1st Cruise HELP!!!?

Question

I paid for my parents and I to go on a cruise from LA to Hawaii and back...15nights...

I need as much info on a cruise about being on the cruise...I've read as much info as I can...I leave in 7days...

I'm 17...

Any help...laundry?...Can I only bring like 7 days worth then wash and dry on the ship?...

The whole $10 a day tipping...

Cuz I'm paying for all of this...

How can I keep from spending to much on the ship???

Is it honestly better to wait till on land to plan my day there on land???

I'm 17 so our the teen center lame...I'm really mature and can't stand teens...no offence...

Just please till me as much as you know!!!

Princess cruises...sry...the diamond ship

Answer 1

OK, I have been on almost 20 cruises and on three Princess ships so I'll try to brief you on cruising.

The standard cabin that most people get is generally between 175 and 200 Square feet, about the size of a 9 by 12 ft home bedroom. Suites and penthouses can be between 350 and 1300 square feet. Each cabin has a two beds which can be made into a queen, a bathroom with a shower stall, a closet and some drawer space, a TV and telephone, a safe for valuables, and a life jacket for each passenger. Some cabins that are built to accommodate 3 or 4 people will have a pull down bed and/or a sofa bed.

When you arrive at the port to check in you (each passenger) will have an on board charge account established and receive a key card which will serve as your room key, charge card for anything you buy on ship (i.e.,drinks, souvenir) and its also your pass to get on and off ship in each port. When you first board the ship the security personnel will have you insert your key card into a scanner and then will take a photo of you that is included in the magnetic strip on the card. Each time you get off ship you will need this key card and some times also a photo ID (passport or driver's license). This card allows them to keep an accurate track of all passengers entering and/or leaving the ship.

As soon as all passengers are on board there will be a mandatory safety drill for all passengers. You will be required to get your life vest from your cabin and go to the location listed on the back door of your cabin.

Each day of your cruise you will receive in your cabin a "newsletter" listing the time, place and particulars of everything happening for you on ship. There are generally activities like demonstrations of ice carvings, napkin folding and towel folding, and cooking demonstrations.. There will be organized games and other activities around the pools and/or on the sports deck. In the evenings there are shows, one show for those with an early dinner seating and another (same show) for those who eat late. The lounges will have a variety of types of music and there will be dancing in the disco starting about 10:00 PM.

There are free morning exercise programs, stretching and walking, etc, and on some you can pay for other things like Spinning. The ship will have a gym so you can go workout, usually any time from 6:00 AM to late at night. There is a walking/running track on one of the decks also. While the gym is free you have to pay for spa activities like wraps and massages with aroma therapy, and also the beauty salon to have your hair and nails done.

There will be an internet cafe (fee for this) a card and game room, a library or reading area, and you can watch movies in your cabin and some other places on ship. There will be a pool and hot tubs.

Princess cruise line does not have self service laundry. Although they do provide laundry service, it is really expensive as they charge a dollar to two per piece. My suggestion based on going on several 12 to 14 day cruises is to take enough underwear for each day (and then a couple extra) plan to wear our outer wear at least twice. On your cruise to Hawaii you will have at least 6 days at sea (no port stops). So you use the gym or walk in the mornings, use the pool and hot tubs most of these days, or mostly sit around on deck somewhere. You put on fresh clothes for the evening meal and shows. Then hang it up and wear it again a few days later.

Although there are programs for teens, you DO NOT have to participate in them. Just do what you want to do on ship. If you meet a couple teens whom you want to hang out with, do it, or just go to the activities that you want to go to.

The gratuity for each passenger is about $10. per day per person. So you just have to budget for paying that at the end of your cruise. The actual total will be just under $10. a day.

To keep from spending too much money on ship:

- drink the free beverages like coffee, tea, juices, milk, punch, etc., and do not buy soft drinks or bottled water.

- DO NOT use the internet cafe as they are very expensive. If you must get on the internet, try to find an internet cafe while in port. Many places there will be one in or near the port.

- Yes you should plan what you want to do at each port stop and know how much things will cost. Ship's tours are generally much more expensive than going on your own.

- You and your parents will want to go to Pearl Harbor; admission there is free and you can get there by public bus; so no need to pay for a ship's tour there. Use the web sites below to look at the activities available and select a couple of the best.

- Pack enough clothes so that you do not have a to pay for laundry service. Use soft-sided luggage that will store easily under your bed.

- Skip the very expensive spa services like massages, wraps, etc.

- Skip the "specialty" restaurants where there will be a service charge per person to eat.

- There will be at least two formal nights when you can wear your best stuff and get pictures taken, and maybe meet the ship’s Captain. Cruise lines charge a lot for the photos they take so take your own photos around the ship when you get the chance, especially on the formal nights. Ask other passengers to take photos for you, they generally are very willing.

- Plan on using all of the free stuff like the pool and hot tub, gym, game room, and bring something to read and your music player.

The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00PM. So take swim wear, shorts, sandals, beach shoes, your snorkel equipment if you have it, sun glasses and sun screen, lotions, a cap or big hat for the sun, a book if you are a reader, your music player, sneakers and clothes to workout in if you like to use the gym, your camera, and other personal toiletries.

After 6:00 PM they request that you wear "sports casual" attire. That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc. You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc.

On the last evening you will be required to put your luggage outside your cabin by about 2:00 AM so that they can start taking it down to the lower deck for offloading the next morning. So you will need a small bag for your toiletries and your clothes that you sleep in.

Answer 2

I went on this ship last August. 1. Not all foods are free. The specialty restaurants have a fee, and are not cheap at all. For example, the Tepanyaki restaurant (which is like a Benihana) has a $25 cover fee. The dining rooms, room service, and snack areas (Blue Lagoon Cafe) have no charge at all. 2. "Tipping" $10 a day is just what you are recommended to pay the maintenance, but you do not need to pay $10. That can be changed based on performance. 3. There is a Wii in the kids area and there are multiple times when they are on the children's schedule. I believe there is only Wii Sports, from experience. 4. Towels and some toiletries are provided, but you'll want to bring your own toothbrush, razors, etc. 5. The cable tv is basic channels and some movie channels that repeat the same movies. There are also channels just for the cruise line. The movie theater does not always play recent movies. 6. You do not need to get off the ship once you reach the destination. You can get off whenever you want, but you need your room key to get on and off the boat. Once off the boat, you can take a shore excursion planned by the line or do your own thing. There also may be something planned for just the teen group, such as a scavenger hunt on the beach. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

15 nights? wow that's a long time to be in a cruise ship. Some ships offer laundry services (or provide one for self service). While tipping is not required to be $10 per day, it's up to you.
As for plans for Hawaii, it's better to ask around on the ships because you have plenty of free time on the ships, while you have a very limited time on Hawaii. I'm sure the ship has all the information about Hawaii...
I don't think you can spend much on the ship as all the meals are included, and it's not a good place for shopping. Besides, I don't think, at 17, you are able to enter the casino...
So, just enjoy the cruise, there's plenty of food and entertainment on board that's free...

Answer 4

To answer your questions as asked

1. They can do your laundry for a fee (returned 48 hours later) or there are coin operated self service launderettes onboard. As far as packing, in addition to deck and beach/pool clothes remember the dining room requires smart casual (no shorts or holes/frayed jeans) and on a 15 night cruise there will be 3 formal nights.

2. Tipping, they will assess an automatic $10 per person per day dining and hotel fee to your shipboard account. You may prepay this, or pay it when the cruise is over. If you feel the amount is too high, you may speak with the Purser's desk to arrange to have the amount lowered. They will give you a form and ask you to explain why you feel the amount is too high. Also, as far as tips, bar bills, this includes soft drink purchases, will have an additional tip added to the amount of purchase per drink.

3. To decrease you expenses on the ship, plan your trip. Budget ahead of time for the all-you-can-drink soft drink/fountain card instead of buying individual soft drinks and the $3 per can drinks in the room. Also, Princess allows you to take some soft drinks or water onboard with you, so take some and have the room steward bring you ice to save money.

4. As far as excursions... You will hear many opinions about the pros and cons of buying from the cruise line or on shore. If you plan on taking a shore excursion, put it into your budget upfront. Buy it early to make sure you get the excursion you want. Most of the companies who do excursions have deals with the cruise lines. Remember the company that owns Princess Cruise Lines, owns, Holland America, Carnival, Costa, Seaborn, Cunard, P&O Cruise Line, Ocean Village Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Windstar, they really don't want to lose their business by undercutting them. Also, if you buy an excursion from a shore based firm and something goes wrong and you are running late, you may get back to the dock and find the ship has sailed. If the cruise line backs the excursion, they will always either hold the ship, or make arrangements for you to be brought to the ship.

5. Finally, regarding the teen activities. I cannot speak to the individual teen activities on the ship you have booked. Princess, unlike it's sister company Carnival has a teen catagory from 13-17 y/o. That is a wide age range and the younger teens are not as mature. Carnival has leared this and has split the teen activities into 12-14 and 15-17. However, the teens are free to come and go to the teen activities throughout the day. The Princess Cruise Line policies do not allow 17 y/o teens in the adult discos even if they are not drinking. (18-20 y/o can go into the adult areas but may not gamble or consume alcohol). I would recommend you try attending some of the teen disco nights, as there are often other older teens who you might share interest with. If you do not like it, leave. Not to offend you...but most 17 year olds consider themselves really mature and say they can't stand teens.

Otherwise, the cruise director and their staff will prepare a full schedule of onboard activities for the full ship's complement. Some activities are meant for adults only (and will state so in the daily bulletin) but most are designed for the whole family.

I will say, as far as my two teen children, I see them on occasion for breakfast (usually they sleep too late), and we try to get together for dinner, the rest of the time, they pick their own activities, and keep very busy. We take at least 2 and usually 4 cruises per year, and they almost always meet other teens either at dinner or through the teen disco or other activities. We usually go on the shore excursions together, but some of the cruises have had horseback riding on the beach or some similar activity for the teens, and the kids choose to go off on their own.

Just have a nice vacation.

Answer 5

This is all going to depend which cruise line you are on. Some have places for you to do laundry and others do not. The teen centers usually offer dances, video games and other teen only activities. As for shore trips if you do them on your own be sure to get all the information up front before you pay and make sure you are back to the ship in time so you do not miss it. Check with you agent as they should have all of these answers.

Answer 6

arrangements made on the ship are usually better IF you read all the details close. the tours are usually discounted but make sure you ask questions. our vacation we took a glassbottom boat tour of the reefs. the ship offered a $50 package, we found our own for $20, and sat in a hot tugboat for 2 hours. then peeked in a hole in the floor for 5 minutes. waste!

the complimentary fridge in the cabin is free.. the soda's inside are around $5 each, billed when you leave.

the ship giftshop will prolly offer $3 candybars and chips.

we had a "special gold" deal. buy gold jewelry for $1 an inch. AFTER we made our selections we found the taxes took it up to about $4 an inch. my $10 bracelet came to $39.99

the teen centers are always lame... but my 12 yr old was able to go to most of the shows and entertainment anyway.

good luck and have fun!

Answer 7

A couple have already given you good answers to your questions. But no one mentioned a very good source of info: CruiseCritic.com; click on "Boards" and then explore. You might be particularly interested in "Ports of Call", your cruise line board, "First Time Cruisers", etc. Also check out the "Roll Call" for your sailing; you might be able to "meet" other passengers your age, etc.

You can cruise without spending a lot of "extra" money, but please don't short-change the staff - they work very hard and depend on the tips, as their base salary is very low [that's why the cruise fare itself is so reasonable!].

Have fun!!

Answer 8

this site has good info for your cruise questions
http://allcruiselines.info