thego6girl

I know I'm cruising when I'm checking a specific "roll-call" on cruise critics:)

There is so much to look forward to when cruising. Like others mentioned here--I love the bing/bong of the coming announcements on ship. It is a beautiful sound. I think the planning and looking forward to the cruise is half the fun. A couple of months out my wife and I create a list of what supplies need to be purchased and that process begins. I start going through clothes to make sure that I have all that I need. Then about a month out we start gathering clothes and supplies (that we won't use in the meantime) on the guestroom bed. About a week out we start finalizing this process and the day before I do all of the packing. I love this part of the cruise. Right now we are in the early stages of this process. As I type this we are 48 days out but will spend three nights on South Beach prior to sailing so in reality we are 45 days from leaving.

Another thing that we are looking forward to is that this time we are sailing with 3 other couples. Two of those couples have never cruised before. It has been fun sharing thier joy ( I very clearly remember the anticipation that I had leading up to my first cruise). I can't wait to see thier expressions when we first board.

I TOTALLY agree...the bong when you put your card into the security screener when you first get on the ship is the BEST sound ever!!!!!:)

I love the way my clear little shoebag looks hanging over the front of the bathroom door with all my room-service tip envelopes, my sunscreen, and room key, etc. I love this because once that is "in place" I know we're really on a cruise!!!

I do mine by daytime and evenings for each day, and I colour some items to help me figure out how to repeat them on the cruise.

I have a separate list also that lists the essentials, and then I organize the clothing in this one.

 

OMG...I do the SAME thing. Our travel friends make fun of me all the time. As a matter of fact, when we are home, and I cannot decide what to wear, one of my travel friends always says, "why don't you check your spreadsheet". I LOVE making the spreadsheet, pack by the spreadsheet, and follow the spreadsheet most of the time. I find it makes life so much simpler on an amazingly simple vacation. I don't have to use ANY brain cells!

1) Your cruise starts LONG before you get to the dock. Read these boards. It's addictive yes, and you might not agree with all of the information on it, but there is a lot of good useful information on this site.

2) Bring a small "gift" for your cabin steward from your hometown. I bring a t-shirt from our local area, but any souvenir will do. I wrap it in cellophane and add some candy and then put a note on the outside with a quick hello message (basic info about who we are and how excited we are about this cruise). I carry it on board, and put it on the top of the bed as soon as we board.

3) Call room service each day, and ask them to deliver a pitcher of ice water with lemon. It is nice to have that pitcher in your fridge when you get back from your day's activities (don't forget to tip the room service person)

Which brings me to 4) bring small pre-made cello envelopes with a $2.00 tip (and again I add candy and a small pre-printed thank you) for room service. Our travel friends used to "make fun of me" for my creative tip envelopes, but when room service showed up when we were in the fjords with a second pot of hot coffee after we had been outside in the freezing cold for an hour (without being called) everyone agreed it was because I gave that "goofy" tip.

5) Suck the marrow out of the cruise. Go and do the things that might be a little out of your "interest zone", talk to people that talk to you, try foods that you might not necessarily order at home. And most important....leave all of your troubles at the dock. Turn your phone off, do not pick up email (unless it's for business) and have the BEST TIME!!!

We were in the fjords and had ordered breakfast to our room as we didn't want to miss a moment of the beauty. It was absolutely freezing out. An hour (or so) after we had breakfast, there was a knock at the door, and there was the room service steward with a fresh, hot pot of coffee!! It was greatly appreciated! :)