Cruising Tips

Most of you know how much my husband and I love to cruise. We don't go every year, but we have been on a cruise on average every other year of our marriage. We traveled on Celebrity cruise lines last year and will travel later this year on Royal Caribbean (our usual choice). I have only ever been on those two cruise lines.

This will be a shorter cruise for us, but I am certain we will have a great time. If you have never cruised, I'd like to share some tips with you for cruising. If you have cruised before, feel free to leave some tips for everyone as a comment below. Sharing is caring - right?



Cruise Tips:

• Packing - If you are traveling from your home in the cooler months, be sure to pack your swimsuit , shorts, tee and flip flops in your carry on. Most times, you'll reach your cabin before your luggage. I made the mistake on my first cruise of not packing these items in my carry on. I had to walk around the ship in pants and a scoop neck sweater.  You could also dress in layers.

          Also, make sure you pack toiletries and any medicines (per TSA regulations) in your carry-on.
          I always have a carry on AND make sure that the purse I am carrying is pretty big, too.

Photo Credit: blog.atlastravelweb.com

• Motion Sickness - You may never, ever have had motion sickness in your life. I hadn't - until my first cruise. We used to ride on our uncles boats ALL the time - bouncing on the waves, etc. - not once getting sick. Well, I got motion sickness on my very first cruise. Luckily, I purchased Dramamine before we left. The problem was you have to take it a few hours before you travel. In the meantime, I was miserable. Once it took effect, I was great!  Be sure to read the instructions as most prevent you from having alcoholic drinks if you use them.

          There are other ways (more natural) that you can remedy MS (motion sickness). Some people
          choose these  - prescription  patches,  ginger capsules or tablets as well as bands (Sea-Band or
          BioBands).   

•  Booking spa services -  You can usually wait until you are on the cruise to book your spa appointments. If you can wait to book you will usually find some deals from the spa. I know on our last cruise I received several offers via note card in our cabin. I hadn't planned on doing anything spa - like on the cruise this time. However, after receiving my note card offers, I opted for the Shellac mani and pedi. I must say these were the best I have ever had!

• Booking excursions - We've done it both ways - booked re-cruise and once you get on board. I think I like pre-booking better. Only because I am a planner and that's what I do. The tip above is completely out of my element, but it works if you want a deal.

          If you pre-book your excursions, you can do some research on them. You also won't miss the
          boat (lol) on the popular ones. Many fill up quickly and they won't typically add.

          We like booking thru the cruise lines because should you run late coming back, they won't
          leave without you. They are also reputable tour groups.

• Clothing -  Be sure to pack some sort of jacket or shawl (women). The restaurants/bars get cold and you will be happy your brought something to cover your arms with.               

• Airplane ticket -  If you plan to travel the day of the cruise, book thru the cruise line (for Celebrity and RCI it's CHOICEAIR). You won't have to worry if your flight gets disrupted. They will work with you to get you re booked and make sure you make your cruise.

• Eating -  I am sure you all have heard about the food on cruises. It's true - there is always something to eat. I am not sure how many cruise lines still do the "midnight" buffet. The ones we have been on have offered themed events at certain nights. The last one had a fresh fruit and dessert late night buffet on one of the flights. 

• Meeting new friends - We tend to keep to ourselves for the most part. I know a lot of people who have met life long friends on cruise ships. We met a super fun couple on the last cruise we took. Facebook allows us to keep in touch. We met them while waiting on our flight to San Juan. We met up with them a couple of times and did one excursion with them. 

These are just a few hints/tips to hopefully make your cruise experience a great one.
Please share any others you may have!

Bon Voyage.......



** All photos unless noted are my own.
         

         
 
         

Packing for a Trip...

Photo: From Ainsley with Love Blog

 We are going on our  fourth cruise in a few months. I am a planner and usually start planning our trips long before we actually take them. For instance, I have already started planning our European cruise for next year!  We've been planning this for a while now. I stepped away from it for a while after we booked it. Just yesterday, we booked all of our excursions.
So, the excitement has begun again.

 I remember the very first cruise we took about 10 years ago. I packed waaaaayyyyy too much! I didn't think so at the time. Hey, I needed all 10 pair of those sandals and 5 pair of dress pumps. My new husband could not understand why I couldn't just pack one outfit for each day and a few nice dresses for dinner. WHAT!!! Was he crazy? Who did I marry? Did he not understand that I may not want to wear that outfit at all during the cruise? I needed options.

 Being the patient man he is, I carried just about everything I planned to take and he just smiled. We had two checked suitcases, one carry on and one of my large tote bags that trip (and a few more trips after). I am not sure when it happened, but I started becoming more practical in my packing. This makes more sense now especially given the fact the airlines charge for bags now. Who wants to pay for all those bags? i also know that I need to leave room for things I may want to purchase and bring home with me. Any large items can be shipped if necessary.

 We are actually down to one large checked bag, one carry on and one of my large totes or hobo bags.  One thing I know for sure, my books/mags packing will be super easy this trip. I purchased a nookcolor about a year ago. I can download my favorite mags and books to read. No more breaking my back trying to carry a ridiculous amount of reading material with me.

 I've always just carried the travel size beauty products with me. Bobbie Brown has these great little travel size bottles and jars that are perfect for a week worth of travel.  I also will use some of the products I receive from my Birchbox deliveries.

 Cruising (in my opinion now) doesn't require all of the items that I used to carry.  This is the longest cruise we will have taken, but probably the lightest packing one for me. We'll see.........................


 How do you pack? Has it changed? What are your essentials?

The Love Boat

 

Remember the show - The Love Boat? Came on every Saturday night followed by Fantasy Island. Loved both of those shows.I know I am totally dating myself, but when I started writing this post, that is the first thing that came to mind.
We'll be setting sail in a few months on our cruise. We've cruised roughly 3 other times. Once alone and the other two times with a group of family and friends. We had a great time on all of them. Each cruise was on Royal Caribbean (RCCL). These folks really know how to take care of you! We've had a balcony and we've also stayed on the lower, smaller levels. Obviously, the balcony was a much better room. However, if you don't spend much time in your room, the smaller cabins can be perfect for you.
This time we decided to step it up a bit. We're cruising with a RCCL sister cruise line - Celebrity. I have only heard the best things about this cruise line. Sure, it's an older crowd - I kind of like that - makes us the youngin's - LOL. Those of you who know me know that I will research something to DEATH. Well, this cruise is no exception. We opted for a suite with a balcony - I even researched the cabins to make sure we had a great one. The pictures I found from past cruises show that the cabin is GREAT. The bathroom is humongous. If you have cruised, you know this is a luxury! The first cruise we went on had the teeniest bathroom and that was one where we had a balcony. The rest of the cabin looks just as nice and very big - as cabins go. We booked pretty far in advance so we could get our choice of cabins and a great price.
The thing I love about cruising is seeing different ports of call. We've been to St.Thomas, St.Martin, St. Croix, Cozumel, Belize, San Juan and a few more including the cruise lines private islands.
The water is crystal clear and the most gorgeous shades (yes, shades) of blue and the white sand reminds me of salt. 

This photo of St. Lucia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The food is also wonderful - specifically dinner. I am not a huge buffet fan. You know - germs.  Dinner is in a huge, ornate  dining room with service. You may also opt for room service in your room.

Expect to see lots of pictures after our cruise! I can't wait to share.

Have you cruised? Do you enjoy it? Where are your favorite places to cruise? Do tell.