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We are going on our first cruise next week. 7 days leaving Galveston, TX going to the Bahamas with a stop in Key West. Any cruise veterans around here with any tips or advice?
Todd
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thanks 90 db. We are going on a pub crawl in Key West and I'll be that is on the route!
Todd
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Quote:
thanks 90 db. We are going on a pub crawl in Key West and I'll be that is on the route!
You're welcome. Try the Conch fritters!
You should also make sure you catch the sunset celebration (and the buskers) at Mallory Square:
http://www.mallorysquare.com/
Regards,
Bob
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After several cruises, this is what the wife and I have learned:
- take a Gravol on your way to bed THE NIGHT BEFORE you embark
- take another one every night before you go to bed
This isn't to frighten you into thinking that you will automatically get sea sick on a cruise. Many people don't. We've just found that this will prevent it, plus it makes you drowsy anyway and we get a good nights sleep this way.
Other tips to follow as I remember them <grin>
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Which line? My only experience was with Royal Caribbean. Loved the snorkeling excursion to their own little private island in the Bahamas. Best snorkeling I've ever done (ok, only have experience there and in Maui).
Given recent cruise track record, you are pretty brave to consider it! Enjoy it.
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Ya, which cruise line will you be on?? It makes a difference.
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Quote:
Which line? My only experience was with Royal Caribbean. Loved the snorkeling excursion to their own little private island in the Bahamas. .
Royal Caribbean in Bahamas - skidoo'ed (is that whatt they call it?) around island. One of the most Incredible experiences of my life. I would get on a Royal Caribbean cruise tomorrow if I could.
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I gigged on Carnival for 3 years and a few months on RCL/Celebrity.
If you gamble the slot machines, do it at the beginning of the cruise, they pay out better then.
When you get your cabin, find your steward, ask him for an extra pillow or blanket and then give him a tip. You will get extra good service for the rest of the cruise. Be sure to reward him with a nice tip when you are done.
Check out ALL the entertainment on the ship. Sometimes great entertainment can be found in the smaller lounges that you might miss if you stick to only the big events.
When in port, be sure to sight-see. The ship will probably want you to spend your port time in the shops that pay the ship to advertise them. In most ports, there is a lot more to see than the inside of a retail shop. Sometimes hiring a cab driver for the day is a good way to see an island (not Key West though - too expensive).
In foreign ports, when going into a store, before saying anything else to the clerk, smile and say "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" first. To do otherwise is considered rude on many islands.
Don't ask for ice tea in the Bahamas. Unless things have changed, they will take your order, but you won't get it - they don't believe in putting ice in tea.
Have a great cruise!
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
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Consider doing your own "shore excursions".
Remember that the ones the cruise line put together will have many people
signed up which translates to, line ups for everything, and waiting for everything.
If you're off on your own, you can usually do the same excursion for less money,
and certainly for less time.
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Quote:
I would get on a Royal Caribbean cruise tomorrow if I could.
OMG, I got an email from a Sales Rep at Royal Caribbean yesterday trying to make my wish come true and book me on a trip! I can only assume they somehow saw this posting here in our forum. Now that is some unusual sales tactics. 
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I've been on many, here's my advice:
Loose 5-10 lbs before you depart.
Later,
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Thanks for all of the suggestions. Just got back from the cruise yesterday.
So... overall, a very enjoyable experience. Very rough waters between Galveston and the Keys. Really glad the wife and I had the patches. Others in our group did not have them and became very queasy to the point of staying in the cabin for several hours during the roughest seas.
Regarding the musical entertainment, slim pickens. There was an on board pub that had a one man acoustic act every evening (same guy the whole cruise). He catered to the whatever hot chick was in the pub at the time so I didn't get off to most of his stuff. There was a decent band with a small horn section that played on a small mid-ship stage. They seemed to have not played together much and it showed. However, there was a house band that roamed around the ship's venues that was really good although unusual. All members (singer, keyboards, drums, guitar) were Chinese. Man, they could play anything and play it well. Did everything from the Eagles to Journey to The Carpenters and everything in between. The guitarist was a Strat player and man did he make it sing! They also performed as the pit band for a couple of the theater shows. Very versatile.
We loved the pub crawl in the Keys. I was coerced by our group to take the stage with one of solo acts at a pub to sing the harmony part for the Eagles "Take it Easy".
The excursion in Freeport BH was pretty lame as they taxied us to "town" for shopping and lunch. We basically turned loose in a small area of shops and restaurants about a city block in size where were were captives for the hawkers there. Only lasted there a couple of hours before returning to the ship.
Excursion in Nassau was at the Atlantis resort. Ok if you are into waterparks. This excursion included free lunch. Of course, at lunch time we found that we were very limited as to the food places we could visit and even the items we could choose at those places. Pretty much hot dogs and hamburgers were the rule.
I am not very picky but the food aboard ship was lackluster. The dining room was usually pretty good. The buffett was pretty much always the same items and these were just so-so for me. Of course there was always the pizza and burger joints to fall back on and they were always open.
The 7$ drinks really add up over the course of the trip so between those, the casino wagers and the spa massages that we had, we had a pretty hefty bill at the end of the cruise.
Bottom line, we would consider cruising again but would opt for the shorter 4 day cruise to Cozumel.
We were pretty burnt out by the last 2 "fun at sea" days aboard the ship.
Todd
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Quote:
Regarding the musical entertainment, slim pickens. There was an on board pub that had a one man acoustic act every evening (same guy the whole cruise). He catered to the whatever hot chick was in the pub at the time so I didn't get off to most of his stuff. There was a decent band with a small horn section that played on a small mid-ship stage.
Surprised to hear that. The last cruise we were on was a 3 day weekend thing on the Monarch of the Seas from LA to Ensenada Mexico. That ship was loaded to the gills with entertainment basically from 11 am to 2 am. There were 4 or 5 lounges, 3 big night clubs with one being a main room with over 600 seats, they had several bands playing back to back at the pool and this was just the areas of the ship we had access to. There were VIP exclusive areas we didn't have access to that had entertainment too. I sat in and wound up covering for the single pianist in one of the lounges. He checked me out for about 5 minutes, gave me a thumbs up and took about a 20 minute break. He was good and worked his small audience very well and so did I, I even got a few tips which I left for him. Later I discovered he was part of the musical revue troupe in the main room which was a good Vegas style show.
Overall I thought the performers were pretty good but that's from my pov working with show groups not handling edgy original rock or alternative acts. One of the bands at the pool were from Trinidad doing some pretty good high energy Caribbean party stuff, I chatted with them a bit too. They consisted of 3 keyboards, a drummer with a separate percussionist and a frontman vocalist and there was at least a dozen JBL EON's spread out around the pool and stage area above the pool so the sound was good. There was a waterfall beside the pool with lots of hot babes dancing and having a good time. As an old fart I was still into it <grin>. I'm certainly not looking to pick somebody up who's younger than my daughters but good scenery nonetheless.
At least that ship was a good experience and I highly recommend it. The food was good including the all you can eat buffet's (I also agree with losing 10 pounds before you sail, lol). I'm not a drinker beyond one glass of wine for dinner and maybe one more wine or a single beer throughout the evening so I can't comment on the quality of the drinks.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Quote:
Slim Pickens?
And I thought he was dead, but he's actually working cruise liners.
Cheers,
Keith
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Glad that one didn't slip by you Mac!
Todd
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