ThumpAZ Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 My wife and I are planning on taking a cruise from Galveston TX in October of this year. I, personally, want a cruise that will be fun for both of us, and she is looking at the cruise as a small part of a bigger vacation (Astroworld... yuck, and NASA while in TX). The above is sorta a moot statement... just venting. However, for those of you who have taken cruises in the past, can you walk me through the registration and boarding process, as well as the arrival back at port at the end of the trip? trying to figure out what we should expect. Tahnks! Quote
MikeJ Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 I've only been on one cruise, but for the most part, just make sure you have passports if you are leaving US waters, and you will need to go through customs when you come back (if you left US). Beyond that... it's not much different then getting on and off a plane. Just much bigger. When you book the cruise you should get all of the info you need, including tickets. If you are going to do excursions, try to book them all in advance. Bring lots of sunscreen. Getting burnt on the first day is NOT fun. Mad!!! And pay attention to cruise schedule... most cruises have dinner every night, and there are dress codes. I so want to go on another cruise. Quote
ThumpAZ Posted February 11, 2004 Author Posted February 11, 2004 Say the boat departs at 4PM... what time would you need/want to be there beforehand? Quote
GroovyFish Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 Monkey Guru is correct, it is not much different than being on a plane. I worked for a cruise line for 6 years, although it was a small ship line, not one of the mega floating hotels (sorry, yes I am biased) Basically you will receive a boarding card before the trip that is much like what you get on a plane, it will show your cabin number, name, etc. Check with cruise line to find out if you can purchase excursions in advance (we sent an excursion list along with the boarding documents, but only some excursions that were limited on spaces were purchased in advance). If you cannot purchase those in advance, decide early because some may have limits. Departure is pretty painless in my experience, even with customs. If you are purchasing air from them, then you will probably get transfers (from the airport-ship-airport included) if you are booking the air on your own, you may want to talk to the cruise director before the end of the trip to either purchase a transfer to the airport, or to have them arrange for a taxi. Couple of suggestions from an ex-cruise line employee. If you have any medical conditions that are serious, let someone know, most ships, if they are going into international waters will have a doctor on board and may want to meet with you early on. If you have any special food requirements, let the cruise line know well in advance. And then make sure that every server knows your food requirements... The stories I could tell Quote
GroovyFish Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 Ask the cruise line what their earliest boarding time is. Normally the day you board is their "turn-around" day. They had their last cruise disembark that morning, so they have to get the ship ready for the next cruise. We usually didn't leave dock until the evening on our cruises, and the earliest we let passengers embark was 3pm. If you are booking air on your own, I would get there early so you are not herded in with a bus load of people they just picked up from the airport. I was lucky, since I was an employee, I could board at any time, so I was usually boarded, unpacked and drinking at the bar before the first passengers arrived. Quote
motarque Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 my wife and i took a cruise on our honeymoon that left from Galveston. Our cruise left at around 3:00 and we boarded around 12:00. We had lots of time to explore the ship. It was great....i long to go back and cruise again. Quote
ejh Posted February 12, 2004 Posted February 12, 2004 Don't underestimate NASA... it's pretty cool!! We got to watch them work on building a space ship. Quote
ThumpAZ Posted February 12, 2004 Author Posted February 12, 2004 Oh, I am not against going to NASA at all. I have been to the one in FL before and it was pretty cool. I would love to go see where some of my hard work was put to use (part of the launch pad control system was a project I worked on about 4 years ago). Astroworld is a totally different story. After Disney World and many of the Six Flags parks, it is hard to compare. Quote
TCH-Dick Posted February 12, 2004 Posted February 12, 2004 Dont have any comment on the cruise, other than someday I'll take my wife on one, but Astro World IS a six flags theme park Quote
ThumpAZ Posted February 12, 2004 Author Posted February 12, 2004 Astroworld in Houston is a 6-flags??? Man, they really took a step down then, in my opinion. I think of Great America, Magic Mountain and the like as real Six Falgs locations. Quote
Virtual Imager Posted February 12, 2004 Posted February 12, 2004 ThumpAZ... You could just save yourself a bundle and rent a paddleboat at Tempe Town Lake! Quote
ThumpAZ Posted February 12, 2004 Author Posted February 12, 2004 You could just save yourself a bundle and rent a paddleboat at Tempe Town Lake! That's great... but I think my wife would kill me... I would spend the saved dough on the Jeep (or expect ha;f of it for said cause). And it's Tempe Town Puddle... get it right LOL Quote
TCH-Dick Posted February 12, 2004 Posted February 12, 2004 Astroworld in Houston is a 6-flags??? Man, they really took a step down then, in my opinion. I think of Great America, Magic Mountain and the like as real Six Falgs locations. Yup, dont remember how long ago six flags bought them out but its been a six flags theme park for years now. It's quite a bit bigger and has several new/newer rides. Quote
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