First time cruise help!?

mikedeb · February 17, 2010

Help!!! Planning first cruise for wifes 50th b-day, in Jan. 2011. Biggest boat ever on was a 16ft alumicraft in Nipawin Canada. Anyway, booked 7 nite western caribbean, cozumel, grand cayman, jamaica.. Any advice on shore trips would be very helpful.. one thing I can't swim, wife is afraid of heights. other than that looking foward to cruise. how long does boarding take, details! Please help!!!

Mike in Castle Rock, Colorado..

DebbieandJerry · February 17, 2010

Mike, super great birthday gift. What ship? (Not that it matters but some of us might be able to give you ship highlights as well as excursions).

We have done the Western Caribbean a number of times and will be returning there this November. Grand Caymans is "to die for". The ship docks and the stores are within walking distance. Nice to browse through. You can take a city bus (I think for less than $2) and get off at seven mile beach. This is seven miles of hotels and beaches. You can walk on to any of the beaches, park yourself and people watch. You don't have to be with the particular hotel.

Lots of folks go "swimming with the stingrays" at the Grand Caymans. You are not really swimming, but standing in water as the stingrays swim around you. This is an excursion that fills up rather quickly so if it sounds inviting, you might want to consider this one.

Cozumel, Mexico offers a full-day excursion to the Mayan ruins. This is quite a piece of history, but it does take up the entire day. Folks who have done this excursion boast as to how wonderful it is. The first time we were in Cozumel, we rented jeeps and just drove ourselves around the island, stopping where-ever.

Ochos Rios, Jamaica is one place where we have been two times too many. It is a very poor island and the folks there can get in your face to try and sell their wares. Since your wife is afraid of heights and this is her birthday gift, I would NOT opt for Dunns River Falls. Basically you are climbing up a water fall. Feels very refreshing, but if you have fears and trust issues ...

Perhaps other folks can give you Jamaica ideas.

If any of the port excurions offer the underwater submarine (through Atlantis), GO FOR IT. We have done this excursion at least three times (three different ports) and what a blast. Can be expensive, but in my opinion, well worth it.

Boarding time depends on what time you arrive at the port of embarkation. For our first few cruises, we were there "first thing" and ended up waiting in line just to get inside to get in another line. Seemed like hours, but was most probably 1-2 hours. The last few cruises we didn't get there til 2, 2:30 and boarding took all of 15 min. Now, a HUGE part of the excitement is seeing the ship for the first time, standing in line and meeting fellow passengers, freaking out that you might have forgotten to pack something (no worries as the ship probably sells it), etc., etc.

Once you get on the ship, the photographers go nuts. They want to capture every moment. Yeah, we posed the first few cruises. Now we just walk by and say no thank you. Remember that you are under no obligation to purchase any of the ship pictures. They will be displayed the entire cruise and disposed of at the end of the sailing.

Usually your stateroom is ready and you can at least check it out. Your luggage is supposed to arrive by the time the ship sails. We have been on a few where the luggage didn't arrive until after dinner. Again, no worries. It's on the ship. It just didn't get to your statement. Your room steward will be your best friend. He (or possibly she) will be able to calm most of your fears, answer most of your questions or direct you to the purser's desk where they can help you.

We love this form of vacation. Keep asking questions and we will answer them. And, Welcome to Cruise Crazies!

coloradocruisers · February 18, 2010

Hi Mike. I live up the road from you near Elizabeth.

Is it just you and the wife, or taking kids? What ship?

Another thing you can do in Cozumel is take an excursion to the mainland and visit Xcaret. It's a large state park south of Playa Del Carmen, and it is very beautiful. If you want to just stay on Cozumel, then I recommend Chakannub Park (check spelling). You can visit the dolphins on a platform, without having to actually swim. They make you wear a life preserver vest, so assuming your okay with getting in the water, you might enjoy it.

Jamaica has many pretty beaches that don't have big waves.

Debbie's advice on the Atlantis submarine is worth checking out. It only goes about 150' deep, and you'll get to see coral and lots of fish. There used to be a small shipwreck (boat wreck?), but it may have drifted over the edge into the abyss by now.

Whatever you decide to do, you're going to have a blast.

DebbieandJerry · February 18, 2010

Hey Kevin, thanks for the advice on Cozumel. We have been to Chankanab and loved it. Looking forward to Xcaret

sailingrose · February 18, 2010

Mike what a terrific gift! Congrats on booking your 1st cruise.

I have been to all those places several times so if you see something interesting to do just ask.

In Cozumel we like to go to the beach or just go shopping and stop for a meal. This is definitely the best and cheapest place for souveniers for those at home.

Grand Cayman is a tender port which means you have to take a smaller boat to get to the island. Water sports and beaches are what the island is best known for. There is also a store called Bernard Passmans and they make things in Black Coral, definitely worth the look see.

It is also known for it's Turtle Farm and it's Rum.

Jamaica has a bad reputation but we have had no issues there in our many visits. Of course you have to be careful just as you do anywhere else so we try to book shore tours with the cruise line or independent drivers. We have found the people of Jamaica to be friendly and kind.

Hope this helps. I'll be glad to help anyway I can.

KeithnRita · February 19, 2010

Mikeded, welcome to CruiseCrazies. It sounds like you have a very nice birthday planned for your wife's 50th birthday.

You've received some very good advise here. The only thing we would add is to reinforce Kevin's recommendation of Xcaret. We consider it a no not miss park on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Also, being your first cruise we would advise booking your excursions thru the cruise lines.

DebbieandJerry · February 19, 2010

Now I will definitely look in to XCaret. This will be our 3rd or 4th time in Cozumel. I never heard of this place.

coloradocruisers · February 20, 2010

Now I will definitely look in to XCaret. This will be our 3rd or 4th time in Cozumel. I never heard of this place.

Debbie, there is a manmade underground river that you can float down. You can also swim it, but with the life preservers, I found floating with the current to be very relaxing. I think it took about an hour to float it.

mikedeb · February 22, 2010

Thank you all for the help! I will look in to all of it. The ship is the Carnival Triumph, any help on ship board stuff would be awesome,i.e. dress codes, dinner recommendations, anything else too!

Mike

KeithnRita · February 22, 2010

We also floated the underground river in Xcaret. It took a little coercion for Rita since she does not swim. She did enjoy it.

Mike, we have not been on the Triumph, however our last cruise was on the Carnival Fantasy. They have a very relaxed diner dress code and they also now have anytime dining as well as the standard assigned dining. If you go to their website you can read the details.