First time cruiser..?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have been on about 20 cruises on several different cruise lines and can give you some advice/help based on my experiences.

I have been on Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean ships and can vouch that they are good cruise lines. However, there are some differences.

- Princess, Celebrity and Holland America have great ships are more classy and reserved. They are just a little more upscale and luxurious than the other cruise lines. Passengers tend to be middle aged and up and have cruised multiple times. Holland America has mostly senior citizens cruising on its ships.

-Norwegian cruise line is good, they cater to families and have mostly passengers in the range of age 35-40 and up. Its the line that you want to go on if you want to be informal for pretty much your whole cruise. They have formal nights like other cruise lines but they do not stress dressing up; they call it "dress up if you want to" night.

Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices. They cater to young people, first time cruiser and families. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a good and really cheap cruise.

Royal Caribbean is also a cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families. It has the advantage of having the most on-board activities. Things like ice skating, roller blading, mini-golf course, a full sized basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider. The RC ships that you should look for cruises on are the RC's Freedom Class and Voyager Class ships.

All of these cruise lines have free programs for kids and special area on their ships where kids can hang out. The programs go by different names like Camp Carnival, Norwegian Navigators, and Royal Caribbean Adventure Ocean.

BEST CABINS
My advice is to get the best cabin that you can afford. Some people will say just get an inside cabin because you will not be in it much. What's true is that if you do get an inside cabin you will not want to be in it much; its like sitting in a closet with no windows. But if you get a balcony cabin you WILL be in it more and you will enjoy your cruise more by for example, being able to go/sit outside at night, or first thing in the morning as you approach a new port stop. Cabins mid ship are considered premium/better because there is less motion there and its also easier to go to activities on ship from there, i.e. pools are generally always mid ship, dining rooms generally aft or midship; the show room and gym and always on the front of the ship. Pools, hot tubs, gyms, and buffets are always on the upper decks so a cabin up higher puts you closer to them. On the other hand, cabins mid-ship and on lower levels have less motion than higher levels.

WHAT TO WEAR:
The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00PM, so take swim wear (at least 2), shorts, tank tops and "T's", sandals, beach shoes, a cap or big hat for the sun, sneakers and clothes to workout in if you like to use the gym, good walking shoes. Then after 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports or resort casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, (like a bank employee), shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. Don't over pack , take clothes that you can mix and match tops and bottoms and plan to wear each piece twice. You will likely be in shorts and/or swim wear most of every day so evening clothes don't usually get much wear.

Your cruise will have a formal night or two when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken. The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire. You will not be denied entry to the main dining room if you decide not to dress up, as long as you are at least sports casual.

Regardless of which cruise line you select the things that are included are pretty much the same. The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (including breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and free room service), free admissions to all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship except spa services. There is generally a place to go get something to eat just about any time of day or night. And the food IS great with anything you could want for breakfast and lunch and gourmet dinners every evening.

Stealth

Get the balcony room for the view and fresh air, worth it! take couple of swim wear and tank-tops, skirts and couple of sandals. make sure your sandals are not to new or they will hurt from wearing them for hours along with couple pairs of socks and gym shoes. Take a hat, couple hair clips and hair conditioner, cause they don't provide it and your hair can get too dry from swimming and sun. Make sure you have comfortable shorts not to tight that you can slip on and off when you need to at anytime and a thin jacket, cause it may get cold on ship at night or in the dinning room..Take couple pairs of jeans with cute sexy tops and a nice dress with heels for formal night..

Emma D

The best cruise line is - Disney Cruises.
Do not think because they have "Disney" in the name means that it is for children. They have plenty of adult only places, including a bar, a nightclub, and a comedy bar. Plus an adult only pool. They also have wonderful restaurants with very scrumptious food. There are teen places for just teens and kids places for just kids. They have spas and fitness rooms, too.
On the cruise, wear whatever- a bathing suit, tank top and shorts, jeans and a top. But be sure to pack some clothes for "Formal Night". Women wear dresses and mean wear anything fancy, but they have a tuxedo rental on the ship too. All other nights are casual nights where you just wear jeans and a pretty shirt.
Take as many or as few bathing suits as you want. If you are going on a 7-day cruise, it may be a good idea to bring a couple. If you are going on a 3-day, it would probably be okay to bring just one.
The best rooms are the Category 1, of course. They are luxury. But if you have a big family and a low budget, there are category 10 rooms that connect for a lower price then getting a larger room. The rooms with verdana (balconies) usually cost more, except for a select few, which they have lowered their price because there is only a small view.
As I said, the food is amazing and you will love it. There are 3 main restuarants which you alternate dining in throughout the trip. Yet, there aare places near the adult lounges like coffee bars that are reall good, too but they are not your dinner.
Hope this helps - I've done a lot of research because I am going on a cruise myself!

No one can answer best cruise line. It is a lot of personal preference and what you are looking for.
I work for the cruises for Air Canada Vacations.. by chance do you live in Canada?
Email me at NMaillet@vacv.com
I will answer your questions. :)

NiTSiRK_81

I loved Carnival super fun!!!!

Bring a variety of clothes beachy clothes for beach obviously haha pool laying out or just lounging. Cute nice outfits for evening and maybe some dressy stuff if you are going to eat in the dining room. I brought 3 bathing suits wore 2.

Rooms in the middle of the ship are best I didn't like my window in my room because it made me feel dizzy seeing the water move by so close so I kept my drapes closed I could have done without it. Balcony could be cool though.

Food is fabulous one of my favorite things of all!!! So many options that you can have all the time.

Check out the pictures from my cruise to give you an idea of what kinds of clothes I wore and what I did. Any other questions feel free to message me! Have fun!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54619901@N00/sets/72157605765798815/

Have some video too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWMDEuwXl2w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrUjz9WEIkQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXuwBSi1kMs

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