First time…so many questions

[Firsttime22]

We are cruising for our first time in March on Mariner. I have ridiculous questions, please help my anxiety ocd ridden brain.

 

- What type of clothing do you wear around on the ship

 

- If you get up in the middle of the night and are hungry, can you get food?

 

- What type of clothing do you wear when you get off in Haiti or CoCo Cay? Do you carry a backpack?

 

- Do you have to show your driver’s license, vaccination card and birth certificate every time you enter the ship or just the initial entrance?

 

- Do you get free basic internet on the ship? Which plan is suggested for basic facebook, email, and texts home.

 

- Do we need to pack beach towels?

 

- Does our medications need to be in the original bottle or can they be in a pill organizer?

 

- What do you do about sea sickness? Is it common?

[smokeybandit]

1) Whatever you want

2) Yes

3) Whatever you want

4) Just the first time

5) No

6) No

7) I've never been questioned about the container prescription meds are in

8 ) Uncommon, unless you're really prone to it.

Edited February 20, 2022 by smokeybandit

[leaveitallbehind]

9 minutes ago, Firsttime22 said:

We are cruising for our first time in March on Mariner. I have ridiculous questions, please help my anxiety ocd ridden brain.

 

- What type of clothing do you wear around on the ship

Whatever you are comfortable in based on the weather.  No dress code.

- If you get up in the middle of the night and are hungry, can you get food?

Room service is available for a fee.  Some of the venues - Sorentos for one - have late hours.

- What type of clothing do you wear when you get off in Haiti or CoCo Cay? Do you carry a backpack?

Same as on board.  Bcakpack is up to you.

- Do you have to show your driver’s license, vaccination card and birth certificate every time you enter the ship or just the initial entrance?

No.  Just when you board.  SeaPass card otherwise.

- Do you get free basic internet on the ship? Which plan is suggested for basic facebook, email, and texts home.

RCCL offers two plans - Surf and Stream, both for a fee.  Stream would be best.

- Do we need to pack beach towels?

Optional, your choice.  Ship provides towels around the pools and off ship for the CocoCay / Labadee.

- Does our medications need to be in the original bottle or can they be in a pill organizer?

Either is OK but best to have the prescriptions with you.

- What do you do about sea sickness? Is it common?

Sea sickness is an individual thing.  If you are prone to motion sickness on land it would best to be prepared on board with whatever OTC medicine -  or prescribed medication your doctor would recommend - to have with you.  The ships are stabilized but motion will occur and rough seas can occur anytime. 

 

See my answers above in red.  Enjoy your cruise.

[SG65CB]

Hello FirstTime22 and let me be the first to welcome you to the Cruise Critic discussion boards. 

 

Here is some more specific information about what to wear around the ship:

 

During the day dress for the weather and the activity, such as swimwear or shorts. Women should wear a cover-up when going to and from the pool, men should wear a shirt. If you go to the WindJammer buffet for breakfast or lunch they ask you to wear dry clothes (not wet swimsuits) and wear shirts and cover-ups.  

 

In the casino, bars, Royal Promenade and other public areas of the ship casual clothes are fine, such as khaki shorts for men during the day and slacks in the evening, and shorts/blouses for women during the day. 

 

Some activities such as climbing walls and slides will have specific requirements such as footwear or shirts with sleeves, etc. The requirements are posted at each site. Socks are required for ice skating, etc. 

 

There is much debate and variation on dinner attire. On most nights the common dress for men is slacks and a shirt with a collar. Women dress accordingly, similar to what you would wear to a nice restaurant. There are "formal" nights but the dress code is no longer enforced for these nights. Some people wear tuxedos and dinner gowns, but more and more people are wearing their regular dinner clothes, or maybe a suit instead of a tuxedo.

 

If you dine in a specialty restaurant (a restaurant with an extra fee) they request nice dinner clothes, for example a sport jacket or suit for men. 

 

[SG65CB]

When you leave the ship in Coco Cay or Labadee you should wear the same as you would to the pool on the ship. You can take a backpack but be sure someone is watching valuables. There are lockers you can use for free if you have an excursion or activity booked and can't take the backpack with you. 

 

The same applies on any Caribbean island, if you are going to the beach wear coverups with your swimwear underneath. An interesting note, in some Caribbean countries such as Barbados and Jamaica it is illegal to wear clothing with a camouflage pattern. 

 

When you board the ship you will be issued a "SeaPass" card. You will use this whenever you board or leave the ship. 

 

On port stops you should take your SeaPass card, drivers license, cash, and credit card with you. Leave your passport or birth certificate in the safe in your room. 

[shipgeeks]

Just a detail to all of the above.  On our recent Caribbean cruise, we were told to take seapass card, photo ID, and vax card ashore with us, at all the ports.  This seems to be required by the port.  We were never asked to produce the vax card at any shops or other facilities, but apparently they could have done so.  In one shop we had our temperature taken, and hands sanitized, before entering.

[Jasukkie]

If you just want basic internet you should get the surf package. 

 

As for your meds, if you really want to be prepared for just in case scenarios, bring a printed list with each med, dose, and frequency. This is very helpful if you have to go to the medical center on board. You can bring meds in pill organizers. I suggest an extra week's supply just in case.

 

Some people do get sea sick. It's helpful to stay upright and look at the horizon. You can search this topic for advice on various meds. The ships have built in stabilizers and for the most part you barely feel movement unless the seas are heavy.

[leaveitallbehind]

30 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Just a detail to all of the above.  On our recent Caribbean cruise, we were told to take seapass card, photo ID, and vax card ashore with us, at all the ports.  This seems to be required by the port.  We were never asked to produce the vax card at any shops or other facilities, but apparently they could have done so.  In one shop we had our temperature taken, and hands sanitized, before entering.

Interesting as with both of our recent cruises in October and December Holiday, this was not required or suggested.  The only port of call where it was recommended was Nassau, but we were never asked to produce any of this other than our SeaPass card to re-board.  We always take our photo ID anyway, so that is nothing new.  We have all of our VAX info photographed and saved on our phones.  We were told in Nassau that would be OK if asked.

Edited February 20, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[SRF]

 What type of clothing do you wear around on the ship - Whatever you want.  I normally wear shorts with a polo or Hawaiian shirt and flip flops.  For dinner, I wear long pants (Dockers) and nice athletic shoes.  For "formal" night, I wear a dress shirt and normally a tie, but you do NOT have to dress up for that night, unless you want to.

 

- If you get up in the middle of the night and are hungry, can you get food?  There is a period from midnight to 6 that you may have trouble getting food.  I forget if room service works at this time, but there will be a small charge, unless you are in a full suite.

 

- What type of clothing do you wear when you get off in Haiti or CoCo Cay? Do you carry a backpack?  - Same as on the ship, except I always wear real shoes, unless it is a beach or water excursion.  Backpack, it depends, but normally yes.

 

- Do you have to show your driver’s license, vaccination card and birth certificate every time you enter the ship or just the initial entrance? - Just SeaPass and photo ID.  Not sure about vax card, but I would carry mine (or a copy)

 

- Do you get free basic internet on the ship? Which plan is suggested for basic facebook, email, and texts home. - No.  You will need to purchase a plan.  Surf should work.  You may need Steam to video chat.  You can share a one person plan, the limit is one person logged in at a time.

 

- Do we need to pack beach towels? - No, they are supplied.  You DO have to return them or be charged

 

- Does our medications need to be in the original bottle or can they be in a pill organizer? - I always travel with mine in an organizer.  But if you are any serious or narcotic, normally best to be in original bottle and with a letter from your doctor.

 

- What do you do about sea sickness? Is it common? - Not common, lots of advice in many threas.

[SRF]

7 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Interesting as with both of our recent cruises in October and December Holiday, this was not required or suggested.  The only port of call where it was recommended was Nassau, but we were never asked to produce any of this other than our SeaPass card to re-board.  We always take our photo ID anyway, so that is nothing new.  We have all of our VAX info photographed and saved on our phones.  We were told in Nassau that would be OK if asked.

 

I thought I had left my photo ID on board in Bermuda.  They looked me up on the manifest (not sure the point as I did have my Sea Pass) and subjected me to additional searching of my bag.

[SlightDraw]

Don’t over pack, but you will. It’s OK.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Firsttime22 said:

We are cruising for our first time in March on Mariner.

Welcome to your new addiction and to CC.  

[josprince]

Learned this best advice from Cruise Critic - Pack half the clothes and twice the money.

[crzndeb]

As a first timer, take a few minutes to read over FAQ’s on the Royal Website. You might find things you didn’t even think about. Also, lots of videos on YouTube. Even though I have been cruising for over 40years, I still find new things on the videos.

[Medic5emt]

Can anyone remember what type of European electric outlet is on board? I was thinking of taking an adapter with me on my next trip.

 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Medic5emt said:

Can anyone remember what type of European electric outlet is on board? 

 

The usual two round prong one. 

[tallnthensome]

You should read the new cruisers forum. 

[LeeW]

In Nassau last week twice and took a boat excursion once from the cruise pier.  Both times there were local port officials checking both ship card and drivers license (picture ID).  Kind of weird not being allowed on the dock from a ship excursion and having ID checked.  The tour operator had to radio the port for permission to dock and meet the port officials.