What "rookie" mistakes did you learn from?

[kiraryker]

Starting with the rum & punch too early in the day!! We were both in bed usually by 9pm - so we missed all the nightly shows UGH!

 

This time we will be taking our kids so I know we will be up for the late nights!

[dvan68]

I have to agree with the above posters that all of the running around before the cruise can be exhausting. On our last cruise, I had run out of time to get a pedicure. So as soon as we had something to eat after embarkation, I headed to the spa - was able to just walk in and have it done without an appointment, with a DOD in my hand. DH was nice enough to stop by and offer a refill as well! They also had a special neck and shoulder massage at a discount price that DH took advantage of (he claimed he needed it after handling the bags!) lol.

[OZjones12]

This is a great topic!!!

 

My mistake on my 1st cruise was not smuggeling booze on board, booking excursions through carnival and paying a ton on the S&S!!!

 

I learned by my second thanks to this site... It has saved me a ton!

[crusinpsychRN]

The Inch of Gold and Inch of Silver is junk. I stood and looked at that stuff for an hour with my ex. Ok I mostly lookesd at my watch but she had to check it out. :rolleyes:

 

I swear to god I could see the gold paint flaking off and her fingers turning green just handeling it a little. Thank goodness she didn't buy any, but I missed another activity I was looking forward to, standing around with hundreds of other rubes waiting to get "the best deal on the ship all week!" :mad:

 

I got some 6 years ago and it's as shiny as ever.

[DqALEX]

Sometimes, it is easy to forget that we all were ONCE cruise newbies.....

 

I remember my first cruise - for the most part we were lost. Well before Cruise Critic, I didnt know about booking excursions, booking a good room, etc.

 

What mistakes did you make as a newbie - that you learned from - and have used that knowledge in future cruises??

 

For us... it was room selection. We were offered a guaranteed 4a - and scooped it up. We originally booked a 4 day Royal Caribbean, but our TA called us with this offer. When we got our cabin, we had M11 - way in the FRONT of the Ecstacy. Well, I was sick all week.

 

SInce then, I book middle cabins - and balconies for the fresh air!!

 

Maybe some of the newbies now can learn from our mistakes!

OVER PACKING. Now when I go on a cruise I pack a lot less.

[craftykitty]

Our first cruise is in April, 2009 and I've learned a ton of things from reading this thread. Here are some of the highlights...

 

1. Bring shoes, but not too many

2. Pack clothes but not too much (these two mean don't over pack)

3. Eat plentiful, but do it in many places and take a walk around before you fill your plate

4. Enjoy the activities and shows but take time to relax as well.

5. If you're in an inside cabin take an alarm clock that doesn't need electricity

6. Speaking of electricity, take a power bar

7. Enjoy the first on board drink (no matter what it costs)

8. Use the drink coupons for alcohol but not for non-alcohol drinks

9. Again, speaking of drinks, don't start too early, shortens your day and could ruin the next one.

10. Plan ahead, research and excursions are usually better cost if purchased through tour operators.

11. Really plan ahead and do what I've done, 4 days in Ft. Lauderdale before the cruise and 7 days in North Myrtle Beach after the cruise to ensure we've relaxed and have experienced the best of our vacation.

 

So, tell me, have I covered everything, or is there something else I need to remember?

[Rebecca29]

i'm a total rookie going on my first cruise over New Year's...

 

i've read your mistakes and hope not to duplicate them!!!

big question-- what's the best way to go about bringing alcohol on the ship? i've read that you're allowed 1 bottle-- if you put 1 bottle in your carry on and 1 in your checked luggage will you get thru without a problem?

 

any suggestions would be helpful!!

[Upandadam]

Packing to much is a big one but the potentially worst one was not coming in a day early. The last cross country we did to Miama was with 4 kids 17-24. Wee took the red-eye out at midnight thinking we'd sleep on the plane. Firast time we did it, it worked great. This last time, the plane had some mechanical issues ans we were told the next one wouldn't be available until morning. We were going to miss the cruise and be out close to $10,000. Right at the last minute when we were making arrangements to fly to the first port of call, the mechanic came out and said everythying's okay. We boarded the plane but for all the connections had to sprint to the next gate to barely make it. When all was said and done, we did make the cruise but we went through hours of fretting that we wouldn't.

[kiraryker]

i'm a total rookie going on my first cruise over New Year's...

 

i've read your mistakes and hope not to duplicate them!!!

big question-- what's the best way to go about bringing alcohol on the ship? i've read that you're allowed 1 bottle-- if you put 1 bottle in your carry on and 1 in your checked luggage will you get thru without a problem?

 

any suggestions would be helpful!!

 

Rum Runners! Worked great - we packed them in a large ziploc bag (just incase) but no problems - kept our rum safe until we got onboard! Then just packed that in our checked luggage

[LemurCat]

How sad is it that I feel no need to smuggle booze on board because the drinks are actually cheaper on board than they are in the bars near me?

[cruisegal07]

we have had really good luck booking the guarantee

 

actually got an upgrade to the obstructed view/french doors room on the Legend from a guaranteed inside cabin

LUCKY DOG!! What's the chance of that happening on a Spring Break Cruise?? uh NONE?!!!!!!!!!!

Also, you probably will not get upgraded if you already have a cabin number, right???:confused: I still consider myself a newbie so I am all about this info!! :cool:

[ksmaage]

My biggest mistake was not realizing that I could order more than one entry, dessert, salad etc. Now I know that If two entree's sound delicious, order them both!

 

As far as the inch of gold discussion. I have never had any trouble and still wear the necklace I bought 3 years ago. My wife had an anklet she bought two years ago that got all tarnished. The "inch-of-gold" lady replaced it free on our Monarch of the Seas cruise last month.!

[stainedglasslady]

I'm glad the jewelry worked out for you.

 

But keep in mind that the majority of Carnival cruisers are first-timers, so they are not really drawing from any past experience when purchasing this "bargain."

 

Also, I would bet that 99% of the people that bought it and then realized it was junk just made a mental note to not purchase it again. They probably didn't go to the trouble of complaining or trying to return it.

 

Carnival keeps selling it cos they keep getting new suckers!!

Yes, we were suckers. And yes it was garbage!

[stainedglasslady]

My biggest mistake was not realizing that I could order more than one entry, dessert, salad etc. Now I know that If two entree's sound delicious, order them both!

 

As far as the inch of gold discussion. I have never had any trouble and still wear the necklace I bought 3 years ago. My wife had an anklet she bought two years ago that got all tarnished. The "inch-of-gold" lady replaced it free on our Monarch of the Seas cruise last month.!

Did you need the receipt to have it replaced? My husband probably already threw his away but I thought I'd ask just in case.

[sea_u_onboard]

LESSON #1:

NEVER, EVER pack 98% of your undergarments in one bag – even if you are driving to the port.

Long story short. We drove to the port for a SEVEN night cruise. In an effort to make unpacking easier I packed 98% of my sons and my undergarments in one small suitcase. Sooooo, what could happen?

Well, what happened was the bag didn’t materialized until the last night of the cruise when the parents of the 2 teenage boys in the cabin next to us decided to check on them only to discover when they were packing up that they had a spare bag. This was after we were assured that ALL the cabin stewards had a copy of our lost luggage report and while they couldn’t open bags they could check tags. Guess that didn’t happen. Ended up wearing my husbands underware a couple times as the laundry room was a zoo – with staff using the machines (I guess their machines were broken).

Lessons learned:

1) Don’t pack all your undergarments in one bag regardless of your transportation method.

2) Don’t tip the steward the standard if they didn’t do their job.

LESSON #2:

Same cruise. Since they couldn’t seem to find the missing undergarment bag they gave us VIP debarkation so we could check at the pier when we got off. Even though we found the bag we figured we would still get off early. Get back to the cabin late – realize we hadn’t put out the bags – put the bags out, good to go. Get up in the morning and discover the largest bag we own (imagine kitchen sink) still in the closet. Drag bag around the ship while we get breakfast and wait to get off. VIP called and off we go. Go to the area in customs to look for bags. Still looking 4 hours later. Had to wait for the crew luggage to get offloaded and SURPRISE, there’s our bags at the bottom of the crate.

Lessons learned:

1) Check your cabin thoroughly to ensure all the bags you intend to have taken off the ship is placed in the hall.

2) Make sure the luggage is out before the time requested. Appears that our bags were out so late that they got thrown in the nearest crate – which happened to be the crew crate.

I (we) can laugh about it now but at the time - not very funny :)

[wonderfullife]

Er... will you please elaborate? I'm a "rookie" and I just booked a guaranteed cabin so any clarification would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

 

We almost always book a guarantee. Either I am not picky or we have had decent rooms each time. The one time I actually booked a specific room, they upgraded us to a balcony (Disney). The other guarantees were occassionally upgrades also...inside to oceanview. While sometimes the guarantee can bring you a room that is not good, there are plenty of good rooms left over too. Bring earplugs in case of a bad one and go with the flow. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Aleece

[ALK02G]

Rookie mistakes we made...

1) trying to make it to ALL the shopping locations in the ports to drop off your name for the various raffles

2) not tipping room service (actually didn't know this on our second cruise either)

3) not arriving at the port until noon, AND stopping on the way in to get lunch before boarding

[DarthGrady]

It took awhile but I finally learned to eat breakfast in the dining room, so much better start to a day than fighting the crowd in the buffet.

 

I also learned to not wait in the "line" (mob) for dinner. I just get there 5 minutes late and walk right to my table.

[billfish]

booking a guaranty, this means you get the rooms noone else wants.

 

 

WRONG ANSWER

 

Last two Cruises were GTY and we got GREAT UPGRADES

[BBigfoot613]

WRONG ANSWER

 

Last two Cruises were GTY and we got GREAT UPGRADES

 

 

Technically they are correct. But equally they are wrong. A gty comes from a pool of open rooms. They start with rooms that aren't selling like suites and upgrade people from mini suites, then someone from balcony to THAT person's mini suite, and so on. So if you book a 4a or 1a gty then you have the "chance" of getting eith a room that's been open since they set the cruise on day one or a good room that was booked for months. You just have no idea which it will be. Also, what one person considers a bad room another might love. Personally I think any room with a door a bed and a bathroom is a good room. It beats work ANY day of the week. I booked a 4a gty on my first cruise because it was hundreds cheaper after price drops and I didn't care where I was sleeping. I ended up with a midship 4e that was seconds away from everything. On our next cruise I might book this same location but am also brave enough to do gty again.

[OZjones12]

i'm a total rookie going on my first cruise over New Year's...

 

i've read your mistakes and hope not to duplicate them!!!

big question-- what's the best way to go about bringing alcohol on the ship? i've read that you're allowed 1 bottle-- if you put 1 bottle in your carry on and 1 in your checked luggage will you get thru without a problem?

 

any suggestions would be helpful!!

 

Rumrunnerflasks.com I think?

 

They work great! :D buy tghe cruise package... well worth it!

[zibbster]

This has been a very entertaining thread, I have found myself chuckling alot!

One mistake I made, was when I bought my fountain fun card right away and didn't wait till we left port so I had to pay taxes on it. Not a huge deal, but my S&S bill is large enough without the added expense!

Overpacking is a problem, and always will be, but I'm working on it....my first cruise me mother was telling me I would need all these "casual" outfits to wear in port and around the ship. Well I was in my suit, shorts and a tank-top pretty much the whole time except at night so all these "casual" outfits never came out of my room! My suitcase was so full that I had to buy a bag from the gift shop to bring home all the things I had purchased on my trip:p Good thing is I LOVE the bag and use it all the time!

I now know just how strong the funship special DOD is! This was actually on my 3rd cruise and we were able to get on really early. Well I ended up having to pretty much carry my friend to our room(with the help of 2 friendly strangers!) to "sleep" and we hadn't even left port let! Trying to wake her up for the muster drill took lots of work!!! She only had 3, so be careful! Thankfully it was spring break and those college kids didn't find any of it out of the ordinary!

[ksmaage]

Did you need the receipt to have it replaced? My husband probably already threw his away but I thought I'd ask just in case.

 

No, we did not have the receipt. Just told the lady that we had bought it on one of our cruises and she said she would give us a new one!

[hollywood34711]

That lunch is available when you board and you can get on earlier then what your docs state.

 

We did this too, stopped for a big breakfast that cost a fortune before boarding, because "we had no idea when we would get to eat!" Can you imagine? We also did no research at all, packed the wrong clothes, paid through the nose for an overpriced excursion at the last minute, but had a great time anyway, and we became hooked. :p

[TCF]

We did way too many things wrong...

1) Did no research at all.

2) Paid ship prices for excursions

3) Packed way too many clothes..almost half of which never came out of the bags.

4) Did I mention we packed way too many clothes!! (On our last cruise...five weeks to the Amazon...we packed half of what we packed on that first cruise!!) But, we're getting better at it!!

5) Did way too much shopping on the ship.

6) Tried to do everything....and I do mean everything...on the ship and shore excursions....just silly now we have been cruising for a couple of years!

But...to tell you the truth....the really fun part of cruising is learning how to cruise and make it fun....so don't sweat the mistakes!

Make sure you do your research....for months before you go...you'll save time and money to have even more fun with when you go!