too much info

[mamiejune]

Hi this will be my first cruise and from reading this board for several months it seems there's just too much information to remember!!! When anyone went on their first cruise did they feel like this and did it all fall into place when they arrived on ship! I getting quite worried that i will forget something and it will all go wrong teehee i know sounds bit dramatic!

[Coral]

I guess I was clueless - when I went on my first cruise, I didn't have access to CruiseCritic (it was on AOL only) and hadn't found any other boards. I had to wing it and learn along the way - and I had a blast!

 

Don't worry - just go and have fun. There will be tons of people on the ship who are on their first cruise and have never seen a cruise message board and they will be having the time of their life! Once you get onboard, everything just falls into place.

 

It is one of those funny things - on my first cruise, I wasn't critical of anything - everything was awesome and I was in "aaawww" the entire time. Now that I have cruised several times, I become more critical of each sailing. I sort of wish I looked at each cruise through the eyes of a first time cruiser again.

[spongerob]

This board tends to make the simplest things sound complicated. If cruising really were as difficult as it sounds, would millions of people per year be doing it?

[mamiejune]

Very very true!!

[spongerob]

I feel like Coral, I wish I could get that first-time sense of awe again. There were many things about our first cruise that I didn't like, but so many more things that I did and that astounded me that the complaints seemed minor in comparison.

[poetrylady]

I've done a number of cruises now, and yes, I too find myself becoming more critical, when I'd rather just have a great time. The ships these days are so beautiful! My first cruise was in the 70's and trust me, there was nothing to do. But I still enjoyed it because it was a CRUISE and very few people in my realm of contacts had done it at that time.

 

Mamiejune, you will have a lovely time. Princess is a great place to begin your cruising. Just get on board and relax and let yourself be pampered!

[cynbar]

I sae another post recently on these boards which seemed to sum things up very well --- sorry, I don't remember exactly which thread it was on. Anyway, the poster gave his opinion that sometimes reviews here start to overanalyze everything about a cruise, which leads to a lot of negativity and also to a lot of stress. It's really not necessary to try and make sure you get the best cabin, the best waiter, the best excursions in order to have a good time. Every time I cruise, I always leave thinking about the things I didn't do, but that's because I couldn't possibly do everything. My advice is to just relax and take things as they come, and don't stress out about every detail -- you'll have a great cruise!!!

[mii]

Oh my gosh is that the truth. When we took our first cruise my DH and I knew NOTHING about cruising at all. I mean nothing and do you know we had the best time ever. Now that we have had a few more cruises under our belts we always remembered that very first cruise where we did not care what we ate and if it was good, what to wear on formal nite, where our cabins were, the weather, etc.

 

Just go and have a good good time and if you forgot something just say to yourself "oh well" and go have another foo-foo drink.;)

 

Marilyn

[Tak8]

These boards are wonderful for gathering the info you want, but you can always ask on board. I tend to be a planner, so I like knowing which meal on which night and ideas for excursions. Would my vacation have been hurt if I didn't know or remember? I doubt it. It's like having a child. Some want to know the sex of the child before hand to plan things out and others like the surprise. Relax and have fun. Ask yourself,what do you really want to know or plan in advance and get that info. Everrything else will fall into place.

[mtjlr]

We will be taking our 11th cruise in January and I agree with the above posters about getting more critical of things as time goes on. We will be sailing with my son and his daughter in January, who are first time cruisers, and we are looking forward to seeing the cruise through their eyes. It is amazing that on our first cruises we never gave cabin location, food or excursions a thought until we stepped on board. We knew nothing, had a great time and were hooked on cruising.

[jennew]

The best advice I can offer for you to decide what YOU want out of this vacation. This is YOUR vacation and it happens to be on a cruise ship, however you still need to think in very personal terms. Don't be swayed by all the "Don't miss ______" posts.

 

On our first cruise we simply relaxed. It was our honeymoon and the stress of the wedding was pretty overwhelming. Once we got on the ship we simply forgot about the world. No alarms, no excursions booked, no set plans for any day. We just focused on being in the moment. We loved everything about the cruise and did not have a single complaint. On the last day of the cruise a balcony neighbor stood complaining to us that he did not like the cruise because it was not "relaxing" enough. We shrugged it off because obviously he had taken his vacation much differently than we did.

 

Close your eyes, imagine your ideal vacation and then make that happen. (within reason of course;) )

[mr green]

Our first cruise was a bust, according to those who had cruised before, but it was our first, and we liked it. A few cruises later we knew what those with us were talking about. To sum up, your first is often your most enjoyable. Have fun. :) john

[Druke I]

Years ago, I was told "don't sweat the small stuff". Works for me.

 

No cruise is perfect (in my opinion), but some certainly are much better than others.

[Jacqueline]

Lets face it, the board has a lot of us OCD types that are just total information junkies.

I agree that we need to be mindful not to feel like we are reviewers every time we take a cruise. It does sort of mar the experince as we there can be for some a need to find fault compare it to the glorious days of the past, etc.

I dont know if anyone else remembers this as it was years ago- but these was one poster who came back and just groused. About what ? That the pats of butter on the dinner table were too icy cold.

It is also a bit daunting when you read the "must take with you" lists. Its sounds like we are planning an expediation to Mt Everest and that the experince will be marred if not doomed to fail if all the important rules ar not followed.

You dont need to approach your vacation as though it is a military expedition. IE first you must go to the spa and secure your appt your you will be SHUT OUT. The techniques of securing the right deck chiar on sea days is another topic that has been taken a hard look at at least thousands of times. Otherwise YOU WILL NOT FIND A SEAT. And dont forget the secrets of the land based excusions. You definately do NOT want to make a mistake on this one !

Just remember, dont forget the DUCT tape. You never know when you will need it.

[mamiejune]

thanks to you all excellent info - just do it and enjoy it - relax and have fun - it's the best way to go. I will do this and am feeling very excited now and not stressed out about it all!!! thanks again

[Pam in CA]

thanks to you all excellent info - just do it and enjoy it - relax and have fun - it's the best way to go. I will do this and am feeling very excited now and not stressed out about it all!!! thanks again

Right... just relax and have fun. That's the most important thing. You're on vacation and you'll have someone waiting on you or available to wait on you 24/7. If you don't want to lift a finger, you don't have to. No matter what anyone says, you can always find something you like to eat, entertainment, things to do, etc., even if it's as simple as finding a good book and curling up in a corner. You'll find that if you're smiling and having a good time, those around you will smile and be happy too. :)

[Cruiseteach]

I think several previous posters have hit it right on the head- this is your vacation and will be what you make of it. . Having said that, here are a couple of things I wish I had known before my first cruise:

1. Not living a "formal" lifestyle, and having no formal clothes, I took "go-to-church" clothes, thinking they would be fine for the formal nights. Wrong! Some people would not be bothered by this, but it make me feel like a hick. I subsequently found out that a long black skirt and any top with sequins makes a "formal" outfit. You can wear it both formal nights and noone will notice.

2. You need half the clothes and 1/4 of the shoes you planned to take. Take one pair of dressy sandals or dressy black heels for the formal nights and leave all other dressy shoes at home. Take sturdy shoes- sandals with a back strap, sneakers, etc., for daytime. You will do a lot of walking. The one thing you don't want is hurting feet! Having once taken a small suitcase just for shoes, I now take: a pair of sneakers (plus the ones I wear on the plane-wet happens), a pair of beach shoes to wear to the pool or the beach, a pair of sandals with a padded sole and a backstrap and a pair of dressy shoes for formal nights. That's it!

3. Research the climate of your destination. My first cruise was to Alaska and I could not believe the people who took no jacket of any kind because it was July. Being the Maine girl that I am, I packed a lined barn coat, with gloves in the pocket, and was the only person who was comfortable cruising past the glaciers.

4. Be early for everything- tours, dinner, shows...

5. Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself. You'll never see these people again. :) Try things you would never dare to do at home.

6. Even if you are cruising to a cool climate, the sun will be strong. Take plenty of sunscreen with a mega-SPF number. Use it several times a day.

7. Leave room to bring things home. A fold-up totebag is great.

8. You have paid a lot of money for this cruise. Don't "nickel-and-dime" yourself to death on minor things, like excursions and souveniers. You may never pass this way again.

9. Remember- this is your vacation and you have a right to enjoy yourself, but so do all your fellow passengers. Be considerate and make your children follow the same rule.

10. Every time something negative happens (and it will) , just remind yourself that you could be at home, at work :)

[merela]

but don't let it bogged you down.

 

Once you have read the information that interests you, you can decide what you want to do ahead of time. This will not only save some $$ on the way, it can also maximize your vacation.

 

Food on board has always been very important to us, so we find out about the menus ahead of time so DH can match his wines with the dishes he plans to eat. Even if you are not a foodie, you can decide ahead of time which days to skip eating in the dining room (although I wouldn't recommend doing that).

 

Things like PC dining and its reservations systems are good to know. Places to get free drinks and other freebies are good to know as well.

 

Finding a hotel/pool to lounge around at each port of call was important to us because we have small children, so we find out ahead of time what can be found at each port of call. It saves us time and we knew where we want to go before we boarded the ship.

 

It really depends on what's important to you and don't let other details bother you. It's best that you post questions that concern you and people on this board will definitely help you to answer them.

[jbrambach]

We also knew nothing on our first cruise. We were in such awe of the ship and our surroundings. Although I do find myself comparing each cruise, I also find new things that I have never tried before, we even made a list this time of "must do things" and most of them are things we never did before. We try to make each cruise special and different.

 

These boards are great for information, but most of it is opinion and they differ from person to person. Like the others have said, just go have have a great time.

[Guest Host Tink]

Lets face it, the board has a lot of us OCD types that are just total information junkies.

 

 

In this forum, does OCD stand for Obsessive Cruising Disorder?

 

 

:p

[Juliadlf]

When we took our first cruise this year and went to the Mediterranean on the Carnival Liberty I spent alot of time reading and posting questions on the boards. Everyone was very helpful and gave me some great tips and helped to calm our fear of our first cruise. Have to say it was not as confusing as we anticipated but I think alot of that had to do with joining the roll call on the board, researching our questions and then setting realistic expectations.

 

Now, we are planning our second cruise for next year with Princess on the Star going to the Baltics. ;)

 

Have fun on your first cruise.

 

Julia

[bmpssp72]

to cruiseteach: Saw that you were from Maine- we are native Mainiacs who lived in Norway/South Paris through our childhoods and early marriage, moved to Fryeburg until '92 (moved to Dallas for 2 yrs) then back to New England (NH) since '94. What town are you from? I also noted from your profile that we share the same birthdate (yr just slightly different.)

 

Returning to cruise info... we are taking our first ever cruise and first trip to Caribbean for our 33rd wedding anniversary (and next yr's Xmas present, too) on Crown Princess. Although it is 1 day less than 1 year away to said date, I am so excited to have booked this cruise. I have already found out SO MUCH information on this site. Thanks to all of you who take the time to drop those nuggets of info for us newbies. I started a Roll Call for the 12-16-06 Crown Princess, so if any of you out there reading this are booked on it, join up! Does anyone know how much it tends to rain in mid December in Southern Caribbean?

 

Crown Princess - December '06

[Cruiseteach]

I'm from the Augusta area.

[deppong]

To both of the new cruisers. You get out of it what you put into it. If you expect to have a good time and keep a positive attitude you will have a great time. I think those of us who write about things on these boards just like to talk cruise talk to someone else who will listen. Our families are sick of listening to us so we have to talk to someone! And since this is one thing we have in common we just keep talking! Don't take any of it as set in stone. Just read and enjoy:D

[Linda the Book Lover]

There are many firsts in life and each person experiences "that first" differently. I enjoyed watching the faces of my DD and DSIL experience their first cruise but it was a first for us too as we never cruised together. Have a great time and don’t want about lists, what others think, how to, and when to but live for the experience of your first. Happy cruise! :)