Two friends and I signed up for a group package set up by a friend that will have painting classes the days we are at sea, we also know several others in the group. But we did read the fine print buried in different places on the cruise line’s website,
the good news is our cabins are midship so less boat rocking.
we did not understand that we could have opted out of the almost unlimited beverage package. We don’t drink so will be drinking a lot of mocktails.
the package also included $50 credits toward excursions which you can do much less expensively onmyour own.
The cruise line is promoting their dinner theater but never says what movies are being shown.
we also get three meals at specialty restaurants which require reservations. If we had looked sooner we might have been able to make reservations. Supposedly we can still get in line to make reservations once we get on board.
if you open the cabin door while the balcony door is open everything will get sucked out of the room.
we get 150 minutes of wifi unless we buy more minutes. Reports are both good and nad about reliability of shipboard minutes. And someone always answers to put the phone/tablet down and enjoy the cruise.
Top of ship appears to be an amusement park.
it will probably be too cold to use the swimming pool.
i requested wheelchair assistance but have no idea if I will be able to walk to excursions for mobility impaired people on vehicles that do not have storage space for rollators, etc.
one crew member recently either fell overboard or committed suicide.
Group leader told us location of our classroom but got the name wrong. Someone on the zoom meeting noticed the error. Wherever it is starts with B.
i am bringing post its to leave messages on cabin doors since I do not understand hiw we can contact each other if we don’t buy more minutes. Someone gave us app optins that are much better and cheaper to use but my phone is probably too old. Will try Whatsapp.

I dutifully downloaed cruise line’s app to get travel documents but could not primt liggage tags. Thanks to facebook discussions found out different way to print them. Based in the five duplicate emails I figure their tech support needs to be fired.

I have cruised many times and have never heard that if you open the cabin door while the balcony door is open that things will be "sucked out of the cabin". Who told you this?
I know we have opened our cabin door while the balcony door was open.

Too bad your first cruise is on one of the big ships with a playground like atmosphere.
We enjoy the small ships now that we are older.

You are with friends so you will have a good time.
Just take a deep breath and enjoy.

"I have cruised many times and have never heard that if you open the cabin door while the balcony door is open that things will be "sucked out of the cabin". Who told you this?"

Same.
I've not cruised many times but I took a river cruise last year and the door was open a lot of the time. No problems.

"we did not understand that we could have opted out of the almost unlimited beverage package. We don’t drink so will be drinking a lot of mocktails."
Just order what you like to drink but without the alcohol. I would just order sodas, juice, or whatever else I'd want but without the alcohol. Those things are mixers for alcohol. I've never bought a beverage package but I would imagine you can have whatever mixer you like.

I hope the trip turns out a lot better than you expect. Enjoy the painting and just ignore the other stuff you won't want to do. I think it's cool you are going on a painting cruise. It's been decades since I've been on a "big ship" cruise, but I really enjoyed the entertainment.

I've taken two of those huge ship Caribbean cruises in the last two years/. It's something my partner wanted to try and, shockingly, I agreed to go a second time last January. Look at it like an adventure, even if a strange one.

I had a great time on both cruises, although I did not do many organized activities and I did not like the few shows that I was dragged to. The issue of getting a table at the speciality restaurants is a giant pain in the neck and trust me, you are not going to miss much if you do not go. If you really want to eat at one, just show up at the host station on the first night and beg for a table at any day at any time.....you'll probably get 5pm, or 9pm..

We did not take any of the ship's excursions..I just got off and took a taxi in a couple of ports---Cozumel, Puerto Plata..and waked around alone in Belize City...


See my DR "adventure" here:
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC...options from Amber Cove

Think of it like a whole world that you would never have imagined existed......I was on Princess and if I can give you any tips on their ships, let me know..

Just found this....little report about my day off the ship in Belize City:


Photos of belize city...

Thanks to all for listening amd encouraging me to have a good time. I probably am worrying too mich because of mobility issues but I won’t be the only one and i can get some walking exercise with my rollator.

I cannot imagine that you will have the slightest issue as far as mobility...there will be MANY others using collators, walkers, canes, wheelchairs, etc...and everyone on these ships seems so NICE!

Which ship are you sailing on? (notice I now say "ship" instead of "boat")

I think you are just frustrated because you are dealing with physical limitations. Lots (LOTS) of people with mobilityissues take cruises -- that is one of the draws for multi-generational family trips -- the kids can run all over/be mega active, while Granny can get everywhere with a rollator or wheelchair. No, your stuff won't be sucked out when you open the cabin door. Someone is pulling your leg

Now I haven't been on a large ship in probably 8 or 10 years but I can't imagine cabin phones have been removed. You can call room--to-room and also leave voicemail messages. No need to use up your wifi minutes contacting your travel companions.

Have fun -- there is lots to enjoy, and the 'other stuff' usually isn't awful.

frosty, I'm not sure if this will make you feel better or not, but a friend called a couple of days ago to see if I could take her mom's place on a small ship cruise to Alaska. It's an extended family trip, her mother could not go and she needed an answer that day to see if I could sub for her mom. I said "maybe" and called the dog sitter if it would work - but my heart was not in it. I've not felt "right" for about a week. I think I've been fighting off a cold or flu or something. I could easily get ready in the next few days but the thought of the trip was honestly overwhelming right now. I've been to Alaska (twice) and although the very nice cruise ship/ line would be a different experience (instead of public ferries) it all seemed daunting. I think...maybe... you just don't feel so great right now and your trip may just feel overwhelming. Go. Choose your own pace. Don't worry about skipping excursions. Enjoy the painting and being with your group and your painting friends. Enjoy your own version of this cruise. Maybe not as much as a river cruise but there's a good chance that this cruise will skew toward older passengers - since school is still in session right now. I'm glad you are going and hope you will have a good time.