Advice to all new cruisers!!! (from an old cruiser)

[Danno]

This time of year is called hurricane season for a reason....be very aware that this situation may, or may not, have a profound impact on your cruise. While there is good pricing available at this time of year, there is some risk involved...

 

Go in with your eyes wide open and weigh the risks...and be flexible...I would rather deal with any intinerary change than to get caught in the teeth of a hurricane....

 

For those of us who have cruised a number of times...don't complain. If you have weather problems, you (we) should have known better.

 

And I have cruised this time of year....I knew the risks, and got lucky.

[gkm]

Try to arrive at the port a day early or if that's impossible, try to be on the very first flight of the day. You never know when there will be problems with your airline, cancelled flights or weather delays so connections are missed. After all the anticipation of the cruise, it would be a shame to miss the ship!

 

Garry

[usha]

Don't expect a cabin upgrade. It might happen, but it probably won't, so don't get your heart set on it.:)

[c-legs]

:D Hi

 

Such pearls of wisdom from all three of you !!!!

Thank you !!!

The advice about arriving in the port city a day ahead ??? Brilliant !!!

After all, '' you paid the money, might as well max out your stay ''...which is exactly what you can do when you're already in the port city that morning: check in at the earliest possible time, have lunch on board, check the '' lay of the ship'', unpack, RELAX....etc.etc....and all this before the mass even starts arriving at the pier. The '' savings'' in blood pressure points makes that approach unquestionnably the best.

 

You sail in problem times ??? Expect problems !!! If they don't occur, thank your lucky star; if they do, deal with it and still enjoy life on board!!!

 

Happy sailings

Cheers

CG

;)

[Zigster]

Be courteous and kind to the crew. They really do go out of there way to please you.

[Liat]

In line with Zigster's last remarks; one reason we like Celebrity is that the higher crew > passenger ratio gives us time to chat with our wait staff and room stewards without interfering with their work. We enjoy finding out where they are from, and seeing if we have been to their home towns.

We found out on an Infinity cruise that our waitress was turning 30 on the next to last day; so our table set up a birthday party for her, ordered a cake, and had the assistant maitre'd tell her that "there is a problem at your table" When she turned around - the cake was there and we sat her down to sing happy birthday, give her a card and flowers and a small present. The maitre'd even arranged for her boyfriend to come down from the next level in the dining room where he was working to join in. If you don't think the crew enjoyed this just as much as we did . . .

We learned to try to interact with the crew members on our first cruise on Carnival's Elation; where we ran into our assistant maitre'd at the buffet late one evening, and had coffee with him. He was from Turkey and was happy to chat about his job and how cruise lines work. He was also one of the most efficient assistant maitre'ds we ever had.

Your crew is composed of widely travelled, interesting people who have a lot to share. Take advantage of this opportunity.

[Tatka]

Don't read into cruise reviews too much... Remember every person is different and every cruise is different.;)

[TechKnowBabble]

In line with Zigster's last remarks; one reason we like Celebrity is that the higher crew > passenger ratio gives us time to chat with our wait staff and room stewards without interfering with their work. We enjoy finding out where they are from, and seeing if we have been to their home towns.

We found out on an Infinity cruise that our waitress was turning 30 on the next to last day; so our table set up a birthday party for her, ordered a cake, and had the assistant maitre'd tell her that "there is a problem at your table" When she turned around - the cake was there and we sat her down to sing happy birthday, give her a card and flowers and a small present. The maitre'd even arranged for her boyfriend to come down from the next level in the dining room where he was working to join in. If you don't think the crew enjoyed this just as much as we did . . .

We learned to try to interact with the crew members on our first cruise on Carnival's Elation; where we ran into our assistant maitre'd at the buffet late one evening, and had coffee with him. He was from Turkey and was happy to chat about his job and how cruise lines work. He was also one of the most efficient assistant maitre'ds we ever had.

Your crew is composed of widely travelled, interesting people who have a lot to share. Take advantage of this opportunity.

 

That is so sweet. It's great when people take the time to appreciate the people who can 'make or break' your vacation.

[Char]

Another good pointer is not to book your return flight too early. If the cruise line says don't book before noon or 1:00 PM, then take their advice. Too many folks have missed flights because the ship was delayed getting in or there were delays in clearing the ship with immigration. It's better to wait at the airport than to be sweating bullets on the ship wondering if you can make that 10:45 flight. Just because the arrival time says 7:00 AM doesn't mean you can get off at 7:05 :D