Need Cruise Advice!

[PhotoNut 7]

Ok, all you seasoned cruisers. I need advice, tips, and help with preparation! I've never been on a cruise before so I have no clue what to plan for. Here are the details. The cruise is in February 07.

The cruise starts in San Juan, Puerto Rico and will stop in St. Thomas, Dominica Islands, Barbados, and Aruba.

We will be going with world renowned portrait photographer Monte Zucker and a class of about 15 students for a week of one on one instruction but on and off ship. I am so excited!

Ok, so here's what I'm already stressing about. In six months I hope to be - scratch that - I WILL be 60 pounds lighter! Where am I going to be able to shop for summer closes in January?? I'm assuming I'll need shorts, summer tops, cotton pants, sandals, etc.

What about a formal gown?? I've NEVER had a formal gown. It will need to be appropriate for the weather. Ack! I'm so stressed already!

What about money exchange? What's the best way to keep from being screwed over?

What about tipping on the ship?

How much cash should we take? Should we take cash at all?

Is there a book entitled "Cruising for Dummies"?? *laughs*

Come on y'all. I know there are some experienced cruisers here. Toss me all the ideas you have. You have six months to get me ready for my "coming out" cruise! *laughs*

[gochevy3 0]

My wife and i are avid cruisers, and as a matter of afact we are going on a cruise in Feb to the same ports.

The best advice for cruising in general is to tip your cabin steward the first day. They will work very hard for you for the rest of the cruise. prepay the tips when you get on board. its very convenient.

Don't worry about money exchange, every where the ships go they happily take cash. Just be sure to barter everywhere. Formal nights are very fun. be prepared for several backdrops and set up shots each formal night. Go to cruisecritic.com you'll find lots of reviews on the ports, and lots of cruising advice in general

about Monte, I worked for a portrait photographer for several years that was a close personal friend of Montes. i had the pleasure to meet him several times. My college degree is in photography.

Monte is an unbelieveable old school phototgrapher.

have a ball!

[A1ikou 0]

Hey P'nut,

Have you thought about eBay for clothes...new and used and they dont go with seasons? I'm going to check them out for a gown when it's time for me to think about these things too.

Have a fabulous time!

[barbara465 2]

You will just love cruising. I have been on about 8 cruises and the one you mentioned. Today's cruising is getting less formal than before. The ports you are visiting are very carribean and shorts and capris are the way to go. Formal nights are less now than prior times so you can get away with a cocktail dress, long skirt and top, or go all out. I've seen it all.

I find a good charge card is the best to have. Some of the lines, Princess being one of them, now will charge all your tips to your card as an onboard charge. If not, follow the guidelines for tipping, and bring at least that amount. Most say $3/day for waiter and cabin steward, $2/day for busboy. Some tip the maitre dee. When buying alcohol on board the tip is automatically added to your bill. Most people register a credit card with the ship and all charges go on it, alcohol, tours, gift items, etc.

Some ships now have Anytime dining which allows you to dine when you want. If not, you will be assigned a table at one of two seatings - early or late. Look at your port times to decide if late seating will work better so you have more time in port.

You can find cruise clothes just about year round. You might have to go online to find them - Land's end and Coldwater creek come to mind. However, at Christmas time you should find some places as that starts the peak of cruising.

Hope this helps.

[travelgirl 3]

When you go, absolutely try to get the best bargain you can for goods while in port. These people EXPECT you to, so absolutely do it! One of our tour guides told us once to find out how much they want for an item, and offer HALF of that, and go from there.

Different cruise lines handle tipping differently, go to your cruise line's website and read up on what they recommend doing. I do agree, though, tip your room steward on the first day, and you'll feel like absolute royalty the rest of the cruise! (not that you wouldn't otherwise, but it does make a difference) Oh, while you're in port, it's customary to tip anyone who does anything for you. Take plenty of singles with you, many times they won't offer change. This is a lesson learned the hard way by lots of people.

If your cruise isn't all-inclusive, you'll need to be aware that your soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages are not included in the price of your cruise, in most cases. Your meals will be included, regardless. You'll sign for any beverages as you cruise with a "sail and sign" card (or equivalent) and pay your bill at the end of the cruise. You can pay however you'd like to for that.

Take Bonine or Dramamine Non-Drowsy with you just in case. You don't want to be surprised by a bout of motion sickness. Bonine comes in chewable raspberry, which I think is preferable to Dramamine, and it's also non-drowsy.

I'm a Referral Travel Agent, if you haven't guessed that, and if you have any other questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them for you!

Above all, though HAVE A GREAT TIME!

[Margo 0]

PhotoNut,

How cool....we are cruising for the first time in February 2007 too!!! I have learned so much from www.cruisecritic.com, so check it out!!

I was just thinking this morning about clothes for the cruise as I will not be wearing my current summer clothes by February either. SO, let's make a pact: we will keep each other informed about cruise clothes and where we find them, O.K.?

[PhotoNut 7]

Wow! I can always count on my LBT pals to pull thru for me!

Steve, thanks for the tips on tipping. *grins* I've been learning from Monte on his message board for over a year now and have been searching for just the right time to attend one of his workshops. Never dreamed it would be on a cruise, getting one-on-one teaching from the master in such ports of call! I'm almost overwhelmed by the entire opportunity! Are you and your wife going on Carnival? Maybe we'll meet up! Our cruise is from Feb 4-11th.

Ali, I'm not sure if I have an odd body shape or what, but I've never been able to buy clothes online. I might like the style, the color, etc and it might even fit when I get it, but so many things look down right stupid on me. LOL

Barb, you gave me some great advice there.. thank you!

Travelgirl - I just might take you up on that offer. I'll PM you as things progress and I come up with more specific questions. Thank you!

Margo! You too!? Sweet! Where are you going? Yup, yup, we'll learn together and share tips about the clothes. :)

[gochevy3 0]

Are you and your wife going on Carnival? Maybe we'll meet up! Our cruise is from Feb 4-11th - Nope we are leaving on the 25th, on Royal Carribean. Maybe once you are hooked on cruising we catch up.

[wavydaby 1]

oh and i will say that i have never tipped the Matre'd in the formal dinning room. He never did anything for me. I gave good tips to the waitstaff. they work their behinds off. Now, a couple that we went on a cruise with had to deal with the Matre'd so that they could get the dinner seating they wanted one night, so, of course, then they tipped him

[Carlene 12]

The end of summer sales are coming up and you can pick up some great bargains in your gonna be size. One size equals about 15 pounds, so buy some shorts, capris, etc about 4 sizes smaller than what you wear now. It will also be a great incentive - to fit into them come cruise time. I bought my dress for my Oct wedding in Mar and got a great deal. I also bought it two sizes too small and made myself work to fit into it - and I did!

I love to cruise! My DH loves to tell people that they do everything for you except powder your butt.

For formal night, I would buy a party dress at the after-new-year sales. You will be very close to your 60 pound loss then, so size will be less of an issue. Don't go too naked on the top, though, as they keep the AC turned up on those ships and the dining room gets cold.

Money exchange...you can look up the exchange rate online right before you leave and almost all airports have a place to exchange money. Also any bank, once you arrive at a port, will give you current rates. Merchants WILL scam you. We just got back from Mexico and every place was charging 10 pesos to one US dollar. The rate was actually 10 pesos to 90 cents, so they made an extra 10% off every transaction if you paid in USD.

Even so, don't expect huge bargains in port cities, or truly "local" stuff. Most of the world's souvenirs are made in China!

Alcoholic drinks on cruise ships are very expensive. coffee, tea, juice, and Water are free and more healthy, so I'd stick with them. We were settling up our bill on the last day of one cruise and overheard a party of 3 young women weeping and wailing. Their bar tab was $1300!!!

Staterooms are small and the closets are tiny. Don't over-pack. Also, be aware that most airlines allow 40 pounds per bag and if you go over that, there is a steep charge.

One last thing...arrange transfers in advance from the airport to the dock and back again. Most cruises do not include these and depending on the distance, a cab ride could be very costly.

Hope you have a great time!

[PhotoNut 7]

One last thing...arrange transfers in advance from the airport to the dock and back again. Most cruises do not include these and depending on the distance, a cab ride could be very costly.

Thanks for all the great advice Carlene! When you say arrange transfers in advance, what do you mean exactly?

[Carlene 12]

There are companies that provide van service to and from the docks. I don't know how far the airport in San Juan is from where the ship is docked, but if you call your travel agent, he/she can tell you....and they will know about transfers, too. Otherwise, you have to take a cab.

We always fly in a day early and stay at a nearby hotel. They often will take you to the dock for free. Is your flight arriving in SJ the same day you sail?

[Hippo's Hope 0]

PhotoNut, I'm not a seasoned cruiser, so don't have advice for you. I just want to tell you that I am soooo excited for you! Just thinking about what a great time you will have makes me happy! What a great reward for yourself. The cruise alone would be wonderful, but how nice that you will be cruising with and learning from someone whose work you admire. What a bonus!

Hope

[wavydaby 1]

Forget exchanging money, they like dollars better than their own currency.

Every time we have cruised, I have found that merchants are more willing to haggle if you have US dollars than if you have the local currency.

But do take cash unless you go to a store that is recommened by the cruise line. (READ THE CRUISE MAGAZINE-- THERE ARE COUPONS IN THERE-- that is if you are a coupon nut like me) Then you can use your credit card. I dont trust the other stores. Also, stick to the cab companies that the ship recommends at the dock in foreign ports. They are more trustworthy and dont take the "extremely scenic route" that takes you in the bad part of town or 20 miles out of the way.

Get cash out of the ATM your first day on the boat or from a bank ATM before you get on the boat. ATM's will be empty the last day. I have experienced that one to many times.

There is always a "boat souvenere" (spelling bad) sale the last day on board.

Go to the shows, they are great. I know that Simon on American Idol always bashed the cruise boat performers, but they are fun.

Dont be afraid to ask you waiter for anything. I mean anything. One night on my Alaska cruise, they had the best french onion Soup I'd ever eaten in my life. I asked if I could have another, and he brought me one. Every night after that, he always asked if I wanted more Soup.< /p>

I would also get a cup of hot tea and add ice to it to make iced tea. I did this the first night, after that, he would have the hot Water and a cup of ice for me.

I definatly agree with tipping the cabin steward the first night. We got tons of towel animals every night on my daughters bed.

Oh and take the ship's galley tour. The kitchens and the prep are amazing.

If you are planning to take some of the shore tours. Do it the moment that they are taking the reservations. The best ones go really quick.

Most of all, have fun. Eat in the formal dinning room everynight, the pampering is spectacular.

Oh and my thing with cruises is that I have a massage and facial in the spa every time I go. I do it the last day so I am extra relaxed.

Formal gowns.. hmmm.. prom season wont be too terribly far way from Feb. Plus, the wedding dress shops have some nice ones.

Get sunscreen and sun hats now while they are on sale.

The ship will have a sail and sign card for on board purchase which can be tied to your credit card. I would use that for anything on board, drinks, trinkets, etc.

Oh and carnival has a "soda card" where you can get all you can drink sodas for like $25 for the entire cruise.

Are you going with kids? We took my daughter when she was 2.5 and she had a blast.

[gochevy3 0]

we have had good luck with taking cabs to most ports. I don't recall how far the Munoz airport is from the cruise terminal. we stayed overnight at the inter continental right on the beach. we watched the planes land, so it couldn't have been too far. but the cab from the hotel to the pier was very quick.

you don't need to pay attention to the time listed as boarding time. we will typically go 2 hrs before the published time. seldom ever are there more than a few people there.

be prepared to wait several hours for your bags. prepare your carry on from the plane with the clothes/bathing suit you will want when you get on the ship.

the advice about the drink cards, and to beware the cost of the alcohol is right on. make sure to do that.

And the avice to do and see everything, and to register for your excursions, if you have any opportunity is also right on.