going on a cruise. thoughts?

[SewTexas]

^ that looks like fun!!!

[JP171]

First, you need a passport to go on a Galveston cruise. I have cruised out of Galveston on Carnival many times. It is a blast. You can board the ship around 11am-11:30am and avoid the lines. They serve lunch during this time too. Sign up for the "behind the scenes" tour. On the last day of the cruise (enroute to Galveston) they let small groups, <50 total, people go in places no one is allowed to go (engineering, bridge, crew quarters, galleys, etc.) You get checked by security before you start the tour and they are VERY strict on the bridge. As soon as you board the ship in Galveston, get a drink with an umbrella and head direct to passenger services to sign up. It was well worth the cost. I suggest you stick with the ship sponsored tours on your first cruise. They will not depart a port if a sponsored tour has not returned. Don't try to smuggle anything on board..they have seen it all. You are allowed to bring on X # bottles of wine and other drinks. Check with the web site.

On return to Galveston, they have disembark times based on basically your cruising "frequent flyer" status and where your cabin is. BUT, Carnival lets all those that can carry EVERYTHING off the boat without help to go very early. Take one pair of slacks and one sport coat. That is as dressy as you need to get. Book the 8:30 evening dinner. Most shore excursions don't get back until the early seating has started. If your wife is like mine and packs the house, the cruise line will take your bags on the last night and place them in the terminal. They will be sniffed by a drug dog and be waiting on you when you get off in Galveston. Customs in Galveston can take a long time but get a porter to help you (worth the tip) and they and you go to the front of the line.

One last hint. If you get to the cruise terminal after 1pm, there will be a long line of cars waiting at the stop light to turn left into the terminal dropoff area. The road there is a 4 lane road (two each direction) with everyone in the left lane to turn. Get in the right lane and go past the traffic, past the place everyone is turning left and go up a ways and make a u-turn. You will then be only in line behind taxis and parking lot buses. Go on Google Earth and look at this area. It will make more sense when you see that.

This is false you do NOT need a passport all you need is proof that you are a us citizen or a foreign traveler who is passing through

If you are going get off that ship during the port stops, you need a passport.

nope no passport needed at any port of call, yes if you need to re-enter the US through any other method you will need a passport. For any closed loop cruise you do not need a passport

[SewTexas]

if you get off that ship without a passport and something happens, ie, you step off a curb wrong and end up with a broken ankle and miss the ship, you can not get home without a passport.

Never, ever leave this country without a passport, it's just plain stupid, too much can happen.

Remember the first ship that had the norovirus? they tried to fly everyone home and couldn't because some of them didn't have passports....had to do a work around, those ended up staying stuck in a hotel for a couple of extra days. Always have a passport.

[Oldgringo]

if you get off that ship without a passport and something happens, ie, you step off a curb wrong and end up with a broken ankle and miss the ship, you can not get home without a passport.

Never, ever leave this country without a passport, it's just plain stupid, too much can happen.

Remember the first ship that had the norovirus? they tried to fly everyone home and couldn't because some of them didn't have passports....had to do a work around, those ended up staying stuck in a hotel for a couple of extra days. Always have a passport.

We won't even go to Oklahoma without our Passport cards.

BTW, we do not leave our Passport cards no where. They are always in our possession.

[SewTexas]

if you get off that ship without a passport and something happens, ie, you step off a curb wrong and end up with a broken ankle and miss the ship, you can not get home without a passport.

Never, ever leave this country without a passport, it's just plain stupid, too much can happen.

Remember the first ship that had the norovirus? they tried to fly everyone home and couldn't because some of them didn't have passports....had to do a work around, those ended up staying stuck in a hotel for a couple of extra days. Always have a passport.

We won't even go to Oklahoma without our Passport cards.

BTW, we do not leave our Passport cards no where. They are always in our possession.

welllllll, you know what they say.....we are a whole other country

[Oldgringo]

{snip}
This year we are doing a two week Alaska cruise, which my wife made the reservations for, and unknown to her what she did was book two back to back one week cruises. I tease her about that too.

Surely, one is coming and the other is going, or vice versa, yes? Have your Passports handy when you go through Victoria, BC...just in case.

[jimlongley]

{snip}
This year we are doing a two week Alaska cruise, which my wife made the reservations for, and unknown to her what she did was book two back to back one week cruises. I tease her about that too.

Surely, one is coming and the other is going, or vice versa, yes? Have your Passports handy when you go through Victoria, BC...just in case.

Yes, most assuredly, and yes, one is going and the other is coming. One of the other cruise lines offers a two week, there and back, with different ports of call each way, but this was cheaper and for a variety of reasons we wanted Alaska to be next (my 50th state to set foot in) and she didn't realize what was up. We don't have to leave the ship at the turnaround, apparently this is not uncommon.

[Oldgringo]

{snip}
This year we are doing a two week Alaska cruise, which my wife made the reservations for, and unknown to her what she did was book two back to back one week cruises. I tease her about that too.

Surely, one is coming and the other is going, or vice versa, yes? Have your Passports handy when you go through Victoria, BC...just in case.

Yes, most assuredly, and yes, one is going and the other is coming. One of the other cruise lines offers a two week, there and back, with different ports of call each way, but this was cheaper and for a variety of reasons we wanted Alaska to be next (my 50th state to set foot in) and she didn't realize what was up. We don't have to leave the ship at the turnaround, apparently this is not uncommon.

Turnaround sounds like a plan! Our flight from Houston to Anchorage and then a 3 hour bus ride down to Seward was tiring to say the least. BON VOYAGE!

[spolct]

my eyes are getting droopy for the night so i didn't read all 3 pages and i apologize if this has already been posted.

check out http://www.cruisecritic.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; when you get a chance. i spent weeks on there before going on my first (and so far only) cruise. lots and lots of good information, along with tons of helpful tips. we went on a carnival ship out of galveston and stopped in cancun and progresso.

the one thing that i was not prepared for was the VERY pushy merchants at the markets in port. not a huge deal, but it was a bit of a shock to the system getting bombarded with their antics.

have fun!!

[WildBill]

the one thing that i was not prepared for was the VERY pushy merchants at the markets in port. not a huge deal, but it was a bit of a shock to the system getting bombarded with their antics.

We had a problem with this in Jamacia. Some of the "merchants" in the market areas literally tried to grab us and pull us into their stalls. We had to push some of them away and made it very clear that we didn't want to be touched.

[The Annoyed Man]

my eyes are getting droopy for the night so i didn't read all 3 pages and i apologize if this has already been posted.

check out http://www.cruisecritic.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; when you get a chance. i spent weeks on there before going on my first (and so far only) cruise. lots and lots of good information, along with tons of helpful tips. we went on a carnival ship out of galveston and stopped in cancun and progresso.

the one thing that i was not prepared for was the VERY pushy merchants at the markets in port. not a huge deal, but it was a bit of a shock to the system getting bombarded with their antics.

have fun!!

Already posted at the bottom of page 1: viewtopic.php?p=888481#p888481" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jimlongley]

. . .

the one thing that i was not prepared for was the VERY pushy merchants at the markets in port. not a huge deal, but it was a bit of a shock to the system getting bombarded with their antics.

have fun!!

Yes, I always warn new cruisers about the "Heyjoes" which have not changed at all since my first, government sponsored, cruise back in the 60s. They will tell you they are giving you the bargain of the century, and then "bait and switch" you or just flat out swindle you. Your cruise lines has a list of "approved" merchants for each port, and you are safest there, but only "safest."

This past cruise, we stopped in Cozumel, and having been there multiple times, and not being recreational drinkers, we decided to forego the various tours and such and just went for a self-guided ramble in the city. We started at "The Forum Shops" which is nothing but a biig jewelry mall run by the Diamonds International group, and as we walked in the door a young lady working her way through school approached my wife and asked if she had a raffle ticket.

My wife filled out the ticket and dropped it in the bucket for our ship, and much to our surprise she won $500.00 US (6,500 Pesos) which they insisted on having us spend there. Of course the first thing they showed us was $5,000.00 and as we fought back and finally got them down into our price range, they acted very aggrieved, as if they were doing us some sort of favor. This was real Mexican Pesos (which I think they were hoping we wouldn't know the conversion rate, or how to convert) and we could have walked out the door with it, but they told us we could only spend it there. When I told them that was bull and started to head for the door with the money in hand, they changed their tune, after all, we were not losing a thing by just walking out the door. That was when they decided to show us stuff in the $500 to $1000 range, and we were nice enough to buy something that really only cost us (me) $300.00.

But the vendors on the sidewalks were like sharks, if you stopped to talk to one, they hanged up on you.

Wallet in one front pocket secured under velcro, money in another under two velcro closures.

[spolct]

Already posted at the bottom of page 1: viewtopic.php?p=888481#p888481" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

oops. that's the page that i "read".

x2 (or 3) for cruisecritic then.

[txglock21]

I've enjoyed reading about everyone's experiences. Unfortunately my wife will NEVER set foot on any boat or ship. She starts shaking just thinking about it. She has only been on a plane once (well, there & back) and was a wreck the whole time. Most of our vacations are to places we can drive to, which is fine by me so I can carry either on me or in our vehicle. I traveled enough while in the Air Force, so not really missing leaving the USA. I even let my passport exprire last year after having one for twenty years and only using it once. Maybe one day after I retire.

[GeekwithaGun]

This year we are doing a two week Alaska cruise, which my wife made the reservations for, and unknown to her what she did was book two back to back one week cruises. I tease her about that too.

Jim, We are also doing a 7 night Alaskan cruise this year in late June from Seattle (on HAL) June 28-Jul 5, if your travel coinsides with ours, let us know

I've been on Carnival twice and Disney once and this summer Holland America for the first time, have never got sick on the trips and didn't hear about anyone on board getting sick either. Like others have said, be careful when/if you get off the ship at port and keep your SA up. We also plan our excersions well in advance and try to book direct with the local provider instead of buying from the cruise line if possible. You can get more personal guides for snorkling / scuba than with the large group from the ship and usually for the same or less money. Just be careful about the time so you get back to the ship. They won't wait unless you are on their excursion.

One think I would recommend is travel insurance. We buy travel insurance, but not from the cruise line, to cover any medical emergency and related travel expenses and also if something happened before the trip and you have to cancel. It can be very expensive if you are out of the country or a long way from home if someone gets sick, injured or worse. We have a friend who had to use it when her husband drowned in Hawaii, we never leave home without it now, well worth the minimal cost for peace of mind.