First Timer

[dolfan13]

Hello everyone. I'll start by saying that i have been a long time lurker on CC. I have always wanted to go on a cruise but have only recently been able to talk my DW into it. When we got married, I wanted to cruise and my wife wanted to go to Disney World. We compromised and went to Disney World ;). Finally, almost 18 years later and a cruising we will go! We are booked on the Carnival Breeze sailing Nov 7-15. Best of all, I got my balcony. When it came time to choose our cruise, we needed something kid friendly for our soon to be 13yo son. That is why I chose Carnival. We are also bringing his best friend with us to keep him occupied. I'm hoping to enjoy some R & R poolside.

 

Going to keep this short. I just wanted to be able to finally post on CC. Looking forward to picking everyone's brains for information to make this a memorable trip for DW so she will want to go again. Me being selfish :)

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

 

Rob

[paul929207]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You have lots of time to study the ports you will visit and figure out what to do. You might try to get the kids to help with this investigation

[Sixtytwo]

Welcome to CC! Be prepared to get addicted to cruising and the CC family! One tip, as you do your due diligence, pay close attention to what you need to have with you to be taking a minor who is not your child on the cruise. There are some special situations you need to be aware of.

Edited May 20, 2015 by cdavid46

[cruiserking]

Congratulations on booking your first cruise and getting your first post on Cruise Critic Dolfan13.

 

You will probably fall in love with cruising within ten minutes of boarding the ship.

 

Here's a link to the Roll Call for your voyage:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2062587

 

These are other Cruise Critics booked on your cruise, they will have lots of information about the ship, the ports and it's great fun chatting about your trip in the days leading up to it.

 

Check out the Port of Call boards here at CC you'll find tons of great information on the ports you're visiting:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Jonathan

Edited May 20, 2015 by cruiserking

[OCruisers]

Hi Rob! Welcome to Cruise Critic and the Wonderful World of Cruising! :D

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have.

Also, you will find the links below provided by Jonathan to be very helpful.

LuLu

 

 

 

Here's a link to the Roll Call for your voyage:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2062587

 

These are other Cruise Critics booked on your cruise, they will have lots of information about the ship, the ports and it's great fun chatting about your trip in the days leading up to it.

 

Check out the Port of Call boards here at CC you'll find tons of great information on the ports you're visiting:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Jonathan

[dolfan13]

Thank you everyone for the welcome here and the helpful tips. My OCD planning will kick into high gear now that I have a vacation to plan. My DW puts up with my insanity and let's me do all the legwork. She only wanted input in the itinerary. The rest is up to me. I know she will be sick of hearing about it until we go, but she will be happy afterward.

 

Thank you cdavid46 for the heads up about my sons friend. We took him with us to Myrtle Beach last summer and made sure we had a notarized letter from his parents allowing him to cross the border with us. I will make sure everything is in order again before we leave.

 

Looking forward to many hours on CC planning this cruise. I so want my DW to say after......lets go on another cruise soon!!!:)

[paul929207]

Thank you everyone for the welcome here and the helpful tips. My OCD planning will kick into high gear now that I have a vacation to plan. My DW puts up with my insanity and let's me do all the legwork. She only wanted input in the itinerary. The rest is up to me. I know she will be sick of hearing about it until we go, but she will be happy afterward.

 

Thank you cdavid46 for the heads up about my sons friend. We took him with us to Myrtle Beach last summer and made sure we had a notarized letter from his parents allowing him to cross the border with us. I will make sure everything is in order again before we leave.

 

Looking forward to many hours on CC planning this cruise. I so want my DW to say after......lets go on another cruise soon!!!:)

Don't worry about planning. I kid that as a retiree, I have a full time job. I am the CPO (Chief Planning Officer) for Paul & Jeannie's retirement travels

[griffy116]

Be sure to take the notarized letter. We got asked for it once out of all the times we've carried a friend with my Grandson. There's a copy of it here that I used to use (Grandson is now 21). Do a search or someone here can probably provide it for you. Covers everything and is short and simple. Make sure your son's friend has a passport or notarized birth certificate (we prefer the passport). We had one of his friends that cut it close with getting it.

[angelwinks_ca]

 

Going to keep this short. I just wanted to be able to finally post on CC. Looking forward to picking everyone's brains for information to make this a memorable trip for DW so she will want to go again. Me being selfish :)

 

Hey Fellow Ontarian!! Welcome to CC!! Are you flying or driving? If so, flying into Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? We cruised out of Miami twice, once flying out of Buffalo and once out of Toronto. Found the cheapest flights go into Ft. Lauderdale. I'm sure out of Detroit, you can get some great deals! If this is your plan, you'll need to be book a transfer. We went with SAS transportation. Hotels in Ft Lauderdale will NOT transfer you to the port of Miami. If you are looking for a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for the night before, let me know and I can offer you my research! :) Found easier to stay in Ft. Lauderdale and get the transfer to pick up from hotel and deliver to port the next day. One thing to consider is WHERE to purchase pop/water and wine that you can bring on board. :)

 

We've always cruised with our teen on Carnival. She's had great experiences with the teen club!

 

Ask away any questions you have. This site is a wealth of information. Sounds like you are a planner like me! What I did was create a Word Document for every port I was heading to. As I seen ideas on this site and others, I just copy-pasted into the word document and went over the info with my hubby who is NOT a researcher.

 

Have fun with your planning!!

[Sailor88]

Hello,

I am a first timer as well. My mom has always wanted to go on a cruise and I want to do all I can with her. She is 79 and this is going to be a wonderful family vacation. We are flying to Marseille, France July 3 and catching MSC Armonia July 5th. My daughter, son in law and grandson (he will be 10 months at cruise time). I have tried to do all the planning as far as the travelling and transportation from airport to hotel. We are also travelling around France after the cruise for a week. I pre purchased our drink packages as well. So I am ready to travel. I am not sure what we will do at each port but I was thinking of getting off and at least walking around. I do not need to take many tours as I would like to see places near the ports. I hope I have everything organized and ready for our family adventure. I would love any pointers anyone can offer us.

[t_car]

Do not overplan every little detail of your cruise. Leave time for relaxation and go with the flow. After all it is a vacation.

 

Leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship at least 30 min before sail away. We always plan 60 min, and give ourselves a little wiggle room in case of delays. Bring your daily newsletter with you on shore. If you know you are going to be late, the port agent info and phone number is listed there to contact.

[dolfan13]

Don't worry about planning. I kid that as a retiree, I have a full time job. I am the CPO (Chief Planning Officer) for Paul & Jeannie's retirement travels

 

Sounds like a great job to have. Hope to become a CPO myself. :D

 

Be sure to take the notarized letter. We got asked for it once out of all the times we've carried a friend with my Grandson. There's a copy of it here that I used to use (Grandson is now 21). Do a search or someone here can probably provide it for you. Covers everything and is short and simple. Make sure your son's friend has a passport or notarized birth certificate (we prefer the passport). We had one of his friends that cut it close with getting it.

 

Won't leave home without them. Don't want any surprises along the way. Thanks

[dolfan13]

Hey Fellow Ontarian!! Welcome to CC!! Are you flying or driving? If so, flying into Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? We cruised out of Miami twice, once flying out of Buffalo and once out of Toronto. Found the cheapest flights go into Ft. Lauderdale. I'm sure out of Detroit, you can get some great deals! If this is your plan, you'll need to be book a transfer. We went with SAS transportation. Hotels in Ft Lauderdale will NOT transfer you to the port of Miami. If you are looking for a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for the night before, let me know and I can offer you my research! :) Found easier to stay in Ft. Lauderdale and get the transfer to pick up from hotel and deliver to port the next day. One thing to consider is WHERE to purchase pop/water and wine that you can bring on board. :)

 

We've always cruised with our teen on Carnival. She's had great experiences with the teen club!

 

 

Ask away any questions you have. This site is a wealth of information. Sounds like you are a planner like me! What I did was create a Word Document for every port I was heading to. As I seen ideas on this site and others, I just copy-pasted into the word document and went over the info with my hubby who is NOT a researcher.

 

Have fun with your planning!!

 

Hi back from Ontario. I think one off the greatest assets of our location is being so close to Detroit. I have flown out of Pearson only once and won't do it again if I can avoid it. This trip I found a great price on Spirit for $700 round trip for 4 including 2 pieces of luggage. That's in U.S. dollars but still can't beat that. I can handle Spirit on flights less than 3 hrs. We are flying in on Friday night. Any recommendations for hotels would be greatly appreciated. I believe we land at FLL around 9:50 pm. Not sure the best place to stay would be. Hope you don't mind but I will take you up on your offer.

 

Do not overplan every little detail of your cruise. Leave time for relaxation and go with the flow. After all it is a vacation.

 

Leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship at least 30 min before sail away. We always plan 60 min, and give ourselves a little wiggle room in case of delays. Bring your daily newsletter with you on shore. If you know you are going to be late, the port agent info and phone number is listed there to contact.

 

I know I get carried away sometimes but since it's our first cruise we will be getting off the ship at all the stops. We are beach loving folk and plan on chilling on a couple of the islands. DW wants to see the planes at Maho beach, so that's a must do. Other than that, do we sight see or snorkel, shop or sail on a cat is all up in the air. Plan on relaxing quite a bit on the sea days. Thanks for the tip about bringing a newsletter with phone info. I'm hoping not to be a port runner.

 

Rob

[Cruisin' Chick]

Definitely make a new letter with sailing date listed with the okay from both parents. And get a permission for medical treatment too (with a copy of the medical card). Murphy's Law: if you have these, you won't need 'em.

[angelwinks_ca]

This trip I found a great price on Spirit for $700 round trip for 4 including 2 pieces of luggage. That's in U.S. dollars but still can't beat that. I can handle Spirit on flights less than 3 hrs. We are flying in on Friday night. Any recommendations for hotels would be greatly appreciated. I believe we land at FLL around 9:50 pm. Not sure the best place to stay would be. Hope you don't mind but I will take you up on your offer.

We flew out of Detroit on Spirit to Las Vegas. GREAT price but small plane! As you said...good for short flights!

 

I have a WORD document that I can email you. Email me at photo.life.memories@gmail.com and I'll send it to you. Basically...I knew we were going to go with SAS Transportation as we went with them 3 years ago. Search transfers on these forums and there's a few that provide transfers to port of Miami from Ft Lauderdale hotels. SAS has a list on their website what Ft. Lauderdale hotels they pick up from. From there, I went through every one and weeded through based on distance from airport (wanted complimentary airport to hotel transfer), cost and convenience to purchase pop and wine. We got a great deal on Holiday Inn on State Rd 84 the first cruise so we stuck to that area again. Costs went up considerably from our first cruise but we knew there was a liquor store and grocery store right across the road. This last time however we booked Candlewood Suites.

SAS was great and picked up exactly the time we arranged. Only $15 per person!

Holiday Inn was one of the only hotels with late (after 10pm) complimentary transfer from airport to hotel as well! We got in around 11:30 pm the first cruise.

 

Second cruise...we got in late afternoon so we considered trying to get to a hotel in Miami from the airport but again...you need some sort of transfer and couldn't find one that wasn't a private car agency or cab which could be expensive. AND not all hotels, especially in our price range provide transfers to the port, even in Miami! SO...again, we'd need a cab just to get to the port. Found hotels closest to the port of Miami (that provide complimentary transfers)...the more costly they were.

 

So Ft. Lauderdale hotel it was!!

 

SAS picks you up at the Port of Miami upon getting back and brings you to the Ft. Lauderdale airport as well!