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T&Dcruisers

By T&Dcruisers,
in First Time Cruisers

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Smokeyham Great Review Rare

Smokeyham

Posted
Posted (edited)
My husband is and EARLY riser,, and is somewhere on the ship when I wake up. Whats your best solution to find out where he is ,,, can you use your android phone and text ? Do I need to get walkie talkie .... Confused about cell phones too. any help.

 

I think you'll find that most people say that neither cell phones nor portable radios (walkie talkies) are good methods to communicate on board.

 

The walkie talkies just don't have the power/range to work throughout the ship.

 

Cell phones, even if they do work in your cabin or elsewhere are going to be horrendously expensive, and you would have two charges; one for sending and one for receiving.

 

I would suggest you agree in advance on a place where you will meet once you are both up and about. Alternatively, you could just agree on a time when you will be getting up and your husband could come back at that time.

Edited by Smokeyham
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denatravels

denatravels

Posted
Posted
My husband is and EARLY riser,, and is somewhere on the ship when I wake up. Whats your best solution to find out where he is ,,, can you use your android phone and text ? Do I need to get walkie talkie .... Confused about cell phones too. any help.

 

 

Depending upon the cruise line, many have apps that you can pay to activate their unlimited texting feature for a very reasonable price.

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griffy116

griffy116

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I'm an early riser too. I usually room with one of my daughters or a friend who gets up later than me. We are usually traveling as a family with multiple cabins. We agree at dinner on a time we will meet and go to breakfast. I get up early, get my coffee and have my private leisure time, then return to go to breakfast with everyone. We tried carrying walkie-talkies. What an inconvenience that turned out to be. It's really just easy to decide on a reasonable time to join each other.

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KBD1516

KBD1516

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We take magnets and note paper to leave a note on our doors. Some get up early, others not so much. DH eats early but likes to have company if he knows anyone else is awake. He doesn't want to disturb sleepers, so we have a simple system we use.

 

Whoever gets up early, puts a note on Their own door saying something like "B up 6:30". So everyone in our group knows Bill is up but it is cryptic enough to to retain some privacy. Sometimes it might say "B breakfast 6:30". If we are just lounging around, we simply write "up" so our family knows it is okay to knock.

 

Other times, our note may say something like "gym2:00" or pool 3:30. This helps people find each other.

 

The other thing we do is choose an area on the pool deck and the buffet where we usually try to sit so we know where folks may be.

 

We cruise frequently with family and groups so these ideas help us have an idea during the unscheduled times. We have used all the other systems at one time or another. people don't always get messages by text or house phone, but we find it easy to simply walk to their room and check their door. Even that is not perfect but it does seem to work for us.

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ladyco4

ladyco4

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We do small dry erase boards. We pick them up at the dollar store and just leave them at the end of the cruise. We usually have two or more cabins in a row and will put the boards on the sliders that way only family will know where we are.

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eatsallinsects

eatsallinsects

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We do small dry erase boards. We pick them up at the dollar store and just leave them at the end of the cruise. We usually have two or more cabins in a row and will put the boards on the sliders that way only family will know where we are.

**************************

What are "sliders"?

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alternageek

alternageek

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Depending upon the cruise line, many have apps that you can pay to activate their unlimited texting feature for a very reasonable price.

 

any ideas on the cost for this on Princess??

Mum and I will be in different cabins and her hubby wont be leaving the room very much due to his disabilities, so this might make meeting up for meals easier..

 

(btw i found their android app, if anyone was looking)

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rrshow

rrshow

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Lay out loose fitting clothes for the last morning before heading home. Not only are they more comfortable for traveling but the few extra lbs you gain that week will make your regular clothes feel tight. Lol

 

Definitely less clothes and very casual. I spend most days in a bathing suit and coverup.

 

Buy one specific souvenir each place you go. We do ornaments for our Christmas tree and it reminds us of the great vacations we've taken.

 

Bring your own ibuprofen, cold medicine, Dramamine, or OTC meds from home. They charge an arm and a leg for it in the gift shop. Some ships offer Dramamine though at no charge in the infirmary.

 

Don't be the first or the last to the muster drill. Either way you'll either end up standing on deck waiting for 30+ minutes for the stragglers or get the stink eye for being the last that's holding everyone up.

 

Keep an out for the drink of the day, BOGO drinks, buckets of beer (buy 4 get 1 free) and happy hours.

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widallas

widallas

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We do ornaments for our Christmas tree and it reminds us of the great vacations we've taken.

 

Love this!!! We started doing the same several years ago, and I love our tree...pulling out those ornaments and remembering vacations and good times is always a treat.

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alternageek

alternageek

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any ideas on the cost for this on Princess??

Mum and I will be in different cabins and her hubby wont be leaving the room very much due to his disabilities, so this might make meeting up for meals easier..

 

(btw i found their android app, if anyone was looking)

 

Just rang princess and to access the messenging system is free.

phew.

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Cadleigh

Cadleigh

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Things we do differently

1. Take Teabags. Particularly for the Brits and Irish. Not many ships have good quality top of the bush Tea so bring your own bags.

2. We bring a teapot! There are certain standards that should be upheld.

3. Two different highlighting pens, one pink, one blue to go through the daily planner and highlight what you don't want to miss. Wrap some gaffer tape/Duck tape around a highlighter. You never know when you need it.

4. No-one cares if you wear the same outfit on two occasions so pack lightly.

5. In Morocco the second language is French so saying "Non Merci" tends to mean you get left alone whereas "No Thank You" gets you marked out for pestering.

6. Tripadvisor is great for researching ports before you go.

7. Don't be afraid to get a train or local transport in Port. It's half the fun.

8. Ask the crew where the best internet place is in port. They know what they're doing and do it all the time.

9 If you are thinking of using the ship's internet then just sit down, remember what the web was like on a dial up phone line and set fire to £10 notes or $10 bills it will be just the same - slow and expensive.

10. Local markets where the locals buy Meat, Fish, Fruit, and Veg are fascinating and much more interesting than tourist markets.

11. There are no queues at the Vatican Museum if you pick the time and day that the Pope is addressing the faithful around the corner in St Peter's square.

12 Be wary of upgrades. Sometimes the cabin you have been upgraded to is available for a reason, slapping waves through the night, service elevators at 6am, deck noise at 6am, windy verandahs etc Use Cruise Critic to read the cabin reviews.

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tessaluvsjesse

tessaluvsjesse

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It's amazing this thread is still alive! The first time I read through it was back in 2012 when I was planning our first cruise and now I'm still getting good info from it for our 4th. I have found that really, keeping it simple is the way to go. Over complicate it and you will have more anxiety.

I appreciate the over-the-door-hanger for toiletries, but if you don't bring a lot of extras it isn't necessary and just takes up room in the luggage.

Never needed a sharpie, or duct tape. Sound machine app on my phone takes the place of a fan. We have never needed an air freshener or clips to hold drapes closed.

I continuously bring clothes that I don't end up wearing no matter how hard I try to cut them down! I'm going to try harder this time to be realistic.

RX and OTC meds are a must, as well as travel documents, lysol wipes for room, sea bands, minimal makeup-not the whole vanity, sunscreen, aloe gel and coconut oil. I bring a mini pharmacy with a little bit of everything like pepto, cortisone, Mydol, NSAIDs, probiotics, cold medicine, bandaids and triple antibiotic. That has always come in handy. The only thing we bring that admittedly takes up space is our own snorkel gear. We just don't like using gear that others have used on excursions.

Other than that a good book, swimsuit, sunglasses and a positive attitude is all I need!:D

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mulewagon

mulewagon

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Whew! I have officially just finished reading every. single. post. in this thread! Goodness, I feel like an expert cruiser now--though we haven't been yet ;)

 

Here are my own contributions to the knowledge pool:

 

1) Medicare is only active up to 6 hours out of a U.S. port. So my mother's medical coverage will disappear about the time we hit the Gulf after leaving New Orleans. Therefor I got the cruise coverage from Carnival, which includes 10,000 illness/injury plus medical evacuation if necessary. (There are other sources of trip coverage but they would cost a lot more due to her age. As she doesn't have any urgent conditions I hope this will be enough.)

 

2) My bank's online access includes an account management feature that lets you set your cards to International Travel for a specified period. I turned it on today for one day in order to pay a deposit to an excursion company.

 

3) On the advice of our banker we opened credit cards through our account. Our debit cards are through Visa and can be used as charge cards, but someone could conceivably skim them or something and empty the checking account. Straight credit cards have more protections.

 

4) However, the cards will only be emergency backup. We'll carry cash ashore, in little neck wallets hidden under our shirts. If pickpockets try to rip the wallets off our necks we'll hit them with our loaded swim bags.

 

5) I just tried a ginger capsule. It makes you burp ginger for a while and you feel a bit gingery in the back of your throat. Dunno how it does for seasickness. We also have Bonine, of course.

 

6) When you get your zippered file or notebook to hold all the paperwork safely, be sure to get one with a clear plastic cover so you can print out a color picture of your cruise ship and slip it in front. This looks totally awesome and kills another five minutes of the endless wait!

 

7) Amazon is an awesome resource. If you pull up a product that a lot of people buy for cruises the "other people also bought this" list will include all the things that people recommend on this forum. Look up cruise luggage tag holders and you'll be referred to shoe organizers and ginger tablets. Really!

 

8) Check dates on everything! I just found that my driver's license expires 3 weeks before the cruise. Oh my goodness, just averted a disaster.

 

As you can tell, I'm a firm member of the shoe organizer/duct tape/clothespin school of travel. We also like to dress nicely because we just do. Plus I use a CPAP and my mother crochets. I may start a review thread just for our luggage...

Edited by mulewagon
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mulewagon

mulewagon

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Bonus info: You can replace almost every gadget and container suggested on the forum with a convincing replica designed to smuggle booze. Your bags will be heavy, but you won't care!

 

Sunscreen. Lotion. Umbrellas! Fill your shoe organizer with fake booze containers!

http://amzn.to/1YgMF1G

 

Then fall asleep in your cabin so I can have your lounger, mkay? :D

Edited by mulewagon
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