What mistake did you make on your first cruise

[wander]

I completely LOVED the first cruise my DH and I went on in the early 1980s. I went with really no expectations except to have fun, be pampered and be on the water (I LOVE being on the water whether it be a cruise ship, a 21" sail boat, a canoe, a speed boat, etc.) It met my expectations and much more. We still retain a friendship with table mates from that cruise, although we live on opposite sides of the US.

 

Cruising was much less popular then so there was not all the chatter about cruises, and the internet as we know it today was in its infancy.

[seapals2]

I over packed. I've since learned to travel light and make use of the ships laundry. I even pack disposable clothing to make room for trinkets.

 

 

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Note .. there is no self laundry on HAL .. laundry charges are per item unless you reach top loyalty level with the mariner programme.

[kazu]

Note .. there is no self laundry on HAL .. laundry charges are per item unless you reach top loyalty level with the mariner programme.

 

Sorry, but there are self serve laundries on the Prinsendam and S & R ships.

 

No need to pay for laundry by the item (although it is an option). You can either pay for it by the bag (as much as you can stuff) or get the package for the entire cruise ;)

[Btimmer]

Not bringing an extension cord with multiple outlets to charge the little devices that seem to be a part of our lives.

 

Re: tipping mid cruise, on a recent cruise with a Bali stop we tipped our cabin attendants mid cruise as we knew they were meeting their families for a short visit.

 

 

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[Crazy For Cats]

Note .. there is no self laundry on HAL .. laundry charges are per item unless you reach top loyalty level with the mariner programme.

 

 

We used the by the bag approach for laundry. For a per bag fee (20) we stuffed it very full. Many times the laundry was returned by the end of day or early the next. Now at four star we get that perk for free.

 

 

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[euro cruiser]

Note .. there is no self laundry on HAL .. laundry charges are per item unless you reach top loyalty level with the mariner programme.

On our recent Veendam cruise we had both self laundries as well as the $20 bag, which was available throughout the cruise, not just on a specific day as in the past.

[bluesplayer]

Not bringing a lanyard for the room key..

[Lady Arwen]

Would a $60 tip be reasonable for a 15 day cruise for normal service?

 

In addition to your pre-paid gratuities, $60.00 extra would be much appreciated. We always tip extra at the end of the cruise and the amount would depend on the level of service received during the cruise.

[Hsmama]

Without a doubt, showing up at the time it told us to arrive to board on our boarding passes

 

Arrive noon at Vancouver, and there is half of the Zuiderdam complement waiting to go through security and customs ahead of us.

 

Two hours to snake through to get on board.

 

Now, barring last minute catastrophes in terms of ship turn around or arrival/mechanical issues, we have the time from leaving cab to walking on ship down to less than about 20 minutes.

 

For the most part, if you can hit the sweet spot where they have kicked off the final guests and opened processing, but just before the airport transfer folks arrive, you breeze through (at least in Vancouver and Seattle)

 

and how do you know when airport transfer folks are arriving?

[Hsmama]

After 2 cruises my husband and I discovered that joining the "spa" meant that we had access to hot tubs, pools, heated rock lounges, special shower areas, discounts on services, etc. We now board and run right to the spa to book for the entire cruise.

 

wait...what? can you explain this one? You need to join the spa beforehand to get into all the hot tubs,etc? or you need to do it once you're onboard? Is this one of those things that makes early boarding a good thing?

[Hsmama]

Love this thread BTW, but I'm getting confusedover gratuity policies again.... prepaid means no worries while cruising,right? And then at the end we can tip for great service? Like what amount per day per cabin for that extra tip? I assume the steward is the person who is like cabin housekeeping(?)

[Alberta Quilter]

My mistake was not doing enough (any) research on ports and itinerary. We went to Alaska on a cruise tour and got off the ship in Skagway before seeing Glacier Bay!:eek: Had to go on another cruise to Alaska to correct that particular mistake! It took me a few more years and cruises to find Cruise Critic.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Alberta Quilter

[Lady Arwen]

Love this thread BTW, but I'm getting confusedover gratuity policies again.... prepaid means no worries while cruising,right? And then at the end we can tip for great service? Like what amount per day per cabin for that extra tip? I assume the steward is the person who is like cabin housekeeping(?)

 

Extra tips would be at your discretion depending on the level of service and if you requested anything out of the ordinary. On a 7 day cruise we would normally tip an extra $25.00 for our cabin steward and $10.00 for their assistant. Dining room wait staff would get extra if we had the same waiter for the entire cruise....amount depends on our own personal experience. Whatever amount you give is greatly appreciated by these hard working people.

[Randyk47]

Love this thread BTW, but I'm getting confusedover gratuity policies again.... prepaid means no worries while cruising,right? And then at the end we can tip for great service? Like what amount per day per cabin for that extra tip? I assume the steward is the person who is like cabin housekeeping(?)

 

You can but are certainly not required to tip extra at the end of your cruise for what you think was exceptional or above and beyond good service. I don't have a really good example of what qualifies as "above and beyond". What that means for us could be totally different than what it means to you or any other passenger. After 22 years of cruising I kind of have a personal notion of what is typical or a normal level of service and what is exceptional. It's kind of a gut or emotional reaction thing for us. There is no set amount or yardstick to say what that amount should be.

[Randyk47]

Back to the subject of this thread...... on our very first cruise, a 4-day "try it you'll like it" cruise on the Carnival Fantasy, we were in a very small verandah cabin. We unpacked and lined the empty bags along the outside wall of the cabin next to the bed. That meant one of us had to crawl over the bed or bags to get in bed. We kind of suffered with that arrangement for a day plus when we happened to meet our cabin steward. He kindly mentioned "you know you can put your bags under the bed". :o

[packercruising]

Would a $60 tip be reasonable for a 15 day cruise for normal service?

 

Again, it is up to you. If you prepaid your gratuities they are already getting 18% (I think). For us, that would be good for average service. We only been on a couple cruises where the service was just average. Generally we give the cabin steward a higher extra tip than the wait staff or bartenders. Go with the flow and tip what you think is appropriate. In general, these people work hard and have family at home to support, so they appreciate whatever you do give.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[packercruising]

My first cruise was on NCL and our biggest mistake was attending the shore director meeting before St. Thomas and actually going into Diamonds International. What a rip off. We found out later that the cruise line gets a commission.

[geoherb]

My first cruise was with my ex and a friend on a Carnival ship. It was too short a cruise (just four nights). Our biggest mistake, though, was not knowing how to say "no" to people. We accepted drinks from the bar staff who had them on trays before realizing that they were not complimentary. In Nassau, some guy "gave" us a welcome necklace, telling us it was free then badgering us for a contribution.

[NMLady]

...and NEVER made again? :o

 

Not bringing enough cash. Those were the days of the envelope system and we were not yet members of CC so didn't know there were expected cash gratuities of certain amounts to be given on last night. we do tip and didn't want to stiff them so we had to dip into cash allotted for our post-cruise stay in San Juan.

[3rdGenCunarder]

wait...what? can you explain this one? You need to join the spa beforehand to get into all the hot tubs,etc? or you need to do it once you're onboard? Is this one of those things that makes early boarding a good thing?

 

There are hot tubs by the pool and there is no charge for them. The gym is free to use the equipment, but most (or all?) classes have a fee.

 

The spa charges for "treatments," some of which you can buy in advance on the website. But you can also book these onboard. There are various specials, but I don't know what will be offered on your cruise. The pass that people talk about is for the "thermal suite." This has the heated loungers, steam, sauna. On the larger ships there is a wonderful hydropool. On the smaller ones, just another whirlpool. You buy a pass for the whole cruise on embarkation day. Or you can sometimes by individual day passes. Look at the deck plans for your ship. For us, the main attraction of the spa is the hydropool, so we only get a thermal suite pass on a ship that has that.

[rajkr74]

Great photos - thank you! Enjoy PV!!

 

Good to see other Oregonians on the CC boards!! :p

 

Let us know if you need any ideas on things to do in PV. We have been going there for years. You can contact us off this site at rreedfam (at) Comcast (dot) net.

 

Rick

[POA1]

On our very first cruise - the old Noordam, sailing out of New Orleans - I was pretty sure that I was going to hate it. In fact, DW sold me on the cruise because we were going to do a few days in New Orleans pre-sailing. It turns out that I was terribly wrong about disliking the cruise experience.

 

We had a table for 6 because that's what the guide books recommended. (Books? Yes. Books! It was 1994.) We were in our late 20s - that's an average. I was 31 and my child bride was 29. I'd say that we were in our 30s, but I'm not foolhardy enough to round up my wife's age. I am fairly sure that the entire under-35 passenger compliment was at our table. That really didn't matter though. It was great to travel with seasoned cruisers. Our fellow passengers were extremely nice, gracious, and friendly. To put it in a single word: "Civilized." (This was a stark contrast with our time on Bourbon Street. Also awesome, but a tad short on sophistication.)

 

The early December cruise sailed only about half full (~750 pax out of a capacity of 1,200.) This was in the pre Internet days and the concept of last minute sailings, particularly from The Big Easy, was pretty much non existent. If you remember what service levels were like 20+ years ago, imagine how they were on a half full ship.

 

As is oft times the case, my wife was right and I was wrong. Cruising turned out to be awesome. And, since we started with HAL at a ripe young age, we've had time to grow into it.

 

Now that I've taken the long way around, my biggest mistake was deciding, in advance, that I wouldn't like cruising.

Edited January 19, 2017 by POA1

[OlsSalt]

Not bringing a lanyard for the room key..

 

My choice is to use a wrist coil - get a hole punched into the card at the front desk so you can attach it. Which won't be a choice if/when they convert to the new smart cards like on the Konigsdam. It flops around a bit, but can be tucked up a long sleeve if you are wearing one that day.

 

Plus bring or purchase in port a small basket that holds the day to day things, like one's cruise card, so it always goes in the same place in the cabin.

[OlsSalt]

......

Re: tipping mid cruise, on a recent cruise with a Bali stop we tipped our cabin attendants mid cruise as we knew they were meeting their families for a short visit.

.....

 

What a very thoughtful thing to do. Bravo. Those crew home port stops are special.

[Krazy Kruizers]

What ship was that?:cool:

 

 

Cunard Countess -- back in the 80's.

We sailed her a couple more times and chose a larger cabin with a regular bed and full tub with shower.

I liked that with Cunard we got to pre-pay our gratuities. We still tipped extra to those whom we felt deserved them.

No balcony cabins -- no Lido buffet -- every meal in the dining room.

Small ship -- 18,000 tons -- no stabilizers.