Need answers from the sages...

[Drynne]

Hi everyone! First time cruiser and first time poster here. I have been reading up on everything I can because I'm pretty nervous about this cruise for pretty dumb reasons IMO. It's just the little things....

 

Ok, first off, my hubby & I are cruising Aug 31 - Sep 7 on the Carnival Pride out of Long Beach, CA. Ports: Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. As I said, this is our first cruise and we'll be celebrating our 10th anniversary (we never had a honeymoon, 2 sons each = instant family, lol) so we want it to be memorable.

 

I just have a few questions:

 

1. I have read a lot about bringing "cash" for tipping, small purchases, etc and I think we have our amount set, but my question was: Do you truly bring CASH or do you bring Traveler's Checks and exchange some each day for cash?

 

2. Should I pack beach towels? I've read that there are two in our cabin, but are those allowed to leave the ship to be used on the beaches in the ports?

 

3. When you leave the ship at port, what identification is required to get back on the ship? Driver's license? Should I carry a photo copy of my passport with me?

 

4. I have no idea what "duty free" is. Help!! Also, when re-entering the United States, are there any type of customs charges for gifts and souvineers you bought while out of the country?

 

5. We will be flying into LAX on the Saturday before the ship leaves, what time should we arrive at the port to board? Is it best to get there early, like 10am-ish or wait until a little later?

 

6. Excursions.....pre-book or wait? We're both "plush" people and are mainly interested in seeing the historical places and touring the countryside, not any of the dare-devil stuff, do those types of excursions fill up fast?

 

These are just a few questions I have. I absolutely love the advice I see you all give to cruisers and I hope to fall in love with the cruising life and go on many, many more! Thanks in advance for all of your help and advice.

[kitty9]

Welcome to the world of cruises. I hope these answers help.

 

1. You can use either cash or travelers checks, just depends on what you're more comfortable with. BTW, you can put your on board tips on your sign and sail account so no need for cash. Personally, I just bring cash because I don't like having to stand in line to cash travelers checks. Sometimes, those lines at the Purser's desk can be over 30 minutes long.

 

2. No, don't pack towels. They're too heavy and bulky and the ship provides them.

 

3. To get back on the ship you'll need a government issued photo ID and your ship's sign and sail card. I always take along a photocopy of my passport.

 

4. Duty Free always confuses. What that means is, you're getting a better price for certain items because there's no "tax" or duty on what you purchase. Stores pay import fees, or duty, on items, but you don't have to pay that, so things are a little cheaper.

 

5. You must declare everything you purchase outside the US. That includes bottles of booze you purchase to bring home, cigarettes, and anything else. Even t-shirts or souveniers you buy. You will be given a Customs Declaration form to fill out, that you must present to a Custom's official before leaving the cruise terminal. You do receive exemptions. For each person in your family, living at the same address, you get and $800 exemption. Anything above that, and you will be required to pay "duty". If you go above your total exemption (for instance, if you're married and traveling with your spouse, your total exemption is $1600), you must report to a designated room where Customs officials will look at your form, charge you the appropriate amount of duty, and then off you go.

 

6. I never pre-book tours, but that's just me. I've never found that a tour books up, unless in the tour book you receive before your cruise says "Limited Participation". In that case, I will pre-book.

[RCCLismyfav1]

Hi everyone! First time cruiser and first time poster here. I have been reading up on everything I can because I'm pretty nervous about this cruise for pretty dumb reasons IMO. It's just the little things....

 

Ok, first off, my hubby & I are cruising Aug 31 - Sep 7 on the Carnival Pride out of Long Beach, CA. Ports: Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. As I said, this is our first cruise and we'll be celebrating our 10th anniversary (we never had a honeymoon, 2 sons each = instant family, lol) so we want it to be memorable.

 

I just have a few questions:

 

1. I have read a lot about bringing "cash" for tipping, small purchases, etc and I think we have our amount set, but my question was: Do you truly bring CASH or do you bring Traveler's Checks and exchange some each day for cash? You can do either or but you should have some 1's and 5's on you. WE take both...also if you plan on charging to your credit card you should call to see if there is an extra fee for using outside of the states..

 

2. Should I pack beach towels? I've read that there are two in our cabin, but are those allowed to leave the ship to be used on the beaches in the ports? Yes you can take them off the ship but you will be charged for them if you lose them or don't return them and it's not cheap..

 

3. When you leave the ship at port, what identification is required to get back on the ship? Driver's license? Should I carry a photo copy of my passport with me? We always carry a copy of our passport just in case we miss the ship, DL also.

 

4. I have no idea what "duty free" is. Help!! Also, when re-entering the United States, are there any type of customs charges for gifts and souvineers you bought while out of the country? Duty Free means Tax free..and yes you will be given a card at the end of the cruise to delcare what you purchased...There is a certain limit but not sure what it is as far as when you have to pay for what you bought.

 

5. We will be flying into LAX on the Saturday before the ship leaves, what time should we arrive at the port to board? Is it best to get there early, like 10am-ish or wait until a little later? Depending on what time your ship leaves some arrive around 11:00am and on.

 

6. Excursions.....pre-book or wait? We're both "plush" people and are mainly interested in seeing the historical places and touring the countryside, not any of the dare-devil stuff, do those types of excursions fill up fast? No one really knows for sure how fast excursions will sell out, we always pre-book with independant vendors. Most of the time it is cheaper but do your home work and research on here and you can find out about anything needed.

 

These are just a few questions I have. I absolutely love the advice I see you all give to cruisers and I hope to fall in love with the cruising life and go on many, many more! Thanks in advance for all of your help and advice.

 

Don't be afraid to ask any question as I'm sure we haveread it all on here. Good luck with your cruise and do some research on your ports and I'm sure you can find out what excursions are good and the bad.

[Drynne]

Thank you both! I'm sure I'll have more questions as cruise time gets closer. :D 74 more days!! EEK!

[cb at sea]

We always just bring cash--it's easier than trying to cash traveler's checks. Your cabin should have a safe to store what you don't want to take ashore with you!

[arlodog]

Another tip if you have not been out of the country before is to call your credit card company and let them know what your plans are so they don't block your card if you do decide to purchase something. They are looking out for fraud closely and if they detect purchases that are not in the norm for you they may block it until they can reach you--not possible when you are out of the country! Have a great cruise

[3boyzmom]

Congratulations on your anniversary and upcoming cruise!!

 

No, don't bring beach towels. If you want to make sure you have something for a beach trip, we bring the travel towels from REI. (We scuba dive too) I don't know what they're called, but they're made for backpacking. They're thin- almost like a chami (is that how you spell it?), dry out fast, and they weigh almost nothing. They're not cheap, but you'll use them again on your next cruise (you WILL want to cruise again!)

 

Yes, bring cash for tips (and plenty of it in small bills- $1 and $5 especially).

 

You'll find there a couple "camps" of cruisers when it comes to excursions. 1 group never does the ship's excursions- they book independently due to cost, freedom, what have you. 1 group usually does ship excursions, due to the guarantee that the ship won't leave without you. Now, among the people that do book ship excursions, some people wait and some people book ahead of time. I'm one of those who books ahead of time. Here's my reasoning: 1)I know what I'm paying before I get there so I don't have as much sticker shock. 2) Some excursions do actually book up. It depends on what you're doing, of course. For example, we were recently in Puerto Rico, and booked the Bioluminescent Bay kayak trip (a very calm kayak trip). We booked online in advance. When we got on the ship, they weren't even offering the tour because it had been sold-out online ahead of time. There were LOTS of upset people, because they had seen it online and figured they could book on board. I say if it's something you REALLY want to do, and you'd be upset if you didn't get to do it, book it ahead of time online. You can always change your mind- most cruises will let you do that up to 24 hours before the port.

 

Have a great time! Ask lots of questions, and read lots of these boards. My husband's always amazed at how "prepared" I am for our cruises. He gets tired of hearing me say, "ON cruisecritic, I was reading....."

[3boyzmom]

One more thing.....ditto the advice to let your credit card company know you'll be travelling. We had a new american express card when we went to Hawaii. They tried to call us while we were gone, and of course they couldn't reach us, so not only did they freeze the account, they CLOSED it and put a note on the account that said "possible fraud." We did manage to get the fraud note removed from our credit, but we couldn't get them to re-open the account, even though we paid-off the balance as soon as we got home from the trip. We were told "We don't re-open accounts that were marked as fraudulent." No amount of explaining would fix the fact that the account had been reported fraudulent. So, our credit took a hit for it.....

[Drynne]

Thanks guys! Great suggestions and awesome advice. I'm really really excited about this cruise and you all are alleviating some of my stress. Thank you so much.

[Fredr]

Thanks guys! Great suggestions and awesome advice. I'm really really excited about this cruise and you all are alleviating some of my stress. Thank you so much.

 

Hello,

 

I would plan to arrive at the cruise terminal (remember to carefully check as there are two cruise terminals in the Los Angeles area - Long Beach and Los Angeles) around 11:00 AM. Have your cruise documents all together in a safe but accessible place.

 

Ideas for Cabo San Lucas...walk around the town as there is no charge for this. A splurge is to take a small boat ride around the Arches for about $8-$10 per person. You can also go to the beach.

 

Ideas for Puerto Vallarta...outside the port terminal catch a city bus and go downtown to see the cathedral and walk along the waterfront - the bus is about a $1.00 per person. Take a taxi back to to the cruise terminal - this should not be more than $8.00 total for up to 4 persons, or so but negotiate before you get in the cab. A major splurge is to take the ship excursion to Marietas or La Caletas. Both of these excursions are a combination of boat ride, lunch, water sports, beach, and unlimited beverages of all kinds. Both are expensive but worth it.

 

Ideas for Mazatlan....take a taxi from outside the cruise terminal for about $6.00 total from the cruise terminal to the main square in Mazatlan, to see the Cathedral and the main market... this is a working market little changed from years past. A taxi ride back should be about $6-8 total.

 

Make absolutely sure that you see at least one sunrise and one sunset on your cruise, because sunsets are especially beautiful off the coast of Mexico. VERY IMPORTANT...you do not need to take many clothes. Participate in the formal nights by dressing up but the other nights will be very casual.

 

Hope that this helps,

 

Fred