So how do YOU do it?

[kcroxyoursox]

Make your packing list. Then buy one or two items you need every week. Maybe buy little gifts to give your wife/friends (disposable camera, sunscreen, cd with appropriate music.) Helps drag out the anticipation.

 

If you are the planning type, research and book your excursions. Start looking for capers and menus. I know there are recipes posted for several of the dishes, maybe do a dinner party and try the best sounding ones?

 

Have your friends make up a list of questions they might have as first time cruisers. Or make an info book for them with answers to faqs.

 

Watch Titanic, Jaws and The Perfect Storm. Read Cruise Confidential.

 

And as weird as this sounds, vow to stay off Cruise Critic for 48 hours. Refreshing the site for new threads 10 times a day won't get you many results and you'll feel like the boards are really slow. But if you have a mini-break then when you come back there will be so much new material it may take you a few days to read it all.

 

Make a paper chain. Put a countdown in your signature. Mark the date on your calendar and request your time off from work.

 

Hit the gym so you won't feel guilty gaining 10 pounds while on board!

[cantwait06]

Make your packing list. Then buy one or two items you need every week. Maybe buy little gifts to give your wife/friends (disposable camera, sunscreen, cd with appropriate music.) Helps drag out the anticipation.

 

If you are the planning type, research and book your excursions. Start looking for capers and menus. I know there are recipes posted for several of the dishes, maybe do a dinner party and try the best sounding ones?

 

Have your friends make up a list of questions they might have as first time cruisers. Or make an info book for them with answers to faqs.

 

Watch Titanic, Jaws and The Perfect Storm. Read Cruise Confidential.

 

And as weird as this sounds, vow to stay off Cruise Critic for 48 hours. Refreshing the site for new threads 10 times a day won't get you many results and you'll feel like the boards are really slow. But if you have a mini-break then when you come back there will be so much new material it may take you a few days to read it all.

 

Make a paper chain. Put a countdown in your signature. Mark the date on your calendar and request your time off from work.

 

Hit the gym so you won't feel guilty gaining 10 pounds while on board!

 

 

I love these ideas thank you!

 

Right now we have a paper chain for Christmas (shes so excited) so probably after Christmas we'll make a new one for the cruise!

 

Staying off of cruise critic for 2 days actually sounds like a good idea. You're right, i think I'm finding myself bored with it. The first time around I was soaking up all information possible, and it was all new to me. Even though this is my 3rd cruise and I'm still relatively new, some of the info on here isn't new anymore (to me anyway).

 

Is cruise confidential a good read? I have heard mixed reviews on it.

[cruisefanatic01]

I usually just read reviews every week of the ship that I'll be sailing on. I love the ones that are full of pictures. I just got off of the Pride a week ago. You're going to love it!!

[cantwait06]

I usually just read reviews every week of the ship that I'll be sailing on. I love the ones that are full of pictures. I just got off of the Pride a week ago. You're going to love it!!

 

 

Thank you! Is there anything you can tell me about the Pride? I'm nervous because it doesn't have a waterworks area so I don't know how my daughter will do with the pools, but then I saw that there was a sunbathing area in one of the pools, with just a few inches of water, so I figured she might be ok there. Were there lots of kids using that as a wading pool? Anything else you want to share is greatly appreciated!:D

[Aoumd]

My fiance and I are in the same boat as you (figuratively, not literally).

 

We're engaged for a wedding this June, and our honeymoon starts July 2 on the Miracle. Wedding planning is going well but it's busy and a lot of stuff, so we're really looking forward to our honeymoon because it will be the time when we can unwind, enjoy our marriage together, and not have to feel responsible for over 100 friends and relatives if something arises...

 

We're passing the time in different ways. I did the "cruise before" idea, stumbling across some great deals for this winter out of Florida (and had a $50 flight voucher to redeem before it expired), and reached out to my guy friends to see if there was any interest (and there was!). My fiance is planning a weekend ski trip and party with her girl friends (she's a teacher too, so she's tied to the school calendar).

 

In the meantime, I spend a lot of time on CC and other sites reading about the ship we're going on, reviews, etc., but have gone beyond that and spend time general reading websites, books, etc. about the industry...cruise ships have gone beyond a fun vacation for me and have become a hobby to follow...(I needed a new one since my hobby growing up is now my job...).

 

By the way, interesting you're from Western MA...we're from NJ but I am typing this from the Berkshires (visiting relatives for Thanksgiving weekend!).

[Fauna]

I research the ports, plan excursions, look for good places to eat. I look for the best deals for hotels and rental cars for the night prior to cruise and read reviews on multiple sites. When the travel channel has a show about an area I am going to I watch that.

 

BTW if you need idea's for B'more before the pride, they have an excellent childrens museum, science center and aquarium.

[kcroxyoursox]

Is cruise confidential a good read? I have heard mixed reviews on it.

 

 

Only way you'll find out is if you read it! Seriously though, the only thing I think offended people was lots of mentions of sex. But it's a part of life and if you can get past it, there's some funny stuff and some information. It's something to do though, and it's still within the realm of cruising, so pick it up and give it a try. You don't have to finish it if you really hate it that much.

[xitappers2bx]

That's what I did for my kids. It does help.

 

 

i did this too... the paper chain thing. until my 5 year old got smart, and decided if she ripped a whole bunch of the chain peices down, it would make our cruise come faster.

 

 

now we're down to 14 days, and shes ready to count hours. i managed to get her to stick with 3 8hr blocks.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Only way you'll find out is if you read it! Seriously though, the only thing I think offended people was lots of mentions of sex. But it's a part of life and if you can get past it, there's some funny stuff and some information. It's something to do though, and it's still within the realm of cruising, so pick it up and give it a try. You don't have to finish it if you really hate it that much.

 

Was the "mention of sex" about "normal" hooking up between crew members and/or passengers or was it more along the lines of crew member sex in exchange for better duties, shifts, etc?

[cantwait06]

My fiance and I are in the same boat as you (figuratively, not literally).

 

We're engaged for a wedding this June, and our honeymoon starts July 2 on the Miracle. Wedding planning is going well but it's busy and a lot of stuff, so we're really looking forward to our honeymoon because it will be the time when we can unwind, enjoy our marriage together, and not have to feel responsible for over 100 friends and relatives if something arises...

 

We're passing the time in different ways. I did the "cruise before" idea, stumbling across some great deals for this winter out of Florida (and had a $50 flight voucher to redeem before it expired), and reached out to my guy friends to see if there was any interest (and there was!). My fiance is planning a weekend ski trip and party with her girl friends (she's a teacher too, so she's tied to the school calendar).

 

In the meantime, I spend a lot of time on CC and other sites reading about the ship we're going on, reviews, etc., but have gone beyond that and spend time general reading websites, books, etc. about the industry...cruise ships have gone beyond a fun vacation for me and have become a hobby to follow...(I needed a new one since my hobby growing up is now my job...).

 

By the way, interesting you're from Western MA...we're from NJ but I am typing this from the Berkshires (visiting relatives for Thanksgiving weekend!).

 

 

How funny! Planning a wedding is incredibly stressful and its not helping the time pass quickly at all-as you said its just making me more anxious for the honeymoon! We are planning an incredibly large wedding (over 400 people :eek:) and the thought of it makes me nervous!

 

I hope you have a great time on your prehoneymoon cruise and your fiancee has a great time skiing! The time on vacation will definitly help you pass the time until the honeymoon! And when you get to that honeymoon I know you will have the best time!

 

The Berkshires are BEAUTIFUL I hope you got some nice scenery while you were here! I don't know if you've ever been earlier in the fall season but its amazing!

[cantwait06]

 

BTW if you need idea's for B'more before the pride, they have an excellent childrens museum, science center and aquarium.

 

 

Thank you Fauna, I will have to look into those!

[cantwait06]

i did this too... the paper chain thing. until my 5 year old got smart, and decided if she ripped a whole bunch of the chain peices down, it would make our cruise come faster.

 

 

now we're down to 14 days, and shes ready to count hours. i managed to get her to stick with 3 8hr blocks.

 

 

LMAO! We're doing it now for Christmas and she loves it, so when its over we'll probably do a new one! She's only 3 so I don't think she'll think of ripping it down to make it come faster-you never know though!

[Elationismyship]

I do all sorts of crazy count downs that help pass the time, break the months into manageable weeks, etc.

 

When I book I count the number of days until I go and then mark the 1/2 way point from booking. So if I have 180 days to go, at 90 days I mark my calendar as the 1/2 way point. It's amazing how quick that 1/2 way points comes. I celebrate that night at dinner with some sort of caribbean type drink. At the 1/2 way point I mark 1/2 way again.

 

It's easier for me to manage 40 days then 180 days so breaking the wait into smaller pieces helps.

 

Just an idea, hope it helps.

[chachi]

I use cruise critic to help plan my excursions. I also enjoy looking through other poster's Capers and see what the ship has to offer. I like to look at the menus as well. I read all the reviews I can on the ship I am going on, and go to the boards for the specific ports of calls that I am going to. I also like looking at the boards of ports that I have been on. I like answering questions for other people who are excited about their cruises.

[Aoumd]

How funny! Planning a wedding is incredibly stressful and its not helping the time pass quickly at all-as you said its just making me more anxious for the honeymoon! We are planning an incredibly large wedding (over 400 people :eek:) and the thought of it makes me nervous!

 

I hope you have a great time on your prehoneymoon cruise and your fiancee has a great time skiing! The time on vacation will definitly help you pass the time until the honeymoon! And when you get to that honeymoon I know you will have the best time!

 

The Berkshires are BEAUTIFUL I hope you got some nice scenery while you were here! I don't know if you've ever been earlier in the fall season but its amazing!

 

Thanks and all the best for you and your fiance on your upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Given how excited you are over this (and that you're taking the time to research it on CC), you'll easily be able to make the most of it for both you and your future husband...knowing what's available and the thousands of travel tips that will fly across CC between now and cruise day.

 

The Berkshires were great, although the wind blew out the power on Saturday for a while. Can't wait to go back for Christmas!

 

ALSO, if you'll be in Baltimore for a time before your cruise with a 3 year-old, I second the suggestion to visit the National Aquarium. Also, Baltimore is about an hour's drive from Washington, DC, if you'll have more time and want to go to the monuments or museums.

[cruiserbryce]

shop for excursions, look into what the ports have to offer and plan pre/post cruise stuff...and then read cruisecritic boards

[cantwait06]

[quote name='Elationismyship']I do all sorts of crazy count downs that help pass the time, break the months into manageable weeks, etc.

When I book I count the number of days until I go and then mark the 1/2 way point from booking. So if I have 180 days to go, at 90 days I mark my calendar as the 1/2 way point. It's amazing how quick that 1/2 way points comes. I celebrate that night at dinner with some sort of caribbean type drink. At the 1/2 way point I mark 1/2 way again.

It's easier for me to manage 40 days then 180 days so breaking the wait into smaller pieces helps.

Just an idea, hope it helps.[/quote]

I love it! What a great idea!

[quote name='chachi']I use cruise critic to help plan my excursions. I also enjoy looking through other poster's Capers and see what the ship has to offer. I like to look at the menus as well. I read all the reviews I can on the ship I am going on, and go to the boards for the specific ports of calls that I am going to. I also like looking at the boards of ports that I have been on. I like answering questions for other people who are excited about their cruises.[/quote]

I have always gotten annoyed trying to look at the capers-I feel like they are hard to read! Maybe i will get busy doing that, thank you!

[quote name='Aoumd']Thanks and all the best for you and your fiance on your upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Given how excited you are over this (and that you're taking the time to research it on CC), you'll easily be able to make the most of it for both you and your future husband...knowing what's available and the thousands of travel tips that will fly across CC between now and cruise day.

The Berkshires were great, although the wind blew out the power on Saturday for a while. Can't wait to go back for Christmas!

ALSO, if you'll be in Baltimore for a time before your cruise with a 3 year-old, I second the suggestion to visit the National Aquarium. Also, Baltimore is about an hour's drive from Washington, DC, if you'll have more time and want to go to the monuments or museums.[/quote]

Sorry about the power outage, it does happen often! I am so excited and even though my fiancee makes fun of me now for spending my free time researching, he'll be so happy on vacation when he just has to sit back and relax, because I've taken care of everything! I think the aquarium sounds like something she'll love, I guess I'll look into that next! :)

[kcroxyoursox]

Lots of sex between crew members, none of it having to do with sexual favors or bribery.

To put it into perspective, the ships hand out free condoms to the crew members because of the amount of relations happening on board.

[Ehpride]

[quote name='cantwait06']Ok, here goes.

My fiancee and I are getting married in July and taking our honeymoon August 1 on the Victory. We are so excited for the honeymoon and I feel like the time is dragging until we get there. So our cure: book another cruise to help pass the time!

I'm a teacher, so we booked a spring break cruise on the Pride in April. I thought that since we had one coming a little closer it would help make the time fly...

WRONG! Its dragging! I'm so excited now for 2 cruises that I feel like it is taking forever to get here! It doesn't help that our DD is so excited for the Pride cruise that every day when she wakes up she says "are we going on the big boat today Mommy?"

Last time I booked a cruise, I used cruise critic to help get me by. Its not helping this time-I feel like all I'm seeing lately is people complaining about the Destiny!

So I need your help-what helps you pass the time until your cruise???[/QUOTE]


What about having a cruise party? Make some fun drinks (virgin for your DD of course!), watch a cruising movie (Out to Sea is a good one), make a countdown calender or other crafts, make some towel animals. You could dress up in swimsuits, summer clothes or formalwear and take pictures. You could make a special cruise meal that you would eat on the ship (for example: shrimp cocktail, steak, and chocolate melting cake or fresh fruit, yummy hot dogs and soft serve ice cream or even a mexican buffet). You can play tropical music and pretend to have a deck party with the conga. You could do makeovers and "get ready" for formal night. You could also go to an indoor water park at a hotel and spend time going down slides, practicing snorkeling, etc...

To pass the time, my mom and I like to watch our previous cruise dvds that we've bought or filmed. Sometimes we'll make smoothies or miami vices and use our drink of the day glasses.

We also like to do things like make posters or decorations for our cabin door, gather or buy cabin decorations and get things that are just plain fun to use (flashing wine glasses, funny sunglasses for the towel animals, glow necklaces for the deck party, beads, etc...) Last time, we also made a countdown calender. Piece of paper with the number of days left written on it and then we covered each one up with stickers.

Depending on what your DD likes to do, you can also get her involved in choosing things to do. Start looking at shore excursions or things to do in port or on the ship. If she would get upset that she had planned to a specific activity based on the capers only to find that she couldn't do it when she got on the ship because of changes, this might not be a good idea. It might be fun for her to pick one thing that she wants to do in a port.

We also save our change to use to pay off our cruise or for airfare or whatever. If you had a special jar, maybe she could put money in and save toward a special souvenir. Then you could help her count it sometimes so she can see how it grows.

Just some ideas! And congratulations on your upcoming marriage!

[Ehpride]

[quote name='cantwait06']Thank you! Is there anything you can tell me about the Pride? I'm nervous because it doesn't have a waterworks area so I don't know how my daughter will do with the pools, but then I saw that there was a sunbathing area in one of the pools, with just a few inches of water, so I figured she might be ok there. Were there lots of kids using that as a wading pool? Anything else you want to share is greatly appreciated!:D[/QUOTE]

On the spirit class ships, at the pools, there is a shallow flat area and then the deeper middle area. The shallow area is nice to just sit and get wet without having to swim and it could be a lot of fun to just splash around in. Keep in mind that the aft pool is the adult pool as well if she's going to be spending any time in camp.

[gazingm42]

Keep busy by working overtime to have the cruise after next paid for before we
leave.

[jayesouthworth]

[quote name='cantwait06']Ok, here goes.

My fiancee and I are getting married in July and taking our honeymoon August 1 on the Victory. We are so excited for the honeymoon and I feel like the time is dragging until we get there. So our cure: book another cruise to help pass the time!

I'm a teacher, so we booked a spring break cruise on the Pride in April. I thought that since we had one coming a little closer it would help make the time fly...

WRONG! Its dragging! I'm so excited now for 2 cruises that I feel like it is taking forever to get here! It doesn't help that our DD is so excited for the Pride cruise that every day when she wakes up she says "are we going on the big boat today Mommy?"

Last time I booked a cruise, I used cruise critic to help get me by. Its not helping this time-I feel like all I'm seeing lately is people complaining about the Destiny!

So I need your help-what helps you pass the time until your cruise???[/quote]

Nothing really helps. Live each day as normal, be careful where you step and enjoy each day as if it were your last day on earth. Tomorrow will be here soon enough, and then tomorrow is gone, and today is today. After you get several cruises under your belt, the day arrives soon enough.

[holly_hypocrisy]

My first cruise is coming up in February, and I'm going crazy with the waiting! I really like the paper chain idea, I might just do that. [Even though I'll be twenty in a week, lol.]
Some other things I've been doing are: planning my packing list and making lists of things I need to buy before the cruise; I bought some new luggage on sale [LOVE Black Friday!] just for the cruise; I've been planning my Formal Night outfit, as well as other nice dinner outfits; I've also been spending a lot of time on CruiseCritic of course, and the Carnival Connections CruiseTalk forums.
But I don't think anything can really pass the time when you are this excited. You've just got to wait it out and know you're gonna have a BLAST when the day finally rolls around.

Happy Crusing!