Any cruisers out there with advice...

[AMClvsMKY]

I just booked a cruise ( non Disney ) in February on the Carnival Glory. We have never gone on a cruise before. The only tip I have gotten so far is to try not to book a room in the front of the ship ( more motion and noisy anchor in the morning ).

Any other tips/advise you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LoraJ]

check out cruisecritic.com, there are tons of froums with advice and things to look out for.

Most important thing, when on an island, make sure you get back to the ship an hour before it departs. You don't want to risk being left behind. Make sure you are aware of time zones. Shipe time vs. island time. Stuff like that.

 

[freckles and boo]

check out cruisecritic.com, there are tons of froums with advice and things to look out for.

Most important thing, when on an island, make sure you get back to the ship an hour before it departs. You don't want to risk being left behind. Make sure you are aware of time zones. Shipe time vs. island time. Stuff like that.

In this vein, if you book shore excursions through the cruiseline, the ship will wait in port for you if your excursion is running late. If you book a shore excursion independently and are late, you are on your own.

 

[mrsmom]

I just got back from the glory nov 8th-11 for our anniversary. We loved the ship, booked a gty balcony 8A and was upgrade to panorama deck 8E, Loved it.
Just enjoy the ship, try not to do everything. We had 1062 room aft panorama and we had late sitting for dinner , I wish we would have had an early seating. because we missed some of the shows. Sylvia at the lobby bar was awesome, she made very good drinks and i got to try alot of other kinds she made for free.. If you have any other questions let me know .You will enjoy the ship!!
Kim

 

[Disney-Kim]

I agree that you should check out cruisecritic.com too. they have a whole board just for Carnival.
The RCCL board is my second home to the DIS.

 

[parrothead365]

Hand sanitizer...use it often. If your worried about the motion then pick a med and start it a couple of days before you leave. Check out the cruise board also, lots of good general info there.

 

[EthansMom]

I agree with the PP.... check out http://www.cruisecritic.com for lots of great advice and information.

If you have an inside cabin, take a nightlight. Also, most ships don't have alarm clocks, so if you like to check the time, an alarm clock is invaluable. Check to see if your ship has a self-service laundry. If so, take laundry soap and dryer sheets.

Pack your own OTC medecines... things like cold medecine and Tums are expensive and do sell out on board the ship. I try to pack a full arsenal of medications just in case: anti-diarrheal, Tums, decongestant/expectorant, Tylenol, sun lotion, etc... I pack the tablet versions because they weigh less and take up less room.

If you're flying, pack your clothes for the first night's dinner in your carry-on. You probably will get your luggage in time to change for dinner, but not everyone does.

Do your research (cruisecritic.com is invaluable for this) on what activities are available and what they cost at each port. If you want to go to a beach and relax, it is often much cheaper to get off the ship and grab your own cab to go to the beach than to book it through the ship. Also, some islands are great for activities like snorkeling and others are not. You will be much happier with your shore excursions if you do a little legwork before you get to the ship.

Set your own speed. Do the things that sound like fun and interest you and ignore the rest. Don't try to do everything.

Enjoy!

 

[MeggyScumEsquire]

As others have said, head over to cruise critic! They have roll calls so you can get to know a few people before you go, and tons of information from longtime cruisers. What ports will you be going to?

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

Another vote for cruisecritic! We are going to Alaska this summer on Royal Caribbean and I don't think I would be prepared for the trip without the folks on cruisecritic.

We were on Carnival a few years ago and loved it. Also I've heard wonderful reviews of Glory so i'm sure you will have a great time.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Also with the front--you don't want to book it facing forward b/c they make you keep your curtains closed at night as the lights interfere with navigation. We didn't know that and I was quite irritated on our honeymoon as we had been "upgraded" to an exterior room in the day/interior room in the night cabin.


We are booked on the Glory for September.

 

[Syrreal]

If you plan on using the spa or steam rooms, go before teh ship sets sail, they often have discounts available. (i.e. unlimited steam room/turkish bath privilidges for way cheaper than if you went once the ship set sail)

 

[LoraJ]

In this vein, if you book shore excursions through the cruiseline, the ship will wait in port for you if your excursion is running late. If you book a shore excursion independently and are late, you are on your own.

There was actually a thread on cruise critic the other day where a couple booked a diving excursion through Carnival and they arrived back late and the ship left them. Not sure what the whole story was, I think there may have been a lack of communication between the diving company and the ship. But it was an odd story, huge debate, thread deleted. Sound familiar?

 

[bimshire]

Use the below url if you're interested in meeting other cruisers on your sail date. Even if you do not want to sign up, you can follow the roll call thread and get a lot of info and tips about your cruise.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=329

.....you haven't lived, until you've cruised

 

[AMClvsMKY]

Thank You everyone for the great info. I will be checking out that site next.

Our ports are: Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya and Nassau

My biggest concern is dinner. We are not formal people at all ( most nights we can be found in jeans/shorts and Harley shirts - even when we are not on the bike ) and the ship has 2 formal nights where they require suits, evening gown, cocktail dresses. Even their casual nights are dresses, skirts, etc.

I did get a book from the library and one thing it does is rates all 7 big cruise line and Carnvial scored the lowest on just about every category ( food, dining room, bars, cabins, open decks ) That concerns me a little but being this is our first cruise, we wont have anything to compare it to.

 

[ducklite]

I have a tip for you. Research the cruise line and make sure that it fits your personality and lifestyle.

DH took a cruise last year that we were miserable on for several reasons. One was that the line didn't deliver a lot of things promised in their written literature, but the other reason was that the atmosphere on the ship was very contradictory to our personalities. Drunken idiots staggering through halls smoking, wasted teenagers puking into garbage cans, and a general atmosphere of in our opinion inappropriate behaviour encouraged by the line was not what we enjoy. We prefer a more refined, reserved type of atmosphere, and learned a lot about being very careful about our choices moving forward from an expensive mistake.

Anne.

 

[EthansMom]

My biggest concern is dinner. We are not formal people at all ( most nights we can be found in jeans/shorts and Harley shirts - even when we are not on the bike ) and the ship has 2 formal nights where they require suits, evening gown, cocktail dresses. Even their casual nights are dresses, skirts, etc.

You won't be able to wear shorts, jeans, or t-shirts in the formal diningrooms for dinner.

For casual dress nights, slacks and a nice polo shirt (for men) or blouse (for women) is very appropriate. Dockers work well and can usually be found on sale for a halfway decent price. For a 7 night cruise, I usually pack two or three pairs of slacks for DH and I each and a few tops and mix 'n match them to make different outfits.

For semi-casual nights (often 1 on a 7 night cruise), DH wears slacks and a button-down shirt with a tie and I wear a dress or skirt/blouse.... about what you might wear to a casual wedding.

For formal night, DH wears his dark suit and I wear a formal dress. You can check sales racks and/or consignment stores for a decent price on a formal gown... I found one of mine on sale for $35 and have worn it several times. If your DH would prefer, he can arrange to rent a tuxedo through the cruiseline... it will be waiting in your cabin when you get to the ship. That's not a bad way to go if your DH doesn't own a nice suit.

We're pretty casual at home too... and we actually like dressing up and having a nice meal on the cruise ship. It's a nice departure from the norm.

 

[mrsmom]

We never seen any drunken teenagers or adults on the glory, It was a very nice boat and the food was very good. We were seated with three other couples for dinner and they have all been on more than 10 cruises on different cruiselines and they said the glory was one of the best for food and service. In fact i am planning on taking my dd on a cruise for her 21st birthday just her and i. It will be on the glory .
Kim

 

[Syrreal]

a note on formal/non formal nights-
When we were on celebrity, we had two formal nights also. DH wore his one suit on both nights- he just changed shirts and ties to give him a diff look. I wore nice dresses both times, not too formal (no ball gowns or anything) but really nice ones.

On the casual nights I usually just wore a nice skirt with a fitted t-shirt (think island style) to where I still looked nice but wasn't in jeans.

 

[AMClvsMKY]

I have a tip for you. Research the cruise line and make sure that it fits your personality and lifestyle.

I didnt really think about this - we just booked based upon the time of year, ports and a cruise line we had heard of before.

Were you refering to a Carnival cruise?

 

[ducklite]

I have a tip for you. Research the cruise line and make sure that it fits your personality and lifestyle.

I didnt really think about this - we just booked based upon the time of year, ports and a cruise line we had heard of before.

Were you refering to a Carnival cruise?

No, but the line we were on was considered less of a "party boat" than Carnival. We wouldn't have considered Carnival because we know it doesn't appeal to us based on thier marketing.

Anne