What to expect on a cruise (first time cruiser)

Question

I am going a 7 night Europeon cruise (royal caribbean) on 30th August leaving from Barcelona (voyager of the sea). Please let me know what to expect. All the pros n cons. How will the weather be, also if anyone else going on the same cruise.

Answer 1

Here's a great site to answer any and all of your cruise questions:  CruiseCritic.com.  Click on "Boards" at the top of the page and go to your favorite topic.  There's even a "First Time Cruiser" section.  Be sure and check on the "Roll Call" section to find others on your cruise - you'll need to join CC, but it's free.  You may also want to click on "Reviews" at the top of the home page and read some "Member Reviews" on your ship.

Have a great cruise!

Answer 2

Cruising is amazing! I am a previous employee of Royal Caribbean and currently a travel agent, and I would have to say you made a good choice.  Royal Caribbean has amazing ships and staff and itineraries.  I know you will love the cruise.  I am booked for the Mediterranean sailing next year, so I haven't been able to experience the cruise you are going on, but definitely check out www.royalcaribbean.com as well.  You can book all of your shore excursions there and they also have a "New to Cruising" link that has a lot of wonderful information.  The Voyager has a rock climbing wall, mini golf, ice skating rink, etc.  Don't miss the ice skating show.  I was completely amazed at the talent onboard.  All of the shows onboard are worth going to though.  Definitely book shore excursions, because you will not feel lost once you get into port.  Have a wonderful cruise.  If you need a travel agent in the future, just send me an e-mail [e-mail] or www.sweetescapes-travel.com

Answer 3

Expect to have the time of your life on a cruise. you will never want to go back o a regular vacations where everything you will have to pay for. A cruise is mostly all inclusive therefore has less of a hassel and more time for fun!

Expect to eat a lot of food! There's so much great food to choose from, a lot of available all throughout the day. There's such a huge variety, it's sometimes hard to choose. Don't expect everything to be included, alcohol and soda are not included(disney soda is included), and one of the restaurants onboard is not included, there's a $20 covercharge per person, but the food is well worth it. the food anywhere on the ship is top notch and so delicious.

The entertainment on the ships are like boradway style. They do the most amazing things when you think about it; they're dancing on a moving ship! there's probably going to be a comedian(they're always so funny) and maybe a special act as well. There's probably going to be the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers in which you'll see them perform in a couple of the shows. there's going to be 2 show times, one for each dinner seating.

the stff onboard are always friendly and helpful, and are very underpaid, so remember to top them because they all work extremely hard onboard. They're there for one reason, and that reason is the guests.

I've never been to Europe on a cruise, but expect to not always have a full day at the port. some ports you willl get in at 2pm and leave at midnight, and others you will arrive at 8am and leave at 2pm. Some you will be there all day for 8am-6pm ish. some you may even be there for more than one day. If you're planning on doing excursions, make sure you have them booked and paid for before the cruise because they may be sold out if yuo wait the last minute and book them on the ship.

The weather will be warm, so pack accordingly! Make sure you have lots of sunscreen, light clothing, something to protect your face, etc. because it will get hot! also make sure you have everything packed for the dinners on the cruise. There will be 2 formal nights (if you need any more information, feel free to message me).

I could go on and on about everything about cruises but I don't know if yahoo answers will let me do that, lol so if you have any more specific questions, feel free to send me a message.

Hope this helps and have fun!!!

Answer 4

Cruising is the best. I have gone on 2 Royal Caribbean cruises and the experiences were wonderful. The staff is very attentive and strives to make all of the guests happy. Cruise life on the boat is very relaxing, there is always something to do and something to eat. On Royal Caribbean they have a food bar that is always open when the buffet is not. I found the food great and there is always some sort of activity they have going on. They have Bingo games where you can potentially win another cruise, magic shows, and on some boats even ice rinks. And their Pina Coladas are the best. They also have contests on the pool deck from time to time.  Oh and the casinos and dance clubs are fun fun fun. Tip: Pack a carry on back pack of some sort with your bathing suits or essentials, it usually takes several hours for the crew to get your luggage to your stateroom so you might as well be on the pool deck having fun as you wait. (i.e. on both cruises our check in was 12, our luggage did not arrive until 5pm). The only con that I can think of is the the pools are filled using salt water to it stings at times. Have a good trip!

Edit: As for weather I can't say for sure considering I have never gone on that particular cruise you are going on but in my experience it was never extraordinarily hot on the ship because there was always a breeze and at night it was chilly so bringing a light sweater would probably be a good idea.

Answer 5

I have cruised out of Barcelona twice to the Mediterranean, both the Eastern to Italy, France, Greece and Turkey; and the Western to Spain, Portugal, Gibralter, the Canary Islands, and Morocco.  I did the first cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship and the second on Norwegian.

The Barcelona cruise ship terminal is very nice for both cruise lines.  Its right downtown separated from the city by a waterway.  You have to cross a bridge to get to the pier so you cannot just walk off the ship and go sightsee the city; the walk across is about a mile.

The pier is about 30 to 40 minutes from the airport, depending upon the time of day and traffic.  One thing you should do for sure is buy some Euros before you leave home because you will need them for the taxi to the pier, if you didn't buy the ship's transfers.  Even still all of the port stops you make will use Euros; France, Italy, Greece, Spain.  The taxi fare from the airport will be in the range of $35 to $40 Euros depending traffic; the taxis are metered.

When I did both of my cruises it was the fall of the year, Sept and Nov and the weather was perfect.  It was sunshiny and warm, about 70's.  Evenings it was in the mid 60's.  So when you go in August it will likely be hot.

At the first port stop, Villafranche (Nice) we did a tour to the Mideval City of Eze, then had lunch at an Italian restaurant there and then went on by bus to Nice for a walk around the city.  The city of Eze was interesting and the dinner was good, included all the wine you could drink.  But Nice did not interest me at all.  We also had a stop in  Monte Carlo and saw the Royal Palace and the changing of the guard. We went to the casino but its a rip off.  They charge $10 a person to go in and then you cannot even take photos.  Plus there are much better looking casinos in Atlantic City and Vegas.

In Livorno we did a tour that included both Florence and Pisa.  I could not go all the way to Italy and not see Pisa.  The Florence part was kinda rushed but interesting.  One thing you need to watch for in Spain and Italy ports is pickpockets. Keep your money inside your clothes and the same with cell phones and cameras.  Don't walk around with them hanging off your hand.  If you tour Barcelona, Florence, and other places there will be Gypsies begging for money; DO NOT give them any because if you do others will show up.  They will pick your pockets also.

The port for Rome, Civitavecchia, is an hour away from Rome by bus or taxi. So unless you know exactly what you are doing you don't want to go off on your own there.  There is a train station at the port (I'm told) that will take you to Rome.  But then you will need to know your way around in Rome.  The thing that you do not want to happen is be late getting back to the ship because it WILL leave you.  It will not leave you if you go on a ship sponsored tour; our tour was actually an hour late getting back to the ship because we got caught in end of the day rush hour traffic; but the ship waited because we were on their tour.  The tour that we did included the Vatican City/Sistene Chapel, a great Italian lunch with wine, and then a tour of the Colosseum.  

Expect Long lines at all of the attractions in Italy, and I mean really long.  And its a good idea to use the rest room before you board the bus to Rome; you will NOT have an opportunity for one again until you get inside the Vatican.

Our cruise went to Naples and we did a tour of a lemon and olive farm and then went to Pompeii.  Pompeii was great but the other part of the tour I could have done without.

Our cruise was 12 days so we had stops in Mykonos, Athens, Santorini and Turkey which your cruise does not include.  We did not go to Palermo so I cannot tell you about that one.

But the cruise will be great and you will enjoy it.

I have been on about 20 cruises and many RC cruises but not on the Voyager.  But I have been on two of the Voyager's twin sister ships, the Mariner and the Adventure.  You can take a virtual tour of the ship at this link:  http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruis...

The ship is beautiful, one of my favorites.  It has a lot of activities on board and a promenade mall down its center.  There will be a free ice show during your cruise that you do not want to miss.  I saw it on both of my Voyager Class ship cruises and its spectacular.  Its free but you will have to go to a designated place to get the tickets.  Be sure to get to the show room early as seats are first come first seated; open seating.