2Okies

Go to the thread link below, and then scroll down a couple of entries until you get to Mitsugirly's comments. She has links in her signature to her reviews (with GREAT pictures) of excursions she has taken. Just click on them to get to her reviews. She has a great one on Maya Key. Pay attention to what number in the thread she says her review starts. I've learned a lot from her reviews. I hope this helps you out!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1469343

These are just a few of the things we like to take when we cruise, that we HAVE used. We have also taken a lot of things that have been listed on this forum that we didn't use, but these are our favorite must haves:

Lanyards for our sail & sign cards (I usually bring a hole punch & that is the first thing I do when we get our cards)

A light backpack to carry our towels, sunscreen, books, etc to the pool every day & ashore.

A waterproof pouch that my husband clipped inside his bathing suit for our ID's, S&S cards, money or any other valuables we didn't want to leave on the beach when we were snorkeling.

Clothes pins - Carnival has the clothes line in the bathroom - and these were great for pinning up our wet suits to dry every night.

A large insulated cup w/a flip lid for both of us. We filled it at the buffet w/tea, juice or whatever, every morning - saved lots of trips to get refils, and those little cups at the buffet just don't last long, and are easily spilled. We even took them on some excursions so we would have cold water. (We don't drink a lot of alcohol, so we aren't the ones at the pool spending $$$ on drinks)

A pop up hamper for dirty clothes.

Zip lock bags of various sizes. Great for keeping things dry, etc.

A cheap, light-weight towel for each person to carry ashore. Yes, you can carry Carnival's beach towels, but they are SO heavy! We just take a small cheap one, that is light weight in our backpack - and it is so much easier.

More than 1 pair of flip flops! I did this on last trip, trying to pack light. I took my pair off to snorkel & left them on the beach. The tide came in while we were snorkeling & carried ONE of them off. Never found it. Luckily I had a pair of water shoes in my backpack or I would have been hobbling back to the ship w/one shoe!

The "toe-shoes" for water shoes are a pain! Too hard to get on & off when your feet are wet!

A hat with a wide brim is a must-have to me when I'm sitting on the deck by the pool. That sun is hot! Its a good idea for it to have a chin-tie too - because the wind gets pretty brisk & it will blow off.

A light sweater - I always get cold in the theaters, and the dining room.

A small purse is nice to carry at night to dining room to put my S&S card in, camera, lipstick, etc. It kind of messes up the "effect" to put on a nice dress & put your lanyard around your neck!

We take some of the other things mentioned in this forum - but these were things we found very useful on our trip last year. We will be taking all of these things again for our trip in January.

Its my first cruise with my 14 yr old daughter on the Ecstasy. She had seen a picture in the cruise brochure of the drinks with the umbrella, and thats all she could talk about before the cruise - getting one of those pretty drinks. Well, wouldn't you know, we board the ship and the DOD is one of those drinks? The waiter approached us and asked if we would like one, and me, not knowing they weren't free - got us one because that is what she had been looking forward too. I also didn't know it was an alcoholic drink! I mean - the waiter asked US if we wanted one - he had to have known she wasn't of age! Anyway, I took a sip or two of the drink, and I didn't notice that it had any alcohol in it - just tasted fruity to me. Since she was the one who had wanted the drink, she ended up drinking the whole thing! Later, when we were eating on the Lido, a waiter came back around and saw our glass and asked if we wanted a refill. I guess by that time I was getting suspicious, and asked him WHAT was in it. He named off about every liquor there is! I felt bad that my 14 year old had just drank the whole drink! I'm just guessing most of the alcohol was at the bottom of the drink and I didn't taste it. I'm not a drinker, and I would have known something was in it if I had tasted it. She sure enjoyed it though!

A few days later, she had on a two-piece bathing suit, and we were on the lido. She went to slide down the slide into the pool. I was sitting a few chairs away watching her and visiting w/another cruiser. After she slid down, she stayed in the pool for a while. There were a couple of younger boys in the pool w/her. After a few minutes, she came be-bopping over to my chair, and unknown to her - her bathing suit top was NOT where it should be and she was flashing everyone. I started flapping my arms trying to get her attention to straighten it out!! She was very embarrassed. She said she wondered why those boys in the pool kept staring at her! Poor child.

We told her Dad when we got home that I corrupted her while we were gone - she got her first drink AND went topless on the boat! Today we laugh about it. Good memories!

VERY first thing - punch a hole in our S&S cards & put them on the lanyards I'll have in my bag! ;)

It's been a few years since I've been on a cruise, and this is the first w/my husband, so I'm just excited about seeing what he thinks when he gets on the ship! I just remember my first cruise on the Ecstacy and I thought THAT was a big ship! My second was on the Conquest - much bigger and this one on the Magic which is even bigger! Its gonna be fun to explore and see it all new through my husband's eyes! I've been wanting him to cruise with me for a long time! We'll be celebrating our 35th anniversary on this cruise. Can. Not. Wait!

When I cruised w/our daughter, we usually spent the first day exploring, playing putt-putt, EATING, and getting the free spa massages!

PS: I see you are an Okie too!

My daughter & I went on cruises to Cozumel, Jamaica, & Grand Cayman, and we collected sand at each place and put it in the small zip lock bags to bring home. We didn't have a problem bringing them aboard ship, or when we got back home going through customs.

I put ours in old Mason jars, and labeled them. They sit on a shelf in our game room. It's interesting to see the difference in the sands collected at different places.

We've also brought back small shells in our suitcase w/no problems.

Tough one to answer. My daughter & I cruised together when she was 15, then 16 the next year. We stayed together for everything - especially since it was just the two of us, and she preferred to be with me, than to go to any of the teen clubs. I trusted HER, but I sure don't trust others!

Whenever we had to go back to the room for something we always went together. Except once. I knew she could find her way back to our room fine from the Lido deck where we were lounging. She wanted something from our room. We were on the Ecstacy. The one way back to our room required passing the casino. On her way back to the Lido, some creep-o coming out of the casino made a pass at her and followed her, saying things to her for a while. She was OBVIOUSLY a young girl. She is a pretty girl, but anyone would have known at that time that she was not an adult. He was a creep - enough said! She made it back to me safely, but it really shook her up. I told her she should have went into a store or even the casino and told a crew member he was bothering her. We told them at the information desk about it, but there really wasn't anything they could do at that point since we didn't know who he was. My daughter never saw him again. She was going to point him out to me if she did.

I trusted her, but from then on, we ALWAYS stayed together.

Now, if we were traveling with others that had kids her age, it might be different, because its usually safer in numbers.

But, like someone else said - its NOT like the mall. This is a traveling hotel - too many rooms for them to disappear into!