1. I would pack lighter and bring less luggage. We didn't need all those shoes. I would take one pair each of walking shoes, nice flip flops and dress shoes. I would wear nice summer dresses for formal night. Dresses we would wear to a nice afternoon tea or to church. We would dress nicely, just not like we were going to an Academy Awards Ceremony!
2. I would bring less water. I took 48 bottles. Not necessary. Although I definately needed bottled water for my cabin, the ship provides perfectly good drinking water in the buffet area. I would bring a container to fill up instead.
3. I would bring more $5.00 bills to tip on shore excursions. At the end of every excursion, pretty much everyone tipped the shore excursion driver and the shore excursion guide (they work together) five bucks each. (They were worth it). There was no pressure, everybody just felt good doing it.
4. I would go ahead and prepay my tips. I am nortoriously picky about tipping. But considering the unfailing service-all over the ship-I would just prepay the tips when I paid for the cruise.
5. I did tip extra to the cabin steward and his assistant and our wait staff. I only wish I could have afforded to give them more! The cabin stewards clean your room, replace your towels, bring you ice and so on whenever needed without complaint. Dang they work hard. We saw them working when we got up and when we went to bed.
6. I would have turned off my "I have to plan for every single, possible detail" self and relaxed as soon as I committed to the cruise.
DID I MISS THE POST FOR YOUR PICTURES LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THEM. THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS I NEED THAT BECAUSE I THINK I MAY HAVE TOO MANY SHOES THINKING I NEED ALL OF THEM.
1. . .not eaten breakfast every morning. I don't do it at home, so there's no need to do it on a trip.
2. . .had more water to drink than diet coke (which I brought with me). Water doens't have the sodium the sodas have.
3. . .brought another book or two to read.
4. . .brought a water-proof, disposable camera with me. (I have 2 for the next cruise!)
5. . .packed more delicates. . . .if you get my drift. The heat and humidity drove me crazy, and even washing out the bras every night wasn't that good of an option because they wouldn't completely dry overnight.
By the way, 5points, before I left on my cruise last year, my employee gave me a book written by a former CD on a number of ships. His main bit of advice was to pack as little as possible. I tried to follow his advice, but still ended up with things I didn't need and wishing I had things I did need.
Chris
Veracruz - '85 CCL Tropicale - '94 RCCL Adventure of the Seas - '05 CCL Valor - '06 CCL Victory - '06 Celebrity Century - '07 CCL Triumph - '07 CCL Victory - '08
Great advice, thank you. I'm finally getting it into my head that we don't have to do something every minute. Actually, I'm now starting to look forward to doing as little as possible!
Originally posted by Nita: DID I MISS THE POST FOR YOUR PICTURES LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THEM. THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS I NEED THAT BECAUSE I THINK I MAY HAVE TOO MANY SHOES THINKING I NEED ALL OF THEM.
Here's the link for our pics (we are adding more everyday).http://community.webshots.com/album/551948113QdsKyS
1. . .not eaten breakfast every morning. I don't do it at home, so there's no need to do it on a trip.
2. . .had more water to drink than diet coke (which I brought with me). Water doens't have the sodium the sodas have.
3. . .brought another book or two to read.
4. . .brought a water-proof, disposable camera with me. (I have 2 for the next cruise!)
5. . .packed more delicates. . . .if you get my drift. The heat and humidity drove me crazy, and even washing out the bras every night wasn't that good of an option because they wouldn't completely dry overnight.
By the way, 5points, before I left on my cruise last year, my employee gave me a book written by a former CD on a number of ships. His main bit of advice was to pack as little as possible. I tried to follow his advice, but still ended up with things I didn't need and wishing I had things I did need.
the reason i think i pack too much is because, when im at home i have a choice of what to wear. i dont know what exactly im going to wear everyday. so i bring options. for two people (my mother and i),we have 4 suitcases. lol . 1 for shoes, 1 for her clothes, 1 for my clothes, and 1 for accessories (hair products,jewelry, makeup, toileteries(sp?). wow! this time i brought one of those collapsable rolling duffel bags. it has lot of room, at least 3 layers. only 1 piece of luggage for me this year.
6. I would have turned off my "I have to plan for every single, possible detail" self and relaxed as soon as I committed to the cruise.
Fivepoints,
I think that #6 is the most important tip! It took me until my third cruise before I realized that I love cruising and that what I don't do this time, maybe I can do it next time! If I miss dinner, I miss dinner and I have found that I enjoy my vacation so much more with this attitude.
Originally posted by Nita: DID I MISS THE POST FOR YOUR PICTURES LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THEM. THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS I NEED THAT BECAUSE I THINK I MAY HAVE TOO MANY SHOES THINKING I NEED ALL OF THEM.
When do you think you will be booking your next cruise I have not even left for my first cruise yet and I am ready to book my next cruise. Is this insane I just know I will love crusing from now on and hav not even left yet. What does anyone think about this??/ Is this CRAZY
Nita, my problem is getting off work. I'm a dispatcher and our schedule is really tight. Were it not for that, I would save my pennies and schedule a cruise every time I could afford one.
less clothes for sure, even for the dinner night all you need is a pair of nice blue jeans and a nice shirt. my first cruise i took a suit ,which i never wear one,to go down to the the dinner and see people who just had reg. cloths on , yes i went back to the room and changed.bring your sodas for at night in room only need 12 pack.i had some left over.will be booking after hurricane season again cant wait!
husbands bring darkest shades you can find. just don't turn your head alot while looking around.or *SLAP* from the mrs. is coming. my wife took this pic on our annv.she;s nice. hope your is too.
I would take one pair each of walking shoes, nice flip flops and dress shoes. I would wear nice summer dresses for formal night. Dresses we would wear to a nice afternoon tea or to church. We would dress nicely, just not like we were going to an Academy Awards Ceremony!
