I am a first time cruiser am I crazy or am I not the only person in the world, who think about my upcoming cruise so much till I canot contain myself. I am always looking at pitures at work of different people who have been on cruises and I am always on this board. I have 5 months left and all I can think about is getting to the point of leaving, if I didn't think it was crazy I would start packing right now just to help me get through the next 5 months. What do other people do to past their time away?? We booked last September was real excited then and could not contain my self;l then the holidays came and it kind o f wore down a little, got a laptop for christmas and have been looking into different things about the cruise. Now I am on the site so much and looking at pictures everyday by the time I cruise I will know everything their is to know and the ship backwards and forwards I look at the website and study it soo much. Plese help me to think of something to do to pass these last 5 months away and am I crazy or do other cruisers go thru this. This is my first cruise am I way over to excited. HELP HELP ME!!!!

Edit: Moved to General Cruise Chat. RF

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raoul Fiebig,

Nita, I know what you mean by looking for information. My family and friends tease me that I know so much info on a place or ship that there is no need for me to go there any more. We are off on Sat.(18th) on the Triumph. this is my 4th cruise and I love,love,love cruising!!! I just filled the time by doing just about the same as you, visiting this board and researching. You are going to absolutely become adicted to this type of a holiday. Happy sailing, Sharon

Nina,
You are not alone!!! I to spend a lot of time daydreaming about tropical ports.. standing at the ship's rail looking at it's wake...great food...someone else cleaning my cabin...getting my DH to finally dance with me...(He Promised!)...SHOPPING!!! I could go on and on but it just makes me crazy!
When do you sail? We are going in October on the Conquest.

Memcakes

I to am obsessed with cruising. I drive my husband and his brother and sister-in-law crazy. I count down the weeks from whenever we book our cruise. This one we booked in July and I had my calendar marked with the weeks. Now I am up to the days and still driving them crazy. I sit on the computer and look up all about the ship, excusions, ports......I too don't need to go as I have already been there and know everything. I also check all the cruises for the next year and try to decide where we will be going next. They all say lets get this one done with first. I love it!

Nita: The real question is whether or not you are enjoying your new found obcession. If you are enjoying all of the time you are spending researching the cruise, then by all means continue.

One trick I use to distract myself from thinking about an upcoming cruise is to start thinking about where I am going on vacation next after the cruise. (It may be a year or two away, but this doesn't stop me from planning.) This allows me to think about different destinations and plan new adventures while I am waiting for the cruise to start.

We have a get-together from some chatmembers from the german board in june.
Yesterday one of them told me, that he loves the idee to meet other addicted because in his family and friends nobody can understand what cruising means to him and his wife.
I had to agree. Most people think, what the hell is she always talking about cruising.
If somebody never has been on a cruiseship, never smelt the salt in the air, saw the wonderful sunsets, had excellent dinner and cabinstewads doing everything they can for your comfort, they cannot understanding what we are talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by farmerjohn:
Nita: The real question is whether or not you are enjoying your new found obcession. If you are enjoying all of the time you are spending researching the cruise, then by all means continue.

One trick I use to distract myself from thinking about an upcoming cruise is to start thinking about where I am going on vacation next after the cruise. (It may be a year or two away, but this doesn't stop me from planning.) This allows me to think about different destinations and plan new adventures while I am waiting for the cruise to start.

This is exactly how I do it. I have been working on my next March Cruise and before I know it my cruise in April will be here. In addition, I work on the air/transfers/hotels/excursions I plan on taking in piecework.
Im always working on a part of a vacation doing my research. Away from that, there is always projects around the house.

quote:

because in his family and friends nobody can understand what cruising means to him and his wife

The same with my Family! The first time my DH and I cruised it was for our twentieth anniversary. It took us five years to save for that trip, We were so excited to go, but a few members of our family were rather cold, or put out when we would talk about the trip. This time we have not even told anyone yet. That is why I like that boards so much. Everyone on here shares the same love for crusing and no matter if you are going on your first or have been on dozens everyone is so helpful!

Memecakes

first time cruiser huh, welcome to our world
You can do some prep to keep you busy,
1)get birthday and anniversary cards that you would otherwise forget to send and make yourself crazy the second day of your cruise, send them the day before your cruise.
2)make up some pre-printed luggage labels so you don't have to fill them out while waiting in line.
3)make up some buisness cards with your name, address, e-mail and phone number so if you meet anyone on the cruise you want to stay in contact with you can just "give em a card"!
if you want you can check out my tips and "what not to forget list"
http://home.comcast.net/~dadsaccount/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html

You can go to web cams and take a look at your ship once in a while. Princess has cams on all of the ships. While on board in Port Everglades, we stood on deck in view of the bow cam and our family members saw us on line via the web cam. They printed out the picture so now we have a nice rememberance of waiting for the cruise to begin.

Well I was not excited about the first cruise, (August 2003) because I really didn’t want to go, but went because my sister was retiring and she wanted to go and she would not go without me. (Inside Passage to Alaska) Let me tell you…. First we had to have a balcony….. Why because we are both a little large and if the ship was going down we BOTH could not fit through a porthole. (This was my thinking) Second, if we were going down we could jump from the balcony and not get caught in the stairwells like on the Titanic.  And third I wanted to be sure I could ALWAYS see land. Well the first night out, I get up early in the am, and I can not see land. So I woke up my sister and stared out to see for a very long time.
We made it back and I was not going on another cruise. Until the high school class reunion was in Oct 2005 to Mexico. Again she came with me along with a high school friend, and we had to have a mini-suite with a balcony because now we had 3 that could not fit through those little port holes, and climbing out of a window was too much trouble. . Again I got up in the middle of the night to check the land……it was there, a little later it wasn’t, and then it was. So I went up to the pool deck and saw land on both sides of the ship. Hummmm we were floating off Catalina Island in a circle and I could see the lights of Catalina and the shore of the mainland.
So now in May I am back on another cruise of the Baltic’s and like you do more research than most, could give tours myself when we get off the ship.  My mother always said the planning is the most fun of the trip! Have a wonderful time….. Enjoy the wonderful pictures you are finding, take lots of extra money the spa’s are wonderful especially the days at sea.
Oh by the way, my next summer we will to Alaska, then off to the Antarctic in the winter. So once you get the cruise-bug I guess it doesn’t go away!

quote:

Originally posted by Nita:
I am a first time cruiser am I crazy or am I not the only person in the world, who think about my upcoming cruise so much till I canot contain myself. I am always looking at pitures at work of different people who have been on cruises and I am always on this board. I have 5 months left and all I can think about is getting to the point of leaving, if I didn't think it was crazy I would start packing right now just to help me get through the next 5 months. What do other people do to past their time away?? We booked last September was real excited then and could not contain my self;l then the holidays came and it kind o f wore down a little, got a laptop for christmas and have been looking into different things about the cruise. Now I am on the site so much and looking at pictures everyday by the time I cruise I will know everything their is to know and the ship backwards and forwards I look at the website and study it soo much. Plese help me to think of something to do to pass these last 5 months away and am I crazy or do other cruisers go thru this. This is my first cruise am I way over to excited. HELP HELP ME!!!!

Edit: Moved to General Cruise Chat. RF

quote:

Originally posted by Memecakes:

quote:

because in his family and friends nobody can understand what cruising means to him and his wife

The same with my Family! The first time my DH and I cruised it was for our twentieth anniversary. It took us five years to save for that trip, We were so excited to go, but a few members of our family were rather cold, or put out when we would talk about the trip. This time we have not even told anyone yet. That is why I like that boards so much. Everyone on here shares the same love for crusing and no matter if you are going on your first or have been on dozens everyone is so helpful!

That is so true we are 1st time cruiser and we booked a year ago so that we will have time to pay it off. W


Memecakes

quote:

Originally posted by farmerjohn:
Nita: The real question is whether or not you are enjoying your new found obcession. If you are enjoying all of the time you are spending researching the cruise, then by all means continue.

One trick I use to distract myself from thinking about an upcoming cruise is to start thinking about where I am going on vacation next after the cruise. (It may be a year or two away, but this doesn't stop me from planning.) This allows me to think about different destinations and plan new adventures while I am waiting for the cruise to start.

I am loving my new found obsession and do not think I will be ended it anytime to soon. I am going to take some of these tips to good use and begin being creative. Everyone is so nice on these boards till you can't help but get on their everyday to see what everyone is thinking and see everyone else tickers. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Memecakes:

quote:

because in his family and friends nobody can understand what cruising means to him and his wife

The same with my Family! The first time my DH and I cruised it was for our twentieth anniversary. It took us five years to save for that trip, We were so excited to go, but a few members of our family were rather cold, or put out when we would talk about the trip. This time we have not even told anyone yet. That is why I like that boards so much. Everyone on here shares the same love for crusing and no matter if you are going on your first or have been on dozens everyone is so helpful!

Memecakes

THIS IS SO TRUE I LOVE THIS BOARD!!!

I thought I was wierd, looking at this and all the other web sites so often! Now I know I am normal...just excited like all you other people! My wife says "just tell me what it all says" as she doesn't get all hyped up about it..she is the calm person. Me....I gotta know EVERYTHING before I leave the driveway. Yeah, I think I could be a cruise director by now! LOL. Have fun everyone!

Hi, Nita,
welcome to the club - our obsessions are the sea and the cruising ships. It is like a feaver. My wife and me, we got the infect in 1986, when I won a cruise in the chinese sea with the EUROPA V. It was the first time we were on board a cruising ship. And its was the heaven on earth, pardon on ship. From that time on (21 days on board the ship) we dreamed from (nearly) nothing else than a cruise... Now (with two children) we are experianced cruisers on more than ten ships (with our boys!). And we almost feel like a child, when we do preparations for the next cruise. Dont worry, this is normal here in the chat.
In Germnay we say: almost keep a hands´ breadth between the keel an the ground...
Uwe

Me too! Addicted that is!! I was infected by the cruise bug2 years ago when I was a chaperone with a group of young adults from a High School Choir. We had a great time! They sang on the stage of the ship, and it was very a lot of fun. I have been trying and trying to get my husband on a cruise ever since. He just doesn't think he will like it. This time I am going with my sister and a friend of ours. If I could just get him on one cruise he would get addicted too. I'm sure of it! I am on this forum every day sometimes twice to see if anything new has been said. My daughter and husband just make fun of me! I don't care, I love it! Have fun on your cruises everyone!

Nita...you are not alone. I LOVE cruising....I see no reason for any other type of vacation....We usually book in December and travel in Sept or Oct. I too check and re-check websites, the weather, and shore excurisions. I USUALLY begin packing up to a month ahead. It's a fun time. Can't tell you what to do other than try to busy yourself with family, work or church events. This year our trip is Sept 2-8. I'm quite excited but the months of April and May are very busy with church activites that I'm planning. so June will be here before i know it and then i'll have to start getting my clothes in mind. LOL....it's fun and exciting. Have fun.

Crusing is the best. My husband is not a big fan of it so my 15 year old daughter is my crusing partner. We were able to do three last year. We are leaving April the 13 on Zenith and have another one planned for August with Carnival. If you really spend time at it you can find some really great prices. Make sure you take lots of pictures - I take about 500 a trip. What cruise are you going on?

This is always my favorite post! Welcome to the "addicted to cruising club" Don't fight it, just enjoy it and know you have friends that understand on the cruise boards!

We should just give you new ways to enjoy your new addiction. Here's one of mine: I like going to ebay and finding 'travel/sample' sizes of my toiletries. Who wants to bring the full size of your perfume? makeup? etc. I've found sample sizes of everything from Obsession cologne and gold sparkle powder, to my clinique blush and more... You know all the samples they give out with purchase? You can find them on ebay!

Have fun with your new addiction! and enjoy your cruise.

Nancy