How Cruising around the World is a Beautiful Reward

Don’t believe me?  According to a document I got from the cruising industry, 2017 was another record-breaking year, with 25.8 million global ocean cruise passengers. This was up from 2016 where the industry reported 24.7, a 4.5 % increase.  Now from what I understand, I have not been able to get the stats from 2018, which I was one of the passengers.

I sailed on the Carnival Dream from December 31, 2017, to January 7, 2018, on my first cruise. I have been on little boats before, including a gambling and dinner boat in Miami, Florida and a gambling boat in between the Indiana-Ohio border.  The latest was during a time when Ohio did not allow gambling, so folks either did it illegally or hopped across the border to Indiana.  Guess Ohio got sick of losing money, and the lottery was no good.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time on the Carnival Dream, and I recommend everyone to take a cruise at least once in their lifetime.  My next ship (never call it a boat, THERE is a difference), I hope, will be a ship called the Disney Dream.  Now, how Disney and Carnival can get away with naming their ships the same.  Both also have the names, Magic and Fantasy.  That is another story for another day.

Before you set sail on your next maiden voyage, beyond the land, I have some tips that may not only save you money but lots of headache in the long run.

1. Plan.  OK, that seems simple, but it is not.  I was lucky.  I went with a group of people and my trip was all set.  I knew the travel agent, the people in my party, and I researched online and even set up my Sail and Sign card.
2. Research the cruise line.  I knew about Carnival.  There is a good reason that it is called, “The Fun Ship”.  If the cruise line has several ships in its line, research several ships before choosing Your Ship.  In my case, the ship was already chosen for me, the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Conquest (more on the Conquest later). You may have another cruise line in mind, and it is good to have a second ship (and cruise line) in mind in case something happens.
3. You can go solo (But why would you?)  here is the thing… there are a lot of things that could happen when you are by yourself.  One thing that I did not know about myself is I had a small bout of motion sickness.  It was a silly little incident.  While in Grand Cayman, the ship did not have a place to dock, so when that is the case, a smaller boat (yes, you can say "boat" with this thing), comes to get the passengers and brings them ashore.  I was fine going to the port and I was fine coming back.  As I was getting off the tender (which is what they are called), I looked down into the water (where the plank hook up between the tender and the ship, and I got dizzy and felt sick.  Now, this is a rare thing because I never get sick in a car, a theme park ride that spins, or on a plane, so I was surprised.  I did bring something with me, in case I did get motion sickness, but I felt better as soon I got to my stateroom.  If it wasn’t for my friend who was traveling with me, it could have gotten worst. 
4. This also leads to a very important step:  know the ship’s schedule for debarking and embarking (leaving the ship and coming back on time to enter the ship). At the time of this writing, a ship will leave you, no questions asked if you are not back in time.  I have seen YouTube videos.  While it may make a good laugh in the long run, it is not a laughing matter at all.  In fact, being left behind could cost you thousands of dollars to play “catch up to the ship.”  It is even worse if you leave all your belongings on the ship, so therefore, bring your passport, money, credit card, and your children. 
1. My travel agent sponsored a trip in which a man traveled along within the group.  He got left at the port.  He had to pay close to $2,000 to get back on the ship.
2. I have also heard of a couple who left their children on board and was left behind at the port.  It is nice to do a getaway excursion without the kiddos, but keep in mind that you do have children on board.  Lucky for them, the kids also had their grandparents to take care of them while mommy and daddy were missing for a few hours.
5. Have a budget.  In addition to knowing how much you need to save and when it is good to have a budget so you will not run out of money.  The best way to budget is to check online to see how much food, drinks, souvenirs, and activities (excursions on and off the ship) will cost you. for example, I looked online at the excursions that I and my friend would be able to do while on the Carnival Conquest. I did not check beforehand for the Carnival Dream.  When we got into the stateroom, there was nothing appealing to us because there was a difference in pricing between booking online and booking on the ship, so we did not have enough money to do anything.  That does not mean we did no on the ship.  There is plenty to do that is included or free on the ship.  If there are any questions, you can always call or email before getting on the ship.
6. Know your food intake.  Did you know there are many different types of menus on board?  If you have diet restrictions, let them either when booking or when you get on board and check in.
7. If you have allergies, the last place you want to be is in the Casino.  I never had any breathing problems before, but once I walked through the casino, I was wondering if I needed an inhaler.  The smoke was so thick, you cut it with a knife.  For the most part, ships are a non-smoker’s paradise. 
8. Take in the shows.  Enough said.
9. Yes, almost every cruise ship has a kid space, but you are your kid’s best protection.  Please do not send your child into the kid space without checking on them, especially if they are teens.  The third night of our 7-day cruise, my friend and I decided to take in the fresh air on Deck 11.  Above us were some kids on deck 12.  One kid even decided to do chin-ups on the overhang. They were rowdy and disrespectful.  The 5^th day, I wanted some sushi, so I went to Bonsai, ordered my snack, and while eating, a kid walked over and stared at my plate of sushi.  Lucky for me, his grandmother was not far, came over, smacked him on the head, and said, “can’t you see she is eating”.  I wanted to kiss her. Not too many parents would reprimand their children/grandchildren in front of a stranger, but yes, I wanted some privacy.  Normally I would reply with “that’s Okay”, but it was not okay to me. So please, watch your children.  Not only that, but there are some strange passengers on the ship, and you do not want your child to go to anyone.
10. Decide if the ship amenities are for you.  Sailing on the ship can entice anyone to splurge and coming home with nothing to show for it. Again, this is where having a budget can save you. Tip: do not forget to let your bank and credit card companies know where you will be while spending your money. You can do it the Online banking section of your bank’s website.  Life changer!!!  On Carnival ships, if you decide to purchase the CHEERS or Bubbles package, everyone in your room has to, even if you have separate money.  I wanted to purchase the CHEERS package, but my friend did not.  I had to respect her wishes and not purchase one.  That was fine, it kept me from getting the fancy coffee beverages and milkshakes, which I should get because I did not want my stomach to tie up in knots.  Oops, I said too much already, LOL.

This pretty much covers it.  I gave you lots to think about when taking your first cruise with or without an agent booking it for you, and with or without kids.

Now for the story on what happened to the first cruise, I was supposed to take on the Carnival Conquest.

The Carnival Conquest is a much smaller ship than the Carnival Dream.  She (forgot that ships are female in nature, LOL) is a first of the Conquest-line.  Her maiden voyage was in 2002, so she is a fairly new ship, and she holds 2,980 with a crew complement of 1,150.  We were to sail from September 9, 2017, to September 15, 2017, on a 7-day cruise from the port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ports were San Juan, Porto Rico; Grand Turks and Cacaos, and the Dominican Republic.  I was looking forward to this trip.  This would have been my first trip out of the States without crossing the border in a car.  The only other countries I have visited were Tajuana, Mexico, and three territories of Canada, all as a child.

Three days before we were to leave, Ms. Hurricane Irma made her debut, and I was not happy about it.  I knew she was around, but at the time, she as an itty bitty storm, with no oomph to her.  Then all of sudden, she picked up speed, and before I knew it, Delta would not let anyone at John Glen International (formally know as Port Columbus International) Airport. The ship was delayed but made a decision to sail that Tuesday on an abbreviated cruise (Cozumel and Belize) for 4-days.  My travel agent said nope and asked for everyone’s refund.  I was climbing the walls because I had not been out of the country since my family’s trip to Niagara Falls in 2012, and I wanted to see the world, even if it was only two ports.  That was good enough for me, but I had to do what the rest in the group wanted to do.  In October of 2017, this was when my travel agent found a cruise for us for the Western Caribbean (Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel, Mexico).

Next time:  I will talk about the Carnival Dream.  Until then If you have any questions about the ship. Let me know in the comments or email me at plogan721@att.net.  Until then, God bless you.