What to do when you 1st Board the ship?

[bellabell99]

I am cruising Carnival Legend the end of January and it will be my 1st trip with hubby, and 2 children (Daughter 14 & son 9). What are some the 1st things you should do when you 1st board the ship. I am planning to check in around 10:30 am on cruise day because we are arriving Saturday in Tampa and the cruise sails on Sunday.......

 

less than 100 days to go - woooooo hooooo!

[cruiserking]

I am cruising Carnival Legend the end of January and it will be my 1st trip with hubby, and 2 children (Daughter 14 & son 9). What are some the 1st things you should do when you 1st board the ship. I am planning to check in around 10:30 am on cruise day because we are arriving Saturday in Tampa and the cruise sails on Sunday.......

 

less than 100 days to go - woooooo hooooo!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Once you board the ship you'll want to head up to the Lido (Buffet) restaurant for lunch, the Unicorn Cafe Lido Restaurant on mid-ship deck 9.

 

It's good to get to the pier early so you can check-in and get aboard and beat the lunch crowd.

 

Once you've had a nice lunch take some time to explore the ship. Visit the various decks, the the public lounges, the pool.

 

After about an hour or so of exploring see if your cabin is available. Perhaps you're bags have arrived as well and you can unpack a bit.

 

You will have a Muster Drill about an hour and a half before the ship leaves port. This is a lifeboat safety drill. So just check in your cabin for what specific Muster Station you need to be at. It is often located on your sign and sail card.

 

If you are considering any specialty restaurant reservations the first day is a good time to make them before they fill up. You can also check out where your table is located in the Main Dining Room.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Jonathan

[CraftyEC]

Smile! And sigh a happy sigh, my vacation has truly commenced!

[taglovestocruise]

One of our first stops is to check our MDR table location, it is very easy to make a change on embarkation day.

[EdmPair]

Never explore too much of the ship the first hour or even first day. Some of it can wait for day 2.

 

First thing, food and drink. Unpack and change from travel/taxi/move luggage clothes to relax on ship clothes. Check paperwork for dining arrangements, excursions, and other priced items like internet access.

 

Nothing at all. It is your time now.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are fortunate on HAL to be able (most times) to drop off our carry-ons in our cabins.

Then we go to the specialty restaurant and make certain that our pre-booked reservations are in order.

Then we head to lunch.

Then I take some ship pictures.

When luggage arrives we unpack.

[sparky-elpaso]

Smile! And sigh a happy sigh, my vacation has truly commenced!

 

Jumping up and down, clapping hands, etc. is optional. :D

[paul929207]

We go to our cabin and drop our carryons. Then to the library for books to read during the cruise. Next stop is the buffet for lunch

[cb at sea]

We eat a late breakfast, so we don't have to make eating the 1st thing we do! I head to the pool, assuming weather is nice and get my "start of the vacation" drink!

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

Jumping up and down, clapping hands, etc. is optional. :D

And the happy dance...don't forget the happy dance!:D

[springfire]

We eat a late breakfast, so we don't have to make eating the 1st thing we do! I head to the pool, assuming weather is nice and get my "start of the vacation" drink!

 

This would be me!

[grrl2grrl]

We don't go to our cabin right away b/c I've seen the cabin's doors open while the stewards do their routine, I don't want to leave my carry on somewhere it's not locked. Also, they have a job to do, and I don't want to get in their way. So I just make sure my carry-on is comfortable for a couple hours.

 

I also don't eat right away, as everyone else seems to go there. So off to exploring I go! I head to the top, check out my port town, then head to the places I like: the resturant, the theatre, the spa, the gallery.

 

But there is no wrong way to do things, except to have fun!

[Philob]

Eat and look for the loo. Not necessarily in that order. :D

[Jimnbigd]

Other tips not mentioned...

 

First, on departure morning before you check out of the hotel, check that your ship is in fact in port. On rare occasions ships are late getting to the dock. At our hotels, the front desk has always check for us.

 

Even if the ship is on time, you probably cannot board until 11am or later. The ship needs to totally clear the previous passengers -- they'll be leaving when you arrive. Be prepared for some long lines at check in. It moves pretty fast, but still it can take at least 30 minutes and sometimes an hour to check in. And even after you complete the check in, the ship might not yet be ready for boarding. As I said, the previous passengers have to be totally off the ship first.

 

I suggest you take some cereal bars. This way you'll have something to eat in case there is a delay. Usually there is no place to buy food at the terminal. The cereal bars work well for shore excursions too, especially to satisfy hungry kids.

 

Sometimes people, especially kids, wear their swimsuits under their clothes so they can go swimming on the ship before their cabin is ready and their main luggage arrives. I don't know if the pool slides will be open on departure day -- I'm thinking they are not but others might know for sure.

 

Go to Camp Carnival to check in your 9-year-old. Your 14-year-old will have run of the ship and also will have a teen club. I'm not sure about Carnival, but I suspect you decide if your 9-year-old can check himself in and out of Camp Carnival, or if one or more designated persons must check him in and out. And you can decide if your 14-year-old can be one of these designated persons.

 

Get a key card for your kids cabin if they are in a separate cabin. Guest services can get you one. (Connecting cabins are good for families like yours.) Also decide if your kids will have any charging privileges -- the ships room key card is also a ship's credit card. Guest services will make any adjustments you need. I think you can put a daily limit, but others might know for sure.

 

Get a lanyard for the kids room key card. Kids like to lose these cards. Camp Carnival might have these. Guest services might also. The casino will for sure, but it won't open until the ship has cleared USA waters. Do not punch a hole in the card yourself -- you might invalidate the card.

 

Make sure you and your kids know what to do in case there is an emergency. In a real emergency, if your kids are not with you, do not go looking for your kids. Instead you go to your assigned muster station. Your 9-year-old will be escorted to the muster station by a Carnival staff member. Your 14-year-old also should go to the muster station -- I do not think she is escorted. The muster station is the place to meet if there is a real emergency. Discuss this and make sure your kids know this.

 

Start planning your shore excursions now. Check out the non-ship ones also. I have used Island Marketing before, and I recommend them.

 

You'll have to keep your carry-on bags with you until your cabin is ready -- and this can be 1pm or later. This is a little awkward at the buffet, but usually we get a table, and one person stays at the table with the bags while the others go through the food lines. When one or more get back to the table, the last person can then go through the lines.

 

Carnival should have a deli station for made-to-order sandwiches (I like the Reuben), and a place for pizza (kids especially like this) -- and the first day these are often less crowded than the main food lines.

 

I bet you'll be hooked on cruises. We are. Enjoy.

[schmeed]

Here are my simple steps for what to do when boarding:

 

STEP #1: Let out a sigh of relief that you are on-board and on vacation

 

The rest of the steps aren't needed....go with the flow and enjoy vacation!!! :D

[2bthereagain]

Congratulations on your upcoming cruise - you're almost to double-digits!!!! The Carnival Legend is a beautiful ship, one of my favorite so far. We usually bring our swim suits and sunscreen and get started by finding a nice place at the pool. However, when we were on Legend last October (2012) the pool was drained - completely void of water - and did not open until after we left the port. I was disappointed as this was the first time we encountered this. So, maybe bring the suits and sunscreen, but have a plan B in case the pool isn't open.

 

Also, going under the Tampa Bay bridge is big deal on this particular ship because the whale tale has been modified to fit under the bridge. People get really excited about the whole bridge thing :D

[NoobCruise]

if our cabin is ready, we go there first to drop our stuff and check out the room. then we usually head up to the Lido deck, get a drink, and start exploring the ship. This is when we take pics of the ship and port views.

[lady_cruiser]

First thing I do: listen for that first ding when my sea pass card is inserted into that dingy machine.

[mikehn]

have an adult drink or a few and check out the scenery, everything else is incidental.

[2bthereagain]

First thing I do: listen for that first ding when my sea pass card is inserted into that dingy machine.

 

Sweet music to my ears!

[maryann ns]

I've only cruised with Azamara where we enjoy the complimentary bubbly, chat with some of the ship's officers and then go make specialty dining reservations.