Cruise Vacation

[dooley89]

Dobberites, you have never steered me wrong.

I am going on my first cruise, Norweigan Getaway (West Carribean) with the family in February.

Looking for tips/tricks/lifehacks/experience/suggestions etc.

[forumname]

If you want I can teach you how to fill water bottles with vodka and re-seal them...

[dooley89]

If you want I can teach you how to fill water bottles with vodka and re-seal them...

I wish I had thought of this before we bought the drink package lol
I thought it was chill to bring booze from random ports on to the boat anyway??

[LawMan]

Norwegian has an "all you can drink" package available on most cruises. If you plan to drink I highly recommend it. It's cheaper, easier and awesome, they stock mid tier brands of all liquors and bartenders can make a solid cocktail.

[gainerama]

-For potential motion sickness, bring gravol and motion sickness seabands (wristbands with pressure point beads)
-If cruising in Caribbean islands/mexico, bring a lot of US cash especially in smaller bills for purchases and tipping, etc....
-Bring your own Tylenol and especially diarrhea medication like Imodium
-If you decide to go on island excursions, it's probably better to book your excursions with the ship instead of privately with the locals for safety reasons, and ship cannot leave without you if you're on their own contracted tour
-Your tips are generally included in daily fees that are auto-charged to your account per person, it's not obligated but feel free to tip extra to your cabin cleaner and restaurant waiter, these poor bastards make like $50 per day or less, it's a sad and pathetic compensation for working 12-16 hrs per day.
-There's usually a ton of senior citizens on every cruise ship, if you want to catch evening entertainment, the later ones are usually emptier cause the old people retire a lot earlier at night
-Bring a few nice clothes as well cause certain evening dinners will require a more formal attire or else you end up looking really bad in the crowd
-Check to see of that ship offers laundry services and what the cost is, you may be able to pack less depending on it
-Internet access on cruise ships are not free and in general are super expensive and super slow, better to leave the ship every time you dock and go to a café with free wifi
-It's worth it to buy at least one Soft Drink Pass for unlimited pop during the week especially if you're a pop drinker
-Leave extra space in your luggage as you probably will end up buying souvenirs on the ship or on the landings
-Bring your own sun block, it's a scorcher down there on the ship and on the islands
-Preplan your agenda ASAP cause ship excursion packages will book up fast on a first come, first serve basis
-The ship should have an ATM machine available and you can convert currency as well

[2014olympicgold]

Norwegian has an "all you can drink" package available on most cruises. If you plan to drink I highly recommend it. It's cheaper, easier and awesome, they stock mid tier brands of all liquors and bartenders can make a solid cocktail.

Do the math on this though. If you have more than 8 drinks/day I think that's the tipping point? Maybe it's 6. But if you plan on doing a lot of excursions and such, you are off the bought not having those drinks.

So if you are off the bought from noon-8pm, you have lets say 2-3hrs before you crash to drink those 6-8drinks to make the all-you-can-drink package financially better.

Just a tip on that. I can make it worth my money, but I dunno if you have kids how tired you'll be and how long you'll be off the ship and such.

[dooley89]

We have 2 at sea days + all the evenings so I feel like even after babies 7PM bedtime I can make a good run at it lol

[2014olympicgold]

We have 2 at sea days + all the evenings so I feel like even after babies 7PM bedtime I can make a good run at it lol

2 days at sea definitely helps.

The kids programs on ships are great. Get them in there and let them enjoy playing with kids.

[The Comish]

Don't be cheap and fly the same day the cruise departs. If there is any delays along the way, especially if you have connections, you will be a bundle of nerves until you board the ship. If you miss your departure time, it will cost a lot more than one night's hotel. I had a couple of close calls and have learned my lesson.

Conversely, do your best to fly home late afternoon, early evening, making the transition off the ship as stress free as possible.

Norwegian doesn't have the typical dinner seating times, it's more like a restaurant, open from whenever to whenever. They always post the menus I think by around lunch time, so you can decide what you want before you go. On my last cruise, I couldn't decide between two entrees, so they brought me both! So don't be shy if you want two desserts, whatever - the staff is there to help make it enjoyable for you and if you treat them like human beings, they will bend over backwards for you.

If your kids allow, take the stairs as often as you can! Exercise without really thinking about it and there can be a lot of people waiting to take the elevator (older people) around dinner and show times and especially when in ports.

Have fun and don't sweat the small stuff, you're on vacation, you don't need extra stress!

[2014olympicgold]

If you don't have a window in your bedroom, bring a nightlight. The rooms are 100% darkness when you go to bed and midnight bathroom trips, or even when you wake up in the morning are really hard in the dark.

Like, it's actually really cool how dark the windowless rooms get.