"You are on a ship now" ...what do you do differently?

[VennDiagram]

Always do my hair and makeup before going out in public (don't want to scare any small children :D )

[dockman]

Enjoying not watching all the TV talking heads and politicians calling each other names and acting like five year olds.....enjoy not staring at my computer screen for hours every day and reading way more garbage than i need or want to know about.

 

Sitting in a nice deck chair and watching the sun set most every night.

 

No restaurant checks to worry about dealing with. No having to hand out tips to different people every time i turn around.

[Baatman]

Never touch the stairway bannisters....ewwwww:eek:!

 

Brush my teeth alot :p

 

 

Great advice about the banisters. Hard to avoid sometimes, but I think it is one of the most effective ways to avoid viruses.

[Boytjie]

I'm neater on a ship--shoes in the closet instead of out on the floor, etc. I don't want the stewards to think I'm a slob. :eek:

 

I have walked by cabins with open doors and the nightmare I saw inside took away any anxiety I might have about the stewards thinking we were slobs. Our cabins could never look like some I have seen! :eek:

[Copper10-8]

I have walked by cabins with open doors and the nightmare I saw inside took away any anxiety I might have about the stewards thinking we were slobs. Our cabins could never look like some I have seen! :eek:

 

Ain't that the truth! In worst case scenario's, passengers have been charged a cleaning fee before disembarking. The one that comes to mind looked like a righteous pigsty

[rafinmd]

Ain't that the truth! In worst case scenario's, passengers have been charged a cleaning fee before disembarking. The one that comes to mind looked like a righteous pigsty

 

Have you seen any relationship between the length of a cruise and how bad the cabins get?

 

Roy

[Barrheadlass]

v

(Off topic)

We teach children to always sneeze and cough in the crook of their arm at school. But I did have to laugh when I was testing a five year old and pointed to his elbow and asked "what is this called?' His reply "cold catcher"

 

I've heard teachers calling it "Make like Dracula."

[HUNKY]

When cruising, or on a land vacation, I pack and wear holey socks and worn out underwear. I toss them out after wearing, providing space for souvenirs and cruise line t-shirts.

[tip]

When cruising, or on a land vacation, I pack and wear holey socks and worn out underwear. I toss them out after wearing, providing space for souvenirs and cruise line t-shirts.

 

Hey, so I am not the only one who does this??!!:D Okay, maybe I don't buy any cruise line tee shirts!

[3rdGenCunarder]

When cruising, or on a land vacation, I pack and wear holey socks and worn out underwear. I toss them out after wearing, providing space for souvenirs and cruise line t-shirts.

 

I've done that, but only if it's a short enough trip that I'm not going to be using a laundry service or the launderette. :eek:

 

Usually I have a fold-up carry-on sized back with me. If packing gets tight, I use that for dirty clothes and put the souvenirs in the hard-side suitcase.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Change out of my pretty nighty before I head off to breakfast. (you're welcome) ;)

 

 

You are too funny! :D And thank you for not being that person walking around in a bathrobe at the buffet. (I must admit I've been tempted) :eek:

 

What about room service breakfast? That's something I do once or twice on a cruise. Never at home. What's the fun of breakfast in bed if you have to stumble to the kitchen to make it first???

[3rdGenCunarder]

Great advice about the banisters. Hard to avoid sometimes, but I think it is one of the most effective ways to avoid viruses.

 

I think that's bad advice. As someone has already said, "One hand for the ship, one hand for you." You don't have to grab the stair rail with your fingers, but have the heel of your hand on it. That way if you start to fall you can grasp it quickly.

[summersigh]

I LOVE not having to carry a purse for the duration of the cruise :D. All my cruise slacks, shorts and skirts have pockets for my cabin card leaving me *F*R*E*E* :D

[cruisemom42]

Thank goodness I read this thread! For more than 40 years of cruising I have been foolishly endangering my health by pressing the elevator button with my bare hands and holding onto the bannister (as instructed in the safety recommendations onboard ship) when using the stairs. :eek:

 

I have never bought a bottle of hand sanitizer and avoid its use whenever possible. Nor have I wiped down my cabin or my airline tray table with lysol. As for opening doors with a tissue in hand -- nope.

 

And yet -- is it possible? -- I have never had the dreaded norovirus nor any other illness beyond a moderate cold after any of my travels! Truly, I must be living on borrowed time. ;)

[RuthC]

What about room service breakfast? That's something I do once or twice on a cruise. Never at home. What's the fun of breakfast in bed if you have to stumble to the kitchen to make it first???

I always order room service breakfast for disembarkation morning, but rarely any other morning. Last cruise I ordered when I was heading out on a shore excursion, and deliveries were running so late I had less than 10 minutes to wolf it down.

That was not pleasant.

 

I much prefer to be fully dressed when I open the door to let the room service steward in. So, might as well go eat in the Lido, rather than wait for a tray at that point. Besides, most mornings breakfast room service time ends before I head out. I don't want to get up any earlier than I have to! :D

 

But on that last morning, I am up early anyway, and I can eat, sip coffee, and finish that last minute packing in a more leisurely fashion. Civilized way to end the cruise.

[Fouremco]

Thank goodness I read this thread! For more than 40 years of cruising I have been foolishly endangering my health by pressing the elevator button with my bare hands and holding onto the bannister (as instructed in the safety recommendations onboard ship) when using the stairs. :eek:

 

I have never bought a bottle of hand sanitizer and avoid its use whenever possible. Nor have I wiped down my cabin or my airline tray table with lysol. As for opening doors with a tissue in hand -- nope.

 

And yet -- is it possible? -- I have never had the dreaded norovirus nor any other illness beyond a moderate cold after any of my travels! Truly, I must be living on borrowed time. ;)

Lovely! :)

[lahlah57]

Thank goodness I read this thread! For more than 40 years of cruising I have been foolishly endangering my health by pressing the elevator button with my bare hands and holding onto the bannister (as instructed in the safety recommendations onboard ship) when using the stairs. :eek:

 

I have never bought a bottle of hand sanitizer and avoid its use whenever possible. Nor have I wiped down my cabin or my airline tray table with lysol. As for opening doors with a tissue in hand -- nope.

 

And yet -- is it possible? -- I have never had the dreaded norovirus nor any other illness beyond a moderate cold after any of my travels! Truly, I must be living on borrowed time. ;)

 

OR....every virus known to humankind runs thru every square inch of your body! You just may be at the level of being BIONIC :p "Germs are good as long as you survive them"!

[SLOTheta]

What I did differently on our first cruise:

 

1) Rarely took the elevator. We maybe used it 5 times, after very long days hiking.

 

2) Dinners: Ordered of everything and shared. Several nights, we ordered an entree for ourself to eat, then an entree to share and pass. I would have never tried some dishes, but after a share piece, I was glad someone else did. We always ordered one of each dessert to share. We passed clockwise

 

3) Requested fresh ice every evening. It was really nice to have ice every day after a long day out and about

 

4) Used an order the door toiletry organizer. I picked up a medium sized over the door organizer. It was a great way to save space in the bathroom

 

5) I went out of my way to personally thank and write "Let us know" cards to recognize the exceptional staff

 

6) I've never used so many wipes and anti bacterial gels in my life! I'm glad I did, since I'm prone to pick up bugs. Never had a sniffle.

 

7) Hit happy hour - each and everyday day! I usually only drink a glass of wine with dinner. We always had a bottle at dinner and hen hit the 11pm Happy Hour. Buy 1, get 1 for $1 is too hard to pass up!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[AmazedByCruising]

3. Closing verandah doors and not leaving them open for "fresh air" at night.

 

Oops.. I guess I did something wrong last cruise. I love hearing the sound of the waves at night. Sea air being good for you is as known to us Dutch as apples keeping doctors away in the US.

 

I guess this has to do with airconditioning? Could I just switch it off for my cabin?

[OlsSalt]

Oops.. I guess I did something wrong last cruise. I love hearing the sound of the waves at night. Sea air being good for you is as known to us Dutch as apples keeping doctors away in the US.

 

I guess this has to do with airconditioning? Could I just switch it off for my cabin?

 

Check with the engineering dept to see if your A/C system is hooked up to other cabin systems, because the story is if you leave your balcony door open it compromises the system up for other up and down the same line. Your "fresh air" can lead to failed A/C and stuffy cabins elsewhere. "Switching off" your systems does not unhook it from other system - only regulates the temperature. Would closing off your vents make a difference, I don't know.

 

If you have a totally independent ventilation system that only serves your cabin alone, then perhaps there is a different outcome. However, it has been repeatedly observed air does not go into a cabin (though the sound of the waves might) but rushes out of the cabin when you open those balcony doors. And the cabin air sucking can even be detached out in the hallways from under the door jam. Certainly curtains show the air is rushing out in that setting; not flowing back in.

 

I noticed on our last trip, Vista class Zuiderdam, there was a rather vague warning that leaving balcony doors open would lead to a build up in moisture in the cabin and that they should not be left open.

 

Other ships recommend for "best efficiencies" (or something) to leave them closed. However, all balcony doors have carried some sort of warning against leaving them open or "propped out" because the doors intentionally closes. All pretty non-specific and no mention of the impacts to other passenger cabins. And HAL even advertises their new lanai cabins showing them with the doors open. So maybe this is all old wives tales? Hopefully we will get some of our engineering experts on board here to give us the real story.

Edited July 17, 2016 by OlsSalt

[RuthC]

Oops.. I guess I did something wrong last cruise. I love hearing the sound of the waves at night. Sea air being good for you is as known to us Dutch as apples keeping doctors away in the US.

 

I guess this has to do with airconditioning? Could I just switch it off for my cabin?

No, you can't "just switch it off for your cabin". As has been explained on this thread (several times) by a ship engineer who is in a position to know, there are several cabins, in a vertical line, all on the same A/C line. When you open your balcony door, every cabin on that line---including outside and inside cabins---lose their A/C, too.

 

If you want to sleep listening to the sounds of waves at night, then it would be better if you slept out on the balcony lounger.

[jhsocal]

Give yourself permission to do nothing. Women especially, seem to think they should be doing something constructive when they are at home.

[chengkp75]

Oops.. I guess I did something wrong last cruise. I love hearing the sound of the waves at night. Sea air being good for you is as known to us Dutch as apples keeping doctors away in the US.

 

I guess this has to do with airconditioning? Could I just switch it off for my cabin?

 

Still using the phone, so can't post links, search my posts for balcony doors.

[ANSalberg]

Relax. Sleep in. Appreciate the sunset. Enjoy an intimate conversation with my husband while having a romantic dinner. No TV. No phone. No computer. Heaven!

 

DEFINITELY!!!!!!!!! AND never complain [you've got nothing to complain ABOUT -SOMEbody is waiting on you hand and foot; THIS NEVER happens at HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anne in Colorado

[duck tune]

DH and I would play the Daily Quiz every day, go to afternoon tea, dress up for dinner and go to the Ocean Bar for a before dinner drink ... things we did not do at home. We also took decks of cards to play games we never took time to play at home. Mostly we focused on relaxing and enjoying time together. We tried not to make too many plans so we truly had a vacation from structure. This gave us many nice memories.

 

Haven't been able to cruise for a few years since DH has had bad outcomes from two back surgeries but we are grateful for what we had.