Just one

[Clancampbell]

I will be boarding the Epic in Rome in September with my DW for our very first cruise. If there was just one useful tip or piece of advice you regular cruisers could give, what would it be?

 

Thanks in advance.

[atomax]

Get off the ship and explore! We always see so many people stay on board and it makes me sad. What's the point of going on a cruise and then lounge by the pool all day?

 

I will be boarding the Epic in Rome in September with my DW for our very first cruise. If there was just one useful tip or piece of advice you regular cruisers could give, what would it be?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited July 13, 2016 by atomax

[SwissLe]

Get off the ship and explore! We always see so many people stay on board and it makes me sad. What's the point of going on a cruise and then lounge by the pool all day?

 

I've come on holiday to relax. I'll sleep in on a sea day so you can get deck space and enjoy the ship. Then when you get off I'll have a floating resort of fun to myself.

 

In answer to Clancampbell; just enjoy yourself. Be prepared for the best service, endless amounts of food and a sensory overload on your first cruise. Oh and get ready for the 'How many cruises have you been on?' question from random people, many many times!

 

Epic is a fantastic ship. Make sure you use myNCL online to reserve your shows (especially Priscilla).

[martinthebandit]

Use the main dining room as much as you can, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all better in there than the buffet.

[ColinIllinois]

Use the main dining room as much as you can, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all better in there than the buffet.

 

 

I find just the opposite. Epic has a great buffet. Omelet station, all kind of different meats, fruits, fresh baked breads and pastries. I can get in there and graze some, pick and choose what to sample and get a nice view of the ocean from up front. You can eat outside also for some nice fresh morning air.

 

You can't go wrong with either choice. :D

 

Posting tip for the O.P: Try to be a bit more descriptive in your subject line, you'll get more people to read it that way.

Edited July 13, 2016 by ColinIllinois

[DMH15]

Get off the ship and explore! We always see so many people stay on board and it makes me sad. What's the point of going on a cruise and then lounge by the pool all day?

 

 

My 82 year old mother stays on the ship more often than not. That is HER idea of a perfect vacation. She spends time in the spa or relaxing on the balcony rather than the pool. Do not be sad for her just because her preferences are not like yours.

[blackwing]

My useful tip: embark upon your cruise with a positive attitude and an open mind.

 

So many people seem to go on a cruise and complain about everything. These people end up being miserable and say that the cruise was terrible. I don't think the cruise was necessarily terrible... it's just that they are miserable people who find fault in everything.

 

If you go on a cruise with a happy attitude and a positive outlook, you will enjoy yourself and have a blast. Just remember... even the "worst" day at sea is probably better than sitting in your office or at home wishing you were on vacation.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

OP, I hope you have a fantastic first cruise!

 

My one suggestion for you is to be prepared to be overwhelmed--there's so much new that you'll experience and it'll be overwhelming at times. There are also a lot of activities for you to participate in. Take a look at what's going on and choose (or don't choose) what is interesting to you; don't try to do everything! :D

[pathubia]

Have fun!! Don't sweat the small stuff!! Enjoy every moment!!

[Swells1]

Study the ship's deck plans in advance. Don't waste as much time being lost onboard.

 

Years ago, we had just boarded the Dream, and I was telling the hubs where we needed to go. A lady asked me where...something was, and I told her. She said, "You must cruise on this ship a lot."

I said, "Nope. This is my first cruise."

[ColinIllinois]

Study the ship's deck plans in advance. Don't waste as much time being lost onboard.

 

Years ago, we had just boarded the Dream, and I was telling the hubs where we needed to go. A lady asked me where...something was, and I told her. She said, "You must cruise on this ship a lot."

I said, "Nope. This is my first cruise."

 

 

Good tip. To add on to that here is where you can download the ship pocket guides:

 

https://www.ncl.com/downloads/ship-guides

[Clancampbell]

Posting tip for the O.P: Try to be a bit more descriptive in your subject line, you'll get more people to read it that way.

 

Thanks, I shall bear that in mind :)

[lisakoivu]

For me, it's to take each day as it comes. I don't pre-plan much - nothing on the ship and usually one excursion only. That's not to say I might not take another, but I don't preplan a lot. I research a lot before I go so that I know what's available, but when I wake up, if we're in a port, I ask myself: Do I feel like going ashore? If I do, then I do. If not, I stay on the ship. When I get on the shore, I think, "Does this look interesting?" If it does, I do it, if not, forget it.

 

HAVE FUN! Lots of opportunities to make the cruise your own, whether it's relax or go, go, go.

[Clancampbell]

Great advice. I have read so many negative comments recently about NCL and they are the last thing someone wants to read after they have forked out a large sum of money.

 

Me and my better half are quite easily pleased and do intend to board and have a blast; plenty of food, drink, entertainment and destinations that we have never been to before so what is there to feel negative about?

 

And re your last comment I couldn't agree more after the bitch of a day I have just had!

 

This was in response to blackwing. Still trying to figure out the workings of replying to specific posts

Edited July 13, 2016 by Clancampbell

[Clancampbell]

Good tip. To add on to that here is where you can download the ship pocket guides:

 

https://www.ncl.com/downloads/ship-guides

 

Useful, thanks!

[MMLEsq]

For me, it's to take each day as it comes. I don't pre-plan much - nothing on the ship and usually one excursion only. That's not to say I might not take another, but I don't preplan a lot. I research a lot before I go so that I know what's available, but when I wake up, if we're in a port, I ask myself: Do I feel like going ashore? If I do, then I do. If not, I stay on the ship. When I get on the shore, I think, "Does this look interesting?" If it does, I do it, if not, forget it.

 

HAVE FUN! Lots of opportunities to make the cruise your own, whether it's relax or go, go, go.

 

I'm going to play devil's advocate here....

 

We're the exact opposite -- we make specialty dining and show reservations and usually book our excursions before getting on the ship. We're not really into trying to figure out each day what we're going to do for dinner and then discovering that if we want to go to a certain restaurant, the only times open (if any) are super early or super late. Or, wanting to see a show and finding out that without a reservation you might have to line up early (in some cases, really early) in the hopes of being able to snag a seat when they open up the theater in the last 10 minutes before the show starts. Also, some excursions do book up, so there's no guaranty if you want to do a ship's excursion that you'll be able to get the exact excursion you want if you wait until the day before. I'm not saying that we preplan every minute of the day in advance, but things that require reservations, we usually do at home beforehand so that we don't have to think about it and spend time trying to get those reservations done once on the ship.

 

Although I totally agree with the advice to have fun and go in with a positive attitude.

 

Oh, and take lots of pictures! We always seem to forget to do that....

 

Weighing in on the getting off the ship at port: if we're never been to a particular port, we always get off (and almost always do an excursion). However, I'm quite happy in ports like Nassau to watch other people get off the ship, while I stay onboard. Once you've been there once or twice (or ten or fifteen) times, there's really no reason not to stay on and treat it like a sea day.

[Clay Clayton]

Join your rollcall....not only it is likely that you will learn a great deal, you might meet new friends for life. DH and I have met wonderful folks over the cruises with whom we remain in touch and have even "re-cruised" with on occasion. Of course, not ALL fellow roll callers fall in that category...there are a few we weren't upset to wave goodbye to at disembarkation.;)

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Midwest_Traveler]

We just got off the Epic on Sunday and had a great time. I will echo some of the previous posters and say plan, plan, plan. If you're planning to get off the ships at each of the ports in the Med, you need to have a plan for each day or you won't be able to see much. I don't think as much planning is needed for more "beachy" locations. My family laughed at my 8 page itinerary but then we all had a great time and saw literally everything that we had hoped to. There was no wasted time of "where are we going to eat?", "how do we get to the train station?" etc. When you only have 8 hours in Rome, you have to make the most of it!

 

Part of my (over)planning is that I have an aversion to cruise ship excursions and anything involving buses. We did each port on our own, but we did book an all day driver from Naples, a tour of the Colosseum in Rome, a tour of the Accademia in Florence and a snorkeling tour in the Calanques national park from Marseilles. I'm happy to share the companies - I really have nothing but the highest praise for each of our tour guides. We spent a total of $300/person total on excursions, which was less than the price than one of NCL's private tours, and were generally in a private tour. We also made it back to the ship with time to spare each day. In addition, a lot of places require timed tickets to be bought in advance (i.e., La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Uffizi, Accademia) so if you show up on the day you want to see that sight, you might be out of luck.

 

Have a great time! Our trip was truly the trip of a lifetime and I hope yours will be as well!

Edited July 13, 2016 by Midwest_Traveler

[Clancampbell]

We just got off the Epic on Sunday and had a great time. I will echo some of the previous posters and say plan, plan, plan. If you're planning to get off the ships at each of the ports in the Med, you need to have a plan for each day or you won't be able to see much. I don't think as much planning is needed for more "beachy" locations. My family laughed at my 8 page itinerary but then we all had a great time and saw literally everything that we had hoped to. There was no wasted time of "where are we going to eat?", "how do we get to the train station?" etc. When you only have 8 hours in Rome, you have to make the most of it!

 

Part of my (over)planning is that I have an aversion to cruise ship excursions and anything involving buses. We did each port on our own, but we did book an all day driver from Naples, a tour of the Colosseum in Rome, a tour of the Accademia in Florence and a snorkeling tour in the Calanques national park from Marseilles. I'm happy to share the companies - I really have nothing but the highest praise for each of our tour guides. We spent a total of $300/person total on excursions and were generally in a private tour. We also made it back to the ship with time to spare each day. In addition, a lot of places require timed tickets to be bought in advance (i.e., La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Uffizi, Accademia) so if you show up on the day you want to see that sight, you might be out of luck.

 

Have a great time! Our trip was truly the trip of a lifetime and I hope yours will be as well!

 

Thanks for your comments. As we are on a tight budget we will be doing things on our own and making our own arrangements. As we both speak little/no other languages we are concerned about how easy it is to find our way about. Any advice or comments on that side of things?

[Clancampbell]

Join your rollcall....not only it is likely that you will learn a great deal, you might meet new friends for life. DH and I have met wonderful folks over the cruises with whom we remain in touch and have even "re-cruised" with on occasion. Of course, not ALL fellow roll callers fall in that category...there are a few we weren't upset to wave goodbye to at disembarkation.;)

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

 

Done that and have already discussed meeting for drinks 😁

[Midwest_Traveler]

Thanks for your comments. As we are on a tight budget we will be doing things on our own and making our own arrangements. As we both speak little/no other languages we are concerned about how easy it is to find our way about. Any advice or comments on that side of things?

 

Honestly, I didn't think it was too bad. I speak very limited Italian but then otherwise only English and some Spanish I picked up from watching Dora the Explorer when I babysat (no joke). If you make an effort to know how to say "hello", "please" and "thank you" in each language and smile a lot, I think you can go really far. All of our tours were in English, and these areas get a lot of tourists so most people can speak at least limited English.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Midwest_Traveler

[CRAustin]

Europe is very port intensive. Plan ahead, book shows and any specialty dining ahead online. I've been on Epic 5x and have Europe booked again on her for Oct. Research your excursions and have an itinerary. If it was the Caribbean I'd say relax but Europe is different lots to see and do. Enjoy!

[Clay Clayton]

Done that and have already discussed meeting for drinks

 

Great! Now the next step is to identify as Midwest Traveler as suggested what you want to see in each of your ports, determine who is the best tourguide (Trip Advisor and the Ports forum on here are the two places I usually use), contact them, if they are available find out their recommended size group and pricing ( I tend to try to have no more than six in a mini van or 10 in a 13 passenger van so that no one is crowded) and ask them to hold the date for you. Then post the info on your roll call and ask if anyone is interested in joining you.

 

Sometimes, the tour operator will offer a free or discounted price for the "leader" this would be you. It is your decision on whether to share the savings with everyone else (what I usually do so that if it all goes south that I don't feel guilty) or keep it for your trouble.

 

Either way, you end up doing/seeing what YOU want to do with a small group. In our many cruises, we have only done two ships excursions - in one case, it was the only way to do the excursion and it was GREAT. For the other, it was an eight hour day (with only nine hours in port) that involved buses and boats and therefore I wasn't willing to do it privately in case something broke down - there just wasn't enough extra time. We have never had an issue in missing the ship, though one time we discovered that there had been a miscoummunication about ships time and land time and got back to the dock late but thankfully ahead of the ship's buses.....thankfully I wasn't in charge of that excursion, the fellow cruise critic who had organized it, was definitely sweating how he was going to get 16 of us back to the ship since we were at a port (in Patagonia) that wasn't accessible by road, and we had passed the weekly ferry on our way in!)

 

Hopefully, if you organize one port, some of your fellow roll callers will offer something in another port and no one has to be "working" the whole trip.

[Stace894]

As you can see from above, everyone has different ideas as to what makes a great cruise. I say "Make it what YOU want". I tend to be a planner but have learned over time to have a general idea of what I want, but try not to get too upset if plans don't work out.

 

If you want a vacation where you relax in the sun with a good book, do it!

 

If you want an adventurous vacation exploring all sorts of new places, do it!

 

Its your vacation and you should do what you want with your time.

 

That being said,, bring a power strip that has a couple of USB ports. Never enough power access in the rooms and there are always things to charge!

 

Enjoy!:)

[dogboy]

Use tour dallies, there are a lot of activities and good entertainment going on you don't want to miss too much of it. Have fun.