first time cruiser

[casstim]

Hello everyone,

My boyfriend and I will be going on our first cruise in October! We are so excited. I have a few questions for all you experts out there... We are going on a 9 day southern caribbean cruise.

 

1. What should we expect the weather to be like? (if there is no hurricane)

2. What is the best things to do in.... Samana, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, and Tortola?

3. What should we expect are bar bill to be like? (we are both in our early 20's. My boyfriend likes to drink and I'm not a big drinker but will have to have a few fancy drinks and wine with dinner!)

4. How much money should we bring along (cash)

 

 

THANKS

[Sauer-kraut]

You'll only really need cash for buying things on the islands, everything else on board are charged to your cabin account and you settle your bill late the last night of the cruise. Usually the cruise line will take your credit card number and bill everything to the charge card.

 

Your bar bill will vary by what you order, remember a 15% gratuity is added to the cost of the drinks, so your fancy drinks will average about $8 (I haven't cruised for a year so I don't know what the charge is now). Since I'm not a beer drinker I don't have a clue, but I do know of people who had no clue how much they were adding to their accounts and had to come up with A LOT of money to pay the charges (think over $500 bar tab). Its easy to not think about what you're paying, just sign your cabin number and pay the piper later.

 

I think the weather in the Carib. will be warm, its always really hot to me and we used to go in the beginning of May. As to what to do in the ports you should check out the ports of call boards here on Cruise Critic you will see all kinds of suggestions, I also check the board over on Trip Advisor because they have resident experts there as well.

 

Enjoy your cruise, just keep a level head when heading for the bar. Have Fun!

[garycarla]

Hard to say what you will spend. Two fancy drinks and two glasses of wine at dinner is easily $25-$30. Start adding it up.

 

Everything except extra tips (optional) and casino onboard is charged to your room.

 

See my notes below for first time cruisers.

[FLAHAM]

Don't forget that $216 in daily service charges (18 x $12) will be added to your onboard account.

[kg03or]

We didn't imagine our bill to be what it was (we are both 25 years old and didn't think we were spending much but did enjoy some drinks). We also ordered bar setup which I would recommend. It seems expensive to order a bottle for more than twice the price you'd pay at home but when you think that for $60 you can get a basic bottle of Smirnoff red label and you'd (hopefully) be getting more than 10 drinks drom that bottle. I hope that makes sense.

 

You can request your charges each day if you want so maybe do this the first day or two and you'll be able to see where you stand and go from there. Also, look for drink specials!

[casstim]

Thanks for all your responses! I'm trying to budget for everything in advance I hate the feeling of being restricted by money lol

[KandJCruising]

We did the southern route over Christmas and the weather was great, and barring a storm, should be even better in October.

The drink of the day and other cocktails averaged about $9-$10, so it can add up quickly. Assuming you're on the Dawn, seems like the Star Bar by Cagney's had a 2-4-1 martini deal most nights until 10. Two of those in an evening was more than enough for me.

[Zeno]

Hello everyone,

My boyfriend and I will be going on our first cruise in October! We are so excited. I have a few questions for all you experts out there... We are going on a 9 day southern caribbean cruise.

 

1. What should we expect the weather to be like? (if there is no hurricane)

2. What is the best things to do in.... Samana, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, and Tortola?

3. What should we expect are bar bill to be like? (we are both in our early 20's. My boyfriend likes to drink and I'm not a big drinker but will have to have a few fancy drinks and wine with dinner!)

4. How much money should we bring along (cash)

 

 

THANKS

1. Weather

Weather is not totally predictable but generally (unless of course you get a tropical storm/hurricane) it will be warm - 75-85 approx, sunny BUT with the possibility of showers (usually brief). If a weather system is approaching it may be overcast.. On St Kitt's one gets occasional rain showers that seem to drift down from the mountain.

 

2. Best things to do:

STRICTLY my opinion:

Samana - book an excursion - do NOT do this port on your own. We went to Cayo Levantado (NCL excursion) and had a great day.

 

St. Kitt's: do a tour that includes Romney Manor/Caribelle Batik, Brimstone Hill (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and a photo stop at Timothy Hill (incredible views in both directions). Then go to a beach. We did this on a self-arranged tour with Royston (see Ports of Call board for more info) and it was great.

 

Antigua: lots of options. I like historical things and great views - so I recommend and we have done - a self-arranged tour that included - Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, Dows Hill Interpretation Centre and the Blockhouse. Then we went to a beach (Long Beach in our case). However there are many possibilities here if history isn't your thing - check the Ports of Call board for other suggestions. On our last trip to Antigua, we just did a day at Hawksbill Resort - lovely beaches and very relaxed but NOT for those who need a lot of activity. There are many beaches on Antigua and a number of companies do water-based activities - snorkeling, catamarans, sailing etc.

 

Barbados: on our a last trip there, we did a 'scenic' tour and then were dropped at a beach.

 

Tortola: For first timers, I suggest taking the ferry to Virgin Gorda and seeing the Baths - unique! Check the Ports-of-Call board for more info.

 

CHECK the Ports-of-Call boards - lots of useful info and suggestions.

 

3. Can't help you here - we are exceptionally light drinkers but I do know it isn't cheap.

 

4. Try to charge as much as you can so that you do not have to bring a lot of cash. However you will need some on the islands. We usually bring approx. $300 EACH. Because we are cheap, we usually have some leftover. Bring small bills because you won't always get change in U.S. dollars and bring a bunch of ones.

 

BTW - this is a GREAT itinerary - we did it in Jan and had a great time.