NCL Sun Cruise to the Carribbean....?

Question

We leave next week and have never been on a cruise before. What types of clothes should we bring for aboard the ship? We are signed up for Snuba in Honduras...was this a good decision? Should we bother signing up for the excursions through the ship or can we get better deals off ship? Any other general advice? Also, how much cash will I need?

Answer 1

Wow - it's kinda late to be starting your planning and research, but, you can always cram with a book on cruising from the library, or try CruiseCritic.com, "Boards".  

That's a lot of questions to be able to answer here.

Answer 2

Bring a few pairs of shorts & capris and a pair or two of nice dress slacks. To pair up with these, bring some casual shirts for shore excursions, some "dressier" shirts for dinner in the dining room, and a "formal" outfit (nice dress slacks and a nice shirt will be sufficient -- no shorts or capris or jeans are allowed in the restaurants after 5pm) and some cardigans as the A/C on ships can chill you plus you must be "covered" in the dining room (these rules do not necessarily apply to the buffet). Bring mostly cotton clothes, nothing with manmade fibres. These will make you sweat/overheat like crazy, especially in humid environments.

You can definitely find better deals onshore, but if it is your first time cruising, I highly recommend booking through the ship. Albeit more expensive, if any delays occur during your tour, your ship will wait for you and/or arrange for you to meet up with your ship. However, if you book separately and miss your ship, you are stuck with figuring our how to get back.

If you're really comfortable, book off the ship with locals, but since it's your first time I highly recommend keeping with the ship tours, if only for peace of mind.

Onboard, you don't need cash (except when porters bring your bags/take your bags on the ship and off the ship). Your room key is also your onboard charge card -- at the end of your cruise you get a statement under your door outlining EVERYTHING you have charged, including shore excursions and onboard purchases. Usually drinks such as lemonade/tea/coffee/water/iced tea (the "basics") are free, but pop and alcohol and specialty bar drinks are not included. You can buy an "unlimited" pop card which is cheaper if you drink a lot of pop instead of individually charging a per pop drink. If you dont drink much pop, then stick with the free basics and treat yourself to the specialty bar drinks when you want them.

Cash is only necessary for off-ship purchases. Smaller ports, such as Honduras, I would recommend taking less than $50 off. If you want more, you can easily go back on to the ship and to your room to get more (TIP: Keep your wallet in the free in-room safe!). In quainter ports, things are cheaper. And barter, unless you are in some high end store which you will know does not barter. Independant vendors = cash only. But, don't be rude, be fair, because remember, these vendors sell for their living (but dont be ripped off, either).

TIP FOR CARRYING MONEY: You can purchase special travel "f***y packs" that are discretely hidden under your clothing/shirts. Much safer than visibly carrying your purse or wallet in back pocket!! Go to any travel store or travel agency and I am sure they can direct you.

Total cash, depending on how many ports, I usually take about $200 or so cash. You can always get some from the Purser's Desk onboard if you run out.

Have fun!

Answer 3

the ship is free style honduras money 1 us is 18.89 lempiras u will be going to roatan honduras take a cab to the other side of the island it`s alot better yr money goes a long way tropical  cloths is the norm take a suit and a nice dress for ship pictures  a cab with a driver is also nice to show you the island  go to half moon have ask the driver for rene in half moon great food (safe island enjoy)

Answer 4

my husband and i have gone on ncl trips and we love it. so as far as money goes use travel checks if you can most of the time if they get lost or stolen you are covered just keep the copies in a different place than the originals  make sure each time you buy something with them you keep you recipients till the end of the trip to make sure you don't forget where and what you spent on land or on the ship. as far as tours goes go on line and look into the tours and see what you think you can go on line too do this but make sure you have a conformation number to give when you get on borad. make sure you have with you your passports, pic ids. and a credit card also the charge $10 a day per person  for the tips that is added to your bill so if you have two i n your room they charge you $10 and your guest $ 10 a day too they break it down into days when you get your copy of your bill but it still adds up to say $ 70 for you and $70 for the other person but they food and helps in paid that way so you don't have to have cash to save aside for the end of the trip.