1st post, 1st cruise

[whiskygirl96]

Hi! I am so happy I came across this sight and the boards here! I am in the process of planning a first time cruise for my husband and I's 15th anniversary, along with his birthday. There is so much information out there that it is overwhelming at times. I am a planner, and as such am planning our cruise over a year away. I am looking to sail on the Carnival Victory in Oct. 2012. Any tips, must have's, hints on booking cruise, flight, excursions. Is it easy to do on my own, or should I visit with a travel agent?

[paul929207]

Booking on your own is easy. However, some TAs will give you perks like OBC, a bottle of wine, etc. Book which ever way makes you comfortable.

[missypriss19]

Welcome Aboard!

I always book on my own. I book my cruise directly through the cruise line because I hate to go thru middle men. I also book my own excursions because the cruise jacked up the prices so much. I use this site and I google alot. Look at ports of call on this site and you may get some good ideas. Also check out other vacation sites. Have a great time planning.

[tracyanns]

We always book out cruise on our own with our PVP at CCL...she is wonderful and is a great help.

 

If we have to fly to the port we book out hotel seperate and always fly down the day before to give us time to relax or avoid any travel problems.

 

I am also a planner so ppl sometimes hate to go on vacation with me as I am so anal about having everything planned...it will ease your mind though and it will make your vacation a bit more relaxing once onboard...

 

If you want to tell us a bit about your cruise such as where you sail from and where you go I can try to give you some tips or must do's...also, where would you be coming from?

[whiskygirl96]

We always book out cruise on our own with our PVP at CCL...she is wonderful and is a great help.

 

If we have to fly to the port we book out hotel seperate and always fly down the day before to give us time to relax or avoid any travel problems.

 

I am also a planner so ppl sometimes hate to go on vacation with me as I am so anal about having everything planned...it will ease your mind though and it will make your vacation a bit more relaxing once onboard...

 

If you want to tell us a bit about your cruise such as where you sail from and where you go I can try to give you some tips or must do's...also, where would you be coming from?

 

Thank you for all the replies! We are planning on booking the Oct 28, 2012 sailing on the Victory from San Juan. We will fly out of Okc, OK the Friday or Saturday before and fly home on the Monday after the cruise. We would like to tour part of San Juan before we board the cruise ship, and since we will be sailing over Halloween, what sorts of activities does the ship offer specific to halloween?

[paul929207]

I am sure they will have a costume party for Halloween

[azalice]

I suggest you use the CCL section of these boards to get even more information about your ship and upcoming cruise. Also, check out the Roll Call for your CCL ship and join your fellow passengers in discussing the cruise and excursion possibilities. Have a wonderful time.

[ski ninja]

Old San Juan is a nice place to just wonder around. When I was there several years ago Sunday seemed to be the locals kite flying day. There were hundreds of people there flying kites at the lawn around El Morro fort. It was quite a site!

 

As for booking excursions, the other reason to book on your own is smaller group sizes and possibly more areas seen. When I was taking an Alaskan cruise, I booked my snorkel trip (yes you can snorkel in Ketchikan) it was just my sister, the guide and me. After the snorkeling he gave a private tour of the island and stopped where ever we wanted to take picture. That is an experience you can't get booking with the ship.

 

That said, I will also through this out. If you have to travel a distance to get to the excursion start, say Tulum from Cozumel, I would book that with the ship. To visit Tulum you must take a ferry over to the mainland and the Tulum trips booked through the ship are almost always late but the ship waits for them. That is the only advantage of booking with the ship....if your tour runs late the ship will wait for you, if you book on your own they don't. Private tour opporators are very aware of this and like the business that sites like this give them so they will do everything they can to get you back to the ship on time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Even though it is easy to book your own cruise -- you really should see a TA.

 

You can go directly to the airline sites to book your flights.

[tracyanns]

Thank you for all the replies! We are planning on booking the Oct 28, 2012 sailing on the Victory from San Juan. We will fly out of Okc, OK the Friday or Saturday before and fly home on the Monday after the cruise. We would like to tour part of San Juan before we board the cruise ship, and since we will be sailing over Halloween, what sorts of activities does the ship offer specific to halloween?

 

There is plenty you can do on San Juan on your own. For Halloween they will have parties and costume contests and some people really go all out! Most people wore their costumes to dinner and everything!

 

When we book we go directly through CCL, not sure if you have booked or not but I can give you the number of my PVP her name is Nahomie and her # is 800.819.3902 Ext. 82838, not sure if I was am supposed to do that or not, I know we can't discuss travel agencies but this is with the cruise line...sorry if I offended anyone. She is the best I have had, now that I have her I don't use anyone else.

If you aren't sure of which room type you want I would go with an extended balcony or premium balcony if they have them, a bit more but worth it I think...

As far as excurisions, we book most with the ship, I know they cost more but I do like to have that piece of mind, especially if I am somewhere that I know I am going to have a hard time getting home from if I miss the ship...

Pack light, you won't need half as much as you think you will...take this from a professional over-packer! :eek: Order the anniversary or the birthday decorations for your cabin along with the cake for that occassion...makes it a bit more special.

The most important part is to have all the documents that you need, everything after that is something you can buy or deal with later...as long as you can board the ship, you should be good to go. I always tell people not to go into it with too many expectations, if you don't have high expectations you can't be disappointed. Curious to who the cruise director is, to me this makes a big difference!

HAV FUN and don't worry, it will all fall into place!

[KayAnnie]

Another for using a travel agent here. I like having someone I can always call with questions, and like some of the others said, sometimes there are added benefits.

I also agree with the poster who said to pack light! No one cares or notices if you wear the same thing twice, and it makes it much easier.

[Teeara]

Welcome to CC, Whiskygirl96!

 

Although I book directly with the cruiseline and make all of my own travel arrangements now, for your very first cruise you might want to use a travel agent. They can hold your hand through this first time and then you can "fly free" after you've completed your cruise (should you so desire).

 

You're going to love OSJ. I flew in 4 days pre-cruise in April and stayed 3 days post-cruise (should've only stayed 2 days post). Depending on your flight arrival time on Friday or Saturday, I would recommend having dinner at Barrachina Restaurant. On Friday and Saturday nights they offer dinner with a free Flamenco dance show on a small stage in the back of the restaurant. We did it and it was great. Food was fantastic (had enough for leftovers the next night for supper!). Barrachina is also the birthplace of the pina colada. Here's a link to them: http://www.barrachina.com/.

 

You should definitely book a balcony cabin. There's nothing like a balcony cabin in the Caribbean!

 

Good luck in your planning!

 

Theresa