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New to cruising - Any help please


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Firstly I apologise if this is in the wrong section on the forum - its my 1st day lol

So we have just booked our 1st cruise in the Marella Spirit at the start of June doing the Spirit of Iberia cruise and were so excited.

We have booked an outside cabin on deck 3\4.

Would like advice from you lovely people as to whether to prebook our actual cabin on port side or starboard ?

Ive read somewhere that some cruise ships have designated smoking areas ?

Many thanks -

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I think Spirit is same as Celebration in that the smoking side is port side and the whole of deck 6 at the back of High Spirits lounge - see deck plan

As it's your first cruise I would suggest that you book a mid ships cabin near to the lifts and stairs to reduce movement of the ship Here you will have quick access to other decks also

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You haven't mentioned if you are a smoker who wants to smoke or a non-smoker who wants to avoid the smoke.

 

Being in an Outside Cabin, you don't have windows that open or a balcony, so no smoke issues with your room.

It takes around 4 cruises to get the knowledge of what you want and need from a cruise.

I started with a porthole outside, then a big window, then a balcony and stayed with balcony as a minimum, but now doing junior suites or above.

I would recommend booking a cabin midships for your first. This will help with sea sickness issues being a minimum, but you can't stop the ocean.

 

Anything else, just ask.

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The cabins on Deck 4 just behind the reception area are good - very convenient for the dining room and stairs/lifts. Try to avoid cabins too near to the front especially on deck 3 - we once had one allocated there and if was very noisy early morning when they were lowering the anchor. Since then we've always pre-booked the cabin. Enjoy your cruise!

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Thanks for your reply's - no we're not smokers so didn't want to be downwind to the smokers ;p

We have actually booked cabin 468 on the Spirit - took the advice to go mid ship as I'm not sure how my 'sea legs' will be on our 1st cruise.

 

Any tips for booking trips etc - would you book them online before you go ? we don't really want to pay for over priced outings etc

 

Really quite excited - goodness knows what I will be like on the actual day of sailing lol

 

thanks everyone

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There is a website called 'What's in port' which might help decide whether you want to take ship excursions.

 

Unless things have changed recently, it's cheaper to book excursions prior to joining the ship.

 

If you make the reservations onboard they are a couple(ish) quid more expensive.

 

You can cancel for a full refund regardless of when you booked - I think no less than 24 hours notice is mandatory.

 

Unless the trip is something you can't manage to achieve DIY, it's best to avoid ship's excursions IMO.

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First cruise.

Do the Ships Excursions.

DO NOT D.I.Y. to save a £10 here and there. You are on holiday, spending thousands of pounds on a cruise, saving money by travelling on your own is not really worth it.

The added bonus of doing ships Excursions is:

A) if the port is cancelled, you get an instant refund.

B) if the ship is late into port, you don't miss the excursion.

C) if you are late back (after ship sail away time) the ship HAS to wait for you. On your own, the ship won't and it will cost you so much more to get to the next port on your own.

D) the whole excursion in a foreign country will be in English for you.

E) there is so much to see and do, the choices are great and you can plan in advance.

 

Enjoy

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There are designated smoking areas on the ships.

Trips - DIY all the way unless it's something that you really want to do that is only on offer via the ship.

Do lots of research before you go online looking at various forms of transport etc.

My advice is to do your excursions as soon as you can in the morning and this should leave you plenty of time to get back to board on time.

If you are booking a trip through an independent company see if you can pay when you get there.

We have saved lots of money and had a more realistic experience of the places we have visited (especially in the Caribbean)

An example would be paying around £30 each for a beach trip for 3 hours when we managed to do the same and sit in a quieter spot using a public bus and the same experience for around £15 between us.

Also this puts more money into the pockets of local people who probably appreciate it more.

Time to get off my soap box .........

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  • 1 month later...

I do not know if the cabins have changed but it is two single beds on outside cabins on deck 4. We booked the same rooms on the celebration, which is the sister ship to the Spirit. Even though it was not pointed out when we booked. I would check if that bothers you.

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First cruise.

Do the Ships Excursions.

DO NOT D.I.Y. to save a £10 here and there. You are on holiday, spending thousands of pounds on a cruise, saving money by travelling on your own is not really worth it.

The added bonus of doing ships Excursions is:

A) if the port is cancelled, you get an instant refund.

B) if the ship is late into port, you don't miss the excursion.

C) if you are late back (after ship sail away time) the ship HAS to wait for you. On your own, the ship won't and it will cost you so much more to get to the next port on your own.

D) the whole excursion in a foreign country will be in English for you.

E) there is so much to see and do, the choices are great and you can plan in advance.

 

Enjoy

 

Well maybe not for a first cruise , but your post implies that D.I Y tours are to be avoided at all costs. in my opinion cruise ship tours , like all package trip tours should be avoided where at all possible , they tend to be over crowded and give you a very poor excursions , Its not rocket science to do it yourself , especially if you use outside tour operators who know full well when the ships arrive and leave and have a vested interest in getting you back on time , We have never missed a boat yet , and tbh I dont think anyone else on any of the cruises I have been on have missed one either. Although there is always someone slowly sauntering back after official time

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Well maybe not for a first cruise , but your post implies that D.I Y tours are to be avoided at all costs. in my opinion cruise ship tours , like all package trip tours should be avoided where at all possible , they tend to be over crowded and give you a very poor excursions , Its not rocket science to do it yourself , especially if you use outside tour operators who know full well when the ships arrive and leave and have a vested interest in getting you back on time , We have never missed a boat yet , and tbh I dont think anyone else on any of the cruises I have been on have missed one either. Although there is always someone slowly sauntering back after official time

 

Your opinions are valid, and my opinions and experiences are valid. I was pointing out for a first-time cruiser what the benefits are for booking ship excursions. Many people do.

I have never been to a port (81 unique ports of call so far) and not found an excursion offered by the ship that I didn't fancy taking.

 

I have seen people left ashore for returning late from their own time abroad. This isn't what I want for people to experience, so just giving some advice. If they take it or not, that is up to them.

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In all the cruises we have done only once have we been on an organised excursion by the ship we fancied

 

Theres no right way or wrong way

 

Ps we once waited over an hour for a couple late back from a DIY excursion/ day out

 

Everyone is aware what time the should be back on board so theres very few valid excuses for being late

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