Adri204

I love your reviews. That was helerious. I loved all of it but my favorite was how the girls had to put thier tops on layaway lmoa snort. I love all of it please keep entertaining us. Your reviews are awesome and Sailor Jill seems to be a great sport as well lol :).

Adri :)

I was supposed to fly the day of 9/11 and I got a phone call from my mom who I was flying with to get on the phone. It was still early early in Alaska and we turned on the TV. I was at a friends house and anyway I will never forget that. We had to postpone our trip for a week. It was such a shocking time. I had no trouble postponing our trip in fact that was a good thing as it was better to be at home for it.

Adri

This is all so amazing and to think that both people are part of CC. I think this is phenominal. Also some where out thier in the ocean is a sea turtle who is now a reality TV star lololol. One of these days he is going to show up with a Turtle Agent and demand residuals lmao.

Adri :)

As an Alaskan that would fry my butt. I know darn well Alaska is the 49th state admitted to the union. I would be very upset as an Alaskan to be told that was wrong when in fact its correct. The staff should be intellegent enough to have the right answers and not just keep old answers. That is just complete laziness especially when that is not even that hard of a fact to prove or find out.

Adri :)

I was on with my entire family (all adults) when we hit a reef in St Maarten, had to abandon ship around 11 PM all 3000 passengers waited on the pier all night finally around 7AM we were put on a bus and taken to a resort; A NUDEST RESORT. RCI was great under the circumstances and we re-took the same cruise the next year.

Im sorry that happend but you just gave me my first big chuckle of the day. "A nudist resort" lolol :). Glad to see RCI took care of you lol. I dont mean to make light of what happend but thats pretty funny.

Adri :)

I will talk to people when I travel. Thats one of the reasons I travel. I dont travel to ignore others. I travel to talk with others. I am used to staying at Hostels. I do wonder sometimes how its going to be cruising. As far as telling life stories. I love to hear them but only if people want to share. Honestly if people are at a large table I do think that they want to be around others and not by themselves. I am probly wrong in that but thats my first assumption imo.

Adri :)

Wow this is so cool. I just read the whole thread. I havent watched the sea turtle video yet but I will lol. I am so glad that you did all that work and I bet they are so appreative. Its a funny thing where Items float to and end up. It says a lot about tides and currents and what not.

Anyway so glad you found the owners of the Camera and I bet they are glad as well,

Adri

Ive laughed, Ive cried, I snorted. I have been to Northern Ireland and also to the Republic of Ireland. I laughed at your review of differnt names. I love your reviews they are helerious. My cat opened one eye from a deep sleep looked at me like "Silly mama" and rolled back over lol.

Adri

People can flame me if they want, but I believe that there should be an age limit for flying. It would be great if children had to be at least 18 months old to fly. It has to be a scary/painful experience to have their ears popping, they have no idea what is going on, they have to sit on their parent's lap the whole time, and they are just always miserable. Infants don't belong on a plane. Either wait to go on vacation until they are older, or leave them with grandma.

You choose to have kids, and sometimes those decisions mean you have to wait or deny your gratification for a few years. Think about the children first, then the other passengers.

 

There, off my soap box.

I flew every where as a baby and as a child. Also I live in Alaska and sometimes its neccesary to fly to even get from the hospital where one is born to the place/villiage/town where one lives. That was the case with me. I was born in Anchorage and we lived at the time in a very remote part of Alaska and had to fly in a plane to get home. They could not have waited for 18 monthes to take me home thats not practical either. Just giving another side to this issue.

Adri :)

I dont hate anything. But I extremly dislike that I have to wait a while before my first cruise. I am so excited I cant wait lol.

Adri

I pack exactly the items I need no more no less. The thing is I do mix and match. I even own a reversible skirt that looks great and does double duty. I also put everything out thier I need and then go through it and pare it down even more.

Plan for say four-five days of clothes then wash them after that time. You can also hand soak underwere and soxs meaning you can take even less. I dont wear make up so that keeps things cut down even more.

As far as room for souviners. I take a medium sized canvas bag and that is my souviners bag. I keep all postcards and etc in thier.

The trick is to take less and even less then you think you need.

Adri :)

I did the zip lining in Juneau, Belize and Ketchikan. I thought the Juneau trip was wonderful in that it included a boat ride to Douglas Island (where we saw many seals), a jeep ride, and a swing through the trees were we saw eagles. Your teenagers will love it and I would highly recommend it. It is fun for the whole family but I found that my teens really got a thrill out of this excursion. Whale watching is nice but to a teenager, sitting on a boat bobbing up and down for a couple of hours to see a few dorsal fins 300 yards away vs. swinging through the trees at a relatively fast pace, is up a teenager's alley.

I agree I think ziplining on Douglas Island is much more interesting to most teens and these teens want to do it so bad so why not?

Ziplining is fun and im hooked :)

Adri

Adri,

 

As they say lmao!! You are funny. Thanks for all the heads up about perfume (I'm not a fan of the stuff). :D

Your welcome I try to be funny but sometimes it comes out wrong lol. I hope you enjoy my beatiful state and have a great time. Be safe, have fun and have a beary good time hahaha :)

Adri

IMHO as "thrilling" as ziplining is there probably isn't anything special about doing it an Alaskan port versus the Carribean or the many other forrest/tree resort areas in the world, they all seem to be offering it. I'd say take a look at the more unique excursion that are more "alaskan" whale watching, glacier trekking, wildlife tours, salmon fishing, float plane to lakes/fjords. I know all very expensive maybe less exciting/adventurous than zipling but few others places can you find some of the other offerings. 20 years from now you can still go ziplining but who knows where the glacier and wildlife situation will be :confused:

 

Happy planning!

So ziplining in the Carribean you might see eagles and bears as you actually zipline? (Alaskan humour intended) Ive ziplined in Alaska and one time when ziplining I had a great time seeing some bears off in the distance. This Alaskans heart skipped a beat as I was I was glad they where not that close. I live in bear country as it is where I live. Ok most of Alaska is bear country hello but I live in a place where the bears are out in our drive way and in the lake hanging out.

Anyway just pointing that even ziplining in Alaska can provide a unique oppurtuinity to see unique wildlife.

Oh and here is a tip those bolted down containers that seem kind of wierd and ugly those are bear proof garbage cans for trash.

Another tip for people traveling in Alaska dont wear a lot of perfume it can attract the wrong kind of attention from some animals. Its the same with really smelly snacks like say sardines, salmon and other fish type items.

Anyway if the kids want to zipline in Alaska awesome I hope they have a blast and why not?

Im an Alaskan and I even have a Tshirt that says "This Alaskan ziplines in Alaska". Yea yea what can I say its Alaskan humour.

Oh and dont forget the Mosqueto repellent and sunscreen folks :)

Adri :)

I really needed this and am laughing so hard im practically snorting. My cat wants to dress up for formal nights and insists upon it. He claims rights to a senior discount as well in Cat years as well. He also wants a people towel and is looking forward to it or he will insist that we travel on a differnt cruiseline next time who will treat us better Rolftamo.

Adri :)

Hi all, I have just read every single comment here. I really have learned a lot from all the different points of view.

For me as a first time cruiser who is planning my first two cruises b2b and im also a solo cruiser its given me a lot of great ideas.

I dont drink alcohol at all so that big expensive is out. I think a round or two of bingo would be fun, I gamble a tiny bit but keep a strict limit and consider nickel slots a good deal and dollar slots like really a lot lol.

I plan to splurge on shore excursions. I think for me for my first cruise I want to take shore excursions just to get the feel of how things work as I dont want to worry about being left behind.

Also I had gastric bypass sergery so I dont plan to eat at any of the specility restaurants or if I did eat at one it would be for the expierence of it.

Im really excited to go on my first cruises and cant wait.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this as I learned a lot,

Adri :)

Here is my top five list (OK plus a couple of extras). Some are repeats of what others have said, but I think they are worth emphasizing:

 

 

• Arrive at your departure port one day early to avoid stress.
  

Im arriving two days early and planning to explore and relax that way no stress at all but what a great tip.

• Bring a power strip, and three large binder clips. Binder clips are to keep your curtains closed in case they sway with the motion of the ship, so you can sleep in past sunrise.
  

I would never have thaught of a power strip. I am a light packer so am really considering this and think its a good idea if one has lots of things to plug in.

 

 

• Get to “know” your ship in advance by reading CruiseCritic reviews and joining the CruiseCritic roll call for your trip. It’s sad to learn of a special place on board, where you would like to have spent time, on your last day! The reviews also help to let you know what to expect on board, so you can match your expectations with reality.
  

I appreate this and it makes so much sence thats for sure so thank you.

• Once on board, get a couple of copies of the ship’s deck plan. You can get them from the pursers/reception desk. Very helpful to familiarize yourself with the layout of the ship in the first few days aboard.
  

Good Idea im going to get a cruise brocure ahead of time and take out the deck plans so I know where things are and then also know where my cabin is and how to get to it before I board an action plan if you will lol.

 

 

• Enjoy some of the “quiet times” aboard the ship: a walk around the deck before you go to bed, an early morning sunrise, or finding a seat in a quiet lounge during the day to read a book while sipping a coffee and enjoying the ocean rolling by.
  

Good Idea :)

• Splurge… Have a glass of champagne at 10:00 AM… Sleep in, order room service, or whatever sounds like fun.
  

 

• A small highlighter is great to mark up the ship’s newspaper. There’s lots of announcement in the paper, and it can be frustrating to go back to try and find that one thing you know you want to do.
  

The highlighter idea is a great idea and im defently taking at least two small highlighters for this reason.

• Ask! If you want something listed as an appetizer to be your main course, or if you want some extra hangers, or a towel animal in your cabin, or…. The crew really does try to meet your needs. Not everything is possible, but they’ll try.
  

• Introduce yourself, and give your room steward a tip on the first day. Doing so has given me extra-good service.
  

I have a question about tipping the room steward. I know I like to start my day with a glass of orange juice or cranberry juice and a piece of fruet and/or a small bowel of cereal every morning. How much should I tip the steward the first day. Ive heard everything from 5.00 to 10.00 the first day then 2.00 each time I get room service.

I have no problem paying 10.00 the first day then 2.00 each day. Then should I also pay say another 5.00 on the last day or just the standard 2.00? Unless of course thier is exceptional service?

I also plan to prepay the tips and also im taking two 7 day cruises back to back.

I only plan to get room service each morning so thats say 10.00 the first day then 2.00 each morning and then maybe one extra time so thats 26.00 on average.

I also dont drink alcohol so wont be tipping for that either.

Also what about tipping the Massuse or any of those services whats the standard for a cruise?

I used to work as a Housekeeper so I know how valuable tips can be thats for sure,

Thanks,

Adri :)

Thank you so much for this list. I read it and now I feel so much more prepared. I appreate all the generous replys and suggestions and thank everyone for thier generosity for contributing :)

Adri

I absolutly love this thread. I read every single comment and replys. I learned so much from so many people. I tend to travel light and am a vetern traveler having traveled as a backpacker pretty much all over the world.

I have never taken a cruise so was reading the differnt things I might consider taking on cruises and I really do appreate all of it. I had never considered a power strip for example and am thinking about it. Also Highliters mini-s are a good idea. One of the favorites I read was about taking envelopes with two one dollar bills in them like one for each day of the cruise. Also including some candy, somthing from home. For example I am from and live in Alaska so I could take a Alaska Magazine and place it under the envelope on the first day. I would also include money in the envelope as well. I appreate learning that a lot of crews like magazines and I could offer that from my home.

I do appreate all the suggestions and if some people like to pack heavy and enjoy it that way thats great. I like to pack trim and slim as it where but still pack things like a small first aide kit. I always pack a small first aide kit that actually stays in my small purse I use every single day. It has bandaides,Antiseptic wipes, Adhesive bandages, a couple of Midol. It goes every where I go and ive used it a lot.

I appreate all the suggetions and tips and people taking time to write them. I think its great to read them all and get the ideas. I dont think its neccesary to demean or make fun of other peoples helpful suggestions.

I also loved the one about a small spray bottle for by the pool. I think thats a great idea. Being from Alaska Im going to work very hard not to get over heated.

Also is thier a way to check if we get a fridge in our rooms? Do we check the cruiseline website? I want a fridge and although I dont drink alcohol at all. I want to be able to store juices and cold water in thier and plan to have all the alcohol removed from fridges.

Also is the drink card worth it? I like a couple of diet cokes a day and if the cups are small then that might make a drink card worth it.

I also plan to prepay all tips so that i dont have to think about or worry about it. Also can we prepay cash before the cruise like send a MO or have it taken right off my Debit card before the cruise? I want to do it that way.

Thanks all for answering any questions and thanks all for the tips. Thier was tons of great tips I dident mention that ive now learned.

Im also planning my parents anniversy cruise for them so all these tips are great for them,

Adri :)