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

Mommawo

By Mommawo,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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browneyedangel74

browneyedangel74

Posted
Posted
On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 2:25 PM, Garth2 said:

The only way it could be better would be to not sail solo.  Having someone to share the cost of the cabin as well as the memories is priceless.

This is actually something I want to do! I have cruised several times with the, at the time, teen kids and the hubby but, I would LOVE to do a cruise allllllllll by myself!

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browneyedangel74

browneyedangel74

Posted
Posted
On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 8:35 PM, richstowe said:

After booking our first cruise I discovered Cruise Critic ,and other resources but mostly CC. A wealth of fabulous info and tips . So much good advice . I did become a little , OK a lot obsessed . Truly there almost no , "darn I wished I'd known that" moments . We were very well coached and made no newbie mistakes .

Except one . I followed CC advice and avoided the hordes of people arriving at the same time for a midday check in . Made sense . So we arrived at 2:15 and yes there were no lines at all . But in retrospect we love the craziness and excitement of arriving at 11 or so not to mention another couple of hours onboard . 

Someone from the RCCL forum reminded me that, embarkment day is your "day 1" of the cruise. You paid for that day so, get to the port early to be one of the first in line so, you can board and enjoy that day you already paid for. I get to the port around 9:30-10am and as soon as I am allowed to get into line, I do. I pack a very small light carry on and I enjoy all I can!!

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schazzy

schazzy

Posted
Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, CA_Cruzing said:

The walls are thin (if she’s a screamer). Could make for embarrassing cabin entires and exits. 

 

Aaaaannnnd this thread is done...Thank you and Good Night! :classic_laugh:

Edited by schazzy
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BoDidly

BoDidly

Posted
Posted (edited)
15 hours ago, CA_Cruzing said:

The walls are thin (if she’s a screamer). Could make for embarrassing cabin entires and exits. 

True ,one time I thought Tarzan and Jane were in the next cabin.   You may be able to live with it if you bring ear plugs.  But chances are the chest thumping and screaming will disintegrate the ear plugs 😵

Edited by BoDidly
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emoorehead

emoorehead

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, robertlanajean said:

 

embarrassing or proud.. no worries unless your neighbor high-fives you.

 

 

54 minutes ago, Mommawo said:

Omg one can only hope he neighbor high fives you.   Now that is cruise goals 

I think it could go either way depending on your gender. Women would be mortified, men would want the high five......just my thoughts.

Edited by emoorehead
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coasterjan

coasterjan

Posted
Posted

The #1 thing I learned on my first cruise: Don't let Carnival plan your flights.  They had us arriving just a few hours before our Port Canaveral cruise, and of course our plane was late leaving Virginia and we *barely* made the ship. I really don't need that kind of stress!  I book my flights *myself*, arriving at least one day ahead (more, if there's something interesting to do near the embarkation port).  Also, I learned to not stop at the ice cream machine every time I was walking past - I gained 15 pounds that first cruise! And, take more money and less clothes than you think you'll need.

 

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emoorehead

emoorehead

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Posted
3 hours ago, coasterjan said:

The #1 thing I learned on my first cruise: Don't let Carnival plan your flights.  They had us arriving just a few hours before our Port Canaveral cruise, and of course our plane was late leaving Virginia and we *barely* made the ship. I really don't need that kind of stress!  I book my flights *myself*, arriving at least one day ahead (more, if there's something interesting to do near the embarkation port). 

 

I'm with you...it is too nerve racking to me to cut it that close. Then you lose valuable vacation time trying to distress from it.

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Mommawo

Mommawo

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25 minutes ago, Crazy4Camping said:

I learned that I should've packed more warm clothes like jeans and sweaters because the ship was always freezing.  Also, don't eat like you're on vacation cause you will pay for it.  I undid months of dieting and working out in just one week.

Great info because I’m always cold! I carry a jacket in the Jeep in the summer because I find restaurants cold sometimes!!!  Yeah I am at my goal weight and certainly want to stay there.  I will also be hitting the treadmill while on ship because I’m sure I will be eating things outside of my normal Kale and gross stuff diet 😆   Thanks for the reminder.  I am actually a bit worried that the foods I don’t normally eat will make me a bit sick. I have looked at the menu for my ship and found a lot of things that will be in my normal diet.  However that chocolate melting cake will be in my belly each night. Yup I will just hit the treadmill each morning I suppose. 

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Crazy4Camping

Crazy4Camping

Posted
Posted
43 minutes ago, Mommawo said:

Great info because I’m always cold! I carry a jacket in the Jeep in the summer because I find restaurants cold sometimes!!!  Yeah I am at my goal weight and certainly want to stay there.  I will also be hitting the treadmill while on ship because I’m sure I will be eating things outside of my normal Kale and gross stuff diet 😆   Thanks for the reminder.  I am actually a bit worried that the foods I don’t normally eat will make me a bit sick. I have looked at the menu for my ship and found a lot of things that will be in my normal diet.  However that chocolate melting cake will be in my belly each night. Yup I will just hit the treadmill each morning I suppose. 

Yup told myself I would work out and take yoga class etc. but found that it was hard to get out of bed early enough for that and still get off the island to do stuff after drinking and going to bed much later than at home!  I kept up my step count(I average 16k-18k at home and got close to that by using the stairs alot and just walking around the ships/ports)and hit the treadmill a couple times.  I also walked/jogged the track a few times but it was usually as we were coming into port and the exhaust fumes were bad.  Of course, it's more what you eat than exercise and I allowed myself tons of stuff I wouldn't normally eat plus the alcohol and specialty coffees(bought Cheers)so I gained 5 lbs. as well as a couple inches here and there.  

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Mommawo

Mommawo

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11 minutes ago, Crazy4Camping said:

Yup told myself I would work out and take yoga class etc. but found that it was hard to get out of bed early enough for that and still get off the island to do stuff after drinking and going to bed much later than at home!  I kept up my step count(I average 16k-18k at home and got close to that by using the stairs alot and just walking around the ships/ports)and hit the treadmill a couple times.  I also walked/jogged the track a few times but it was usually as we were coming into port and the exhaust fumes were bad.  Of course, it's more what you eat than exercise and I allowed myself tons of stuff I wouldn't normally eat plus the alcohol and specialty coffees(bought Cheers)so I gained 5 lbs. as well as a couple inches here and there.  

Thanks so much for the warning!!!!! I will remember this.  I always take the stairs as well so ima eat some of the god stuff but be careful as well.  I don’t have cheers package so will not be drinking as much. I would absolutely be at the coffee shop constantly with that package plus the alcohol lol yeah I would be sick if I bought the cheers trying to get moneys worth especially since I’m now a light weight.  Hubby and I are i our 40’s and I swear we are such early  to bed early yo rise people we will struggle staying up later 😂. We are gonna try but I bet we are still in bed by 10 and that is late for us lol we have turned into old people.  We have to get up early for work so it’s just our schedule 

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ElCrappyTan

ElCrappyTan

Posted
Posted (edited)

Take 25% of what you think you actually need.

 

To me, on the off-chance I need neosporin, I'd pay the upcharge cost on board versus the hassle of bringing suitcases full of everything found in a Walgreens.

Edited by ElCrappyTan
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richstowe Great Review Rare

richstowe

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, ElCrappyTan said:

Take 25% of what you think you actually need.

25% ? Then you'd think you'd need to pack for an antarctic expedition .

What about 5% ? Just silly advice.

Edited by richstowe
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LPut714

LPut714

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/28/2018 at 8:30 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

Our first cruise was on the original Carnivale-had never cruised before. We booked the cheapest room. Had to laugh when we opened the cabin door and had bunk beds. The bathroom was so small you could sit on the toilet and have your feet in the shower at the same time. But we had the best time. Got us hooked-35 cruises later. Don't sweat the small stuff. If you need to complain about something-do it tactfully, Three cruises this year-15 day Panama canal and cruise to Bermuda-can't wait

Edited by LPut714
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