Disclosure: This review is completely my own from my personal experience, I am not being compensated in any way to give this review.
Cruises.
Basically taking a boat across the ocean to experience some AWESOME vacation time in the tropics. That’s at least what I thought prior to taking my FIRST cruise. Now, I’m not saying that it sucked by any means, but it definitely left more to be desired. Whether that stemmed from the time I was gone on mine (only a mere 3 days) or the location (Nassau, Bahamas) which is highly doubtful.
In truth I had an amazing time! But it felt disorganized and like a huge cluster, which again could have literally been because it was my first cruise and no matter how many cruise hacks I found and followed on Pinterest, it still was a combination of fun and fiasco.
So to get into the details, a girlfriend and I took a 3-day Carnival cruise that left out of Miami, Florida this past March. Sounds GREAT! Cruises are relatively inexpensive and allow you to just get away for a few days and go into full on vacation mode… this is partially true from my experience. We followed some advice, got an amazing cabin location which I would HIGHLY recommend for first time cruisers, which was mid-ship and we had a balcony as well. Let me tell you, even for just 3 days on a boat it can start to get a little claustrophobic and that balcony really did the trick! Being mid-ship is a trick too, for sea-sickness, and in the middle of the ship it’s balanced pretty well, so you barely feel the rocking underneath you.
You Will Get Lost.
If there’s ONE positive to take, take that as sound advice, get a cabin mid-ship and if you can with a balcony! *side note: these are a tad bit extra price wise* Also these cruise ships are HUGE, outwardly and inwardly. We got lost a few times until we figured out that the halls literally went from one end of the ship to the other (duh), so looking at the map can actually be more confusing than just exploring from the beginning, which is what we opted for.
There is actually a lot of walking within the ship and a lot of activities to keep you entertained and occupied, on top of that you are given your onboard “card” that you sync up prior to leaving port… I cannot stress this point enough, set this up BEFOREHAND. I tried using another card on the ship and it was not one of the ones I had used online in the whole buying process and they didn’t let me use it. So make sure to line up your cards prior to boarding the ship because they WILL NOT let you, OR you can wait for 4 hours in the customer service line like we had to do. We didn’t even get to wave goodbye to all the jealous on-lookers on the shore, we were moving before getting out of the damn customer service line with sights of Miami far off in the distance.
Be Proactive.
Another note, no cash is used on the ship, only the Carnival Cruise Line cards, which takes directly from the credit/debit card you set up and sync it to online. Fraud is a big deal for these guys, so while it was irritating standing in line for all that, I can’t really get mad at them for not letting me use the other card. In their defense they’re just being thorough. And I was just trying to last-minute purchase the beverage package using another card… soooo maybe that’s also on me? Either way I just used the card I had synced up and added the beverage plan, which if you want a bunch of frozen frilly vacay drinks… buy that sucker beforehand… don’t wait, YES you do in fact NEED it.
Excursions.
Thankfully we set up our excursion prior to the cruise, which is another top tip, set up your excursions beforehand! *Note: Excursions are also additional costs* Those customer service lines are legitimately the worst. Which by the way, an excursion is a little extra experience you can take while on the cruises, we chose the Swimming with Dolphins experience at the Atlantis resort along-with full use of the waterpark at the hotel. We didn’t even get to do the water park! Mind you EVERYTHING shuts down at 5 pm and we wanted to experience Nassau as well. By the time we got done swimming with the dolphins, got some food in our stomachs, and a got quick photo-op down at the beach, we had to hustle back to the shuttles into town.
Don’t Leave Belongings Unattended.
Like I mentioned before, a lot of walking and travel times that you definitely do not account for. Also, do not leave any of your belongings unattended, we also learned this the hard way. My friend left her flip flops on the beach by the dolphin pools and when we came back they were gone. She had to walk all that way barefoot and through the hotel to get some flip flops, I mean at least they felt sorry for us and we got our dolphin photos completely free? It’s all about how you ultimately end up looking at it I suppose!
Honestly as much as I loved experiencing another country, I felt rushed and definitely did not get to stay as long as I would’ve liked. Ultimately though my favorite day of the trip was the sea day, I loved being on the open ocean and getting to just relax on the ship sipping cocktails and eating to my heart’s content. I mean that’s what vacation is really all about right?
Be Realistic.
So if you’re a first time cruiser, here are some pro tips for you:
1) Overpacking is real and definitely don’t do it, those cabins are itty-bitty and there is not enough room for a bunch of stuff. I wore maybe two outfits aside from bathing suits and shorts. Definitely DO pack something nice for the Captain’s Night.
2) Pro pro tip: Stop at every photo screen they have set up, take advantage! The photos are free and on the last day you can go through them at a kiosk onboard and purchase ones you want! We did not know this!
3) Be prepared to walk A LOT and travel lightly, also have cash on hand for the actual destinations.
4) Go to the adult comedy shows, they are HILARIOUS.
5) Grab some legit Coconut Rum (if in Nassau) and bring that shit home, it’s delicious!
6) Grab a waterproof phone case on Amazon; it was a lifesaver! See this link
7) Always have a hat or sunglasses on hand, it is bright and hot, even in March
8) Have a cardigan or light jacket, it is super breezy and chilly on the ocean at night
9) If you get sea sick or don’t know if you do, bring some Bonine and Dramamine it’s specifically for motion sickness and I took one everyday while on board just in case
10) Please get in the pools… then leave a comment telling me how it was. I didn’t get into the pool onboard the ship even once and I seriously regret it. Thankfully though I’m going on another cruise in January 2019!
For my personal preferences I think Carnival is a good starting point but it really is more designated for families/college kids, a weird combination. They are very affordable and very consistent with times/dates of availability, but I’m definitely excited to try out Royal Caribbean this time around. Carnival was a little too chaotic and kid-zoned for my tastes, but to each their own! I had a blast either way and I can’t wait to try out another one! Next on the list is Mexico!
