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CRUISE TO NOWHER – TIPS FOR NEW CRUISERS
As the cruise approaches I feel it may helpful if we have a section providing tips to those who are new to cruising.
I suggest any of the group who are experienced should contribute and I plan to add tips at regular intervals. So here goes:TIP No 1
Many of you will be bringing several items of electronics gear with you and probably will also bring a powerboard.
When you arrive at the pier you will be able to hand all your big luggage in and you will next see your luggage a couple of hours later when it is delivered to your cabin.DO NOT PACK YOUR POWERBOARD IN YOUR HEAVY LUGGAGE !
If you do you will not receive that luggage until after we sail and then you will have to descend to the “Naughty Girls Room” at the bottom of the ship.
When you get there you will be required to open your bag, search around in it until you find the powerboard and hand it to the biggest crew member on the ship who will watch your every move and see all the contents of the bag!
You will then have to drag your bag up all the floors to your cabin and will not see your board until you leave the ship
Tomorrow I plan to advise what will happen if you pack your powerboard in your hand luggage!
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13 Replies
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Tip 2
Do NOT store your powerboard in your carry on luggage
If you do there is a good chance it will be detected by the security staff as you are about to board.
If so, then they will open up your bag and, while you watch, scatter the bag’s contents across the bench whilst other passengers are watching. Can be very, very embarassing depending on the contents of your bag!If a suspect item is found it will be collected and will be returned to you at the end of the cruise.
And, all the same treatment covered in tips 1 and 2 apply if they find a fruit knife in your luggage.
The knives on board are blunt but that is all that will be available to you.
If you wish to take a risk and ignore Tips 1 or 2 you are more likely to succeed if you ignore Tip 2.So how will you manage without a powerboard?
I believe there will one US and one socket in your cabin. Make do with these and carry a US adapter on boardAnd, to those disbelievers, I have suffered the indignities covered in Tips 1 and 2 on previous cruises.
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Tip 3 Avoid the Ship’s Doctor Like The Plague
Any visit to the Ship’s Doctor will cost you a minimum of $100
So take all your medicines, seasickness tablets, indigestion tablets, headache tablets, bandaids etc on board with you. -
Hi Steph,
A ship Doctor visit will set you back $200. No Medicare as all ships Doctors are from foreign lands.
Power boards etc. Leave them at home, Princess Cruises have Yank plug sockets (120 volts) for those who cannot under any circumstances resist their ‘devices’ Oh dear! Cruising is about relaxation, socialization, drinking copious amounts of expensive alcohol and the scenery, ‘ocean’ and more ocean.Seasick pills are essential, yes, there is a shop on board which sells such comodoties, eg forgotten toothpaste etc. Happy cruising ladies. Ps I’m back on board ‘Majestic Princess’ in September travelling to the northern bits of Australia, our fifth boring cruise.
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Tip No 4 – It Can Be Windy Out There
It is often a very pleasant way to finish a day at sea by “promenading” along the deck after attending the evening show.
So you start your walk along the deck and everything is beautiful – the full moon is shining on the sea and it almost looks like daytime, and you enjoy the gentle sound of sea rushing past the ships hull.And you continue your walk round the stern of the ship – suddenly your wig is whipped off your head, by the force 10 gale that has suddenly appeared, and disappears into the sea. And there is no way the ship is going to turn around to search for your wig!
The sudden appearance of a gale is caused by the ship’s bulk sheltering you from the wind at the start of the walk and not when you cross to the other side of the ship.
So the tip of the Day is: Consider how to ensure your wig does not go overboard if you plan to promenade!
And again for the unbelievers – I have lost at least 3 caps by this effect over the years.
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I pity the poor sea creature who thinks the hairy piece of seaweed it finds in the water looks appealing snd takes a bite.!!!
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Tip 5 Can I Take Alcohol on Board ?
You can take one bottle of wine or champagne (max 750 mls) per person on board with you However, you can only drink it in your cabin.
You can take additional bottles with you but the ship will charge you $18 per bottle for these bottles. These bottles can be drunk anywhere on the ship.
Bottles sold by the ship will cost a minimum of $30 each.All bottles taken on-board by you must be in your carry-on luggage.
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Tip 6 The Life Boat Drill
To ensure you will be safe at sea, one hour before sailing you are required to put on your swimming costume, go to the Pool deck, and prove you can swim at least one length of the swimming pool.
Failure to complete this distance will result in you having to leave the ship immediately.
Just Kidding ! The following is the truth:
One hour before departure you, carrying your life jacket (which is stored in your cabin) will be required to report to your muster station to receive instruction on the procedures to be carried out in the event of an incident occurring whilst at sea.
Your muster station will either be on the Promenade Deck or one of the public rooms near the Promenade Deck. Crew members will be stationed at all stairwells to guide you to your muster station.
The muster normally lasts about 30 minutes and often the Captain will take the opportunity to welcome you on board.
DO NOT FAIL TO ATTEND THE MUSTER.
The crew will record your cruise no when you arrive at the muster station , and those who fail to attend may be put ashore.Once the muster is over you return your life jacket to your cabin, and, hopefully, never see it again!
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Do the Life Jackets have a whistle to attract attention? Or do you think we will have no trouble with this
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Yes and a light. And I hope we don’t need to use them !!
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We just finished a cruise where the weather, as we used say in the Navy ( yes in the Navy you can sail the seven seas…thank you village people) was a bit lumpy. This coincided with one of the formal frocking up nights and we were kindly reminded over the ship’s broadcast that it was recommended not to wear heels. Some girls did some girls ( on a bit of a fractured pop roll here thank you Racy I think) don’t. Many had to revert to rubber thongs, which I think was an after party. Anyway enough faffing around Michelle your beginning to sound like him. It’s a good idea to pack some nice flatter sandals to wear with your formal if the gets up a bit( another Segway there but I’ll leave that). Hope that helps I’m envious you’ll have a brilliant.
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Tip 8 – Will I Get Seasick (I have taken the liberty of assuming that Michelle_Alan will allow her very useful advice to be treated as Tip 7)
It is highly unlikely you will suffer from sea sickness. The ship is very big (around 110,000 tonnes – the Titanic was about 40, 000 tonnes) and has stabilizers to minimise any motion.
Nowadays it is rare for passengers to feel much movement, and, on this trip, the ship will be sailing slowly which will help reduce the likelihood of movement. Also, if there are rough seas, the captain may be able to divert the ship around the rough seas.
I have sailed around 50 times and have hardly ever experienced any rough seas. And I have never been seasick.
However, I will bring some sea sickness tablets with me just as a wise precaution. They are readily available in any Chemist shop and are not expensive.If you are nervous i would suggest you take the correct dose of tables about 90 minutes AFTER we sail from Melbourne. The reason for the suggested delay is that for the first 3 hours of our voyage we will be crossing Port Philip Bay which is normally very calm. However, when we exit the Bay there is quite a strong cross tide which may move the ship around a little. This will only last a few minutes. And often that will be the most movement you will feel on the whole trip.
If we are really unlucky and experience rough seas you may feel a bit queasy – if you do take the tablets, get out onto the deck and breathe the fresh air if you can. And perhaps try to eat something relatively bland.
And very quickly the voyage will be over, and you, as an experienced sailor, will be able to terrify those who have never sailed with tales of the massive seas you experienced !
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Tip 9 Some On-Board Prices
WiFi
100 mins $93, 240 mins $134, 460 mins $215
And WiFi is very slow on-board.
Best times to obtain faster performance – when both the crew and passengers are out of their cabins. So 7.30 to 9am, 6.30 to 9 pm, and after midnight (when, hopefully, most are asleep.In-Cabin Call-to-Shore: $67 for 10 minutes
Sample Spa Prices (spa is only open for business on the Saturday and Sunday)
Manicure $32, Pedicure $52, shellac Manicure $50, Express shave $50 -
Tip 10 Will there Be A Formal Night ?
In the past passengers on many ships had to be formally dressed (in formal dresses or dinner suits) for virtually all evening meals. However, in recent years the number of formal nights has been whittled down so that Formal Nights are only scheduled for every 3rd or 4th night during the cruise. And Formal Nights are never held on port days or the last night of the cruise.
And what is a Formal Night ? A night when the passengers are expected to be more formally dressed and the dinner menu might be more extensive. There also may be some extra events such as a welcome/farewell from the captain, a champagne fountain, a parade of the chefs.
So for our cruise the only possible night for a Formal Night is the Saturday night. However it will not surprise me if there is NOT a formal night on our cruise. The ship currently operates with Australian currency for all on-board purchases but will probably switch back to the US$ as soon as we reach Sydney as the ship finishes its Australian season and sails for the USA.
This means a lot of things on-board have to be changed (menus, shop prices, cabin documentation, coffee prices etc. And completed in one day.However, there is nothing to stop us treating the Saturday (or any night) as a formal night and getting dressed up to the hilt ! Although for me those days are long, long gone and when I was younger I couldn’t dress as I was in hiding !
And what is acceptable wear for the evening meal/formal night ?
These days it appears almost anything goes – although shorts, bikinis, and flip flops are out, and I once saw a person refused entry to the Dining Room as his jacket was deemed unsuitable.On a recent cruise we saw a wide range of clothes – most older ladies made some attempt to dress up whether it by putting on a dress (and a small number had very smart formal gowns) or a smart pair of trousers and top. This group rarely showed much flesh, although younger passengers were not so restrained.
So to summarize – probably no formal night but we can pretty much be formal every night if we wish.
BUT a word of caution, you can not assume you will receive your large luggage in your cabin before dinner on the Friday night. Although the vast majority of passengers will.
Also you will be asked to place your heavy luggage outside your cabin BEFORE going to dinner on the last night. But this is not compulsory.
