dlg64

Wow what a great response and i am also going to take that advise on board for my first cruise... at least I am leaving the teens at home so that will greatly limit any attitude I might have !! ........8 weeks and counting down !!

I am already smiling a lot more as each week another Monday arrives and passes by bringing me closer to departure day !!

I only hope I am not building up my hopes to much but I do get as much pleasure from planning as the holiday itself and there seems to be a lot more planning you need to do for a cruise. If I am land based I tend to take each day as it comes but on the ship you only get the one day in port so its not like you can dilly dally about and ponder your day (well so I am told) so there has been several hours on internet trawling !!:D

Roll on RCL from Singapore....:)

You might consider heading to the airport and checking your luggage for your flight early in the day. The airport is really not that far from Central Sydney with lots of transportation choices.

It is an option but it is at least a A$9.00 for a one way train fare to the airport so then you would have to pay again to return to city and then again back to airport.... sounds like a lot of wasted $$ best spent on a nice in the Rocks area :)!!!

I would ask at the wharf if there are any lockers and if not then use Central station lockers because if you have not been to Sydney why waste the day sitting around the airport when there is so much to see and do.:rolleyes:

Hi Granny!!! I've been on 7 cruises with two of them being on the Fascination and my upcoming cruise is on the Fascination as well! As you pointed out it does not have all the "bells and whistles" but I enjoy it and myself on VACATION!!!! Which means I don't have to work, cook, clean, drive or any of those other pesky little day to day task!:D I honestly can't figure out all of the negativity, but then again I am pretty easy to please..... I plan to have fun when I book a cruise and FUN is exactly what I do!!!!

WOW this is a great thread full of positivity.... i am counting down the days (63) til my first cruise and it is wonderful that there are so many different reports to read on the many different aspects of cruising. It is hard to not read the negatives but as above..... my hard earned holiday is what I make of it and as long as someone else plans the menu, cooks n washes the dishes then that is all it takes to chill me out !!:D

Best gatherings we've had were pre-cruise dinner the night before. I find that no matter how active the M&Ms are, a ton of people show up who never once posted on the cruise roll call. Can't be for the key chain or note pad. :rolleyes: After the activity staff does their thing, raffles, etc., people just get up and leave. Would take way too long for all to say a few words into a mic. I always had expectations of meeting folks I "got to know" on my roll calls but except for one or two times, it really never happened, even with name tags.

 

Gift exchanges, slot pulls, cabin crawls bring out people you actually speak to on your roll call because prior sign up is necessary.

 

To answer the OP's question, my expectation is to at least meet the folks I've been chatting with on my cruise roll call for over a year.

Well it has been a great thread to read and I am looking forward to my first cruise in 60+ days.....BUT what on earth is a cabin crawl ?? Do you all go around perving and looking in each others cabins...is it like a pub crawl and you have to provide drinks from within your cabin ?? sounds Odd !!

What is a slot pull ??:confused:

Thanks for posting this... need all the help I can get planning shore excursions for my first cruise in Sept...countdown is on !!:)

See the Batu caves. They are amazing. I don't know your level of fitness, but to give you an idea I was 57 when I visited and it was 7 months after minor knee surgery and made up the steps (and down) just fine. Your boys will also be amused by all the monkeys that hang arong the area.

 

It was extremely hot when we were there, close to 100 degrees and the humidity wasn't far from it, but if you take a lot of water and a wet rag behind your neck and you will survive. That's everywhere in SE Asia. I remember pouring a cold bottle of water over my head after we decended the steps. Great memories, hope you decide to go, I think you would have an enjoyable time there.

 

Have fun planning!

This has been a great thread with links and suggestions so thank you... i am taking my first ever cruise in Sept and having limited funds cannot afford some of the ships tours. I love bloggs and other peoples real life experiences. cheers DEb:)

We booked our first cruise departing in Sept through a TA back in March and wondered right from the beginning exactly "What" it is that we were getting by using a TA. I did all my research for cabin choice myself and anything else i needed to know I actually waited to hear from them to see if they informed me but didnt so once again i would hunt on internet for my own answers.

In recent days when finalising our payments we have been mucked around and she has gotten quite shirty with us and it appears to me that I have 'learnt my lesson' and will book direct for any future cruises.:(

I have read all this thread (which it appears dates back many years now) with lots of interest and humour. I am about to embark on my first cruise in Sept from Singapore and although I have convinced a married work colleague (whom I barely know) to share my cabin for cost reasons (lucky her hubby doesn't mind me stealing her!!) i am still hoping that there will be some singles meet & greet sessions.

I am 50+ and have wanted to cruise for many years and now the kids are (almost) grown and stretching their wings i am ready and plan to do more but will need to find the ships that dont charge a fortune for solo's!!

The advice given thru this thread has been marvellous and much appreciated.

Shame almost all of you are in US and too far for me to join you on cruises....maybe one day i will 'cross the oceans'.:)

cheers Deb

My first cruise ever was in April and it came up as a Scoupon offer and was such a bargain i just jumped right in a booked it ... thank goodness our boss was quite flexible as it was midweek with only 2 weeks notice !!

There was a few nasty posts on the facebook site from those that had paid full dollar but i guess at the end of the day ships need to fill their berths somehow. Some people need to apply for leave way ahead of time and others don't so thats the luck of the draw of life. Now i have done both ...short wait and long wait....and the waiting seems to have gone on forever...STILL 77 sleeps away !!! LOL

I will always be keeping my eyes open on scoupons and other discount websites for repeat bargains....

I did not want to hijack another thread, but I felt compelled to stick my two cents in. Some of us budget and do without for many months in order to afford to cruise. To us, a $200/300 difference (double that if the cruiser is a solo) in price for a guarantee is worth risking an inconvenient location or a less desirable cabin, especially for longer cruises. After all, the ship is merely a means of transport to amazing cultures and sights that we would never experience otherwise. The "insignificant" price difference might pay for an excursion we previously thought too expensive, a pre/post cruise hotel, or part of our airfare.

 

No, we do not want to cruise on a budget cruise line. Although it was once implied on this forum that if one needed to worry about the pre cruise credit card hold, that perhaps one shouldn't be cruising, we find the ambience, itineraries, service, and, above all, the people we meet on HAL worth sacrificing for.

Totally agree with this entire thread page... i too save long and hard for my holidays and as a Nurse really NEED the rest... I have only done 1 little cruise and am hooked and now on the countdown to my first "real" cruise of 14 days. I am looking at my budget for spending $$ and so far I love the researching for DIY excursions, will have massages on land, not much of a drinker, love to people watch (which is very cheap!!) and hope that this cruise will be the first of many that may 'fit my budget' but also fill my 'need to feel like a princess' !!

Roll on Sept...:)