Going on my first cruise. Prepare me OOT!

[dcasper70]

So the wife & I are taking our last vacation for the next 5 or so years and decided on a cruise. We're doing a Royal Carribean 5 day to Bermuda (out of Bayonne NJ).

I've never been on a cruise before, so I really have no idea what to expect.
Being a cruise virgin, I figured 5 days would be short enough in case I didn't like it, but long enough if I did. I've also heard great things about RC in general, making that an easy decision.

All I know right now is that there will be lots and lots of eating and drinking. The rest of the trip is completely unplanned. So here's what I'm wondering...

What things should I expect to do on the ship?
What should I do in Bermuda?
What should I avoid in both of thiose places?
How bad is the onboard p***r?

I'm a blank slate, have your way with me (figuratively).
The only must is a half day of snorkelling...

FYI: The ship name is Explorer Of The Seas.

[AlwaysAir]

I have no idea what to suggest, most of my suggestions would of been if you werent going with your wife... enless you guys are into 3somes or group sex im useless

hollAA

[samjjones]

Haven't been to Bermuda yet, but I've been on 4 cruises and have hit nearly every other island in the Caribbean.

First, I don't think RC has onboard poker. They'll probably have two or three table games, and maybe 100 slot machines. The onboard casinos are very small.

There's a ton of things to do on a ship. There are shows and activities going on non-stop from like 10am-10pm. I went on a 14 day cruise for my honeymoon, and never ran out of things to do.

Tip the room steward like $20 when you first meet him, and make any special requests at that point. I'll normally request a couple of bathrobes and fresh fruit every morning, and boom, its there every day.

You can get free room service whenever you want. If you have a balcony, which personally I'd never get a room without one, you can eat breakfast out on it everyday. The room service card usually has continental breakfast stuff on it. Turn the card over, and write in whatever you want (pancakes, omelettes, etc.) They'll bring it.

I live like 20 minutes from Bayonne, and have never sailed on RC. If you give a good Bermuda cruise report, I'm pretty sure I'll book it myself.

[belgianbeerlover]

If you are the resourceful type, you may want to skip the cruise ship's excursions and just create your own. You can line up a car rental ahead of time and explore where you want and when you want, without the crowds for less money. Just make sure you get back to ship on time. A 4pm departure time, means 4pm sharp.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

did a Boston to Bermuda cruise about 6 years ago. Went in October (hurricane season). We hit 30 foot seas, everyone on the ship got violently ill except me. Bring motion sickness medicine, b/c you may get sea sick.

Bring books b/c there is a lot of down/hanging time.

Bermuda is pretty sweet, rent some mopeds and find any one of various small beaches.

Edit: some people love cruises, others don't. if you are the type that enjoys lying down and aren't into adventure/exploring/finding interesting local places to go, then a cruise is for you.

[Hellrazor]

Just got back from my first cruise - also royal caribbean. (Navigator of the seas - sister ship to yours) Food - wasn't too impressed. Best food was in the "extra" restuarants. Portofino was better than Chops. Go to Portofino for one of your meals. Eat your lunches and breakfasts in the main dining room as opposed to the windjammer cafe (buffet style slightly better than a college cafe quality).

On the ship - pools are nice, but crowded - go early and finda prime spot. There is a no kids pools - grab that if you can.

Poker - my ship had one table (automated - weird never seen it before) 3/6 NL. I had the luck of having Richard Brodie on my cruise with me (Quiet Lion on Full Tilt (ok player - some weird personal habits) - featured on ESPN the other day in the main event). Rake was bad - 10% up to $10 total per hand. Game was full of young want to be Gus Hansen LAG's. Didn't have enough time to really exploit as I was busy drinking and partying more than poker playing.

Can't tell you what to do in Bermuda - check out Explorer of the seas reviews to get feedback from random people who took the same cruise you are going on.

On my cruise the gym was pretty decent and didn't get too crowded. One of the comedians on board was decent and the other didn't even get a snicker out of me.

Overall, I liked it but didn't love it. People has built it up too much for me.

[faded]

five days seems good, i was on a 7 day cruise earlier this year and i wanted to kill myself by the 6th and 7th day. (we weren't able to dock on our last scheduled stop so we had an extra day at sea) yeah, there is a ton of stuff to do on a cruise ship but you're still on a boat and that can get pretty old.

the poker games are incredibly soft, SSLHE will probably be the only game offered. have fun wading thru that field of land mines.

[Hellrazor]

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First, I don't think RC has onboard poker. They'll probably have two or three table games, and maybe 100 slot machines. The onboard casinos are very small.



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On RC's Navigator of the seas - this was definitely not true. 1 Poker table, but at least 15 other tables - (Blackjack, Craps, 3 card poker, roulette, let it ride, carribean stud, etc. etc.) Probably closer to 300 slots as well. Decent size for a ship a lot bigger than I expected.

[Daniel Magix]

Dcasp, my man. First life comes from your balls, now a cruise. Man, things are going great for you lately, congrats!

I have been on THREE cruises - all of which occured when my wife and I were first married. Good thing you are doing the cruise now, because once Dcasp Jr. enters the world, the only cruising you will be doing is cruising the diaper aisle in the grocery store.

Anyway, I did RC for the first two cruises, which were Western and Southern Carribean. I did Norweigan for my Hawaii cruise, only because RC didn't have a ship doing the Hawaiin line.

RC kicks ass, imo. The service and food were amazing on the ship. If given the option of the early or later dinner, I would suggest the earlier one. It gives you more time to take in shows or just hang out later. Plus, you usually have to be back on the ship by 4pm or so anyway, so a 6pm dinner just made more sense to me than the 8pm option.

As far as excursions go, one mistake we made, is signing up for too much the first year. I think we made the mistake of booking an excursion for like, 4 out of the 5 islands. The next year, we only booked two. The excursions are usually great (although we did do one 6+ hour island tour that ended up sucking big-time), but you don't want to tie yourself down to an excursion every day. It's nice to have a few days to do your own thing. My recommendation for excursions, would be to choose two that seem the coolest.

BTW, one of the excursions we did in Grand Cayman, was swimming with the stingrays. It was probably my favorite thing we did, but looking at the pictures of me with 4-5 giant stingrays around me and on my back, kinda freaks me out now, given the Steve Irwin incident.

Our ship was awesome. It had a rock climbing wall, basketball court, mini-golf, ice rink, running track, and all the usual stuff like jaccuzzi's, pools, etc. You really do forget that you are on a ship. It's like a city on the water.

The first day, you will have to do an emergency test drill, and everyone puts on their life vest and proceeds to their muster stations. Prepare to feel like a giant tool walking through the halls in your goofy orange vest!

You'll also get a ship credit card, issued to you when you board. They basically give you a card that is linked directly to your credit card. So you can pay for basically everything, through your ship card. Makes it pretty easy.

Does your room have a balcony? I'd HIGHLY recommend that. Our first year, we didn't have one. But the next two we did. It's SO nice to sit out there and watch the sun go down as you just read a book and relax. It's also really cool to wake up to a brand new landscape out your window every morning.

Anyway, you'll have a great time. The ship will probably be overwhelming to you. It's very easy to get disoriented and lost on the ship too - the thing is HUGE. It's awesome. With a second kid on the way, a Disney Cruise will probably be my next trip. Probably not as romantic as Hawaii or the Carribean, but whatever.

Be sure to write a trip report when you get back.

[dcasper70]

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I have no idea what to suggest, most of my suggestions would of been if you werent going with your wife... enless you guys are into 3somes or group sex im useless


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Thanks for your help