Me and my girlfriend are going on our first cruise together. We are going with a bunch of people. One person takes care of all the booking, so I am waiting for a confirmation number to see about what room we are in. for my first time i went cheap and booked an inside cabin. we are on the Triumph sept. 16th-23rd. out of New Orleans to cozumal, grand caymand, and ocho rios jamaica. please give tips on exursions, things to do, and what i can do to keep from going crazy waiting ten months before the cruise!!!

jroth31,

Welcome to Cruise-Chat!

You will find an abundance of information here, and some very fine folks. Not to mention the level of experience of the members is enormous.

Start with searching for your ports, and or ship. There is a port section you can scroll down to. Also lots of topics for first time cruisers. Also try the sister site CruiseReveiws.com

And ask away any time, you will learn alot before your cruise..and might help you from going nuts with anticipation, but it might make it worse

Welcome Aboard,
IslandCruz

Hi JRoth31: you will enjoy the Triumph for your first cruise most definitely! For Cozumel, I recommend the jeep tour, or even renting your own and exploring. With the "tour" you really get off the beaten path and get to see the whole island, along with a cool lunch on the beach. For Ocho Rios, DunsRiver Falls is a must! Rather than book that one on the ship, just get off at port and take a water taxi to the falls and pay there. In my opinion, thats the only thing worth doing in Ocho Rios. grand Cayman has a lot of beach activities and Sting Ray City is a neat atraction. Your days at sea will be the highlight if you try everything on the ship. Also, try and have dinner in the dining room each night possible. You will get to try so many different entre's and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. You can eat in a buffet line anywhere! Also, feel free to ask any questions! There is no such thing as having too much information! Let your countdown begin!

Congrats on your first cruise and welcome to Cruise-Chat. Up until the last 6 cruises, we booked the least expensive room that we could. Then I experienced a balcony and don't ever want to go back. I hope the cruising bug bites you as well. For Cozumel, check out Xel-ha, Paradise Beach or Chankanaab Park if you're into water activities. If you like ruins, check out Tulhum. In Ocho Rios, if it's your first visit, then Dunn's River falls is probably on your agenda. In Grand Cayman, 7 mile beach or there are a couple of wrecks near where you tender that are fun to dive/snorkel. Hope you have a marvelous cruise!

Congrates on choosing Carnival as your first cruise experience. I have been on three so far (3and 4 Inspiration and last month 7 day Glory). Have caught the cruising bug got cruise 4 and 5 booked to Europe and Tranalantic. Love Cozumel!! Tulum Mayan ruins are awesome with a great view of the water. The piers are in process of getting totally repaired since Hurricane Wilma did a lot of damage a couple years ago. We docked at the International dock which is away from the city so took taxi to downtown to do shopping which cost us around $12 for round trip. If you have time eat at either Carlos and Charlies or Senior Frog both places are in the same building and they both are great. In Grand Cayman we just shopped but next time going to Sting Ray city to snorkel with the sting rays that Cayman Islands are known for. Beaches were nice. I have not been to jamaica but will like to go there someday. If you like you can email me if you have anymore questions. Cruising is so much fun and more economical then the normal vacation route. For example, My two cruises next year is going to be about $3,000 cheaper than the trip my family is planning to see my oldest brother who lives in Hong Kong

Don't forget iittle things like $50 in one dollar bills for tipping room service, porters, tipping the piano guy for that special song,etc. and an extention cord (there is only one electrical outlet per cabin).

As soon as you get your booking number, make sure you fill out your Fun Pass. Each cabin has a separate booking number.

You will need to take your passport and your drivers license. Make sure you have a "check list": passports, documents, fun pass, airline tickets, money.

The ship's use a Sail and Sign system where you give Carnival a credit card (or cash deposit) and you charge everything on the ship to that Sail and Sign (it is also your room key). You don't pay cash for anything on the ship that you purchase....it is all run through that Sail and Sign system.

The very first charge will be the tips for the week. They run $10 per day per person.

You are allowed to bring on soda and water in your carry ons. I would not pack it in the checked luggage for fear of it busting. We usually carry 2 12 packs of soda for a week cruise. Carnival does not care. Since you can not carry these on the airplane, there is a mall called the Riverwalk right at the port that you can pick up some soda to carry on.

There will be soda, water and a mini bar in your room...just remember that these are not free.

Carnival will provide you with beach towels...but if you lose them...they are about $22 each..so keep up with them.

Keep reading these boards..they are a wealth of info!!

Happy Cruising!

I actually did not think the $1.75 for an in-room coke was bad. Did not partake, but that was the same cost as if you had gotten it from a barhop. And no tip . . . . . . . I'm just saying . . . .

quote:

I actually did not think the $1.75 for an in-room coke was bad. Did not partake, but that was the same cost as if you had gotten it from a barhop. And no tip . . . . . . . I'm just saying . . . .

I agree with the cost... I use the cokes and water in the room,, I usually get two days off a bottled coke. sometimes it's convienient to just grab one and crack it open without waiting or walking to get one.
I bring a threeway plug in deally for my camera charger and phone and I-Pod...
I bring the ashtry from my truck..it has a spring loaded closeable lid. I take it to the pool.
I bring my own travel coffee cup with lid. it holds more than the gay little cups they have onboard.

Back in my single days, I would even carry a blender!

quote:

Originally posted by MrOctober:

quote:

I actually did not think the $1.75 for an in-room coke was bad. Did not partake, but that was the same cost as if you had gotten it from a barhop. And no tip . . . . . . . I'm just saying . . . .

I agree with the cost... I use the cokes and water in the room,, I usually get two days off a bottled coke. sometimes it's convienient to just grab one and crack it open without waiting or walking to get one.
I bring a threeway plug in deally for my camera charger and phone and I-Pod...
I bring the ashtry from my truck..it has a spring loaded closeable lid. I take it to the pool.
I bring my own travel coffee cup with lid. it holds more than the gay little cups they have onboard.

The cost is not bad but there are alternative if you are a soft drink user. Bring your own was mentioned but Carnival also has a soda fountain package. Check at any bar. You pay a one time up front fee and then you get free soft drinks provided you go to a bar to get them. If you order it from a waiter you will be charged. Also there is a vending machine hidden on a few decks that is a little cheaper, you will need to look for it.

I just want to say I hope you enjoy the Triumph as much as my friend and I did. We booked through an agent an inside cabin, as they were cheaper than the rest, as we knew we wouldn't be in the room that much. I'm not saying this will happen to you, but we were upgraded to a wonderful room with a window, and plenty of closet/drawer space. We were just speechless when we seen our room.

This was my first cruise on Carnival, and my 6th cruise. It was one of the best cruises I have every been on. If a person wants to nit pic, then you can find things wrong, but there was much more "positive's" to talk about in regard to the Triumph.

Make sure if you walk the Dunns River Falls which is beautiful, you know what you are doing. Two ladies at our table went seperate times, one came back with a broken finger, the other that has been "doctoring" her big toe for over 3 months.

Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for all of the wonderful tips. I have paid half of my cruise off so far for the both us, so that is exciting. Then I need to save for tips, excursions, and fun stuff.....I have gotten mixed results about the excursions..getting off of the ship in time to do the excursions scares me, and then some people say to do your own thing, but is it worth more money to ensure the ship knows where i am at, and will they leave without me if i am on excursion that I booked through them?

jroth, as you are concerned about the ship leaving without you, I do suggest booking your shore excursions through the ship. We've been on a couple of dozen cruises, and still take shore excursions offered through the cruise line when traveling somewhere for the first time. We consider the difference in fees a form of insurance.

As far as being on time for tours -- if you are on a ship's excursion, you will either meet in a designated area on the ship and leave in a group, or you might meet on the pier alongside the ship. The method to be used will be posted in the daily newsletter that is delivered to your cabin every day. In any case, they ask you to meet about 1/2 hour to 15 minutes in advance. Also, for ports like Grand Cayman, where the ship cannot dock so passengers are shuttled to shore on smaller boats, those with early shore excursions booked through the cruise line are often given priority for leaving the ship.

I would agree with Lisa P on booking the ship's excursions. Doing independent excursions can save you money, but if the stress of missing boat (or something going wrong) is going to hinder the experience...it is better to pay a little more and be comfortable.

There are some ports that we still do ship excursions on. Jamaica is one of them. I have just never felt safe there.

Grand Cayman is safe and easy to get around.
So is Cozumel. Taxis are every where.

But only you know your comfort level. We are all there at one time!! Have a wonderful cruise.

We just returend and on the shore excursions meeting at the pier they wait for you. Or at least they did on our excursions, putting us just a few minutes late. They know how many are coming and they waited for late-comers.

Most all the excursions or tour guides know what time the ships leave port when you take these tours. You still must make sure you are back in time to leave on the ship, as they will leave without you. Most people once they are through with their tours/excursions, they want to shop, etc. and forget about the time they "have to" be back on this ship, this you "cannot" do.

LisaP gave some good recommendations in regard to your touring or excursions. I will say you will probably find it a little cheaper, if you brook your tours, etc. through websites, instead of the ship. We did this and had no problem, making it back to the port/ship on time. Our tour guides have always known if they were running late on time, and if they were, they would cut out something that may have been extra that they were going to show you, but decided not to, because of the time.

Yes, that is true. They have a count of how many are coming on the tour, although sometimes they wind up with more than the original count.

They try to make sure that everyone that signed up for the tour is there, and when they they get ready to return back to the port, they wait a few minutes on the ones who are slower.