Experienced cruisers, what things do you do religiously now after learning from multiple cruises?

[tropicalkerry2002]

I let the cabin attendants know that I like BOTH sets of drapes/sheers left wide open at all hours of the day. That way, when I walk in the door, I can see out past the balcony to the water. Love it!

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

I let the cabin attendants know that I like BOTH sets of drapes/sheers left wide open at all hours of the day. That way, when I walk in the door, I can see out past the balcony to the water. Love it!

 

The same!

Day or night!!

We love the views.

😀

 

GC

[Meander Ingwa]

On 9/27/2023 at 2:11 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I've always followed this practice, but I'm thinking about violating it in an upcoming Jan 13th cruise.

 

I'll be flying from Phoenix to San Diego, the embarcation port, which is less than an hour and a half.  It's from one warm weather spot to another.  I won't be checking bags.  And I will be taking an early morning, 6AM, flight so if something happens and the flight gets cancelled I can hop in my car and drive the 5-1/2 hours to San Diego with a several hours buffer.

 

Am I crazy to think about doing this?

Totally fine.  There are countless numbers of other flights you could jump on.  Not to mention, you get the time zone advantage.  Dont drive, just jump to another flight or airline.  Costs far less than gas and parking 

[ldubs]

On 9/27/2023 at 2:11 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I've always followed this practice, but I'm thinking about violating it in an upcoming Jan 13th cruise.

 

I'll be flying from Phoenix to San Diego, the embarcation port, which is less than an hour and a half.  It's from one warm weather spot to another.  I won't be checking bags.  And I will be taking an early morning, 6AM, flight so if something happens and the flight gets cancelled I can hop in my car and drive the 5-1/2 hours to San Diego with a several hours buffer.

 

Am I crazy to think about doing this?

 

Have done similar several times from SF Bay Area to Los Angeles.  Also have done the drive morning of several times.   Not to be the cause of much gasping, but we used to also do red-eyes arriving morning of from California for Civitavecchia or Southampton embarkations. Now days jet lag has become a little more of an issue, so arriving one or more days early for European embarkations has become the norm.  That also gives us an opportunity to visit one of our son's who lives and works in France.   

[Mum2Mercury]

On 9/27/2023 at 5:11 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

I've always followed this practice, but I'm thinking about violating it in an upcoming Jan 13th cruise ... 

I was ready to say, "NO, always arrive a night ahead of time" -- and I do think that's the best idea most of the time -- but your circumstances are low-risk.  

On 9/28/2023 at 2:33 PM, bonsai3s said:

* Check for price drops before final payment.

 

* A medical kit...literally a true life-saver over the years.

Yes and yes.  

On 10/2/2023 at 10:40 PM, Nebr.cruiser said:

Yes!  And double check for the passports before your car leaves the driveway ... 

Yes, yes, yes.  Passports, boarding passes and money.  Everything else you can work around.  

On 10/3/2023 at 6:41 PM, cruiseaholic777 said:

I always book 8 or more days. It makes your total vacation costs go down. That is when you total in flights and hotel, your per day cost goes down.

Yes, your transportation and night-before hotel costs are the same whether you stay 3 days or a month.  

On 10/4/2023 at 10:57 AM, Tudorcruisers said:

I have a checklist that I print out each time I’m going away so I can tick things off and over the years it just makes travelling much easier. 

I have a cruise-packing template /checklist too.  The first time we cruised I packed waaaay too much.  The second time I purposefully packed less, but still I brought home things I didn't use.  On the way home from the second cruise, I made a list of what we actually used -- and that was the start of the template.  

In addition to things we should pack, it includes things we must do to prep for a cruise:  reserve a kennel for the dog, reserve a night-before hotel, etc.  

On 10/4/2023 at 5:09 PM, Nebr.cruiser said:

I do admit to having trouble with shoes!  Lucky I have smaller feet.

I think I've found the sweet spot for shoes: 

- Wear tennis shoes on board -- usually something like little white Keds that can go with a tee-dress. 

- Pack simple brown walking sandals, which can be used onboard or for the beach. 

- Pack one pair of dressy shoes that can work with all my dinner clothes.  

- Depending upon our shore excursion plans, I might bring water shoes.  

On 10/5/2023 at 1:35 PM, jsn55 said:

Playing games with Customs is about the most naive thing ever.  I'm glad they didn't actually get arrested.  

So true!  Those people aren't going to play games.  

Personally, I don't have any interest in buying expensive jewelry or watches during a cruise or on the islands.  Better prices can be found at home, and -- if something goes wrong -- you can get better customer service at home.  

19 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

Dont drive, just jump to another flight or airline.  Costs far less than gas and parking 

I've tried to make flying work -- I've never even found a flight that was close to the cost of driving.  I do despise paying for parking though.  

[Wayfairers]

45 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

I've tried to make flying work -- I've never even found a flight that was close to the cost of driving.  I do despise paying for parking though.  

Our solution to the cost of parking is a one way rental car both ways.   More relaxing than flying as we make the drive part of the trip with stops along the way.  We usually are traveling for a few months so parking fees would be outrageous.  

[navybankerteacher]

Take the cruise you prefer - rather than the less expensive one.

 If what you prefer most is based on lowest price, can you really afford to cruise in the first place?

[ldubs]

43 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Take the cruise you prefer - rather than the less expensive one.

 If what you prefer most is based on lowest price, can you really afford to cruise in the first place?

 

I would prefer a private yacht or the penthouse suite, but base my choices on considerably lower priced options.  🙂

[ldubs]

On 10/3/2023 at 3:41 PM, cruiseaholic777 said:

I always book 8 or more days. It makes your total vacation costs go down. That is when you total in flights and hotel, your per day cost goes down. We always pack extra hangers. Just have fun, that is what cruising is all about.

 

Adding days is always good if it can be done. Besides the sight seeing, it is more relaxing not having to run from ship to airport and vice versa.  I might disagree with some of your comment. Average cost per day goes down.  Total cost goes up (unless you have a lot of hotel & restaurant points).  

 

I sure agree with your last sentence.  Have fun! 

 

 

[ysolde]

We have noticed that of late, it is more difficult to find otc medications on board cruise ships.  While we always brought the basics with us (acetaminophen, seasick medicine (just in case), anti-diarrheal, cough drops), we now bring cough suppressant, Benadryl, Sudafed, and a pack of DayQuil/ NyQuil.  Basically, anything for a cold or allergies.

 

We don't overthink the wardrobe.  Khakis and polo shirts (jacket over it when the weather requires it) for my husband; long sleeved, casual collared shirts in the evening.  His day shoes can either be sandals (Tevas) in warm weather ports or comfortable closed toe shoes.  In the evening, appropriate slip-ons.  My wardrobe is similar.  By day, I will wear slacks and a sweater combo (with a jacket over it when the weather warrants it).  I will sometimes brighten that up with a silk scarf.  Day shoes are keds type, very comfortable.In the evenings, I will wear knit dresses and knit skirts with matching sweaters.  I will usually pair that up with a small heel, but I have recently discovered Rothy's so I may bring those on my next cruise.  I will bring some some jewelry (nothing expensive) to play with in the evenings.  I always have a pashmina or a thin cashmere sweater with me in the evenings.  I find cruise ships tend to make their venues cooler than I enjoy in the evenings, and I like to keep a bit of warmth with me to keep comfortable.  I find that if I bring clothes and jewelry that I love and. that work well together, I enjoy dressing up a bit for dinner on a cruise. 

 

Especially on longer cruises, clothes get dirty.  There are laundry and dry cleaning services on cruise ships.  Depending on the cruise line, they may cost money and they may not be inexpensive.  Consider it part of the cost of the trip, and don't stress about it.

 

Cruise ships allow passengers to plug in their US and European appliances.  I bring our (I don't know what it's called) adapters? from our European travels so that we can plug in things into as many plugs as possible in our cabin.  Since they're never unpacked from the little electronics bag where I pack the computer, it's not a big deal, really.

 

I love my hairbrush.  It keep my hair shiny and and it truly is wonderful.  But it is large and takes up a lot of room in a suitcase.  Years ago, I bought a travel-sized version of my hairbrush.  I keep it in my underseat suitcase (the one for my laptop) so I always know where it is.

 

Those are my top tips.

 

 

[Kristelle]

20 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Take the cruise you prefer - rather than the less expensive one.

 If what you prefer most is based on lowest price, can you really afford to cruise in the first place?

 

 

I think,like most things, it is a compromise.

 

Most of us don't have unlimited money so we have to figure where is the sweet spot between what we would ideally like, and what we can afford or consider worth the cost.and would still enjoy doing.

 

if you can afford, or consider it worth the cost, of the lowest price and you will enjoy that holiday even though it isnt your ideal penthouse suite, you can really afford to go and should do so.