Magnolia Mom

This cruise was planned a little while after we found out we were expecting our 2nd chil. We wanted to go ahead and bring TV Boy on a cruise, because we knew it would probably be quite awhile before we got to take him on one. Rob’s Mom and Step Dad joined us, which was nice. This trip was taken in October over a long weekend with a Columbus Day Holiday. We opted for a 3 day Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas and the private island, Coco Cay.

We left Thursday night and drove down to Orlando. We spent the night at the Amerisuites Orlando. This made for a relaxing morning of free breakfast at the hotel and heading over Cape Canerval to the port.

Here’s TV Boy excited to get on the ship.

After boarding we went to the Windjammer Cafe and had lunch. We hung out on deck and waited to do the mandatory lifeboat drill at 4:30. At 5:00, we set sail to Nassau!

Since this was the first cruise with TV Boy, we checked out the kids’ program, which we found to be very disappointing. The age group he was in was 3-5. As an educator, I found this to be ridiculous. Especially for kids like mine, who would be bored coloring and playing with blocks when they go to the kids acitvities. Heck! He could do that with us just as easily, but that’s the point. He would be bored. Oh, I won’t go into all the details of this, but I’ll just say this was just the beginning of Royal Caribbean making us feel like we’re JUST the incompentent customers!!

That evening we attended the Welcome Aboard Show starring Jan Downs. Afterwards, we put the little one to bed and headed out to the piano bar.

Here he is the next morning dressed and ready to go, but it was so much fun to play on the pullman. We had an interior room for the first time. This was also our first time on Royal Caribbean. One thing we really missed about Carnival is the larger cabins. We’d also never been in a cabin without a port hole or window, which may have contributed to the feeling of being cramped! TV Boy slepted on the pullman, which is bed that folds into the wall. This helps when you put it up during the day to give the room a feeling of openness. The little table between the 2 beds folds up too.

Our first full day was spent in the Nassau, Bahamas. We actually had an excursion over to Paradise Island to Atlantis Resort. Since just a few months before Rob and I had enjoyed a 7 week cruise with a stop in Nassau, we had already experience the awesomeness of Atlantis. We knew that TV Boy and Rob’s Mom and Step Dad would really like Atlantis and the aquarium there. Eating at Atlantis is not cheap. We looked at several menus there and decided to walk back to a restaurant we saw when walking to Atlantis called Anthony’s Bar and Grill. This was first time to have conch! Since I was pregnant, I only had a small bite. It was yummy and I highly recommend you try some if you’re at a place that serves it.

The next day, our stop was at Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay formerly called Little Stirrup Cay. The really awesome thing about going to “private island” when cruising is that the cruise line owns that island, which means:

It’s uninhabited and only people from your cruise will be on it.

You eat on the island for free just as if you were on the ship since the ship’s chefs come aboard to cook for you!

You can also enjoy free activities planned by the cruise director on board.

We’d never been to a private island before and we knew after a busy day in Nassau/Paradise Island we would be ready for some relaxation. We found a quiet area by this cover with very calm waters. Rob and his Mom enjoyed the speciality drink there, called the Coco Loco. Since I was pregnant, I got a virgin one and it was so yummy! Read about Coca Cay. Here’s an article about all private islands that are owned by cruise lines.

You do have to tender into the island. Here’s some pics as we get ready to tender back to the ship.

After returning to the ship, we hung out on board. Then, headed up on deck to watch us leave the beautiful island and head towards Port Canaveral. That evening we ate a wonderful dinner and went to see the Farewell Showtime. The next morning we were back at port and time to head home.

I can’t write this entry without saying that Royal Caribbean’s service did not live up to Carnival or Celebrity at all. We had a room steward that was never reachable, when in truth, we have never had to call a room steward. He never replaced our dirty towels one day. In fact, the 2nd night on board, I stood out in the hall way in my gown looking for someone to help, because our toilet would not flush and had started overflowing. And the already mentioned saga about the kid program. All of this could have been made better if the staff actually seem to care that we were not happy with several parts of the cruise. We filled out the survey at the end of the cruise as we always do, but this time we did not have many positive things to say. I really wonder now if those are even looked at, since we thought that for sure we would get some type of letter of concern or at least acknowledgement after cruising with RC. We never did…

Would I go on Royal Caribbean again? Yes, but only if it was a much better deal than any other cruise.

See all the photos from this trip here.

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Shopping
Many people visit the ports just for shopping. If you’re interested in shopping, I would recommend going to the “Talk” that will be given the day before that port of call. The “Shopping Expert” will know what to watch out for and deals to look for.

Picture courtesy of awreunion

Foreign medications may be tempting. You will more than likely see advertisements while at port, but beware. If it’s not approved by the FDA, you’ll have to surrender it to Customs and possibly when you return to the ship.

Anything Cuban-made is forbidden and you will not be able to bring it home.

Due to U.S. customs regulations, onboard shops are closed while the ship is in port.

I learned as a child when driving down into Matamorous, Mexico that they way overprice everything. So when going to Cozumel, I had on my shopping face. This is what I do to get the price down. If you show interest, like by asking a question about it and then checking the price or asking the price. Don’t look desperate and don’t let them know you’ve fallen in love! Walk off. I’ll bet you, they will try to continue the sell of that item and possibly offer less. Have a price in mind. Try to work them down as close to that price and see what you can get. I’ve gotten some real steals. As far as other places besides Mexico, I don’t think they are into negotations as much, so if I find a good deal, I take it. Just don’t expect to make a deal.

What is Duty Free?
Duty Free items will not be charged any kind of sales tax. Many travelers enjoy purchasing luxury items and liquor while on a cruise because there is no tax. But there is a limit on how much you can purchase. Check with your cruise line for specifics.

Can I purchase alcohol off the ship and bring it on?
You’re allowed to buy alcohol while at port, but when you get back on the ship, you’ll have to check it in. This means you won’t be able to drink it while you’re on the ship. You will get it all back the last night of the cruise, so that you can pack it. Alcohol is one of the biggest sellers among cruisers, because it is so much cheaper than it is at home. So many cruisers stock up. Just check with your cruise line on the limits that U.S. Customs allows.

Tendering
If on your itinerary you see that you will be tendering into port, all that means is that you will go ashore on smaller boats rather than being tied up to a dock. There are several reasons for this, which could by: Port is to not deep enough for the ship to come up to land to dock or there is not enough room at the port for all ships to dock. When tendering you drop anchor a mile or so out from the port and take a small boat in. This can be a royal pain, but it is a necessary evil. The places I’ve had to tender have been: Coca Cay (Royal Caribbean’s private island), Caymen Islands, and Playa del Carmen.

Bathrooms
On occasion depending on where you are, you may find you need some pocket change to use the public restrooms.

So that sums up a few of the important things you should know about Ports of Call. If there is something you’re unsure about, feel free to go to the information desk onboard. They are usually very knowledgeable about the ports that you’ll be stopping at.

Need help with cruising jargon? Check out Cruising Terminology

Eating and Drinking
Cruise FAQs
Gambling ~ Tips ~ Travel Insurance
Shore Excursions & Cashless System

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Tuesday night the week before 4th of July, Rob was talking with his brother about finding something “fun” to do over the weekend. The last few years we have mainly hung out at home and enjoyed time with our neighbors. Before that we headed to Texas to visit my family there. Anyway, after some thought and research we decided it would be fun to head up to the North Georgia Mountains. Since it was so close to the date, there were only a few options. We ended up staying here in Murphy, NC. We went with Rob’s Mom, Step-Dad, adopted sister, and his brother. Dividing the cost of the condo ended up costing about the cost of hotel for one night!

Rob really enjoys going up that way for many reasons, which include the beautiful mountains and seeing his old stopming grounds at Young Harris College.

Friday
We arrived around 3, settled in, waited for the other carload with Rob’s Mom, Step Dad, and adopted sister, Rachel. Not long after they arrived, a group headed out to the store for groceries for the weekend. We planned to utilize the kitchen in the condo to help save money.

Our Cabin

Nice wrap around porch with a beautiful view.

After they got back Rob and Nick got the fire going to grill the super thick steak. So yummy! We also had salad, broccoli, and stir-fry veggies. Dessert was Strawberry shortcake.

Beautiful Sunset

Saturday

We got up and had breakfast. Then we went into Murphy for some 4th of July festivitives. There were many of the normal carnival activities, which we didn’t participate in because they were so expensive. We are so spoiled to live in Auburn, where we have City Fest and other events that are completely free to the public. We walked along the little river walk, watched the ducks, and the kids played on the playground.

Pretty scene near the Riverwalk area

This duck kept talking to me

We made it back over to the area where they did a peanut drop. An airplane flew over dropping 5,000 peanuts. Everyone ran like crazy to pick up the peanuts as they fell to find the red, white, and blue ones, which could be turned in for cash. We didn’t find any of those, but it was fun anyway.

Airplane that flew over Peanut Drop

After that we went to the Cherokee Chambers of Commerce/Visitor Center and then we went to the Fires Creek Picnic area located in Nantahala National Forest. There we picnicked for lunch and the kids skipped rocks in the stream.

After we packed up our picnic lunch we went for a short hike up the Leatherwood Loop hiking trail. While hiking I was stung through my sock by a hornet. I screamed like crazy after realizing I was being stung and it wasn’t just a thorn poking me through my sock. After getting the durn thing off my sock, I hiked a little ways up to the stream. I was able to sit on a rock near the icy cold stream, where I soaked it to help the pain and slow down the swelling.

*Icing* my ankle in the cool stream after being stung.

We stopped at a couple places for some scenic pics and then back to our car.

I continued to be in a great deal of pain. It was just a constant feeling of being stung over and over. The rest of the afternoon, I just chilled at the cabin. We cooked out hamburgers for dinner along with baked beans and smores. The rest of the family went to watch fireworks. I stayed in to rest and keep my ankle elevated and iced, but was able to see some fireworks from my chair.

Sunday
Sunday after having breakfast, we went to the Hiwassee Dam, which is so beautiful.

From there we drove around for a bit looking for a place to fish. We ended up down a dirt road in a secluded area. Although I lathered up in OFF the chigars found their to areas that I had not sprayed. I got nearly 30 bites. Ugh! At this point of the trip I had about had enough of nature and was ready to be inside. 2 fish were snagged, but both were smaller than my hand and were thrown back in.

After leaving there we were hungry and next on our agenda was Fields of the Wood, which is something so different than anything I’ve ever seen. You can climb to the top of the Ten Commandments Mountain and visit The Psalms Of Praise. We ate lunch in the covered picnic area. Then, without it occuring to us that there were 372 steps, we walked to the top of the 10 Commandments! Needless to say we were ZONKED. We wanted to see the rest of the place, but it required climbing a lot more stairs. We should have planned to drive around to the top of the 10 Commandments and then seeing the rest by stairs (because there is no driving access.) We were able to drive up to the cross of flags, which is quite a ways up the mountain. Nice views also.

Then, we went back to the cabin for some much needed R & R and leftovers. Late that evening Rob, Nick, TV Boy, and I drove over to Brasstown Bald for a midnight hike to see the stars, surrounding cities, and possibly late night fireworks. It was nice and cool, in fact, downright chili on top of the observatory. The stars are amazing when you’re away from civilization like that. After tromping back down the mountain, we had a midnight snack at Waffle House in Blairsville.

This is the top of the observatory. The tower is off limits to the public, but at the bottom of the tower there is a museum and info desk.

Monday
Monday we got up, started cleaning, and packing. The other car load of family was leaving first thing to head straight home. Our family along with Nick were headed out for another day of site-seeing. We wanted to get the most out of our trip and really didn’t want to leave. We stopped for lunch at Downtown Pizza and then back to Brasstown Bald for a daytime hike and an opportunity for Monkey to see it.

We left Brasstown and we were ready to get home. We did decide to take Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway.

Here’s a pic at one of the stopping points on the highway. Yah, I know it’s not “scenic”, but the road and cliffs were cool and then when this Maverick drove by, I couldn’t resist

Then near the end of the trip, Monkey Boy got silly and wore my neck pillow on his head.

I have lots more great pictures from the trip that I would love for you to see, so click here.

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Shore Excursions
For each port of call that you visit you will have the opportunity to choose from a multitude of Shore Excursions anything from Historical Highlight Tours to Kayaking & Snorkeling Adventures. You’ll notice that for many of the ports the excursions will be very similar! The companies are being endorsed by the cruise line. In the last few years, they’ve added the option of being able to view and book your excursions online before even getting on the cruise. This is quite convenient and important, because many of the excursions book fast. Although, Rob and I sometimes play it by ear, especially on a long cruise, where we’ve already booked a couple excursions for the first ports of call and are not sure if we will have the energy to do more excursions. You do have the option to book them up until like 24 hours before reaching the port of call.

Is booking shore excursions required? No way! You can always get off the ship at the port of call and be spontaneous. Walk around, find something you wanna do, find a beach to sit on for the entire day, swim, relax, site-see, whatever!

My recommendation would be to book a shore excursion for your first port of call, to get a feel for what it’s like, and see how it all works. As you get the hang of it or if you continue to go to the same port of call on multiple cruises like we’ve done, we just play it by ear. Heck! Some people never get off the ship!

Carnival’s Shore Excursion Site
Royal Caribbean’s Shore Excursion Page

Cashless System
Cruises have a very convenient way for you to pay for things on the cruise. They have a cashless system which can be done 2 ways.
1) You can have a credit card on file that everything will be charged to at the end of the cruise.
2) Pay money up front to cover your charges, kind of like a debit card.
When you fill out your cruise documents there will be one page that explains this and gives you the opportunity to show which option you’d like. When you check in you will get your card, which will be like your credit card. So anytime you get a drink or buy something in the gift shop you show them the card, so that way they know what account to charge it to. This card also serves as a type of ID through out the cruise, so carry it with you at all times. The card that Carnival uses is call your Sign and Sail Card, Celebrity’s is called the Celebrity Signature Account card, Royal Caribbean’s Card is called the SeaPass Card. While this cashless system is easy and very convenient, like I’ve mentioned before, it’s very, very easy to lose track of the charges your racking up! Your room steward will slip a bill under your door usually half way through the cruise and the last night of your cruise. This is helpful, but sometimes daunting, if you’re not careful.

Here’s a couple Sign & Sail Cards (obviously from Carnival)

Need help with cruising jargon? Check out Cruising Terminology

Eating and Drinking
Cruise FAQs
Gambling ~ Tips ~ Travel Insurance

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Gambling on the cruise. Well, I’ve only done it once at the slot machines. Rob and I sat down said we’d try with $10 and would quit after that win or lose. I don’t enjoy flushing my money down the drain, so gambling is not my thing. If you enjoy playing the tables or perhaps sitting at the slots, my only recommendation would be to have a limit. This is something I would say regardless of whether you’re on a cruise or not. I will say the casino is one area where the cruise lines make a ton of their money.

Another way that cruises make money is BINGO, but I would say you have more of chance of winning there than in the casino. Rob and I usually do 1 or 2 games of BINGO on each cruise. On our last cruise, we won $150 or something like that. They not only have BINGO games to win cash, but they also have a free cruise BINGO game. Oh, I digress.

Tips, tips, tips. This is something else that is not included in the initial cost of the cruise. Tips can be done a couple different ways. When we first started cruising we brought cash which we had budgeted just for the tips at the end of the cruise. The last night of the cruise you’re given envelopes for each person that you need to tip and we were given a recommended tip amount for each one. On another cruise, we had the option of having the gratuities charged to our credit card. We were of course given the option of increasing or decreasing the amount based on the service we got. This was very convenient, but there was something nice about handing each person their envelope and seeing their thankful reception. This will give you idea of what might be expected depending on which cruise line you are on.

On our last cruise our Bar Waiter was so awesome, which I’ve mentioned before. Rob tipped him extra the 3rd night of the cruise to let him know how much we appreciated the extra effort that he put in to make sure we always had drinks and really didn’t have to even ask for refills, etc. Of course, he got the recommended tip at the end of the cruise. Some times tipping a little up front will give the employee some incentives to continue their hard work. Although, it’s not expected. We have had such bad service from a room steward (house keeper) that we did not tip him much at all.

Travel Insurance. It may seem like a waste at first thought, but when booking our 1st cruise our travel agent highly recommended that we take advantage of that. We have always used Travel Guard. You can go to their website and get a quote based on the cruise that you’re considering booking. Just as an example, a 7 day cruise that costs $1100 for 2 people would cost about $140. You may think you’ll never need it and more than likely you won’t use it. BUT, it covers so much and it could save you $1,000′s! Also if you purchase within 10 days or so of your initial trip payment, you’ll receive even more coverage. For example, being able to cancel the trip for a full refund for any reason. We were persuaded by this, because with kids and aging grandparents, you never know when something may come up and there may be a need to cancel. On our June 2003 cruise, I got a UTI and needed emergency medical care, so we made a visit to the infirmary. Although, all the charges went straight to our credit card, we were reimbursed for it all within a week or two after the cruise, which saved us close to $1,000. So that’ sjust one example of the unexpected. So I can say enough about travel insurance. I would never book a cruise without it!

Need help with cruising jargon? Check out Cruising Terminology

Did you miss my first 2 Cruise Talk posts?
Eating and Drinking
Cruise FAQs

**Photos courtesy of booklover1020, rdrakennedy, and hull**

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As I mentioned in my last post about cruising, my next post would be on eating! And there is a LOT to discuss when it comes to that on a cruise.

For the ships that have free-style cruising like Norwegian Cruises, their dining is done differently. Although, I’ve never done this before, I understand it to be more like what you would do at a regular restaurant. You make a reservation and you pay out of pocket. For Rob and I, that’s not something we want to have to do at all! We enjoy the ease of knowing when dinner is every night, going and sitting down, enjoying dinner, eating as much as is humanly possible and knowing it’s included, and leaving when it’s done. Not having to pull our credit card out to pay at then end of dinner. Blah! Who wants to do that?

Dining Room on the Carnival Sensation

Dinner is done in 2 shifts, usually in 2 dining rooms at opposite ends of the ship. When booking your cruise you should be asked if you would like early dining or late dining. Early dining is great for people who are used to eating around 5 or 6 and for those traveling with children. An advantage to early dining is that you can go to the earlier show after dinner. This means you can retire to bed much earlier or have more time after dinner to party on board. When Rob and I are traveling just the 2 of us, we always do late dining. We like this because there are not many children, so you don’t have to deal with whiny children and all that goes with that. Dining late also means that if you plan on watching the shows, which we highly recommend, that you’ll be up pretty late. Don’t forget that depending on the length of the cruise, you’ll have a one or two late night/midnight buffets to attend. Even if you don’t eat, we recommend going at least to the Gala Buffet. There is a huge display of food art and ice sculptures. Those are also the nights that you have your formal dinner, which is really exciting for those that like or would like to try lobster!

Gala/Grand Buffet

We always book cruises through our travel agent, so I’m not sure how this works if you book through an online site, but our TA always asks about seating arrangements for dinner. When Rob and I go by ourselves, we have the option to eat at a table of like 4, 6, or 8. We like the option of 8. You’ll be sitting with the same people every night, because it is assigned seating. This has proven to be enjoyable and quite interesting. It’s neat to meet people from all different walks of life and different places. When Rob and I travel with other family, we elected to eat at table of 4 or 6. This made it where it was just our group. This worked out great when bringing TV Boy, so that we weren’t as embarrassed when he didn’t use his best table manners, or when we had to reprimand him for acting a fool at dinner.

Here is a sign and sail card that I’ll talk about later. I wanted to point out that on this card, we realized they didn’t give us the late dining like we had requested. If this happens to you, you’ll need to visit the Head Maitre d’ sometime after you get on the ship. They were able to fulfill our request, but I don’t think they can guarantee it. Hopefully they get the request when you book and you won’t have this issue.

As far as what is served at dinner, depending on the cruise line, you’ll have Appetizer, Salad, Entre, and Dessert. You’ll have 4-5 choices for each. I highly recommend trying things you normally wouldn’t eat. Think about it! It’s free and if you don’t like it you can always order something else. Caviar, lobster, sushi, escargot, duck, calimari are just a few choices of things you may have the opportunity to try. Here’s a sample dinner menu.

This is our waiter on our Celebrity Cruise. He’s bringing out the Baked Alaska for dessert.

The first night at dinner you’ll meet your bar waiter, assistant waiter, and waiter. The bar waiter is the person who handles all your drink orders. If you’re a wine drinker, you’ll have the opportunity to order a bottle of wine for the length of the cruise. Your bar waiter will bring it out for each cruise and take it back at the end of dinner to keep it chilled. Waiter and assistant waiter work together to ensure you have a smooth and expeditious dinner.

Here’s Ernie, who was our bar waiter on our last cruise. He was SO awesome!

If your not up for socializing, getting out of your bathing suit, or just in the mood for a quick bite, you always have the option to go to the different buffet bars that will be situated usually on the Lido deck. For example, they may have one bar that is just good ole “American food” like hamburgers, fries, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, etc. with the other bar being a different “theme” each day, like Mexican one day, Indian food one day, etc. Many cruise lines also have a 24 hour pizza bar and 24 hour soft serve ice cream machines! These would also be options for lunch as well. During breakfast you’ll find these bars will have eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, cereal, fruit, etc.

When you go to the formal dining room for breakfast and lunch, they normally have just one of the dining rooms open for those meals, so you may find that you have to go to a different dining room for those meals. Both of those meals is different from dinner in that you don’t sit at your assigned seat. You just file in and they seat you at the next available table. Breakfast choices are the normal types of foods similar to what is listed above for the breakfast buffet bars. Here is an example of a lunch menu:

Starters and Salads
California Roll
Caribbean Pepper Pot
Chilled Avocado Soup
Medley of Garden and Field Greens

Main Courses
Mongolian Steak Salad
Oven Fresh Sun Dried Tomato Baguette
Spaghetti Zia Tereasa
Pan Fried Fillet of King Clip Nicoise
Vegetable Fajitas
Create your Own Burger

Desserts
Strawberry Banana Mousse
Chocolate Gateau
Creme Carmel
Ice Coupe Black Forest
Ice Cream – Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry
Sherbet – Orange, Pineapple

When it comes to drinks, like I said in my FAQ’s, the free drinks available are tea, juice of some sort, lemonade, water from the tap. Rob and I are soda drinkers, so we were excited to find out about the Coke Cards that are available. In fact, that’s one of the first things we do after getting on the ship. You just go to a bar that is open or they may have a table set up, where you can purchase your Coke Card. This gives you unlimited coke, diet coke, sprite, and whatever else is available. Each person has to puchase one and you have to have the card with you when you order. You’ll also get a drink container, which you can use to get refills in. I think they run about $6 a day plus 15% gratuities. This pays for itself if you order at least 3 cokes each day.

If you would like to partake in alcoholic drinks, watch out! This is one place where cruises make their money! They walk around with the drinks of the day in souvenir glasses. You can also order pretty much anything else. Since you don’t have to pay for your drinks as you order them, it’s easy to lose track of how much you’ve spent until they slip that bill under your door half way through the cruise and/or the last night of the cruise. More on the cashless system in another post.

Here’s a drink of the day on our Celebrity Cruise. It was really neat to drink from a carved out pineapple. Needless to say it was quite expensive.

I’ll have to say you get very accustomed to eating all day on a cruise. When you get home from your cruise, you find that you still want to eat all day. The bad part is that you don’t have someone waiting on you hand and foot. I think I’ve pretty much covered all the ins-and-outs of eating and drinking. If you know of something I forgot to share, please comment.

Need help with cruising jargon? Check out Cruising Terminology

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While writing the FAQ page, I realized that before I started cruising a lot of the cruise jargon were words I didn’t know. You may find this helpful when reading my entries about cruising.
bow: front section of the ship
bridge: section of the ship where the captain & crew navigate and steer the ship
cabin: passenger room onboard the ship: also called a stateroom
cabin steward: person who cleans the cabin
cruise director: head of the ship’s entertainment staff
debark: to leave the ship and go ashore
deck: each level (floor) of the ship
embark: to go on the ship
forward: the area toward the bow of the ship
Freestyle Cruising: Norwegian Cruise Line’s style of cruising, featuring casual dress and no set dinner times
galley: ship’s kitchen
gangway: ramp or stairway between the ship and the shore while the ship is docked
guarantee: a cruise reservation in which one pays for a certain category cabin, but is not given a cabin number. Passengers sometimes take a reservation like this hoping to getting upgraded to a higher category
inside cabin: stateroom that does not have a porthole, window, or balcony
Maitre d’: over sees the dining room operations. supervises all the dining room wait staff
maiden voyage: first voyage of a new ship
muster station: meeting place onboard the ship that usually refers to the area where one would go to get into the lifeboats in case of an emergency
nautical mile: unit of measurement equal to one-sixtieth of a degree of the earth’s circumference; it’s measured in the U.S. as 6,080.2 feet or internationally as 6,076.1 feet
oceanview cabin: outside cabin with a large porthole window or a verandah
onboard: located on the ship; carried or used on the vessel
open seating: dinner seating in which tables are not assigned
outside cabin: stateroom with a porthole, window, or balcony that overlooks the ocean-also referred to as an oceanview cabin
port: left side of the ship when facing forward; also the harbor where a ship docks
porthole: round window on a ship
port-of-call: port at which the ship anchors or moors, and the passengers are allowed to disembark
promenade: open deck that encircles a ship, often used for walking or jogging
pullman: bed that folds into the wall
purser: person onboard who serves as a financial or administrative manager for guest services
roll: side-to-side movement of the ship
shore excursion: tour or guided activity in which guests participate while ashore
stabilizer: retractable arm located below the waterline mid-ship, which can be extended to help reduce the ship’s roll in rougher sea conditions
starboard: right side of the ship when facing forward
stateroom: cabin
stern: back end of the ship
suite: largest class of stateroom; features separate living and sleeping areas
tender: small boat used to transport passengers from the ship to the shore. Tenders are used when the harbor is not deep enough for the ship to dock.
upgrade: change in cabin assignment to a better category
wake: path left in the water at the stern created by a moving ship
windward: side of the ship against where the wind is blowing

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My little sister is planning her wedding in June 2011 and I was excited to hear she and her fiance are planning on a cruise for their honeymoon. She asked my advice about cruises, and my mind just started racing! So many little tips, I think she should know. Rob and I were so lucky to have a great travel agent that knew all the ins and outs of cruising. She made the experience so much better, because we knew all the little things that new cruisers usually don’t know. I want my sister, Nikki, to have the same advantage. I’m planning on writing a series of posts, since there is so many cruising topics to discuss.

Things to know and keep in mind when planning:
1. Most cruises are all-inclusive, which means all food, some drinks, nearly all on-board entertainment are included. So what’s NOT included?

• Coke/Sodas (drinks that are free are tea, lemonade, water from the tap)
• Alcohol
• Shore Excursions
• Gambling
• Tips
• Travel Insurance

2. What’s a good price?
When looking at prices, Rob and I gage the cost by looking at cost per day. If it averages out to about $100 a day, that’s a good deal!

3. What identification do I need?
Passports are still not required for cruising, but highly, highly recommended. I know for me I have to have my Driver’s License, my birth certificate, and my marriage license (to show my name change from my birth certificate to what is shown on my driver’s license.) If you have a passport, that would be all you need. Remember anytime you get off the ship you will need either your passport or all the things I listed above. Check with your cruiseline or travel agent to make sure this hasn’t changed when booking your cruise.

4. Any recommendations on cabins?
At the middle of the ship, you will notice the least amount of rocking. Ships have stabalizers these days which really cuts down on the rocking and bumpiness. Although, when trying to make up time they take the stabalizers off. The lower the cabin the noisier it will be due to the fact it’s closer to the engines, etc. The rear of the ship is normally more noisy. I know when we sailed on the Century, we were in the back. We could hear the lowering of the anchors after docking at port. This actually worked as an alarm for us, so we would know to get up and get going.

5. What clothes do I need to bring?
Depending on the length of cruise you will have at least 1 formal night. No, that doens’t mean you need a prom dress or tuxedo. For men, blazer with khakis, and for women, a nice dress will serfice for most cruise lines. Or if you want to dress to the nines, go ahead! I’ve done both. For the other dinners, you’ll need nice casual wear (no shorts or tank tops). As far as the rest, pack like you would for any other trip similar in nature…comfortable shoes, light jacket (it gets windy on deck).

6. What if I hate to dress up?
If you would like to avoid getting dressed up during a cruise, just plan to eat your evening meal on the Lido deck during formal nights, or you could have room service. The formal night is also the night of the midnight buffet. You could plan to have a snack and then dress casually for a late night dinner at the buffet.

7. What if I start to feel motion sick?
DON’T WAIT! Go to information desk and ask for a motion sickness patch. They usually keep them there for convenience. The quicker you get the patch on the quicker you’ll start to feel better.

8. Is there a place to store valuables?
Yes, there is usually a small safe in the closet of each cabin. We always keep any valuables, cruise documents, identification (drivers’ licenses, passports), credit cards, etc. inside there when on board.

9. Don’t forget to pack…

- cruise documents
- 3 copies of (Put 1 copy in your carry on, 1 copy in checked luggage, and leave one copy with someone at home):

• airline tickets
• cruise documents
• passports/ID’s
• itinerary

- binoculars
- alarm clock
- power strip (There’s usually 1 plug in the room. We usually have an alarm clock, small fan, and my curling iron/flat iron to plug in. You can usually rent these from the pursars desk, but it’s easier to bring it and not worry about being charged $25 if you don’t return it.)
- small fan (If you’re hot natured like me this is nice to have. The rooms are usually nice and cool, but the first time we brought one as a precautionary measure and we had room in our luggage.)
- Zip in Duffel Bag (These are so nice to have on trips where you may accumulate souvenirs during the trip and not have room in your suite case on your way home. Don’t forget to have a name tag on it.)

10. Anything else?
Leave emergency number that’s provided in your cruise documents for the ship with babysitter, housesitter, or relative. Let them know it’s for absolute emergencies only, as cost per minute is outrageous!

Need help with cruising jargon? Check out Cruising Terminology

Look for my next post on cruising, which will discuss eating! Who doesn’t love that topic?

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Read Part 1

June 5, 2003: Thursday
Thursday was a day of relaxation and recuperation from our several days off ship.

We slept in, ate lunch in the dining room, relaxed poolside, and enjoyed some onboard activities.

That evening was the Dinner Menu 2nd formal night followed by the show, Las Vegas-Then and Now.

June 6, 2003: Friday

Friday was a quick day in Nassau, Bahamas, arriving about 2:30. It was still plenty of time to get in an excursion and some site-seeing. We did the Nassau & Paradise Island Tour. The show that evening was Steve Moris and Dale Scot & Ana.

Here’s Rob as we come into port in Nassau.

All the other ships that are docked.

Atlantis

Lots of fish in the Aquarium in Atlantis

Lunch Menu – Dinner Menu

June 7 & 8, 2003: Saturday/Sunday
7:00 am
We arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida around 7 am. We had an excursion planned to visit the Everglades and ride in hovercrafts while looking for gators. After that we did some site seeing in Fort Lauderdale, checked into the hotel, and ate some dinner. We took a drive down to some of the Florida Keys, down to the 7 mile bridge.

Everglades

Baby Gator

Haziness

More fun in South Florida
Fly home in the evening

Other Century Links
Celebrity’s Century Website
Tim Dotson’s Century Site Very informative.

Maps
St. John Map – St. Thomas Map – St. Maarten Map – Nassau Map

Thinking of cruising? Look for my upcoming posts on the ins-and-outs of cruising!

Thanks to Tim Dotson for his menus.

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This travel talk will be in 2 parts. This first post will include Friday through Wednesday. This was our first Eastern Caribbean Cruise and our first 7 day cruise. We absolutely love the Eastern Caribbean. Mountains and Oceans…Amazing!

Since the big talk about cruises is usually the great food, I’ve included a sample menu for each day. The menus I’ve listed would be for the sit down meals in the dining room and they might vary just a bit. Here’s the Breakfast Menu and it is the same everyday.

May 30, 2003: Friday
We flew to Fort Lauderdale on Friday evening. Here’s Rob at FLL watching for our hotel shuttle, which by the way never showed up. We ended up taking a taxi, which Sheraton reimbursed us for along with a $25 hotel credit.

We stayed at the Sheraton near the airport and cruise terminal.

May 31, 2003: Saturday
We got up and headed to the Fort Lauderdale Port, by shuttle, free courtesy of the Sheraton hotel. We got checked in and were on the ship, the Century. Never having cruised on Celebrity before, we didn’t know exactly what to expect except for a better quality food, better service, and nicer interiors on the ship. We were pleasantly surprised to be handed some champange as we stepped on board. You see us here drinking up and trying to figure out the layout of the ship.

We looked around the ship, found our cabin, ate lunch, and then the mandatory lifeboat drill. At about 4:30, we waved goodbye as the ship disembarked from the port and we set sail towards San Juan! 4:45-5:45 we enjoyed a Bon Voyage Dance Party poolside on the Resort Deck. The partyband Xtasea did a great job getting everyone in a relaxed, caribbean mood.

That evening we enjoyed our first dinner and then was entertained by the Cruise Director, Allan King, at the Welcome Aboard Show and the LadderGuy, Michael James.

June 1, 2003: Sunday

Sunday was a relaxing day at sea. It was interupted by an aggressive onset of kidney and urinary pain. Of course, the pain got to the point that I knew I couldn’t handle it any longer when the ship infirmiry was closed. This meant that I was an “emergency” patient which cost an extra couple hundred dollars. It’s a little scary when you have a nurse from one country and a doctor from another country, both with interesting accents. They fixed me up pretty quickly. We could tell the nurse wasn’t happy to be pulled away from other duties, which at the time appeared to be mandatory drug tests for the crew.

The antibiotics that I got were of course the kind that makes you very sensative to sun, so I had to make sure I wore sunscreen anytime we were in the sun. I forgot to put sunscreen on my hands so they got nice and crispy…

The rest of the day we just hung out and relaxed in our cabin and in the shade on deck. We even managed to clean up nicely for our 1st formal night, dinner and the show: On Broadway.

Lunch Menu – Dinner Menu

June 2, 2003: Monday
We weren’t scheduled to arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico until about 4:30 p.m., so it was much like Sunday. Hanging out on deck, enjoying the reggae band called Xtasea, relaxing, people watching, and of course, eating!

Enjoying the beautiful blue waters

How cute is that hair blown look?!?!

After arriving to San Juan, we just walked around and did some of our own site-seeing.
Beautiful San Juan

Above ground cemetery near the shore

Beautiful views

El Morro at San Cristobal Fort

As we departed San Juan just after midnight a deck party started poolside themed Tropical Island Night Celebration. Assistant Cruise Driector Lance, Celebrity Dancers, and Xtasea put on a great show under the stars. There was a special fruit presentation and melons on parade. The buffet was delicios. You know I’m always happy when there’s Mexican food.

Lunch Menu – Dinner Menu

June 3, 2003: Tuesday
Our ship stopped in St. Thomas, at the West Indian Dock Havensight at 8 am. We took a bus to Red Hook and took a boat over to St. John for an Eco-hike.

Here’s Rob on the Eco-hike in St. John. So many beautiful views.

On the hike we walked through this resort called Caneel Bay.

Then we went back to St. Thomas, where we took a taxi to Mountain Top

After the eco-hike, we got a taxi up to mountain top, which I was shocked to find out while researching for this post burned down in 2009.

Back in the taxi heading down to the Magen’s Bay beach.

We saw this pelican while relaxing on the beach. He seemed pretty tame and didn’t mind me walking right up to him.

Such beautiful waters…yah, that’s me looking total silly. Rob always says that I need to pose …I’m not sure I love this pose. LOL

Some nice person asked if we wanted our picture together.

That evening we were exhausted so we opted to stay in the cabin, order room service, and watch movies in the room. We missed the show: The Beat Goes On put on by the Celebrity Singers and Dancers.

Lunch Menu – Dinner Menu

June 4, 2003: Wednesday

Around 8 am we arrived in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, which is the Dutch side of the island. We got in a taxi to Simpson Bay Lagoon where we got our life jackets on and got ready to drive ourselves in these little boats called Rhino Riders around to the French side of the island for some snorkling.

St. Maarten is known for it’s Guavaberry Coladas. Not the Guava we know, but St. Maarten grown Guavaberry. We got a coladas are yummy! We bought a bottle of Guavaberry Rum to bring home. We had to board the ship for departure by 3:00.

The show that evening was The Future of Magic put on my Dale Scot and Ana in the Celebrity Theater followed by a 50′s Rock ‘N Roll Sock Hop in the Crystal Room, Deck 7.

Lunch Menu – Dinner Menu

Read Part 2.

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