first cruise shortly: any tips or issues?

S

sligo10

Guest
I am going on my first cruise shortly and for the first time travelling alone. Has anyone any tips or are there any issues I should be aware of?
 
Do you have any specific questions?
Could you give some more info, such as -

What cruise line?
Where is the cruise?
Length of time?
Time of year?
Cabin allocation?

I have been on a number of cruises and will give you any assistance I can
 
I've only done one cruise to date, so my only guidelines are based on a 3 night caribbean cruise!
If you want to use the spa facilities, ie massage / facial, etc book as soon as your board, as they book up fast.
Board as early as possible, that way you can miss the scrum.... most of the restaurants were open when we boarded at 1pm for a 5pm sailing time.
Book the early dinner option (ie around 6pm instead of 8pm), we did the 8pm sitting and you miss evening entertainment, plus you're too stuffed to even contemplate the midnight buffet!
if they offer an unlimited minerals/ soft drinks option, take it up, it was about $15-20 when we did the cruise 2 years back, and in hindsight it would have worked out better value for us.
bring a couple of books / magazines, due to bad weather we couldn't disembark for the entire duration of the cruise and there can be relatively little to do during the day if you are on the ship (they do run shows / bingo, etc but we wanted to unwind).
Forget the art auction, attend, but don't buy anything... they really aren't worth it, and according to other long time cruisers they can be the same pictures on every cruise!
Consider pre-purchasing the tips early on in the cruise, you will normally get a set of envelops under the door for everyone from the cabin boy to the waiter! If you aren't aware of the tipping culture, it can be a shock to realise they expect $5-10 per day of your stay!
I hope some of this helps.
 
All the above can of course vary by line... some lines automatically charge tips to your on board account ... some don't have fixed seating for dinner....etc...

if you let us know what line it would help
 
Best and cheapest holiday that we ever went on, can't wait to go on another (want jnr to be old enough to go to kids camp if he wants when we are on it). Make sure to go up a few decks for your cabin and mid ship if possible. You feel like royalty the way they treat you.

Friend of ours went on his own after listening to us talk about it and he loved it and met up with loads of people.
 
thanks very much everyone for replies. Lots of good advice. Its a mediterranean tour with holland america line at end of may.
 
sligo10 said:
thanks very much everyone for replies. Lots of good advice. Its a mediterranean tour with holland america line at end of may.
Click to expand...

Don't know much about that line myself , but follow YOBR's link and read the reviews for the ship you will be on... you will get all the info you need....
 
will be surprised if it is not the best holiday you have ever had...dont know your line but spent a week on Royal Carribean cruise ship and could not have had better entertainment, choice of excursion, comfort etc.

Only bit of advice I would give...if you are possessor of a good dose of cynicism (as most Irish people are)...then leave it ashore. You are heading into a cheesey environment and you need to suck it up or else you will miss out
 
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