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NBR: need tips, advise, recomendations...
We leave for a cruise on Sunday. We are so very excited. Neither one of us have ever been on a cruise before so we know nothing about cruising or what to expect (or what to do!). Any tips, suggestions, recommendations? We are going to Cozumel, Belize, Honduras and Grand Cayman on the Carnival cruise line. I have heard NOT to book excursions through Carnival as they cost about 2-3 times as much as if you book at the port. Any experience with that? Also, how does the 'drink card' thing work? Do we each need a card or can we get one and share it? thanks!!
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Re: NBR: need tips, advise, recomendations...
You don't have a lot of time but you can research your ports of call on the www.cruisecritic.com message boards. There you can find lots of suggestions for excursions. It is true that you can book them cheaper yourself. You can also just get off the ship and typically there are people there seeking out tourists to take on excursions. I've been to Grand Cayman and swam with the sting rays--booked it through Soto's I think (it's been several years so I don't know if they are still around or not). I haven't been to the other two ports.
When you say drink card are you asking about the soda card? If you are, then just buy one b/c they are pretty expensive and you can both use it. There is no real need to buy two.
Have fun! I love cruising, been on about 7 of them. We have taken a break, but plan to go again when both our girls are old enough to do the kids club activities.
My Sweet Girls
Ditto Wendy on Cruise Critic. It is a great website with a lot of helpful suggestions. I hate to say it, but you are getting a bit late to be making excursion plans that aren't affiliated with the cruise line. So, decide what you want and book it ASAP. Otherwise, you will just need to book with Carnival once on board.
As for the soda card, think about how much soda you would drink and if the price (around $40?) would be worth it. Assume a soda is about $3 and consider how many you drink a day. I only drank one a day, sometimes two, so it wasn't worth it to me.
You will LOVE it!! I've done 3 cruises and they have all been fabulous. We did not get soda cards but we both got alcohol cards, I used like 1/2 of mine and DH used his and the rest of mine.
We booked our excursions through the cruise line, we booked a few online before we left and then booked a few on the cruise. DH is super paranoid about being scammed so he wanted to do it through the ship, but you will be approached once you get off the boat for excursions.
One tip I didn't think about was bringing a sweat shirt/pants for the boat. I was FREEZING at night, the don't give you thick blankets, and with the A/C cranked up I was chilly while sleeping. My other tip would be to bring an extra bag/suitcase to bring stuff back, we brought some duty free alcohol back (noticing a theme here, DH likes to drink).
Lots of sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes, hat, etc. Have fun!! I'm jealous.
We've been on two cruises, and honestly, I wouldn't think of NOT booking an excursion through the ship. There are a lot of shady tourist scammers in the Caribbean..LOL. So I'm sure you could save money that way, but I'd just be careful. I didn't find any of the excursions we've booked (two snorkeling ones, one stingray experience and beach day) to be exorbitantly priced. We cruised both times on Princess.
We did both buy the soda cards on our first cruise (7 days), because at the time we were soda fiends (we've cut back a lot since then..hehe). But we didn't the second time. I don't think Princess offered a card for alcoholic drinks.
we usually cruise RCCL, but have been on carnival. it's been a couple years, but here's what i remember specific to carnival.
-you can bring on soda/water. check carnival's website for limits. this is one of those things that is pretty limited to carnival/its associated lines. we don't drink a ton of soda, so i'm not any help with the drink card.
-if you drink liquor... we've never had any taken when we've smuggled it on. we put it in nalgene bottles, wrap in plastic bags, then in a ziploc, then in the middle of our clothes.
-for your first cruise... i'd book excursions through the line, especially so close to the actual cruise. we did this for our first just to get a feel for what things were like. in cozumel we did an "all inclusive" excursion, which we found to be a waste. the food sucked, the drinks were weak (almost like water)... i think that's the only one that i'd suggest doing some quick research and finding a cheap way to a beach or just skip the beach all together and walk around. grand cayman we did parasailing through the cruise line, which was fantastic. i've never been to belize or honduras (those stops WILL be on our next cruise if i have anything to say about it!), so i'm no help there.
-arrival... as exciting as it is, wait til an hour or two after the boat is supposed to start boarding. waiting is a PITA, it's a bit like being herded like cattle IMO. where are you leaving out of? FLL is our favorite, jacksonville was OK, port canaveral was pretty efficient. tampa was just OK too when it came to getting people through the process.
-ditto OPs on cruisecritic. you can find the daily activity lists on there.
-get out to the pool early on at sea days (if you have them). pool chair hogs are very real. and frustrating.
-don't be afraid to avoid the dining room some nights. typically the food in the buffet is some of the same as in the formal dining room; we always check the menu in the morning and go from there.
-don't over pack. the bathrooms, depending on what type of room you have, are TINY. we've never had an issue though with being able to store clothes in the closet/dresser they provide.
-bring cash for tips; we might be in the minority, but we tip based on service and not always the recommended amount. sometimes over, sometimes under. we don't always use the dining room, so we don't tip for nights we weren't there. you can always add them directly to your cruise account.
-if you order drinks, i'm 99% sure that on carnival tips are included. i'm positive they are on RCCL, but it's been a couple years since we've been on carnival.
that's it off the top of my head... enjoy!!