Jump to content

what to do first day


Recommended Posts

Between unpacking, exploring the ship and muster, you will be busy. However, if you are a gym person, first day is a great day to use the gym. Hardly anyone uses it that day. I always wear my gym shoes and bring my gym clothes in my carry on. The good news is that if the luggage arrives while I am at the gym, my husband will unpack!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, if eating in the MDR - check to see where your dining room table is located after unpacking. It will make it that much easier to find it at dinner that 1st night.

 

 

And then, eat, explore, eat.............so much to take in just wandering around the ship - check out all the decks not just the main ones!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're usually on the ship early so the first thing we do is grab some lunch. After that we find a bar stool and have our first drink. Then DW will usually find a lounger to soak up the sun and I'll start exploring. I always find our table in the dining room. Once the rooms are open, we'll head to our stateroom and start to unpack. Once that is done, we'll head back to the pool or a bar and relax until it's time for muster drill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are on Serenade on 3/30 (can't wait)!! what do you more experienced folks do when first boarding, before and after muster, etc ....Thanks

Unpack. Find our dining table if we have traditional dining.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We go to the quietest bar we can find, get drinks and settle in at a table, breathe deeply and enjoy being on vacation. Then, I leave my husband there with his book/kindle and go to the spa to book any treatments that I may want during the week, as spa appointments fill up quickly. Then I go back to the bar, order another glass of wine and wait for the rooms to open at 1 pm. Then we drop our luggage in the room and THEN go to the Windjammer for lunch as most passengers have now vacated and there are plenty of tables and no lines for food. Works for us. :):)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first thing we do is get a drink and then find our lounge chair by the pool that will be our spot for the week, then grab some lunch and another drink. We do not drink at home but on vacation we make up for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL, I must be the only one -- yes, one of the first things I do is check the table assignment/placement in MDR (if doing traditional dining - which is usually the case) and make note of when someone will be there if I need to have it changed. But I don't bother unpacking until after muster drill (usually have late seating) - or even later, as will have what I want to wear in my backpack in case of missed luggage, or if thing I want to change my mind will have something packed close to the top of the suitcase.

 

Since I'm usually on board well before the 1pm timeframe for cabins to open, I'm roaming around and getting pictures before the masses start arriving, getting my bearings on what stairs to use (as usually avoid waiting or the elevators), scouting out bars, walking around the ship.

 

And grabbing my first Wildberry LavaFlow at the pool bar, grabbing a lounge chair and taking a deep breath -- oh yeah, I'm on vacation!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My mom and I will be on Serenade in Sept. 2019. Right now we're planning on having lunch in Boston before heading to the ship and hopefully avoiding the crowds. Once on board, we'll head to our room and drop our carry-ons before heading to a bar to get a drink and toast to our vacation. Mom will be 82 next year, so we have to toast our vacation time together every chance we get - even if it's as simple as a week in Hilton Head, got to toast to spending quality time together. After that, we might explore the ship to find the quiet areas where we can sip a cocktail and read our books on sea days. Or we might go back and unpack. Really - after that first (and/or second) drink, we just let the Spirit move us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Head to the windjammer and get the kids and hubby settled with food. Then, I head to the dreaded Adventure Ocean registration for my kids for the week (seriously, WHY WHY WHY can't we do this online ahead of time??). Try and get there right at 1pm and get that out of the way, as I finally feel like I can relax and be on vacation after that ;) haha!

 

Then, room to unpack, muster, and pool/sail away party.

 

We have early dining on this next trip (5:30) and I am a bit concerned about how rushed we are going to be. Will be interesting!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lunch at WJ, then roam around a little until cabins open, find our bag on the way, one parent heads to kids club registration while other parent unpacks. Then it’s ship exploring time until muster, sail away and then dinner!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting to read what everyone else does. Here is my routine :

 

Meal in WJ.

Leave in hand luggage in cabin as soon as they are available.

Take care of all on board admin tasks - book excursions, speciality restaurants, MDR bookings or adjustments.

Explore ship and get to muster station ahead of time.

Return to cabin and unpack.

Get ready for pre-dinner drinks.

 

I tend to only relax after muster drill and when the suitcases arrive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Normally in the past I have gone exploring the ship. Grab a drink somewhere along the way. And grab some lunch in there too. I am hoping on my cruise next month to head straight to the pool deck and plop my butt in a chair and relax with a drink until around 3 to 4. The next 2 days are sea days and I will have plenty of time to explore then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've only sailed on Oasis class so we usually board around 1pm so we can go directly to the cabin and drop our carry on luggage. Then we head to Central Park and have lunch under the trees and just enjoy the ambiance. If the luggage has arrived, we'll unpack before muster drill. Then we go explore our favorite parts of the ship before going back to our balcony and watch the ship leave port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We eat a late breakfast before heading to port, so we don't have to do the "feeding frenzy"! I wear my swimsuit under my clothes, so I don't have to find a place to change prior to cabins being ready. I head to the pool, and get a drink! Once cabins are ready, if luggage is there, we unpack. Rarely have we felt the need to scurry about making reservations or other plans! We're on vacation, after all...no need to rush!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This will be the first trip with my kids, but when it is just me and my husband, we usually board on the early side, grab some lunch before the crowds, then start to explore. Once the cabins open up, we drop off our stuff, relax for an hour or two, then head back out for a snack or an early activity.

 

I don’t expect this will change much with the kids, except that we might take them up to the pool deck or seaplex if they are bored.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Explore, sign up for Adventure Ocean, get some food, explore some more, find a spot at the pool (we'll have our bathing suits on), have our first vacation cocktail, wait for rooms to be ready, muster, unpack ASAP, then have dinner. Try not to feel rushed, but we'll be so excited, we'll be everywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first thing we do is get a drink and then find our lounge chair by the pool that will be our spot for the week, then grab some lunch and another drink. We do not drink at home but on vacation we make up for it.

 

 

How do you ensure the lounge chairs will be your spot for the week? :confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...