Honeymoon Cruise (CCL) - First-Time Cruiser Groom?

[lemonysnicker]

Hi!

 

Future Husband and I will be taking a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean for our honeymoon. This will be our first vacation together, our first trip to the Caribbean, his first cruise, my third cruise (previously sailed RCCL and CCL) but my first cruise without DS. We'll be taking the Splendor and getting married the day before sailing.

 

Do you have any suggestions for a first-time cruiser (him), honeymooners (us!), first-time Caribbean cruisers, or parent/s traveling for the first time without children? I'm open to anything and everything. His idea of vacation is camping and zip-lining in Costa Rica, so I'm really hoping that I can make this fun for him. We are using a cruise-specific TA to book.

 

Thank you so much!

[dst]

He will love it - I have been a cruiser for many many years; my love was never a cruiser and decided he would not like it (before he ever even cruised) finally he decided to join me and now eight years later - is hooked!

 

What works ofr us is that I enjoy lounging by the pool and he enjoys sleeping in, getting room service and popping into the casino on the sea days. On the days we are in port, we decided on an excursion to do together - its the best of both worlds

 

I would pre-order something from the Bon Voyage department to make the trip special, we usually pre-order a bottle of vodka so we can enjoy a beverage on the deck. You could have the cabin decorated; that would make an impact and have dinner in the steakhouse one night to make it truly a special cruise.

 

You can also plan and pre-book an excursion, they will have it in the cabin when you arrive so that could be a fun something to add

 

Not sure what Islands you are visiting; if you post here I can give you some more information

[lemonysnicker]

Thank you so much!

 

It's official, we're booked. :D

 

We're going to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau.

 

I'm going to be lame and decorate our door. We live on opposite sides of the country, and the last time we'll have seen each other prior to our wedding (getting married the day before we leave on our cruise) was this past January. So, it'll have been 10 months since we've seen each other. I don't really care what we do, but I'd love to have some fun ideas to make our honeymoon different from other cruises I've taken in the past, aside from the obvious. ;)

[dst]

Yay - congrats on booking

 

You will love these three ports; if you need ideas on what to do at each let me know and I can give you a few recommendations

 

You can pre-order a bottle of alcohol, its a bit pricey but a nice gift to have in your cabin and to enjoy while you hang out in your cabin ;)

 

You could pre-book a special night in the steakhouse; this could be a nice surprise - there is a fee of 35.00 per person but a great experience - if you go on the first night you get a complimentary bottle of wine

 

You could book a couples massage on the ship

 

lots of ideas for the Islands if you are interested

[lemonysnicker]

I would love to hear your port ideas!

 

We don't drink (I dislike the taste, and alcohol puts him to sleep), but have a bottle of rhubarb wine from an area vineyard that we'll be opening. Our sailing has a cocktail party/M&G already arranged, so that will probably be the extent of our drinking aside from spontaneous things in port. I sailed with my mother earlier this summer and, apart from having a sip of whatever she'd ordered ("Try this! You'll like it! It's a xyz!"), I didn't drink.

 

We're not planning on visiting the steakhouse. I love the idea of a couples massage - that might be our first choice if we end up with any OBC, although he's very ticklish so I don't know if that would work. :rolleyes:

 

I really just want to make this trip special apart from the obvious. My past cruises/vacations have been with DS, so it's been early to bed, early to rise, doing DS-friendly things rather than what I'd like to do. (That being said, he was pulled onstage during the pseudo-Minute to Win It on the Glory, and he was a riot. I was laughing so hard I was crying.) I think I sat on Serenity deck for all of 20 minutes.

 

We'll have an interior cabin so no fun balcony experiences, even just sitting down with a cup of coffee in the morning.

 

Thank you so much for all of your help!

[dst]

Sorry it has taken a few days to get back to you, we've been enjoying the weather :)

 

I see you are from Ma. I grew up in North Andover

 

I know you said you were not planning on visiting the steakhouse but it really will be the best 35.00 you'll ever spend. It will be nice and romantic and a great meal........that's just my suggestion

 

If you want a real special day, in half moon cay, rent a cabana (we have done it several times) it's located on the beach and the higher the number cabana the further down the beach. They come with a/c, snorkel equipment, floaties to lounge in the water, soda and a snack tray. On HMC all food is included at the big BBQ area so the only expense you will have is the cabana - you won't want to leave and your husband will thank you for the experience ;)

 

On Grand Turk you could do an excursion to snorkel or just hang out in the port area, the Margaritaville is HUGE and has a great pool (they also offer a cabana but HMC cabanas are nicer) you could walk down the beach and just throw your towels anywhere and relax or you can rent a golf cart and see the island

 

In Nassau, you could take a taxi to Sheridan (about 7.00) and get a day pass they are about 25.00 and allows you to use the resort. They have great pools and a nice beach, you can have lunch and just relax. They also offer a day room (basically a hotel from for the day) for 99.00 which is a nice option if you want to relax in the room or shower before you head back, getting a taxi back is easy. The other option is just to walk around Nassau, it's a great shopping area and lots of restaurants along the way, there is a senior frogs ( too wild for me) at the end of the pier area. You could also go to Atlantis (expensive) but an experience

 

If you tell me your interests, I can be more specific but I hope this gets you excited for your upcoming trip