Travel
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
First Time Cruiser
My H and I are going on our honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas in March, and neither of us has ever cruised before. What are some things I need to know? We booked with Carnival and will be sailing out of Baltimore, Maryland. It is a 7 night cruise. What are some things I need to bring with us? What is supplied for us? What would be some fun things to do on the cruise (we will stop in Cape Canavral FL, Freeport, and Nasseau...sorry for incorrect spelling!). Thanks in advance for any tips you can give us!
Re: First Time Cruiser
A cruise ship is basically a floating resort. You don't need to bring much beyond your typical vacation gear (swim suit, dress-up night clothes, casual clothes, sweater for a chilly evening, maybe an athletic outfit). The cruise provides beach towels and bathrobes. You might need Dramamine or other anti-seasickness stuff too.
To find out more about the ports and your ship, check out cruisecritic.com
We did our first cruise with Carnival in August and had a great time. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are included. Our only expenses were tips and cocktail drinks. You can each bring one bottle of wine (don't forget the corkscrew) so take advantage of that. The rooms have safes, hairdriers, bath towels, and beach towels. On a 7-day cruise there will be 2 formal nights. Most ppl will tell you that Carnival is pretty casual, which is probably true, but we packed more on the casual side and wished we'd brought nicer things, as most ppl on our ship got dressed up for those nights (cocktail dress for women, jacket for men; ties optional). If you'd enjoy dressing up, definitely go for it.
Check out cruisecritic.com. It has tons of info, including discussions about specific ships. Have fun!
Besides the obvious things that you would pack for any vacation, I would also bring:
1. Alarm clock (there won't be any clock in your room)
2. Power Strip (there is only one outlet in your room)
3. Small collapsible cooler and a 12 pack of soda/case of bottled water for each person. Your steward can fill it with ice daily and it will be so nice to have a drink available right in your room.
4. If you pack a lot of little things - toiletries, jewelry, etc., you may want to pack an over-the-door shoe organizer to put on your bathroom door to help you store things.
Some things that are already in your room are bathrobes, beach towels, a hairdryer, and a small safe (big enough for wallet, money, ipad... not a 15" laptop though).
I know there are other good ideas on the cruisecritic.com forums. If you haven't checked that site out yet, you can find all sorts of information about your cruiseline, ship, ports, etc.
PPs gave good lists and comments. I'd add...
Things to Know:
- Don't book your excursions through the cruise line. Check out CruiseCritic.com for suggested companies and excursions. They're cheaper and usually more reliable.
- Get on the ship an hour ahead of the time on your paperwork. They almost always let guests on early. That way you can have lunch (included in your cost) and see the ship and even swim in the pool before everyone's on board.
- Pack a small bag with your swimsuit, sunscreen, etc to take with you when you board (so you can swim, etc). They don't have your room ready right away and your luggage takes a while to get delivered.
- If you don't like your meal, send it back. The wait staff is more than happy to give you another appetizer/entree/dessert if you don't like the one you ordered. Have two appetizers for dinner and no entree. Or all dessert. They really don't care. : )
- If you buy alcohol in a port, you'll have to check it when you board. They hold it then give it to you when you disembark.
Things to Bring:
- Wine + corkscrew
- Sunscreen (expensive on the ship)
- Stamps (to send postcards from cool ports)
- Book/cards to use while waiting to disembark the last morning. (They kick you out of your room but you can't necessarily get off right away.)
- Alarm clock
- Flashlight if you have an interior stateroom and want to see where you're going without turning on the lights.
- Cash (for gratuities, if you didn't prepay)
Enjoy!
I'll underscore one of marshian's points:
- Order whatever you want at dinner! You can have as much food as you'd like, so if you and your DH want to try all the appetizers, go for it. Or you want one main dish, but the side from another sounds really good? Just ask for it! The food really is unlimited, so have whatever you want. (Just tip your wait staff well at the end for handling all the extra requests!)
And ditto wiscisbliss's point about the sweater:
- I usually bring a cozy fleece or a windproof softshell to wear on deck if it gets windy. And a cardigan or wrap to take to dinner in case the air conditioning is too cold.
Other things off the top of my head:
- If you plan to drink wine (esp with dinner), consider the wine packages on the first day. If you like the bottles in the selection, it can save you a bit of money, and if you have leftovers, you can usually take home unopened bottles.
- If you don't finish a bottle of wine in one sitting, they'll recork it and hold it for you, so you can finish it the next day.
- If you're going to spend a bunch of time by the pool, bring a cover-up that's easy to throw on when you go back inside to use the bathroom, grab a snack, run to the room, etc.
Bring a bottle of downy wrinkle release! They don't allow you to have an iron in your stateroom so if you are at all picky about wearing wrinkled clothes, the wrinkle spray is a super quick fix.
However each floor does have laundry facilities including an iron and ironing board that you can use at any time. If you do have to iron something, I would not plan on doing it in the few hours before dinner on the formal nights.
DH & I love to cruise.
Check out www.cruisecritic.com They have a message board. Join. Go on there find your Roll Call Thread & chat with other people who will be on your cruise. Go to your Meet & Greet on board. there are ports of call threads to help you pick excuriosns.
Carnival is a very casual line. Consider bringing something dressier for Elegant Evening (f/k/a formal night).
You should bring at least 2 bathing suits. 2-3 pairs of shorts will be enough. They can be worn more than once. Keeping my shoes under control is always my toughest packing assignment. Mix & match is your best bet for outfits.