First time cruiser. Please HELP!!!

[rogerashley]

:eek: I have saved and saved, gave up everything I enjoy to give this vacation to my family. This is my very first cruise and I am so nervous, excited and confused that I am losing sleep. Please help me out so that I can give my family a vacation to remember as I don't know when I can afford another sailing.

 

I am travelling with my wife and a 7 year old daughter on Magica (Mar. 12th sailing to Western Caribbean).

 

- Should I worry about seasickness? Should I bring seasickness medication on board?

- Is bringing several bottles of wine a good idea?

- Should my wife pack tuxedo? If so, am I going to be the only one wearing Tux on Gala night?

- What's on TV? Any movies? Sports? Anything else that I should keep my daughter from watching?

- If I don't purchase excursions, will I still be able to enjoy all the ports we visit? Where should we go to enjoy the beach?

- Are the people who leave negative postings spoiled brats or should I take their comments seriously as they are seasoned cruisers with credibility?

- What is one advice can you offer this troubled soul?

 

Thank you in advance for all your replies on this board.

[taszmom]

roger,

 

relax and have fun with your family. as a precaution i always bring something with me as I tend to get seasick on rough seas. personally i use ginger capsules and it works like a charm for me. you might want to bring a couple of things since you don't know what will work should you need it. there are wrist bands (sea bands) that you can get at any corner drug store, dramamine, bonine, or patches prescribed from a dr. with ginger, there are no side affects, no sleepiness and you can drink with them, unlike dramamine which can make you drowsy.

 

you will see good and bad reviews of every cruise line and every ship listed on these message boards. take it all with a grain of salt.

 

I am planning on brining a few bottles of wine to keep in my stateroom in addition to buying the wine package.

 

shore excursions are completely optional. you can get off at every port regardless if you purchased a shore excursion or not. lots of cruise passengers will make their own arrangements outside of what the cruise line offers, but do your homework ahead of time. these boards are a great resource for that info. go to the Ports of Call boards.

 

personally I could care less what is on the ship's TV. yes there are some basic channels, but I don't spend time watching TV in my stateroom other than to catch a little news or my husband likes to get the scores. my daughter will watch a few cartoons while we're getting dressed or having our coffee.

 

if you like wearing your tux, definitely bring it. you will see some men wearing them, majority will wear suits.

 

don't worry you'lll have a great family cruise.

[packercruising]

We're on the same cruise 2 weeks earlier so I will post some info more specific, but Nancy did a great job of responding! By all means bring something for seasickness. People are affected differently. Chances are you won't need it but it doesn't take up any room and then you will have it ready.

 

Be aware that it is possible that if you bring your own wine it might be confiscated until the end of the cruise. My wife has brought rum several times and not had a problem packing it in the luggage.

 

I say that since this is your first and possibly only cruise, dress to the nines if you want! There are two formal nights. Take advantage all that the cruise has to offer. :)

 

I agree with Nancy, don't worry about the TV. Ironically on the first cruise I was on in 1998 was Out to Sea.

 

You can have a perfectly good time without excurions just enjoying the islands. Check each port for the various beaches.

 

ALso agree about the negative comments. There are going to be some things that possibly get you irritated, maybe a long line or a crowded pool, or whatever. But there are also going to be things that you find absolutely fantastic! Cruising is like life. Negative people will find something negative and positive people find positive experiences. If you are expecting it to be a utopia it won't be, but what it will be i one heck of a good time that you are being priviledged to share with your family.

 

Have a great time and hope you get to do it again!

[frugalcruiser]

Roger,

The most useful advice I can give you is: RELAX!

The Magica must be one of the nicest, if not the NICEST ship we have ever cruised on! Yes, you will find good and bad reviews, but hey, you

will find good and bad reviews no matter what people are reviewing, being

cruise ships, airlines, hotels, tours, countries.....you know the drill. Forget

the TV, who wants to stay in the cabin watching TV? You can do that at

home. As for formal/casual wear go with whatever makes you feel most

comfortable. We have been on cruises where we felt like dressing up and

on others were we just wore casual. (Speaking of casual, we've also had dinner at the Tavern-On-The-Green in shorts, shirt & sandals and still got

the best service! lololol but true)Let YOUR mood decide what you will wear. In ports of call, you can do your own thing, even if you do not purchase any Costa land-tours, you will find plenty of tour options ashore for much cheaper.

Just watch that waistline, ok? lolol

Have fun and enjoy the Magica, she truly is MAGICAL!

[dogger]

A couple things to keep in mind:

 

1) You're on vacation, enjoy and roll with the flow

 

2) You're not at work, enjoy

 

3) Read as much as you can before hand, if possible, don't do the excursions through the cruise because they take a cut and there's more

people doing the excursion from the ship. If you read enough reviews, asking questions, etc you'll get a cheaper excursion, with less people and in the end, have more fun! Check out the ports of call on this site, find your port and ask questions and you'll find great excursions pretty cheap

 

4) Once you read enough, make sure you have EVERYTHING "needed" for a cruise, most important, your tickets and travel docs.

 

5) Pack lightly, we brought a big suitcase back with clothes we didn't wear, it's a pain to lug toooo much stuff around the airports, etc

 

6) Pack a change or two of your cloths in a bag from a person you're traveling with, Or evenly pack the bags so in case a bag is lost, you'll still have some of your own clothes to wear and have washed.

 

7) Take a carry on with clothes or whatever you might need while you wait for your bags to arrive at your room, same for the kids. This includes Medication to glasses, contacts and a change of cloths or a swimsuit

 

8) Take Duct Tape, travel size, comes in handy from everything from stopping a door from opening, keeping a door open, mending a dress/pants(inside the garment) to taping up boxes on the way back or even busted luggage.

 

9) Tip your room service at the start of the trip with a $10-20. Say something so they understand that this is just a small tip to say thanks and you'll tip AGAIN at the end of the trip. Can't say it helped, but I thought it might.

 

10) Be nice to the staff, they spend 6 months to a year away from their families. We asked our cabin and wait staff, "Where are you from?" "What's it like there?" We had some really nice conversations with the staff. Again, I can't say it got us better service, but it sure felt good to give them some time. And our daughter bought our cabin stewart's daughter a gift, her idea after he told us how he hadn't seen her in 6 months.

 

11) Make sure you KNOW when the ship is leaving, it'll be in the cabin the night before in a document that tells you what is going on. When in doubt, ask around. I don't think you'll want to be left without much more than a shirt on your back and a camera and a ship ID and $50 bucks!

 

12) Don't tell a soul this one, at the back of the ship is a great place to layout, take a towel or two and enjoy you, the sun, NO WIND and a very few people. Big thing is NO WIND, On top of the ship, it gets windy!

COMMENT ON TV : if your 7 year old goes down early to sleep, or will want to see a movie, etc, bring a portable DVD player with movies. Last trip there was 2 cartoon channels, a music channel a couple regular stations, NBC, ABC, FOX and some new channels,

To be honest, we put our daughter in the kids care until they beeped us and we went and got her. You can also see if the ship has kid-care in your cabin, normally like $10 an hour, cheap.

I'm sure there's other hints and ideas, but make sure you go in with an open mind, enjoy your time off and when life serves you lemons and vodka, make Vodka Lemon-Aid!

 

 

[fotoguy]

While booking the excursions on board is more expensive, there is one thing to remember about doing so. If, by some wierd quirk of fate, something goes wrong and your departure time seems to be looming over you, if you have booked your excursion through the ship, the ship will wait.

 

If you have booked the excursion independantly and the car breaks down, the ship has no way of knowing and could leave without you.

 

Again, yes, it does cost more, but I call that extra cost insurance.

You will have a great time.

[packercruising]

Dogger----------- a couple of things? :D

 

1. Rolling with he flow is why you bring seasickness pills. We covered that already:)

2. Can you believe that some people actullay bring their lap tops on the cruise to keep in touch with work? When pigs fly!

7.I thought the duct tape was to hold the toga on. :0 Wrong again, hey :)

[WKM]

If you are taking liquor on board be sure to put it in a large zip lock back. Better safe than sorry. You don't want your clothes and valuables messed up if that bottle breaks. ;)

 

I thought the duct tape was to make a bra for a strapless dress. :D

 

Have fun.

[dyslexic pirate]

Brace yourself for how small the cabin will be. Even if you have a suite it will feel small.

 

The first time I cruised it was in a balcony cabin but it had two lower beds and two upper. When we first walked in I thought there'd been a terrible mistake as the pictures in the brochures had made the cabins look so roomy.

 

The weird thing is once you get everything tucked away the cabin starts to feel much roomier by about the 2nd day.

[packercruising]

For sure don't worry about the size of the cabin. Think of it as an efficiency apartment that grows on you. We have yet to have an unsatisfactory cabin steward (generic can mean male or female) and most have been excellent. I think that goes back to what Dogger said about getting to know them and show an interest in them. I don't agree with the tipping up front but that's just an opinion.

 

Excellent idea about the zip lock baggies. Bring several.

 

Limit your luggage to what you are allowed on the plane, 2 bags (50#s) and a carry on per person. It might not be a requirement for your cruise but it's plenty if you pack right and plan for room for your souviners.

 

Oh, and most important, if you are on the same cruise as Dogger, don't get behind him in the chow line! :D