OK- I'm starting to panic now!

[karebear1]

DH and I are going on our first cruise EVER on January 15th. I have read and read these boards and all things pertaining to the 7 day Western and I feel so unprepared! I just don't even know where to start. I have one excursion planned- that's it. I'm not real sure what kind of clothes to pack, what papers to bring, or what order to do what in! I think I have sensory overload on this whole thing! Can someone please give me the bare bones of what I should be doing right now and the things you think are THE MOST important things to remember and pack etc. I would appreciate it so much. then I could come to one place and find what I needed to do without having to panic.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH- this may just save my sanity!!! Maybe I won't feel like I'm hitting my head against the wall anymore!!!
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[jrabbit]

Most important things first!
Do you have all of the required ID's for all members of your party? If you have passports - use them (and bring your drivers license too). If you don't have passports, make sure that you have birth certificates for all members of your party. The BC's need to be the "right type" - raised seal, etc (others can fill you in on what's required for them). These are the most important things needed for the cruise (even more important than the cruise docs/tickets). I would have these with you in your carryon luggage when you depart from home.

Beyond that there isn't a lot of "must do"/gotta do things. You can start gathering up swimsuits and other clothes that you will need on the cruise but won't be needing at home before the cruise ("formal" clothes for formal and semi formal night), shorts, tee shirts/polo shirts, tropical shirts, etc. Start locating sun screen - you will need it. For embarkation day you might want to coordinate the clothes your group will be wearing - for the embarkation photo.

Now for some things you don't need to worry about before getting on the ship. Dinner menus - some folks obsess over these for months before they go and "plan out" what they are having every night - not a big deal. You don't have to plan out what excursions you want before hand - unless there is something that you must do - then book it ahead of time. You don't need to know what movies are showing on the ship beforehand. Same with the Walt Disney Theater shows - just show up at the right time every night prepared to have a good time. You don't need to determine the "best" dinning rotation for your cruise - you will be assigned one and will find it out once you are on board.

To be prepared for the cruise you need to know:
*That you will have a good time and that not everything is going to be perfect - so be prepared to go with the flow.
*The weather is beyond DCL's control (believe it or not), and that schedules can change due to the weather - the captians responsibility is the safety of the ship, crew and passengers.
*There is plenty of food available from the time you board to the time you leave the ship. (I didn't know this on our first cruise - boarding time was after 1pm so I figured we needed to eat before arriving at the port - wrong, wrong, wrong!!)
*DCL is a family friendly vacation - so no casino onboard, limited smoking in public areas and the shows are safe for the entire family (well the "adult" cabarette shows may not be apporpriate for children under 13 (no one under 18 admited) but they are not "gross"
*Clothes for the daytime: Shorts and polo's, dinners: slacks and polo or dress shirts

Have fun - don't stress

 

[Dreamer04]

jrabbit-I love your advice!

 

[karebear1]

Can women wear capri's to dinner?

 

[disneybride96]

First.... take a deep breath! You have plenty of time.

Yes...you can wear capri's to dinner...thank goodness, that's about all I own in summer clothes.

Go buy a Passporter at http://www.passporter.com/dcl/
This board is great, but I found it much more soothing to have a hard copy in my hand. It will tell you more than you may ever want to know.

Come here and ask questions....everyone here is great!

 

[missyoh8]

Remember, you can send you laundry out and get it back by 5 p.m. This is a great help if you forget something. You will also see people dressed to all levels so don't stress about the clothes! It all feels overwhelming until you walk aboard the ship and the pixie dust blows away all that worry!

No matter what you forget, it will be no problem (except the id).


Have fun,
Missyoh8

 

[FlynnStone]

Hi Karebear!

I am on that cruise, too - first seating. If you wear capris, I will too (on the casual nights). So there will be at leat two of us - LOL...

PM me and I'll let you know what else we are packing. As we are flying in, we need to go light.

The only excursions we are pre-booking are the ones that will fill up (scuba diving). Lots of other places, we are going to go on our own.

Relax! It will be fun...

 

[karebear1]

FlynnStone- have you visited the meets thread on the Cruise Meets Board yet? WE are having a little get together on one of the days at sea. Why don;t you join us? We'd love it!