RE: Cruise Advice,experience's

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peppermint -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:27:28 PM)
I'm going on my very first cruise starting the 15th. Will let you know how it turns out. We got wrist bands for seasickness. Researched the wrist bands online and most everything I read says they really work. Will take some dramamine just in case. We're doing the 8 night Mexican Riviera cruise with Carnival and have a balcony room, near the elevators, in the center of the ship. Hoping we get a fairly smooth ride even if the weather gets bad.

ArticMaestro -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:29:39 PM)
Since its a familly gift, this might not be helpfull, but there are a variety of "lifestyle cruises". Don't know if you can ask your familly to pay for you to go on a nudist slave cruise or not. But they are out there. But if you want to see something amazing take an cruise up the Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. You will not regret it. You could even get off in Canada before you get to Ak if your too politically offended, it would still be amazing. Temperate rain forest, whales, glaciers, ect.

MzMia -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:33:44 PM)
mike! check out bare necessities! At least you can dream! [:D] Bare Necessities Tour & Travel Clothing Optional Vacations MzMia is certainly saving this link!![sm=writing.gif] clothing is optional.[;)]

slvemike4u -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:34:18 PM)
Well thanks for the tip Artic,I am running a trial conversation wherein I explain to son,mother sisters nieces and nephews why it is the Caligula Cruise I want to go on....it's not sounding so good inside my head.

ArticMaestro -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:35:33 PM)
Yeah, that would be an interesting conversation to have.....

slvemike4u -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:47:09 PM)
Yeah MzMia,just my luck their dates are all wrong for me.....

came4U -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/8/2009 8:50:31 PM)
Have little cards made up with your picture and your email addy and maybe a comment like 'Remember me?? nice meeting you, hope to hear from you soon. Cruise to *****, 2009.' on them. (Make your own by minimizing your own pic and printing your own) Grabbing for napkins and a pen after a few drinks less appealing and the person will likely toss it in the trash by mistake. Take 10 or so them wherever you go socializing with people you found interesting. They are more likely to contact you again this way. Keep tabs of other's mail or phone numbers on one paper if you can. (anyone remember coming home from summer camps with a pile of jumbled names and addresses on pinecone art??) disaster! Do look up local laws and customs of where you dock to avoid any embarassing situations or legal matters. Also, ship (international water) laws are different. Always carry a small sewing kit or know someone who does.

bratnwranglers -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 11:29:17 AM)
stay away from the railing.....

E2Sweet -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 11:31:29 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: bratnwranglers stay away from the railing..... ..and don't eat the shellfish...[;)]

mc1234 -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:01:25 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: KatyLied Get a motion sickness patch from your doctor and put it on before you start the cruise. I understand that is the best way make sure you don't get ill. I second that strongly! I have done 2 cruises, one with, the other without. I never even felt the 2nd cruise, with the patch. We had a very rocky night coming out of NYC and I was able to rather enjoy the rocking while others who normally have no problems, felt sick. ETA: In my experience, wristbands will not help if you have ever experienced motion sickness. Nothing will ruin the vacation more than the nauseous, floaty feeling seasickness gives you. Plus, puking into that toilet, flushing it constantly will give you a headache with the noise they make! lol It never hurts to ask the doc for a script for the patch - even if you don't use it, you have it. Also ... Book at least a balcony room. Sitting out on the balcony in the morning with a cup of coffee looking at the endless ocean is wonderful. Eat in the specialty restaurants - there is a surcharge, but it is more than worthwhile in most cases. As for being on a 'singles' cruise .. will you be going with a friend? or alone? If alone, be ready to 'chit-chat' with a lot of people. I'd recommend gooing with at least one friend you can share the experience with. Oh, and have fun with the excursions! There's usually a few fun things to do in each port. www.cruisecritic.com will give you a review of each ship - plus reviews from those who've recently taken cruises.

LaTigresse -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:09:08 PM)
I did a Carnival Cruise and I hated everything about that damned boat, seriously. Other people I know loved it. Here's the most important thing. Know what you like and what is important to you and TALK TO A TRAVEL AGENT! They know the differences between different cruise lines in and out. They can take the information that matters to you and help you pick a cruise that you like, not me, not the dozens of others on here that might tell you what pertains to what they like. Me, I wouldn't do a room without a balcony even if it meant saying "balcony or no cruise!" I hate days at sea sitting around a pool drinking beverages with umbrellas in them, other people really love that. For me, it's all about the destinations and exploring. Other people could care less and prefer to sit by the pool on the ship. Because destinations are so important to me, I want them to actually be places I want to explore AND can, safely. I could care less about ship excursions and the rediculous amount of money spent on them. Other people really wouldn't do it any other way. I also liked the city the ship was leaving and returning from, so planned to go several days early. It was the best part of the whole darn trip for me. Pack light. Don't try to play "beat everyone else on the ship by going down there at 6AM. You will be standing in a terminal for a very longgggggg time. They are boring places. Make sure all of your paperwork is in order before trying to board. Don't forget your passport or you will not be cruising. Duty free shops are not all that. And usually not at all worth the hassle. Especially if you are flying home from port. Don't forget, pack light. And, a small carry on with esentials is wise. I really do believe that talking to a travel agent is the wisest move.

kdsub -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:17:43 PM)
La Tigresse makes a very good point and a mistake made by many. If you really want to spend time exploring a destination you are better off using direct travel . Most ship stops are a day or less sometimes 12 hours or less and the boat will not wait for you if you get held up. Myself I liked to boat, it was the reason for the trip, with an occasional stop over it was great... but your time at destinations will always be on the clock. Butch

CatdeMedici -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:17:59 PM)
and don't get too close to the rail, it takes a long time and a lot of churn to turn those puppies around to find fish food. muuwwaaahhhhh

mc1234 -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:21:35 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kdsub La Tigresse makes a very good point and a mistake made by many. If you really want to spend time exploring a destination you are better off using direct travel . Most ship stops are a day or less sometimes 12 hours or less and the boat will not wait for you if you get held up. Myself I liked to boat, it was the reason for the trip, with an occasional stop over it was great... but your time at destinations will always be on the clock. Butch One thing ... usually if you're on an excursion sponsored by the ship, the ship will wait for you. If you're not, the ship will not wait for you. I love to explore places on my own, but I do like the guarantee. The ship excursions are usually more pricy too. Then again, a friend of mine took her family on a snorkeling outing she arranged and it was fairly disastrous, so ... you just don't know.

LaTigresse -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:25:14 PM)
If you go to Jamaica and want to explore without doing a ship excursion. There is a cab driver that hangs out by the Carnival departation zone, named Shorty. He will take very good care of you and show you a Jamaica that you will not see any other way. He still calls me on occasion to see when I am coming back to visit. I did do one ship excursion that I actually loved. The visit to Stingray City at Grand Cayman. Very cool and worth the money, to all of us that went.

KatyLied -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 12:32:38 PM)
I forgot to mention - be sure to pick a cruise line that isn't always having outbreaks of nasty diseases.

sirsholly -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 1:07:31 PM)
what about clothes? All casual or will he need something a bit dressy?

mc1234 -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 1:39:52 PM)
You made me remember, LaT, that when we had time at Dominica, we just disembarked and hopped into a cab that was just sitting at the dock. The driver took us to the best beach and we had a remarkable day.

Cagey18 -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 2:02:26 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slvemike4u With my 50th fast approaching members of my family have floated the idea of sending me on a cruise(singles?).Having never before taken such a trip...I was hoping to take advantage of the combined wisdom of the good people here.Any advice tips would be appreciated. 'Single' cabins are non-existent except on small boats On most cruise lines, your choices are: 1. Get a roommate (someone you know) and book the cabin together 2. Be assigned a roommate through a roommate matching agency (AFAIK most cruise lines do not offer this service themselves, although you may see websites such as "Carnival Singles Cruises") 3. Pay near-twice the going rate (rates are based on double occupancy) Once you find a rate you like (expedia.com is good for that), visit www.cruisecritic.com for ratings of your particular ship. There's also a section on cc.com for first-time cruisers, which will help narrow your choices of cruise lines and destinations. Time of year greatly affects the price. Don't try to go around spring break, Christmas, etc. Sometimes there's good deals at Thanksgiving, however.

moonvine -> RE: Cruise Advice,experience's (1/9/2009 3:33:42 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: LaTigresse If you go to Jamaica and want to explore without doing a ship excursion. There is a cab driver that hangs out by the Carnival departation zone, named Shorty. He will take very good care of you and show you a Jamaica that you will not see any other way. He still calls me on occasion to see when I am coming back to visit. I did do one ship excursion that I actually loved. The visit to Stingray City at Grand Cayman. Very cool and worth the money, to all of us that went. For Jamaica I like Peat Taylor http://www.peattaylor.com/ or Barrett Adventures http://www.barrettadventures.com/, depending which Jamaican port you land at. I did the ship's tour in Grand Cayman feeding the stingrays and also with Nativeway http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/ No comparison. The ship's tour was overpriced, overbooked, and under squidded (hehe). I love cruising. Not everyone does. Thanks to cruising I have climbed a waterfall in Jamaica, gone river tubing, visited a hummingbird sanctuary, gone SCUBA diving, fallen in love with Jamaica, swum with stingrays, found the place I want to get married - http://www.xcaret.com/ I don't do the ship tours at all. I would do a short cruise to see if it is your thing first - some love it, others hate it. When I do landbased vacations now I"m horrified at the expense - you mean I have to pay extra for food? and entertainment?????? Cruise critic, as previously suggested, is a great site. Feel free to mail me on the other side or ask here if you have questions.

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