We're going on our first cruise, any advice?

First here are some things I do to get ready:

1. Make sure that you have completed the required cruise pre-registration information so that you are not delayed when you get to the port. Plan to get to the port a minimum of 90 minutes before the scheduled departure time; that's pretty much a requirement so that the ship can send a complete passenger manifest to Homeland Security 60 minutes before departure. Boarding generally starts between 11:30 AM and noon.

2. Make sure that you have a passport or the documents required to cruise including your original or certified copy of your birth certificates and a photo ID.

3. Make sure that you have all of the cash you want to take (typically about $300 to 400 for a 7 day cruise) and some of the local currency for trip outside the US, like to Europe, Australia, or South America. You will not need an local currency anywhere in the Caribbean and Mexico.

4. Make sure that you have planned carefully your arrival day and time at the cruise departure port; i.e., plan to travel there a day early for both US and overseas cruises.

5. Pack for the various activities of the cruise including exercise wear, swim wear, formal wear, casual clothes for the daytime and sports/resort casual clothes for after 6:00 PM. After you pack look at what you have and try to eliminate as much as you can; think mix and match tops and bottoms and plan to wear each piece twice; or do laundry on ship (or use the laundry service); only a couple cruise lines have self service laundry but they will all do it for a fee.

6. Pack shoes for the various activities like beach shoes, sandals and/or flip flops, sneakers and good walking shoes, and shoes to wear sports casual and formal.

7. Make sure that you have any prescription medicines for the entire trip plus a week. Your cabin will have towels and soap provided, including pool and beach towels, and a hair dryer. It will also have a generic hair shampoo so you do not need to bring that unless you like a specific brand.

8. Pack clothes using those vacuum travel bags (cost about $20 for 3 at Target) so that I can get more in my bag and also so that if the airport security folks (TSA) opens my bag they can see stuff without rummaging through my things.

9. Prepare a carry-on bag: including some 16 oz bottles soft drinks and water (get this after finishing any air travel); MP3 player and its charger and headphones, camera and its charger or extra batteries, a couple books to read; a security pouch to hold my money and credit cards and passport and ID while traveling and/or off the ship; a large insulated cup with a seal able lid; and if flying a few snacks like nuts and crackers.

10. Plan carefully what you want to wear when you board the ship because the ship's photographer will take a boarding photo which you may want to purchase and you will be in those clothes all day and evening. Your luggage may not get to your cabin until about 5-6:00 PM

Other tips:

-Take a small carry-on bag for the last night of the cruise. On the last evening you will be required to put your luggage outside your cabin by about 2:00 AM so that they can start taking it down to the lower deck for offloading the next morning. So you will need a small bag for your toiletries and your clothes that you sleep in.

- If you are taking your cell phone, MP3 player or other item that needs to be plugged in take an extension cord as the plugs in the cabin are generally not in the best places and there are usually only one.

-If you plan to get into the pools or hot tub as soon as you get on ship (they will be open), bring those clothes in your carry on bag; you other luggage may not get to your cabin until much later in the afternoon.

-Most cruise lines will push drinks on you, especially the first couple days. Don't think you have to buy drinks to have fun. If you don't drink all day at home or on other vacations, then don't drink all day on ship. Plus you'll quickly run up a very high drinking bill.

-The cruise lines will offer a lot of interesting tours but they will be expensive. You DO NOT have to buy tours to get off the ship in port stops. You can go off on your own and many times in Caribbean and Bahamas ports you can find cheaper tours on the pier.

-Cruise lines will take lots of photos of you boarding the ship, getting off in ports, at dinner, on formal nights, around the ship and these are expensive. So take your camera with you all the time and ask others to take photos of you.

Formal nights are not strictly enforced on Carnival. You will see people wearing some very casual things on formal night. So participate if you like, but don't feel pressured. A nice shirt and some slacks will be totally okay on Carnival. And the five regular nights aren't dressy at all. You can always eat on Lido deck as well. There is zero formality there. There is a decent chance that your stop in Mexico may get cancelled due to swine flu. Cancun (near Cozumel) is a center of the flu in Mexico right now. Our Carnival cruise to Cozumel (last week) went to the Bahamas instead. Either way, you'll have a good time. My best advice is to get on the internet and research your ports. Sometimes you'll be dropped right into town, or you may find yourself in a parking lot miles from the action. If you have taxi / car rental / bus / excursion plans made in advance, you'll have much more time to do what you really want to do - enjoy your limited time on shore! Shore excursions are a little cheaper if you book them directly (not from Carnival). You might save 20%. We have done this in the past with good results. Keep in mind, however, that if you miss the boat on a tour you arranged yourself, it can and will leave without you. There will be a ton of free food on the ship. You'll have more to eat than you can stand. Sodas are expensive on cruise ships, maybe $3 each. If you're a big cola drinker, throw a 12 pack into your checked luggage. Carnival allows this. You can also take a bottle of wine or champagne if you like. We usually take a couple hundred dollars each and always return with money left over. Some people spend tons more. Credit cards are readily accepted most places, and you don't need cash on the ship as long as you have a credit card with which to open your ship account. Your cash is just for souvenirs, sodas on shore, stuff like that. If you have a credit card issued by Capital One, they are one of few banks who do not charge currency fees for using your card abroad. If you have other specific questions, feel free to e-mail me. My address is fcabooks ((at)) gmail dot com.

My husband and I have been on 6 cruises now. After our first, we were hooked!

I was so scared that I'd forget to pack something so I made a packing list and after every trip I've added things that I thought would be helpful. (If you want a copy of it e-mail me at: pdanko@gmail.com)

Some tips:

1.) You can usually board the ship early. You can sometimes get on the ship around noon even if it doesn't leave until 5pm.

2.) When you board the ship, get a map and get familiar with where things are, which floor and whether they are at the front or back of the ship. (For example, the main dining room is on the fourth floor at the front of the ship.)

3.) If you feel nauseous at all, go to the middle of the ship. It rocks the least there.

4.) Remember that everything is cashless. You either have a credit card on file or have to put a minimum amount of cash down in advance.

5.) Remember that gratuities are due toward the end of your cruise. It is usually around $70 per person. The amount is a "suggested amount" and automatically billed to your account. Although you don't want to skimp on anyone that gave you good service, if you didn't use a particular service you can go to the purser's desk and have the amount adjusted. (They charged us $70 gratuity for my 1 year old son who used the main dining room one time so we had them adjust it. No questions asked.) On the flip side, we LOVED our room steward (housekeeper) so much that we slipped him an extra $20 cash on the last day.

6.) My husband and I aren't big drinkers so we never had this problem but I know friends who have. Watch your alcohol bill! Because everything is cashless and 7 days of fun flies by without a thought I've heard of $500+ bar tabs.

7.) Bring a deck of cards or a book because at the end of your cruise, you will have to sit around for awhile to get off the ship.

8.) Last but not least, you can get pain and nausea meds from the purser's desk but NO WHERE on the ship will you be able to get Imodium. Since "the runs" are a possible sign of eColi or something of that nature they will quarantine you to your room until they know that you are OK. Problem with that is, you will probably just be suffering from some greasy food you had in port. I always pack some in our bag just in case.

I could go on and on but there really aren't many surprises. They take pretty good care of you on the ship. Have fun!

You two are going to have so much fun!!! I went on my first cruise with my mom when I was 19 and am now planning to go on a cruise with my hubby next year. Bring lots of swimwear and cover ups, a semi formal outfit for the captain's ball, sandals/flip flops, sneakers, if your shore excursions causes you to wear them, light sweaters, you'll want to hang out on the deck with hubby at night...it's so romantic also the A/C on the ship might cause for a light sweater. Bring enough clothes/interchangeble outfits, you don't want to over pack. I think they permit 2 luggages per person. A little wallet/clutch to keeps your ID/boarding pass and money in. DONT bring any valubles on this trip (i.e. wedding rings/bands, expensive jewelry, shoes, clothing etc.) dramamine just in case. If you happen to forget something you're more than likely to find it on the ship's convenient store. Have lots of fun!

http://www.cruise.co.uk/ is a very useful site as it has lots of reviews from past cruisers and a questions sections where past cruisers answer them. You will lots of useful hints and tips their. The link for the cruise answers is http://www.cruise.co.uk/cruise-answers/

cruise critic is a very informative site, everyone gives advice answer questions and provide pictures of everything cruise they go on. theres even port information and they recommend which excursion to take and which are a rip off.

this page i think will help u

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=48...

Bring Dramamine...you never know if you get sea sick until you get out on the water. Being sick can ruin your cruise.