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check out cruisecritic webpage for some great ideas - they have subsections for particular ships, ports of call, actual sailing and first time cruisers ..... i found it to be a great resource
one thing that I really got a lot of use out of was my waterproof bag - basically it held my small digital camera, papers/credit cards/money, and anything of real value .... i was able to keep it on my person while out in the water leaving really only my towel, clothes and book on the beach
great peace of mind knowing that if someone does rip you off they wont get anything of value
one thing that I really got a lot of use out of was my waterproof bag - basically it held my small digital camera, papers/credit cards/money, and anything of real value .... i was able to keep it on my person while out in the water leaving really only my towel, clothes and book on the beach
great peace of mind knowing that if someone does rip you off they wont get anything of value
When you first get on board and go on deck, someone will come up and give you a drink. It is not free.
YEP - And that includes soft drinks/carbonated sodas....
We've cruised a couple of times and I think on your first cruise, you spend more money than you expect, because there are photographs of you and your SO/family taken every time you turn around, and you think you have to do every excursion possible while in port, etc. It will be a cashless system (most are) while on the ship - so be mindful of going and checking your shipboard account several times during your stay on board, to be sure you are in touch with how much you've put on your account. It's very easy to run up a $500-700 shipboard account with excursions, beverages, and photographs.....and that's not including shopping, gambling, etc.....If two or more of you are using your cards to pay for items on the cruise - even more reason to check the status.....and HAVE FUN!!! Be sure to come back and tell us all about your cruise!
I always pack a dozen or so Zip Lock bags of different sizes (sandwich, quart, gallon) and over half the time end up using at least some of them. They take no room and you won't believe how often you'll be glad you've got one.
also look into excursions not offered through the ship that may be of interest .... depending on where you are it may be easier to arrange on your own (although on some islands it's tougher to find those willing to work outside the ship structure)
another thing we did on Princess that ended up working out well for us was buying a bunch of "casino credits" before heading onto the ship - we didn't want to deal with any fees from drawing on our accounts that you can get from money centers, etc.
we also didn't want to wander around with a large amount of cash
so we bought the credits which had no fees or extra charges associated with them and then when we wanted cash on the ship we'd just take them to the cage and ask for cash redemption - also at no fee
depending on the line they may be more/less stringent on their alcohol policies as far as taking some on the ship - however, you are pretty much allowed to bring on your own soda/water without much limitations
YEP - And that includes soft drinks/carbonated sodas....
We've cruised a couple of times and I think on your first cruise, you spend more money than you expect, because there are photographs of you and your SO/family taken every time you turn around, and you think you have to do every excursion possible while in port, etc. It will be a cashless system (most are) while on the ship - so be mindful of going and checking your shipboard account several times during your stay on board, to be sure you are in touch with how much you've put on your account. It's very easy to run up a $500-700 shipboard account with excursions, beverages, and photographs.....and that's not including shopping, gambling, etc.....If two or more of you are using your cards to pay for items on the cruise - even more reason to check the status.....and HAVE FUN!!! Be sure to come back and tell us all about your cruise!
Thanks for the info. We've actually already paid for our excursions. We will be porting on 3 different islands and 2 out of the 3 will have excursion We are doing a water park one day and riding ATV's the other day. The third day we are just going to go swimming off the beach.
I've been told that water is free. Does this usually include bottle water?
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