ileen

We are now getting ready for our first Alaska cruise. I have done lots of reading and I think I am prepared and ready for the adventure.

But Fodorite friends are so experienced and always have a wealth of knowledge. All the earlier information on other threads have been used in the planning. Thus, asking if any of you can share some important tips to make our trip memorable.

Thanks for your help.

Orlando_Vic

Your first priority should be to get acquainted with Cruise Critic. It is your best resource for all things cruise related.

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

nyc2616

We just got back from our first cruise (Alaska with Holland America). There was so much on Fodor's and Cruise Critic that we found helpful, but probably the best pieces of advice were to bring binoculars and to make reservations for the main dining room on gala nights since we had "As You Wish" dining and not a fixed time. (We were able to make reservations by calling the dining number from our stateroom the night before.)

Other advice I would suggest:

-Cruise ships have a lot of activities, especially on days "at sea." Keep in mind that it's impossible to do all of them. We received a pamphlet each evening with a guide to the following day's activities. Since some of the activities overlapped, our strategy was to pick the activities that we couldn't do at home (for example, skipping things like movies). One of my favorite activities was actually a tour of the ship's kitchen -- we got to meet the executive chef and watch the staff prepare lunch.

-Unless you have an early excursion booked, you might want to wait a little while before getting off the ship in port. We found that there were long lines to get off the ship as soon as we were in port, but if you waited a little bit, there were no lines. Other than the day we had an early excursion booked, we figured we'd rather spend those 15-30 minutes lingering at breakfast than waiting in line to get off the ship. (The only downside was that the ship's photographer was taking photos at the dock and he left by the time we got off the ship.)

-Our ship had a library with travel guidebooks, which was a huge help to us. We hadn't purchased any books before the trip and we didn't want to pay for internet. Luckily, there was a library full of guidebooks (including Fodor's books) that we looked at each evening so we could jot down names of local cafes and attractions to visit before/after our excursions. Not sure if all ships have this.

-If you have food allergies or dietary restrictions, eating in the main dining room may be a safer bet than the buffet. I found that the main dining room servers were much more knowledgeable about ingredients than the buffet staff were. Also, the main dining room was able to modify a dish for me.

-Last but definitely not least, remember to relax and have fun!

ileen

Thanks for the wonderful tips shared by Vic and NYC. They will indeed be helpful and make our trip memorable.
Have a beautiful day.

ira

Hey ileen,

Remove from your luggage half of what you put in.

AK is one of the few places where denims are useful.

Bring gloves, earmuffs, a hat and an umbrella. That way you will have warm, clear, fair weather.

Enjoy your trip.

Eschew

Dear Orlando_Vic

In the face of potentially offending many people, here I am, standing on my soap box, singing the praise of Fodors' Forums and specially for an advocacy for the Fodors' Cruise Forum.

If we keep tell everyone to go to cruise critics for all cruise advises and don't give them any advise here, why do we need this forum then?

They came here for advise. Just tell them to go else where is a total cop out and not helpful at all.

What I like to suggest is that we should answer the posters' questions, give them advise, and if you suggest them to go to elsewhere for additional resources or advises, so be it. Just tell them to go elsewhere is not being helpful and teh spirit of what we try to do here. Just saying.

BarbAnn

With all due respect, Eschew, I agree with Orlando_Vic. While Fodor's can give some very helpful info, Cruise Critic has thousands of members that know each ship, cruise lines, ports of calls, etc. with up to date information. Not only that, you can meet and communicate with cruisers that will be on your cruise.

I have been a member of both forums for many years and get useful info from both sites.

Eschew

BarbAnn, You missed my point. My point is NOT not pointing people towards Cruise Critics. My point is to answer people's question, and if you want to tell them about cruise Critics, fine.

If Cruise Critics is the be all and end all. Why are you here at this forum?

Eschew

ileen, sorry about hujacking your thread. taht is certainly not my intend.

Here are some links to tips for first time cruiser on Fodors. Hope you find them helpful.


http://www.fodors.com/cruises/101
Cruising 101 have topics such as choosing your ship, planning your cruise, thinsg to do before you leave, and life on board.

There are also complete expert cruise line and ships review.
http://www.fodors.com/cruises/lines

The big part of the Alaska cruise adventure is on the shore excursions and the scenic cruising through the Fjords and the Glacier viewing.

Search the forum for Alaska trip reports.

Here is a link to an Alaskan Cruise trip report "on the cheap"
http://www.fodors.com/community/crui...-the-cheap.cfm

ileen

Eschew---THANKS! for all your help. You are indeed a very helpful cruiser.
Will check all the sites soon.
Have a relaxing evening.

BarbAnn

Eschew, not saying cruise critic is the be all end all for cruise info. Just like flyertalk is not the be all end all on air travel.

To be honest, I always start my research here at Fodor's and then peruse the other web sites. I always seem to have about 5-6 trips (cruise and land vacations) in the hopper at any given time.

For ileen, pack light, especially if you have to fly to the embarkation port. Plan to dress in layers.

If you enjoy wine, know that wine and cocktails can get expensive. If your cruise line allows you to bring a bottle of wine or two, do so. I always carry on a 12 pack of diet coke as I do not drink coffee in the morning.

Shore excursions offered by the ship are expensive and you are usually part of a LARGE group. I have taken over 30 cruises and I have not used ship excursions for the last 25 cruises. I always book private companies. It costs less and usually are in smaller groups. It is easy to do via the internet. Many cruisers are scared to book private companies because they are told that the cruise will not wait for a late returning tour. True, but most tour companies want to stay in business and know when you need to be back o the ship. In all times I have taken private ours (well over 100 by now), I have never been late for departure. You can find out about private tours on cruise critic and get reviews on traveladviser.

Have fun! Do as little or as much as you want on the cruise. Read the daily bulletin for announcements and what activities are offered.

Depending on the ship, they may have "deals" on specialty restaurants once you are aboard. Ask the waiters or maitre'd.

For Alaska take a rain jacket and binoculars.

Make friends! My hubby and I made friends with a couple from Ohio (we live in California) six years ago and now travel all over the world together. We also made friends on a New Zealand cruise with a couple who live in Sydney, Australia. They have visited us in CA and we rented a house together in Hawaii. We also visited them for 3 weeks in Australia this past February. We all are on a cruise to the Caribbean next February. Life is sweet when you reach out to people.

Bon voyage!

mlgb

These aren't tips about any specific ports or activities, since I think those have been well covered. I'm a pretty new cruiser so have been through a recent learning curve.

The first thing I'd do is check your cruise line's policy and pricing on room service and which beverages you can carry onboard. It's always changing. Holland America had a good perk on my Alaska cruise that I could order free for room service, anything from the Main dining room dinner menu during the first hour of service. That was nice since dinner usually took over an hour or more.

Bring a portable insulated mug, for hot or cold. If you like juice, it's usually only free at breakfast.

Ask your rooms steward if you can have a basket of fruit and a robe. It's often free if you ask, even in an inside cabin.

You can make reservations for main dining room even if you're on the anytime dining plan. If you don't want to sit at a table of 6 or 8 people you don't have to, but you might need to make a reservation to avoid waiting for a 2-person table. On some lines, the good tables near the windows tend to be the big ones. (NCL is an exception). If you find a waiter you like the first night, try to get reservations for their section.

On some lines the buffets are pretty good and on some lines they are not so good. Give them a try.

The daily menus are posted outside the main dining room so you can see if there is something special that night that makes it worthwhile (like rack of lamb).

You can order more than one appetizer, entree and dessert.

Regular coffee, tea are free. Specialty latte's etc aren't. You can bring your own teabags if you are picky, and order a pot of hot water. Or use your insulated mug. Juice is usually only free in the morning.

Be sure to wander around the ship and look at the artwork.

Some ships offer free tours of their galleys. Usually very popular and you have to sign up for those as soon as you can. Very interesting.

If you want to board as soon as allowed you can usually hang out in the buffet restaurant until your room is ready, but it gets very crowded. However I try to get my maximum food allotment so that's what I do!

There are different procedures for disembarking, which should be listed in your newsletter or a separate flyer. Be sure to read those pronto, on NCL we had to pull colored tickets, which I didn't realize until it was nearly too late to get the earliest time for non-elite passengers.

You're already paying a fairly hefty tip daily that goes to your steward and dining room staff. Some people believe that they should tip room service a little bit (on some lines it's automatically added, on others not). You can leave extra at the end of the cruise if you had special service (we gave a little extra cash to some room stewards and waiters that went above and beyond).

mlgb

Here's a few more...

Push elevator buttons with your knuckle, not your fingertip (to cut down passing along cooties). Better yet, use the stairs and then the sanitizer stations.

There is a cruise ship cough that gets passed between passengers and crew. It's worse than norovirus and takes much longer to recover from. If you hear coughing in the common areas, stay away! You can usually watch the lectures on your state room TV.

Bring a little medicine cabinet including cough drops, aspirin, and other common remedies. You don't want to have to buy those on the cruise ship.

If you're going to a trip report or take a lot of photos, take a picture of your ship's position from your TV screen. I recall one ship had the day of week (eg Monday) on the elevator floor mats.

Not so much on an Alaska cruise, but there are time changes to keep track of. The times that the ship uses for being back on board are local time. Be sure to check your timepiece before heading out in the morning.

ileen

Barb and Mlgb--sincere thanks for all the advice. I think I am now getting more knowledgeable and am getting excited about the cruise.

Hope the weather cooperates and we remain healthy to enjoy each and every moment.

Your help is much appreciated.

Eschew

BarbAnn. that was great advise for ileen! And that's the Fodors spirit!

Eschew

ileen, one thing about weather for Alaska, you have 33% chance of cloud/light drizzle and 33% chance of rain over the course of that 7 days. Sometimes, you may get 7 days of cloudy and cool weather, and every once in awhile, you may get 7 days of sun, which is quite unusual.

Either way, be prepared for the weather. Before you leave, check weather forecast. Here is a link that I find useful.
https://cruiseoutlook.com/

Just find the cruise you are on and the forecast for all the ports are listed by day. The forecast is only for 8 days in advance.

When is your cruise and what cruise line. If you share the info, there maybe more specific info can be offered. If you have not book yet, suggestion for itinerary may be offered.

There was a discussion elsewhere about booking excursion outside of the ship. There are are "cautions" for that. Most experienced cruisers usually book outside of the ship's or not book anything at all. and go for a self guided or hop-on hop-ff bus. Just make sure you are back on board ahead of time.

For Alaska, excursions are relative expensive, and it is an oddity that the price difference between the ship's and book on your own is not that bog of a gap. Maybe 10-15% rather than 20-25% which is typical of other destination.

For Alaska, what you get from a private tour for the same money is longer tour time, smaller group and you can pick where you want to go and how long you stay.

For the first time cruisers, I always suggest to be safe, pay extra so you know the "process", and have that guarantee from the ship on "quality" as well guarantee back to the ship. If you do not return on time, you literally missed the boat.

Feel free to ask more questions and the more detail you provide, the more suggestions/reply you will receive.

As to Cruise Critics, I am there too but I usually use it to connect to people on the roll call. You will find the forum here easier to navigate and people more friendly.

There are more reviews there but there were questions a few years back about the quality of the review, and who wrote them. A lot of the reviews were similar and simply stated the food is good, entertainment is great; which was less than helpful.

The trip reports here are inter-active so you can ask the person who posted the trip report questions. I had a trip report on Alaska shore excursion from 3 years ago that is still active to this date. Other than pricing, information are still current (or updated) and people are still adding new questions comments. This makes for a better review process than the Cruise Critics reviews where people rate things one to five. My 5 stars maybe only 3 stars to you and being inter-active, that's an big advantage in my mind.

Good luck on your cruise and keep posting more questions!

ileen

Sincere thanks once again for all these great websites, ideas and tips.
I am running around in circles these days and have not had much time to be on the computer to check them all out. But soon I will and I am very sure I will find tons of help for everything.
Eschew Cruise outlook is a big help too.
THANKS, GOOD NIGHT

gail

Ignore the photos in cruise brochures and on-line about how people dress, especially for Alaska cruise. Daytime - comfort rules. Fleece, layers, waterproof outer layer. On warm-water cruises some people do like to get quite dressy at night. On Alaska cruise you are unlikely to see gowns, sequins and bling. Dinner can be dress pants, simple dress, flats, etc.

jacketwatch

I would add to be careful about getting pictures. There will be photographers all over the place, at embarkation, dinner, every port and so on. Those prices can add up so be aware of that. You can get as many pics takes as you wish but perhaps buy just a few. We usually now just get the formal dinner pics and thats about it.

If you good coffee then you may want to get a coffee package or bring something like Starbucks Via packets which are quite good actually. Often ships regular coffee is awful Princess is my fav line for service but they do not IMHO serve good coffee. However my taste and your may differ.

Have fun!!

Eschew

I don;t buy photos anymore.Instead I opt for the DVD (usually $30, which is about the cost of a photo). The DVD records your voyage, and show ship's activity as well as ports. Sometime they cheated and recycle old stuff or added stock stuff. If they do it properly, you should see your shipmates, or even yourself in the video.

All the ship's coffee are lousy, except for fresh brew and espresso. For Princess, the coffee at their International Cafe is better than most.