Hello!! "First Timer" Many ????

[cobianlover]

Hi all, looking into our first cruise. Have decided on the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore either July or August. Have questions regarding this and am not sure if this is the best place to ask questions or if I should ask in specific thread topic sections?!?!? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[beachbum53]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Ask away. We'll do our best to help you.:)

[tak81288]

It is okay to ask here. If your questions are specific to Carnival though, you may get a lot more responses on the Carnival board.

[maldenmusic]

Please ask anything you want and I"m sure everyone will try their best to answer. This is a great group!

[kruzerci]

Ask away on here and in the Carnival forums.

[paul929207]

If your questions are general cruise questions, such as "Do most people get seasick?", then post them here. If they are specific to Carnival or the Pride, post them on the Carnival board. If you are not sure, either place is fine.

[cobianlover]

Thanks so much everyone!!! So, about that seasickness.....??? Is it really a problem for most people??!? Best way to help with that??!?

[paul929207]

My wife and I have never had a problem with it. Today's cruise ships all have stablizers. Often it is difficult to tell if the ship is moving without looking outside.

[johneeo]

Hi all, looking into our first cruise. Have decided on the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore either July or August. Have questions regarding this and am not sure if this is the best place to ask questions or if I should ask in specific thread topic sections?!?!? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Once you get to the point of researching excursions to certain islands, do so in the Port of Call boards.

[Ghost]

As far as seasickness, as mentioned previously, today's ships are so big and have stablizers so it isn't usually a problem, especially in the Caribbean, where waters are generally calm.

 

I would consider booking a cabin midship. If there is any movement, you are much less likely to feel it there.

[loubetti]

Agreed as to booking a mid-ships cabin. As to the size of ships and the seas, most of these newer behemoths have shallow drafts (how low they sit in the water- the lower the better, and these ships sit high :eek:). Stabilizers aside, if you hit rough seas, the ship will rock 'n roll, make no mistake about that. Just get the "patch" and put it behind your ear if you have any doubts.

 

This comes from someone who has experienced "force 12" on the north Atlantic on QE2 and QM2. They have deep draft "ocean liner hulls", and it was still a wild ride. On most of these huge mega-cruise ships, with their shallow drafts force 5 or 6 will prove quite the experience!

 

Learn about the Beaufort Scale here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale

 

Here's Carnival in force 6 seas and, trust me, that was a wild ride! Force 10 or 11 would have severely damaged the ship!

 

 

Not trying to scare you, just educate you. These big cruise ships are not meant for rough weather, they try to run away from it.

[Sassy's Mom]

Wow...that is some picture! Makes me want to grab a patch just looking at it. :o

 

I have always had issues with motion sickness (cars, roller coasters, etc.). So I got the patches for our first cruise and wore the religiously. DH typically doesn't have any issues but on the last sea day of our Western Caribbean cruise, there was noticable movement of the ship and he had some issues with queasiness. He put the patch on and was fine within a couple of hours.

 

This has been my experience. We cruise in 9 days and have had our patches for a couple of weeks. :)

[Seago2]

Oh for God's sake, why would anyone post that?

 

We had a great time on the Pride out of Baltimore. In my mind, the ship is kinda dark- dark furnishings and wallpaper. Also.... There are quite a few naked statues and pictures. Not a problem for me and my kids had quite the laugh:D. You will find the port itself to be very easy. A Carnival cruise is very, very user friendly and easy. It's a great first cruise at a good price.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

we sailed on pride thru snowmagedon and it was a wild ride. we loved it and the motion lulled us to sleep thru the storm. the atlantic is rough and if you even think u might get sick be proactive. i get sea sick in little boats that are sitting still but i have never had a problem on the ships.

 

although carnival is not my fav. it is nice and u will love it. there are a lot of boobies, we lost count at about 100.

 

have fun and be sure to post a review.

 

what r ur others q's?

[ohxrapture]

I have cruised out of Baltimore twice and New Jersey once, and if you want to avoid rough seas, summer is best. The Atlantic stream can be rough in early spring and late fall, especially going out to Bermuda. I did not get seasick, but many others on the ships did. We had up to 30 foot waves going to Bermuda. They were slapping the deck with a loud thud. We brought Bonine and pressure point bracelets. Many people like the Dramamine patch. I felt like I was a little woozy, but that was it. I also felt like I was being rocked to sleep.

[cobianlover]

Agreed as to booking a mid-ships cabin. As to the size of ships and the seas, most of these newer behemoths have shallow drafts (how low they sit in the water- the lower the better, and these ships sit high :eek:). Stabilizers aside, if you hit rough seas, the ship will rock 'n roll, make no mistake about that. Just get the "patch" and put it behind your ear if you have any doubts.

 

This comes from someone who has experienced "force 12" on the north Atlantic on QE2 and QM2. They have deep draft "ocean liner hulls", and it was still a wild ride. On most of these huge mega-cruise ships, with their shallow drafts force 5 or 6 will prove quite the experience!

 

Learn about the Beaufort Scale here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale

 

Here's Carnival in force 6 seas and, trust me, that was a wild ride! Force 10 or 11 would have severely damaged the ship!

 

 

Not trying to scare you, just educate you. These big cruise ships are not meant for rough weather, they try to run away from it.

 

:eek:

[cobianlover]

we sailed on pride thru snowmagedon and it was a wild ride. we loved it and the motion lulled us to sleep thru the storm. the atlantic is rough and if you even think u might get sick be proactive. i get sea sick in little boats that are sitting still but i have never had a problem on the ships.

 

although carnival is not my fav. it is nice and u will love it. there are a lot of boobies, we lost count at about 100.

 

have fun and be sure to post a review.

 

what r ur others q's?

 

Thanks so much to you and everyone who has replied to this thread. Gotta say...in the weeks that i've lurked and since joining this forum, I've been able to have all my questions and concerns addressed. Happy to say that our first cruise is booked and I'm ready to go!!! My husband, on the other hand....not so much....:rolleyes: He swears that he's gonna be bored to death!!! LOL

[paul929207]

Thanks so much to you and everyone who has replied to this thread. Gotta say...in the weeks that i've lurked and since joining this forum, I've been able to have all my questions and concerns addressed. Happy to say that our first cruise is booked and I'm ready to go!!! My husband, on the other hand....not so much....:rolleyes: He swears that he's gonna be bored to death!!! LOL

Tell your DH that we spent 44 days on the Ocean Princess last April & May and were never bored.

[johneeo]

I have cruised out of Baltimore twice and New Jersey once, and if you want to avoid rough seas, summer is best.

 

As long as a hurricane does not hit you.

[loubetti]

I recall talking with June Applebee, the legendary librarian aboard QE2, about the "big wave" a few months after it occurred in 1995. She said to the affect: " I was in bed, not able to sleep, and was watching the bow camera on TV, when all of a sudden I saw out of the dark this wall of white heading towards us. I pulled the covers over my head and hoped for the best".

 

http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1995_freak_wave.htm

 

Trust me, had that wave hit most modern cruise ships, the results would have made the Titanic sinking look like a day at the beach!

 

When the weather gets really rough, only an ocean liner will do. Sadly, there is only one you can go on these days.