher than it used to be, so the ideal place is often somewhere above the main deck. Being amidships minimizes pitching (bow going up and down), but has no effect on rolling (side-to-side).

 

As for the remedies:

 

Ginger is clinically proven to dramatically reduce or prevent all motion sickness. You can eat ginger snaps, drink real ginger ale (though you might need a lot), eat candied ginger, or take ginger pills (available in any drug store). This is a natural remedy obviously, but proven to work. Start taking or eating it before you get on the ship, but you do not need more than a few hours' time for it to get into your system -- you do not need to take it days in advance.

 

Some people, as noted in a previous post, swear by the seabands, others notice no effect whatsoever. Again, no medications, but not always effective.

 

Bonine and dramamine are OTC medications available everywhere. They will work for most people who get seasick. They should be started before getting on the ship. Ships also dispense generic forms of these pills.

 

For cases of severe seasickness where nothing else has worked, there is the scopolamine patch. The most common side-effect is dry mouth, but there can be some serious side-effects as mentioned and including hallucinations. If you know you are going to get seasick, and you have tried other medications without success, and your doctor recommends it, get the prescription filled in advance and try it for a week on dry land first -- you don't want to start hallucinating as you walk along the rail while you are at sea.

 

Perhaps most of all, don't worry yourself into it. If you don't get motion sick in other situations, you are likely to be fine or will be fine after a few hours. If it were a really common problem, you wouldn't see so many cruise ships out there. While cruise ships do move in the seas, and rough seas can cause a lot of motion, bear in mind that they are not anything like small pleasure craft that bob and bounce along all the time. Motion on a cruise ship tends to be much, much slower and less dramatic. For most passengers, the gentle motion is calming. Cruise lines try to avoid rough seas when they can, though that is not always possible, and the seas are not always coming from the right direction (Mother Nature can be soooo finicky). For the most part, though, relax and enjoy. Odds are that you are going to be just fine, and the initial prevention suggestions should be enough by themselves.

 

Now to the more mundane, but nevertheless troublesome questions:

 

Towels will be provided.

 

Water, iced tea, lemonade, are all free and readily available at many places throughout the ship.

 

Activities are generally free, and if they are not, that will be well noted.

 

Some dining venues are extra, as you noted. Am not sure about the Ben and Jerry's, but on most ships there is free ice cream at the dining venues and not far from the pool/grill.

 

The only other thing to remember is to have a great time.