Cruise tips or secrets?

schatje · July 15, 2006

The ships medical facility has had free samples sitting out like asprin, bonnin etc. upon arrival so if you think you might need them later check this out right away as samples are only put out once. I'm not sure if all ships do this?

Suzila · July 15, 2006

I have two tips, and the operative word on both is: ASK<].

1. while dining, we like to have an appetizer of various cheeses. Many cruise lines serve a cheese tray AFTER<] the meal. We always ask them to bring it as an appetizer and share the tray between the two of us.

2. This one is geared mostly towards the male species (it's in the same vein as you guys not liking to ask for directions when driving, not wanting to admit when you're lost)....ASK<] someone BEFORE getting on a long line...walk up to the front of the long line and find out what they are all standing on line for. Don't get on the end of the line and assume all those people are waiting for the same thing. They usually aren't.

rogue · July 15, 2006

On large ships, the elevators can be a major problem. It seems as though even adding more people to the ship, they are not adding more elevators. Use the stairs as often as you can. It has a two-fold effect. First, you will usually get to where you want quicker, and second, it will help burn off some of those excess calories that you may have consumed. :grin:

jacketwatch · July 15, 2006

:cool: Here's one we learned by chance last yr. If you can try to get a handicapped room. Why? Because they are much larger. Do bear in mind that by law you will have to be reassigned if a handicapped person later requests that room. We were given such a room last yr. with the stipulation that we would be assigned to a room category the same or higher if we had to be bumped so it was a no-brainer and we discovered how much bigger the room was, esp. the BR. :cool:

Shari2 · July 17, 2006

If you need some extra cash, you can get some at the casino by showing them your sign and sail card... at least on Celebrity. It may be so on the other lines, too.

schatje · July 17, 2006

This one is probably familiar but for the newbies you don't have to bring an alarm clock. Just leave a wake up call on your phone. For us it is hard to sleep with the phone ringing !

We try to book an aft cabin right next to a deck with chairs. If the food cafe is on the other side of the ship you can order room service and then take it out on the deck away from the crowds.

schatje · July 17, 2006

This is a tip: If you want to give your waiter or steward a tip that will not be put in a general pool ....hand them an international calling card so they can call home. I heard this during our last cruise and will make sure I have some on hand this year. Just imagine the smile on their face. :smiley:

DaCruzNut · July 19, 2006

I have a medium sized fold-up bag that I pack. If I buy a lot of "stuff" on the cruise, I have an extra bag to bring it home, instead of trying to cram it into my already stuffed suitcases...

zebra · July 19, 2006

A lot of great ideas everyone - keep them coming!

GottaCruz · July 20, 2006

I agree, great tips, Crazies.

Wayne and I always get our life vest from the cabin about 30 minutes before the life boat drill so that we can use the elevators to get to our muster station and save our feet for later.For those that haven't cruised, once the life boat drill begins, you cannot use the elevator. When you're not used to stairs, those calves really feel the burn. :tongue: