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Any tips for a first time cruiser?


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15 hours ago, MWBearFan said:

Definitely agree with arriving a day early and staying overnight if at all possible.  Depending on where you live vs the cruise port flying out is ideal.  Our first cruise was last October and we decided to drive 16+ hours from Indiana to Orlando two days prior and and drove the final 3 hours the morning of embarkation.  Never again we were still recovering when we finally got to the ship.  never again.  You want to arrive at your ship well rested and ready to relax and enjoy your tropical vacation.  It's an experience you will never forget, and likely will be hooked as we were.  

 

Try not to over plan, focus on enjoying the moments and keep in mind that anything you may miss out on you can do on your next cruise.  Go with the flow, do what you want (within the rules of course :P) Experience new things.  You can do as much or as little as you want.  7 days is a good length of time you should have at least a couple sea days to explore the ship.  Our October cruise on the Victory was just 4 days and we had a blast but wished we could have had more time to explore.   We are also booked on the Breeze for an 8 day cruise in 2021.  

 

Treat the staff with respect and take time to interact with them, they work hard to make your vacation special, and they are away from their families for long stretches of time.  The interaction is welcome and makes them feel appreciated.  

 

Pay attention to time when in port. Ships time trumps local time if they say be back on board by a set time be there and good practice to be back a little early.  If your not on the ship when it's ready to leave it will leave without you.  You don't want to be one of those people running down the port watching their ship sail away.  That said on our cruise it did seem that they were a little lenient in this area as the ship didn't set sail right at the time just don't rely on that leniency.  

 

Be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen, and meds you think you'll need like motion sickness, aspirin, Tums, etc.  While you can buy on the ship it's marked up cause they know they got you.  Packing is a balance of bringing just what you need without over doing it.  Where that balance lies depends on the person.  One tip though is to plan versatile wardrobe that can be modified/accessorized to have variety. Plus you'll probably spend more time on the cruise in your swim wear than regular clothes, and you can wear the same outfit for multiple elegant nights again think versatility over quantity.  

 

Cruising has a learning curve and the best teacher is experience.  We learned things good and bad on our first cruise that we'll carry into our next cruise and so on.  

thank you MWBearfan

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On 4/24/2019 at 6:51 AM, MWBearFan said:

Definitely agree with arriving a day early and staying overnight if at all possible.  Depending on where you live vs the cruise port flying out is ideal.  Our first cruise was last October and we decided to drive 16+ hours from Indiana to Orlando two days prior and and drove the final 3 hours the morning of embarkation.  Never again we were still recovering when we finally got to the ship.  never again.  You want to arrive at your ship well rested and ready to relax and enjoy your tropical vacation.  It's an experience you will never forget, and likely will be hooked as we were.  

 

Try not to over plan, focus on enjoying the moments and keep in mind that anything you may miss out on you can do on your next cruise.  Go with the flow, do what you want (within the rules of course :P) Experience new things.  You can do as much or as little as you want.  7 days is a good length of time you should have at least a couple sea days to explore the ship.  Our October cruise on the Victory was just 4 days and we had a blast but wished we could have had more time to explore.   We are also booked on the Breeze for an 8 day cruise in 2021.  

 

Treat the staff with respect and take time to interact with them, they work hard to make your vacation special, and they are away from their families for long stretches of time.  The interaction is welcome and makes them feel appreciated.  

 

Pay attention to time when in port. Ships time trumps local time if they say be back on board by a set time be there and good practice to be back a little early.  If your not on the ship when it's ready to leave it will leave without you.  You don't want to be one of those people running down the port watching their ship sail away.  That said on our cruise it did seem that they were a little lenient in this area as the ship didn't set sail right at the time just don't rely on that leniency.  

 

Be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen, and meds you think you'll need like motion sickness, aspirin, Tums, etc.  While you can buy on the ship it's marked up cause they know they got you.  Packing is a balance of bringing just what you need without over doing it.  Where that balance lies depends on the person.  One tip though is to plan versatile wardrobe that can be modified/accessorized to have variety. Plus you'll probably spend more time on the cruise in your swim wear than regular clothes, and you can wear the same outfit for multiple elegant nights again think versatility over quantity.  

 

Cruising has a learning curve and the best teacher is experience.  We learned things good and bad on our first cruise that we'll carry into our next cruise and so on.  

Great tips! 

 

To piggyback off of all the great info you provided I'll add bring good comfortable walking shoes, a multi socket outlet for your phones, camera, etc. as usually there is only one maybe two in the cabin, patience (your on vacation) and open mind and a smile. Some of the BEST people in the world can be found while cruising. Have an amazing time!

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