NEWBIES UNITE! What most concerns you?

[PosadaGirl519]

I WAS the nervous newbie! For 8 months before my cruise I scoured this website looking for any but of information. I complied an OCD list of stuff other people said I needed, what I packed in what suitcase etc. which ended up being well over 100 items long. It was a running list that was such a project. But, in the end, I felt better knowing I had things 'just in case'. (I recommend: 1. power strip, 2. night light, 3. pop-up hamper, 4. extra hangers, 5. cheap mini-alarm clock. These are the only CC 'necessities' I absolutely could not do without.).. no I never used the duct tape, water wallet and we were just fine without carrying a watch.

 

Don't worry about appearing fat. Trust me, about 75% of our cruise was carrying more than a few extra pounds.

 

Keep your hands as clean as possible. Bring a mini-bottle of anti-bacterial hand gel (I didn't because my ship provided motion sensitive sanitizers that we just walked by and stuck out hands out) and you should avoid most if not all illness. I am not a hot tub person to begin with, so we didn't venture there.

 

If random charges appear, dispute them. EVERYTHING they can charge you for should require your signature and you should get a copy of it. When you sign on, tax, tip and any surcharges should be on the contract you sign. Save your receipts (I just tossed mine in a drawer and then tossed them out when I matched everything up on the bill.)

 

I avoided seasickness with Bonine and the comfort of knowing I had Seabands, ginger, B6, Pepto Bismulth, Rolaids and enough cash to buy that shot I heard so much about... i only used the Bonine for 2 days and Seabands for 2 days. It DOES take several hours (for me it was a full 24) to get used to the constant motion of the boat... it doesn't rock, but everything just moves. I suggest limiting the booze until you know how you'll react.

 

We didn't spend time in the cabin except to sleep and get ready. Yes, we are in out 20s and we HAD to nap every day. Vacationing is exhausting. Then you walk around the deck and see nothing but ocean... talk about a big world...

 

Don't be afraid of stupid mistakes... there is nothing shameful the crew hasn't already seen or that fellow passengers haven't done. Besides, 80% of all passengers are drunk and you NEVER see the same random people twice.

 

Dressing properly? You'll be stunned at what some people consider dressy!

 

There is a reason once you cruise, you're addicted. EVERYONE SPOILES YOU! The crew is happy to see and serve you. You are so busy feeling good about the way you're being treated that you forget you own feelings of inadequacy on land. Who cares about the diet? So what if you throw up martinis over the side (try to make it to the lowest possible railing on the ship please)? And yeah, your kids embarrassed you. So what? YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO SEE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE AGAIN! It's your vacation!

 

I went feeling like I was as prepared as I possibly could be. That eased my mind and allowed me to just kick back and enjoy! And it was the greatest experience of my life!!!!! Happy sailing all!

[mollyeilis]

I'm afraid of getting sunburnt and the misery that could accompany that - I'm cruising to the S. Caribbean, have a fair complexion and generally hate the way sunscreen feels on my skin (greasy!). Blech - so I need to do some homework on the sunscreen front!

 

I've seen SPF clothing...for some reason I'm not remembering the name of the fabric, but it DOES exist! That way you might be able to minimize the goopy chemicals, but still protecting yourself.

 

I did the pre-tan thing for my first college Spring Break, and it WORKED. I'm rather pale and had been in WA for almost a year (though I did grow up in CA), and we spent a week in Miami (I was so lucky; my mom had just moved there so I got to go home AND have spring break all at the same time!) and I didn't get burned at all. It was fabulous.

 

 

Today's large ships are all equipped with major stabilization systems. It is RARE that you will feel a lot of motion.

 

But generally you will not feel the sensation. It is most pronounced on the ends of the ship and up high. (the lower and more central you are in the ship, the less you will feel the motion--basic physics). On our 1st cruise our room was low...never felt motion. 2nd cruise we were up high & loved the gentle movement that lulled us to sleep.

 

Not the Carib, but our Alaska cruise was *mainly* calm. There was one night when we left the Inside Passage to get to the glacier, and I was woken in the middle of the night, utterly terrified. We were in a room at the bow, and were going UPPPPP then DooooooWN, over and over. Bleah. My hubby used to work on oil tankers in REAL ocean waves, and he slept like a baby the whole way through (by the way, I recommend traveling with someone who has experienced that, and then keep them awake enough to tell you that it's OK if it happens). I finally calmed myself down by noticing that nothing was falling out of shelves, nothing fell off tables, the ship was holding up fine, so it must all be FINE.

 

Jersygirl,

 

I'll give you my tip for airplanes. When the turbulence hits, I look at the crew. Do they look nervous? They know best what's usual and what's really out of the ordinary, and they don't wanna die any more than I do...presumably.

 

So yeah, if it starts rolling I'm going to look at the crew. If they really look nervous, I know we're not doing well. :o

 

 

That's what I do, too. Kept me sane on a puddle jumper flight from DC to Charleston, WV, over those insane mountains that, I think, caused the happenings of the recent movie "We Are Marshall", in horrendous turbulence. The curtain to the cockpit was open, and I had a perfect view of the co-pilot. He was calm and cool. I figured if he started sweating, I'd start freaking out, but he was fine and so was I. :D

 

 

 

I* My DH and I will fight and not be getting along from stress.

* We'll somehow break a law in port and be put in a foreign jail! :eek:

 

My brand new hubby and I had a whopper of an argument on approx the 4th day of our cruise (our honeymoon). It was rotten.

 

But we survived, no one went overboard, we're coming up on our 4th anniv now. I will say, if you're on Radiance in the front of the ship (we were in 7000), there's a nice little "crawl space" beyond the head of the bed, which allowed me to go get some "space" while hubby and I calmed ourselves down. I got to look out into the darkness and the bow of the ship, and it was OK. So if you think you're going to argue, get that cabin. :) Though that cabin was part of the problem in the open sea!

 

As for breaking laws...I think as long as you're not in Singapore, you can pretty much behave as you normally would (as a law-abiding person), and you'll be fine. Singapore, watch out for the public gum-chewing and whatnot, though...

[mollyeilis]

About the surprise bill thing...at least on our cruise (RCCL), IF memory serves, we could check our account on the TV. Like in a hotel room. We kept all our receipts (still have them, in case I EVER get around to doing a scrapbook) and it was easy to keep track of our spending every day. Which we had to do, as we don't have credit cards, and it was being paid for in cash and check card. Can't overcharge when you're using that sort of payment! Yikes!

 

 

-I just found out tonight (on these forums) that smoking is allowed in cabins. LOL I wish i knew about this earlier. Definitely my biggest worry/concern is being stuck in a cabin with the smoke smell :( . Hope that doesnt offend anyone who is a smoker. But this is coming from someone who's never smoked, and has many 'no smoking indoors' laws in the Province I live in.

 

I was bothered by the smoke coming from OTHER cabins, but our cabin didn't smell at all. I have read that, at least on RCCL ships, they have powerful ozone filters that they put in rooms that have been smoked in, to get the smell out as much as possible. Someone else mentioned that their comforter smelled of it, and the next day they asked to have a new comforter...having read that, I would just have it changed immediately (and then have the sheets changed again, too).

 

Then again, I'll also mention that I was newly pregnant on our cruise, and had "symptoms" immediately (I was so newly pg that no test on earth could have picked it up, but my body sure knew!), and one of the biggest symptoms was Bionic Nose. The smoke didn't really bother hubby at all, but it was just pervasive for me...

 

But, of course, unless you're at a non-smoking hotel, even the "no public smoking" laws (at least here in WA and I think in CA) permit smoking in your private hotel room, so it's not that different from what you might find in a hotel.

 

 

formal night- if my husband does not own a tux, would we have to hide in our room that night? he only has a very nice suit and tie

 

You don't have to hide, at least not if you're on a regular ship (the Cunard type, maybe, LOL). My hubby doesn't own a tux (I hate tuxes, personally, so I planned our wedding for outdoors and during the day, so tuxes would simply NOT be proper etiquette (even though everyone does it, it's not "proper" and I wanted an excuse), and he's a big&tall sort of guy, so he probably couldn't have easily rented one onboard if HE wanted one...he just wore his suit, and he was fine. I didn't notice all that many people wearing tuxes on formal night, not at all...

[chardonnaykmw]

Hi All

 

 

Karen from Australia here. Can I just say. R E L A X people.... way too much worring going on here. This is your holiday....enjoy it!

I think my biggest worries will be:

1. Which cocktail to choose

2. Which deck lounge to choose today.

3. What to choose for breakfast/lunch and dinner.

4. To nap or not?

5. Which bar to meet in for 'happy hour drinks' before dinner

 

Hope you all enjoy cruising, like I know i'm going to in April

 

 

cheers

 

 

Karen;)

[DiannaInVA]

Here are some of my concerns for my cruise next week:

 

1. Sleeping too late and missing my plane

 

2. The plane is delayed and missing the cruise

 

3. Being alone on a cruise, I worry about security to and from the ship.

 

4. I'm worried I won't like my tablemates at dinner (or that they won't show and I'll be at a big table by myself).

 

5. Seasickness: I actually wasn't worried about this at all since I've never had motion sickness before and have been on small boats and airplanes without any problems. But after reading these boards, it seems like EVERYONE gets seasick. Everyone talks about all the meds they take when they go on a cruise. I guess it's probably because those seasick threads are only for those that get seasick...and those that do not, don't go to the threads...

 

6. I'm worried I'll love it so much I'll want to go on another cruise right away.

 

7. After the cruise:

Coming home to a dead bunny: my brother says he'll check in...but you never know.

Coming home to a flooded house: having had a pipe burst in the past, it's a fear I have every day!!

 

Most of these are irrational fears, I know. But I can't help it, I'm an irrational person :)

[jkudzu]

Hi All

 

 

Karen from Australia here. Can I just say. R E L A X people.... way too much worring going on here. This is your holiday....enjoy it!

I think my biggest worries will be:

1. Which cocktail to choose

2. Which deck lounge to choose today.

3. What to choose for breakfast/lunch and dinner.

4. To nap or not?

5. Which bar to meet in for 'happy hour drinks' before dinner

 

Hope you all enjoy cruising, like I know i'm going to in April

 

 

cheers

 

 

Karen;)

 

Thank you Karen and Posada Girl! I think you two have given us the best advice yet on how to enjoy our cruise! And Karen, I love your list of worries (think I'll adopt them for myself :D ) J

[rin1]

DiannaInVA -

 

I think you could probably find people through a role call board to meet up with, at least for drinks. That might alleviate some of your worries about being there alone.

[DiannaInVA]

DiannaInVA -

 

I think you could probably find people through a role call board to meet up with, at least for drinks. That might alleviate some of your worries about being there alone.

 

:( I wish, but there is no roll call for that short weekend cruise. But I figure between dinner and the excursions I should meet plenty of people.

 

There are quite a few people on the roll call for the Liberty cruise in Sept. though, so that should be a good way to meet a lot of people before the cruise.

[mollyeilis]

5. Seasickness: I actually wasn't worried about this at all since I've never had motion sickness before and have been on small boats and airplanes without any problems. But after reading these boards, it seems like EVERYONE gets seasick. Everyone talks about all the meds they take when they go on a cruise. I guess it's probably because those seasick threads are only for those that get seasick...and those that do not, don't go to the threads...

 

 

 

there is no roll call for that short weekend cruise

 

I was only ill after that one night leaving the Inside Passage, and after I threw up I was finished with the nausea. The motion that night *bothered* me, and scared me, but it wasn't bad enough to want drugs (and, of course, I was brand-newly pg so the sickness could have been that, but even if not, it precluded me from taking any drugs anyway).

 

And my hubby thought we were standing still the whole time. Then again, as I mentioned before, he used to go up to Valdez on oil tankers...

 

 

Who starts the Roll Calls? If they are started by board members, could it be that it's just that no one has started one? It's possible there are more like you around, yes?

 

Have fun!

[JayByrd]

First-time cruiser, and first-time poster here. Booked on the Carnival Pride for a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise on Sept 30th with my fiance, it will be our honeymoon. We have some close friends who've done the very same cruise, so we're not too worried.

 

My main concerns are embarkation and disembarkation. It's my nature to worry a lot about not knowing where to go, etc. I know there are people and systems in place to alleviate this, but it's the kind of thing I won't stop worrying about until it's over with. I'm dreading that we'll end up sitting in a hallway or waiting area for 2 hrs.

 

My other worry is the well-being of my fiance. Motion sickness or catching a bug due to being exposed to that many people. If there's a cold or flu going around, she always seems to get it.

 

I guess that's all...formal nights don't really worry me, we're not even sure if we'll bother going to any of them.

 

This is a great thread, I've learned a lot reading it today!

[bruiserken]

Just wear a big smile on your face, a seasick patch on your arm, a drink in one hand and your sweetie in the other!

[rin1]

I haven't used it myself, but I know a teacher who swears by AirBorne to prevent illnesses that you get when around crowds. Elsewhere on these boards people have suggested frequent handwashing and sanitizing.

 

Can't speak to the rest of your concerns, but that might help with the bugs.

[Empress Bubbles]

I avoided seasickness with Bonine and the comfort of knowing I had Seabands, ginger, B6, Pepto Bismulth, Rolaids and enough cash to buy that shot I heard so much about...

 

 

What shot???

[Candleshoe]

I'm worried a little bit about sea-sickness.

 

I'm worried more about picking the wrong cabin! And picking the wrong shore excursions.

 

I'm worried about being badly dressed for formal nights.

 

But I figure that with a few questions here, I can take care of everything but the sea-sickness!

 

Glad I found cruise critic! (actually it was recommended on another vacation planning forum!)

 

--Sherry

[darladelight]

I haven't used it myself, but I know a teacher who swears by AirBorne to prevent illnesses that you get when around crowds. Elsewhere on these boards people have suggested frequent handwashing and sanitizing.

 

Can't speak to the rest of your concerns, but that might help with the bugs.

I always use airborne when I travel. I have not gotten sick yet

[jkudzu]

Never getting to take this blasted cruise! I started this thread way back before ice and snow, and insane school children. Those were the good old days when all I feared is not wearing the right thing and being accosted by pushy locals or not fitting in on the cruise ship. What a fool I was!:eek:

Now I know that this cruise is never going to actually happen--it's only a figment of my warped imagination!!!:(

Please forgive my tirade. I'm having a little nervous breakdown.:p Help!

[dpalmquist]

I still have the thought in my mind, that my children will flunk, and have 2 go to summer school...Missing the vacation!!! Also, I still have the thought of not going to the right port, in a strange city!:rolleyes:

[darladelight]

Never getting to take this blasted cruise! I started this thread way back before ice and snow, and insane school children. Those were the good old days when all I feared is not wearing the right thing and being accosted by pushy locals or not fitting in on the cruise ship. What a fool I was!:eek:

Now I know that this cruise is never going to actually happen--it's only a figment of my warped imagination!!!:(

Please forgive my tirade. I'm having a little nervous breakdown.:p Help!

Why arent you going, what happend/

[jkudzu]

No--I'm still going. I'm just having the winter blues! :( Weather is bad, work is bad, life is bad, etc.... It just seems that July is never going to get here. Forgive my ranting.

And yes I'd like some cheese with my whine! ;)

I'm going on the cruise come heck or high water! :D

[darladelight]

No--I'm still going. I'm just having the winter blues! :( Weather is bad, work is bad, life is bad, etc.... It just seems that July is never going to get here. Forgive my ranting.

And yes I'd like some cheese with my whine! ;)

I'm going on the cruise come heck or high water! :D

WHEW!!! you had me scared. I leave in two days, the weather has been crazy and I am sooooo ready to leave ohio.

[jkudzu]

Have a wonderful time Darla!!!:D

[hikrgrrl_too]

I am a red head who burns easily too. I really like the new spray on sunscreen. It comes in a blue spray bottle that locks, so you won't have sun-proof clothes in your luggage... Coppertone makes it in several different varieties. I am taking two bottles on my 5 day cruise. I probably won’t need that much but it’s probably 10 times normal price if I have to buy it on the ship. My partner says it’s just okay, but it makes her feel sticky. She uses it anyway.

[nhquilter]

I think my biggest concern is wardrobe. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal and will probably have to do some shopping before we cruise in Sept. Second on the list would probably be the fear of the unknown! LOL. The fear of doing something stupid where others will say - "don't you know you never do that on a cruise?" And not knowing what's free and what's not - someone mentioned the bottle of water on the sink and that it's $3 or so - I don't want to run up a huge tab without knowing it!!

That being said, I'm still so excited and can't believe I have to wait 200+ days!

[rin1]

New biggest concern: No passports. We got our docs and my passport (applied for in mid-January) is set to arrive this week. DH's passport (applied for a week after mine) is set to arrive on 4/3. The problem? We leave for Miami on March 31st. So not cool.

[Aandark]

I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but my biggest fear (as posted in another area) is not motion sickness, but when/if that ship starts rockin and rollin, I'm gonna be terrified! Not of getting sick, but of the whole thing toppling over! I saw Titanic way too many times, I guess (even though I know there are no icebergs in the Caribbean!). quote]

 

My first question to the travel agent was "where is the safest cabin when we hit the iceberg?" :D

 

And as for "fit and tan", I was once but that was 30 years ago;)

 

I've never been on a leisure cruise, but I did spend 4 years in the Navy and the lite rocking (if any) will actually probably rock you to sleep at night. The ship is large enough that you shouldn't worry about rocking and rolling. Bring some saltines...crackers help settle the stomach. Hope this helps.