After taking a hiatus this year, 2012 will be my third -- and final -- cruise. (I say final because the third cruise is likely to break five-digits spent on this one activity, and I have to draw the line somewhere.)
This year, I vow to do a few things differently, partly because I've learned my lesson on some things, and partly because lots has changed since I last cruised. Back then, I went to the gym 6 days a week, spent my weekends reading, and stayed up past 10 p.m. Nowadays, I spend most of my time covered in drool, spit up, poop, or all three.
In 2012, I vow to:
Not even pack high heels. Yes, they look nice for the 20 minutes I keep them on during formal night, but then I end up barefoot while the shoes get kicked around and slopped with pool water. Why waste the space in my suitcase?
Shop less. Between 2009 and 2010, I think I bought something like 7 swimsuits for the cruise. And that's just swimsuits! Nevermind the sundresses, theme outfits, jewelry, purses, shoes, and PJs. What was I thinking? This year, I'm doing a lot more shopping from my own closet. I'd be forced into this resolution anyway, since I can't afford the luxury of leisurely trips to the mall anymore.
Sleep more. I realize this is blasphemy on a New Kids cruise, but I can't pass up the rare chance to nap in the middle of the afternoon or sleep in past 7. In 2010, I slept around 10 hours total the entire trip. 2012 is going to be the year I learn to nap onboard.
Stand with anyone, including a pole if necessary, for the photo op. At this point, I have a photo with each New Kid. I'm more interested now in getting a chance to say hi while avoiding hour after hour in line. Photo ops this year are said to be much improved though.
Leave my phone on. Yup, I'm going to be the doof who comes home to an $800 phone bill. I just don't want to be unreachable. Unfortunately that won't help me on Half Moon Cay, where there are no cell towers, or most of the time at sea, where I never could get a signal.
Fly in the morning of. I'm breaking one of my own rules here, but this year I'm flying in to Miami the morning we depart. I don't recommend this. But with the added day, I just can't be away any longer. Again, don't do this. This is crazy.
Take Tuesday off. I'm finally learning my lesson with this one and taking an extra day off after the trip to recover. The day after the cruise, you'll be hoarse, exhausted, bloated, and seasick tipsy. Best to feel this way at home on the couch.
Repeat cruisers, what are you planning to do differently in 2012?
not bringing heals either.. it was soo stupid... and the nap does help. while people were out and about in nassau i was on the lido deck napping and using the waterslide.. it was nice to have that down time.
ReplyDeleteI am going to try to take naps too! I am bringing running shoes because my back hurt standing all the time. I want to do the water slide also!
ReplyDeleteI agree about leaving the high heels at home. I will be a 4th time cruiser. This past year was actually the first time I tried bringing cute shoes but ended up barefoot most nights. I probably spent the most money on cruise outfits this past year due to the theme nights but I do plan to do less shopping for 2012. Otherwise, I'm going to try to worry less about getting Face Time with they guys and just have a blast.
ReplyDeleteI will pack less - I didn't overpack clothing, I just brought too much "Stuff" and full stuff at that - shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. Travel size all the way next time.
ReplyDeleteLast year was my first cruise and I took a nap daily, it helped keeping my going all night. I even missed the Sunday afternoon events because I was so exhausted and knew if I wanted to make it all the night for the final party I'd have to sleep for two hours. And it was worth it to me.
When I run into friends I will take photos and not say "We'll get a pic together later" cuz half the time I never ran into certain friends again.
go on the water slide & enjoy the pool
ReplyDeletePacking less. Taking more pictures with friends/acquaintances/new found friends. Flying home earlier on the day we return to Miami.
ReplyDeleteI will not be spending so much on clothing. I saw tons of people that didn't participate in the themes. Ya know what? Nobody looked down on them for not doing so and they were having just of a good time as everyone else in $300 cocktail dresses. I will reuse most of what i wore last year. No one is going to notice my swimsuit is the same nor will they care. I will spend more time checking the ship out. I honestly don't know what the heck i was doing for 4 days last time, but i didn't see any of it. I'm not going to waste time searching for people i want to see or trying to set up meeting times that always seem to fail. If i run into my friends, then i do. If not, i won't worry about it. You would think on a ship where everyone is on the same deck at once it would be easy to find your friends, but its not. Last year i saw about 4 people i knew. That was it. 2 of them were in the cabin across from me! Craziness. So when you run in to them, take pics, talk as much as possible because you may never see them again. Overall I'm going with no plans (OR excursions), no stress of wearing the right outfit (once again, it doesn't matter), and only the goal of enjoying the sun on my face and spending 4 wonderful days with my bestie who i met through NKOTB. I can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI cruised for the first time in 2011. I flew in the morning of because my husband would have shot me if I left him alone with the kids for one more night. I shopped from my closet with the exception of my toga night outfit because really, who's looking at me? No one. I napped because I usually get about 3-4 hrs of sleep per night between my job (I work evenings) and my kids (they are morning people). I turned off my phone but made sure my husband knew how to reach me on the ship if necessary. I emailed him every afternoon and there was always a long, super-detailed (boy ate this, girl ate that and pooped twice; boy skinned his knee but was happy with the spiderman bandaid) email to satisfy my neuroses. I brought heels but due to my super-convenient room directly below the lido deck stairs, I just ran down and changed into flipflops when needed. What I will do differently: cut my losses earlier in the evening (wee hours of the morning) instead of hanging out waiting for yet another glimpse of a New Kid at 4 am.
ReplyDeleteI love this blog. I'm a first time cruiser. I'm glad to hear I dont' need to wear heels, cause I'm not a fan, that people are going to be laid back, and that I don't really need to spend a lot of money on clothes. after paying for the cruise, a room, transportation. There really isn't money for that. Past cruisers....how much money should I take for drinks and such???. Good advise I'm definately taking off tuesday. I don't know if I should take off the tues before cause I will fly wed. or take off 2 days after the cruise. suggestions.
ReplyDeleteThis will be my third cruise, so lessons I learned from my first two are...
ReplyDelete1. Bring rhinestone studded flip flops instead of heels for formal night and don't go too fancy on the dress (it rained during the last red carpet night, and the guys will most likely see you ONLY from the shoulders up IF there's enough light). If you do wear heels, bring wedges, only for the M&G, when they are actually able to see your legs/feet, and only if you're 5'1" and your fave NK is almost 6ft tall.
2. Don't spend too much time styling your hair. It's humid 24/7. Embrace the wavy, beach hair.
3. Bring a fully-charged extra battery for your phone that you will only use on the way home from the cruise. ALL airport phone charging stations will be completely taken over by BHs tweeting and uploading vids to youtube until departure -- at least the ones for LA flights were.
4. While the opposite dining group is having an event, this is your time to take a nap.
5. Do not sleep through a theme like toga night. Under any circumstances. I am still kicking myself for this! *smh*
Last cruise I learned not to waste money on internet time. Six tweets cost me almost $100 over four days. Mostly because stupid me would forget to log off of my account and waste my minutes, and money, as I enjoyed a cold drink at the bar.
ReplyDeleteSunscreen truly is your best friend. Applying sunscreen almost constantly at HMC saved me from a repeat of the several days of pain and torment I suffered in 2010.
and bring your flip flops because sadly that might not actually be beer your standing in while partying barefoot on the Lido deck #justsaying
This will be my fourth new kids cruise. I will try to enjoy myself as much as possible .
ReplyDeleteBring comfortable shoes , lots of sunscreen , a gallon of water, my own float for the beach at HMC.
Have fun with my fellow BH sisters. Woo hoo here we go again.
what did you guys wear for dinning. I saw it said no tank tops or flip flops. and is that what you wore the rest of the night then?
ReplyDeleteAgreed, leave the high heels at home, shop less, and fly out earlier the day we get back.
ReplyDeleteI agree, do not try to fly in the day of. Delays cause too big of a headache!
Don't go to the dining room for meals. Use the pizza & sandwich stands more, as the food is better.
Get to the port earlier (that will be easier if I don't have a 10 hour delay with my flight).
Enjoy the girl time, that's what it is really about. The guys aren't really just hanging out on deck with everyone chilling. Go in with the mindset of having fun, getting a photo op, and some pseudo-concerts.
This is such a great blog article! So helpful. This is my first cruise and I am so excited.I am second guessing my flying in on the 7th. I am only coming from Philly, and don't want to waste more money on a hotel. But there is always that small chance of a delay. I would seriously die if i missed this ;-) I'm gonna struggle with this one. Two kids and a husband who already thinks I am crazy for going on this and leaving him for 5 days. He doesn't get it!
ReplyDeletePast Cruisers.....
When do they send out the full itinerary, so you know what themes to purchase for, what the door theme is, etc??
And how much should I allot for drinks?
I've been on 2 cruises so far.... #1 and #3. I swore I was doing things different on the last cruise, and I did. But this time there are more things I will do differently.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on flying out the same day the cruise ends. No more staying 1-2 days after. It's really a waste. We're all too tired to do anything! I've always taken an extra day off work to recuperate though. I'm definitely flying in at least one day early. For me, Bayside Marketplace is just part of the trip for me. And swimming at South Beach last year was so much fun. I think I'll try to fly in earlier in the day though. If I have to drag my luggage around, so be it lol.
Definitely spend less money on clothes! I thought I was going to spend less last year, and reuse other clothes....and I did reuse some, but I kept finding so much I wanted. In the end, I ended up wearing the same things over and over lol. And of course, the heels always came off and got kicked around. I'm only 4'11", so heels really help me see all the action, but what good are they if I can't even walk because my feet hurt so bad?
Make sure to keep cash on hand. We arrived a couple days early and went out to eat a lot. I kept paying with my cash instead of my card. Then I ended up on the boat with no cash left and had to use the atm for cash while on Nassau. It cost me $10 in fees!
Not be so concerned with eating in the dining room. I LOVE eating in the dining room, but it's so time dependent. We missed out on so many things because of it and found ourselves rushing through our meals. If I do eat there, it will probably be just once unless our schedule permits it.
I WILL take time for the breakfast buffet! OMG that was the most fantastic meal EVER! When our photo group realized the line was so long, we just went to breakfast instead and went back later. It worked out perfectly.
Stop standing in freaking lines! I waited over an hour for Donnie's backrub. Although it was awesome, I was so lightheaded while in that room with 499 other girls I thought I was gonna get sick. So unless it's Joe in that room, I don't think I'm gonna do it any more lol.
Hey chrissy, I'm going to fly out of philly on the 6th. I'm waiting til the cheaper airlines have their schedules out though. Maybe I'll see you there!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! Just wondering, after your hiatus this year, were you still in the preferred booking category? Hubs & I cruised in 2011,I'm hoping to talk him into going again in 2013...wondering if we'd be eligible for priority booking.
ReplyDelete@Adrian, yes all past cruisers 2009-2011 received the early access code.
ReplyDeletei will definitely pack less clothes and only 1 pair of heels just for my own peace of mind. i won't be fooled like in May since i hated carrying around that heavy case (70% of what i packed was still unused when i got back home).
ReplyDeletei will also take time AFTER the cruise to recover from the exhaustion (slept 12 hrs in 5 days, a record for me!) without stressing about my job.
I live in Italy and I left the day we got back into Miami, waited 8 hrs at the airport, then over 8hrs flight back to Europe plus 2hrs drive...I managed to sit on my couch at home at 6pm on the Tuesday and Wed at 8am sharp i was back at work. Trust me: you DON'T wanna do it!
i would like to book for the cruise, who would be the best flight and hotels be with? from the UK. and do we need visa's. I have never travelled out of the UK before.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, LOVE your blog, and I have no idea why I wasn't following it until today. That said, last year was my first cruise, and I learned plenty of what to do, and what not to do.
ReplyDelete1. I totally agree about the heels- I wore flip-flops the majority of the time. Surprisingly, I DID wear them for Red Carpet Night the entire time, and it was ok, but no one really paid attention, and they wouldn't have cared either way. I also wore wedges to the M&G, and I have to say that if you *insist* on wearing "heels" of any type, wedges are the way to go.
2. Not only bring tons of sunscreen, but also whatever after-sun soothing stuff works best for you. I got sun poisoning at HMC, and had NOTHING whatsoever to help me. Noxzema is my sunburn relief of choice, and you bet your sweet a** I will be bringing it this year!
3. Travel-size everything! 'Nuff said.
4. Do not- I repeat, Do NOT miss any of the nightly parties! Naps are great in the afternoon/during dining times. I did not take a nap the day after above mentioned sun poisoning, and missed the Pink Night party completely. I still regret this. IMMENSELY. It was the craziest night, from what I've seen/heard.
5. Do NOT let anyone take advantage of your love for the guys! Example: for last year's Back Rub, girls who could have cared less were getting wrist bands (for free), and selling them for $100+ each. Seriously? I missed the BR because of this (but had an EXCELLENT time at Jordan's Stretchify session ;D).
6. Do NOT take advantage of your BH sistahs' love for the guys!
7. Do not stress about what to wear, what to do, who to see, if you don't see the guys, etc. I saw Donnie for a couple of minutes the first night, but he was (naturally) surrounded. Don't think you're going to be THE ONE to get their attention, and then b*tch, pout, complain, etc. when you're not. They are there to have fun and relax, too. They are already doing WAY more than is necessary to please you. Don't be a b*tch about it.
8. I also recommend taking advantage of the buffets over the dining room.
I am sure there is more, but that's all I can think of right now. Just know that it is worth every penny and then some. I had such an amazing, wonderful time, w/o seeing all the guys a million times. It really is what you make of it, and if you don't expect too much, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. :)
-Raven
aka @MrsDFknWhlbrg
Can anybody help me about the pics with NKOTB?? only if you have a group??? how much cost???thanks...First cruise!!!I from Chile.
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