Cruises...Why? Pics! Tips and Tricks.

Having a family of 6 is costly. Taking a week long family vacation is even more costly:) This is why we chose Cruising for our family.

Ryan and I have been on two cruises before. Our Honeymoon was our first one. The Second was when the kids were all at their other parents house for Christmas. We didn't want to stay at home and mope without the kids. We went this Christmas. I felt so bad even though I was having fun that we booked a cruise for the whole family to go around Spring Break time. Mothers guilt works to their advantage a lot. So Back to Cabo we go!!

I used to think Cruising was soooooooooooo and I mean soooooooooo expensive and out of our league. When I heard people went on a cruise I thought to myself...WOW I wish we could go on a cruise. I started to research it and for what you get its so much less expensive than taking our family on a 7 day vacation to an ocean somewhere with hotel and food. Feeding 4 teenagers on a road trip is expensive enough ha! I don't know where the food goes. I swear they have hollow legs.

You can make cruising even less expensive than we do. You pay one price for your room, all your meals, snacks, room service, entertainment and transportation from ship to port.  We have been saving to go but there are some upgrades that we as a family chose to take because it suits us better. One is having a Balcony instead of an inside room without windows or a room with no balcony that has a window. To us that extra expense is worth it. One of Ryan and I favorite thing to do is get room service breakfast (we always get the same thing... Bagels with lox, fruit, coffee and orange juice) and we sit on our Balcony in the sun watching the waves go by. It saves us from getting dressed and we really do feel like we are vacationing.

Towel Animals on your Bed Each nigh

To be on a Cruise is like being on a Floating City. You are never going to get bored. They have activities going on all day and all night. Some days we even had scheduling conflicts of what we wanted to do because there was so much going on. I am going to sneak a tip in right now even though Ryan is going to do tips at the end of this for you all. Bring a highlighter. Every night you get your schedule for the next day of activities that are going around the ship. We highlight what we really want to do so its easier to see. With teens on the cruise this time we will also get their activities sheet to know what they want to do to. There are a lot of activities for young children....but also for ages 12-14 and 15-17 they have scheduled activities that are fun for them. This way they aren't always with their parents and can have age appropriate fun and meet some friends.

Shows every night

Family Comedy and Adult Comedy

On Ship like I said there are a lot of activities for all ages. They also have pools, Jacuzzis, Basketball Courts, Fitness Centers, Track, Putt-Putt Golf, Water Slide, Comedy clubs that have Family Comedy and then Adult Comedy, Movies on the deck with popcorn and a huge screen, Dancing, Amazing Nightly Shows, Legends Shows, Life Size Chess, Dance Classes etc. Mind you this is just some of the stuff that is always there it doesn't even include what's on the daily schedule of activities.
Some of our favorite scheduled activities to go to is the "Newlywed Game" because its hilarious or "Hairy Chest Contest" because that's funny too. They have drink competitions to make a new drink and Bingo. This is just naming a few.

The Teens even have their own spot they can go to. Its called the O2 club. They even have their own dances with a juice bar. Lots of stuff for them to do with new friends and activities. Our plan is they can sleep in unless we are at port of course. They have to be there for dinner as a family and go to the Show of the night with us. The rest of the time they can choose to be with the O2 club and staff or with us. At ports though of course they are with us those whole 3 days.

Teens Chilling Area

Speaking of food. You cant go hungry on a cruise. They have dining in the ballroom for every meal. We chose to just go for dinner. They have 24 hour room service, small bistros around the ship, and buffet. They also serve pizza, hamburgers, soft serve etc 24 hours a day in case you want a midnight snack or two. The only food you pay for is if you decide to get reservations at their famous Steakhouse. Even then its only 35 dollars a person for HUGE, amazing steak that makes Outback look small. You always get tea, coffee, lemonade, water, ice tea for free anywhere on the ship. Soda and Alcohol drinks are extra. You can get an unlimited Soda Card though for 35 dollars for the week and have all the soda you want. Alcohol drinks is where the price can go way up for your cruise so we choose to not drink or maybe have one at the show. We aren't big drinkers anyways so this doesn't bother us at all. Here is a menu of the Ballroom for one of the days. You have EVERYDAY which they always have on the Menu and then the other side which changes daily. I have never heard of someone going hungry on a cruise. I think that's why they have so many activities because you probably gain weight lol. Did you know that you can order two dinners if you cant decide and no one will look at you sideways. On Steak and Lobster night we order two lobsters. It doesn't cost anymore. Its all included. Once my husband got three desserts because he wanted to try them all. HA!

For Dinners they do have scheduled dinner times. I believe its 6 and 8 o'clock. You are at the same table and have the same waiters each night which is pretty cool. Sometimes they even do dance routines (the waiters). This cruise since we are going as a family we chose the 6 o clock dinner time. So we can all eat together and go to a early show. (The shows are twice a night). When we didn't have kids with us we did Anytime Seating. So you can go whenever you want during the 6-9 period. Just know that dinner will always be at least an hour long. You don't notice it but it is. Appetizers, then the main course, then dessert each night. The food is good. They make it to order too so you don't have to worry about the masses.

Dining Hall

One of the Dinners

Melting Choc Dessert!

I want to go back to the Cabins. The staff around Carnival Cruising are amazing. The staff that attends to your room or your waiters etc will remember your name. You feel very special. They will remember your kids names, what drinks you want or allergies you have etc. You have housekeeping each morning or afternoon and turn down service at night where they make a towel animal. I always get excited to see what is coming that night. I know I am a dork. Although your tips are 12 dollars a day per person as apart of the cruise, we always tip extra to our waiters or stewards. They work 14 hours a day sometimes with no days off and are away from their family. We always tip them nicely the first night too because its just something we don't mind spending extra money on. We already told our kids too they don't have to keep their room perfect but picked up because its the nice thing to do. Just be happy I am not making them make their bed every morning. ha! Here are the rooms that we upgraded too. We have adjoining rooms so even though you see two separate rooms here we are able to see and hear everything. We have adjoining balconies too:) Ryan and I have cruised before so we actually got an upgrade from the Balcony rooms we paid for to Ocean Suite Balconies. Let me tell you how happy we were to have 100 extra sq feet in each room with extra storage, longer balcony and actually have a tub instead of just a shower. Pretty excited!

We have an extra bed in case someone gets sea sick.

Kids room Its a bit bigger than this. Attached to our room

So as you can see there is a lot to do, to eat and places to relax. This is just on the ship! In our 7 day cruise to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta we have 3 days on land. You can choose to save money and not get excursions but since this is our family vacation we decided to get an excursion each day that we are on port. It helps us to get off the ship faster, we get to learn more about the port with locals and have activities that we would enjoy with lunches etc. One of the ones we want to do as a family is Swim with the Dolphins. We also have plenty of time to go and do what we want too. Its really exciting!

Cruising can be affordable. More so than you think. You can make it as inexpensive as possible or expensive if you want. We are kind of in the middle. The one thing I know though is Cruising is FAMILY FRIENDLY. Lots of onboard activities, tons of amazing people and lots of FUN! Lets be real too......where else can you see multiple destinations and only have to unpack once?

Handing it over now to my hubby Ryan for some Cruising tips and Tips to save money. P.S. He didn't know he was doing this till just now! Thank you HUBBY! If you don't see tips below he said no ha!

Well I didn't get to say no.......

There are some things that people just don't know about taking a cruise, I am no expert, but am willing to share what I have learned.

 

Tips and Tricks:

1.First, yes it was mentioned earlier in this blog, you can order more then one dinner. If you see something you really like, order 2, or if there's more then 1 thing for dinner you can order different things, same with dessert, or as I call it "DESSERTS" you want ice cream and pie, go for it. You already paid for your meals, its not going to cost extra if you order more. It's not like you would get money back if you skipped a meal so make it worth it !!!

2.If you drink soda, you can bring a six pack per person, treat it as luggage, or just put it into your luggage. Bottled water is a good thing to bring if your going to Mexico, bring it off ship when your visiting a place that you shouldn't drink the water. If you purchase bottled water make sure the seal is still on the cap. Better safe the sorry. Also if you go out to eat, be careful what you order, a drink with ice, where do you think that ice came from? I have yet to meet anyone that makes ice cubes from bottled water? Think about your salad's, when the lettuce is rinsed off, the water comes from a tap that we shouldn't be drinking from. I'm not sure its enough to make you sick, but why risk it? Don't want to ruin the rest of your vacation.

3.There is an all you can drink juice, lemonade, and cranberry juice. Bring your own large re-usable water bottle, the cups on the ship are pretty small. Also all the coffee or tea you want. Bring your own large coffee cup. A Starbucks tumbler works great for keeping things warm or cold.

4.Yes we order room service, lots of room service. We would order breakfast each day. On the days we would be off ship we would order breakfast and lunch. Bring some collapsible Tupperware to put an extra sandwich in to bring off the ship for a snack. We would bring the lunch with us to the beach or where ever we went. It helped save on costs and sometimes we didn't know where we would be to grab a snack.  Remember to have a few extra bucks so you can tip the room service.

5. Most places you can find a restaurant at or near your port of call that has free WIFI. This saves on paying crazy cell phone rates when making calls from abroad. Plus its more fun to Skype or Face time family or friends back home. Check with your phone company about rates when travelling, also ask about texting, it may cost extra. Maybe purchase pre paid calling cards. If you don't use the card you can give it as a tip to pretty much anyone that works on the ship. They all have families and a home to, they are also traveling.

6. Go to the steakhouse on the first night. Why the first night? Because you don't miss Steak and Lobster night in the main dining area. (Order at least 2 dinners that night). Also the first night you get a free bottle of wine in the Steak House. Make reservations, and dress nice, its not a T shirt and sandals kind of restaurant.

7.Carnival offers a "Faster to the Fun".   You and your cabin mates get express boarding, luggage delivery, etc.  This is so worth it and you get on and off ship first to the ports. You don't have to wait in the long line on day 1 when the hordes of people are all trying to get on board at the same time. Its only $49.95 per room. Only 1 person per room has to pay this fee, then everyone in that room gets the same treatment. Be sure to let the guys know when you check your luggage, then you skip the lines and they handle the rest.

8. MARK your bags as fragile and they will show up to your room quicker because they put it on the top of the pile, so its the first off the pile and shuffled in.  Also bring a carry on with a change of cloths just in case your bag does show up late. Be sure to put any medication you need in your carry on.

9. Don't get a massage on the ship, its 130 dollars.  You can get a 1 hour massage on the beach in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta for 20-40 bucks. There is always a bar near by, so while she has a massage you can get a few Cerveza's for pretty cheap (When in Rome do as the Romans do).

10. On formal nights walk the ship, the ship will have photographers all over offering to pictures of you, take all the pictures you can, it cost nothing to have pictures taken, the only time you pay is if you decide to buy one.  You will find at least one you want.

11. Wait to the last day to buy anything from specialty shops they will be 50 percent off.
If your going to buy a watch or jewelry, ask when they will be on sale, there is always a day that things are on sale.


Okay now for the room

1. If you have a balcony bring a bungee cord, you can hold the door open all day or night so you can hear the ocean and have fresh air.

2. Bring a power strip. There are very few plugs in the room. Most rooms should have a plug under or near the bed, so bring a power strip that has a long cord.

3. Push your luggage under the bed to save room.

4. Flip through the Bible in your room, previous cruiser that didn't use a free drink or free photo ticket will put them there for the next lucky person.

5. You can bring an oversized beach towel, or use the towels supplied by the Ship, but its not as big.

6. Bring extra hangers. Can't bring an iron on board, so if you need something pressed have the ship take care of it.

7. Bring post it notes so if you are in or out of the room you can leave a note for your roommates.
Most rooms have metal walls, get souvenir magnets to hold the note on the wall. If you have your balcony door propped open things will blow out if the main door is open at the same time.

8. The best thing we brought with us was a blue tooth speaker, so you can play music in your room.

9. Bring a hanging shoe organizer to put on the bathroom door to hold all your little things like sunscreens, lotions, watches, razors, etc.....saves a lot of room.

10. Call into the morning show to say hello....they will leave you a surprise in your room


MOST IMPORTANT:

RELAX!

HAVE FUN!

IT'S YOUR VACATION!

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE SO MAKE THE BEST OF THE TIME WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN!

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Spring Cleaning, Keurig and Tips

Last night while laying comfy in my bed getting ready to watch my guilty pleasure shows I started to think of Spring Cleaning. What? WHY RAE! WHY! Why is my mind thinking of this. I have clean house and its always picked up. With 6 of us in a smaller house it has to be or I might go mad and need a straight jacket. I have to say however that I am more the gal that likes things to LOOK clean. I hate, hate, hate things on tables or counters. I call that the "drop zone" and am always freaking out when there is stuff there. If you ask my husband though you will know that I have a junk drawer....or two....ok ok I have three! That's through the whole house though.

I woke up this morning with the same gumption as I had last night. I wanted to lay back down and just THINK about cleaning ha! I waited till Ryan was out the door. Grabbed some coffee from my keurig and started writing my list of things I was going to do. I wanted it to be deep cleaned not just cleaned to the eye.

*Side Note* Ok every time I talk about my keurig coffee machine I have to laugh. Ryan bought me one like, oh I don't know, four years ago. I think I used it twice and it ended up getting stored. It was one of the ones that didn't have water on the side so you literally had to pour the water in for every cup. I don't know why but I thought it was too much work since I was doing that and next to it was Ryan's pot of coffee. He cannot live without the stuff. I hope a doctor never says he has to give it up because I know he wont ha! This January I was shopping and saw the newest keurig and just had to have it. With lots of eye rolling from my husband because I gave the other one away to my friend years ago....we bought another. Who knew! I love it now. Don't know what my problem was back then. Maybe I am older and wiser now. Hey! I just turned 39 you know. Just thought that was funny and I should share.

I made a list because it makes me feel better when things are checked off. I am bad sometimes I write down things I have already done just to make it look to myself like I have done more. Its not like anyone is going to see my list but it makes me feel good.  Things I do but not that often are taking the blinds off and clean them or wash down the doors. I got all my cleaning supplies out. I have to admit that it isn't much. I have certain things I just use. I am a crazy Clorox bleach wipes person, Windex, pledge dusting and then I use a lot of baking soda, vinegar and bleach around the house.

Some of the things that I think spring cleaning should entail is :

1. Washing windows inside and out.
2. Cleaning ceilings and baseboards
3. Washing down all doors front and back
4. Cleaning out all light fixtures
5. Taking down and cleaning the blinds ( I wash them in bleach in the bathtub)
6. Purging Medicine cabinets
7. Purging all make up that is more than 6 months old
8. Making sure pantry doesn't have expired stuff. (We have to buy a lot because we have so many people. Sometimes new stuff gets in front of the old stuff and you don't notice.)
9. Rearrange all cabinets in kitchen. HEY! WHY is there a box with nothing in it?
10. Dust everything....even getting on the floor and dusting the bottoms of things.
11. Clean out and rearrange deep freezer.
12. Wipe down walls
13. Go through everyone's clothes and make sure it fits. If it doesn't give to friends or thrift shop. (I firmly believe that once you wear it once its used anyways)
14. If we haven't used it (and its not a heirloom or valuable) in a year....then it gets donated.

I am sure I have more stuff that I will do as I go. This is my list for today and maybe tomorrow depending on if I get tired or not. I do my normal stuff too like cleaning bathrooms everyday, steam cleaning the rugs once a week or every other week, steaming all the bathroom and kitchen floors, dusting almost daily (we live on a dirt road it has to be done) etc etc etc

I took a break in between to breath again and to write this blog. I feel pretty motivated but I needed a break. Doesn't matter if you get it done in one day or in one week. Its refreshing when its done. All my candles are lit. My music is on. The cool breeze of spring is coming through the screens. Its a good day! Now I have to just make sure that when the kids get home they hover over the carpet and don't touch anything for a month right? Ok I guess I should be realistic...I will give them gloves as they come in so they don't touch anything ha!

Hope its nice enough outside for you to get into the mood of spring cleaning. I am one of those people who doesn't care what your house looks like. You don't have to clean before I come there because I am not there to look at your house. I am there to visit with you. I just do my house for my own sanity. Its not always even close to perfect but dangit this week its going to be. Until next year at least :)

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Seriously! How did this happen?

Its Friday! YEAH!

I love Fridays! Its the end of the week and its usually our family night. We all stay up late and spend time together but best thing is....we know we can sleep in the next day! Woo hoo I love Fridays!

After the kids were home from school and basketball practice I decided that today we would go through all our clothes once again. I swear the kids don't ever stop growing. How did this happen again? How did we end up with so many clothes and they aren't fitting? Our youngest two ..Josh and Jason (both 14) have been growing leaps and bounds this year. Shoes and pants are constantly going to the thrift store or friends. Joshua is 6'1'' and Jason is 5'6'' but it took him forever to grow. Both of their legs are super long so Jeans become close to high waters a lot. Always shopping for new pants.

Josh and Jason my 14 year olds

Thankfully Jasons mom also does some shopping for him too which is nice when he goes to visit. Its helpful. As I had said before Jackson and Jason are biological brothers. Cassie and Josh are biological siblings. The kids don't know the difference though. They are all ours to us and the kids don't view each other as step siblings at all. You can tell because laughing or fighting is all the same between them all lol.

Whelp with some moaning and groaning mainly from the boys we went through all their clothes. It all started with Ryan going through all his pants to give to the thrift shop. I guess I should add we love our little thrift shop for the simple fact that you can donate there and all the proceeds go to our small community pool. We ended up between us all with 6 garbage bags of good clothes for others, one bag that can be turned into rags, and a couple of new things that can be given to our family members. It was nice to do this.....even though we have to do it often. It was pretty funny when I was in the laundry room and Jackson told me to come find Cassie. She was hidden under the pile of clothes. Kind of easy to find someone who is squirming and laughing:)

Growing up we always gave our clothes to others. I am of sound mind that after you wash something its not new anyways. If we get hand me downs that we like I am all for it! Kids grow fast. Why buy 40 dollar T-shirts or 150 dollar pants. Don't get me wrong we do have some of those things but that's only if the kids work and save their own money for certain items. I want them to like their clothes otherwise to me its a waste of money because they will not wear them. At this age its hard for others to buy them clothes too. I remember being picky as a teen but our kids have to learn to not be that picky. Its about function over fashion. Does it fit? It is going to keep you warm? Is it comfortable? Ryan's favorite T shirts are the super hero ones that are like 5 dollars. I have shopped many times from Goodwill or thrift stores to find awesome things. The shirt I get the most complements on was actually a 2.00 find at Goodwill. We do love others stores like Zumiez, Lane Bryant, Torrid, Hot Topic, Etc....

So YEAH!!! We are cleaned out again and can figure out how many shirts and pants everyone has to get whoever has grown out of things caught up to the others. Somehow Josh always ends up with less clothes than anyone else because he is growing leaps and bounds. So today will be spent ordering him some new clothes online. That is one hard thing about living on a ranch and hour or more away from stores. So Amazon is my best friend. Having Prime Shipping is my second best friend. Whatever you need to your door in just two days. Wow! Saves a lot of time, gas and money.

After doing all this the kids were hungry. Because Jason's teeth were still sore from getting braces yesterday we decided on homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Its a super yummy good recipe so I thought I would share my meatball recipe. The sauce you can use homemade (mine is canned from this summer still) or you can just use Ragu or Presto Sauce. I decided to take pictures too so you can see how yummy. We had dinner which is always our family time. Then we watched a movie together. By the time all that was done it was 1230 and everyone was very ready for bed. I love spending time with my family. Its something I hope they always remember and also something I know I will never forget. Its fun to hear about their days. To have them ask for our advice on things. Its not always easy things to answer either. Just the fact they ask though really makes my heart swell from joy though.

Here is some Pics and then the Meatball Recipe so you can enjoy it in your own home...

Finished Rae's Meatballs

before all stirred together

Rae's Meatballs
3 pounds ground beef (remember we have a large family and I want some for next day)
3 large eggs
1.5 cups chopped onion (we like purple)
1 tablespoon of oregano dried
3 tablespoon basil fresh
1 tablespoon parsley fresh or dried
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1.5 cup of parmigiano- reggiano grated
1-2 tablespoons of diced garlic

Take all these ingredients and mix together. I just use my hands or a wooden spoon. After fully mixed take two Tablespoons of mixture at a time and roll into balls. Set on plate. After all the mixture is in balls take over to your sauce. Sauce should be on medium heat in pan. Put one by one meatballs into the sauce. Do not stir. Keep on medium heat for 20 minutes covered. After 20 minutes gently stir the meatballs. They should be rising to the top of the sauce. Cover 15 more minutes and Voila its done. Scoop sauce with meatballs over cooked Spaghetti. Add little basil and shredded parmigiano on the top. Serve:)


Hope you like the recipe and try it.


Sauce before I put meatballs in

Finished Product...YUM!

Subscribe on the home page to my Daily Blog. All you have to do is put in your email and every time I blog you will get an email. You can unsubscribe at anytime. I cant see who has subscribed but would love for you to do so. Also going to add a question of the day for you to comment on.

Question: When you outgrow clothes or decide you do not like them anymore.....what do you do with them?

YEAH! Another cruise! and cruising tips

Its Monday and while most people would be cringing that they are starting their week....I am excited!
Today has been a long day and its only 445pm. Ryan went to go pick up the kids since he is home early while I just booked our third cruise but first one for our kids! Excited doesn't even describe what I am.

Ryan and I went to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta on a cruise for our honeymoon years ago. Then this Christmas since all the kids would be at their other parents houses we decided to do another 7 day cruise to the same place for like a second honeymoon. Plus lets face it...I didn't want to stay at home sulking without all the kids here. We knew they would be having fun, so we decided to get out of Big Valley for awhile and get some sun. 10 degrees to 86 degrees sounded like a good start to the vacation.

Christmas in the Sun

The problem with loving your kids is the whole time you are gone having fun you want them to be there with you. So today I booked another 7 day cruise but all 6 of us will be on the ship and going to Cabo! I am so excited. With Jackson going into his Senior year next year and Cassie her junior, Josh his sophomore and Jason his freshman I really wanted to have a family vacation that would allow us to have fun and see a new place. Funny how we keep going back to Cabo but we enjoy that particular cruise and know the sites so it makes it much easier to have fun and be less expensive. We already know where to go and where not to go. We already know which excursions we like and the ones we don't like. I am all about trying to have fun and save a dollar. With a large family like us you just have to have that.

From the Ranch to Cabo! Cant wait

The kids are pretty excited. We got two adjoining balconies with the boys in one room and Cassie is the room with us. Its not like you spend much time in the rooms anyways.

I know some ppl who put their kids across the ship. I am not that person ha. I think I would classify us as strict parents but fun. I want our kids to grow up to be respectful people who knows right from wrong. They all make mistakes but I have to say that I am one lucky mom because basically 95 percent of the time they are great! Good grades, good attitudes and helpful. Good Teens.

The only part of the Cruise that I dislike is we have to take them out of school. We will have to put them on independent study and will have to do their work for the week before they leave. Most ppl would just take them on spring break but that is when they have time with their other parents. Summers we really cant vacation because Ryan is too busy with work and next year it will be Jacks senior year so we don't want to mess with that. An added bonus is.....the cruise was 1000 dollars cheaper because we were doing it right after spring break time.

We want to go some shore excursions with the kids. Ryans dad and stepmom gave us 600 dollars for Christmas so we are going to book a shore excursion with that money. Then we will probably do another excursion. Ryan and I have been scuba diving, snorkeling, whale watching, shopping (that one we wouldn't do again they just take you to where they want you to go), rhythm of the nights and sailing on yacht on the different times that we have been on cruises. I cant scuba dive for two years because of my brain surgery so we definitely will be snorkeling, going to rhythm of the nights tribal dance show and boat ride, and since we have the kids we would like to do a tour of the ship that's behind the scene. That would be a good learning experience and they can see how much others are doing so they can have an amazing vacation.

In Puerto Vallarta Dec 2014

Ryans way of Snorkling

Its going to be exciting.

Some tips for cruising:

1. If you have a balcony bring a bungee cord so you can hold the door open at night to hear the ocean or have fresh air.
2. Bring a hanging shoe organizer to put on the bathroom door to hold all your little things like sunscreens, lotions, earrings, razors, etc.....saves a lot of room.
3. Having a power strip because they only have one or two plugs to charge all your stuff
4. Bring ones so you can tip room service
5. Bring zip lock bags for wet items or to bring sandwiches off ship
6. Call into the morning show to say hello....they will leave you a surprise in your room
7. Bring water bottles and a six pack soda per person on board to save money. One bottle wine per person over 21
8. Bring meds and change of clothes on carry on
9. Wait to the last day to buy anything from specialty shops they will be 50 percent off
10. Go to all the shows....they are worth it and you would spend 100 dollars going to one on land
11. Comedy clubs are great. They have family ones and 18 and over ones.
12. Put your name in all the raffles....win some fun stuff
13. Don't get a massage on ship its 130 dollars when you can get an amazing one on the beach in cabo for 20-40 dollars an hour.
14. Formal nights....take all the pictures you can. You will find at least one you love
15. Look in your bible.....cruisers leave free drink and photo tickets
16. Go to the steakhouse on the first day...its. 35 dollars a person but SO worth it. Why the first night? Because you wont miss Steak and Lobster night. The first night you get a free bottle of wine also.
17. Cool thing about the dining room....you can order two appetizers or even two entrees if you wanted and they wont bat an eye....and its free. Fun for when you want to try something new.
18. It's often cheaper to buy a bottle of wine than a few glasses -- but what do you do if you don't finish the bottle? Cruise ship waiters can mark the bottle with your room number and save it for another night, even for dinner in another onboard venue.
19. Most cabins are made of metal…and therefore they're magnetic. Bring along some magnets (or buy some as souvenirs) and you can keep all your invites, and daily planners hung up on the walls and doors.
20. We snap a photo each morning of the daily agenda newspaper. That gives us a memory anchor for the day's pictures, a digital reminder of what's happening on board that day, and the ship's info should we need it while on port.
21. One thing new cruiser might not know is that even your largest suitcase will easily slide UNDER you bed on most cruise ships making your room area much more spacious
22. MARK your bags as fragile and they will show up to your room quicker because they put it on the top of the piles.
23. Bring post it notes so you can say where you are to your cabin mate.
24. Wear a watch so you know when to be at dinner or a show.
25. Tip your steward the first day in cash and it makes a big difference.
26. You probably will bloat.....bring some shoes that are larger or one bigger outfit.
27. Many pools and Jacuzzi on board but there is an adult section in the back where no kids are allowed.
28. Bring extra hangers.
29. You don't need an alarm clock, your phone has one.
30. Carnival is now offering "Faster to the Fun". For $49.95 (per room) you, and your cabin mates get express boarding, luggage delivery, etc. This is so worth it and you get on and off ship first to the ports.