Not "technically" a newbie

Hi everyone, 1st post here! Im looking at taking a cruise next june with my husband and two daughters ages 18 and 16. While this isn't the first cruise for my husband and myself in a way it is since we've only cruised once and that was for our honeymoon back in 1996! Just wanted to say hi and I'm looking forward to all the tips and advice:)

You will find things have changed since your cruise in 96...but go and enjoy, anyway! Cruising is still fun, and a decent value. It's a vacation...so remember that! You're not at work, and you can relax or go crazy with activities...your choice!

You will find things have changed since your cruise in 96...but go and enjoy, anyway! Cruising is still fun, and a decent value. It's a vacation...so remember that! You're not at work, and you can relax or go crazy with activities...your choice!

Its funny you say things haven't changed but one huge thing has, the internet! I had to rely on what my travel agent said and did cause how would we find any info? lol! Also our cruise was the Carnival Inspiration and it was only 2 weeks old on our voyage. Makes me smile to see its still in operation but only for short trips out of California. We took a 7 day cruise out of San Juan back then.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We will be happy to help

Its funny you say things haven't changed...

No, she said things HAVE changed. They have - many cutbacks, charging extra for various items that used to be included, etc. But not to worry; we all have a choice whether a cruise vacation is for us, and for so many of us on these boards, it is well worth it. :)

One thing I would recommend is to post specifically on the board on which you will be taking your cruise. This board is fine for general questions but we have forums for each cruise line here. Who are you sailing with? Here is a link to all the boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/

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Welcome to Cruise Critic!

There is certainly loads of information to be found here. Although I had been on a number of cruises before I joined CC, I have learned so much more as a member.

You will find that the cruise industry is constantly evolving and some people like some changes and others don't. Cruising is still a fantastic way to vacation!

I hope you find a wonderful one for your first family cruise.

No, she said things HAVE changed. They have - many cutbacks, charging extra for various items that used to be included, etc. But not to worry; we all have a choice whether a cruise vacation is for us, and for so many of us on these boards, it is well worth it. :)

 

One thing I would recommend is to post specifically on the board on which you will be taking your cruise. This board is fine for general questions but we have forums for each cruise line here. Who are you sailing with? Here is a link to all the boards:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/

 

.

I did see that after I posted, guess I cant read or I'm tired lol! Thanks for the advice, I'm leaning toward Carnival so I have been checking that board out:D

Sounds great, hope you have fun! :)

I hope you will also look at Royal Caribbean. They have more in the way of activities for your daughters. especially the mega ships Oasis and Allure.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Do you know what cruise line and itinerary yet? If so, you can read the member reviews for your ship, visit the cruise line forum and the ports of call forum here on the message boards to get invaluable information. Do a search for the answers to your questions, as they may have already been answered in another thread. If you don't find the answer that way, then ask away.

Don't forget to get involved in your roll call too. We have made many friends along the way through our CC roll calls.

Be careful though, CC can be very addictive.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

From your other posts seems you are very interested in Carnival Sunshine and have been posting on the roll calls there.

Glad you'll once again be cruising! :D

LuLu

I hope you will also look at Royal Caribbean. They have more in the way of activities for your daughters. especially the mega ships Oasis and Allure.

Thanks and yes I have been looking at Royal Caribbean and Norwegian as well. At first I thought they were way out of our price range but that isn't the case when I've looked at their sites. So many options, it wont be an easy choice:D

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Do you know what cruise line and itinerary yet? If so, you can read the member reviews for your ship, visit the cruise line forum and the ports of call forum here on the message boards to get invaluable information. Do a search for the answers to your questions, as they may have already been answered in another thread. If you don't find the answer that way, then ask away.

 

Don't forget to get involved in your roll call too. We have made many friends along the way through our CC roll calls.

 

Be careful though, CC can be very addictive.

Thanks and no we don't know what line or itinerary yet, just so many choices its mind boggling lol. But I have been getting a lot of info here and I know how addicting these boards can be cause I also belong to Disney and Vegas ones lol

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

 

From your other posts seems you are very interested in Carnival Sunshine and have been posting on the roll calls there.

 

Glad you'll once again be cruising! :D

 

LuLu

Thanks! Yep the Carnival Sunshine is still a front runner out of Norfolk. I think a 5 day cruise will be a good length for us and it seems like a really cool and fun ship! But I am a bit concerned about the crowds I keep reading about:eek: But weve been to Disney in the summer so if we can handle that we can handle anything right?;)

But I am a bit concerned about the crowds I keep reading about:eek:

I'll just add here that any ship you sail on will have crowds, really. It's how they are dispersed, and how you handle them. Personally, I am not good in crowds so the times that bother me are the Muster Drill, and when shows let out and there are a lot of people at one time. Other than that, the passengers are distributed around the ship with people doing different things. You'll find your groove, not to worry. :D

Back in the 90s, the cruise lines would send out cruise docs, luggage tags, and maybe even a pamphlet (we would read every page of Carnival's before each cruise). Now your docs and luggage tags on line for you to print out. There's also the info about your ship and FAQs you can read on the cruise line website.