Vacation on Cruise...questions, tips, & suggestions

[rowan]

hi guys! required ba talaga magformal dinner? nahahassle kasi ako magpack ng formal attire and shoes. can we still avail of our complimentary dinner somewhere in the ship if we opt out of the formal dinner? thanks!

[mooncake and leaves]

^ i suggest you check with the cruise line mismo. for us, it was optional lang. but other companies/ cruises might have a different policy. though i think if say, they have several restaurants including a free, casual/buffet dining hall, malamang optional lang din yung themed dinners niyo

[rowan]

^great! thanks!:)

[mooncake and leaves]

^ no problem. you might want to ask them too about their self-service laundry. usually naman ata meron. in our case, i just assumed na meron pero i panicked because hindi ko siya makita sa map. as it turned out, may laundry room na naka-assign to each stateroom. if they have self-service laundry, you might not need to pack as many clothes.

[arimi_dee]

Hello Ladies Has anyone been on a caribbean cruise ---- Freedom of the seas? Do you need to get visas? If not, do you still need to carry your passport with you? I've visited the respective embassies of the ports we will be docking and it stated it is no longer needed. I was thinking if visas are not needed, maybe I should leave my passport with my relatives for safekeeping. Any thoughts? Thanks

[prettybarbie]

^ You should carry your passport always when you travel, you'll never know when you're going to need it.

[packsmom]

Gusto ko rin magcruise one day, if ever Mediterranean West, pero ipon ipon muna habang maliit pa di baby. Salamat sa mga tips nyo 

[shegie_285]

arimi_dee hope this is not too late. Was in a Caribbean cruise before (liberty of the seas) - no you don't need to get visas sa mga port na pupuntahan ng cruise ship. But prettybarbie is right safe to have your passport with you when you travel. Identification mo na din. I used to live in the cayman islands so I needed my passport to go to the US (we boarded in Miami). I left my passport lang sa safe ng room. Hindi namin sya dinadala pag nagdo-dock ang barko.

[pink_baby]

^as in sis? no need for visa? what kind of visa ba kailangan sa mediterranean cruise if ever? I have a US visa so if I take a Mediterranean cruise from Miami, they won't require me other visas?

Thank you

[rowan]

shegie_285

hello, from what port did you disembark and how long before you can exit the ship? im riding RCC rin kasi and i need to coordinate our pick up times. also, how early do i need to be at the port for the check in? thanks!:)

[100%K]

hi guys! required ba talaga magformal dinner? nahahassle kasi ako magpack ng formal attire and shoes. can we still avail of our complimentary dinner somewhere in the ship if we opt out of the formal dinner? thanks!

Well, it's not really "required". Sayang lang if you don't attend it since it's paid for na.  If you really don't like to attend, you can have dinner in the buffet area ina lang siguro.

[shegie_285]

pink_baby a friend was just in a medittarenean cruise and she said no need for visa sa cruise, dun lang normally sa port kung san sasakay.

rowan we disembarked from Miami. Naku sorry, I cant remember na how long it took us to get on/off the boat. All I remember is mas matagal kami nag-wait sa check-in but disembarkation mabilis lang kase very organised sila. Kahit pagkuha ng bags mabilis, considering mga 4000 ata ang passengers. Color coded ang bags pagbaba ng cruise ship.

Formal attire: if you don't like nga formal dinner sa buffet na lang kayo.but i'd recommend to go for the formal dinner kase ok ang food plus parang restaurant sya at me waiter na nagse-serve and para maiba naman kase breakfast and lunch buffet na.

[layzieg]

hi girls! i'm going on southeast asia cruise in November. I want to ask what are the places I can visit in Phuket and penang when we dock. I plan to do a DIY tour or can you suggest nice beaches that are near the port area? Thanks!

[i_miss_sleep]

anong cruise ang recommended pag may baby? disney?

Celebrated my son's 7th birthday to Disney Dream last year. It was awesome. The fun started for him the moment he stepped into his room..
The crews decorated the room with banners and a cake is waiting for us. (There's only a pretend candle for him to blow coz of course, lighting a fire is not allowed on a cruise .
He had special treatment throughout the trip and during dinner, the dining crews sang 'Happy Birthday' to him, again towing a special slice of cake. 

Sis m_lim, how old is your baby? The Oceaneer club has a nursery. You can leave her there if you have to. The Disney characters are everywhere,
so if she enjoys Mickey, the Disney Princesses, Goofy, etc. she'll be all giggles. Think of it as Disneyland on sea.

We had a stateroom with balcony so the room is very spacious. We had a queen bed and a sofa that can be converted to a bed (real comfy) or a bunk bed. Bathrooms are pleasant too.
shower and toilet are 2 separate rooms. I think you can request for a crib for your baby and the room will still be spacious.

It was a Caribbean cruise. We docked at Bahamas and their own paradise, Castaway Cay. It's an exclusive resort for Disney Cruise passengers. The beach is pristine and they have various activities there.
Food is overflowing (included) and dance party everywhere. Disney characters will just show up and perform for you.

It was a great experience.

In Bahamas, we spent a full day at The Atlantis. Again, another awesome experience. My son went on a Dolphin encounter (playing with Dolphins) and was brave to
go on an 60-foot vertical drop at shark filled Leap of Faith. Right after that, he declared "I'm not a boy...I'm a man!" Lol!

Let me know if you have questions on Disney Dream cruise.

Right now, I'm planning on our 1st European trip. Torn between going on a cruise or land trip. I want to visit the European iconic landmarks (ie Eiffel, Vatican, Tower of Pisa)
but not sure if that's possible if we go on a cruise. Any pointers to anyone who went on a Euro trip or Mediterranean cruise? TIA!   

[i_miss_sleep]

Btw, my first cruise was on a Royal Caribbean Enchantment at Seas. My son was 4 then but he still had a wonderful time. If I show him photos of that trip, he still remembesr some of it especially the magic trick that our Pinoy server taught him. We were spoiled by our Pinoy servers, especially my mom. Tanong siya all the time, kung ano ang gusto ni mader. We were served lobster, twice! Kaya maganda tip niya sa amin. Nursery and day cares are all available, but we only left him there once. Sandali lang rin. Gusto kase ng dad niya may kalaro siya

Addt'l info sis m_lim, it was voted best baby getaway. So you might want to consider this also.
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/connect/blog/see-why-royal-caribbean-was-voted-best-baby-getaway/

HTH!

[m_lim]

^hello sis! 1st birthday palang ng baby ko.. hmm.. siguro mas ok magdisney cruise kung mas malaki na siya para ma enjoy niya lahat lahat.

saan kayo nagbook?? na excite ako bigla kahit matagal pa. parang ang ganda sa kwento mo.

excited na ako makita na super enjoy baby ko.

[shegie_285]

i_miss_sleep I haven't been on a mediterranean cruise but I live in Europe (Dublin). Gusto din namin itry ni hubby ang meditarennean cruise kase we enjoyed our Caribbean cruise experience so much.  I think I'd go for a Eurotrip rather than a cruise kase each place here has so much to offer and hindi lang sya pag-day trip. I think Caribbean cruise is good kase islands are small so normally one day lang and relax relax lang sa beach and sa cruise ship ang peg.

We normally do weekend trips lang to see Europe and bitin sya.

[i_miss_sleep]

sis m_lim, responded on your pm. hope that iti helped.

sis shegie_285, thanks so much for the tips! natatakot kase ako baka palpak maging booking ko sa mga hotels diyan. Di ako familiar. At least sa cruise I know I'll have a restful sleep and busog pa! I've read na merong hotels (or hostels or boutique hotels ba yun?!) that shares only 1 bathroom! Maloloka ako pag nagkataon! Initial plan ko is 5 days each for France and Italy then 2 or 3 days sa London, Switzerland, Berlin and Spain. Tama ba o kulang yun? Anyone care to make me an itinerary? TIA!

[shegie_285]

I_miss_sleep un lang maganda sa cruise, super good value pa talaga. yes may mga budget hostels pero the site will tell you naman kung sharing sa bathroom. I normally use booking.com for hotels and recently trivago.com. no-no din ako sa bathroom sharing.  There's a EuroTour thread here sa GT check mo they can give better advise sa itinerary para masulit ang time. kase kami weekend-weekend. Pero with the timeframe that you have, pwede na yan..

[i_miss_sleep]

Hi shegie_285, thanks for the feedback. Will use sites you suggested