What is the one valuable lesson you learned on your first cruise 🚢

[firefly5555]

Dont use my cell phone.

and it cost nothing to pull money out at the casino so don't use the ATM

 

[ARcruisin2]

On 2/25/2019 at 2:51 PM, Steve551 said:

Learned from my first cruise?  My motorhome is no longer my favorite vacation transportation.

 

Learned from several cruises:

Remember what my wife wears when we get off the ship (I take a photo now); make a note of where/when I last saw her; and when I get back to the ship after whatever we have planned (she always stays on shore to shop). I make sure that her overnight bag is packed, so that when the ships security calls asking:

(1)"IF" my wife is on-board.

(2) Where/when did I last see her?

(3) What was she wearing (I can email them the photo).

This usually ends with ship security coming to the cabin to get the bag I packed for her so that she'll have something to wear until she meets back up with me at our next port AND her passport, if she didn't take it with her, so that she can leave the country to meet up with me at the next port.

 

My wife is  legend on some cruise lines......

Like most, my mind is kinda blown by this...but it sounds like you have learned to prepare and just roll with it. 😊

 

These are actually good tips to prepare for just in case you do get separated.... take a pic at the start of the day with what everyone is wearing. Have a plan, like if it gets close to time and you can't find someone head to the ship. 

 

I would have trouble doing so and remaining calm....is he looking all over the place for me here, or is he waiting at the gangway for me? We stick pretty close together in ports. But it can happen really easy in a big straw market, when i stop to look at something. So maybe a more immediate plan would help, like if we get separated go to the end of whatever row you are shopping, on which side and wait...pretty obvious but in a bigger group, it might help to state it out loud.

[monykalyn]

On 2/26/2019 at 10:05 AM, Steve551 said:

It's always a 'roll of the dice' with regards to my wife. I must say that she is doing better the last few years. 

I love this video and I am dying! 🤣

"Look she's not the last one"

":this is early for her"

"Get on the ship Bethie"  

Clearly you guys are pretty laid back and have a sense of humor! Love it!!

[southbayer]

On 11/28/2018 at 5:30 AM, Mommawo said:

Just curious what you all learned in your first cruise that you left saying “I won’t make that mistake again “. Let us learn from you lol

Is.... drinking too damn much within the first few hours upon boarding...   Then having to take a long nap after muster, which is the heart of the day... 

[mike91911]

I was young.  If you're a drinker plan to spend more on drinks than you think.  There was no cheers program back then.  They come by with those pretty drinks and all you have to do is sign your name.  No cash exchanged.  It doesn't even feel like your spending money until you you see the final charges.  

[scpirate]

Since I'm the one that foots the bill in my household.i learned where not to spend unnecessary money.after 8 cruises I spend very little on board maybe $100 at most.ive learned how to see the ports a whole lot cheaper than ship excursions.i spend the bulk of my money on tours and a souvenir or four.whatever catches my eye.i keep my total expenditure to the same amount each trip.start to fish.with my goal to have money in my pocket when I return.i pay cash all the way.

[crusinpsychRN]

Go the the excursion meeting point a little early. They used to be late in starting so I'd go 10 minutes late. Almost missed my excursion as they left 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet.

[quickrate]

That I had just met my new addiction! 33 cruises later and still love it just as much as I did the first time.

Pat

[jusmeanhim]

On 12/7/2018 at 6:37 PM, OCruisers said:

 

Yes, comfortable and not brand new shoes you've never worn before!  

For sure my first cruise my MIL said dress nice cause they take our picture before we get on the ship so I did, uncomfortable shoes and all. It got so I couldn’t even walk in them any longer and was stuck in the cabin until luggage came and I could change. 

[beshears]

This is a good question, and it just brought back something that happened to us years ago, and I have never let it happen again! 🙂

 

Once we got off the airplane, we were put on large open-air Taxi's to take us to the ship.  In the meantime, they put our luggage (this happened to 8 people or 4 groups) on another Taxi, since the Taxi we were on was full, and could not handle the luggage.  Low and behold, all of our luggage wound up on another ship going another direction for "4" days. 😞 To say the least, this was one of the worst experiences  we had ever had.  I was thankful I had taken out insurance to cover us, but purchasing clothes, items on the ship, is NOT cheap!  We had beautiful formal dresses to wear for the formal nights, but we did NOT have them, because of this incident! 😞 Other than what we had on our backs, and what we had in our carry-on, was pretty much what we wore for those 4 days.

[Kristi Williamson]

Kind of an odd thing I learned is that you can NOT wear camo on most of the Caribbean islands. It is actually against the law and they will fine you. We don't wear camo, but happened to overhear a conversation where it was happening. So, if you're a big time camo family, you'll need to go shopping.  😛 

 

 

[Lizc7gb]

Do not pack your passport in your suitcase.  I actually learned this on my second cruise because this is exactly what my parents did and when they remembered the luggage was long gone.  They were allowed to board the ship with a picture ID but had to raise their right hand and swear that they were who they said they were.  This was 2003 but I wonder what would happen now. 

[crusinpsychRN]

On 2/14/2019 at 3:31 PM, Mommawo said:

Would rather run outside any day as the treadmill anyway.  So there is a place I can run????!!!!!!! It’s ok and people won’t get all huffy? Lol

 

I was walking outside in the runner lane--the only place to walk--and a runner almost pushed me down saying I didn't belong there.

[siestakeys04]

This may have been said but haven’t read the entire post don’t over pack didn’t wear 1/3 of the stuff I took with me.

[glrounds]

On 2/22/2019 at 2:28 PM, richstowe said:

The Fascination was my kids first cruise . They LOVED  it ! We loved experiencing their joy . The lesson we learnt was a great experience can be found on any ship . The food, staff , entertainment, were  all great . They were amazed how huge the ship was . Certainly Fantasy class has been greatly surpassed by all the ships that have been build since then . I'm not sure that matters so much to most new cruisers . Besides, if you start at the top, it's all downhill from there . 

 

I book Fantasy Class ships all the time on the west coast. The 4-dayers "sandwich" in very well with my longer cruises and NO AIRFARE ! These 8 ships are the ships that put Carnival on the map in the 90s and are maintained very well. Of course they don't have all the bells and whistles but are a lot of fun.

[cloudninecat]

This wasn't my first cruise but my first family cruise. I was traveling with 4 kids between the ages of 16-20. I learned not to let them go off on their own in a foreign port without first checking the drinking age. When we went to Nassau the 16 year old stayed  with us but the other 3 (over 18) decided to take their own excursion. I was a little worried letting them go off on their own but they are over 18 so I reluctantly let them go. All 3 arrived back smashed. It seems that while enjoying their beach day they found Senor Frogs and not only were allowed to drink but had most of them for free. Once the initial shock of seeing them drunk wore off it was kind of funny. Especially when my daughter got on a crying jag and started apologizing to me. 

[richstowe]

1 hour ago, cloudninecat said:

When we went to Nassau the 16 year old stayed  with us but the other 3 (over 18) decided to take their own excursion. I was a little worried letting them go off on their own but they are over 18 so I reluctantly let them go. All 3 arrived back smashed. It seems that while enjoying their beach day they found Senor Frogs and not only were allowed to drink but had most of them for free. Once the initial shock of seeing them drunk wore off it was kind of funny.

Oh boy do I know this story . Our 20 year old daughter came back with a half drunk yard glass . It was half drunk but she was fully drunk and quite argumentative . "Why can't I bring back MY drink" she screamed . Bad parenting but good story.

[JayDeeJay]

The enduring lesson learned was they insist all passengers get off the boat (!!!) when their cruise is over - I really hated to leave

 

[crusinpsychRN]

That my son could figure out the ship layout on day one and I couldn't until at least day 5.

[1city@atime]

Our first cruise was with another couple who had cruised before. It was great to have them along to help us out. We have now recruited more friends to join our vacation obsession. It's fun to watch them get more comfortable with each cruise. 

Things I learned after the 1st..

If you workout, bring a few workout outfits. You may decide to use them, I had to walk in swimsuit on my 1st. Better to have than to want. Most important, get on the ship as early as possible. You are paying for the day, let your vacation begin.

[crusinpsychRN]

Learned how stupid it is that non smokers sit in the smoking section and complain about the smoke!

[missholly24]

To bring all minor first aide/medical supplies. IE: Ace bandage, bandaids, steri-strips, Gas X, Motrin, 

Aloe gel, hydrocortisone cream, Benadryl, tweezers, vaseline, baby powder, etc. LOL!! Obviously

you don't need most of it but you are on a cruise ship and cannot get if needed. (and if they have it at the

gift shop, its expensive) By our third cruise, we had this "kit" built up from experience. Maybe its the nurse

in me. I don't want to be unprepared!

 

 

[crusinpsychRN]

1 hour ago, missholly24 said:

To bring all minor first aide/medical supplies. IE: Ace bandage, bandaids, steri-strips, Gas X, Motrin, 

Aloe gel, hydrocortisone cream, Benadryl, tweezers, vaseline, baby powder, etc. LOL!! Obviously

you don't need most of it but you are on a cruise ship and cannot get if needed. (and if they have it at the

gift shop, its expensive) By our third cruise, we had this "kit" built up from experience. Maybe its the nurse

in me. I don't want to be unprepared!

 

 

 

Add tampax to that. Very expensive onboard.

 

On a side note--when I was 13 I went to Europe with my grandmother. We were at our aunt's house in the Netherlands and I needed tampax. Grandma sent me to the store alone although she's the one who spoke the language. Try asking for tampax without the right language. So embarrassing!

[Jdfireman]

never hook up  the first night... It can develop a cruise stalker 

[emoorehead]

39 minutes ago, Jdfireman said:

never hook up  the first night... It can develop a cruise stalker 

I hope you are being facetious.......but I get the impression you are not.