Im so excited and a little nervous

[reddressgirl]

Hi everyone!

We are Jo-Anne and Stephen and we sail on the Milli Jan 7th, our first cruise ever!!! Ive not been out of Ontario since I was 17 and Im 47 now!

I must say that Im kinda nervous this whole cruise thing is a little overwhelming for me! Should be book excursions or can we just wing it in port?, should we wait to book or should we do it on line? what if we dont get back in time for the ship to leave? So many questions???? hoping someone will be nice enough to share their expert advice with us and give us some much needed cruising tips.

[DeltaOne]

Hi everyone!

We are Jo-Anne and Stephen and we sail on the Milli Jan 7th, our first cruise ever!!! Ive not been out of Ontario since I was 17 and Im 47 now!

I must say that Im kinda nervous this whole cruise thing is a little overwhelming for me! Should be book excursions or can we just wing it in port?, should we wait to book or should we do it on line? what if we dont get back in time for the ship to leave? So many questions???? hoping someone will be nice enough to share their expert advice with us and give us some much needed cruising tips.

On our first cruise we pre-booked most of our excursions. In some ports we booked one morning excursion and another afternoon excursion. We hadn 't booked any for the fourth day, thinking we'd play it by ear. Good thing, turned out that by the fourth day we were exhausted! We didn't get off the ship that day, we spent the entire day lounging around the swimming pool and sleeping.

 

So, I would recommend never booking more than one excursion a day, leave the rest of the day open and play it by ear. Book the excursions that you feel are a must-have (since they may fill up and you'd be shut out). If the excursion doesn't seem like a must-have then let it wait and book it on the ship.

 

Since it's your first cruise, and you're already feeling a bit overwhelmed, it's probably best to stick to ship-sponsored excursions. Feel free to leave the ship and walk around though, just make sure your watches are set to ship's time and plan on being back to the ship at least one hour before departure.

 

Above all, chill out and enjoy the cruise--you'll love it! Enjoy!

[Texed]

Hi everyone!

We are Jo-Anne and Stephen and we sail on the Milli Jan 7th, our first cruise ever!!! Ive not been out of Ontario since I was 17 and Im 47 now!

I must say that Im kinda nervous this whole cruise thing is a little overwhelming for me! Should be book excursions or can we just wing it in port?, should we wait to book or should we do it on line? what if we dont get back in time for the ship to leave? So many questions???? hoping someone will be nice enough to share their expert advice with us and give us some much needed cruising tips.

 

My advice is: Do not stress, just, let it happen.

As far as excursions, in some ports book yourself, in others it might be wise to book through the ship. I suggest going to the "Ports of Call" board and read up on the ports/excursions for your cruise. :)

[RLM77]

Jo-Anne -

First of all, I emphatically second the poster who said "don't stress" over this. Cruises are wonderfully relaxing vacations if you relax into them. But if you're nervous and worried most of the cruise, you won't get this huge benefit and probably won't enjoy your trip.

If you plan to visit the ports on your own, it's very important that you research them before you leave and decide what you want to see and do in advance. Your time in any port is quite limited; you can't possibly do it all (and shouldn't try). Pick what's important to you and leave the rest for the next cruise.:D

If you plan to do the ports on your own but don't plan your time you're much more likely to spend your day wandering around the Tourist Trap, oops, I mean the Shopping District. There are excursions that are sold right at the pier, but without doing some advance research you won't know who is reputable or what a fair price is. Celebrity's excursions may cost more, but the vendors are vetted by the cruise line, are generally reliable, and will almost always have you back to the ship on time.

Speaking of which, you don't want to miss the boat as you are responsible for costs involved with catching up to the ship at its next port. This is another advantage of excursions sold through Celebrity; they will usually either hold the ship or cover some/all of the costs if there is a problem.

I think you'll have a great time, all the better for the amount of time you've had to wait. Relax and enjoy!

[reddressgirl]

Great advice everyone Thank-you!

[Texed]

Some of the nicest cruisers we have met have been from Canada. Have a great cruise. :)

[Host Anne]

reddressgirl ~ it wasn't so long ago that we were in your position. I still remember how overwhelmed I was the first time we walked up along our first ship. She seemed so immense (and she is now one of the smallest ships out there). Over the years, we've moved from using the ship excursions to planning our own....but it took us a while to be comfortable doing that. Now with the internet (we've been sailing since 1982) it's much easier to get great information on shore excursions and doing them on your own. Texed suggestion to visit our Ports of Call boards is a great one so if you are thinking about planning excursions on your own, stop over there for some great ideas.

 

I highly recommend enjoying the ship itself, too. Don't overlook how much fun you can have on board participating in activities, enjoying the pool and spa, meeting other passengers, relaxing. The very first thing we still do after we board (even if it's a ship we've been on before) is take the map of the ship, go to the very top of the ship and work our way down each deck, walking front to back and back to front on each deck. This helps get us oriented to the layout of the ship and get a feel for where everything is located. Tell us what ship you are sailing on and I'm sure other posters will be happy to tell you their favorite things about that ship :)

 

Most of all, I wish your first cruise to be as memorable as ours was and I hope you enjoy the experience and keep coming back for more.

 

We, too, have met and made wonderful friends from Canada on cruises!

 

HAPPY CRUISING!

[reddressgirl]

Again Thanks!

 

We will be sailing on Celebrity Millennium, Jan 7/07, we are arriving in Ft Lauderdale a day early. Ports are, Casa De Camp, Dominican, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas. I have checked out the Ports of Call boards and they have been very helpful....I think.;) We will be with a group of 30 ballroom dancers but no one that we know that well or are obligated to spend all our time with, and we are looking at this as our honeymoon also, we have been married 3yrs and didnt go on one so this is it!...........did I mention that I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!

[Jim_Iain]

reddressgirl - I would have to mirror the other posters. Don't overstress. I know that is easier said than done. I remember our first cruise and there was a lot of fear of the unknown.

 

I found the best thing to do is hang out here at Cruise Critics. Don't be afraid to ask anything that is on your mind. You will find a lot of wonderful people who are here to help you enjoy our first cruise.

 

There is a great section First Time Cruisers - Lots of great reading and a place were you can ask what you might feel is the "stupidest" of questions. Believe me there is no stupid question except the one you don't ask.

[reddressgirl]

Ill will ask dont you worry!

P.S. I love your Goldie, I had Three but lost my oldie Goldie in July:( miss him terribly.

[Host Anne]

Millie ~ one of my favorite ships. Be sure to check out the the outdoor seating area at the rear of the Ocean Grill on the Resort Deck. It's the best place to eat breakfast (after you get some of those yummy waffles). It's usually quiet back here and many don't find it until later in the cruise!

 

I highly recommend going to St. John for the day when you are in St. Thomas. St. Thomas has some lovely beaches but I don't think anything compares to St. John. This is an easy port to do on your own. If you are interested, I'll be happy to send you details on getting to St. John and our favorite beaches.

 

I'd suggest a ship's tour in San Juan. We did a ship tour here a number of years ago that was terrific. Unfortunately at this point I can't recall which it was....I remember they took us to a road side stand where we had mufundo (I probably spelled that incorrectly).....it's a meat filling covered with mashed potatoes and then fried....so yummy.

 

We did horse back riding in Casa de Campo on our own. You probably read about these options on the Ports of Call boards.

 

Feel free to ask more questions.....everyone is always happy to help.

 

So sorry to hear about your Golden! They are beautiful animals!

[reddressgirl]

Being our fist cruise do you suggest we book excursions through the ship or feel our way around by ourselves? I hear the same excursions are less expensive when you do them on your own, but I dont want to be waisting precious port time wandering around lost either. I really appreciate everyones help!!!

[Elbows]

Hi Reddressgirl

 

We too are cruise virgins and on the same sailing as you!!

 

Reading all the replies with interest, very helpful, thanks everyone :D

[reddressgirl]

Hey Elbows!

 

I was up til 3am reading posts and checking out web sites, everyone here has been so helpful!!!!! Im so glad I found this site, I can just imagine what it would have been like just showing up green to the ship, at least I feel a little more prepaired reading up on these excursions and the experience people have had on them, it helps to narrow the choices down a bit....This Sonny Listor guy sounds interesting in St Thomas!

 

Would love to meet up with you on the ship, we could be the blind leading the blind!!!!:D

[Stelladoro]

Hi Reddressgirl! We're also from Ontario (Burlington) and chose the Millie for our first cruise last Sept. in the Med. We were very impressed with the ship, the service and food and met some wonderful people. I was also nervous, overwhelmed, excited and spent months researching and reading the tips offered by other experienced cruisers. While I can't comment on the excursions in the Carrib, we decided to take a chance and book private tours in most ports in the Med. Prior to the cruise, we contacted other folks on the Roll Call board and joined them in private tours, which ended up costing less than the ship's tours. We were never late in arriving back to the ship, despite the traffic and distances we had to cover. Enjoy your cruise, whatever you choose!:)

[BILLP1]

Enjoy and relax. Doing the math it would seem that your next time your out of Ontario you will be 77. Much too long between trips...

[bunduo]

You will loooove the Virgin Islands.

 

I second the St. John recommendation. You can do this independently. Take a taxi over to Red Hook, and then take the ferry over to St. John. It is a spectacularly beautiful island. Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay are good choices for beaches. Overall, it is a fairly inexpensive day compared to some excursions. Take a peak at the Maho Bay Eco Lodge in case you want to return for a land vacation.

 

Another good option in St. Thomas is to charter a sailboat for the day. It's not cheap but it's fun. We sailed aboard the Winifred and had a great day. They will take you snorkeling and will serve lunch...unfortunately, on a cruise, the last thing you need is more food.

 

If you don't scuba dive, check out the Atlantic Submarine excursion. That is also really fun and it doesn't take up the whole day, either.

 

At Casa de Campo, stay away from the 'Duck' tour. It was a rip off when we went. Do head up to the La Romana. A very cool artist colony.

 

An independent and inexpensive excursion in San Juan would be to hike around Old San Juan and check out El Morro. We've also done El Yunque rainforest tour but it seemed like we spent most of our time driving to and from the park. It was beautiful but it's a rainforest...not a jungle. It a lot like hiking a through a hardwood forest. Since it's an island there aren't that many animals. There are no toucans or monkeys.

 

Enjoy the cruise and remember to relax. :)

[dancermom5]

I concur with the others about Millie. My husband and I took our first cruise sailing from Venice to Barcelona on Millie in May. We loved it as you will. She is a fantastic ship with the friendliest staff. We meet many wonderful couples from Texas, Boston, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and of course, our homeland, Canada.

 

We booked all cruise excursions except in Santorini, Greece. Being first time crusiers we didn't want stress or hassles so everything was pre- booked. We won't do that for our Millie March cruise since we are "more knowledgable" about what to do. Hope this helps.

 

Dancermom5

from beautiful East Coast Canada--NS