My mother has been an avid cruiser for the past several years and after spending just as long trying to convince me, she finally got me on my first cruise last spring. Naturally, the first thing I did was research the Carnival ship and go shopping for fabulous outfits that would look good while sitting around on “at sea” days as well as in the Bahamas, but I didn’t do the one thing I should have … find out things people wish they knew before their first cruise. Here are some things I wish I had known before setting sail last year:
Get the Carnival Cruise hub app
If your cruise ship has an app, GET IT! With all the cruises my mother had been on (that was her 4th one of 2017 and it was only April), she never even thought to download the app. This was actually something I had done when the cruise was booked because I loved seeing the countdown feature, but what I didn’t know was this app would be my lifeline to the inside and outside world once we were in the water.
Carnival’s is their Carnival Hub App that you can’t actually log into until your on the boat, but once on, you can see the daily itinerary, purchase wifi, and my absolute favorite feature, purchase the chat option that allows you to communicate with everyone in your party who also purchases the chat feature. With my mother, my 2 teens, and my boyfriend to keep up with, the chat was a lifesaver and we could easily let each other know where we were on the boat at all times.
You don’t need the drink package
I didn’t think I’d drink enough alcohol to make the alcoholic beverage package worthwhile and I predominately drink water, so the regular drink package wasn’t of interest to me either, but I did get it for the kids because I knew they’d want more than water with their meals. I did not realize that water isn’t your only option.
In the mornings, you have the option of choosing from various juices as well as milk and in the evening the juice is switched out and you can choose from tea and lemonade as well. The kids probably only had 2 sodas a piece and, in the end, the drink package was a total waste of money for them.
Something else to keep in mind, and another reason I didn’t purchase the drink package for myself, you are allowed to bring on 12 sealed cans per person as well as one 750 ml bottle of sealed/unopened wine or champagne per person in your carry-on luggage, so I actually packed 24 cans of Izze and 2 bottles of wine in Nathan and my luggage.
You probably won’t have seasickness
This is definitely not true for everyone, especially considering my daughter found herself queasy on the ship, but there’s a good chance you won’t get seasick. During the day, the ship isn’t going very fast, so you don’t encounter the seasickness you would from excessive rocking back and forth. As a matter of fact, you likely won’t even realize the ship is moving unless you look out at the water.
In saying that, don’t leave the Dramamine at home just yet. If you are a night owl or just find yourself unable to sleep late at night, the ship is moving much faster, so you may find yourself getting nauseous at that time. I was completely fine throughout the day, but a couple of nights I woke up around 1 am and the rocking of the boat almost had me running for the bathroom.
Skip the dining room and head to the buffet
This is definitely a personal choice, but our Lido area experience far outweighed our dining room experience. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to dress up and go down to dinner, especially on the captain’s night, but we experienced a long wait time to place our order, get our food, or to just get drink refills because the waiters are waiting on several tables at a time. Also, the dining room menu doesn’t change, so you’re choosing from the same options every night. Even in the morning, we tried our restaurant seating option for that one morning as well and two of us got the incorrect food. Because the waiters are so busy, and ours didn’t really speak English, he had a hard time understanding our request and then took an additional 30 minutes to correct our order … as you may imagine, everyone else was finished by then.
The Lido deck overs several different options that are switched out every night. Some things are constant, like made to order pizza, sandwiches, and burgers, but there is also a themed food section, so one night it may be Italian and the next it may be Mexican. Something to keep in mind if you want to maximize your time or just like to keep your options open.
Splurge on a suite
Nathan and I actually got a balcony suite and even though it can be a bit more than an interior room or another other option, I would HIGHLY recommend it. In comparison, my mother and the kids shared a room that wasn’t a suite and just had a porthole to look out onto the water … I felt highly claustrophobic in that room. Larger space aside, we also got some additional perks like earlier boarding, a private check-in area, our luggage was delivered to our room before we even got on the ship, and I got some lovely art from the art auction to name a few things. As far as the actual room was concerned, we were higher up and conveniently located on the Lido Deck where the food and pool were and our room accommodations had a sitting area, drawers, and counter to store our food and drink.
Don’t try to take it all in at once
There are so many things going on at any given time, but don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do everything all at once.
Even with the written and app versions of the itinerary, I found myself getting overwhelmed with all of the things, which actually led to us missing out on things. We were trying to run back and forth between events that were happening at the same time, so we didn’t miss out on a fun experience, but a lot of those events happen again on one of the other days. Next time, I will plan some downtime in the room, by the pool, or just taking a nap in the middle of the day to avoid tiring myself out by 8 pm.
Tip your stewardess on day one
Yes, you can pay your gratuities in advance and yes, a portion of the gratuities will go to your stewardess, but just like staying in a hotel, if you want to ensure your stewardess goes above and beyond, tip them the first time they come and introduce themselves to you … before the ship even sets sail. It’s another one of those things I did actually do on the cruise but wanted to throw in there because it’s so important.
I still remember our stewardess, Maryanne, and the phenomenal service she provided us with. She left little treats in our room, made sure she constantly surprised us with those super cute towel animals every time she noticed we had left throughout the day, and even put our wine on ice, brought 2 wine glasses, a cork, and left a cute little snack plate for us to enjoy with the wine … all without asking. I don’t know how the gratuities are split up, but we definitely encountered Maryanne more than anyone else and wanted to make sure she knew how much we appreciated her taking care of us for the week.
What are some things you wish you knew before embarking on your first cruise? If you’re looking for some ideas on what to do on the Bahamas stop of your Carnival cruise, check out our exploration day in Nassau.
